The inspiration for this box came from two images I’d stumbled across on the Web and saved in my “Box Ideas?” folder until the day the project came into focus. The first is by the great photographer and poet Gordon Parks, part of a series of shots of the “New York underbelly” circa 1958. The second is of a Paris showgirl backstage at the Moulin Rouge in 1958. I combined these images, fleshed out the rest (pardon the pun), and moved the scene a few years later, into the Paris of the early ’60s. From the start, I knew I could have a lot of fun with the many costume accessories and beauty products at hand, the chess set, and the reflections in the mirror (which had to be angled just so in order to avoid the viewer seeing him or herself while peering into the box). But mostly, I loved the idea of these women showing another side of themselves before the glitz and glamour of the stage.

Below: Starting the sculpting with the central trio. The figures are all 85-percent scratch or more, based on my cast resin torsos and pelvises, with some hands, heads, and feet taken from the excellent 1/24 styrene figures from Masterbox. The French cafe chairs and table are 3D-printed.

The scene comes together, much later on, with some of the painting already done.

The scratchbuilt clothes rack with feather boas set against the grungy gold curtain at left, and the various, mostly scratched bits and bobs filling the scene, all based on photos of specific products from the time. These women sure had a lot of stuff to make them look so glamorous!

Two shots of the inner scene almost complete.

Below: Another shot of the box by Penny Meyer, and my photo of the exterior. I’ve been making my own frames and mats of late, but I wanted something a little more elegant for this one, befitting the scene, so I went back to my old pal Martin at April 7s Custom Framing.