I'm Still Here!

 

                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                     MASSIVE UPDATE! 

                                                                                                                                                                           

Hey everyone! For those of you folks who haven't jumped ship I promise to start updating my work. I've gone through several things since my last update in 2018 and will post pictures with updates below! 

"The Reading and Writing Room": Spent some time on the Queen Mary before she traveled to Ireland where she is now a permanent part of their Titanic Exhibit.  I've posted so many pictures of this I am skipping it but please feel free to see them below. 'Titanic - Images & Artifacts from a Legend' was voted one of the top attractions in the country by USA Today last year when it toured in the US and will continue to tour worldwide.  

"Room 237": This is probably going to be my next project. I wanted to get back into some more iconic imagery and also to showcase a bit more for my portfolio as the room is very 1920 Art Deco which I haven't done yet. I've started some preliminary blueprints and am deciding how much of the room I want to do (like just the bathroom or inclusive of the bedroom elements as well) We shall see! 

"HH Holmes": I made a giant move from Los Angeles back to Chicago to be closer to my family during these "times" so HH Holmes House had to be put on hold as it is going to be massive and I lost the space to construct it in. However, it will be done. The ground floor was complete when I left LA and is in boxes currently in storage. I plan to continue construction in my next place where I'll have more room. My current one is a closet in Lincoln Park. 

"Room B64": Oddly enough, enough time has passed that this is currently being renovated by myself. The last photos shown are of my completion of it back in 2018. I'll be sure to post pics as I'm now cleaning it up. A lot of carving and painting I found just more amateur than where I'm at now in my building skills. So I wanted to give her a face lift, though I am still proud of the original work. I'll probably post a bunch of pictures once it's complete of its' renovations. 

"The Emerald Room": This one is new to you all! I have completed a Sitting/Music Room from C.1780. This was just a passion project that I did while between places when I first moved back here to Chicago. The room itself has a crystal dome with hanging chandelier. The beading on the chandeliers is even real tiny Malachite beads. The styling and Interior were modeled from the turn of the 19th Century. Here's a fun Easter Egg: notice the silk paneling is the same silk drapery from Room B64 ;). Also the painting over the thresh hold of the fireplace hung at C Deck on the Titanic. Yes, technically this would be a painting from the future but I like to fit my White Star Line obsession in anywhere I can!

*Here you can see the placement of my ceiling details made from my various molds or wood*

*Here's some early work on the walls and placement of the columns which are made of this great porcelain type resin from Spain and a mold I made from an original*

Fireplace painting (funnily enough this fireplace was from one of my very first miniatures I destroyed but kept the fireplace. I painted it in a more Rococo design with gilding and green marble.  

*Here I've connected the walls and am testing some of the decorative elements to make sure they match up.

*Starting the floors and furniture.

*Fun note: I didn't use the cabinet in the upper right, but used it in "Preservation" which you'll see below*

*This is construction of the crystal dome. I used metal taping to make the soldered iron within the dome

This is the gold leafed skirting for the dome on the exterior

Final Product:

(Furniture either constructed for room or previous and stolen from my HH Holmes project haha)

*I've actually removed these curtain now, I didn't like the look. Felt too inauthentic in weight.

*This is the exterior in construction. I will have to get up to date pics but this gives you an idea.

*This Christmas photo I took is the most current state. You'll see I added gaming elements to the room with Chess etc, moved some furniture, removed the curtains, added different side Chandeliers I constructed of crystal and Malachite, and changed the lady of the houses outfit to more fit her period. 

Hope you enjoyed!

Please see my next post below about my most recent Model of "Preservation"

"Preservation": This piece is also new! It is really a two parter. I built a room as you'll see, but wanted to then age the room progressively past an "apocalyptic" even of sorts leaving this room dormant for perhaps 100 + years. 

*This is beginning construction of the room. It really took a 1920/30s Imperial Russian look to me. 

*So now this would be the first part of the piece which doesn't exist anymore due to the second part of the piece

*Note the cabinet that was originally in The Emerald Room! 

**The destruction begins. You'll see in later photos but my thoughts were damaged happened within the roof and this caused the interior damage. Originally, I was going to bust a tree through the window, but when I tested it out, it just looked too bulky and busy

*Ceiling elements added. I aged the paint with dripping coffee and coffee water on a paint brush. I burned and ripped the canvas for aging of paintings silk panels. The fallen chandelier was added as well to the broken floor and aged papers were added to the floor and bureau of the secretary.  

*Vines and moss added while deconstructed walls were also placed in line with the decomposition due to the roofs structural failure. 

*I tried to leave the left side of the room more intact as it would've taken the least damage from the exposed ceiling. Here you'll find mold on the lamp shade and deterioration of the chair fabric with the mirrors broken shards sitting on its seat. I also aged and broke the glass within the cabinet. Assuming these damages would come from storms/animals/age etc... 

Final Product: