Boxes, Boxes, Boxes

I don’t think there is a box I couldn’t like. It’s genetic.

My Dad was known to always have just the right size box for whatever we needed. Packing for our annual 3-week family camping/road trip was an intricate exercise that took days of preparation & a few hours to get everything to fit just right in the back of our camper!

Mom was known for improvising – why buy something new when you had something already that would work just fine? My parents’ childhoods were spent growing up during the Depression so they were the precursors to today’s ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’. The perfect preparation for the life of an Art teacher, aka scavenger!

Here are a few of my favorite size boxes & how I use them.

The government supplies cheese to schools in Velveeta–like boxes. They come with lids & 6 fit into a larger box – pre-made filing system for crayons, or other small items. I still have a stash even though it’s very difficult to find them these days.

I use them in the kiln room for small item storage, to sort glaze containers, and other odds & ends.





I use the cheese box upside down to keep track of X-acto knives, yarn & weaving needles.



An empty paper towel box makes a handy ‘drawer’ in my deep cabinet.



Xerox box lids make ‘in’ boxes for finished 2D work.



Empty clay boxes are being used right now for pre-cut yarn lengths during our weaving & braiding projects.



Large boxes can be lined with a plastic garbage bag and used to store greenware between classes. Just a couple of quick sprays of water & a twist to close will keep these projects moist until the next week.



How about you? Have a favorite way to reuse a box? Share!

Good Advice

Many years ago (about the time of dinosaurs), when I was student teaching I received some very good advice: The two most important people to an art teacher are the office secretary and the custodians.

The secretary KNOWS everything and the custodian can just about DO anything.

I have a wonderful & patient secretary who understands when I lose yet another form that was due yesterday (and gets me another). She’s quick to compliment the student artwork that goes up in the office (even though I should change the exhibits much more frequently). She always has a kind word and smile for me anytime I venture out of the art cave to the real world.

I currently have the BEST sweeper (janitor) on campus. I come in to a clean floor, clean tables, clean sinks and sometimes (if I’m REALLY lucky) bookshelves that have been dusted and straightened. Amazing! I make sure to let her know just how much I appreciate what she does for me on a regular basis. Our rooms get so messy & while we do our best to keep up with the worst of it, it can make a HUGE difference to have your room clean & ready the next day! When she was gone for a few days this spring on a trip…Aaugh!

I’m also blessed with a lead custodian who works hard and is so very helpful. Your custodian is your right hand man (or woman). When you have a great one, it will make your day! Mine usually gives me a heads-up when the Fire Marshal is due for the annual inspection so I can do some clear cutting of the forest in my storerooms….that alone makes him a super hero!

Bottom line: We depend on these people every day. Make sure you take the time to let them know how much they mean to you and how you appreciate what they do for you…