New Paintings

I'm happy to announce that I started painting again!  Here's a couple of my new paintings.

This work is still in progress.

Untitled, 16"'x 20", acrylic on canvas.

This painting is deceptive. Simple, but not easy. It may look like a solid color, but the color is actually achieved in layers.  Inspired by Mark Rothko.

 Pink City II: Underwater, approx 8" x 10", acrylic and pencil on canvas. Was part of a larger canvas that I didn't like, so I chopped it up.

All the art in my apartment is by me. More importantly, it's all pink -- which makes me ecstatic.  

New Painting....Simple, but not easy

Hello dear readers!  In the last couple of posts I've spoken about the process I go through when contemplating a painting. It usually starts with a color I see clearly in my brain, and which continues to haunt me.  Lately a particular shade of blue has been haunting me. When this happens the need to express the color becomes palpable.  I don't know why I do what I do, I just know that I have to.

I humbly present the first successful painting I've done since moving to my new place. It's simple, but not easy.  In fact, the more simple the painting, the more exacting. As you know, much consideration goes into the color. Then there's the mixing of the color. Then execution. In this case, I was going for perfection, although allowing imperfection can be fun too, but that's not what I wanted to achieve here. I did not want brush strokes, nor variations in the color. Indeed, the color itself is the art. This is a great way to experiment with color psychology.

I'm going to toot my own horn here - it is too bad that I am not healthy enough to work as a professional interiors painter, because I am great at it.  So it occurred to me that I should use the same technique on a canvas that I would on a wall.

If you want a perfect, flat surface it's important to remember that a lot of paints are self leveling and look completely different dry than they do wet. I think Behr paint in flat finish is the most perfect paint there is, especially if your walls are in bad shape. And Home Depot are masters at mixing custom colors (although I mixed this color myself using paints from Pat Catans.) Wish I could say this is a sponsored post, but it's not. :) These are just my humble opinions based on years of experimentation.

The key is patience and restraint. When we are trying to accomplish a smooth surface, the natural inclination is to keep working the paint, going over areas we've already done and lobbing on more paint. Like I said, most acrylics are self leveling, so not only is this unnecessary, it  can be counterproductive. The way to accomplish a smooth flat finish is to put a whole coat on the canvas, in a thin layer. Don't go back over areas you've already painted. keep moving forward in one direction. Again bear in mind that paint looks very different wet than it does dry.

Put a thin layer on the canvas (or vase or table or whatever you are painting), without stopping and without retracing your steps. Then, patience. Let the coat dry thoroughly before applying another coat. Fortunately acrylic dries quickly. Then apply another coat, same way, sparingly, always moving forward, never back. Again let dry thoroughly. You might be surprised after the second coat dries, you might be done. In fact, I have never had to give walls a third coat, even when painting a light color over a dark.  Repeat the coats the same way until you are satisfied.  For this particulsr canvas, after the third coat dried, it was done and perfect.

I love most art, but the art that I find most aesthetically pleasing in my place is very minimal. And like I've said many times, it's simple, but not easy.

Untitled, 2016, 36" x 36", acrylic on canvas

Taking clues from the rain

Ever since watching Design Star, I've wanted to make a custom chandelier. My new place has several chandeliers, and my landlord inspires me because she is skilled at making them. There is currently a sort of rustic chandy in my dining area that is not really me.  Landlord said she thought of hanging jewels from it.

Hmmm.  Now I've never been much for embellishments, preferring things more simple.  But one day while shopping in the bead aisle at Pat Catan's - and becoming completely overwhelmed and over stimulated - it came to me. Whatever I do must be simple. And influenced by rain. I love rain!

So I bought some chains and played with hanging them from the chandelier.  Now, if you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I have a ton of ideas, but I'm not that great of a DIYer.  So I'm pretty proud of this. 

Voila!  I have a new chandelier for about $12.00! I must say that I love it!  It's amazing how the chains look in the changing light of the day. And it's so romantic with candles on the table. I'd like to add even more chains, and to spray paint the fixture silver or white...

New Painting

Untitled, 36" x 36", acrylic on canvas

Here's my first large painting for 2014. I haven't been painting much because I need a studio space. This painting is highly influenced by my desire for more calm and healing blue in my apartment and my love of the Lake Erie sky. It's hard to see in the photo, but it actually has some texture to it and a few colors, ranging from baby blue, to violet to periwinkle.

