Joseph Cornell is one of my favorite artists of all time. Whether it's one his shadowboxes or collages or strange little films - all of his work strike such a cord with me. I think it's a miracle how he could take bits of ephemera and seemingly random found objects and create such beauty in little boxes, within those rough frames. And so on this Thursday I went on a little Etsy hunt in order to one day make my own little box full of Cornell-like objects and images -- lucky for me that so many sellers seem to heart Mr. Cornell as much as I do....
Cornell used all different types of boxes for his assemblages and I think he'd be happy with the variety found on Etsy too:
Birds, birds, birds. To build a Cornell inspired box - you need a few finely feathered friends:
The things Cornell could do with the paper that the rest of us discard or toss makes you want to reclaim those lost ticket stubs and scribbled notes on hotel stationary, doesn't it?:
And to be Cornell-like is to incorporate pictures of children, movie stars, as well as the moon:
And then the things found in junk drawers and in the bottom of your closet that are loveliest and most stirring when reclaimed by a Cornell art box:
And if you're not quite up to creating your own shadow box, consider buying one of these beautiful pieces - each inspired by the man himself:
