Design Rocket

Like Vintage Soft Drink Junk? Soda I! (Variations on a Vase, Part 2)

Just another variation on a vase--this time with a vintage soda bottle carrier and using dried flowers instead of fresh. There is something nice about the aluminum combined with applied paint to the raised advertising Pepsi script. 

Old advertising display pieces work great in a home decorating scheme. I look for them in yard sales, thrift shops, and antique stores. Even on line. There is something about the lettering that becomes pattern and texture first, words second, that works well with other furnishings and art. This is especially true with vintage advertising collectibles. The slightly worn and weathered surfaces give off a warm vibe and a nostalgic effect. 

I don't drink soda pop any longer, but the beverage occupies a warm spot in my heart still, which harkens back to the days when I could consume an enormous amount of sugary, bubbly, sparkly liquid with no side effects nor extra inches. I STILL long for soda every time I have a hamburger, which isn't often anymore.

And root beer? The best! It became my soda of choice as I got older. 

 

 

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It's Been a Very Busy Couple of Years....

It's Been a Very Busy Couple of Years....

This picture just about sums up my life since I last wrote on this blog: MY HANDS HAVE BEEN VERY FULL!

Part of my time has been spent working on my latest picture book, Glamorous Garbage. It's the latest book starring best cousins Bobbie and Joanie (of Glamorous Glasses fame), and you can read all about it on it's own Glamorous Garbage web site. You can also follow the Glam Garbage blog, on which, when I get out from under all of this Boston snow, will feature fun re-purposing ideas along with some funky decorating pictures and suggestions.

Another portion of my time has been spent in my painting studio, working on new paintings and also on collaborations with artist Rich Dunbrack. It's been fun to explore new ideas in a venue very different from publishing. And it's nice to get my hands and clothes dirty again with real honest-to-goodness paint.

Finally, many months have been tending to the needs of my family. With elderly parents that can eat up a lot of time and emotional energy, as many of you in the sandwich generation already know well. Add three sons to the mix and, well, you get the picture.

But I am hoping to be back now, sharing ideas on a regular basis again on all my blogs: Cats and Jammers Studio, Glamorous Glasses, and Glamorous Garbage. And while you're at it, check out my Facebook pages, too:  My Johansen Newman FB page, The Glam Garbage FB page, and the Glam Glasses FB page.

And just in case you think I am exaggerating about the snow, here was my house after the latest storm: 

 

 

What's Better Than Vintage, Plastic Bunnies?

Glamorous Glasses For the Eensy, Weensy Glasses Lovers in Your Life.

I should have paid more attention to Philip Roth

Grown-ups: YAY or NAY for YA?

Time to share new art, the new kitchen, and the house. In the end, it all blends together for me.

I am posting shortly over at Cats and Jammers Studio, my waxing philosophical, often verbose blog. I'll be writing about my journey as an artist and how important I think it is that we allow ourselves the opportunity to shift directions, materials, venues, etc. That post is meant to coordinate with an interview I did recently with Monica Lee over at Smart Creative Women via Skype. The interview will go live very soon, so I thought it might be fitting to share some more material and images on this blog and also the other blog to add to what Monica and I spoke about. Also, for a tour of my studios from last year, take a look at this post.

In a nutshell, what I hope comes across in that interiew is that one needs to be open to new directions as an artist, and follow where the wind seems to blow, no matter where that may be. My own latest adventure began with having artist Richard Dunbrack do an "installation" in our kitchen. We'd loved his art for years and after acquiring a number of his pieces (see if you can spot them in the pictures), the next logical step was to have him redo our kitchen which was bady in need of freshening up. And so he did, using our existing cabinets and his inimitable style. The result just knocks our socks off, if we do say so ourselves. So much so, in fact, that I even enjoy cooking again! Rich was the subject of the very first post on this blog. You can see it here.

But, it didn't stop with the kitchen. Working very closely with Rich as he transformed our kitchen, led to my next gear shift as an artist--collaborating with him by having him take the many antique dough boards I had collected for painting  and making them into special "frames." In this assemblage approach, I am happy as a clam. I get to combine two loves: antique junk and painting. Take a look. I think two heads can be even better than one. In progress: about 25 more of these pieces that I hope to share soon. Some of these are still availble for sale. Email me for more info. Gallery show in the works, soon, too.

 

 

 

December 2012. Just capturing a sense of the season.

Pictures really do speak volumes, and my husband, Phil Newman, is a persistent and thoughtful photographer. In our family most of us get so busy enjoying the festivities we forget to drag out the camera. Fortunately he is always there, camera in hand, ever capturing impressions of the season. Since this blog is less about people and more about design, I leave the family pictures out, but am thrilled to share the coziness of the holiday via everything else. Don't forget to clikc onthe photos for a close up shot. Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last, but not least, Bitty, the family cutie pie.

 

 

 

 

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In Love and in Love with Glasses!

If I Build It, Will He Come? It's That Time of Year Again!

Every year I build a tree for the holiday season using birch branches. I cannot really remember when I started doing this, except I was looking for something to evoke a feeling of a winter setting-almost as though it had been flash frozen annd then decorated somewhere in the wild. And so, my tree building began. 

At some point, howvere, it became clear I had to expedite the process, because the tree was always on the verge of falling apart and coming crashing down on everyone. It was that precarious and, well, building a tree out of branches is just not as stable as using a grown tree to begin with. Here is an early tree built entirely out of, well, almost air. We used to have to wire it to the wall to keep it sturdy.

Here is a blog post from 2009. This was the year that I started by using a display tree I purchased on sale in ABC Carpet and Home in NY, in January when it was marked waaaay down. I also had to create a holder as a base. You can see how it all began in the post.

And then, last year, I actually built addtional branches on to the tree. So here are shots from this year's tree. BTW, it is one of many entered into the Country Living Christmass Tree contest on Pinterest. Please go over and have a look aat all the gorgeous trees decorated by people from all over. One is more beautiful than the next. Mine is pretty funky by comparison, but it works in our house, which is totally funky anyway!

Happiest of Holidays to everyone! Be happy, healthy, and creative in the coming year!

Birds on the branches!

An old hand made ornament from my textile artist days.

And another.

And another. All of these are from the late 70s. That was BEFORE kids and before I was an author and illustrator. I had a lot more time on my hands then!

BTW, you can see a lot of my Amy Flynn Fobots on the mantle! Check out more of her wonderful work here and I blogged about her work at my Glamorous Glasses blog, too.

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Natural Holiday Decor Idea: Beautiful Birch Branches

Introducing a New Blog: Art. Kitchen. Karma.

Since there is so much going on in our kitchen as artist Rich Dunbrack works his magic in the room formally known as our kitchen, I decided it would be fun to create a special blog just for that installation! So mosey on over to ART. KITCHEN. KARMA. Where did the name come from? From my firm belief that when you live surrounded by art, you have good Karma--especially if it's in the kitchen! If you want to read about how one regular kitchen becomes something special thanks to one artist's vision, come along for the journey.

 

Captains Courageous in the Kitchen: A facelift for a work horse.

We have begun a  kitchen remodeling job. In and of itself, that is no big deal. People do them all the time, because, well, kitchens are pretty important and we spend a lot of time in them. Might as well like them. A lot.

In the last almost 30 years or so, this will be our third kitchen re-do, the second at this house. The first one at this residence was when we did our first major addition. Back in 1993-94, we turned a 3 bedroon 1950 ranch, into something of a 5 + bedroom cottage of sorts, adding a second floor, a sunroom a family room and a basement studio for me. The kitchen was redone in the process and with (at that time anyway)  two active sons, we wanted clean and bright and practical. 

Since then we have added another son and another additon of a new two story wing on the house. That work was begun  in 2001. Oh, and we added a dog, too. And the kids got bigger and more active. And they ate more and spent more time in the kitchen. And they even started cooking. Yowsa! Fast forward to 2011 and our once spanking new kitchen has had enough of us and we have had enough of it. It's getting a facelift. 

If you think we hate the thought of moving and would rather remodel, you would be right. And if you think we will be in this house until we move into assisted living sometime  in the distant (we hope) future, you would be right again. We're stayin' put. But staying put does not mean that things don't change. In this house they change all the time. Don't blink; you might not recognize the place.

