Reluctant to part with years of drawings, paintings and textile designs, I was in dire need of flat files for storage. Fortunately, I'd saved several of the sturdy cardboard cartons that catalog companies used to ship my orders of full-sheets of watercolor paper.

To hold my entire collection of creative work, I simply stacked the open cartons on shelves in my basement. To reinforce the ends of the boxes, I used duct tape.

Judi Betts is a painter, writer, instructor and juror. She's a member of the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society and Federation of Canadian Artists. Her most recent book is Painting ... a Quest Toward Xtraord!nary. You can see more of her artwork in the August 2001 issue of The Artist's Magazine.