Artist of the month: rustic reinvented

Over the last few years, I've been drawn to boxes; more accurately, old boxes. This eventually included drawers, crates, tool boxes and baskets – anything that was the size of a crate, any shape and made of wood.

My common sense seemed to leave me when it came to small old wooden containers and, after a while, I started to run out of room. People would ask me, "What are you going to do with all of them?" I had no answer for them; I had to admit to myself, I might have a problem.

In order to justify buying any more, I had to come up with an idea of what I was going to do with my collection of old wooden containers.

Then, the proverbial light came on when I saw some wine racks made of pallet wood. I had wooden containers, why not turn them into wine racks?

The display at the senior center is the result! No two are of the same material and the wine openers, glasses and charms are all different as well; they can also be set on the counter or hung on the wall.

Over the years, I have donated my creations to various events to be used as seen fit and have given many as gifts to friends and family.

I think the best thing to have come out of this hobby is the time I've shared with friends and family as we put our heads together to cuss and discuss different ideas creating the finished item. That in itself is priceless!

In conjunction with the old wooden containers, I have acquired quite a collection of rusty gold to be used with my creations; I must admit, these have taken over in their own right. I see it and think, "Man, that's cool, I could use that for...", giving me yet another good excuse to acquire more boxes.

At this point, I'm only limited by storage, my imagination and the balance in my checkbook.

Many of my creations are on display at the Moorcroft Senior Center on the south side of the MTC and available for viewing Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.