Connecting with the World.....

Before there were blogs and internet websites, we connected to the world through hand delivered mail.

Leave it to the Europeans to inject beauty into a mundane object like a mailbox!

I took these pictures in March when I was in Venice....I am always fascinated with artistic beauty seen even in a mail slot.

Oh yes, there are beautiful door handles as well....but this time I really found some treasures!

My heart nearly skipped a beat when I walked by these name plates!!! I stopped so abruptly, I was almost trampled by the people walking behind me.

These beat any profile picture I could post on line!......
I saved the best photo for last!

This was an unexpected surprise  found in a narrow calle behind the Ca Rezzonico. The first impression someone has of your home is usually your door...make it fabulous with a wonderful vintage door handle or mail slot. It is always in the details that you find the most delightful inspiration!

Carolina d'Ayala Valva-Artist of Grottesca

I recently had the pleasure of spending a week with Carolina d'Ayala Valva in Orlando learning the techniques of true Italian grottesca.

Jeff Huckaby hosted a class with Carolina at his Orlando studio. We began with transferring the design by rubbing pigment onto the back. Working with egg tempera, we then painted the design with a monochrome of raw umber.

Each step is precise and could be a finished work in itself. All shadows are put in to guide when the color is added.

Layers and layers of thin washes of color are what make the egg tempera have depth and fusion of color.

The palette is chosen and colors begin to replace the monochrome.

Carolina works hard to demonstrate each step and checks constantly on each student on their progress.

After the color fusion, the magic begins with the detail strokes. These small. controlled strokes make it all come alive in the glint of a jewel or the curl of a leaf.

This is what made me seek out Carolina for the second time, to take another class with her. Her detail work is achieved only through discipline and consistant brush stroke.

If one step was left out, this beauty would not exist. Her panels are studies of the relation of color and the play of light.

Each student went home with a beautiful panel (produced by several 11 hour marathon days) that only a room full of "type A's" could create! (thanks Li for that quote)

Special thanks to Jeff Huckaby for thinking big enough to bring Carolina from Rome to teach this wonderful class. I think I have it figured out now!

For more information on Carolina and grottesca, click here and here.

Not What It Seems....

source

I saw this picture circulating on Pinterest the other day...it is the work of Dominic Wilcox who uses plastic soldiers and other objects fused together with heat to make these incredible bowls.

Theresa Cheek photo

I took this picture a few years ago at Maison et Objet in Paris where I was able to see "War Bowl" in person.

Theresa Cheek photo

From a distance, the bowl looked like red coral or something else amorphic, but looking closer the melted soldiers and weapons are obvious.

Theresa Cheek photo

The whole exhibit was a play on what is expected with a little twist.....

Theresa Cheek photo

Sometimes we think we know what we are going to see in an image...but upon closer examination, we see something different.

Check out the work of Dominic Wilcox and see the world through a different perspective!

Wandering in Venice...!

Getting lost in Venice is almost always inevitable! I know the city well enough to get from one district to another...

But it is so easy to get distracted by all of those incredible window displays and get off track!

Getting away from the tourists paths, you will find more of what Venice  is known for, intricate lace...

Wood carvers and gilders....

And incredible carved stone on almost every building...

Old world charm with medieval influences are still a typical site.

But eventually, you make you way back towards your destination...

And the water that connects all things in Venice. Happy wanderings to all who visit this magical place!

Buona Pasqua!

I just returned from Venice two days before Easter and the shops were full of decorated eggs!

The Pasticceria Marchini; one of Venice finest pasticcerias, had an explosion of heavily decorated chocolate eggs and candies.

Small ones with spring themes and holiday decorations....

Large ones in the window with Happy Easter written on them....

 And the sweetest bouquet of flowers and butterflies on a larger one inside to lure you in from the street....( as is the pungent smell of chocolate in the air isn't enough!)

Walking over by the Rialto, Drogheria Mascari had a mammoth chocolate egg in their display window.

These two pasticcerias still carry on the tradition of the serious art of confection. I hope you all have a happy Easter and maybe some chocolate on the corners of your mouth!

Salon 2012-Hamburg, Germany

(Marco Massimiani)
Salon 2012 just concluded in Hamburg, Germany. Salon is a prestigious gathering of international decorative artisans that gather once a year to celebrate decorative ornamentation. (Decorative artists are eommonly used to embellish the walls and ceilings of prominent buildings.)

Artist work on a panel they will exhibit usually featuring faux marble or wood graining techniques sometimes combined with other decorative ornament.

The exhibits were under a glass ceiling complete with classic music to set the mood.

The faux marble, arabesques and wood graining panels shown brilliant in the sun.

The purpose of salon is to share ideas and pass on age old techniques to the next generation of artisans...

Trompe l'oeil is also prominent for subject matter of the panels. (French artist -Julien Gautier)

...and the occasional tulip by one of the Dutch artists(Michiel Van de Laar)....they paint them so well!

Pierre Finkelstein did a wonderful arabesque with a tortoise theme.

Natali Hallberg of Sweden working on a panel.

Yaeko Kurimata' panel included a dragon . Yaeko would have hosted this year's Salon in Tokyo but;  due to the tsunami, will host in 2013.

To submit a panel, one must be judged and only the best make it to be exhibited. This beautiful arabesque is by Lo Spazio Dipinto-Caterina Manisco

Special thanks to Leslie and Nicola Vigini of Vigini Studios who graciously shared their photos so we could see this incredible art!