beautiful project, but the box looks like it's made of wood. but u say this is a havana? so u sanded the fabric? really?

This is beautiful it reminds me of the artist Joseph Cornell--great stuff. I love boxes with beautiful stuff inside--great job.

Fhung -- I'm dying to know the significance of the magnifying glass. It's so gorgeous. I love the look of it, I have my own ideas about the magnifying glass, but I'm so curious to know what you were thinking as you made this?

@ BetterHalf
Yes, this is Havana Box :). See the process here at http://koloist.com/index.php/2009/04/27/ . The lid of the box turned out to be made of wood indeed. The sides and the base are bookbinder's boards. They are all lined with linen on the outside and with sturdy paper in the inside. And yes, I sanded the fabric - it has thin layers of paint on it so when I sanded the surface, it reveals a bit of the fabric more. The linen fabric has a nice texture to it and it takes sanding very well. I used very fine sand paper, of course! Try it, it's a really neat technique to achieve a subtle worn look. You can do this with paint on canvas too.

@ Steve Light
Thank you! I love Joseph Cornell's works too - I think anyone who loves boxes can't help to like his works! You do wonderful works too!

@ HC
Thank you :). Hmmm... how to answer your question... It is actually an optical lens so instead of holding it close to your eye to see certain part of something enlarged, you have to hold it at a distance and what would happen is the things behind it would appear smaller and yet more distinct/sharp. So instead of making a small part appear larger, the lens enabled you to see more of the part (or the area around it) more clearly. I hope I'm explaining it well enough here :).

Now... the significance of it... It serves as a symbol of how we see things. "Impediment" refers to self-impediment that prevent you to do something that you would like to do, that you could actually do. Often you didn't know what prevented you from doing it. There don't seem to be any clear reasons for not doing it, or for unable to do it. So the optical lens symbolizes the need to take distance, to try various point of views, to investigate deeper, see things from unexpected angles, explore more... Things are not always what they seem to be. Sometimes one thing could mean various different things at the same time - depends on how you look at it.

I hope this helps quench your curiosity :). Now I'm curious about your ideas about the lens! Would you share them, please? :)

Fhung -- I love it when artists will let you inside their heads a little. Yes, you did explain the optical lens well — thank you. I guess I did notice that the lens is not magnifying a portion of the object, but I didn’t really understand the purpose of this kind of lens, and why one would use it. Interesting to learn that it shows an entire object in sharper focus. But whether the lens magnifies or shrinks the object behind it, to me, the analogy is somewhat similar. As you said, the lens seems to suggest that you can try to see a situation from a different point of view, to look at it from various angles.

To me, this piece is sad and poignant. It shows a beautiful human being trapped, and very much so — not only in a cage but also in a box. She is in distress, curled into a fetal position, with her hands to her head as if confused and anguished. I feel an overwhelming sense of sympathy and compassion for this woman, especially since there is no lock on the box. She could release herself, if only she realized that she could.

The loveliness of the figure itself, her spiritual beauty and significance (to me, represented by the decorative scroll work surrounding her) is heartbreaking. It gives me a sense of the joy she is missing, her unrecognized value, the happiness she could experience if only she could crawl out of her cage and her box.

Amazing how art can make you feel and think. I really love this piece. To me, this is about emotional suffering. I cannot look at this without tearing up, but I can't stop looking at it.

@ HC
Thank you so much! You wrote so beautifully.
Yes, it is about emotional suffering, about our incapability to break through... being cornered and trapped in our own impediment. It is tragic because the way out is within reach indeed. Sadly, similar things happen to many of us, men and women alike...

Fortunately, some of us eventually found our way in dealing with our own impediment and manage to vanquish it although it's probably more like an ongoing struggle which we have to face at some points in our life.

Such a Poignant Piece of Art Fhung! It Comforted Me to Read That Your Lovely Porcelain Figure Was Actually Created a Few Years Before This Project Reached Fruition...All This Time She Has Been Waiting - I Don't Believe She is Trapped in the Box...She WANTS to Be There For Now - Time to Reflect Without Interruption. Any Space Bigger Would Be a Source of Distraction...
Hugs From Idgie

Idgie -- Nice to meet you here. I like your optimistic perspective. Maybe this porcelain beauty is sleeping in her cozy, protective box. Maybe the scroll work shows she's dreaming.

Your name "Idgie" is so distinctive. It's the name of one of my favorite characters in one of my favorite novels, "Fried Green Tomatoes." Are you familiar?

You have an amazing talent

Dear HC,
Thank You For Recognizing Both My Optimistic Outlook and the Connection to My Nickname. Fried Green Tomatoes is My All Time Favorite Movie - It Has it All as Far as I Am Concerned. A Good Many Years Ago, When I Was Going Through a Bit of a Rough Patch, My Precious Daughter Gave Me a Special Copy of Fannie Flagg's Book - Inside of the Flyleaf She Wrote: "To My Mommy, Who Will Forever Be My Idgie" She Wrote This to Remind Me That I Am a Strong Woman Who Can Overcome the Trials and Tribulations That Go Along With Life. The Nickname Stuck, and the Philosophy Has Always Been Inside of My Heart!
HUGS From Idgie

this is absolutely inspiring, what an incredible artistic piece you have created. I am in awe.