Small Home Gazette, Winter 2017
Creative Solutions: A Faux Fire Fantasy
No, she likes her faux obviously fake. But witty. “I like faux that is just never going to happen in real life,” says Sell with a chuckle.
Sell and her husband live in a 1916 Prairie Foursquare in Stillwater, Minnesota, where a large brick fireplace dominates the living room. Its 8-foot concrete mantel makes it even more imposing.
Judy Sell’s cold, ashy firebox (left) is given new life with a tile and glass mosaic fire screen (right).
“No matter what mantel decorations I used, I could not make that room feel cozy,” says Sell. “Only when we built a fire did the room become warm and inviting.”
She tried to visually soften the masonry by using a large pastoral print purchased at a Goodwill store as a fire screen. It worked well enough until a squirrel came down the chimney. They confined the squirrel to the firebox with the print until animal control arrived; by that time, it was shredded.
Inspiration
Sell found that pieces of ribbed Fire King Peach Lustre plates made excellent faux flames.
Sell creates artwork in the mosaic tradition.
“I spend my free time hoarding and sorting dishware to use as tesserae (small pieces used in mosaics),” explains Sell. “I had lots of Anchor Hocking’s Fire King Peach Lustre, which has iridescent glaze that looked warm…like fire.”
That was the inspiration to create a mosaic fire screen that mimicked a blazing fire set within a forced-perspective firebox.
“To get started, I took photos of a raging fire,” says Sell. “Creating fire is hard. I referred to my fire photos often.”
She has now built three fireplace screens and is getting better at evoking the illusion of flame. “It’s getting more organic,” she says with satisfaction. A friend suggested using real wood spindles for the front legs of the fire grate. The three-dimensional pieces give the mosaics stability.
Sell is delighted with the final result, explaining that the fire screen adds a pop of color and cheer to what would otherwise be a dark, empty firebox.
The mosaic fire screen gives the (not-overly-realistic) illusion of a crackling fire.
Sell’s technique also fits well within the Arts & Crafts ethos of handmade items that “conventionalize” natural forms, rather than attempt to precisely reproduce them. In other words: faux.
You can see Sell’s handiwork on her website: www.judysell.com. Select the “Commissions” link to see a color image of the fire screen. She offers a discount if you mention you’re a member of the Twin Cities Bungalow Club.
Other Examples?
If you know of other creative solutions to make bungalows more livable, send them to us at mail@bungalowclub.net. Whether they save space; provide modern convenience with an historically-appropriate appearance; or simply make the best of a difficult situation, we would love to share them in the Small Home Gazette.
