Art and ideas for creative living
To create a work of art through another person’s Minds Eye is a difficult process. Understanding what a patron means when they try to describe a finished piece is tricky, when they themselves use a different “language” than the artist. They are, after all, asking the artist to do something that they themselves cannot do.… Continue reading The Anatomy of a Commission
I once heard a “proper” gardening guru state that the color red does not belong in a garden. Huh? I understand that there are natural color relationships that would make a tomato red look out of place next to pale pink and lavender for example, but to rule it out all together? If you know my… Continue reading Gardening in Red
As the season and sunlight slips away, nature plays its visual tricks of on us. The chemistry of color takes hold and the natural world around us becomes neutralized. But we don't really notice the loss of color though, because when neutral is played against itself, subtle becomes vibrant and all the negative descriptions of… Continue reading The beauty of neutral
I find the nuances of color & light to be endlessly fascinating. The impressions that combinations make can fool the eye and trick the senses into believing something is, when it is not. Like a world inside a world, shape and content formed by color alone without the added benefit of line is what the… Continue reading Impressionist-painted quilts
Color has a visceral effect on us and, when repetitively combined with shape, can powerfully imprint our memories. As an art form I find this an endlessly fascinating method of creative expression. Think about it; Stop Sign red or a white apple or golden arches…Iconography in our daily life trains us, reminds us - even… Continue reading Color and iconography
With cabinet designs firmly under construction next came the fun part of creating that backdrop to showcase the work of the League of NH Craftsmen in their new space. As much fun as it would have been to go crazy with fixture design (I am an artist after all) restrain is always needed when showcasing artwork to… Continue reading Artist’s gallery design; paint choices – part 3
Vivid red and evergreen against pure white; classic seasonal colors. Taken from snowy winter landscapes, the combination is uplifting and bright. We see it repeated and repeated this time of year so why not on festive toenails too?!! If you want your colors to pop, set them against a neutral background—like white—with proportions of approximately 2/3… Continue reading Color study; festivus digitus
At first look the cheery yellow kitchen in our old house had it's merrits—bright and sunny with solid wood cabinets—but upon closer inspection it needed some work. The cabinets needed rearranging for better use of the space, the paint everywhere was patchy and the floor was sagging. So we tore into it. The initial plan was to move… Continue reading Old house rehab 7; the kitchen re-do
Color changes everything. And when I have helped people choose colors for a room, the first question I ask is "how do you want to feel?" there. In a bathroom where we start and end our day we want to feel restful and serene. It's a place where we gather ourselves together, thusly, quiet colors without… Continue reading Old House rehab 6; the bathroom make-over
Carpeting is never a good idea in a rental property. Think; potty training, pets and exuberant beer drinking on game day. It all gets wicked away to settle down in the pad—yuk—and when it's not our own home... So in removing the carpet from our old house we had yet another opportunity to uncover some of its… Continue reading Old House rehab 5; reinventing the floors
It's hard to choose interior paint color for a multi-windowed open-concept house when each area has a different light exposure. The color changes in each direction. We were fortunate that the previous owners of our old house had freshly painted most of the walls a lively cream color with touches of red, yellow and blue undertones making… Continue reading Old House rehab 4; choosing interior colors
Through stops and starts working against mother nature's autumn time clock, the exterior of our little house project is completed. That before & after computer mock-up I did really helped me plan my colors with the plant material, purchasing at the end of the season while trying to imagine their blooms at other times of the year. Except for… Continue reading Old House rehab 2; completing the exterior
Creativity expresses itself in many ways and one of the ways that David and I have expressed ourselves over the years is in rehabilitating houses; old ones in particular. We are drawn to their stories, love reinforcing the layers of history they contain, are excited with the creative how-to problem solving - AND it's something fun… Continue reading Old house rehab; part 1
The drive home - just over an hour accompanied by the lull of humming tires - scattered thoughts and fragments from the day often morph together forming new clusters of contemplation that make for the most interesting conversation. Such was one that David and I had last week about the connection between the notes of flavor,… Continue reading flavor notes and musical color
Easter is an excuse for using lots of color and I'll take any excuse I can get! Traditions in egg coloring and flushes of spring flowers draw us to dressing our tables with lots of it for the holiday. My table this year is pulled from the color in my collection of Ukrainian hand dyed… Continue reading Color study; easter table setting
It is wonderful when it happens; that day uninterrupted, when ideas bubble up, thoughts are finished and we get the feeling of completed satisfaction when it is done. I had two days like that this week in the studio. The end of summer. Pure bliss. One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is… Continue reading A day in the studio; the gift of time