Announcement....

Please bear with me over the next couple of days as I redesign my blog.  Lots of exciting posts coming!  Stay tuned.  xxoo

Broken vases and other things

Today I cleaned and organized my apartment. Again. All the while lamenting how much stuff I have. I've made a vow that I will not acquire more just because I have a larger space. So I packed up some pillows, paintings, purses and vases and took them to the Salvation Army. I love pretty things, but I also love the look of an uncluttered, sparse home.

As I was organizing my closets, one of my favorite vases sacrificed itself to the greater good and leaped off the shelf. As I cleaned up the mess, I thought this would make a great mosaic, or wouldn't this be interesting in an installation piece? I'd love to do an entire installation of ugly, amateur and broken vases (see previous post here). Perhaps I should save this for this purpose. Wait a minute, the rational side of my brain said. There's a stereotype that artists are packrats. It is difficult to fight this tendency. Afterall, I see beauty in the ordinary and I don't want to waste things. However, it's also true many things we save don't get used and just add to the clutter. Since I was lamenting how much stuff I have, I decided to put it in the trash, but not before thanking it for serving me.

As you know, I've been thinking about the color gray a lot. Fortunately, my landlord won't let me paint. I say fortunately, because that's one less thing for me to obsess about. I'd go crazy painting this apartment and exhaust myself, there's so much trim, hallways and strange walls. Better to just let it go. I decided to satisfy my urge to experiment with gray by putting it on a canvas. I love this color. This is a Behr high gloss custom color match. I took one of my gray pillows to Home Depot. The paint specialist was a dear, and we had a great conversation about gray, we agreed we love it in modern decor. Now I'm wondering if I should paint my hot pink bookcase this color.

I worked on a decal project in my kitchen. I found these decals at the dollar store. There are a million combinations! I had to let go of my perfectionist tendencies while working on this project. I tried not to worry if they were straight and to remind myself that this was FUN. I think the key is balance. I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out. Now I need an orange, glass vase for my table.... oh it never ends. I think I'm ill. In a few days I will reveal my apartment's new incarnation. Yes, it has only been a month and I've already moved things around. And it's no surprise that I added gray. Stay tuned.

Installation Art

Below I mentioned an installation piece by the artist Olga Ziemska. This got me thinking about installation pieces and how fascinating they are. When working on an installation piece the artist attempts to make a comprehensive experience based on their unique aesthetic. A gestalt, if you will. I submit that the artist doesn't even have to know why they do what they do, merely that they are compelled to do it. I am sure contemporary art education forces the artist to conceptualize, and to even articulate their intention. But in my humble opinion, the words and theories are secondary to the sensory experience. Here are some fascinating installation pieces. My favorites are the ones that upcycle (what some may consider) garbage. Hope you enjoy!

Any discussion of installation art must include the most well known installation artists, Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Although there is some debate about defining their work as installation art since it's outside. It does however, change the perception of the space they are working in, so I would argue that it is indeed installation art. No matter, their works are so ambitious they boggle the mind.

Joey Slaughter renders his organic paintings into 3D form. I adore his paintings and his sculptures.

Above images by Abbey Hendrickson as part of her graduate thesis. Check out Abbey's aptly named blog, Aesthetic Outburst. It's one of my favorites. Abbey features many wonderful installation artists on her blog.

Above images two images from Abbey's flickr set. I love how she collects ordinary objects and makes them into art. The picture of the forks is from her daughter's birthday party. Abbey sees beauty in ordinary objects. Everything she puts together is like an installation. I've written about Abbey's work on this blog several times. See previous posts, here.

This grouping by unknown artist. I think it's totally fab. If you know the artist, please email me.



Above work by prolific artist Elsita via her blog The Hidden Seed.

Installation art is not just for galleries and public spaces. It can be incorporated into your home as this fab room divider shows. It's made of empty tape roles with coffee cup lids. A great example of upcycling. Love it. Wish I'd thought of it. Heather and Paul's Welcoming Nest via Apartment Therapy.

Urban Outfitters, Beachwood, Ohio. Image by Peggy. This incredible piece is made of soda bottle caps. They had a number of amazing pieces, I'd love to know the artist is who works for UO. They had an incredible piece made of bicycle parts and fake flowers, but the store manager got mad at me for taking pictures.

Flower Child. Image by Peggy.



Damian Ortega. Awesome.

Stuart Haygarth. This is another fine upcycled piece. The organic looking elements are actually the bottom of plastic soda bottles.

Blog Envy

This summer I had the good fortune to work for a short time as an artist's assistant on an installation piece. My part in the project was very small, but it was nonetheless gratifying. And it was amazing to learn how much planning goes into an installation piece. It's mind boggling. The best part is that I got to meet the artist Olga Ziemska. I've written about Olga before, see previous post here.

Here is a preview of Olga's work at the new Roe Green Center for the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University. I haven't gone to see it yet, but I will soon.

I'd like to discuss a topic with other bloggers, which I am sure you are familiar. Blog envy. When I looked at Olga's blog I felt envious. I wanted to trash my blog and start over. Why is my blog so wordy? Why can't I be more austere and lyrical in my words? I was utterly engaged by the simplicity of it. Does this ever happen to you? Do you sometimes see a blog that is so artistic you feel envious? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

Announcement

I have an exciting announcement dear readers! I will be showing my paintings at Michelle Star Yoga and Healing Arts in Middleburg Hts., Sunday, October 17. Please stop by, it's sure to be a fun day! For details, click here. Hope to see you there!


