News Report! Giant Squid Attacks the Nautilus!

My husband Art works best on a team and I prefer to work alone. Although we are both artists and designers, our different approach to creativity frequently prevents us from collaborating.

1954 Disney Stage Set, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

I am pleased to present one of our first design collaborations, the Attack of the Nautilus, inspired by Jules Verne’s classic tale, 20,0000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Wax carving of a giant squid attacking the Nautilus submarine

The image above is of our blue and green wax original Nautilus and Squid pendant, that will be cast in both sterling silver and bronze and available for sale towards the end of April.

Jules Verne Nautilus, Disney Version

Arts mind is technical and a few years back Art taught himself a 3 D graphic design program. In the evenings, I might step into his office and see 3-D images rotating on his computer screen. Using a Rhino Cad program, he rendered a 3-D model of Jules Verne’s submarine, the Nautilus. Technology is remarkable and a wax model was subsequently “printed” from Art’s files. A month ago, Art presented me with a miniature blue wax submarine and it became my turn to create a giant squid attacking the Nautilus.

Over the past two weeks, I have spent many hours sculpting and wrapping tiny squid tentacles around the miniature blue wax submarine. This pendant is 2 5/8″ long, a solid torpedo shaped piece; a giant squid pulling the Nautilus down to the depths of the ocean.  The pendant is now ready to be cast and we hope that our whimsical version of Jules Verne’s epic tale will amuse and delight you.

I was introduced to Jules Verne’s writings early on. My father was a geologist and my mother an artist and they read these novels to me and we watched all three of the Hollywood movies. I have no doubt that these fanciful and scientifically based epic tales have influenced my work and seeded an early curiosity for travel and adventure. My favorite was undoubtedly the 1954 classic, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea which has certainly has inspired much of my passion for the strange creatures of the deep, both real and imagined. Because my father was a geologist, Journey to the Center of the Earth, (1959) took on a different appeal. My father would guffaw over the scientific inaccuracies and instruct me in armchair geology. My mother’s favorite, having traveled around the world with her family in 1938 was Around the World in Eighty Days, (1956)  Jules Verne’s Victorian novels have greatly influenced the Steam Punk movement with imagery of retro-futuristic inventions and wonderfully impossible monsters.

Silver Kraken Squid Pendant

Silver Squid Charm Pendant

For years I have been making octopus and squid jewelry so I was delighted when Art initiated this collaborative design project, a melding of  his technical talents and my whimsical waxing.