Before Blogger was down for a few days, I was recounting the week-long process of installing a new light fixture in the foyer. When we left off, I had removed the old one, discovered some interesting remnants of an old gas lighting system, and was trying to figure out how to close the gap between the ceiling and the new fixture.
After trying a few homemade fixes to fill the gap (such as cutting up and painting the metal shade of a clamp light from my studio) and having them fail miserably, I went to Home Depot to take a look at ceiling medallions. These are plastic reproductions of things that used to be made from plaster; you can use them to conceal ceiling damage around a light fixture and paint them to match the surface they are installed on. I also picked up a few other round things to play around with, like a toilet flange. Here's a test:
Hmm, don't know about that flange...it fills in some more of the gap, but it looks pretty strange next to the more ornate flourishes on the medallion. Here's another set-up, this time with just the medallion. Here I have managed to arrange the parts so that the medallion is balanced on the screws that hold the fixture to its bracket; this positions the medallion to be mid-way between the ceiling and fixture. But how to stick it to the ceiling?
How indeed? Painter's caulk, of course! I slathered it on in layers to build up a little wall between the medallion and ceiling.
I improvised funny little balancing structures as I worked, such as this pencil wedged between the medallion and light fixture. Otherwise, it was a lot like frosting a cake or building a coil pot from clay. Art skills in action!
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