"Don't Cut Your Tongue On The Rhinestones"

I was inspired to create my first functional mosaic from an old cash drawer I spotted in a yard sale. The register was long gone but their was a stump of a button on top at the back that rang out with a “ding” when I pushed it down opening the wood lined drawer. I decided right then to create a humorous statement on the allure of wealth and all things shiny by repurposing the drawer into a gilded-lily jewelry box topped with a flaming heart. I spent about six months in total first carving and bolting the heart to the top. The legs are from an old gas heater. The screws are covered with miniature bottle caps. Then I started creating a luxurious cast of voluptuaries and their shiny objects. The flame on the heart is a 30’s Art Deco perfume bottle with a stopper that holds a rosary with a tongue milagro attached. On the tip of the tongue is a single rhinestone. The button is now hidden in a 1930’s metal hairpin box. The lid says “A woman’s Friend”. I put a vintage key hole frame on the drawer front. Another tongue milagro with a rhinestone dangles from a ’63 Cadillac ignition key.

More info: jolinomosaicarts.com