Chinese Poetry Box - Part 1

"Staying the Night at a Mountain Temple"
A unique art-jewelry piece by Pam East

I’ve always been fascinated by hidden spaces and secret treasures. I love the mystery and delight of discovery.   I began making box pendants in 2003, working at first with fitted lids that slide up on cords.  I started experimenting with hinged boxes in 2006, but did not pursue it seriously until this year when I started designing my Chinese Poetry Boxes.
 
The idea for the Chinese Poetry Boxes came to me one day when I was looking on the internet for examples of Chinese calligraphy for another project.  I stumbled upon a website devoted to Chinese poetry and knew immediately I was on to something.

Mark Alexander, the web-master, had put together a wonderful site as an aid for people learning to read Chinese.  The poetry on the site was ancient, mostly dating from the Tang Dynasty, and provides both the original Chinese text as well as English translations for the poems.  I spent several delightful days lost in the thoughts of centuries gone poets.

When I read Staying the Night at a Mountain Temple by Li Bai, I was struck not only by the feeling of the poem, but the visual imagery.  I could really see that tiny mountain temple nearly lost under a huge starry sky.  I began painting the images the poem evoked and the designs for my boxes were born.

To see the secrects hidden inside the box, click here.

A variation of this piece, with a slightly different box clasp, is available at Turning Leaf Gallery in Blue Ridge, GA