2012-Year of the Dragon

I just returned from a trip to San Francisco....dragons were everywhere!

The flagship Gump's  store on Post St. is currently celebrating the Year of the Dragon with many decorative items sporting dragon designs.

Driftwood dragons....

Hand painted dragon pillows....

Dragons fashioned in jewelry.....

The fine china department had a dragon inspired table setting...

Caspari had dragon motif napkins and I found a fantastic bookmark with a dragon design.

The lovely engraved design is from Bernard Maisner and has intricate detail all done in Chinese red!

Chinatown celebrated the Year of the Dragon with many colorful examples!

2012- Year of the Dragon!!!!!

Setting the stage.....

Well, who doesn't want a grotto backdrop when getting married? When in San Francisco recently, I was able to drop in on artist Lynne Rutter at her studio.

She was in the middle of hosting a workshop for a visiting Italian artist but was gracious enough to let me sneak in and visit!

There are many examples of Lynne's work scattered around the studio, but the main attraction is the large backdrop made for her recent wedding!

Lynne is an artist specializing in decorative painting, hand painted architectural ornament and mural work. She executed this larger than life baroque grotto -setting the stage,literally, for her new life...

Speaking of setting the stage, Dirk Dirksen knew all about that! This is the famous San Franciscan alley he lived in.While wandering near Chinatown, I came across this intriguing building.

The small garage at the end of the alley did not look this way when Dirk was here.

Someone has done an excellent job of trompe l'oeil and it is quite convincing from the street...

It now appears to have carved architectural swag ornament and a marble cabochon.

Even the garage door and outer gates have been treated as verdigris  copper with rivets! How would someone describe the backdrop to your life? I think mine would have to involve Venice and the grand canal....!