Several months ago I was approached by Darrell Eisner, an artist and penturner from Halifax, Nova Scotia, 
to assist him in a project he planned to submit to a juried exhibition, Titanica, at the Mary E. Black Gallery of the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council.
Last week, we were informed that the entry, Recovered Memories, was among 23 accepted from a field of 60. The exhibit opens on August 2, 2012, and continues through September 9.
Recovered Memories was created from an idea conceived by Darrell. He led the team effort, gathered the period artifacts, and created a unique fountain pen that is representative of the Titanic’s era. I developed the jewelry box from a Perdomo Patriarch cigar box which I labeled with the Titanic name and the white star emblem of the steamship line. The box is lined with burgundy suede cloth.
We searched for a high quality representation of the famed ocean liner and finally found a beautiful, haunting piece depicting the Titanic approaching the iceberg. This artwork was created by Asitha Mirando, a graphic artist from Sri Lanka, who graciously gave us permission to use it as a component of this exhibit piece.
Recovered Memories was a truly international effort, with contributions from Canada, the USA, and Sri Lanka.
You can learn more about Darrell’s beautiful writing instruments at his web site:
Below is Darrell’s description of the inspiration for the Recovered Memories artwork, followed by images of the finished work and the artists involved.
The world’s greatest and most luxurious passenger liner, was set to sail in April, 2012. The owner, White Star Line, as a promotional gift, placed a men’s jewelry box in each first class cabin. At the end of the evening, the gentlemen would place their jewelry and personal items in the box.
When the Titanic sank on April 15, 2012, the ship split in half and a jewelry box sank to the ocean floor where it rested intact for almost 100 years. Research submersibles exploring the remains of the Titanic and the debris field, noticed a box on the ocean floor with a white star on it. The box was recovered and brought to the surface.
Upon opening the box, with sea water still inside, the scientists found the following objects.a casein fountain pen from that era, a man’s gold plated pocket watch, stopped at 2:20 (the time of the sinking of the Titanic), a small pocket knife, a tin type picture, assorted coins, glasses, and cuff links __memories and artifacts of another era.
Click to enlarge
Cigar Box Pen Storage 