Tooting My Own Horn

Hello dear readers! I always have a little trouble tooting my own horn, but here goes. I am honored and humbled that some of my urban photography now resides in the fabulous home of the equally fabulous Kim of Desire to Inspire!  I mean how awesome is it that a slice of Cleveland now resides in Ottawa! Cleveland is now an international city, lol!

Artists out there (of course every one's an artist, right?) know how it is. Your works are your babies. Sometimes I have trouble parting with my work. I want it to be loved as much as I love it. So when I give away my work, I have to be prepared. It's truly an exercise in letting go.  More often than not, it kinda goes into the abyss, never to be seen again. Most of the pieces that I've given to family and friends has been thrown into basements, attics, etc. So this is a treat many artists don't often get - the chance to see our art prominently displayed in some one's home. This isn't why I make art, I make it because I have to. It's in my soul, I have no choice. I must create. But...I take immense pleasure in being able to show people my unique vision. And technology has allowed each of us to express our unique voice.  Ain't technology grand?

These pieces are part of my post-industrial Cleveland and my Pink City series and were featured in the May - August 2011 Room with a View Show at the Summit County Executive's Office. I love this low tech presentation of my work - indeed my work is intentionally low tech and gritty.  And how appropriate it is that the duct tape is pink!

Thank you, Kim for displaying my art in your home and always being a source of inspiration and moral support!  To see more of my urban photography, see my urban photojournal.

Now for the shameless plug:  All photos are available as prints.  Please contact me if you'd like to buy a print.  A perfect way to put unique art, and a little flavor of Cleveland, in your home on the cheap. What could be better?

New Art

I've long been fascinated by hand made paper art.  A new fascination for me is origami and faceted paper works.  I'm planning a post on this topic in the near future, in the meantime be sure to check out my Art/Sculpture pinterest board.

This weekend I decided to experiment with a technique I actually learned in grade school. I had the most amazing art teacher in elementary school - I still remember many of the projects we did and I still use many of the techniques she taught us. One of which was wetting paper and gently crumpling it. Next you carefully uncrumple it and lay it out to dry. We used this technique on brown paper bag to make paintings that looked old. But it works on any type of paper, and is a great trick if you want texture in your work. For these two pieces I used plain old poster board. This was fun so I'll probably do more of these.

After pasting pieces together, I painted them with watercolor. Whenever I am painting the sky, I still think of the beautiful Lake Erie Sky and get a little homesick. I hung the second work over my sink, since I have no window in the kitchen. I dream of a vacation to a faraway, restful place. Now when I wash my dishes I have a tool to help me visualize.

Each piece 8" x 10", water color on paper, 2013.

New Work, Vol II: Lamp and Rug Designs

Happy Monday dear readers!  Hope you had a great weekend.  I had a ton of fun taking my teenage nephew and his friends to a haunted house.  So not my scene, but had a ton of fun being a chaperon. Teens are so funny and smart, and I learn so much from them.  One thing I learned - even though I love instagram, I really don't need an iphone.  Another is that I dearly love gangster rap. Actually, my night with the kids was merely a reminder, I've loved it since back in the day of Sugar Hill Gang, Ice T, Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy.  Give it a chance, it's poetry.  And, in case you didn't know it, Dr. Dre is a genius.,

Sorry, I digress.  I wore my new spike hat (bought in the hood for a song).  The kids were calling me Auntie Minaj, which thrilled me.  Cuz as you know, Nickie Minaj is the shizzz.

My nephew and I both had black hats and matching boo boos.  Ha!  He's totally awesome!  I thank God every day for my family.  And speaking of blessings, as you know the muses have been talking to me a lot lately.  So much so that I can't keep up!  Here's some more of my new work.

Help!  My name is Peggy and I am a lamp addict.  I can't stop designing lamps.  Here is a lamp prototype made of poster board and electric tape.  I am currently seeking manufacturers for some of my lamp prototypes.  I'm planning to make this into a hanging lamp.  I know it's not perfect.  But, hey, I get a lot more done when I let go of perfectionism.


I've also been designing rugs.  I'm thinking of experimenting with buying a big piece of burlap and painting it. I haven't been much of a rug fan, but I am falling in love.  I miss the wood floors of my previous places and I love a rug to define an area.  Just have to do it on the cheap.

