Elemental Box

dj Bennett

Machine embroidery, fabric collage

The ancients believed the world was composed of four elements: earth, air (wind), fire, and water. This box was done a few years ago as a teaching aid for a Story Box Workshop, where boxes suggesting specific stories were made from tuna fish cans. This was the only one I ever saw containing four pounds of tuna. We had a party and I served salad nicoise, and I had my tin. The top lid shows a fluffy white cloud scudding across a blue sky (wind). The outside of the box represents the four seasons; winter, spring, summer, and autumn. The inside lid depicts a nighttime starry sky. The inner sides represent fire, and the bottom shows water, complete with corals and tiny sea shells. This piece is made with a variety of fabrics, all machine embroidered in a variety of stitches, and carefully fitted to the metal can.