Thinking Inside the Box with Joseph Cornell
Medici Princess, 1948
This turned out to be an excellent creative exercise for me! I did whine a bit in the beginning because I felt this type of art was best interpreted in necklaces and bracelets as they allow more space and material options. Earrings always bring restrictions as to size and weight and for this reason I had to make each piece count! The more eclectic pieces I’m about to show you definitely took longer in the design process.
The ceramic doll was made by PoppyBis. I used scrap vintage tin to shape shoulders or wings if you will. I had some lovely tiny scrap discs that Heather Powers had gifted me a while back. I loved how they balanced out the color scheme. Round Rabbit (Nancy Adams) made the porcelain rustic star. I used a vintage tiny wooden block and an orphan enamel drop by Kimberly Rogers to balance it all out.
The porcelain stars below were made by Joan Miller. I used a faceted wood bead which mimicked the shape of the star a bit. The wood was very light and it just worked so well together. I kept them simple, rustic and used steel wire with a basic simple loop.
Tilly Losch, 1935
This was my favorite piece by Joseph Cornell.
To begin, I chose this fantastic pair of rustic enameled discs by Anne Gardanne. The lines gave the impression of strings which kept me thinking about the child’s game, “Cats In The Cradle”. Also, the round shape was balloon-like to me. I added some vintage red wooden beads and a bronzy metal fringe which created a bit of a box for a hot air balloon.
This was a last minute pair! By chance, I stumbled onto these wonderful vintage tin connectors by Shipwreck Dandy while cleaning up my workspace. The colors were so much like the landscape and absolutely perfect! However, I tried reasoning with myself by saying “You’re finished, you’re tired, you don’t need anymore for this project!” – Well, one thing led to another and they turned out being one of my favorite pair! Who needs sleep, eh?
I added pewter hands by Inviciti in a rich red patina just like the red ball she’s holding onto with a string. I then added straight pieces of forged steel as fringe which also mimicked the string.
Soap Bubble Set, 1936
Beautifully made paper map beads by Gillian McMurray, polymer accent beads by Jon Burgess and egg shaped lampwork glass by Kay Mallery.
Okay, work with me here – I’m calling these Egg Blowin’ Bubble Pipes! Right??
Hotel de la Duchesse-Anne, 1949
This pair was all about impressions of the shadow box: A bird’s tail; light wood, Insects and colors.
And finally below, for fun, a pair of my own little shadow box earrings.
I used some of my hoarded components by Nancy Adams of Round Rabbit (retired); a colorful faceted polymer ball by Alison Page Studios; enamel headpins by Susan Kennedy and a carved mother of pearl kitty from somewhere on my work table.. 😀
Okay, this was a pretty exciting project! SO many art beads were used, wow!
Thank you so much for stopping by today! Hope you found a little inspiration and I’d be thrilled to see some of your earrings for this journey challenge
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