Here's another rug design I've been working on.  I am really into geometric shapes - and hot pink (as you know)!  This design is part of my quest to prove that pink can be a thoroughly modern and edgy color, and is not strictly girly.

Here's the second version of this design.  With some cut out paper, and painted squares.  I used some of my fabulous nail polish to paint a couple of shapes.  Nail polish is coming in such fab colors these days!  In fact, I am sure the Fall of 2013 will be known in history for having the most beautiful colors ever!  We will be talking a lot about color in the next few days.

Here is the third version of the rug design.  I just couldn't stop tweaking it.  Here I tried to make it look like an actual rug, with actual stitching and a border.  I used neon and invert features in Picasa.  Thinking of submitting this design to CB2.  Not sure how that actually works, but I'll try to figure it out.  It's funny how much I do, yet I have no idea what I'm doing!  :)

Hope you have a great day!  And, as always, thanks for reading!  xo

New Work, Vol I: Collages, Sculpture, Deconstruction and Vignettes

Dear readers, I am excited to reveal some of my recent work.  As you know, it's made mainly from recycled and 100% post-consumer waste.  Poster board and frames were obtained at Dollar General for a steal!  There is plenty of upcycling going on as well.  Detritus found on my daily walks also appears in some of these works.

Still lamenting that a guidance counselor talked me out of becoming a graphic designer.  This was years ago, before the internet took off (hard to believe I actually lived in that time, and actually got things done.  boggles the mind).  This grouping made using shipping containers, brown paper bag, jewelry box, sharpie markers.  I love the colors and the graphic punch.  Since I can't paint the walls in my apartment, I'm adding bold color in my art and accessories.  If I could paint, I'd do a gray accent wall!  Gray is my new favorite color.

The work over the sink is also new and is part of my lamp design series.  I've made a couple of prototypes and am now in negotiation with a manufacturer.  I loved this vignette, but as you know, I'm not much of a grouping girl.  I prefer art to stand alone without competition with too many items.

I've been wanting more organic touches in my apartment, so have been assembling sculptures from my rock collection.  This is a sculpture of a snail.  I love it!  All rocks, and the dried vine, were found during a walk to the Tow Path with my brother. Care to see my brother at the MetroPark?  Click here.

I decided the little snail need his own environment.  That gob of blue stuff came from the inside of an FTD vase, that I made the mistake of washing.  It hardened and is pretty interesting.  I collected some little twigs and painted them silver.  I've been wanting to paint branches forever.  Now I'm addicted.    Also  used the silver paint on paper that was part of packaging.

I wanted to give the little snail his own environment, which included a moon.  I found this huge earring in a parking lot.  Painted it silver too.  Had the silver dish in a cupboard.  I like this, but still not completely happy.  Maybe I need a little piece of AstroTurf to simulate grass?

I played with this wrapping paper.  Still feel like the snail needs a moon on his world.  Wasn't happy with it either.  Would make a cute rug or painting, though, wouldn't it?

I played around with cotton, to simulate snow, and decided to cover the snail and trees with a cake dome. Don't want them to get dusty.  I put them on a candle holder I had.  Love the color.  Used one of the collages above for the moon.  Hey, the moon and the ground match in color.  Awesome.  Turquoise moon and orange atmosphere.  Why not?  It's another planet after all.

It's really difficult to photograph the glass dome, but you get the idea.  I have the sculpture in my kitchen. Considering whether I should light it with fake tea lights.  You can get them really cheap at the dollar store.

I got really excited about the color teal.  So I didn't stop there.  Now that the sculpture is done, it's time to move things around in my apartment.  As you know, new art always influences my vignettes in my apartment. I adore deconstructing cheap lamps and turning them into vases (see previous posts here and here).  I've been wanting a Buddha statute, but am a believer in using what you have.  My copy of Feric's book does the trick nicely.  How cool is that bio-mechanoid Buddha in the lotus position?  Too cool.

I'm crazy about this teal color.  The lamp was already broken, so I didn't mind taking its guts out.  Also, it only cost me $1.50 at the Goodwill.  Here's a tip, however.  If you buy glass that has been spray painted inside (as opposed to cased glass).  Don't wash the inside.  The color is painted on and will fall right off, like a balloon.

