NEW
The artwork on this wooden box is made with the same techniques and pigments that were used by the earliest artists. Iron oxide, black manganese and burnt sienna pigment paints are blown onto stone and lines are scraped into the surface, to recreate in miniature what paleolithic art might have looked like newly painted 10-30,000 years ago.
I hand cut the slate stone into either an octagon or circle, depending on denseness of the stone, then weather the edges. Once I've painted and carved the image into the stone I treat it with a conservation varnish so it may be safely wiped clean with a soft damp cloth. I don't normally use varnishes on my stone paintings because it intrudes with the raw stone and pigment ideal, but since these salt boxes are utilitarian, they need to be able to withstand flying kitchen debris (if your kitchen is like mine).
The box is made from sustainable bamboo or acacia wood, and is finished to be food-safe. It's lid is designed to slide open for easy access to salt or other spices. I really like practical art, so I'm very excited to be making these boxes!