My Apartment - For Today

My apartment. It's humble, but I love it. It is my lab, where I experiment with color. Here is what it looks like, for today. I am gaining deep appreciation for professional photographers. My apartment is so small, it is difficult to photograph.




A vignette in surprising colors on a shelf. I adore the pop of yellow.



Buddha postcard from Thailand above crystal collection.




Dining area. The bed is now behind the bookcase, for added privacy. I need Splat Girl to come to my place and hang curtains from the ceilings.






Beads on a shelf. A new obsession for me.





What I'm reading. Very profound. Good reading for soaking in the tub.



















Here's a secret I've never shown. This is where I blog. It's humble, but it works. I wish I had a laptop. I don't really like those paintings there, but they are part of a series I'm working on.





It is a marvel of organization. I keep loose papers in the orange tote bag. I dream of going paperless.



A couple of toys made by my sweet nephew, GG. I keep these on my desk. They make me happy and make me feel close to him.




Bauhaus bowls from CB2 corral clutter in my kitchen.

Flirting with minimalism in my living room. The yellow piece looks great with a tea light candle in it.

I don't really like the color of these sofas, which is why I usually cover them. But today I felt they needed to be free. I must be a leg person. I really enjoy seeing the legs of the furniture.

I've received emails criticizing me because my place always looks too clean (I have to laugh at that - you should see what it normally looks like). It's true my place is a marvel of organization, but it takes work to keep it that way. I don't like clutter and work hard to keep it at bay. I struggle with balancing a love of things with a love of minimalism. And I have a confession to make, I only photograph it after I have cleaned. But, don't look too closely at this picture. I didn't feel like mopping this weekend. I won't show you the bed - it's not made. You'll just have to take my word for it.

I love the way I can direct the light with my new lamp from Target. Three settings, and poseable arms. It's great for highlighting a piece of art or for when I curl up to read on my sofa.

I'm glad I can't sew...

...because if I did, I'd have another obsession. And I already have too many of those. If I could sew, my place would be full of pillows, because I am constantly drawn to vintage fabrics. And I would love to change my curtains as often as I change my sheets.

I'm glad I can't sew. And I'm not going to learn.

My Apartment - The Influences

I'd like to take a break from obsessing about politics to obsess about one of my other favorite muses. My apartment, ahhh. I love my apartment, humble though it is. My apartment is my lab, where I experiment with colors. Lately, I've been taken with a strange color scheme.

Lots of white, of course. And lots of pink, of course. The surprising part is the burst of yellow and shot of gray. I bought some new pottery from the Salvation Army. Spent about $12.00. The gray vase is rather a departure for me.

I still really want the Hella Jongerius vase from Ikea, which I've written about many times. Ikea won't be carrying this vase much longer, so I need to get off my lazy butt and make the trip to Pittsburg. (I wish Ikea would sell online!) Image from flickr user Noorieke. By the way, Noorieke has a fabulous home, you must check it out.

Look at this beautiful image I found on Ikea's site! I adore yellow with white and hot pink.


I discovered a blog called Happy Mundane. His Christmas decor is so fab, I'd be tempted to leave it up all year. Happy Mundane is a delightful blog, I'll be adding it to my blog roll.

I've been wanting to spray paint branches for a while. Jon put detailed instructions on how to spray paint branches, as well as other craft projects. He also wraps yarn around them for texture. I love the effect.

The sales have been good, and I've bought too many cute things lately.

I bought these beautiful pieces of art glass from my favorite vintage store. They were on sale! I am loving glass, and starting to mix it with my ceramics.

I got this cute ceramic pot at Target. It says Germany on the bottom. A spot of sunshine on a gray day.

A corner of my living room. I adore yellow, turquoise and hot pink with huge amounts of white. But I'm getting tired of the covers on the sofa.

Kim at Desire to Inspire did an interesting post on the Chesterfield. (Image House to Home via Desire to Inspire.) I'm not enamored of the Chesterfield, I don't care about things such as tufting. I like things simple and unadorned. I adore this version, unadorned and in lilac. Oh dear, I'm trying not to think about lilac. It sure does look great with that turquoise vase. And speaking of lilac, Jamie Drake uses it in a way that makes me swoon. (See previous post here). It was the beautiful rooms designed by Jamie that influenced my purchase of art glass.

I enjoy seeing the legs of furniture, so I'm thinking about removing my sofa covers. I have to accept that I am not getting my sofas reupolstered! Together, they cost less than $300. There's no way I'd spend a couple of thousand for a $300 purchase, although I wish they were both pale pink.

I dearly love turquoise and have been contemplating it with cobalt blue. Watching the sun play with this bottle is a meditational experience.

My curtains were influenced by curtains I saw in Elle Decor (see previous post here). And this color combination was influenced by a post at Apartment Therapy.

I adore this color scheme! Hot pink, dark blue and tons of white. (See previous post here).

So how does a girl mix two color schemes, a love of things and still flirt with minimalism? Stay tuned.

Everywhere I Look

I see hope!

All images above by Peggy.

Congratulations to Shepard Fairey for being recognized by the Smithsonian! This is a must-read article about the power of art. I've featured Shepard's work on this blog several times.

Afterall art is politics. And politics is art.

Go "Bama!

Reflections on a Dream

Image by Peggy.

'Bama Blitz - From the Editor-in-Chief and a Thank You to Apartment Therapy

Creative Influences is happy to announce the 'Bama Blitz! When I say, 'Bama, you say Blitz. Why? Read on.

Now, I'm not prone to hype. But I am prone to hope. And naivete. I pretty much say things they way I see them, but I try to do it gently. No reason to be mean. Or loud. I've even been envied for this quality. It's nothing to be envied. I've been scared shitless throughout this whole experiment. I was terrified when I left my long comments at Apartment Therapy.

Now how does one go from being excited about President Obama to Apartment Therapy in one thought? One thing influences the other. Read on for the connection.

I'm no longer following AT daily, I peruse it briefly now and then. When I am perusing, I always wonder about their pronouns. They always use "We" instead of "I". Maybe I should starting using "We" instead of "I." "I" is so overused. Even though I don't follow AT much anymore, I delight when they receive accolades from the likes of Time Magazine. And, I delight seeing Maxwell's smiling face in my inbox every morning, with his condensed update. AT holds a special place in my heart, because they were the first. Yep, that's right. I had no idea what a blog even was the day I discovered AT. Blogs have saved me a lot of money. I don't buy nearly as many magazines, therefore, have considerably less paper.

I remember the first post I stumbled upon. Maxwell's aunt moved into a smaller place and freed herself from the oppression of too many books. It hit a nerve, I was going through a similar purge. One of my favorite things to write about is how I struggle with reconciling a love of stuff with a love of minimalism.

I never lurked - maybe I should have. I didn't know what I was doing. I dove in making comments. What a miracle! I discovered a whole new world I didn't know existed. Suddenly I was able to connect with people who shared my interests.

Sometimes I made people mad. It was unintentional, I thought it was all in fun and totally fell in love with the readers' passion for Home. Maybe I should have been quiet - but damn, I've been quiet too long. I angered ATers when I lambasted animal rugs (an opinion I hold strongly to - and no - I don't use leather). I even received a death threat for that one. I commented less, and toned down what I had to say - most of the time. I lavishly gave praise, and I freely gave advice. I've received numerous emails people wanting advice on design, art, decor and organization! How fun.

And let me tell you, I was scared shitless when I put my paintings on flickr. For the whole world to see. I must have schlepped those fuckers to galleries a million times. Only to hear no. After driving across town. When gas was $4.00 a gallon, I said, "Fuck it, who needs a middleman when you have the internet?" Now if that ain't democracy, I don't know what is.

The technology gives power to the people, voice to those who previously went unheard. And the technology is here to stay. The more I put myself out there, the more I received support from fellow bloggers. What a miracle. I now have the self-expression I longed for my entire life. And it wasn't about the money, I was expressing myself! I've been quiet too long. I am no longer afraid!

One day, I realized I didn't need to encroach on AT's blog. I could have my own! And - I can do with it I want. Now, if that ain't democracy I don't know what is.

Perhaps my degree in Communication isn't going to waste afterall. AT was using meta-communication techniques (that we learned about in COM101 and from Marshall McLuhan) to teach empathy. Whether they knew it not. They tapped into people's spirits - their homes. The Home is sacred in this time of acceleration and harriedness. ATers felt great pain when another's home was attacked. And they were loud about it. Sounds corny, I know, but consider this: AT reaches a HUGE world-wide audience. Now if that ain't democracy, I don't know what is.

But - the most important lesson AT taught me is that I could become a contributor in the political arena. For the first time in my life, my voice could be heard - and someone, somewhere will understand me. And damn, I've been quiet for too long.

But it took Obama to get me excited about politics. For the first time in my life, I was interested in politics! That's a miracle! I've never read the newspaper. I hate the ink. It stinks and gives me a headache. I hate the drone of television and the radio. But, I love the internet. I followed the election completely on the internet. I didn't have to pay attention to things that would get my blood pressure up, which is mostly what's on TV.

I read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I studied the economics of FDR and Lincoln. They didn't teach us that shit in high school. Shit, at that time they believed girls couldn't do math! Have you ever heard anything so stupid? I'm not lying! And they wouldn't let me-a-mere-girl-even-though-I-was-top-of-the-class, be traffic cop. Ouch. That was devastating. I wanted that stupid-orange-cape-with-the-badge so damn bad. I worked all year so I could get that damn cape and badge. I cried forever over that stupid thing. I didn't stop crying until my dad bribed me with some sparkly red shoes some weeks later.

I marched for Women's Rights. Most of the perceptions young people have of us are wrong. I won't go into a boring treatise on Feminism at this point. Suffice it to say that I jumped up and down when the next generation of girls were given the stupid-orange-cape-with-the-badge. And any kid anywhere, no matter what their gender - can have the stupid-orange-cape-with-the-badge and never be turned down again.

To Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha. I hold you dear in my heart, I pray for you each day and send you loving thoughts constantly. Something I have never done for a politician. I wish you only the best, and I commit to help you in the wonderful opportunities we have to make America a better place. I am full of hope, and I thank you for that. I have been jaded with politicians my whole life. This is a place I thought I would never be, and I thank you for that. When I say Go 'Bama - this is what I mean.

Go 'Bama!

Peggy
Editor-in-Chief

Year in Review - Best Magazine Cover

Go 'Bama!

Go Ms. Magazine!

Dear readers, have hope. Don't fall prey to the alarming news reports. Do your best to make yourself a better person and to exercise your creativity. This will, in turn, make the world a better place. Don't look at the tasks ahead of us as difficulties. Look at what we need to do for our beloved country as an opportunity. An opportunity to recreate our country. To make it better, stronger, smarter. And let's support this extraordinary man who has graced us with so much hope. So inspiring is his message of hope, that there is a cutting edge art movement taking place, and I dig it. Okay, I'm getting off the soap box.

All I can say is Go 'Bama!

Year in Review - Best Toy Designer

Envelope please . . . . the award for Best Toy Designer of 2008 goes to Julie West!

Julie had a marvelous show entitled "Sickly Sweet" at My Plastic Heart. Julie's work is included in my series on Chick Art (see previous post here). I adore her new Bumble and Tweet Series. The characters have geisha-like hair dos and a bonnet with either birds or bees.

Candy Edition - Bumble and Tweet.

Spring Edition - Bumble and Tweet.

Tree Edition - Tweet and Bumble. I want them all! Images from My Plastic Heart and StrangeCo. Julie, you go girl!

First Paintings of 2009 - Minimal v. Maximal

One of my New Year's resolutions is to spend more time being creative, and specifically, to paint more. In 2008 I faced stressful and challenging employment issues and my painting suffered. I don't know if it will be possible, but I'd like to paint a little each day. I'm off to a good start.

I always work on two canvases at a time. That's because I have two distinct styles.

Minimal. This painting is based on my memory of a beautiful rug I saw in an Indian movie and is a celebration of the full moon. "Dance of the Pink Booties Under a Cancer Moon," 24" x 30", acrylic on canvas. This painting is part of a planned series.



Maximal. This painting is dedicated to Bob Dylan, and is multi-layered. See below for the evolution of this painting.

While I adore working in both genres, it is the simple, minimal paintings I prefer to hang on my walls. And, don't believe what they say - size matters! I adore large paintings! The first time I bought a canvas that was 24" x 30", it seemed huge and I was intimidated. I painted 16" x 20" for a long while. Now I love large canvases. I want to paint on bigger and bigger canvases! It's addicting, and I am happiest when I am painting, with music, of course.

Evolution of a Painting

I recently dedicated a painting to Bob Dylan. See previous post here.

As sometimes happens, I find a canvas will sit and then beckon for more paint.

It amuses me that a painting has more than one incarnation. And that there are several paintings under the layers.

The difficult part is I sometimes don't know when to stop. I've actually ruined paintings by not stopping when I should.

I really didn't like this particular incarnation, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to keep going.

For better or for worse, this is the final painting. Bob, I hope you like it. It started out as a dance to Chimes of Freedom Flashing. I see eyes and vaginas in this painting, that is unintentional. For some reason - I don't know why - I have been attempting to create dancing bird-like-flower-like-alien beings. Oh well, that's too many words on the subject. Art is really about a feeling.

And this image is because I just can't help myself when it comes to playing with heavy saturation in Picasa. I would like to experiment with motion on this particular painting. Stay tuned.