My name is Sylvia Larkin, also known as the Mad, Creative Scientist! I am very excited to be a Guest Artist for the Relics & Artifacts Muse Blog!

I am an Assemblage/Mixed Media Artist and my specialties are shrines. My love for shrines goes back to my childhood in Bavaria, where we often encountered them on our walks in the country side. To me they are symbolic places of respite and reminders to meditate and breathe deeply. Each of my shrines has a deeply personal intent and through them I express my life experiences.

Over the years I’ve incorporated many of Sandra’s Relics & Artifacts into my work. I am always amazed at the highly detailed and versatile pieces created by Sandra Evertson.

For this project I chose the “Icarus” and “Ancient Soul” kits as the main focus of the shrine, to memorize Icarus’s bravery and trust in his father’s skills.

“Many are called but few are chosen”, refers to the audition of all the parts to be possibly used.

The scrolled frame did not quite fit the shadow box so I cut it from the frame with a Dremel and glued it on. Then I covered it with Japanese rice paper. I applied texture to the inside and back of the shrine using “All Purpose Joint Compound” using a stencil resembling waves. Waves were also created in the bottom using an old brush.

After attaching wooden wheels I painted the piece and covered the wheels with Dresden papers. Copper and bronze from the VerDay Paint kit were used to create the patina on the wheels.

The look of ancient rock in Crete on the frame was created using texture and many layers of acrylics, metallic lustre and mica powder.

Lastly I added Ruby red Bohemian Jewels for the eyes of the skull, an amphora with twigs, (a symbol for the tree of life), a bundle of wings, bottle of additional wax and a scroll with instructions. The blue die with the crosses is all about the chances we take in life.

The large Dresden Trim “Sol” is a reminder of Icarus getting too close to the heat and the halo behind the eye, symbolized Daedalus, watching over him. I decorated the wings and Icarus with tiny ear studs and wooden nuts.