(RL) Steampunk Sculptures

This Boxing Day I took my camera to 'The Pride of the Valley Sculpture Park', which is about five minutes drive from me, in Churt, in Surrey. I've always loved sculpture placed in the great outdoors and the park occupies ten acres of woodland and water garden, and houses 200 sculptures, many in a decidedly Steampunk vein. It was a lovely crisp winter's day, and although my hands froze solid taking these pictures, the light was beautiful. Here are a few of my favourite pieces:

1. Teapot Pachyderm
I love this little fellow! He is nicely nestled among the rhododendrons, where his brass body catches the light beautifully.

2. Rusted Towers
Two wonderful rusty towers, possible grain stores or similar. Glorious colouration and a satisfying echo inside :)

3. Broken Diving Bell
Crushed and lying in a puddle of water, you can't help but wonder what happened to this forlorn looking diving bell. A misencounter with a leviathan perhaps?

4. The Brass Sentries
Standing on duty at the top of the park, brass animals of indiscernable species gaze out from their tree trunk plinths.

5. Funnel birds
A pair of quarrelsome birds perch their tubby bodies on equally tubby little chairs.


Many more frames on my flickr photostream:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/meadows_pics

Back at the Lane for Christmas

Last weekend I finally had a chance to move Atelier back to the new updated premises at Loner Lane in Port Babbage. Mr Albus Weka has done a splendid job of keeping the fundamental elements of Kaylee's old Loner Lane - which was much loved - and has updated all the units, and more besides, with wonderful new details.



I am extremely grateful to Mr Weka, for I now have not one, but two fabulous rooms for my goods! Both are quite different to each other, so I am planning to have two loose themes. The lower room, which has a curved glass window with some very pretty ornate iron work and a lovely tin roof, will have a workshop feel to it and will showcase more of my 'mechanical' builds such as the clockwork cephalopods and the Time Flies pocket watch. I have already built a new workshop cupboard for this area, which is on sale at 35L, has some very pleasing perspective on the shelves, and is an amazing 2 prims!



Heading up the little ramp and through the wooden door at the rear of the front room will bring you to a beautiful back room. When Mr Weka showed me this room a few months ago, when he was remodelling the site, I instantly fell in love with it. It has wonderful semi-circular windows on two sides, which, outside, are surounded by a litle balcony that runs all the way round both rooms. It's a great place to sit, with a cosy atmosphere, and I have placed a sofa so that customers may take a seat while they peruse the goods. At present the La Mort collection has found a home here, along with the Poisoners and Cupid's Heart brooch, and so this room has aquired a gothic parlour atmosphere in red and black.


My new premises are on the same site as the old Loner Lane Atelier store, so anyone still with a landmark in their inventory will find that using that will bring them directly to the front room! Here is an SLurl for those without - do pop along!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Port%20Babbage/25/217/110/?title=Meadow%20McBride%27s%20Atelier

A Christmas Trinket

As an aside to a particularly fiddly build that has been bugging me for some time, tonight I put together this sweet little frosty snowflake cog stick-pin. A trio of tiny bronze snowflakes revolve under a frosted glass dome and an iridescent pearl glimmers gently at the other end. And then, cause I simply couldn't leave it at that, I made a little ebony box for it to live in, lined with my favourite faded damask wallpaper.

trin⋅ket

–noun

1. A small ornament, piece of jewelry, etc., usually of little value. 2. A trivial thing; a trifle.

Gyroscopic Sparkle Selection Device

Here's a little gem of pre-Christmas magic - a short but sweet nugget of steampunkness, in the form of an advert for a high street jewellers, currently on our tv's here in Blighty. Of course, being Magpie like, I couldn't help but fall in love with the marvelous gyroscopic sparkle selection device, and all the little sparkles captured in the glass jars! It's beautiful!

And here's the link: http://www.tellyads.com/show_movie.php?filename=TA7784

Objet trouvé, the magpie and Meadow

i. Objet trouvé or 'found object' - created from the undisguised, but often modified, use of objects that are not normally considered art, often because they already have a mundane, utilitarian function.
ii. The Magpie - an intelligent bird that likes to explore. Shiny things interest them as toys or something to stash away, they like to hoard.
Is able to recognize itself in a mirror.
iii. Meadow: Eclectic, curious magpie with an overactive imagination.