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Wilde's Mystic

by Deva Gallagher

Born to a family of unconventional adventurers, Wilde Wunderly was solitary and secretive and spent much of her time alone in the woods. When she was seven years old, Wilde found a compass hidden in an ancient tree. Upon opening it, she was transported to another world. She called it the Mystic. The Mystic contained a multitude of forests–from very large to extremely small–and a host of previously undiscovered life forms. Wilde returned home with specimens of petrified insects, skulls, bones, plants, as well as samples from a micro-forest. She spent the rest of her life studying them, trying to unlock their secrets. Visitors are invited to hunt for the magical compass hidden inside this cabinet.

Deva Gallagher

Deva lives in Billings with her Scottish husband, their three children, and a dog named Midnight. She is a full-time watercolor artist and silversmith at her company Slayton’s Original Artwork. She enjoys camping, watching her kids play music, and morning walks along the rims with her dog. Deva particularly enjoys collecting high-end silversmithing hammers and red shoes.

For Deva, most interesting and all-consuming part of making her cabinet was creating the petrified copper insects. The process–called chasing and repousse–is one of her very favorite methods. The metal is very slowly shaped into three-dimensional forms with a hammer, small specialty tools, and numerous re-heatings to soften the copper. For more information about Deva and her work,
visit her website.


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