Alchemy in the Big Easy

Eye SEE you!

Hey there everyone...I know you are all busy getting ready for the holidays.  Here's a little break from your retail therapy.   

My latest creation:

"VITRIOL"

V.I.T.R.I.O.L.  (detail)

I just finished this piece as the class sample for my New Orleans workshop "A Place for Notions and Potions" from February 16-20.  

http://www.valleyridgeartstudio.com/new-orleans/

I was working on an apothecary kit...but admittedly I have been a bit obsessed with automatons like this one:

Zoltar - Remember him?  He knows your future.

I used to love these things....actually I still do.   Another influence along the same thread was the HBO series Carnivale. 

Carnivale opening credits

This series is a must if you have the in interest in the sideshow/dark carnival world.  Unfortunately it only lasted two seasons.

Carnival ad

 So I decided to merge this side show concept with an with an old apothecary/medicine kit such as this one:

In theory this is an authentic Vampire Killing kit from 200 years ago.  

I actually have heard that the above kit is a fake.  Either way it is a damn nifty example of an apothecary kit.  

This is what I came up with:

VITRIOL (side view)

A little bit of this.  A little bit of that.  A little seltzer in your pants.

By the way before I go any further I should mention a little something about the title of the piece: VITRIOL.  

 Alchemical Chart of Vitriol

It is an alchemical term that is actually an acronym for "Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem ("Visit the Interior Parts of the Earth; by Rectification Thou Shalt Find the Hidden Stone." 

Another chart of Vitriol

I'm not going to go in to great detail about it's meaning.  Basically it stems from the Alchemist's concept that by mixing elements you will find a divine source.   In this case the seven letters also represent the seven known planets and the corresponding metals:

Gold dominated by Sol ☉ ☼
Silver dominated by Luna ☽
Copper dominated by Venus ♀ 
Iron dominated by Mars ♂ 
Tin dominated by Jupiter ♃ 
Mercury (quicksilver) dominated by Mercury ☿ 
Lead dominated by Saturn ♄ 

Alchemy is a strange mixture of science and mysticism.  Okay enough of that...back to the piece...

Front view

I've also include a place where the user can write prescriptions, design odd critters, or devise alchemical formulas.

Take a memo

Let's take a peek inside the doors...

Cabinet door

Open Sesame

Inside I have filled it with lots of pseudo-medical goodies.  In this case I have some vials and yes a syringe...in this case it started as a cow syringe....poor cows.

Bitter medicine

Oh I have to show you this drawer...

Eye of newt...

In this drawer, I found a place to keep all those false teeth I purchased in an Indonesian dental kit.   But thats not all...I finally found a spot for those mammal blood slides I've had floating around the studio.

Originally the box was a dressing kit.  So there is another interior aspect of this piece.  Originally it had a mirror.  

Interior

As you can see the mirror area got a bit altered.

Interior portrait

I wanted to transform the mirror into a portrait.  I wanted something very sideshow or snake oil salesman-esque.

Lets head back to the exterior.  I included a wheel of fortune which can be spun to see which bit of alchemy is necessary.   

Where it stops nobody knows

I used an old film editing device for the wheel spinner.

Back view and wheel spinning device

 Anyway this is the kind of thing we will be making in New Orleans.  Hope you join me.  If you want more info:

http://www.valleyridgeartstudio.com/new-orleans/

Hope you enjoyed the tour