Update - photos from the show:

I want to meet .... Lenny Kravitz

I adore Lenny Kravitz, both his music and his style. I read an essay today about the fact that Lenny is designing wallpaper. I think the wallpaper pictured above is totally fab (and goes well with my current love of gray). This prompted an internet search, and I wasn't surprised to find that he is a designer of beautiful rooms as well. The essay states that it's hard to take a pop star seriously when they turn to design. Hogwash. Lenny is a creative type. And creativity seldom limits itself to one venue. Think of the creative people you know, and how everything they do has flair. Oh well, this is not meant to be a dissertation on creativity, this is meant to be a post about Lenny.

I've never had a job I enjoyed, so I always admire creative people who are able to make their dreams come true. I've had many highly stressful jobs. At one particular job, we had to be on the ready at all times to react to emergencies. These emergencies often happened at five to five the night before a holiday. The team would often start to cry as we called families and friends to cancel plans. We often worked until midnight, weekends, holidays. It was insane. One thing got us through. Lenny. One of the women brought in a Bose. Through our tears we would look at each other and say, "Lenny?" We'd all nod and say, "Lenny." Then we'd play one CD after another. Lenny got us through those horrible nights. We got into a groove and cranked out the work. My friends didn't mind that I sang "when I look in my little girl's eyes" loudly and badly. Nor did they mind my rendition of, "if you can't say no, just think about me..." Lenny provided camaraderie for the team, and made those times bearable. It's a true artist who touches your soul like this. Thanks for that, Lenny.

Oh and BTW - can you deny that he is a fab designer? Dig this room he designed. He also designed that sofa. Love the black walls. I think HGTV should give him a show, its ratings would go through the roof. Images via New York Times.

Mood board - gray

Oh dear, I am barely moved into my apartment and already I am obsessing about a new color scheme. I've been talking a lot about my love of gray lately.  I adore it with pale pink, with smoky plums and with black. It's a very mysterious, romantic and calming color. I think my love of gray is influenced by my love of the Cleveland sky.

Here are a few things I have in my closet. I love the gray pillows combined with the pink pillow and the silver pillow.

Isn't this image from Cosas gorgeous? Proof that gray, pink and black look great together.

Here's a beautiful room with walls painted gray. I adore it! Love the simplicity. The large amounts of white help make the room look fresh. I adore the acrylic dining set. Acrylic furniture is perfect in a small room. Since it takes up no visual weight, it does not compete with the color of the wall, making for pure color enjoyment. Image via HGTV. I won't be painting my new apartment, so I may have to satisfy my urge for gray with a canvas.

Pottery Display

When considering pottery like I did below, it is also important to consider display. Skillful display is just as important - if not more so - than just the mere act of collection. Clutter just won't do. Below I spoke about my current obsession with pottery, but before I buy any new pieces, I must consider display. However I choose to display pottery will need to be done on a budget. Here are some pictures from my inspiration file.

This image from Apartment Therapy. I adore these floating shelves, but probably will not do this in my apartment. These babies are difficult to hang, and I've mentioned before that I'm not a very good DIYer. See that turquoise vase on the middle shelf? I love it, it has sort of an Asian influence. I am really obsessed when it comes to pottery. Whenever I look at a photo of a room or a movie set, my eye goes right to the pottery. Oh well, I digress. Back to display.

Here is where I am thinking of displaying my pottery. At first I didn't like the mirrors, but I am starting to like them. I can view this wall while lounging on my sofa, which is important. I love contemplating the forms of vases while lounging.

Remember the bookcase I saw at Flower Child? I think this would be cool against the mirrors. It would kind of disappear. I would display my favorites, sparsely. The forms would be geometrically pure and I'd love to see how their reflections work. Not sure if this piece is in the budget, nor how I would get it up three flights of stairs. I know I want something simple.

The beautiful simplicity of a Parsons product always makes them the perfect choice. I adore this one from West Elm. It would work great, but also not in the budget.

I'm really torturing myself today. Just look at this beauty from Evinco Design. Not sure I'd spend this much money even if I had it. But it is gorgeous. Oh well, I will have to wait for a creative, cost effective alternative to come to me. Luckily, when I put an idea out into the universe, what I want comes to me rather easily. I just need to be patient.

Pottery Jones

Now that I have more space I am, of course, thinking about pottery. I actually have room to display pottery and would like some new pieces. My collection is much smaller than it used to be due to various downsizes. However, I don't want to go crazy buying new stuff just because I have more space, I much prefer a sparse space. It's all about balance. Here are some lovely pieces from my inspiration file. Hope you enjoy!

All above porcelain pieces by Lenneke Wispelwey. Love the colors, love the shapes. I am always on the lookout for pink pieces that are also modern, and they are difficult to find. These pieces are making me swoon! I want them all. I may have to take a trip to the Netherlands.

I am so in love with West German white porcelain. The color and the matte finish are my favorite. I adore this collection. Image by Etsy user beebleboy.

Of course I am in love with vintage Haeger. Isn't everyone? Image by Barking Sands Vintage.

Beautiful bud vases by Heath Ceramics.


Above pieces by Mara Skujeniece via The Style Files.

Not only are these vases by Nesting Emily beautiful, but each evokes a lovely memory of a rainy day at the beach. Two things I adore, rainy days and white ceramics.