This summer, I hosted a couchsurfer who had a hobby of dumpster diving. On the last day of his visit, he found a torn up, fake-snakeskin covered travel case for makeup. As he had no use for it, he gave it to me. I wanted to turn it into a shrine from the moment I saw it. The mirror, the glass cases for idols or images, the tryptic design, and the portability all made it perfect for a shrine. I wanted to use only materials that I obtained through had love, time, and/or focus. Unfortunately, I don't have any deities or ancestors who I felt were shrine-able. I would love to think of (and to hear your recommendations on) who or what should go in my shrine. I would like to use it, instead of just looking at it. At the very least, though, if I ever I leave my normal life to become a wandering gypsy, it will give me some new age cred when it is set up at my traveling palm or tarot card booth.
This picture has the most true-to-life colors, even if it is upside-down. This is how it folds up.
I covered the outside with beautiful hand-embroidered fabric from Atlixco, Mexico. My BF's mom gave the cloth to me as a gift, she has had it for 40 years. Ignore the box of Miller Highlife in the background.
Here is the inside of the shrine. Sorry about the glare and the bad colors. This is a camera phone I am using.
Some detail of the shrine's inside. The little prince was the only thing I could think of at the time that was super shrine-able, representing love, adventure, and unwillingness to grow up. But it is really just a filler picture. A friend and I made the weaving for that shell. The vial could theoretically hold a single flower, but in this picture, it is holding a stick of incense. All of the beads are made of real stone, and all are stones of some supposed magical or historical significance.
This is one of the side panels. I think it would be perfect for a statuette or a candle, but right now the only things indside of it are a heart which I blacksmithed, and a wire/bead thingy that a friend gave me. I wore that dragon as a necklace pendant for years.
Well, there you have it. I think that the box nature of the shrine would make it very convenient for packing a couple tea candles, a box of incense, a bell, or some coins, or other similarly shrine-y items. I hope you like it. I just wish I wasn't so naturally skeptical of religion so that I could use it as it was intended.
