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.

look what I found thrifting today!

Today was a beautiful day, so I decided to go thrifting. I had a great time talking with shop owners and artists, my peeps. And I got some great deals! All this loot for $32.00. Score! Here's the breakdown:

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1930s style watercolor, $8.00. Signed by the artist Kupur. Difficult to find anything about this artist. If you are familiar with his work, please email me.

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Three turquoise vases, $8.00 ($2.00 each for the small ones, $4.00 for the tall one). The tall one was really a steal. It's old, dating back to the 1800s, but there's a chip in the back. I don't mind, though, gives it character.

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Fenton satin glass vase! I've always wanted one, and I adore this color. You won't believe it - $4.00!

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Haeger vintage panther, $12.00. I've been wanting one ever since I saw Retromod and Haegernerd's homes on flickr (see previous post here). I like this one because it is small. I think it fits in well with my new edgy feminine, Asian, Bohemian style.

Everything but the blue tags

Dear readers, I needed a break from my computer today so decided to go out to play with my camera. I wasn't supposed to be thrifting - but since I was in the neighborhood - I decided to stop at the Salvation Army. As you know, the Salvation Army been berry berry good to me.

While waiting in line, the patient and very dear cashier must have said 100 times, "Everything except blue tags is half off." I shit you not, the following conversation ensued:

"Anything on sale?"

"Everything except blue tags is half off," said the sainted cashier.

"What about red tags, are they on sale?"

"Everything but the blue tags."

"What about green?"

"Everything but blue."

"What about purple?"

"Everything but blue."

"Will you call me when the blue tags go on sale?"

Honest to goodness, this same conversation took place over and over. But that pillar of customer service never lost her composure and never skipped a beat, as she loaded beautiful rugs, bedding, towels, dishes into very large bags. I almost peed myself laughing, which was contagious. Pretty soon the whole line was laughing. I quickly perused my tags: red, green, purple. Not a blue tag in sight. Hot damn! Everything is half off!

All this loot for $16.01! The watercolor painting is a signed original, I thought it was a great deal at $4.99. As you can see it has a green tag - that's right - it was half off! I will probably paint the frame white. The beaded purse is vintage, now I need to dig out my white platform shoes. And the vase to the right has been lovingly hand painted, and is signed on the bottom. Good fortune, indeed.

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I had to hang the watercolor as soon as I got home. Beautiful! Wish I'd painted it. Wish I could read the artist's signature. Fine work. I'd guess it was painted by an architect.

Here's a detail of the hand painted vase. She's a beauty, so lovingly and sensuously enhanced. Such beautiful colors. Thank you to the fine artist who took the time to create this work. I adore it! It's signed on the bottom, but I can't read the signature.

I hung the beaded purse on the wall, next to my favorite purse. My sister-in-law, as you know, gives me some fine gifts. The silver purse is one of my favorite gifts from her. I love hanging purses on the wall. My place is so unapologetically girly, and I hope Bohemian.

Oh - I almost forgot. I just gotta show you this funky shelf. They get some great furniture, and have some great deals. But I don't know what to think of this one. I've never seen anything like it. Might be cute as a shop fixture. And no, I didn't buy it.

If you are an independent film director of sci-fi flicks, the Salvation Army is the place to get otherworldly looking furniture for your sets. Do you remember the ugly dining room set I showed you when I first started this blog? Have a look, here. See what I mean? Oh, and sorry dears, I forgot to check if this had a blue tag.