We love when some visionary soul shifts ordinary objects into the visually beautiful and surprising. And reveals the ordinary for what it really it: material full of possibilities…
Read MoreBathroom ‘Tile Painting’ Is an Unexpected Liberation
Found at Lucinda Chambers instagram: Permission to NOT tile an entire bathroom wall, but just selected parts. Beautiful! As is her inspiration…
Read MoreSwirly Cutouts in Wood Antidote and Amplify “Modern”
For years, I thought this image was of a fireplace mantle and admired it for the swirly cutouts that softened the usual rectangle while maintaining a curious modernity. It’s an image from my file of wooden things quietly embellished with swirls, loops, curls, scallops. They give me ideas for my trove of uncut plywood, as do these from Brancusi, Blossfeldt, Margaret Bourke-White.
Read MoreArtists’ Simple Marks Inspire Our Own (Brice Marden, Mary Jo Hoffman)
Seeing images of Brice Marden drawing and painting with sticks expanded our notion of what we might use to make our own mark, as a way of revealing what lays hidden in our mind and heart. What medium or implement or movement will unlock the hidden, wordless part of ourselves?
Read MoreDIY Kintsugi Repair for Beloved Broken Things
Photographer Ellen Silverman recently sent us photos of her Kintsugi mending project which we SO admire. We’ve had it on our list to try kintsugi, the Japanese way of repairing broken things with the mend celebrated rather than hidden. Ellen repaired two beloved vessels in no time, while amplifying their history and personal meaning, and the ideas of impermanence and imperfection.
Read MoreS’mores Fabulously Re-envisioned (Gab Bois)
It hadn’t occurred to us to think beyond the idea of S’mores we’ve had in our head for eons. Then we stumbled on a complete re-envisioning of the three elements that blew our mind in the most pleasurable way.
Read MoreDept of Ordinary Materials: Jacques Boris’ Corrugated Room Screen
The corrugated aluminum screen designer Jacques Boris made in the 1990s set off a firestorm in my head. Its elegant, visionary use of an ordinary material reminded me of Lino Schenal and Max Lamb’s transformations of styrofoam. If I had the means to cut through thick wavy metal and finish its edges and hinge it…
Read MoreA Strangely Wonderful Website Helps You Find the Right Glue to Bond THIS to THAT
The strangely wonderful website This to That employs a simple widget “to help you choose the right glue for your bonding requirements.” You type in the two materials you want to bond and it gives a list of the best options. Glue knowledge is the site’s sole mission. We learned a LOT.
Read MoreIn Ukraine’s Tragic War, Art Appeared
Early in the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 23rd, 2022, New York Magazine invited young Ukrainians — the first generation born after Ukraine won independence — to share their experiences. It offers a remarkable view into the fierce realities of escalating war, including this from a 25-year-old painter who fled Kyiv.
Read MorePossibility Thinking with Stacked Brick Plant Stand
Spotted at @communedesign, a compelling idea for an impromptu plant stand at @hotcactus_la: stacked bricks. It reminded us of a story about bricks we saw in Apartamento years ago. What if we drew on some of THESE beauties from the vast and surprising world of bricks?
Read MoreArtful Lessons in Styrofoam from Lino Schenal and Max Lamb
In the 1970’s mysterious Italian designer Lino Schenal clad his house in sculpted styrofoam, from walls to simple, stylish furniture. Fifty years later we looked to Max Lamb to reveal the secrets of the ubiquitous material for making artful, practical creations.
Read MoreTattooed Tablecloths after Sarah Espeute Spark Maps, Guestbooks, Artifacts
When we first saw French artist Sarah Espeute’s embroidered table linens, we thought they were drawn-on with indelible markers, something we might be able to do. Then ideas and memories began to connect and flow.
Read MoreMatisse’s Homemade Wallpaper
When we looked closely at this stumbled-upon image of Henri Matisse, we realized that the wallpaper behind him was really tacked up prints and drawings. Brilliant. Looking for more, we found a trove of ideas to employ.
Read MoreAnni Albers’ on Material as Metaphor + Martin Margiela’s Tape Belt
We were stunned by the simple brilliance of clothing designer Martin Margiela’s packing tape belt. He recognized the most ordinary of materials as the perfect width, and texture to fulfill an instant need with astonishing personal style. It called to mind Anni Albers’ brilliant words.
Read MoreKintsugi Repair as Metaphor
Artist ciriacaerre made a video of repairing a smashed vase using kintsugi, the Japanese art that celebrates the scars and breaks. She, and other artist, eloquently describe its greater meaning…
Read MoreA Bed Surrounded by Flowers Makes a Dreamy Respite
When we stumbled on thisimage by photographer Jill Burrow, we thought, ‘Ah yes. We’d love to sleep surrounded by flowers, especially now, after months of guarded and circumscribed living.’ Looking closely, we found permission to do it…
Read MoreGiant Twisting Balloons Inspire Furniture and Your Own Big Ideas
Designer Seung Jin Yang’s whimsical furniture appears to be made of the kind of twistable balloons used to entertain kids. OMG, we thought, could we make furniture out of balloons?
Read MoreHow to Hang a Hammock Anywhere
When we passed a woman lazily lounging in a hammock strung between two trees in our local park, we wondered why we don’t see more people taking advantage of the many hammock opportunities that are available. IF you know how…
Read MoreTake a Lousy Book and Make it into Poetry, like Mary Ruefle’s Beautiful Erasures
We were knocked out by selections from poet Mary Ruefle’s beautiful ”erasure books”, poetry made by whiting out words in old books. We also discovered Wite-Out is a potent, paint-like art material.
Read MoreMy Secret Weapon for Home and other Projects UPDATE
Years ago painters left behind some sanding sponges they used to achieve a perfect finish in the high gloss surfaces. Something made me pick one up to try sanding an ugly heating pipe coated in green enamel. The ease-of-transformation was a revelation. I’ve been using that perfect sponge ever since for all sorts of fixes and projects around my house.
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