Summer inspiration

These lovelies are from LBK Studios. The designs are thought provoking and inspired. If you're looking for pieces to spice up your table or home, there's is a wonderful balance between grace and function. These twisted tumblers are scrumptious, bright lollipop colors. They're about 3" high and there are also pitchers with the same twists! Got me thinking about iced tea lemonade combos. I think Martha Stewart must've been thinking the same thing (they're featured in her May issue). Am I inferring that she and I think along the same lines? Hmm, yeah, okay.

I love these vases too--they can fit the perfect occasion by writing your own message or by creating your design for the day. It's an ideal DIY look without too much of the doing yourself part!


Now these Genie vases are really cool. Almost looks like they'd float up in the air like a balloon. You can find all of these inspirations at LBK Studios website. Very reasonable too. http://www.lbkstudio.com/lbk/home.html

A great twist on antiques

The Chair Couture is great this season. Love, love, love these antique french chairs re-done with modern flair. Great pieces to perk up any room and give it that "je ne sais quoi". Especially the french rococo style settee. Or the white fluffy sette. I'm thinking that would go nicely in the bedroom. J'adore. chaircouture.com

Whose line is it?

We're talking pictoral calligraphy.
I've always enjoyed it. I just never knew it had a name.



Taken from the nearly lost art of ornate pictorial calligraphy, or “flourishing”, Thomas Paul makes these dinner plates 11' diam (set of four $36) and coasters 4 1/2" diam. (set of four $14) http://www.velocityartanddesign.com



Okay even this rug's got modern geometry meeting organic shapes. It looks a bit like ornate challigraphy to me! Pretty nice in it's subtlety. Guess where it's from? Hint: one of my favorite stores. Target (pronounced tar-shjay). Zurich Rug - Twilight (10'9"x13'2") $1,139.99 Perhaps this "Lost Art" is not so lost anymore.

For the space saver

A very cool idea-especially for us short-on-space. A chandelier made of wine glasses. So simple and practical, yet elegant. It's designed by two architects in Sweden view their site at www.nasielsky.se


Rather make one yourself? This one's from another blogger www.swiss-miss.com
3 bicycle braking cables
2 circles made out of plexiglass
1 efficiency bulb
+
Lots of wine glasses
=
Koope, a chandelier designed by Phillipe, a swiss architecture student.

Maybe try it with champagne flutes as well.

Look around and smell the roses

The Bayard-Condict Building built in 1897-1899 by Architect, Louis Sullivan. His only building in New York City. I had to do research on this-it's just gorgeous, restored in 2000. Sullivan coined the phrase "Form ever follows function" and Mies van der Rohe later said "form IS function". I love how the organic ornamentation is so integral to the building design. It was certainly not a decorative afterthought. Interestingly, Frank Lloyd Wright worked up to becoming Sullivan's chief draftsman. (And later, was asked to design Sullivan's home.)

Happenstance

This is a wood fired piece fresh out of the kiln. Wood firing is known as a high firing process the temperature gets up to cone 10. The kiln needs round the clock stoking of wood to reach the final temperature. The firing goes on for 3-5 days with a cooling down period of 5 days. This piece is made of white stoneware that was put in the kiln naked, no glaze. I'm pretty stoked about this piece. It measures about 6 inches high. It's retro seventies looking with the earthy colors and groovy design. The even cooler thing is, I didn't have much to do with it-it's all in the firing.

For my own education, I looked up artists working with wood firing and discovered John Benn and Colleen Gallagher. Of course, they're already discovered, but it's my first time with them. I was curious to see what others results are for wood firing.




According to their webpage, " John and Colleen fire in two wood burning kilns: a salt kiln with a Bourry-style firebox and a 25 foot long Noborigama/train kiln. John and Colleen have been professional studio potters for 27 years. John (MFA, Art Institute of Chicago) has been a Studio Potter in Washington since 1979. Colleen studied ceramics with Ka Kwong Hui at Rutgers University and studio art in the MFA Program at Pratt Institute in New York (MFA, University of Puget Sound). Their work has won awards in the United States and internationally and can be seen in private collections, museums and public art projects. Their commitment to woodfiring is obsessive."

Maybe when I'm in Seattle, I'll have to look them up. They also show work at the Island Gallery on Bainbridge Island, WA.
And that's the end of our lesson for today ;-).

Bird Day Collage

I made this for a dear friend turning 50--I mean 30. I had a lot of fun putting it together and coming up with materials. I used the New Yorker for sections of words. Her birthday was a dinner- thus "Dinner with Relatives" on the birds wing. There are also the words "birthday cake" and "I love you, man". It's been a long time since I've made one of these. I'll have to remember to do one more often!

In memory of Dave

Another inspiration, our cat, Dave who lived to a ripe old age of 14. He had a terrific demeanor, very chill, mellow and loved to be the cat rug in the middle of the kitchen. Particularly when you were in the midst of cooking dinner or trying to get breakfast and lunch together in the mornings.

At his heaviest he was 25 pounds-so we put him on a diet in 2004. Then he trimmed down to a svelte 18 lbs. My favorite (one day I'll find the photo) was when he'd go to sleep on his back with all four legs hanging in the air. He was Kaleo's best buddy, was great with kids. Just purred away. We will miss him.

Dim Sum Sunday

Took a trip to China town and got some great Dim Sum at Red Egg. The first thing I noticed was the ceiling fixtures. Very simple slatted beams with long lightbulbs interspersed through the slats. Nice idea. In the alcove area, on my way to the restroom, a stunning spectacle. This time the ceiling was studded with round mirrors like giant thumbtacks, half reflective coated light bulbs hung (see?). Soo cool - even at 12 on Sunday.

