This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info.
From micro paintings on tea bags to little masterpieces on butterfly wings, many contemporary artists are rejecting the traditional canvas in favor of smaller, unexpected items. One artist to do so is California-based crafter Mary Kenyon who uses real seashells to create decorative jewelry dishes that look like pieces of ancient treasure found on a sunken shipwreck.
The self confessed “crafts addict” found her love of all-things artsy from her father, who was a talented oil painter and leather carver. “After he passed, he left me with all his oil paints, acrylic paints, canvases, leather and hundreds of leather tools,” says Kenyon. “Being surrounded by so much inspiration and creativity is what has led me to this path in my life.”
Kenyon’s stunning, vintage-inspired shell art designs are made by decoupaging an image onto the shell’s surface. Kenyon then hand-paints decorative details using gold gilding paint, and adheres three-dimensional embellishments such a brass and colorful Swarovski rhinestones. From Renaissance-style fairy and mermaid paintings to dragonfly and peacock motifs, each opulent trinket looks like it could have belonged to an aristocratic lady from the early 17th century.
You can buy your own shell trinket dish on Etsy.
California-based crafter Mary Kenyon uses real seashells to create decorative jewelry dishes.
Her stunning, vintage-inspired shell art designs are made by decoupaging an image onto the shell’s surface.
Kenyon then embellishes each design with gold gilding paint and colorful Swarovski rhinestones.
Each piece looks like ancient treasure found on a sunken shipwreck.
Mary Kenyon: 
My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Mary Kenyon.
Related Articles:
Artist Creates Visual Diary with Daily Miniature Paintings on Used Tea Bags
Amazingly Detailed Paintings on Tiny Canvases
Beautiful Skulls Carved and Painted on Mother of Pearl Shells
Woman Recreates Classic Works of Art Inside Delicately Cracked Eggshells