Bloomsday Challenge: Day Five

Steampunk Joyce Pocketwatch

Another Joyce inspired creation involving time! I wanted to make something Steampunk at least once during this challenge. I was given this gold pocketwatch by a fan at the Alliday Everyday Craft Show last year. It has a wonderful texture to it. I took it apart and used one of the internal cogs to adorn the chain. I used the metal clock spring too.

On the inside of the pocketwatch are three layers. On the bottom layer is a circular scrap from the 1961 American edition of Ulysses that I have been using. The clock spring makes up the next later and on the glass face there is a tiny cartoon image of Joyce walking.

“—16 June 1904” appears on the facing inside cover of the pocketwatch. A whimsical deconstructed timepiece!

12 more days till Bloomsday!

Bloomsday Challenge: Day Four

"Ulysses Clock"

There is so much creativity this year leading up to Bloomsday—I think in part because of the “Ulysses Meets Twitter 2011” experiment. Tweeting Ulysses got me thinking about how to represent an episode in 140 characters or less. I thought about how to condense the episodes even further—if I had to pick one line, word, or phrase from each episode which stood out as the most recognizable?

All of these thoughts lead me to creating a “Ulysses Clock.” The episodes are in order—for example, “Telemachus” is the first episode and represents 1:00. After episode 12, there is an overlap.

While not as intricate as my previous pieces, it’s a fun piece. I have limited abilities and knowledge of clock-making though this Craftzine video was certainly helpful (I recommend it to those of you who try this): http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/09/how-to_make_your_own_clock.html.

Here’s a list of the “times”:

1:00 (Telemachus & Nausicca): “snotgreen sea” & “O!”

2:00 (Nestor & Oxen of the Sun): “history” & “wombfruit”

3:00 (Proteus & Circe): “dogsbody” & “ashplant”

4:00 (Calypso & Eumaeus): “Metempsychosis” & “cabman’s shelter”

5:00 (Lotus-Eaters & Ithaca): “Pear’s Soap” & “When?”

6:00 (Hades & Penelope): “Poor Dignam” & “yes”

7:00 (Aeolus): “IMPROMPTU”

8:00 (Lestroygonians): “U.P.:up”

9:00 (Scylla & Charybdis): “The one about Hamlet”

10:00 (Wandering Rocks): “Father Conmee”

11:00 (Sirens): “Jingle. Bloo”

12:00 (Cyclops): “the citizen”

I'd like to note that the times I have listed are not the times when these episodes occur. I felt that there would be more overlap and the clock would be harder to read. So instead of "Telemachus" representing 8:00, the episode represents 1:00 as it is the first episode of Ulysses.

13 days till Bloomsday!

Steampunk!

A)































































B)





























































































C)








































































D)



















































E)





































































I let off some steam with Steampunk last week! Forgive the horrid pun. Can't wait to make Joycean creations that have the element of Victorian & Edwardian romance and sensibility (which of course Joyce loathed) and harsh punk technology and gadgetry. I cannot wait to experiment with this new genre and add perhaps a modernist, futurist, Dadaist twist! Hope you enjoy these new creations. Let me know what you think!

A) "Kick Up Your Heels"; made with black chain, an antique door hinge and key, reproduction antique sprockets and gears, vintage buttons wire wrapped, and paper.

B) "This Way Out"; made with various scrapbooking materials, small paper flowers, reproduction antique gamer spinners, freshwater pearls--dyed various colors, gold filigree, clock parts, a commemorative stamp of a Rhode Island Windmill, gunmetal chain, scraps of an old Engineering textbook, and a belt buckle.

C) "Tonobungay"; Inspired by H.G. Wells's novel of the selfsame title. Made with glass beads, wire, gunmetal chain, reproduction antique typewriter keys, clock parts, reproduction antique sprockets and gears, scraps from an old Engineering textbook, scrapbook materials, and an old stamp "Pharmacy."

D) "Time Flies"; It sure does with this necklace (already sold). Made with gold butterfly filigree, clock parts, antique button and key that I got from a flea market in Paris, gunmetal chain, scraps from an old Engineering textbook, a sticker--modern but cute, dyed pearls and seed beads, and of course, the fabulous green flower button bead--also obtained in Paris for an extraordinary fee. Best buttons I ever bought (even though they were 3 Euro a pop! Yipes!).

E) "Clocks in the Windmill"; My favorite creation of the bunch. Made with silver and gold filigree, dyed pearls, gunmetal chain, wire, plaid ribbon, Rhode Island 1790 Stamp, clock parts, gold key, antique reproduction gears and sprockets, antique reproduction game spinner, scrapbook materials, paper flowers, and jump rings!