Pickup artist: Barbara bowles

More of my Santa Fe adoration. I can't remember the last time a photographer twirled my tutu this much! Her website shows a large range of her close-up, abstract photography of old trucks. I have a soft place in my heart for this type of decay...the nostalgia, the waste, the beautiful juxtaposition of junk rusting in a natural setting. It creates such wild and unatural colors and texture. I picked out a few of her cards because, 1. I was in a hurry and had to have something. 2. It would have taken me forever to choose one of her super large format prints 3. The 5 cards I chose are going to make a very nice little grouping.

The colors are outstanding and incredibly vibrant in person. she did a great one of an ornamental cabbage with the same patina of an old copper sculpture. The patina matched the color of an old hubcab...I picked up both!

Artist statement, readable if you click on photo or go straight to her site.

She has a great little gallery not too far from the square and was very friendly and lovely. Love stumbling on places like that!
If you are as fscinated by decay as I am...Carolinaeclectic ( see side blogroll)posted about the slideshow the New York Times is doing on the Grey Gardens Mansion...if you have never seen the 1975 film, treat yourself. Also HBO is releasing a reimagined Grey Gardens that I am simply chomping at the bit to see. I'll be speaking with Little Edie's accent for days...I apologize to friends and family in advance.

Reduce plastics Reuse bags Recycle material

I made a commitment this month to try as hard as possible to avoid any new plastic to enter my life. This is ridiculously difficult. I knew, though, that if I didn't try it in extremes I wouldn't be able to significantly reduce my habit. Frozen artichokes...my favorite? What to do? They come in a nifty and wasteful frozen food package....do you know how long it would take to process that many artichoke hearts and freeze them? I shudder at the thought. Alternative fiber....the search is on.
I have slipped a few times...mostly in just not noticing all those ubiquitous little plastic items like a tiny straw in my vodka tonic, the cellophane in a bag of candy, LIDS!
It's funny, some times the anti-plastic choice might not be the most healthful choice or the lowest waste option or certainly even the least economical. Milk cartons vs. plastic gallon? I guess I need to subscribe to milk delivery...we have raw milk services around here...
Also salad bar in a clam shell plastic container from the grocery store or a sandwich from subway wrapped only in paper? Carbs? Can I bring my own bowl to the store? How would they weigh it? I'm not trying to ought eco anyone... just trying to get my waste into check.
Some things are easy: ice cream in a cone not a bowl and plastic spoon...I remember being confronted by this choice over the weekend and then opting out of both and settling for a bite of my kiddos dessert.
I'm a chewing gum nut...yikes. Will I be gnawing on fresh mint from now on?

So for my little person's lunch...I refuse to have anymore little disposable baggies...the guilt is too much. Waxed paper only works for a few items and is not re-usable. I thought about reusable oil cloth containers....of course ETSY had them! These oil cloth bags from Rickrack Queen are exactly what I was looking for...perfect for turkey or cheese slices, edamame, apple slices, anything slightly moist.

hmmm...maybe not edamame out of the pod...they might escape. Or juicy blackberries....

Love these from Evelynfields
the plain ones in packs of 10 are very affordable. It reminds me of Laura Ingalls and their little lunch pails and cheesecloth wrapped sandwiches...so sweet.

there are quite a few larger commercial bags out there too...not a huge fan of nylon...but these could work for some items.

The nasty trash pool in our beautiful Pacific ocean....I don't want to add to this grunge.
Plastic is not sustainable...especially when we toss it out. I must funnel my creative energy into alternatives! Not being preachy, just letting you know what obsession has struck me lately. My wastefulness is really ugly.

gross!

Drape and shade solutions and texture... naturally

I'm a big fan of the way grommeted drapes look. The only challenge is that they are best when stationary. They don't give that satisfying "zing" when you open and close them. They need a little fussing. Even larger grommets, which are easier to slide, need to be organized into pleasing rounded pleats. If they are behind a sofa, picture yourself crawling over the furniture to properly manipulate them. You may or may not want to do this in front of your guests. This photo highlights a solar shade behind the drape which makes good sense for daytime sun but not for night time privacy.

In back of these unlined drapes this window has what looks to be a black out shade at the ready...the client could have skipped this step and simply lined the drapes with a commercial grade black out liner commonly found in hotels...the kind that make the Las Vegas 9:00 am sun impenetrable..and without an alarm, make you late.

One other point, some clients would inquire about dressing both the windows...this pic illustrates beautifully how one large window treatment can adequately address them both.

