Thursday, August 20, 2009

Trash to Treasure?

Remember a few weeks ago I was going through all my old jewelry boxes and unfinished silver work? Well, I think I'd like to share some of those odd pieces with you to play with, add your own touch to, break apart and re design or simply enjoy as is. You may do what you like with them, including incorporating them into your own jewelry work for re sale. So from time to time I'll be doing a little giveaway. No set timeline. Just like a pop quiz, only nicer.


The first offering is this little trio of cameo's made of fine silver metal clay. These were samples for one of my very first class projects about 6 years ago. I called it Frames and Bails. We used the same focal design (in this case an intaglio ring with an incised cameo I used as a mold) and finished them in different ways to see how details can change a simple design.

Each giveaway will have it's own set of rules. For this one, tell me about the lady who posed for this miniature sculpture. What do you imagine her life was like, what was she thinking, what was she going to do later that afternoon after her sitting.... Imagine a history for her. Not an entire biography though. Just a few lines. I'll ask one of my friends to read the answers and pick her favorite. The contest will be closed next Friday the 28th and the winner will be announced on the following Monday.

Please make sure there's some way I can contact you. If you don't have a blog of your own, leave me an email addy. Bon Chance! Can't wait to read all of your stories!

11 comments:

the glitzy gypsy said...

Oh my goodness! That lady is my Grandmother!!! Where did you find her? I remember the story so well.....she would always tell me about posing for that cameo--how she had to hold oh-so-still....her Grandmama commissioned the artist to make the cameo for her Mother--her Mother had taken ill and together they thought that it would make her smile and feel good! It worked as her Mother, my Great Grandma live to a ripe old age! I am so very happy that you found it....
hugs to you,
Brenda Bliss

Nicola said...

Ahhh a rare cameo of "Marie Lavaliere" the renowned French courtesan. She died of Tuberculosis aged just 22 and in the prime of her Beauty. Among Marie Lavalieres’ famous lovers was the Duke de Lyons, who educated her in the ways of the world and Keats who it is said immortalised her in "Ode to a Nightingale"....
What was she doing that afternoon?
Perhaps entertaining one of her many lovers, or relaxing in her muslin draped boudoir contemplating an evening at the opera.

Michelle Ross said...

What a great game for a give away. Leave it to you to think of something so creative! So far 2 good stories. I hope you get more.

Fibre Woman said...

This is a cameo of Nellie Oleson who grew up in Walnut Grove and was a friend and foe to Laura Ingalls (later Wilder).

Her mother, Harriet, always had airs and had this cameo made when on a trip to Minneapolis. After the sitting, Harriet and Nellie went off shopping to buy smart new dresses to impress all the folks in Walnut Grove and then they went and had tea at The Grand Hotel in Minneapolis. They returned to Walnut Grove by coach the next day.

The cameo maker fell ill and died before he was able to deliver the locket and the Olesons never did receive it. It was sold to pay the deceased jeweler's debts and was in the private collection of doctor who bought it for his fiancee who was traveling West from Boston to marry him. She wore it all her long life and never knew the connection it had with the famous storyteller (Laura Ingalls Wilder) and her childhood rival.

When it was discovered in the 1970's, the casting of Nellie Oleson's character was partially based on Alison Arngrim's resemblance to the cameo.

Anonymous said...

Those are lovely.

She is Carlota, daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium. She married Maximillian archduke of Belgium and later the ill fated Emperor of Mexico. She returned to Europe in a vain attempt to get Pope Pius IX and Napoleon III to help her husband retain the throne after the colapse of the Mexican empire. She went insane and he faced a firing squad in 1867.

**beadcharmerstx-a.T-yah00-d0t-c0m-**

Lora Hart said...

*Added for Donna who is having a hard time with Blogspot*

She was Margarete, a very well known prostitute among the "gentlemen" but snubbed by the "ladies".. Her revenge was to have her face immortalized on cameos that would be hung around the necks or pinned on the bosoms of those very ladies who despised her! The jewelry, all gifts bought by their husbands and given to them, because the men would secretly be seeing Margarete's face every time they looked at the wives, and remembering the "good times".

donna t kurten
meiypeke@tconline.net

donna t said...

I'm just seeing if this works, I would like to be able to comment here. thanks
donna t

TesoriTrovati said...

She turned her head slightly toward the light streaming from the window and let out a little sigh. "Just a little more to your right, Adele," said the artist, as the light was fading fast. Francois worked quickly. He would only have a few more moments of light to capture the essense of this common but so graceful muse. Then Adele would once again return to the kitchen to resume her daily chores unaware of the power of her natural beauty and her power to stir Francois' soul.

Great giveaway Lora! Love the idea of being creative with your lovely silver work.
Enjoy the day!
Erin
Tesori Trovati Jewelry
http://treasures-found.blogspot.com
enjoytheday[at]tesoritrovati[dot]com

Ruth said...

The mystery woman...of course, her name is Lora Hart. Those were the days when she had her perm...those curly locks....she didn't know what to do with them...most days she'd just put a little hair band over them...but in the end, she gave up! Got out the straightening irons, had her bangs (fringe) cut - and tada!!! Today - the Lora we know and love....maybe one day the curly locks will return! How cool to have a cameo of yourself!!!

carol said...

I remember my previous incarnation, not so much a courtesan as a very loving woman, who was the toast of artists, princes, and poets and was immortalised by the renowned cameo artist Don giovanni casanova when he carved her beautiful image

Vickie Hallmark said...

Ruth is close! Her name is not Lora, but Acca Larentia. As she was sitting for this cameo, gazing out her garden window, she spotted the twin infants Rebus and Romulus floating in the Tyber River and rushed out to rescue them. As their adoptive mother, when they founded Rome she became the mother of the all the Romans. Can you see her Roman nose?