The Treasures of a Shadowboxes

After having some health problems in the late 1980s, I was counseled by a couple of my physicians that I should change my career from being a freelance commercial artist to something that was less stressful.. I thought about being an art teacher. I had some lousy art teachers and a few good ones. The art professor I had at Utah State University was not only a gifted artist but was a knowledgeable and inspiring teacher. Jon Anderson was recruited by the USU from his successful commercial artist career. I thought maybe I could do the same. I went back to college to search a degree in art education.

I did not know what this path would make for me. While going to school I had three part time jobs, of which one was at a frame shop. I found that framing needed the same skills that I had developed to be a commercial artist. Some of these were design ability, an eye for detail, craftsmanship, and the ability to understand what the client wanted, and give them what they desired.

I ended up spending the next part of my life as a framer. At first I was just an employee, then a manager and finally ended up starting my own frame shop with my good friend Steve.

This is a shadow box I created for my mom.  It holds a lot of memories for her and family.

When I first started framing I entered a few framing contests. My background in advertising design gave to me an added strength over a lot of my peers. The first one I entered was a shadowbox competition. I was told not to get my hopes up since there were others entering that had up to 30 years experience and I might be out of my league. All that did was make me work harder. With less than two years experience, I took first place.

Since that time of being a framer, I had the opportunity to make hundreds of shadowboxes. Now, as I ponder the ones I remember, I regret not taking the time to photo record them. The following are a few that were photographed:

This shadowbox was made of items my brother Keith Browning sent to me while he was in Brazil on his mission. The frame was built out of  piece of moulding that was warped so bad the the only way to use it was to cut it into the small things you see in the final piece.  I have always liked creating things from what many would discard.

This one has a hinged front  that can be opened to add or remove items as desired.

This was done in memory of my daughter Elizabeth. She loved going to the Boise River Festival and to watch hot air balloons. The year she past on, the mayor's office heard how she loved the River Festival and gave me a hot air balloon ride. The pilot signed  one of her Boise Festival t-shirts.  I then built this box to exhibit it.

After  mom past away at ninety-six, my niece Vicki was wanting the Shadow box that I made for mom.  Instead,  I  made her a new one with the items she had. So this is what she got. It is made with 120 pieces of wood, 5 different coats of paint and 3 clear coats to protect the surface.