Copying a saying from some prints I'd seen on Etsy seemed like a good idea even though I knew it was totally cheating to not come up with my own original concept. I printed out a template, reversing it and everything, but then I couldn't figure out why I was reversing it so I righted it again and started to carve away. I had been disappointed when I removed the cellophane that the old smell didn't hit me, but thankfully it came out strong, just how I remembered, once I started cutting. Oh I love that smell!
I've spent the last week or so thinking of goals for 2011. Thanks to sitting in seminars taught to me by Bob T. during age group swimming, I definitely recognize the importance of verbalizing, writing and visualizing goals in order to accomplish them. You may recognize some of these from previous lists, but I think 2011 has a lot going for it for seeing some of this stuff happen.
3. Remodel my bathroom. Also includes a week-long staycation so I can "help". I have folders of images saved but with ALL the options out there, it's so hard for me to make firm decisions. I have narrowed it down to black & white with green accents. I desperately want a tub I can take a bath in without freezing to death. And I want some intricate, small floor tiles.
8. Field Trips. I am still dying, DYING to get a tour of that quarry in my neighborhood. In the winter running errands, I have the most amazing views of it through the empty trees and I don't know why, but I think it's SO COOL. I am also completely fascinated with the Illinois Brick operation I drive past on my way to work. I don't know what it is I find so soothing about the enormous piles of cement chunks-turned-to-cement rocks-turned-to-cement pebbles-to cement powder... And then when it all runs along conveyor belts and gets put onto train train cars or river barges... I am obsessed with watching the whole operation.
Grass. 30"x 30". Acrylic, oil pastel and graphite on canvas.
Been out in the studio today. Hoping to: 1. Finish three this weekend. [X-only 1 done]
Also need to:
On a pool deck so hot it almost hurts to lay down. For hours. So my skin is still warm even after the sunlight starts to fade and we're firing up the grill.
These are some nice brushes. They remind me of a book I read once about a painter who was so particular about her brushes she wouldn't even let her assistant touch them. At the time I was like, That's obsessive? They're just brushes? But now I sort of get it. I've had the majority of my brushes since college, and I have definite favorites. Some of them are starting to fall apart. The ones I really love are sort of irreplaceable? Like really broken in tennis shoes or blue jeans. 
Now that it's officially winter season again in good old Chicago, and I feel totally gypped out of the kind of summer I needed to help survive the next 7 months – ah? and where's the anticipated 80ยบ Indian Summer to soften the blow? – I'm trying to focus some positive energy towards things that will make the freezing cold bearable. Like scheduling manicures and getting some new clothes, I think I need a stove.
I have to say one big draw back to ending my loving relationship with my rental apartment of 8 years for the house I have now, is the loss of the fireplace. A crackling fire (even the fake kind with the Duraflame log) would be such a nice reprieve from the cold, windy, snowy, dark nights that seem to be stretching out endlessly ahead of me.
Last year, Katy and Steve installed a free-standing wood-burning stove in their living room, in lieu of a full-blown fireplace, and it's proven itself as a fantastic addition to their home. I'm trying to figure out how this could work in my place. Where? When? How much? I have no answers to these questions, and realistically can't do anything about it for this winter season. But I can supplement my need for a while by figuring it all out, and daydreaming about what could be. So here are three of my favorites I found browsing the worldwide internets. If you have any idea where to actually BUY anything like any of these, please send tips my way. I really prefer these design styles to any of the more modern examples I've been able to find in my browsing. The top one is my favorite.
I feel the need to wallpaper something, especially since this happened. Crazily I think I could do my kitchen? This Julia Rothman pattern for Hygge & West called Daydream* might go well, and it's relatively neutral. But I can't decide if I think the whole bird obsession is too trendy?
A much bolder option, Crested Fireback, from Anthropologie caught my eye in the recent catalog. This would be really dramatic, and go well in the kitchen, but would clash I think with the general groove of the rest of the place.
For starters I think doing something a little smaller and less important in the grand scheme of things would be a good move. Like the linen closet. I could choose just about any pattern by Ferm Living, also for Hygge & West. This one is Wildflower.
And then there's this one A Bloomsbury Life posted a while ago, by Timourous Beasties, called London. What's especially wonderful about this is it looks all old school French toile, but the vignettes are actually contemporary depictions of general life you'd see today. Skateboarding. Cellphones. Punks hanging out. I love it.
And then I go back to an all-time fave, ROMO. These blossoms have always pleased me...
...until I just saw this. Again with the birds. What can I say? I like them! These colors could quite possibly be a perfect compliment to the rest of the stuff going on around my little house. I need to order a sample somehow to be sure. And then reconsider doing the little hallway instead of the closet. How do you ever decide?
This is really very exciting. The fabulous Lisa Borgnes Giramonti, who keeps the blog A Bloomsbury Life, arguably my favorite blog on decorating, travel, and attitudes about life in general, has agreed to use my design as her banner!
Ruth and I finally nailed down our plans for this weekend and it's just so exciting! It would be great if the crappy weather the city's been having all summer would hold off for a few days. Really. Please. Oh, how I love the hot and humid atmosphere that's supposed to be present the month of August in New York.
