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2021 “Hope Box”
Apr 20, 2021
A pencil box inspired by my desire to use woodworking joinery to encode a pandemic-inspired concealed message of hope, combined with social justice-inspired symbolism.
The pandemic inspired me to encode “Hope” within the dovetail pattern using Morse code. To read the Morse code dovetails, ‘read between the lines’ that border the top and bottom of the box. In other words, ignore the top and bottom dovetail that are above and below the borders (needed for structural stability).
The sides of the pencil box are constructed using a diversity of wood types. I made 26 in all. Each is different and each combines a diversity of woods, two or more, of maple, walnut, mahogany, and/or oak. The sides of the pencil box symbolize how America is stronger when Americans of all colors join together.
And for folks who don’t want encoded messages or social justice symbolism, this doubles as a genuine American-made pencil box, ready for immediate use! For this project, I used an INCRA LS router system, along with Robert Lowrie’s open source pyRouterJig software, to design and build this project.
And for folks who don’t want encoded messages or social justice symbolism, this doubles as a genuine American-made pencil box, ready for immediate use! For this project, I used an INCRA LS router system, along with Robert Lowrie’s open source pyRouterJig software, to design and build this project.
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The Morse code hidden message is found by "reading between the lines."
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Each end of the pencil box has a different dovetail pattern in Morse code spelling a letter of the word “HOPE.” To read the Morse code, ‘read between the lines’ that border the top and bottom of the box (and ignore the top and bottom dovetails needed for structural stability). The sides of the pencil box are constructed using different wood types to symbolize that America is stronger when Americans of all colors join together.
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If encoded messages of hope and social justice symbolism is too much for some, then this doubles as a genuine American-made pencil box, fit for purpose and ready for immediate use.
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