Saturday, September 15, 2012

Geneseo Bear miniature

A mini sculpture I created of sculpting clay years ago.  I'll never forget the smell coming from my oven when I originally baked the bear.
The pole is wood.  The lamp was made from a combo of clay and vinyl for the windows.  The candle is the inside of a Christmas twinkle light.


The original Bronze Bear :  Most of the photos of the full size Geneseo bear appear to be copyrighted and so the reason I did not include them here.

The Bronze Bear Fountain is on Main Street, Geneseo, New York

Just off campus, in the center of Main Street in Geneseo sits the famous Bronze Bear statue. "The Bear"
also plays host to any number of spontaneous decorations and pranks throughout the academic year. A
story also circulates that one of the wealthy Wadsworth daughters saw the bear fountain in a small town in
Germany, fell in love with it, bought it, and sent it back to Geneseo in the early 19th century. This story is
unverified, but an excerpt from a history of the family that settled the valley implies that this is not true,
and that the fountain was designed and built for its current location: "[Main Street] is still dominated by a
drinking fountain for horses dedicated to Mrs. Emmeline Austin Wadsworth. For some obscure reason its
designer placed a short pole in its center on top of which sits a cunning little iron bear, who is generally
known as 'Aunt Emmeline'.
 
Reference:
The Wadsworths of the Genesee. New York: Coward-McCann. 1959. pp. 205.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

New Folding Dollhouse - Miniature Lithographed Toy - McLoughlin Bros. - C. 1894



French Carousel Circus Miniature

I think miniatures have taken my brain.
Not totally sure why but I have been making miniature toys lately.

Tiny French Carousel Circus- the small one is 4 inches high. 

The inner platform holding the circus performers really rotates.
Credit: Jean-Charles Pellerin — having been born in Épinal, named the printing house he founded in 1796