So I'm already overwhelmed, but excited to browse the furniture, and even more the rugs, at ABC Home & ABC Carpet. Also to view the patterns of Madeline Weinrib Atelier. Mostly I just want to take pictures to put in the someday files. Then, I think it would be fun to pick up a little accent or small piece of art at John Derian. We've joked about the fabulous John Derian and visiting his shop for a while now – and this weekend we get to do it!
But the real fun for me is some of the art we're planning to see and some of the incredible opportunities that have materialized. My trip happened to coincide with the opening of a new installation by Liz Jaff, who I've written about before. So we're headed over to +Kris Graves Projects in Brooklyn to see the work Hedge*, and meet the artist. I can't wait to see how these are put together, and get the effect in person. Yay.
I also decided to bite the bullet and contact Elizabeth Schuppe, to find out if I could view her paintings anywhere. Talk about excitement, she suggested we come down to her studio. If this happens I might flip out**. I've mentioned this art having a strong effect on me. I need to have a piece of it in my home some day. I just love it.
We're also going to the Guggenheim to see the current Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit. I watched this video and decided I needed to see it. These models are amazing! Hopefully while we're up there, we'll stroll around the park a little too.
Sunday we're going back to DUMBO to browse the Brooklyn Flea Market. I can only imagine the treasures we'll find here. I can't even begin to guess. But what a great way to spend a morning!
And I haven't even mentioned the food yet. We've got reservations at Salt, Pastis, and Pearl Oyster Bar. And we've been pulling recipes because we're also going to shop and cook at home one night, which I look forward to as much as all the rest of it. And High Line Park. We're going there too.
It was all going so well. Michelle had done all the preliminary work of stripping layers of old wallpaper, priming once with latex-based primer, then again (dang!) with one that was oil-based. She painted the trim and ceiling of this tiny powder room with multiple coats. She picked the perfect pattern, it had arrived, and we were on to the last step.
The work station was all set up. We'd cut out the sheets and lined them up, had the plastic bins ready for dipping and the waiting period while the adhesive got tacky, all the tools in place. The paper looked amazing, and typical of Michelle, worked perfectly with her whole first floor. You can see in these backgrounds how well it agreed with the living and dining rooms, even though it was totally different. (I love, love those curtains below).
We put the first sheet up though, and as we were smoothing it out and positioning it gently, with our fingertips, the ink started to rub off. As we continued to carefully flatten it out, more would rub off. I decided maybe we'd gotten it too wet? even though my Mom and the directions said you could dunk the whole sheet. So we peeled the first one off and tried another. This time I just sort of pulled it through the water, letting the printed side stay mostly dry. I was being very careful with it, and used a super soft sponge to try and smooth it down in place. It worked better, but every time we touched it, it started to go again.
When we called the store to ask, they said the paper was defective. We peeled off the second sheet and brought it down there, along with the supplies we'd used, and it was confirmed. We didn't do anything wrong, it was the paper. BUMMER. Ordering more would not solve the problem. DRAG. So we spent a little while, found a good book that had about 4 or 5 options, and took it home to get a better look.
Anyway, I'm bummed I don't have a newly papered powder room to share, but here's a tip: order samples. I will never get wallpaper without a sample first (I probably wouldn't anyway, but I'd be driven by the visual match more than the quality, which I now know to test ahead of hanging). Hopefully in a couple weeks we'll have the new stuff and I can revisit this project with some different results. Didn't work out this time, but totally fun and do-able.
Noticed this one outside my building today. I love when people see something, have an idea, and follow through. I'm pretty sure whoever did this wasn't walking around with a cut out balloon drawing and an adhesive in their bag. I wonder how long the idea was there before the execution. I've been meaning to post some items from Keri Smith for a while. Too tired after a long, challenging day of mishaps and dinner guests to really get into some of her stuff or ideas now, but take a look at How to be a Guerilla Artist.
Painting today. I've been thinking a lot about fishing and I regret not getting to Canada this year. I'm going to force the issue with my Dad for 2010.
I have not been spending as much time in front of the home computer as I did earlier in the year. When I rearranged the living room, the computer left it's post on the bed tray in my room for the table, and it hasn't gone back. Plus, it's finally kinda sorta nice out, and I have the strong need to spend every free moment I can outside.
Most nights when I get home I'm just watering plants and then sitting on the back deck until the sun goes down and the mosquitos come out. I have this feeling lately like all I want to do is nothing. Just sit. So doing just that watching the birds is a great way to end a day.
I had a weird past weekend full of plans. I was feeling mentally out of the game. I have been more internal and contemplative lately, quiet and alone. I am so happy that for the next two weekends I have both Saturday and Sunday crossed off on my calendar and "no plans" written where plans are supposed to go. This is both a huge relief and luxury, getting to do whatever I want, whenever I want. That basically means painting, laying out at the pool, napping, drinking white wine and grilling. I'm hoping to take Monday off, too, which means three lovely, glorious days of it.
These images are paintings by a local artist, Emmett Kerrigan. I bookmarked his page on the Linda Warren Gallery site a few years ago for the farm paintings, and recently happened back to take a look. There was only one farm left, but what struck me was what else he'd painted, which oddly resemble the landscapes of my own i55 project. I wonder if he had the same commute?
