Joy-Lit - Installation

(See videos to get a better look)

When I was in an art-business workshop, a lot of artists’ reason for creating art was to “bring joy to the home”.

With art being subjective, I know some of my art may bring joy, some calmness, inspiration, etc., so I thought, why not actually create something that has the word, “Joy”, so it’s not subjective.

So once I created this “problem” for myself, I had to figure out how to solve it - how was I going to go about doing this; just hand paint the word “joy” on canvas, paint a sun, etc.

Then one day I noticed a bunch of mason jars I had in my cupboard that I kept for art projects, and that’s what I decided to go with.

The initial thought was to paint the mason jars and leave the letters stenciled out, with light inside the jars shining through.

However due to laziness of varnishing the glasses and painting the insides, and dealing with trial and error, I barely pursued it.

Until a couple of years later, I had this idea that you see now, which I believe to be a much better one.

It just goes to show, that sometimes you may not pursue something because deep down you know there’s something better ahead, so never be too hard on yourself.

Also, this wasn’t easy either, as wiring the letters so the small light bulbs are evenly distributed, then gluing them proved to be very challenging.

And since this is my first time doing anything like this, everything had to be figured out at each step.

For example, where to hide the battery pack, how to hang the jars, how to tie the garland, and what was going to hold the birch wood itself? (the black, steel thing holding the birch wood is a book shelf)

Anything I added to complete this installation, I wanted the feeling of coziness, rustic minimalism, and of course, Joy!

I hope that you can feel that too.

What in your home brings you joy every time you look at it?

What other feelings besides joy arise when you look at it?

• Hand-clayed letters

• 3 mason jars and hangers

• String lights with remote

  • Timer option

  • Candle flicker option

  • Battery pack hidden behind garland

  • 3 AAA batteries

• Garland

• Twine

• Birch wood

• Black steel holder and used to hang the entire piece