Under the Ocean -process; designing and sketching.

Standing on the table to see my design!

And on a ladder....

Inspiration: "Mermaid" began with a mermaid Avon bottle, Roman glass, rutilated quartz crystal, pressed glass leaves, the client's glass dolphin with a penny inside.

Antique Kuan Yin beautiful carved opal, early 1900's carved shell, iridescent bottle from a sweet collection of miniatures sent by my sister.

 

Shells, coral, Roman glass miniature urn, agate, African glass beads.

Working clock, ammonite, sea glass and pottery,  hinged shell that I soldered in so it could open and hold something special), Maine mussel shells (I love mussel shells)

Layout detail of "Sea Souls", contains Murano glass, fresh water pearls, glass ship candy container, mermaids, antique Japonese carved ivory leaves, sea glass, coral, shells, a working clock; soldered in so it can be wound.

Bottom of "Sea Souls"

Inspiration: My client's love of the ocean and she said this would be the last thing she looked at every night before falling asleep and the first thing she looked at every morning upon waking. I wanted it to feel magical, dreamy and heavenly. 

Two Roman glass head flasks from around 200 AD. Probably my favorite bottles I've ever seen; I found them on Ebay, as a pair, one so resembles my beautiful daughter who is "on the other side" and the other; my brother, who was lost at sea in 1982. There is another gorgeous, tiny, blue Roman glass bottle that I love. It's shimmery, light iridescent color came from being buried for triple digit years; the effect of minerals in the earth on glass.