10 February, 2017

In Search of “The King of the Mountain!”

 Yesterday I wrote of the cool trip to Palm Springs I took with Rita, Ted and Diana that lead to my receiving the Owl & the Peacock.  The end of that installment found me mentioning that there was a brief detour we took that had us also visiting Palm Desert, CA.  I figure that it would be good today to quickly wrap up that episode, and write about how the search for the “King of the Mountain” came to its conclusion!!

It’s actually a short ending, because if I remember correctly now, I did not find the “King” piece during that trip.  What I did find though was the piece you see here, I call him my “Palm Desert Jag”.  I like the look on people’s faces when I refer to it that way, then they see the piece.  Needless to say, they initially think they’re going to see one of my crystal vehicles, only to be caught off guard when they see that my version is not four wheeled, but four legged!! (smile)

The mentioning of this piece also serves to introduce the category I will simply refer to as “The Big Cats”.  At present count I have 16 felines in my collection….10 of them fit under the designation I’ve given this category.

Alright….so we’re in Palm Desert, and I happened to walk into a glass shop there, hoping indeed to find something that would enable me to salvage my slightly bruised masculine ego after Rita won the “battle of the birds”. (smile)  I liked this sculpture because of its unusual pose.  This stretching cat caught my eye right away, and up to that time I had not found a Jaguar.

I do have three of them now, along with one Tiger, and four Lions.  I’m looking for another nice Tiger at this juncture.  Anyway, when I discovered that this piece was in my price range (well….perhaps a bit more….but a necessary expenditure, as it represented what might have been my only shot at giving a much needed lift to my self-esteem), I was very pleased with myself for having acquired it!! (ha,ha,ha)

 

11 February, 2017

 I think most pet lovers are stereotypically described as being either “dog people” or “cat people” right?? (smile)  I know too that there are tons of aquarium people (beautifully colorful tropical fish, and not too long ago I saw a salt water aquarium that had these awesome small rays in it!! I’ll talk about my aquatic pieces in a future installment), and of course there are bird people. (Parrots, Parakeets etc.)  Then there are those folks who have the more unusual pets….yeah, the lizard, rat (okay….mice), and snake crowd.  More power to them!! (smile)

Me….I’d love to have one of the “Big Cats”.  Everybody loves the White Tigers featured here in Vegas (now kept in a habitat that visitors can see), and I understand that Mike Tyson has (or had) a couple as pets.  My first choice, a Jaguar….second on the list a Cheetah!!

I’ve gotten a bit off topic, forgive me. (smile)  I imagine that a pet like one of those in the back yard (let alone casually walking through the house) while my daughter was growing up certainly would’ve been an interesting subject for her “tell the class about your pet” project at school!! (ha,ha,ha)

Without a doubt this impressive sculpture, which I think may be a Mountain Lion (hence the name I’ve given the piece) is the largest of the cats I have.  This “Big Cat” perched on a mountain ledge stands 10 inches tall, and measures 11 inches from the tip of his extended front paw to the back curvature in his tail.  Seeing this bad boy towering over the rest of the felines on the display shelf, leaves very little doubt that he’s the ruler of that tiny realm!! (smile)

Anyway, the first thing one might notice about this piece is that it definitely is not clear glass, so immediately you might assume (of course) that it’s frosted.  Well….I’m not exactly sure what this material is, to tell the truth!!  On the bottom of the piece it says Crystalline Art, and it was made in China.  Its surface has a sort of texturized feel, and it’s got a little bit of weight to it.

I think it might be some sort of acrylic piece.  My two large sailboats are Plexiglas, so maybe this is similar to those, I really have yet to figure it out.  I have to also admit that I don’t remember exactly where I got it.  You’d think that I’d certainly be able to recall where I found such a notable piece in my collection, but it totally escapes me now. (sigh)

The “King of the Mountain” was not a part of the Palm Springs / Palm Desert adventure, and I don’t have any memory of having seen it in an antique mall or glass shop.  It’s a shame too because I would love to be able to tell an interesting story about this piece.  Maybe it will come to me at a later date, who knows.  I will tell you this, if I manage to recall the story, I will make it an updated addendum to this installment.  How about that?? (smile)