Origins of the Heavy Metal Animals Discovered - Endangered Art!

(Yes, this big ol' rusty guy again!) “Fenrir” by Jordan Walker, Zach Highnote, Greg Black, Leigh Ann Colley, Phylicia Corey & Robert Grissett from Georgia Southwestern State University

I wanted to auto-post an update regarding an older topic while I am incommunicado for a bit.

A few weeks ago when I once more ventured out to recycle some of my household materials and help save the planet (or at least try to keep it cleaner), I asked an employee at the facility where the quirky steel/scrap animal sculptures that I had been seeing at the recycling center had come from. 

They told me that they used to have an annual contest for local schools to make sculptures out of the local iron scrap. The recycling business had been recently sold, and they said that the new company may not sponsor any more contests.  So I not only caught photos of some unique metal sculptures, but endangered/extinct ones, as well!  The dragon/toothy dinosaur still stands guard near the plastic and glass bins, probably because it is so heavy that no one wants to move it!  (I occasionally see a sculpture I have not seen before, as they are perhaps moved into public view from other parts of the facility, but I was not able to get a picture of the any new ones on my last trip there.)  I think the one pictured above is totally steampunk, which may be why I am enthralled with these roughly-made metal pieces.

You can find my other posts regarding and many photos of these large and unusual sculptures by clicking in the tag cloud under "animals", or with these links:

http://steampunkjewelrybydreamsteam.blogspot.com/2009/07/heavy-metal-animals.html

http://steampunkjewelrybydreamsteam.blogspot.com/2010/05/heavy-metal-animals-ii.html

Shops/Blog on Sabbatical for a Few Days...

While it seems rather frivolous to write a post of this sort, I wanted to mention that my ArtFire and Etsy shops will be shut down for a few days. with the items unavailable for viewing.  If there was something there you wished to purchase, do check back and it will be there.  I may or may not be able to create blog posts, as well, but hope to re-open all these venues in a week or so. This is not a vacation, trust me, but I wanted to make sure that nobody thinks I have given up on these ventures!

~ DreamSteam

Gears, Roses, and Bullets -- two new pendants for sale

Here are two new copper and resin steampunk-inspired pendants now for sale in my ArtFire studio!

Bullet and Gears in Resin Copper Steampunk Pendant

 The first pendant has a flattened bullet as the background for a pretty brass cog and two weathered silver watch gears.  I picked the fired bullet up off the range, myself, and hammered it so that it would be the proper size to fit the pendant base.  All of the components have some patina/rust to them, which makes this pendant look nice and rustic, even steampunk! (This piece has now sold, thank you!)

Watch Face, Spring, and Rose Copper Pendant

 The back of a watch face forms the background of the second pendant; I liked the roughness of the rear surface rather than the colorful side, so I just flipped it over!  The rose at the center is made of black resin which I brushed with copper flake paint.  A watch spring coils around the rose and to the edge of the solid copper pendant.

Both pendants are encased in poured clear resin, which means they are waterproof and the internal components will not move.  I have a couple of others made, but want to do some more work on them before posting them for sale.  This is one that I will post asap.

I hope to become more productive in a few weeks, but I wanted to share what I had managed to finish up for now.  Thanks for reading and sharing this blog and my jewelry!

Happy Birthday, Jules Verne!

Jules Verne. February 8, 1828 – March 24, 1905

     Best known for his novels, Around the World in Eighty Days, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne has often been listed among the people who most influenced the steampunk genre.  His visionary stories took readers to worlds they had never before imagined, and did it in style.  He is said to have based his writing on the experiences he had while traveling.  While not exhaustive, the Wikipedia article gives a brief synopsis of his life. 

Since he was born a Frenchman, it is fitting that an exclusive Paris restaurant in the Eiffel Tower bears his name: Le Restaurant Jules Verne. They serve traditional French cuisine.

     Google even honored him with a very clever interactive Google Doodle which turned the Google name into an underwater landscape complete with fish, squid, bubbles, and other aquatic delights which users could navigate using a virtual lever or with the accelerometer feature in  iOS devices. Watch out for that narwhal!

Here is a video of the scene, since the logo was taken down after the 8th was over:

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     The official Jules Verne museum is in Nantes, France.  To quote the Eurostar website, "The museum is located within a former bourgeois residence that dates back to the 19th century [not Verne's residence], and within one can admire displays of Verne's manuscripts, scale-models and personal items… The museum also features extensive multimedia and interactive displays to guide the visitor in his discovery, wandering the mindscape of an artist and inventor, a genius and an entertainer."

Jules Verne museum, Nantes, France

(Apparently there is a JV museum in "Second Life", too, which features a "full-sized" submarine....)

JV museum in "Second Life"

      As a visionary, Verne often pictured inventions and methods which were ahead of his time.  Here is a list of some technologies mentioned in Verne's novels which came into use in later years, including the ideas for SETI, SCUBA, retro rockets, and undersea mining.

Happy birthday, Mr. Verne!

Steampunk inspired LOL Cats

As a devoted fan of the aethernet phenomenon wherein felines "speak" oddly while making snarky comments about everything, the creation of more Victorian images appealed to me. Now you can view these wonders of humor, and even create your own clever VLoLCat (Victorian lol cat!).

To see Victorian-themed/steampunk-inspired LOL Cats...



To create your own steampunk LOLCat, this meme generator has you covered.
memegenerator.net/Steampunk-Lolcat

Please enjoy, and feel free to share links to any locats you make!