Tesla Mends a Broken Heart (snow globe)

April 5, 2014 by camryn forrest

One of my favorite scientists talked to me about Nikola Tesla a few years ago, saying that if he’d had the support and resources, he could have done amazing things.
In fact, we have no idea what he might have accomplished under other circumstances.

It got me thinking. Along with developing transmission of wireless communication, sharing free energy and maybe weapons of mass destruction, could Tesla mend a broken heart?

In this snow globe, a tiny Tesla is dwarfed by his machinery, including an interior liquid and sparkle-filled tube wearing the mending heart. Shake it, and the water fills with crisp gold shimmers, much like the unseen energy Tesla believed was all around us.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Random Thoughts — snow globe

January 20, 2014 by camryn forrest

Yeah, it’s like that.
Random. Thoughts. People say, how do you come up with these ideas, and I have to make up an answer. Are they saying I’m a little “out there?” or is that a compliment? The truth is, I don’t “come up” with thoughts, so much as I feel bombarded with thoughts. Rapid fire ideas zipping in and out of my head. Bing! Bang! Boom! Zip!

I sit at my workbench and I have a sketchy list in mind. To do. List. What was I going to work on? Yeah, “Tesla Mends a Broken Heart” … I started that piece. Special request. It’s been months, hasn’t it? Where is it? And that lady dancing. Nah, I don’t like the guy in the tuxedo with her, I want her dancing with a bear. Black bear, not grizzly. Black bears are omnivores, meaning they are mostly vegetarian but they’ll dine on roadkill if it’s convenient. Didn’t I have a bear around here somewhere, ready to go? Oh, wow, look! The Nautilus, that’s right. I was making another steampunk submarine. That nose cone looks like it needs whittling, the proportion is off. And this space is getting crowded. What’s this? Right, Da Vinci’s prairie dog. He’s got spunk. I have to get working on those wings, that is going to be so … wait … Okay. Stop it. Now pay attention. Armoured heart. You were going to finish the support on Armoured Heart. It looked a little heavy last time, and you were going to add support. Hmmm, maybe should call it, “Protect this Heart” … is that too obvious? An armoured heart is a strong heart, a warrior heart … oooh! Warrior Heart, now THERE’s an idea. I should make a Warrior Heart … what was that song? Love is a Battlefield? who was that, Pat Benatar? Some eighties warbler. It wasn’t Debbie Harry, not Stevie Nicks. Probably … Should my dancing lady and her bear be atop a heart? Is that cliche or out of the box?

And that poem I was working on, “I live in a cave that is under the sea …” that would make such a neat globe … “Locked in a Room that Has no Key…” Hmmm, a lot going one, hard to get inside a small space, “Hidden in Darkness you Cannot See“ … darkness, really hard to show … “if you Really Loved Me, you’d Find Me.“ Can I even fit that on an engraved plate? I mean, it’s a LOT of words … and cave, sea, room, lock … that’s a lot. Why does that remind me of that dragonfly globe from last spring? You didn’t know if the show director meant dragons who fly, or the insect dragonfly. It was a 50/50 call. It — the insect – came out pretty good — maybe you could do a better one now, filigree wings and … wings, yeah, back to Da Vinci’s prairie dog. He needs wings. Mechanical wings. Some kind of harness. Da Vinci used a leather ball joint on his wings, what would work in 1/144 scale, more or less? Size of a pinhead? Remember that saying about angels dancing on the head of a pin? That would be cool, angels dancing … where IS that dancing lady I was going to put with the bear? Is it under my journal? What was that idea that woke me up last night because I had to write it down, anyway. So middle-of-the-night important! I hope I can read it.

Here it is: Last entry. Gray Minds Think Alike… No, that was last week, skim a few more pages. All Roads Lead Home? Nope, keep going. Right Heart, Wrong Time. That’s an interesting thought. Wonder what I was going for there? Hmmmm, Friction Makes Sparks, and then, in lower case: the road less oiled, A call to Arms. A blank page. The Apology. The Button Pusher. Dancing on Clouds. Another blank page. Then a sketch: Safety Hat. Safety Hat? What was that about? There are tiny men holding a top hat like a fireman’s net. Oh, okay. Middle of the night random thought.

