Ode to Dale Chihuly

Well, today is another unconventional post day. But! There will be pictures this time.

If any of you have studied art, you can skip this paragraph, because you already know whom I’m talking about. But for those who don’t know this famous artist, here is a little info. Dale Chihuly is a glass artist. He does blown glass sculptures and has shown exhibitions all over the word. He lost his sight in one eye in a car accident and can no longer do the glass blowing himself after a shoulder injury. So now he has a team of designers that he directs to do his designs.

Beautiful outdoor exhibit of one of Chihuly’s works

That’s a very short biography; you should Google more about him. Anyways, I was reading one of the interior design magazines we receive at the office and saw an article about a new permanent exhibit that has been built in St. Petersburg, FL for Chihuly. Basically, it talks about how the architect designed the space around the collection.

But it reminded me of how much I love Dale Chihuly’s work. Adding to my list of affinities for certain design elements, glass and color are two others on that list. And when these affinities are combined beautiful, I INSTANTLY love it! So seeing pictures of this exhibit made me really want to visit a Chihuly exhibit because of his use of blown, colorful glass sculptures and the clever lighting of these pieces that make them appear as if they were glowing.

An indoor display that shows how the lighting makes these look like they are glowing.

I not only love his work for the glass and lively colors, but also its ability to seem natural in whatever setting its placed. Especially when displayed outside in parks and nature scenes. I think the only exception would be the chandeliers. But chandeliers are meant to stand out and grab attention, so there you go.

Anyways, today I just wanted to give a shout out to Mr. Chihuly and say “hey! I love your work! Thank you for being unique and artful and sharing your creations with the world!” And I’ve decided that someday I want to visit his largest permanent exhibition as part of that hypothetical “bucket list” stored in my head.

Chihuly is awesome.

Have a favorite artist?

Area Rug from the River

I think today is one of those moments where I try to create an idea from something that has inspired me and it doesn’t always work out.

On my way to work everyday I drive over a large river. Today as I was driving, I glanced over and saw the river had churned sections with smooth as glass areas cutting through it. I love seeing that because it looks so unreal. I don’t know if you understand what I’m trying to describe but either way I find it beautiful.

In the distance you can see a smoother part of this water view. This is the best picture I could find to show what I saw this morning.

So I thought maybe I could come up with a design that would be inspired by this natural occurrence. Thus, I came up with an area rug design that was an attempt to recreate and interpret it into a piece of décor.

I used photoshop to apply the colors I was thinking of.

As I was writing this, I thought of other ways to use this inspiration for a design of either another piece of décor or even a whole room. But, sometimes it can be forced when I focus too much on it so I’ll let this sit for a while. So I’m not too proud or excited about this area rug design but maybe I’ll come up with a  better design or something new entirely.

Hope you enjoy either way. Feel free to comment and offer improvements.

Book Page Flowers

Today I want to share an idea from a magazine that sort of spring boarded the whole idea for starting this blog. Let me give you a short clip of the story.

When I began thinking about starting a blog I could not decide on a focus. During my break one day from work, I went to the bookstore and picked up a special issue of the “Better Homes and Garden’s” magazine called “Do it Yourself.” After reading through the entire magazine, the idea for this blog came into being because it reminded me how much I enjoy crafts, interior design, and improving one’s interior space.

So for today’s idea, I’d like to share one of the projects featured in the magazine.

Book Page Flowers

from the "Do It Yourself"-Sumer 2011 magazine by "Better Homes and Gardens"

This is a simple way to make a unique and lasting flower bouquet. In general, take an old book, tear out the pages, die them with watercolor, fold, glue and add stems. Arrange in a vase and voila, a simple decoration that any bookworm would love. It would look especially clever in a home that had a library or book corner. You could also use different types of paper, like scrapbook paper. This little project has plenty of room for growth (no pun intended).

Has anyone ever tried something like this? Feel free to share your experience!