I am in love with this teal color.  Don't you just love the colors for fall#  It seems I fall in love with color more and more. Bright, neon colors are all the rage here in the 'hood.  Also cobalt blue, gray, teal, turquoise, mint green and - of course - pink!

All images by Peggy

Weekend Art Project: My Love of Vessels

Happy Saturday dear readers!  I know it is a crime to be at the computer on such a glorious day!  I just ate a yummy green salad and am about to take a long, leisurely stroll.  I've been working so hard.  You know how it is:  being an extreme freelancer is a 24/7 job.  Maintaining balance is a challenge, but is crucial.  Before I head out, I wanted to share my latest art project with you.

Do you remember the cut paper project I did that was inspired by a Barbie home?  (See previous post here).  I gave that piece to my girl Haley.  I was pleasantly surprised that she loved it.  Since I have had allergic reactions to my first two loves - acrylic and spray paint - I've had to find other "cleaner" ways to make art.  As you know, I am also limited by lack of funds, supplies and space.  But those are not sufficient excuses.  When you are an artist, you create because you must.  You have no choice.  So you find a way.

When I am creating, my soul comes to life!  I experience joy and freedom in a way that mere words are inadequate to describe.  Time stands still.

The downside (and often my reason for procrastination) is that I make a helluva mess when I am creating.   Even when I try not to.  And I friggin' hate the clean up.  Can't wait until I win the lottery....making a studio for myself is one of my priorities.  I'd love to have a little prefab shack with tons of windows - that I can go into my time warp, trance creative state.  Then when I am done creating, I can just close the door!  And I don't have to worry about damage.  I love my apartment to be free and sparse.  That's where I find inspiration, from simplicity.  Here's a dirty, little secret.  Here's how my apartment looks when I am creating:

Yuck!  See?  I need a studio.  Cut paper is a lot easier to clean up than paint, though.  And it doesn't smell up the place and I don't have to clean the brushes.  The maintenance man swore at me the last time I clogged the drain (for like the millionth time).  So cut paper and digital photography it is for a while.  A quick glance through my sketch journals shows that I am always drawing vases.  As you know, I also constantly rearrange my vases.  Yep, I'm obsessed.  That's gotta be a clue from the cosmos. Might as well put the obsession to work.

I didn't have any of my favorite water color paper, nor a canvas.  So I just used a paper bag.  Fortunately, I do have a lot of scraps of paper that I've saved neatly in a folder (I'm anal).  I don't have a proper desk, nor proper tools.  I desperately need an exacter knife.  On the other hand, I am also trying to give up my perfectionist tendencies, and I create to please myself, not really to sell.  If my pieces sell, great.  If they don't it doesn't matter, that's not what they are for.

Okay, I know.  That's too many words.  Here's what I created last night.  Imperfections aside, I think I am pleased with it.

Untitled, 2013.  11" x 14", cut paper and markers.

It worries me that the piece is a little crafty, rather than fine art.  Using scissors for the small, precision work was tedious and difficult.  As you know, I am vision impaired, so that presented a huge challenge as well.  Though imperfect, there is a geometry and balance going on here. I intended it to be tactile, the pieces are taped, so can be moved around.  That's part of the fun with vases is arranging them.  Like sculpture.  Each cut out is based on a vase I own; have owned at one time; or have coveted.  I tend to prefer asymmetry to symmetry, but do want balance.  When I arrange vases, I like arrangements done in odd numbers, so will attempt to do odd numbers in subsequent pieces as well.  None of these words really matter - what matters is I create because I must.

As you know, whenever I work on a piece of art, I rearrange my vases.  Sometimes before - and the vase arrangement influences the work.  Sometimes after as was the case today.  This arrangement was influenced, in part, by the work.  Stay tuned, dear readers, for more of these works.  Also stay tuned because I think my little bookcase is going to get a new outfit of paint soon.  Hope you are having a great weekend!  Now for a walk!  xo

Rock Sculptures

I've been sort of having an artistic crisis since I moved into my small apartment.  I love my apartment, but I have no where that I can make a mess, no money for supplies and seem to have developed an allergy to my first love - acrylic.  But I must create, it's in my soul.  When feeling a creative burst over the weekend, I was looking through my drawers trying to figure out something I could make.  There it was - a tube of superglue!

The Influence:

I've been wanting to make rock and sea glass sculptures for a long time.  I thought about this lovely image I saw on My Attic.  So I went crazy with my tube of superglue.

