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This little fellow is what I call My Merry Circle. When I first saw the rod and pedestal, several things came to my minds eye, but what really stayed there was a carousel. So.......to give a little different effect, and to bring back memories of my childhood, I thought that exotic animals would be fun to take a ride on.

The pedestal and brass rod were perfect for the very center of the carousel and then mirrors had to play a big part in the building of it also, as I don't think that you can get too much glitz and pizazz on a Merry Circle.

There are 18 brass rods, 296 pieces of glass and mirror, 145 jewels,a 20" round of wood,and OH, 1 pedestal!!!!!!

When I bought the brass rods, they came with lead molded trumpet ends, so they were ideal for the standing animals. This whole thing was built in Beaufort, so and had to be transported to upper NY state. Therefore, the whole thing had to be taken down ,packed and travel 950 miles on possible snowy roads. So as it is now, the whole thing is movable, it sets on a lazy susan turn-table and the animals can be set at any position and when the whole thing finally finds a permanent home it can be made stationary with just a few bits of solder.

The carousel is 22 inches high and 20 inches in diameter. It was a great deal of fun to make and also it took lots of time to make the right size animals for the size of the Merry Circle. Most of the glass is Wissmach and Spectrum. The mirrors were already on hand, and the animals were picked as I found different pieces of scraps from several glass shops..... as I found the glass, the animals came to mind. I think that I have about 60 hours of work and love involved in the creation of this piece and enjoyed every one!!!!!

       
       
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After taking the theme out of the box and setting it on the table, it wasn't hard to envision a body on which needed a head. That's when a hat came to mind. Not just any hat, but a spring bonnet. The bonnet itself was not hard to construct because I used the same principle as if I was making a lamp. I purchased a straw hat that has a diameter of 18" at the craft store and used it as my form, cutting and piecing as I went. Having no intention of making a lamp the more I built the bonnet the more it needed to be backlit. (Are y'all beginning to figure out that these themes evolve into something else you didn't think of when first starting?). The flowers and leaves took the most time because after cutting out all the petals and leaves I slumped them one by one with a torch. Most of the glass is Spectrum because it seemed to slump the way I wanted. The other glass I used was Wissmach. The bow was another after-thought because the bonnet just needed to have one, instead of the flowers encircling the crown which, was my first thought. I crimped the brass rod and soldered another thinner tube into it to make a hatpin. Before I soldered the flowers, leaves, and bow to the bonnet I glued a string of mini lights under the flowers and bow so that some of the colors of the flowers would show. Another light is underneath so that I could achieve my backlight. Adding a knob onto the end of the stand became a "hat hook". It took one and a half weeks to make and has a little over 400 pieces. And yes, if it weren't for the reinforcement, one can wear the bonnet in the spring parade!