CrossPost

2023 update, this fixture has taken a bit of a beating in the decade since, mostly due to improper sealant.  Cat-centric circumstances required me to remove the wiring, so that will have to be redone.  But it still exists!  Next time I get a chance to mess with it I'll start with some of that plastic-bonding spray paint.

This was the Big One, mostly since it involved pliers and wiring at the end.  I admit I wasn’t confident enough to tackle that part alone, so ended up enlisting the help of Y to make this light up right =p

It's plastic.

Whilst trawling the basement to try and locate various items on Mom’s moving list, I came across this interesting thing.  It was obviously some kind of hanging light fixture – the metal fittings at top and bottom had hollow nipples to run a cord through, and the metal dish at the bottom looked like it was meant to hold a glass insert.  Naturally both wiring and insert were long gone, but things like that are fairly easy to replace or just do without.  Initially I thought of outfitting this as a hanging fishbowl, but the bowl ended up too heavy and was stretching the plastic lattice, so…it got to keep its original purpose.  Our best guess is it was made by one of Mom’s aunts way back when, because it’s the only one she’s ever seen, so I’m glad in the end it’s still a light.

It cleaned up really well, but I wanted more contrast, so I decided to go for a woody-bronzy look to match the finials on it.  That meant a little base brown with a black wash and some tan drybrushing over top to make it pop a little.  The process is simpler than it sounds, depending on what colors you’re using (see the upgraded el-cheapo electric candles at the bottom), and it’s something I never learned in any art class.  Hooray for that part-time stint at the game store XD

The amber lamp cord was a challenge to find, since we ended up having to go to a general hardware store in the next county over to get it (they also had gooseneck, which I was ECSTATIC to find since I’m going to use that to upgrade my webcam once we move, and dismantling clip-on lamps only gets you short lengths of the stuff).  Switch, chain and socket came from Lowe’s, and I finished it off with one of those vintage-look lightbulbs.

I’m proud of the way this turned out, and I can’t wait to hang it up in the new place :D