Inspiration to Realization

I remember my husband (at the time!) telling me he could make the four poster pine bed frame for less money than what Ethan Allen was charging for it, and it would be more meaningful in the end.  More meaningful was true to be sure, but less expensive?  Nada.  The technique necessary to complete the frame required a new radial arm saw, and then a table saw.  Then we went through a "test frame" that didn't quite work out.  Ultimately however, we got our bed frame completed and it was indeed more connected to us than Ethan Allen ever could have been.  So, I was guarded when I saw this little coaster at Pier One and imagined it as a studio table for my new client  who is an amateur paleontologist.  What better display area for his fossils ?  I knew I didn't want a standard table base with this top, and low and behold an interior designer was selling a table top ONLY for $40.00. Things were looking good. I needed nothing else new.

And next thing you know?  A Fossil Display Table.  Thank you Modello for helping to give life to the Turitella.

The Myth of Sisyphus

You know those times when you feel as if you are working at cross purposes? You feel your heart and mind going in one direction, but then the Bermuda Triangle of Distractions, Responsibilities, Medical Emergencies hold out their dance cards to disrupt your flow! After recently moving, I am left with, well, I am left with a very messy garage. Today was sweeping, clearing, reorganizing and preparing to work with stains. My previous efforts in Marquetry were truly fun and the results were quite beautiful. I am simultaneously trying to suppress my interest in learning to carve doors that would resemble the Moroccan style, and just deal with these Modello's and FAUX for crying out loud.

Last efforts were these, which followed with a trim line Desk for husband. Deadline for me? Two weeks!

Casion Venier

Bella Rosa

Spanish Colonial

Star Compass

My Girlfriend's Hobby

Here it is.  There are people who see something they like, and wonder  - where can I buy that?  Then there are those who wonder - how can I MAKE that?  How many times have I spent more money teaching myself, buying products, and making mistakes in the process just to do it myself?   How many times have I longingly looked at my girlfriend's empty garage, organizer tool rack with the red parking ball and compared it to my garage and workspace with good intentions and unfinished work? I finally came to terms with my thirst to be a nonbuyer when my best friend from law school sat watching me dig in my garden with a gin and tonic in her hand and commented, "I don't have any hobbies, my hobby is watching you do YOUR hobbies!"   My pledge is to de-clutter my life with unnecessary possessions, and reduce stress by finishing projects limiting severe multi-tasking and stop trying to fit just "one more thing" into my day before I take myself to bed and my nightly ritual of reading until I crash.

Turitella

Marquetry, faux and otherwise pleases my eye and while I have been planning to refinish an antique mahogany drop leaf table with a beautiful two color pattern done in stains.

I am suddenly interested in a highly lacquered look.  Maybe the Aurastone influence?  Until I can manage to get myself to a class in that particular medium, I am opting for a Modello on a four foot round table with a high sheen finish that is a turitella fossil image. But both designs are happening and I am looking forward to getting myself creatively working again. What's not to like?

Who are you Now?

There are two kinds of people when it comes to decorating:  the ones who plan for the day when their home will be sold to someone else, who might not appreciate a flashy color palette or out of the ordinary decor.  What is peaceful to some is suffocating to others.  But, by no means do the confines of color restrict us to monotony.  Even within tone on tone, mood, dimension and glamour is right there for the taking either in individual pieces of furniture, accents, rugs,  you will take or on your walls and floors.  Then again, there are those who throw caution to the wind, and happily take those risks that might invite a raised eye from the realtor who signs on to show your home with "personality!"  Which one are you?

Bring in the Welders and Broken Toes

NO one can say they've come through their craft, whether it be solely brain power or the body powerhouse unscathed.  Using the trowel all day long, neck craned in an upward position can certainly create havoc with your spine.  My counterpart in Artistic Restoration uses the big guns and occasionally suffers a mishap.  Welding vintage pieces found along the way can be a challenging prospect. The end results have hidden histories way beyond their historic and aesthetic value. Apartment Therapy selected this piece as the pick of the day last fall.

Leaving Again

My daughter is leaving the country again, this time as an Italian citizen with passport in hand.  The last time she was in traveling mode, she lived in southern sicily in a town called ortygia.  There was considerable influence from the Moroccan style there, and the plan was to recreate her room in a cheery sylte touching on Moroccan design.  Favorite colors were of the sea and jewels.  As I look at the result, I must remember the days I spent preparing for her return and the hope she would enjoy it.  She was delighted and began taking to her new space immediately.Do you like it?

A glass of sweeetened mint tea would be perfect!

Stock Cabinet Doors Altered for Detail

The Eye of the Beholder

It wasn't until I overheard my youngest child telling his friend that I was an "artist" that I gave it pause.  As a young girl, there were drawing contests that were simply out of my league.  My horses looked like a warped rectangle for a body and abrupt apendanges for the legs.  Taking up a paintbrush to create a still life or pencil to sketch was again not where I had strengths.  But there are many types of creativity and artistic expression.  I was secretly pleased to know my young one had noticed that I sewed, knitted, designed gardens, painted, and scrapbooked. I worked in stained glass, refinished floors, doors, furniture and had needlepoint and crewel pieces I did as a young girl.  I moved on to install cement and wood floors, and took to learning wall finishes out of the desire to know how to be more artistic.
  I am beginning to appreciate that the "artistic product" that anyone creates is the result of our exposure, visual and mental history and how we put it into a physical world.  Our product is a parallel and comparable world to how we become who we are as people.  We have likes and dislikes based on experiences, good, bad and indifferent.  What draws us to design, and color is as the saying goes, in the eye of the beholder.  So enter if you please, and decide to take the parts you like and change them as you will!

Voila!