There are no carts here. You place an order marking up your on order card, hand it to the waitstaff and your dim sum arrives sans the cart search. The food was delish! Excellent roast pork buns.....yummmm. And the decor was really great too. So I did alittle research and discovered that Red Egg has gotten quite a bit of press. It was designed by Openshop Studio, cool website too. www.openshopstudio.com/

DIFFA was inspiring

DIFFA stands for Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids. I never knew, I'm a newbie to the whole thing, but I have to say it was my favorite part of the Architectural Digest's Furniture Show, Dining By Design. Here are some of my favs.


Look in the upper left hand corner (here's a closer look) and you'll see origami cranes hanging from the ceiling. Very cool. (I also had the idea to hang origami cranes from the ceiling at my wedding reception years ago) It was nice to see it in another presentation.


Here's a nice twist on Delphware industrial style. I did a double take on the plates, so great. I thought the street lamp napkins looked elegant too.



I loved the half opened umbrella lights. There's was another setting that used upside down plastic beach buckets and shovels in a similar fashion. I didn't get a picture of them, but they looked very island style!


Talk about getting all dressed up for an event. This was fun.

End of show

For those of you who couldn't make it, here are some of the pieces from the "Black and White" exhibit closing today. I have to say, the exhibit was really well put together. Some of the pieces here have sold, but if you're admiring a particular piece you never know, it could be yours. My pieces are in the third photo: 5 raku vases. Contact MDH Fine Arts eventhough the exhibit has closed, they may still be available! (Soon I hope to put some up in my Store!)
FYI

MDH Fine Arts: michael@mdhfinearts.com Phone: 917-364-8221

Hello Tomorrow

Hello Tomorrow - mixed media collage by Rosemary Pierce-Lackey.

This piece is invigorating. Besides I think the Title, "Hello Tomorrow" brings hope and excitement into piece. Something we could all use a little more of these days! I love the mixed media used – collage of recycled paper, books, and consumer packaging on wood. The colors dance and vibrate wonderfully. The title appears in part of the piece, as well as a secret message-if you look at the detail! Rosemary is selling this piece on Etsy if you're interested.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=22234291

Trashed?

Who says trash cans go underneath the sink on the right hand side? Meet the Artala Can, designed by Joshua Davis/David Quan for Umbra. It's made of virgin polypropylene (really, that's how they describe it) with printed graphic exterior. Made with degradable plastic. $16 USD. Not too shabby for my trash! Envious? Get your own! http://www.umbra.com/ustore/product/082874/c505/artala_can.html

Collage is back

Funny, I don't think I've made a collage in a long time, almost 20 years–yeeesh, I have to admit, they've always been a lot of fun to do. A group of New York City Fourth Graders made this one to raise money for the school auction. It's so interesting to study all the different pieces cut out and all the various patterns and colors. Really beautiful. Think I've got to try one, and maybe it'll have to be with a bunch of kids.

Raku Crackle Exhibit

Well, it's nearly the moment I've been working up to for the past month, "The Black and White Show" at the MDH Fine Arts Gallery!
Here's the invite-incase you're in the neighborhood, New York CIty's Chelsea. (one of my pieces is on the far left, Artist Fred Rose's beauties are on the right) Fred has taught me everything I know about Pottery. He directs, teaches and works in the studio next door to the gallery. Thanks, Fred-couldn't have done it without you! He's done some gorgeous raki pieces in the show as well. It's a combination of Black and White Illustrations and Raku pottery (thus the name). I think MDH has done a great job in putting this one together! You can get some beautiful pieces and prices are affordable for regular people. The illustrations are the kind I could look at for a very long time. Once again, it would be hard to narrow down a fav. As for me, I've got about 6 pieces in the show. A few didn't make it, simply because of the nature of raku (they split). However, I'm very happy with the pieces being shown. Later, I will post the pieces.

First impression

I got an assignment to draw one of the most memorable spaces I've been in. Tough call. First, I thought of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao built by Frank Gehry. Then I thought of standing below the I.M. Pei pyramid in the entrance of the Louvre. I felt so small and stood imagining what it must be like during dusk, or in the early morning.

Then I thought of the cactus garden, Le Jardin Exotique, on top of the Mediterranean Castle village in Eze, in Southern France. Never been anywhere nor seen anything quite like it. The light from the Mediterranean was amazing. The foliage felt like I was on another planet.

Then I remembered my best friend, Cathy's home while growing up in Hawaii. The first time I remember visiting, I was about 7 years old, it made a huge impression on me. I loved the space. I was suddenly conscious of volume, integrated spaces, light that changes throughout the day, windows becoming picture frames for the outside, primitive folk art that decorates surfaces, and clean, sleek lines of furniture...I'd never experienced a place where my eyes feasted on my surroundings. Don't know how accurate this drawing is, but the experience influenced my personal style from that moment on.

Home Sweet Home

This installation reminds me of growing up in the burbs. A fellow artist, Jim Shack created these–each one with its own individual look. The more I look at them, the more I see the idea of fighting for uniqueness in a sea of convention.


It also reminds me of another piece of art (one of my favorites) that was a wedding present by Ross Rosenberg. This one reminds me of the second time my parents moved us into their Dream Home - The House on the Hill." It was one they had someone build in a very prestigious part of town overlooking Diamond Head. It was around the time I was learning to drive. Our driveway was so steep it was a wonder how the car didn't roll down the hill.


Also in Jim Shack's Exhibit are these blocks. Which one is your fav? The work is currently showing at the MDH Fine Art Gallery in Chelsea, New York. A great place to find lots of inspiration, reasonably attainable under Director, Michael Henry's curating eye. For more information about this show and upcoming events, go to www.mdhfinearts.com