What's Next in Trends?

This week, I went to the World Trade Center in Dallas for the gift and lighting show. As you can see, Easter, Halloween and Christmas were covered!

The "restoration hardware" influence is still strong with lots of industrial stenciling on natural fibers.

One thing I did notice was driftwood taking a stronger place in the spotlight.

Driftwood used sculpturally and in a decorative manner.

Bleached and stacked into natural shapes....

Remember the driftwood sculptures in Gump's in San Francisco? They are always ahead of the curve!

Natural fibers were interpreted through lighting as well.

There were some artistic touches for accent pieces. I love the yellow chair!

 Of course, hand painted furniture was still strong. I like the "ombre" approach to the decoration on this chest.

Lots of distressing and floral design....

In the Hemisphere area (where people new to market can set up) I saw a wonderful booth  entitled-"Studio All'Antica"...

Artist Christopher T. Jewett had a booth featuring his faux skills!  His card reads "Classically trained and experienced in: European plasters-Trompe l'oeil, marbling and graining. Commissioned fine art and murals."

There was no one manning his booth while I was there and he has no web site listed on his card, just a phone number. Does anyone know him? I am curious how his response is with a booth at market.

So, mass produced or hand crafted?

A flamboyant reproduction or a one of a kind craft? It seems there is room for both at market, and hopefully,  the same in these economic times!

IDAL-International Decorative Artisans League -2012 Convention

If you are following this blog, you are interested in the field of art! You might be a decorative artist, someone who dabbles with painting furniture or just wanting to find techniques for your own home decor.

Have you looked into taking week long classes at someone's studio? I love to do this, but there are times when money and time do not allow it!

Are any of theses images getting your attention? They are all examples of one or two day classes that will be held in July at this year's IDAL convention in Reno, Nevada. It is just a plane ride away to learning some cutting edge techniques and getting to talk shop with artisans from around the world!

Learn how to paint decorative ornamentation (as shown above) or maybe......

You want to do some realistic clouds on your ceiling!

Or photo realism! Using air brush techniques, create a truly realistic cloud formation.

How often do you get to study with an artist from Florence, Italy using chalk paint, casein and waxes to produce beautiful hand painted furniture?

Want to improve your mural and trompe l'oeil skills? Mats Carlsson from Sweden is teaching two different classes !

How about a chance to talk to representatives from the big art related companies? Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, Golden Artist Colors, 3M, Crescent Bronze Powder Co,Modern Masters, Pierre Finkelstein Institute of Decorative Painting Royal Design Studio, Sherwin-Williams, Society of Gilders, Stencilwerks and many others will be on hand in the Expo area. You can buy products and have some hands on experience in their booths. Demonstrations will also be going on in the Expo area. Watch ILia Anossov demonstrate true fresco techniques and others show how to be a more creative artist.

I will be there! How could I miss such an opportunity? Go the the web link and grab a plane ticket! I hope you will come join me in this creative convention!

Ercolano....

Ercolano is  modern Italian for Herculaneum and is a town located at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. You can see from this thermal shot the size of the volcano.

This side view shows the veins of rich red and orange oxides formed from volcanic action. Hematite and other minerals form the bright veins of ercolano pigments.

Ercolano red is a beautiful rich oxide composed of hematite, clay, chalk and silica.

Ercolano red gives depth and warmth when used in traditional egg tempera.

When studying with Carolina d'Ayala Valva last month, we used ercolano red as one of our main colors of our palette.

Ercolano orange is not as strong in hematite, thus the color is not as red. It is also mined in the quarries in northern Italy -product of the volcanic action from Mount Vesuvius...

Ercolano blue is , to me, the most prized as it is much harder to find. It is deeper than sky blue , almost a turquoise.

I just received over five kilos (bought all that the supplier had!) This will be shared with a friend who introduced me to the color many years ago. I will now have to find new suppliers-here is one and another if you care to work with the magic of ercolano!