Coco Watkin
Westminster, MA

Oasis in a Bottle

When I received the Round 1 Theme items, my first thought was a flying camel, but I decided to let my mind wander for a few days keeping the items in mind. Then one evening, as I passed a cactus on our kitchen windowsill, my brain pictured the filigree wings re-arranged into flowering cacti. Cacti are found in deserts; the camel made me think of sand and the water it stores in it's hump; the orange jewel conjured up day dreams of Aladdin and his adventures in the desert; and a good desert adventure usually includes an oasis. With my creative adrenaline flowing, I headed down to my workshop where I keep all sorts of odds and ends on hand. I wanted to pull all the theme elements together in a way that would enhance them and perhaps coax the viewer into a desert fantasy of their own. And that is how my concept--"Oasis in a Bottle"--was born. I like it when I can make one of my artistic pieces functional. So, my "Oasis in a Bottle" quickly evolved into a tabletop nightlight with the hope that it might send others' dreams drifting off into the desert where they might find themselves in the middle of a fantastic fable or tale.

All the Components of Oasis in a Bottle from left to right

The Camel and Cacti: Each filigree wing had three long fronds, two short fronds, and four graduated scallops at the bottom, which I carefully cut with heavy-duty craft scissors. The two large cacti were each made of the three large fronds (one set of three from each wing) and three of the scallops on each for blossoms. The small cactus was made by combining both sets of the two small fronds from each wing and adding the remaining two scallops. The frond sections of the three cacti were soldered to green cathedral glass and the scallops were each soldered to orange-red cathedral glass to visually match the jewel. I cut a copper plate to the right size and hammered out the contour of the bottom of the bottle before tinning it and soldering the camel and cacti in place. I soldered 1/4" extension braces made out of sheet copper to the back of the camel's legs and to each cactus so that I could affix them to a copper base plate thereby creating a 3D scene that could be placed at the bottom of the bottle.

The Bottle: I chose a Disaronno Amaretto bottle because of it's clear picture frame like center on the front and back while the rest of the bottle has a wonderful wavy texture to it that reminded me of the wavy pattern air takes on as it rises from a hot surface. Using a wet tile saw, I cut the bottle so that the opening would be big enough for me to insert the other objects. I also used the saw to cut the top of the neck off to remove the groves that the original top screwed onto giving it a more finished look. I used a scallop edged copper foil on the bottom half of the bottle and a straight edged foil on the top half to create the illusion of a desert tent. I then rejoined the top to the bottom by adding two small brass hinges on the back of the bottle. After that I foiled the jewel (with 1/8" width foil which I custom cut to width) and soldered it in place.

Baubles: I used seven turquoise iridescent 1/2" baubles to create the effect of water--the Oasis--by placing them on top of the sand in the bottle.

Sand: I used about 1/2 cup of craft sand to cover the camel and cacti plate at the bottom of the bottle, which gives the illusion that those elements are free standing. Wine bottle cork, candle shade holder, 7 watt lamp assembly, 7 watt bulb and white frosted glass shadeI began by removing the metal brace on the lip of the lamp socket so that it would fit inside the part of the candle shade holder that normally slips over the top of a taper candle. The cord and cork made it a snug and safe fit. The cork connects the lamp and shade to the bottle and is removable should the contents of the bottle ever need to be rearranged.

Rearview: This picture shows the flat side of the camel, the cacti without the filigree that is on the front, the turquoise baubles as seen through the back, and the back of the lamp assembly where the cord is attached. It also shows well the details on the bottle.