Dull photo...but stay with me...Notice the slight buckle that happens when these floor length drapes touch the hardwood? I enjoy that. You really don't need giant pool of fabric collecting dust bunnies and detritis on your floors. You also want to stay away from the 2 inches above the floor look as well, the effect says "I scrimped on fabric" or "waitin' on the flood" unless it won't really be seen due to furniture. Every rule has exceptions!

Notice how far above the actual window these drapes are hung? I enjoy this as well. It elongates the appearance of your windows and makes your room a little more luxe.

Panels are oh so modern aren't they? They come in so many textures and fabrics. I like the natural wood shown here. They can be used to divide a studio space, define an area, and of course filter the light on in a window.

all these photos are from Robert Allen Design.

He has some great eco friendly fabrics as well:

An now for something completely different....

It's too bad his website weren't a little more professional but his artistry is undeniable. Bernard Collin is a residential and commercial metal artist. IORNY is the name of his business, love that.

I'd love to have him to a custom window piece that could slide over a window and then rest on the wall when not in use.

Happy Earth Day! Best List

People are loving wallpaper again...but get a little cranky when they try to put it in humid areas. This POST CONSUMER RECYCLED glass mosaic tile is great for pool and jacuzzi rooms, that cabana you keep meaning to build, the pool, the steamroom, above the sink or oven....these rooms are over the top. Great for hotel lobbies and hot climates but really, even on a much smaller scale, they would be amazing. Your powder room would be the talk of the town...or at least the block...or blog.

This is onethe earth-friendliest and chic-clothing company: NAU

The best book ever about over consumption and sustainability.

Fun from the oh-so Earth lovin' Ditty Bops

The best bicycle circus ever? PEDAL POWER

Rothko (peeko train...not)

Are you inspired by color? By art? By certain palettes?

ROTHKO: In 1954 he asked that his largest pictures be installed "so that they must be
first encountered at close quarters, so that the first experience is to be
within the picture." Since my pictures are large, colorful, and unframed, and
since museum walls are usually immense and formidable, there is the danger that the pictures relate themselves as decorative areas to the walls. This would be a distortion of their meaning, since the pictures are intimate and intense, and are the opposite of what is decorative; and have been painted in a scale of
normal living rather than an institutional scale. I have on occasion
successfully dealt with this problem by tending to crowd the show rather than
making it spare. By saturating the room with the feeling of the work, the walls
are defeated and the poignancy of each single work...become[s] more visible. I
also hang the largest pictures so that they must be first encountered at close
quarters, so that the first experience is to be within the picture. This may
well give the key to the observer of the ideal relationship between himself and the rest of the pictures. This one practically glows like an x-ray film.

Hmmmm "Opposite of decorative" yet so inspiring to the decorator. No one wants matching art work, the decor in a box look, but I think that when you have artists that light a fire in you, you find objects, fabrics and shapes that connect and create cohesive rooms.

Rothko's colors are saturated and intense. I saw them first hand at the National Gallery of Art. Huge canvases upon which color swatches blur...I'm a big fan. Like all the greats, Picasso specifically, the road to abstraction and "simplification" is littered with amazing early works, more classic but yet always fresh. The following composition really intrigues me, little figures vs. large architecture. Those painters, always playing with scale.

He also inspires more monochromatic decor ideas for me...thoughts? All decor via artful home.

Santa Fe for all ages

I love the round cocoa walls and the deep blue sky combo. I love going to Santa Fe because if feels like we're still in the West but somehow, we slipped through a wormhole that leads to historic sites, elegant architecture and modern design seamlessly blending with ancient adobe.

While in there with two little 6 six year olds a friend and I decided to take advantage of all the great kids stuff the following videos aren't what we saw exactly but a taste of the company's talents:

We saw Coup de Circ Wise Fool's newest original production. This tale of of compassion and circus rebellion features a greedy ringmaster, stilt animals, a giant puppet, and acrobatic and aerial magic! After its Santa Fe run, Coup de Circ will tour to Canada to take part in two International Children's Festivals.
Their web site is amazing. I am so tempted to take one of their classes. The aerialist was unbelievable.

Historic House Colors, hurray!

But first, an "anti-rant", SPRING IS COMING TO THE SAN JUANS!!! IT IS. It must! This silly spring snow and frigid temperatures are silly little weather whims...it can't last forever. Spring has just been delayed for the time being. Now then, onto our D.C. historical tour, isn't she lovely? Trimmed in sage and cinnamon?
Spring break...
Sorry about the Subaru..editing complications. The grey house looked so pretty with the pink blossoms.
Smart colors.
This one isn't merely here for the colors, I just loved the round window.

Not crazy about the rainbow roof, but main colors are bold and fun...wish I'd taken more.
This was the Fredrick Douglas house.


I'm off to Santa Fe...posting in advance...not escaping the weather just continuing the Spring Break.