Oracle Box

This box was my favorite project from my time at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. It was rather challenging and supremely detailed. So I took my time step by step asking plenty of questions to proceed in the right direction. This project taught me the three Gs: Gilding, gilding, and more gilding!

I cut 3/4" plywood to size for the core of the box. After taking dimensions I then patterned a triangle for all of the veneer sides. Grain directions was matched where possible. The veneer is of two different colors as chosen by my supervisor and the designer.

This is the diagram of the top. The central circle is where a dome will sit and the rays from the center are individual piece of veneer much like the base of the box.

I then patterned the pieces using a thin wax paper as well as this butcher paper. Naming all of my pieces and making sure my grain was moving the same direction.

This is the box assembled and sanded. When gluing the veneer on glue seeped through the gaps in the veneer so I had to go back in and sand by hand.

I then added hardware, the latch and lock mechanism, feet on the bottom, as well as ornamentation on the sides and top. And of course many square inches were gilded.

I then gilded the visible parts of the interior and then I measured the size of fabric I would need. I then cut the pieces, surged them, and spray adhesed them inside.

Here it is fully assembled. The dome is a large Christmas ornament, the band on top is made of EVA foam, and the sun rays are made of 1/4" plywood.

This is the oracle box on stage, holding the holy words of the oracle of Delphi!