Three Boxes

Growing up, whenever I was testing out a new pen or pencil, I’d often doodle a specific pattern of three rectangles, side by side. Just like the logo on this site. In fact, that image is a vector version of the “canonical” drawing of the boxes I have from my childhood.

I never knew what the boxes were or why I drew them so often.

One day in high school I realized they represented a game I used to play with my grandmother when I was a very young boy.

My grandparents ran a business that involved shipping, and they often had these very specific tall, skinny, rectangular cardboard boxes around their warehouse. They even had some of the boxes at home, in the garage… used for who knows what.

When visiting, I’d enlist my grandmother to play a game with me. I’d drag three of those big empty boxes out of the garage, lay them down in their driveway, put out a folding chair for her to sit in, and hand her a broom. I’d instruct her to close her eyes while I hid in one of the boxes. After a few seconds, she’d open her eyes and try to find me by tapping on the box she thought I was in with the handle of the broom. Like the classic shell game. If she found me, I’d jump out of the box and laugh with her. I can still remember how fun it was to hide and watch the inside of the roof of the box cave in a little when she’d tap it and find me.

I believe that memory is the reason I’ve drawn those boxes so often. They’ve been a personal trademark that I’ve displayed on my work for almost my entire life.

I miss you, Guy.