9.23.2009

Daisies and Daggers: A Crystal Jungle

I've been thinking a lot about crystal lately. Coco Chanel had a bountiful bouquet of crystal flowers atop a glass table in her Rue Cambon apartment; artist Florine Stettheimer had one sitting beside masses of cellophane drapes, overlooking a grand view of Bryant Park.

How lovely would a crystal jungle be? One full of daisies and daggers, delicate and dangerous at the same time. Maybe not quite as cloyingly feminine as the Coco or Stettheimer bouquets; rather, a tension between masculine and feminine. Crystal lends itself to this sort of contrast, don't you think?

This piece is a set of lamps, formerly sparse wire structures with bare, exposed bulbs planted directly at the center— stripped down skeletons of flowers in their own right. I wrapped and encased them with my own sort of crystal bouquet. Ideal, because it softens and splinters the light from the formerly exposed bulbs, which hide behind the mass of crystal flowers growing up the lamp shafts.



Lamps were created, photographed and edited by Lauren, click to enlarge.

4 comments:

mrsben said...

These are truly awesome, but I'm baffled as to how you did them. Are the crystals wrapped around the lamp's harp?

-Brenda-

home before dark said...

There you go again tripping the light fantastic. Some radiant light! Over 10 years ago I found what the dealer called a "candlelier" because it needed to be rewired. After discovering how expensive that would be and how an electrician would have to cut holes in my subfloor above to run wiring to it, I gave up. I hung it in living room where it gets both am and pm light and just admire my crystal sculpture the way it is! I personally think your light fetish is an internal clock noting the change of summer's light. Happy autumn!

(IN)DECOROUS TASTE said...

Brenda- There wasn't even a harp for them to be wrapped around! They're very weird lamps, just an exposed bulb and a wire cage that surrounds it like a fountain. The crystals are wired around the fountain-like wire cage. At the ends of the wires, there are little hooks for crystals, but otherwise, they're VERY sparse and the light is very harsh since there's not even a way to attach a lampshade.

homebeforedark- That was a very perceptive observation! I am indeed an extremely light sensitive person. I can't be happy without natural light— my worst nightmare is a room without windows. Happy autumn to you too!

orange said...

VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

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