DIY Lamp #2

Thanks for all the comments on the outfit everyone! I'll take a picture next time I wear it once I figure out what I'm going to do and post it.

So a while ago, I posted about my experience with rehabbing a lamp I got off eBay. Well, after that one I got the bug, so I decided to try it again. I love pretty much anything Asian, so I searched for "geisha lamp". Here are the pictures from the auction:


I don't remember how much it cost...something around $100. That may sound expensive, but look at it! Isn't it gorgeous? It was one of those "I have to have it or I'll DIE" kinda things. I've never heard of someone dying from 'lack of lamp', but I'm sure it's happened. Please note that it is in one piece and in pretty solid condition except for a few places where the paint has chipped.

I think when FedEx or UPS sees a box labeled "Fragile", it means "Smash the bejebus outta me" in their language. The lamp was packaged pretty well, it just looked like it had been hit with a Mack truck. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of it when it first came in, but I do have pics of it after I had spackled it back together. There is a metal rod that runs down the length of the statue and that was bent right at the neck. It must have taken a LOT of force to get it to bend like that.

Here you can see where her bun was cracked (the red stuff is the Bondo that I used). Also, this is after I had removed all the existing paint that was on it. It looked like it had been gold leafed sometime in it's past life! It took forever to get that paint off though. There is so much detail in the statue I had to dig paint out of every crease.

This is her neck from the front. That gray bit you see in the middle is part of the steel rod poking through. If the statue wasn't molded to that rod her poor little head would have fallen off.

Now, this is where I wish I had taken a before photo. The back of the base was all smashed up and in about 10 or so pieces. I put it back together like a puzzle using super glue and then Bondo'd all the cracks. I think this is the part I'm most proud of.


Here is the whole statue before I applied primer and painted it.


Action shot! I think I'm applying the primer here. I know this is off topic, but I love our backyard. You would never know from this picture that I live in a subdivision.

Cheese!


Here is the finished head all painted up. I liked the color that it was, but I wanted it to have more texture. I decided on a stone finish for the statue and a cream color (like the original color) on the stand.


The non-shattered base.


Here's the whole shebang. The first photo shows the colors well, but the flash picked up all the light spots on the lamp and makes it look splotchy. This is a good shot of the detail:


It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. I think whenever we move, this bad boy is sitting in my lap for the move. I'm not going to risk it getting damaged again!