The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
My niece is in love with history. She loves it all - the good... and the bad. She has an unflinching passion for seeking out the events that shaped our world. The holocaust is one of those events, I must confess, that I can not delve into too deeply. I know my history. I honor those who witnessed and endured such horrors, but I do not have the will to study such times. So, I am very proud of my niece, who does. I knew that I needed to make a piece based on the diary of Anne Frank, and I wanted it to carry the great respect I have for Anne Frank's words.
I knew no one would appreciate the box more than Catherine, so I made it for her.
The concept for the box actually came to me before the title. I decided to make a box with walls that opened out. The resulting space, I realized would be a very claustrophobic one, which reminded me of the confines Anne resided in with her family while in hiding.
First, I planned out the box. Knowing this particular box would be somewhat of a puzzle to fit together, I sketched out the design and used paper templates to determine the fit of the "doors".
After much planning, I cut the doors out of balsa wood. The box and doors were painted with several coats of antique white paint. I then affixed miniature hinges (as for dollhouses) from the local hobby store to the box and doors with a combination of industrial glue and tiny nails that were included.
Balsa strips were used to maintain the proper distance between layers. A simple brass brad was used to keep the doors/walls upright.
The first doors were painted with stripes reminiscent of the striped uniforms of work camp prisoners.
A second layer, a dark wash, was used to illustrate the row of buildings which included the one Anne in which was housed. I wanted to emphasize that outside of the walls of her sanctuary things were bleak and dangerous.
On the last door, I painted a bookcase. It is a direct reference to the bookcase that hid the doorway to the secret hiding place. I glued black ribbons on either side of the bookcase to aid in lifting the last layer.
Lastly, the room itself was painted in warm tones, as it was her home, albeit for a short time, and a place of safety. The floor was painted in several washes of browns and then was painted with darker lines for texture. I included quotes on the walls, and later glued some small pieces of paper with quotes on the floor.
The outside of the box was painted as a faithful representation of her original diary using cream, red, and tan paints.
This project was undertaken with great love and respect for the subject matter. It weighed on my heart until I could complete it.
My niece is in love with history. She loves it all - the good... and the bad. She has an unflinching passion for seeking out the events that shaped our world. The holocaust is one of those events, I must confess, that I can not delve into too deeply. I know my history. I honor those who witnessed and endured such horrors, but I do not have the will to study such times. So, I am very proud of my niece, who does. I knew that I needed to make a piece based on the diary of Anne Frank, and I wanted it to carry the great respect I have for Anne Frank's words.
I knew no one would appreciate the box more than Catherine, so I made it for her.
The concept for the box actually came to me before the title. I decided to make a box with walls that opened out. The resulting space, I realized would be a very claustrophobic one, which reminded me of the confines Anne resided in with her family while in hiding.
First, I planned out the box. Knowing this particular box would be somewhat of a puzzle to fit together, I sketched out the design and used paper templates to determine the fit of the "doors".
After much planning, I cut the doors out of balsa wood. The box and doors were painted with several coats of antique white paint. I then affixed miniature hinges (as for dollhouses) from the local hobby store to the box and doors with a combination of industrial glue and tiny nails that were included.
Balsa strips were used to maintain the proper distance between layers. A simple brass brad was used to keep the doors/walls upright.
The first doors were painted with stripes reminiscent of the striped uniforms of work camp prisoners.
A second layer, a dark wash, was used to illustrate the row of buildings which included the one Anne in which was housed. I wanted to emphasize that outside of the walls of her sanctuary things were bleak and dangerous.
On the last door, I painted a bookcase. It is a direct reference to the bookcase that hid the doorway to the secret hiding place. I glued black ribbons on either side of the bookcase to aid in lifting the last layer.
Lastly, the room itself was painted in warm tones, as it was her home, albeit for a short time, and a place of safety. The floor was painted in several washes of browns and then was painted with darker lines for texture. I included quotes on the walls, and later glued some small pieces of paper with quotes on the floor.
The outside of the box was painted as a faithful representation of her original diary using cream, red, and tan paints.
This project was undertaken with great love and respect for the subject matter. It weighed on my heart until I could complete it.
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