Jane's attic intermezzo: a Friday night with Jane.

Jane, standing at the opening of the attic door, encouraged her little brother to go inside. "Come on, little one, don't be afraid". 

The toddler walked in, cautiously at first, lured by the seductive scent which lingered in the air of this secretive universe, attracted by its shadows, that seemed to call him. Then he heard a haunting, hypnotic melody, seemingly coming from nowhere, growing louder, and making everything in the attic dance around him...

Curious to know what the Little One heard? Click here to listen to it on YouTube!

Note: To be enjoyed strickly with headphones on... Like the track? Support the artist by buying it from a trusted source.

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

Jane's attic, update XII: A chimney for the attic.

Today I worked on a chimney for Jane's attic.  I decided to make it out of cardboard, because that's a material that I grew comfortable working with.

I added plaster for realism, and the chinmey tubes are made of metal. In all, and it being my first chimney ever, I think it turned out pretty well. 

Of course I will change a couple of things here and there, but overall it's pretty much finished. So, without further ado, here are some pics taken from all angles, to give you a good impression of the fat fella. I hope you like them!

Thanks for visiting, and see you next time!!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

The Girl in the Glass: In search of a 19th century beauty.

There was a time, before the invention of photographic film, when glass plates were used as a medium in photography. A light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts was coated on a glass plate, and when it was exposed to light when taking a picture, a chemical reaction created an impression on the coating. A ghostly impression, one could say. The purpose of this project was to restore to life a girl thus captured in glass.

People in some ancient cultures believed that photography would steal your soul. And even today, some still do. It is true that photography does have an element of magic to it, for it creates reproductions of realities, capturing them in film, or, more commonly today, digitally.

What looks like ordinary paint on a piece of glass is, in reality, an ancient emulsion hiding a treasure.

The glass plate in the above picture contains the image of a 19th century girl, which is revealed when the plate is exposed to light going through it. 

Injured  and aetheric, her apparition filled me with awe and wonder! I had to see her true image! 

Exposed to light, the glass reveals its secret...

 

I took a photograph of the plate, then inverted the negative, and there she was, for the first time in more than one hundred years, such a splendid and delicate girl, what a moment of pure joy!

The positive image of the girl.

Beautiful as she was, I could not bear the sight of the harm that time had inflicted upon her. Specially her face and head had sustained quite some damage, and seeing her like this made me sad. So I decided to give her back her dignity and beauty by doing some magic of my own.

I restored her image but not the total picture as a whole, leaving some of the damage and stains untouched which then became decorative. 

And here she is, in all her splendor and innocence: behold the beautiful Girl in the Glass! Welcome to the 21st century, sweetness!

Thanks for visiting and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

A new little beauty

Look what arrived today: a new little beauty for my collection! Although 'new' is relative when one considers that this little gem is probably many years older than I am! I wouldn't be surprised if she was early 20th century, at least her head and limbs, and most probably German made. Not sure if her body is that old, though. Regardless, I simply love her!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

Jane's attic, update XI: Work in progress.

Jane's attic is taking shape. This weekend I worked hard on the wallpaper for the front wall, including the paneling for the wall of the small room where the staircase is. This means that the interior is now finished in terms of wallpaper and paneling. I also worked on the roof, which is proving quite tricky, as I'm using new techniques which I'm developing 'on the go'. It's definitely work in progress, specially the roof, but very rewarding as one sees it develop!

Thanks for visiting, and be careful out there!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

The Ol' Washbasin - a small restoration project

Sometimes it happens that we get an item that we immediately want to start working on. Our hands itch to give the new arrival the TLC it deserves. Everything else must be kept on hold, and delay is not an option. Does this sound familiar to you? I'm sure it does! To me it happened today with the arrival of an humble washbasin. Here's the story...

The basin was old (1930's vintage, perhaps) and missed several key components. It looked perfectly aged and weathered, and I could have easily left it 'as is', but this beauty had so much potential! The following pics will give you an impression of how it looked like.

The washbasin minus just about everything, including the tab, the plug, and the drainer.

Sink without drainer.

Sink chain without plug.

I decided to add the missing items, while otherwise leaving the washbasin in its current, aged state. This is a bit of a standard procedure for me when restoring old items. The beauty and appeal of naturally aged objects must remain untouched, to preserve their soul and charisma!

The vintage (working!) tab after being attached to the wall.

The easiest was the tab. I just happened to have an original, vintage metal tab which suited perfectly. Actually, I bought the washbasin keeping this tab in mind.

I added some green-ish corrosion that normally appear with time on tabs and plumbing made of certain metals like lead and copper.

Then came the tricky part, namely the plug, which I wanted to be made of metal, just like the rest of the basin.

Guided by the invisible hands of the ghosts that inhabit my home, I found, incredibly, a screw with a flat top that fitted. In fact I had never seen a screw like it, specially with that color and shape. All I needed to do was to cut a piece off the ridge, and mate it with the chain. I also needed to make the drainer hole somewhat wider. It all required some patience, but the result looks pretty convincing.

Then came the drainer. Same as with the screw, a packing ring was 'presented' to me, which fitted the sink like a glove!

Finally, I added a bucket underneath the sink for illustration purposes. The bucket belongs to another somewhat different washbasin of the same vintage (and judging by the colors, even same manufacturer!), but I wanted to show it here. This particular basin will have plumbing when used for a project, so a bucket will not be required.

And here is the washbasin in all its restored glory. Isn't she a beauty? By the way, there is a metal container behind the tab, that can hold water which runs when one opens the tab. Awesome!

The top part of the washbasin measures 6 x 2.8 inch (15 x 7 cm) and the foot is 3.5 x 2.5 inch (9 x 6 cm).

That's all, folks! Thanks for visiting, and be careful out there!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

Angel

"You are my angel
Come from way above
To bring me love"

(from: 'Angel', by Massive Attack)

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author. Songwriters: Horace Keith Hinds / Robert Del Naja / Grantley Marshall / Andrew Lee Isaac Vowles. Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group.

Remains

Today I took the below picture, and while looking for a suitable text to go with it, Tyler's poem presented itself to me. It simply appeared in front of me, tangible and naked, as if it had always been there..

"Oh what we 
could be if we 
stopped carrying 
the remains 
of who we are."

A poem by Tyler Knott Gregson.

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author. Poem copyright of Tyler Knott Gregson.

A rusty searchlight truck

Today this beauty was added to my collection of antique, rusty toys. It's a GAMA military tin searchlight truck made in West-Germany in the 1950's.

It's not complete and covered with rust, but that's exactly what makes it appealing to me! I've seen examples of this truck online in mint condition, but they do not come anywhere near this one in terms of charm and charisma.

I'll try to bring the searchlight to life, leaving the rest 'as is', which will give it a very special look, I'm sure! These pics are intended to present the rusty fellow to you. Measuring 29 cm (11,5 inches) in lenght, and with its searchlight standing 19 cm, or 7,5 inches, tall, one can hardly call it a 'miniature', but it has a lot of potential and that's all I care about!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.