Beachwalker Boxes: Unique Handmade Wood and Glass Boxes located in Austin, Texas
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Dogs! Cats! Parrots!

9/24/2015

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We love pets, and we realized recently that we have not been giving adequate attention in our work to the animals most of us live with. We live with dogs and birds, and we know many of you people who are owned by cats, so we've been focusing these animals recently. To left, a rosewood box with two cast glass preening parrots on a wood and copper perch. Each parrot is individually sculpted. Below, two dog-on-rug boxes (our dogs love to sleep on rugs). First, a white cast glass dog on a needlepointed rug (yes, I needlepointed that rug- without a pattern painted on it, thank you). And a small black glass dog sleeping on a handmade rag rug (and yes, I made the rag rug, too).
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And for you cat people, two new cat and fish boxes: an orange glass cat reaching a paw down to fish in an etched mirror aquarium on a walnut box, and woodburned cats on a maple box reaching up to catch 22K gold goldfish etched on many pieces of plate glass glued together and polished to a shine. All cast glass pieces were cast by us in our own kiln using the lost wax method, and the 2 glass aquariums were etched by hand by us using our own sandblaster.
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Fairy Tale Boxes

2/21/2015

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We love fairy tales, and love using boxes to tell fairy tales in two iconic images on the outside and inside. We've been on a fairy tale jag recently, so here is our newest effort: a "Snow White" box with the wicked Queen's magic mirror on top (surrounded by a woodburned and 22K goldleafed frame), etched with the beginning of those famous words (mirror, mirror on the wall...)... and the rest on the inside, with a woodburning of the witch's hands holding out the poisoned apple. It's walnut on the sides and maple for the top and base, with a touch of red enamel paint on the edge of the lid for that "white as snow, red as blood, black as ebony" look. It's hinged.
Below, an older box of "Rapunzel": Rapunzel with her long golden hair leaning from her balcony on the top, and a silverleafed pair of scissors inside. And next to it, the pieces for a "Red Shoes" box: a woodburned dancing girl with the ribbons of the red shoes twining around her, making her into a marionette. On the inside, the same girl, a skeleton, still dancing in the red shoes.
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And below, our newest "Little Red Riding Hood" box, with the wolf inside, and next to it, the pieces for a "Cinderella" box, with the woodburned ragged girl being presented with the golden dress, and a pumpkin nearby. Inside, the glass slipper on a red cushion. Below that, the woodburned pieces for a "Sleeping Beauty" box: on top, the sleeping girl's face surrounded by thorny branches, and inside, the spinning wheel with a hand reaching out to touch the spindle.
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New Spring Work: Cat and Fish, Medusa, Little Red Riding Hood, Spring Art Fairs

2/1/2015

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Our newest box is also our new favorite: a sandblasted cast glass cat fishing in a koi pond with a curious paw. The pond is mirror etched underneath with fish, which were then goldleafed and painted in the etch. The box is curly cherry. We love how the cat is reflected in the mirror, and how this box combines all of our passions: woodworking, glass casting, and glass etching.

Also new is our rosewood Medusa vase box, with a cast glass Medusa head on a gorgeous handcarved curvy rosewood box.  The snakes on this are great- this piece, like the cat box, looks great from every angle. All glass pieces are cast using the lost wax technique- sculpted out of wax, molded in plaster, the wax melted out, and the molds filled with glass and fired in a kiln for days.

And last, our new "story" box, a Little Red Riding Hood with Little Red walking into a dark forest on the lid, and a snarling wolf inside. This is a woodburned and painted maple top and base on a red padauk wood box with beautiful joinery.

And our Spring line-up of art fairs is shaping up: March 27-29 in Houston at Bayou City Art Fair, April 3-5 in Dallas at Deep Ellum Art Festival,  April 10-12 in the Woodlands (near Houston for The Woodlands Waterway Art Fair, April 18-19 in Wimberley for The Blue Hole Art Fair. There may be a few more (we're deciding if more will kill our souls), so stay tuned. And come out to see us at a fair this Spring!
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Creepy Fantasy Girls: Mermaids in Glass and Wood, and a Glass Medusa. East Austin Studio Tour Is This Weekend!

11/11/2014

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Some of our newest efforts: a cast glass mermaid in an indigo blue set into a wooden box top with shiny black lacquer so it looks as if she's rising out of dark water. This will be set into a simple shiny black lacquered box with blue suede lining. Below is another mermaid, this one woodburned and painted on maple and waiting to get a box, too. And also below, a green cast glass Medusa head fresh out of the Beachwalker kiln. Scary, no? And don't forget that this weekend is the start of the East Austin Studio Tour. We're #283 on the tour, right in the hotspot of Cesar Chavez and Comal. Come out and see us! And please, support a local artist on the tour by buying local art. It matters.
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    Author

    Tom Beach and Amanda Walker

    Tom works full time building boxes and entertaining and feeding pets.

    Amanda does the glass casting and etching and is generally busy having a midlife crisis

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