The Broadside

As one of the first ephemera projects resulting from THE LYRIC CRANIUM installation, my printing assistant, Maria M. and I made this letterpress broadside using some antique wooden type and large lead type from my type inventory. The idiosyncratic words were collected over time and all have very appropriate meaning. The image cut of the figure was a newspaper advertisement and the pupae and moth are hand carved wood engravings for a 19thC entomology newsletter. This broadside was printed in two press runs in a varied edition.

Click image to see the detail.

The Walls Need Frames

 Although an interesting feature in its own right, the customized wallpaper needed to be covered with framed photographs, art and miscellaneous ephemera. So, I turned to my collection of antique frames and 19th C. post mortem portraits. 

Victorian Memorial Hair and paper Wreaths

The above shot shows a few of the post mortem portraits in little frames and a post mortem painting on the wall. On the right side is a photo-and-sculptural piece by Diana Thonrneycroft. Below, another area includes some of my own work: an antique porcelain doll print and a photogravure of a badly taxidermied red squirrel (much like the others sitting below).

The opposite wall is devoted to animal skulls, a snake skeleton, a framed cat mummy, and shelves for more animal remains. Most of the skulls are still on the floor because I haven't figured out how to make skull brackets for them all yet.

A dehydrated cat mummy I found in Alberta in 1983 has been following me around ever since and has appeared in numerous artworks over the years. Now she has her final resting place of honour on the wall of the LYRIC CRANIUM.

Close-up of Fluffy's amazing snarl.