THIS IS A COLLECTION OF ART - MY ART - OR AT LEAST MY VERSION OF ART
SOME OF IT IS SANDBLAST-ETCHED GLASS AND OTHER APPLICATIONS ARE WOOD.
MUSINGS - THE ART DECO CORNER
BY DON TREADWELL
This flapper girl was an earlier work and the beginning of my entry into the art deco era. Much of my inspiration came from the world renowned Erte
So it follows - naturally - that the ladies of the '"Roaring Twenties would influence me and become one of my most popular subjects
BUT - since I started originally with wildlife I always felt an urge to do animals, birds and fish. They became the centerpiece of my efforts and I began doing wildlife art shows. This endeavor brought me to prestigous shows such as Buckhorn in Canada, the Charleston waterfowl exhibitions and displays throughout Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and Florida. The line drawing, above right, was done on scratchboard - a very interesting and different medium
Florida was my inspiration for this piece. Flamingos abound throughout the state - either live or on the lawns in the trailer parks usually in the front of homes of the many seniors that choose to retire there for the scenery and the early-bird dinners.
A natural segue would be to tie this galleon to Florida and the Spanish Conquistadors but in reality it was drawn from a building in Redlands, California
One of the prime considerations in art is how you "package" it - or frame it. With glass that's quite difficult so I opted for backlighting my objects. By placing the glass on it's edge and then allowing the light to come up through the glass I achieved a greenish hue that was very effective.
This clown was one of my favorite pieces and one of the first ones that I sold. I did it as an insert for a door to a playroom for some good friends of mine
Not all of my efforts went into glass. I also designed and made these - and many other - clocks. I kept a lot of them. For a while my home resembled the National Observatory. The chiming and infernal ticking eventually drove me to limiting their number. Still a few around the house though.
No - I didn't make this - I just took the picture. This is the world famous Brooklyn Bridge - the engineering marvel conecting Manhattan with the rest of New York.
And to pass the time - enjoy some tunes from the Treadwell Family Band. Actually these guys really did exist. John Treadwell, a 2nd cousin, four times removed, once had the largest goldmine in the world - in Juneau, Alaska. Before you try to hit me up for a loan though let me tell you that the mine no longer exists. It flooded out many years ago and only traces of it can be found today.
