Shine A Light On Me

And the winner of the lighting ideas post is...a vintage gooseneck lamp! One of my old roommates, Shellie, and her husband Marc used to be partners in a restaurant downtown called Market East Bistro. They've long since moved to the mountains of North Carolina and started a new dining venture. Anyway, back at Market East Bistro a lot of Shellie's amazing artwork was featured on the walls alongside other local artists. She scoured many antique/thrift/junk shops for old gooseneck lamps and mounted them on the walls to spotlight the art. I loved the idea so much that I used it over my computer table in one of my lofts in Atlanta {I lived in a few} many years ago. I had an 'ah ha' moment a couple of days after that post and it dawned on me to use the same lighting method for the poster and headed over to eBay.* There were quite a few on the auction block and I was kind of shocked to see how much some sellers were asking for these even for starting bids! I settled on a couple and set our bids. The auctions ended within a day of each other so if I lost the first I'd try for the second.

The first lamp has an owl on the front and back of the base. To the left of the owl on the front is the word 'Science', and to the right the word 'Art'. The Free Mason's logo is in the center of the base and it also features a Greek Key border. Surprisingly, to me at least, the auction ended with only two bids and we were the winners at an incredibly good price. We were stoked and set about fantasizing how it was going to look once we got it in our hands and did whatever restoration it may need. In all the excitement I completely forgot that I had the other lamp set for bidding. Another beauty who's base design that I've never seen before, that of lotus blossoms. Yup, we won it as well for another great price, a steal, even! Below are photos of both lamps that were snagged from the auction pages.




I have no idea which one will go over the poster but I'll be sure to update as things move along!

*This is where I admit that I had completely forgotten Shellie's influence in this lighting choice until I posted about the new lamp on my Facebook. She mentioned the restaurant and I completely facepalmed. Yeah, I think I can be crafty at times but I gotta give credit where credit is due! It was only one of her many wonderful influences.