I glued a few rocks from my Lake Erie collection together.  I began looking around my apartment for other things to glue.  Maybe I can glue some vases together.  Oh, I know.  I saved some cute large beads from a broken necklace!

So I made these little sculptures.  Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet.  One thing's for sure, my appetite is whetted.  Stay tuned for more rock sculptures.  Who knew how fun a tube of superglue could be!

New Art Project and the Repetition of Circles

In my post below, I mentioned how I love the repetition of shapes in decor.  As the picture below shows, repeating circles makes a dramatic graphic punch, yet remains simple looking.

The Influence...

Apartment Therapy

Here is part of an art project I have been working on since I moved into my new apartment.  I have a lovely balcony with a tree behind it.  I've been fascinated by the full moon behind the tree, so I decided to do 12 months of full moon shots.

This is the best kind of art - I didn't spend any money on them!  I used invert and then just printed them on regular xerox paper.  I kinda like the low-tech vibe.  I had the frames, so voila!  As you know, I've been bringing pops of yellow in my decor.  I love it with lots of white and with pink.  I went through my stash of paintings and found a couple that fit the bill.

And wouldn't you know it?  I noticed the pattern of circles - or moons - that happened intuitively.  Two of my paintings, some vases, a bracelet on one of my vases and one of my prized possessions - my moon lamp from CB2.  That was a hard-earned lamp.  I bought it with overtime money made from working the hardest trial of my long career as a legal secretary.

Processing - Weekend Art Projects, Part II

When I was writing about the Tokidoki Barbie that's coming out next month (see post below), I discovered a whole new world of Barbie furniture.  There's a lot of collectors making amazing homes, with beautiful rooms for Barbie.  In fact, at times on flickr I thought I was looking at a real room.  And I've definitely seen some homes for Barbie that make be drool.  I began to think about decorating a home for a Barbie.  My Barbie would have a large, all white loft.  She'd need a vase collection and a fab way to display it.  Maybe even open shelving to help divide the space, but keep it airy.

Barbie's Wall of Vases, 2011, 16" x 20" cut paper and markers.  I cut out little vases all based on vases in my collection and arranged them on a simple bookcase.  The best part is that they are taped, not glued, and can be moved around at Barbie's whim.

If you're interested in Barbie furniture, here's a fun group on flickr (link), and here's a cute Etsy shop (link).

Processing - Weekend Art Projects, Part I

I love minimal paintings.  They are much harder to execute than they look.  Simple is not always easy.  Simplicity demands perfection.  One line out of place and it's ruined.  I often see a simple shape and a color in my head, and I'm not happy until I can get it on canvas.  But this day I was working with paper.  With paper, it's a little different.  There is a communication with a canvas, where I become merely its conduit.  Paper also tells me what it wants to be, but in a different and more subtle way.  It must be caressed more gently, and is less forgiving of the mistakes.

Balance, 2011, 16" x 20", marker on paper.  Not perfect.  But I am digging it.  I could design a minimal room around this baby.  This baby needed a partner.  And here she is.

Balance II, 2011, 16" x 20", acrylic on paper.  I wanted to do an organic stripe.  I taped off the areas for the stripes, but honestly, I was not as caught up in perfection as usual.  I wasn't terribly concerned that the stripes be perfectly straight.  A real departure.  I messed up the side of the work when I tore the tape off.  Or did I?  At first I was disappointed.  But after sitting with the work for a while, I kinda like that bit of rawness.  I just took it as a meant to be.  Like I said, I'm just the conduit.

I was highly influenced by the tye dye rug from CB2.  I am madly, deeply in love with this rug.  But, it's not to be my darling.  Cest la vie.  I wanted to communicate something this organic in my art. 

I'm not sure whether I accomplished that, but I am digging these.  That doesn't happen too often.  Here are the two works in my hallway.  I might put them in my Etsy shop.

Weekend Art Work

It was another busy weekend creating art.  Such is the life of an extreme freelancer.  It's all good.  Art makes me happy.

Untitled, 2011, 16" x 20", acrylic on canvas.  I was bad, I know I was supposed to leave those acrylics alone.  But they are so damn seductive.  I did a simple - but not easy - color blocking work.  I'm really loving blue.

