Trunk Full of Memories

Decorating at times is a way of keeping trunk full of memories alive! 

For me an object is something living. So is the box you see in the picture [Figure 1]. This box contains a secret life much more intense than that of certain human beings. Probably!

Figure 1

So what is the story of this box? Those of you who have spent a considerable part of your lives in hostels must be familiar with a Trunk of your own. By the time I went to a hostel, Suitcases had conveniently replaced the mighty metallic Boxes.  So while I was packing my suitcases for my hostel sojourn, my father got very nostalgic, recalling his hostel days. I could see his enthusiasm as he shared anecdotes from his hostel days. The conversation finally ended with the revelation of the big secret - that he still had his Trunk from hostel days, hidden somewhere in the box-room.

Many years later, when I was trying hard to convince my mom, to let my stuff from hostel days be preserved as memorablia, I remembered Dad's hostel box. To my utter disbelief it had been relegated to the store room that majorly comprised of junk, or things left to be turned into junk. It was sad to see its state when I knew how precious it was to Dad, and I strongly felt that this was no way to encapsulate his fond memories, of the days gone by!

Thus began the task of revamping a Trunk!

I started off with a thorough clean up  of the box, inside out. Since the front lock was half gone, I removed the small metallic handle too. Next with the help of sand paper i eased out the rough surface, all over. Wiping it again with a dry cloth, I applied a base-coat of paint to the entire trunk. I really had nothing specific in my mind and as always this makeover was going to be impromptu, impulsive and an impatient one!

I found some painter's tape (sticky tape) and stuck it all around the box, making big geometrical shapes, mostly triangles, as the tape-lines crossed each other. I filled all the shapes with bright red, green brown and black, in no particular order. Wait for the colours to completely dry and you would find neatly drawn out boundaries around the geometrical shapes, in the colour of the base coat. I painted that with dull gold, in varying thickness just to make it little less organized. This is how the front of the trunk looked now [Figure 2].

 Figure 2

 Repeating the same on all sides, the complete look was a sight for sure! [Figure 3].

Figure 3

As you can see, there were no restrictions on the dimensions. The impulsive stroke of brush dusted with gold only making it a little shabby but believe me, no one has ever noticed it yet.  

I am highlighting it through zoomed images for you, so that you don't lose heart when you come across it. [Figure 4]

Figure 4

Finally it was time to give it a place of importance, back in the main house. So three brass Buddha statues were arranged in a tray and placed on top.  To create some more serenity for buddha a plant with thick green foliage is placed right behind him. A lamp to provide the illumination for the metal to reflect and spread the "light." [Figure 5]

Figure 5

I hung a vintage brass bell from the ceiling to complete the look [Figure 6] and on days when a little more drama needs to be created, a string of rice bulbs does it with perfection [Figure 7]!

                Figure 6                                   

                                       

    Figure 7

Oh yes, do I need to tell you how Dad feels when he sees the Trunk full of memories being the cynosure of everyone's eye! 

©Fursatnama 


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