Life In A Bell Jar

Larisa Feliciano in Melbourne, Australia is spending a year creating Life In A Bell Jar.



Why did you decide to do this project?  I love crafts, photography, painting, and sculpting.  I ran out of subjects to photograph one day and decided to take a photo of this toy mouse I just bought from an antiques market.  I placed him in this bell jar I had.  At first it looked so bare, and the mouse looked so lonely I just had to do something with it.  So in the end, I made him a home.  It was so fun to do I started making other worlds in other bell jars. And from then on I got hooked.



I'm trying to make one bell jar in 1-2 weeks depending on how intricate the details are. It's a year long challenge to me to constantly think of new themes and create most of the miniatures I use.  It's not easy to assemble since some of the items I make from scratch... i.e, fairy doors, flowering trees, tiny cottages, tiny gnome manned hot air balloons, etc. It takes hours, but it's very rewarding when finished. 

The theme differs depending on what I feel like doing.  So a typical week of mine may start with me weaving a tiny clay basket the hot air balloon project, to making clay flowers for a cherry blossom tree, to creating a new fairy door. Doing it in bits and pieces makes it more enjoyable,  I think.




How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I just can't sit still.  I just have to create something.  My mind is on overtime thinking of all these things I can make and my hands just can't keep up with it.   It is a great stress reliever. I imagine by the time the year is over, I'll probably have a room full of bell jars.





See Larisa's progress on her jars HERE.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! I want one!

Anonymous said...

These are amazing! I would buy one!

Anonymous said...

So incredibly and inventively beautiful! I had been thinking "tiny terrarium" after I had seen some in The Daily Grommet...but now, I am thinking of an unused-for-I-have-no-idea-how-many-years glass covered marble base "cheese dish" -- which would be a perfect bell-jar-like item. I'm *definitely* going to have to put this somewhere in the 365 days!

Nonnie said...

These are amazing. I love bell jars. What did you use for the lights?