Spice up empty space with dramatic statues

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Dear Sandi: The wall in our entry has one of those sunken alcoves, and I just have never really found the right thing to put there. It seems to need something that makes a statement, but still doesn’t seem too pretentious. Any ideas?
Georgia M. Salem

Hi Georgia: Well, you didn’t really tell me anything about your decorating scheme or personal taste, but I always think that those alcoves look like they’re waiting for a Greek statue or urn or some other type of dramatic presentation. Now before you think “yea, but that’s too formal” consider making your own version of one.

You can get half body “busts” in lightweight paper mache, then the finish is up to you. We have done a number of different looks on these and besides being great fun to do, they really are impressive looking after you are finished.

Let me give you some ideas on some of the things we have done:

… “Aphrodite Goes Coastal”: Using our “tear and paste” method of applying handmade paper, we covered the entire form with a soft, sage green, that looked almost like velvet when it was dry. We decorated her with Mexican Cat Eyes ( type of shell), gave her a starfish “tummy jewel”, and finished her off with a necklace of Sea Urchins with a shell “pendant”.

… “Girls Behaving Badly”: This was really a fun one to do. First I covered the torso form with gold and copper metallic tissue paper, then painted, dabbed, dribbled and splattered many different shades of acrylic paints, especially metallic ones, on the surface, letting them meld and mix together to give the surface an aged appearance. Then I gathered some old French postcards I had (the type that were very risqué and even “taboo” during the early part of the 20th century). I color copied these at a print shop (they need to be heat set to keep the colors from running), then glued these color prints randomly onto the torso, again adding paints to “age” the images. As a last step I hot glued an assortment of small pieces of gilded braids, ribbons and trims onto her body, then toned them down again with more paint. The final effect is of a “Venus antiquity” of an indeterminate age. Think beyond my suggestions here and consider using some of your own family photos, or maybe other images that have personal meaning to you to create your own story.

Sandi Reinke is an author, frequent television guest and lead designer for loose ends (www.loosends.com), a Salem-based interior décor, garden, and casual lifestyle company. To ask Reinke a decorating question, e-mail info@looseends.com or mail her at the showroom address, 2065 Madrona Ave. SE, Salem, OR 97302. Phone: 503-390-2348.

… If whimsy isn’t your thing, these torsos can also be used to create a quite authentic looking “ruin”, in a more traditional style. Simply add layers (thin ones, and allow to dry) of plaster onto the form. Let the plaster crack, and apply it more thickly over areas that you want to build up or accent. You may want to slightly color some of your mixture for some layers or spots, adding to the illusion of irregularity and discoloration that would have occurred over time. When you’re finished you can have something that will really have an almost museum quality look to it, for very, VERY little money!

So, that’s where I would go with one of those alcoves, and you might find that you have so much fun creating one of these that you may decide to do a few more, sort of like having a choice of wardrobe to match your mood of the day!

P.S. If you like the idea of a “classical” look, but don’t want a “body” in your entry, you can also find these paper mache forms in a variety of other shapes, such as urns and large pots.