Treasure Box by Eleanor Halden-Pratt

The Treasure Box Project was an online participatory project organised by AccessArt in 2012. We compiled 50 boxes, full of a variety of found objects and materials, some second hand with a history, some new. The Treasure Boxes were available for purchase (all proceeds to the AccessArt charity) and bought by artists, teachers and parents. The aim: to transform the contents of your box into an artwork.

Explore Eleanor’s Treasure Beach Box below.

My name is Eleanor and I’m eight-years-old. I got box number 20. The box had a peacock feather, pictures of cotton reels, a button, a handful of feathers, material, sticks, a shell and some egg pictures. I made a list of what it made me think of and what I like.

The box made me think of birds, sewing and craft and the seaside. I like animals, monsters, robots and Star Wars.

My idea was to make a monster bird nest. I used my imagination to draw the picture of the monster bird. I drew a shark, bones and things it might have eaten. It would eat sharks because it lives by the seaside.

I put Lego knights in for it to eat. I let them have weapons to defend themselves from the beast.  My nest was made by using a pot, brown tape and the sticks. I filled it with monster eggs and feathers to make it even better.