Jewel of the Deep: Sandcastle Sea Turtle (Illuminated Edition)

Description

According to the artist's story, a child spent the afternoon building a sandcastle on the beach, never realizing that a gentle sea turtle was resting in the sand beneath it. When the tide rose and the child went home, the turtle slipped back into the water carrying the forgotten sandcastle on its back. This sculpture captures that fleeting moment when imagination and ocean magic meet. The sea turtle is needle felted from natural and hand-dyed wool in warm amber, gold, and copper tones reminiscent of sunlit shallows. Rhinestone gems are hand set across the flippers and head, catching the light like drops of seawater. The soft white sandcastle is built up in layered wool with arched windows, towers, and tiny pearl-like beads that outline its openings. Integrated LED lights glow from within the castle and along the turtle's shell and flippers, creating a warm golden aura in low light. Each light element is embedded using the artist's patent-pending technique in which LED components are mechanically retained inside the dense wool fiber matrix by repeated needle-felting passes. This preserves the sculpture's softness while keeping the electronics securely in place. Displayed on a coordinating stand with a hardwired inline switch, this illuminated sea turtle is a one-of-a-kind centerpiece for a bookshelf, console, or coastal-inspired room.