Grottesca in San Antonio...

Grottesca was the buzz word in San Antonio this past week with the  arrival of Carolina D'Ayala Valva of Artelier studio of Rome.

Leslie and Nicola Vigini opened their studio for an intensive four day class with Carolina on the art of egg tempera grottesca. Leslie and Nicola operate an extremely creative studio in San Antonio and catered completely to the needs of each student.

Carolina designed a panel for the class including basic grottesca ornamentation. Once the design was transferred to canvas, the key color was applied in layered washes.

Classes went from 9:00 am till sometimes 7:00pm...the Viginis provided lunch daily and snacks for the marathon hours.

 Even Nicola  participated in painting the panel.

Tempera grassa or "fat" tempera (oil tempera) was the medium used for this class. The beauty of egg tempera is the building of layers of color to create depth and shading. 

Grottesca is known for it's attention to detail...in fantasy borders and intricate foliage. The tempera has a matte , organic feel which cannot be duplicated through other mediums.

This is my finished panel...I would not trade anything for the knowledge learned this week on this Renaissance process.  Thanks to Carolina for her dedication and patience with her students and special thanks to the Viginis for supporting the art of decoration!

Crocodile Smiles...

Thought you might like to see what I have been up to. I just finished a project for a client's new home....

This was the dining room before the project began...

The clients had just moved in their new home and there was no definition to the rooms. I needed to anchor their large painting and give the dining room an identity!

They wanted a masculine look and were drawn to a Ralph Lauren style of decorating. Crocodile to the rescue! I created large panels of crocodile on each wall to give the room some weight and counterbalance the large cast stone columns.

The clients felt the existing columns looked unfinished and needed some magic as well..

To give a more "finished" look , I troweled the columns with venetian plaster and painted the bases and capitals a contrasting color .

Now the banister, steps and wooden floors came together with that simple touch!

The dining room began to take on its' own identity and express the client's tastes.

To offset the heavy panels and draw the eye upward, I painted a simple, light design in crest fashion of crossed branches, oak leaves and acorns over each panel.

Done in a provence style, the "crests" give the room added height and interest on each wall.

When guests walk into the home, they  know immediately the lifestyle of the owners. Make sure you have architectural elements in your home and balance them with personal style!

Take the Plunge...!

Scarlett Abbott photo

Let's go swimming!  On second thought...uhmmm.....you go ahead....I am going to check out this pool house!

Scarlett Abbott photo

 Artist Scarlett Abbott is the genius decorator of this marvelous pool house. Nothing escapes detail in this design...look at the shell encrusted lantern and marine themed groin vaults.

Abbott photo

Shells adorn most of the furniture and some of the arched doorways!

Abbott photo

Love those shell sconces mounted on the antique mirror walls.

Abbott photo

More shells and nautical themes ! Notice the shell encrusted arched doorway in the mirror reflection...

Tedesco photo

Want more? How about Andrew Tedesco's work. New York based artist Andrew, created this 30 foot scene on canvas in his studio and installed it on site.

Tedesco photo

The other walls were painted on site to continue the illusion...

Tedesco photo

These pool houses show the power of design and execution....take ownership of your walls and create your own fantasy world!

The Elusive Spanish Moire...

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This week, a friend of mine posted the above photo of a book in his family's collection. He had not seen this pattern of marbled paper before and was  intrigued...as he should be! This is probably the most sought after pattern used for bookbinding paper....the Spanish Moire!

Examples of Spanish Moire

Photo from "Marbling- A Complete Guide to Creating Beautiful Patterned Papers and Fabrics" by Diane Vogel Maurer with Paul Maurer

Marbled paper is made by placing drops of color onto a thickened bath of chemicals and water.

The more elaborate patterns of marbled paper can have up to 15-20 steps, using handmade combs and rakes.

Marbleart.us

The basis of the Spanish Moire is the Spanish wave....easier to manipulate, but not for the beginner, the paper is gently rocked as it is lain on the surface of the bath, thus producing the lines- or waves.

Marbleart.us

These papers are hard enough to produce, but the Spanish Moire adds another step to the process....

You have to fold the paper in a certain way before you lay it on the marble bath...while gently rocking the paper...and tilting the bath!!! The paper above was made by marbler Iris Nevins and is from the book "Marbled Designs-A Complete Guide to Fifty-Five Elegant Patterns" by Patty Schleicher and Mimi Schleicher.

Iris Nevins photo

Iris uses parts of the Spanish Moire process and isolates the ripples or waves.

This is an example of Spanish Moire, with the almost three dimensional look of waves and ripples.

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This is Spanish Moire at it's best! The design is distorted, shifted into almost a topographical map. Only the best marblers can produce this amazing look.

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Similar to the Spanish Moire is this form of Suminigashi. Color is applied to the bath and then blown on and manipulated with a stylus into the more linear design above.

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You can see that suminigashi is used for the background of this asian design.

Falling in love with marbling yet? You can get some wonderful reproductions in the John Derian line now featured in Target stores.

Just check the stationary section for some beautiful organizers covered with traditional examples of marbled papers!

Thanks to Steve Shriver for his passion and curiosity of the arts and thanks to Regina Garay for linking him to a previous post I made on marbling! Love you guys!!

Aubusson....woven works of art

Oreillers photo

In the mid 17th c in Paris, elaborate wool and linen rugs were woven.

The combination of linen, wool and natural dyes made  for a product that still stands out today against mass made, synthetic dyed weavings.
These rugs were based on rugs of the court for Louis XIV and were made for wealthy homes.

Treated like a painting, the weavings captured highlights and shadows with the small, flat stitches.This Aubusson fragment is from a wonderful post by Interesting Antique Textiles

The combination of blues, rust and cremes were a staple in these designs.

Look at the detail in this! Even the small beads around the circle have wonderful highlights and shading.

Morgaine Le Fay antique Textiles is another source for more photos and information on Aubusson.

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Finding these treasures is a little hard but when you do, you have an investment! 

Macabre Art

One hour from Prague is Sedlec, a suburb of Kutna Hora where the Church of All Saints is located.

With Halloween approaching, macabre art is on my mind. The Czech Sedlec Ossuary began around 1400 to house an overabundance of buried bodies.

An ossuary is a final resting place for human skeletal remains and becomes a necessity when burial space is scarce.

It is estimated that the bones of 40-70 thousand people are in the basement ossuary.

The bubonic plague and later Hussite Wars provided the bodies that now decorate the church. Wood carver and artist, Frantisek Rint designed how the bones would be placed.

This chandelier contains every bone in the human body. You can look at this as macabre, but there is beauty and symmetry in the designs Rint created. I think I would rather have my remains used in this way than to take up space in the ground!

 Thanks to the Berger Foundation for the endless files of photos of art around the world.