An Ode to Loving Mothers, Letters, and Long Train Rides (2023) was my final for my Spring Spatial class at RISD.
For my final work I wanted to create a container for my chosen object, cards from my mom, as well as create a piece that ties into my memories associated with them. It is a stained wooden box with a thin slot to insert the dozen or so cards that I’ve accumulated over the school year.
Around the sides of the box are laser engraved designs filled in with gold leaf and a gold paint marker. On the front side is the laser engraved handwriting of my mom from one of the letters that says “Dear Ryan”, on the back in a similar way is the phrase “Love, Mom and Dad”. On the two sides are small drawings I did that represent the Amtrak train I would take from BWI in Maryland to Providence after every break on the Northeast Regional train, a routine paired with my mom either hiding or outright handing me another card for me to open at a later time, sometimes on the train or when I got back to RISD.
Encased within the lid of the box is a simple wooden gear system that, when operated, creates the illusion of a small train going in a circle, on one end going through a replica of my house, and on the other end, North Hall: the two homes I lived in over the past year, linked by these cards. However, there is a lot more space in the box, and therefore room for many more cards to come in the next few years, or maybe a lifetime.
Roughly 6.5"x8"x5", plywood, wood stain, gold leaf, gold paint pen, and greeting cards.
