SV01: Starry, Starry Night—Box and Shell Testing

my sailor valentine box is an 8", front loading box. here you see i've printed out my design and laid it inside to get an idea of how it would look inside the box. when i'm finished, i will place the glass that was custom cut for the box inside of the grooved top. then the strips pictured above, on the right side will be inserted edge to edge. they fit very tightly and hold the glass in place.

i purchased my sailor valentine box from jim prestigiacomo @ shellsandwood.com. we met way back on ebay. jim is a master craftsman and i'm lucky enough to own three of his boxes. check out their site--rosalee, his wife, creates gorgeous work and they feature the work of other shell artist, as well.

the images above show how i start by laying down shell combinations and think about the composition, the color scheme, what i'm trying to convey, and the adjustments i'll need to make. the first thing that i notice is that 8" is a very small space. i will have to be careful with the size of my shells, making sure that i don't use shells that overpower the design—the smaller shells give you more room to craft intricate designs, but if they are too uniform in size, the feel becomes a little precious. that may just be my justification for keeping my large spiral yellow shells look like the van gogh yellow sun or stars—i'm too smitten to reconsider them.

i also dig the compass rose color combination, especially how the rose cup center flower and the blue chiton border brings out the pink and teal iridescence in the baby abalone shells—but they still have that tan overall colour that makes them a good partner for the horse conch compass points. i'll need to finesse the final layout, but I like how the compass rose will sit stable as the van gogh starry night swirls about it. maybe i should try a yellow jingle shell center flower? i'm not sure about the fossil shark tooth border. the teeth are a bit large and polished for what i'm after. i think i like the garden of eden-ish fern and flower border, but i need to keep that area petite and low key.

the van gogh blue-purple swirling background will be key in making this valentine a success. i'm planning on lining rows of purple coquina, purple urchin spines and baby mussels in a swirling pattern. pearlized umbonium and pong-pong shells will make excellent smaller stars.

i can't wait to get some illustration board. i'm thinking about getting a color. i will also need 527 adhesive and boy2 will have to cough up my dental tweezers! i know he's stashed them somewhere....