Yeah, it’s like that.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I made this snowglobe just for fun: it’s what I imagine it looks like inside my brain some days. The entire sculpture is less than 3 inches tall – and even though I made it, I still find things there I’d forgotten. The Where’s Waldo of snow globes. Hey, Where’s Waldo? that’s a thought …

Random Thoughts Snowglobe Detail, Camryn Forrest Designs 2014

Random Thoughts Snowglobe, Camryn Forrest Designs 2014

THINGS are looking up

January 9, 2014 by camryn forrest

Maybe the best part of this snowstorm design is that the title came long after the visual design.

And it was the kind of perfect you-gotta-love-it grin for me, lover of puns and multiple interpretations. A cliche turned on its ear.

I had the idea of a person looking down a microscope, and wondered, “what would happen if you saw an eye looking back at you?”

The scale became grander, a two-tiered snow globe, with a tiny man peering into a downwards telescope.

Below, the rolling green mounds come into focus: Wait. There’s a bright crop of green eyes staring back.

…

And the “what if?”of the double snow globe became its own double meaning.

Because things ARE looking up.

Or if you prefer, THINGS are looking up.

Things Are Looking Up custom snow globe, Camryn Forrest Designs 2014

Tell us what you think!

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Airship Cadillac – In a Realm All Its Own

December 8, 2013 by camryn forrest

In the late 1950s, Cadillacs were sometimes sold with the slogan, “In a Realm all its own.” Cadillacs are often associated with mystery, imagination, elegance, luxury and power. Sort of like Steampunk, wouldn’t you say?

The Fleetwood, with its exaggerated tail-fins and over the top detailing epitomized the luxury car; you didn’t just run an errand in a Cadillac, you had an adventure.

Someone asked me why we see sailing ships suspended so often under steampunk fantasy airships — and rather than come up with a good answer, I drifted off and started thinking of other modes of transportation that might get the job done just as well or better than a sailing ship. Assuming we’ve created an entirely new power source for the grand airship (and we no longer need to depend on wind power for extra ooomph!), the new improved airship should be able to carry just about anything. Hey, I’ve seen Back to the Future more than once, and I know these things are possible.

I figure you could take a caddy, and fly it to the moon if you wanted. To the stars. What does make me wistful is wondering if I could see what happens when “Airship Cadillac” meets “Flight of the Warrior Rhino” — look out. That Rhino is just looking for a battle these days. There’s a story being written and I’m not there to witness the cliffhanger.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

And you know what kind of airship I might work on next? An Airstream Trailer under a Zeppelin. A to Z, why not?

Airship Cadillac: One of a kind custom 5-inch snow globe (water globe) with tiny airship and gold 1957 Cadillac suspended below for the ride. When shaken, the liquid-filled interior shimmers with gold dust, giving the impression of a jump into hyper-speed. All designs and images Copyright (c) Camryn Forrest Designs, Denver, Colorado 2013.

Oil and Water – or, Oil Well That Ends Well

November 23, 2013 by camryn forrest

Ooooh! It was a dark and stormy night. Mystery snow globe. A Black Snowstorm. A riddle: What’s thick and black and swirling with potential?

What? A steam-powered oil derrick? Isn’t that a contradiction, she asked, in a concerned voice. Or, maybe it’s deiselpunk, she offered helpfully.

It’s both, it’s neither, it’s not meant to be political commentary. It was just a passing thought — like asking a human to program a computer which will soon replace its job.

Was steam ever asked to help find the oil that would fuel combustible engines?

If you are looking for reality, you might have to look a little further down the road. Maybe even a different road. Steampunk is a fantasy bred of rethinking the past to create an alternate future; it’s not real life. And neither are steam-powered oil derricks. But I was enchanted with the idea of mixing it up, you know: Oil and Water.

From the land of pleasant contradictions and happy contrasts (with a sidetrip to the village of groan-able puns), I give you: Oil Well that Ends Well.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Oil Well That Ends Well, custom snow globe with miniature oil derrick “curious invention” in deep black sooty dust (when shaken) by Camryn Forrest Designs 2013. All designs and images copyright (c) 2013 Camryn Forrest Designs, Denver, Colorado.

Waiting, Waiting for the Next Big Thing

November 19, 2013 by camryn forrest

If you’ve ever seen the amazing endless staircases drawn by M.C. Escher, you may have noted that just about everyone in them is busy going nowhere. Up the down staircase. Back where you started.

In this snow globe, it’s a different approach, but with a similar outcome. People with different perspectives waiting for The Next Big Thing. You know: That Thing that will make them special, or happy, or new and improved. Waiting for something to happen, or for someone to tell them what’s important.

Because sitting and waiting for something wonderful to happen isn’t all that different than running in place.

Patience may be a virtue, but it doesn’t make things happen.