Detritus Robot, 16" x 20", cut paper.  The idea for this work came about as I was cleaning up the yard.  Again.  The litter in the neighborhood keeps getting worse and worse.  Beer bottles, wine bottles, fast food wrappers, cigarette wrappers everwhere!  I wished I had a robot to clean up the mess.  And here she is.  I think she'd make a great vinyl toy.

I wish I were a video artist.  I'd make a video of her.  I can see her movements, her head kind of moves back and forth like a metronome.  She makes a ticking noise when she moves.  I started working on a graphic novel about the adventures of this robot happily cleaning up the ghetto.  I know, I'm a bit crazy.  And it's not like I don't have two million other projects to work on.  And, yes, I'm an insomniac.  Want more crazy characters?  Here's a fun flickr group devoted to this topic (link).

Doin' what I do, part two

My apartment is my lab.  It's where I experiment with color and texture.  When I experiment with decor, I feel like I am setting up an installation piece.  Lately I've been conducting experiments in how far I can reduce objects.  One of my best friends said I am the opposite of a hoarder, in that I am constantly trying to simplify.  I liked that.  It is tricky, however, because I do love beautiful things.  But I also love open space.

I can't stop thinking about the freshness of the aqua and silver in the rooms I featured below.  I have a few things in my closet, so experimenting is as easy as looking at what I have and trying to do something new with it.  As you know, lamps are an obsession for me.  Like pottery.  With the last incarnation of my apartment, I find I am not happy with my moon lamp.  I love the purity of the shape, but I don't love its scale.  I want something with an intentionally over-scaled shade like the one in this beautiful room designed by Marie Burgos.  I am currently consulting with an artisan on Etsy regarding having a custom shade made (more on this later).  In the meantime, I wonder if I could make a shade.  As you know, I'm not a very good DIYer.  I get lots of ideas, but execution is a problem.  It's okay, though, because my lack of skill is teaching me a good lesson in letting go of perfectionism.

So I went to my closet and pulled some stuff out.  I love fabrics, and particularly love the gossamer quality of these curtains.  The blue curtain is a lovely ombre and has a particularly nice sheen to it.  Maybe I could wrap it around a lamp shade. 

Voila.  I just tied the curtain in place.  No sewing, ironing or glue.  The shade is too small, but for this experiment it's okay.  It lets me know that I want my over sized shade to be done in a beautiful silvery blue fabric.

 

The fabric casts the most beautiful blue reflection on the base of the lamp at night.  I tried to photograph it, but couldn't capture it.  Man, I wish I could paint my apartment white.  I'd paint everything if I could.  The walls, doors, floors and trim in white.  I would need about 64 gallons of paint and a whole lot more energy.

Doin' what I do

I love hot pink, it's always been this way.  It's been my favorite my whole life.  A new obsession for me is my love of organic objects.  I find these vases from adonde perfect (sorry, I don't know how to do Spanish characters).  They would fit in well with my Fall decor.  Only thing is, I am not spending money, so they will remain in my virtual collection.  They're probably not available in the U.S. any way.  But they sure are gorgeous.  Hot pink is not just for girls, and combining it in this way with wood and a simple shape makes it appropriate even for a guy's home.

Maybe I could make something like this.  The local craft store has some funky wood cylinders.  Maybe I could wrap some duct tape around them.  I'm intrigued by all the cool colors of duct tape that I've been seeing.  I've been wanting to make some art with the colorful tape.  I have a lot of great ideas, but execution is a problem.  I'm not a very good DIYer.

Remember my genie vase from CB2?

I broke it.  By accident.  But I still find it kind of interesting.  Perfect imperfection.  I took it to a glass shop, but they said they were not able to cut it.  Cleveland is woefully lacking in artisans.  Now I'm wishing I hadn't  dismantled my ugly and broken vase installation.

The Urban Outfitters catalog came in the mail today.  I adore the photography, and will you look at what the model is wearing!  A necklace made of colorful duct tape.  It's a sign from the cosmos.

So I bought a couple of roles at Target.  It was hard restricting myself to just two.  This could easily become another obsession.  I'm thinking I should've also bought a roll of turquoise, oh dear, obsessing already.  I love ordinary objects used as art.

And voila.  Here it is - my new genie/duct tape vase!  I think it's kinda groovy. Simple solutions are really the best.  That's my kind of DIY.