There is not much attempt here at making serious “art” but the concept of the God Box is such a great one that we thought you should be introduced - if you haven’t heard of them already.

We made several of these for a gift gallery we had in California awhile back and folks really enjoyed them.

The idea is to have a box with a slot - but one that will not open. You write your troubles, your wishes, your hard-to-make decisions on a small piece of paper and deposit them in the box. You “let go and let God” or “release it to Nature” or whatever phraseology suits your personal philosophy. You can’t get it out again, so symbolically, you really do “let it go”.
You can use any slotted box that you can’t get open. I had some leftover boxes that I had made by a woodworker especially for the purpose. Because I was trying to make room around here, I recently offered some to my local artist’s group as a creative challenge. (See some of the results at the end of this article.) That meant, of course, that I had to complete one as well and I was stuck for inspiration - nothing was in the “idea compartment” when I looked - it was a “black hole”. So I began with the idea of a “black hole” by painting the entire box black. This evolved into stars and the fact that they symbolize wishes. I decided to make my God Box a “wishing box”.

While in the graphic design business, I used to love the subtlety of matte/gloss contrast -using a matte and gloss version of the same color to create a design image. I used to do some beautiful pieces by printing a clear gloss varnish design over a matte black ink. Wonderfully subtle. So I wanted to figure out how to do that with this box. What I learned could be applied to any project.
Materials Used In This Project:
Any sealed box with a slot cut
You can make one by cutting a slot in a paper maché box cover and then gluing the cover in place. (If you act quickly, you may still be able to get one of our boxes which we are selling off at our cost - there are only a few of them left at the time of this writing.)
Wood patch or similar product, sand paper
Black Gesso, foam brush, foam roller
Wooden pieces of your choice, (from the craft store,we used stars and some jar shaped pieces for feet)
Embossing ink and powder (clear or black, and irridescent)
Heat Gun
Patio Paint - Black, Lumiere - Interference Blue
E6000 glue
Note Paper and Pen or Pencil (optional)
What To Do:
Note: If you are not using a wooden box, you can skip to Step 4.

Step 1. This is the box I started with. It is the approximate size of a tall tissue box. We had a compartment added for note paper and a hole drilled to hold a pen or pencil.

However, our boxes were assembled with a nail gun which left indentations. These need to disappear if our box is going to look finished. And the box needs a good sanding to smooth the edges and corners.
Step 2. I used a wood patching compound from the hardware store to fill in all the nicks and indentations made by the nail gun. You may also want to fill in the seams where the sides meet.

Spackling or joint compound can be used instead, but the wood patch will dry harder - like the wood itself. Although this compound can be applied with your fingers, I like to use my palette knife to stuff the compound into the hole, then scrape evenly over the top to remove the excess. You will not get a perfect surface at this point anyway, so it is better that the patching compound sticks up higher than the hole than sinking into it.
Step 3. The wood patch is dry when it has all turned white. Then, it is time for sanding to smooth the surfaces.

It’s ok to go back and forth between patching and sanding if your initial results are not perfect. After sanding, I was still not happy with the seam at the lower right corner, so I patched it again and resanded.

Be sure to wear a dust mask when doing vigorous sanding.
Step 4. To create the smooth black matte finish I was looking for, I decided to use black gesso. Any brand will do, but my favorite is Golden because of its even consistency. I wanted a very smooth surface without brush marks. Here’s how I got it.

Painting Tip: Using the foam brush, put some gesso on a disposable plate. Use a foam roller to apply it to the surfaces of the box, working one side at a time. When the side is covered with color, roll quickly in horizontal strokes across the whole side, then repeat this in the vertical direction. This will give you smooth coverage in one coat. Use the foam brush to get paint inside the slot and paper holder.

Step 5. Though shiny when wet, the gesso will dry to a beautiful matte finish. Now, we want to create the design in shiny black to contrast.

You can use either clear or black embossing ink and clear or black embossing powder. I used clear ink and clear powder and had a little trouble with cloudiness in the stars (haven’t figured that one out yet). The next time, I would opt for the black powder. This picture shows the clear powder before heating.

Stamp and emboss large and small stars on all sides of your box in this manner. Our box has its feet on already (you will see how to do that on the following page). When your stars are done, the box is ready for embellishment.
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