02 Apr A toy box for Abe and Isaac
My friend and once-upon-a-time brother-in-law Peter Barss of West Dublin has a habit of getting swept away on wings of artistic invention. His projects often have humble beginnings that somehow spiral out of control.
Two years ago, Peter stumbled onto a homemade wooden airplane at Value Village—the sort of thing a boy’s grandfather might have made. He snapped it up for $2.75. Also at Value Village, he found a beat-up wooden chest: $7.75.
He fixed them both up, then got the idea of filling the chest with retro, non-digital toys for his grandsons.
For more than a year, he visited thrift stores and antique shops.
As the collection grew, Peter thought, “Why not decorate the top of the chest with paintings of the toys inside?”
That idea quickly expanded to the front of the box…
Then to the sides…
Altogether, the project consumed a lot of paint and time. (I was not exaggerating when I said Peter has a tendency to get carried away.)
Somewhere along the way, a storyline began to develop—a story about two mice, Mabel and Edward, who live in a Paris Cheese shop where they develop a close friendship with the maitre d’fromage, a kindly man named Marcel.
Eventually, the story became a book—30 pages of text with 30 illustrations.
The mice clean up bits of cheese after the shop closes; Marcel ensures that neighbourhood cats are kept outside, away from the mice.
When Marcel retires to the country to care for a cow, he sends the two mice on a trip around the world. During their travels, the mice fill an old cheese box that Marcel used for deliveries with treasures. On days when inclement weather prevents them from traveling, they decorate the box with pictures of their adventures.
Mabel and Edward’s traveling adventure ends when they land in the Toronto backyard of grandsons Abe and Isaac, and decide to move in.
The mice give the painted chest and the treasures inside to Abe and Isaac, with the hope their gift will inspire the boys and their parent to dream up more stories.
Last week, Peter delivered the chest full of toys, and copies of the book, to the real Abe and Isaac.