So here are the pictures of the old kitchen. I am thinking of beginning an entirely new blog just for this process because this time we are doing something special: we are having the remodel done by an artist, Richard Dunbrack of the Theiving Magpie (along with a little collaboration by yours truly).

Stay tuned to this channel and buckle your seat belts. Rich is going to figure this out as he goes along. After watching the process, you may get inspired to have your own remodeling adventure, too, or you may think to yourself, "No way. I'm leaving well enough alone. How does she live in such chaos?" 

Didn't you know?  Chaos is my middle name.

 

1950s Heaven on Earth. Or at least in Brooklyn.

Bruce Buck for the New York Times

Oh. My. God. I have found nirvana in decorating. Or, perhaps I should say, someone else's decorating. And--he's a yougin' with the instincts of a Boomer.

I am referring to a Mr. Cullen Meyer, who has been collectng the 50s and everything kitschy associated with it, since he was 12. And he does it to the Nth degree, which, if you are going to go whole hog on the 1950s, is the ONLY way to go.

Check out this profile of Mr. Meyer and his style by Steven Kurutz in today's NY Times. And do yourself a BIG Favor: look at the slideshow of the rest of the apartment. It's to die for. Which I guess actually did happen beause it had been in the same family for generations, untouched, so I guess someone really did have to die before Meyer was able to move in, no disrespect intended. Well, at least the spirit of the former occupant can take comfort in knowing that the current resident embraces the period with gusto!

Were I Mr. Meyer, I'd get in touch with Theresa Caputo of Long Island Medium just to find out what the spirit has to say. He or she might even have some decorating tips.

Great minds think alike...or at least I like to think so!

Or, I could say, every dog has her day.

So, while grazing on the net for wonderful vintage stuff, which I tend to do much more than I ought to, I came across a blog by someone who seems  to love the exact same kind of decor I do. The blog is T-Party and this is the author, Susan's, website, T Party Antiques.

"Whoa," I said to myself. "Here is a person who likes almost the exact same stuff that I like. Like, exact!" And I continued to check out her blog pictures. And then I came to the photo above.To say that I did a double take, is to put it mildly.

Why? Do you see that little homemade, folksy dog in the blue cupboard? Yes, that one. Well, I had that EXACT DOG in my Etsy cart about a week ago, and then took it out, because, well, because I was buying too much stuff already.

So I left a comment on her blog, because I thought it was so wonderfully bizarre that I just accidentally came across the person who bought the same dog that I almost bought. And look how cute it looks in its new home, to boot. What are the chances of that happening? Well, as it turns out, almost nil, since this was not the new owner of said dog. This was the person who had the dog for sale in her Etsy shop! The dog I almost bought.

Want a closer look? Here is is:

And here is the link for the listing in the shop.I give this to you now, knowing that you might actually run over and buy the dog. I am thinking that because of the way this has all come down, it must be Karma, and that I was truly meant to buy that dog. So, if you want it badly enough, you should beat me to it. Now.

On the other hand, I could take this all as a sign that I am spending waaaay too much time collecting stuff to decorate my house and studio with.That would be the better cosmic way to view this, would it not?

Naaaaah.

Rules of Decoration: There are no rules

I've made it no secret that one of the ways I deal with stress in my life (won't bore you with the details) is finding comfort by using the decoration of interior space as an art form. While I paint large canvases, design fabric, create on paper, write books and illustrate (with paint and on the computer), all of those artistic endeavors are part of my business as an artist. In other words, they are my profession and I am paid for my efforts. Money aside, I love all of those ways of being creative. But--I also do "house." To me, how one arranges the interior space of a house is like making art you totally surround yourself with. And, I enjoy it as much as any other medium I work in. The different part of doing “house” is that I do not do it for compensation. In that way, it is a relaxing and freeing.

Over the years of having my own home, I had to learn to do house. How does one learn to decorate? Not sure. How does one learn to draw? I guess it helps if you are predisposed to doing things for the sheer purpose of satisfying your aesthetics. And, to decorate in a way that is true to your own tastes and purely individual, you have to learn to trust your instincts and listen to your heart.

After years of trying to be “tasteful”, my heart told me this one important fact: I did not have to conform to anyone’s expectation in décor but my own. And, I did not have to decorate like an adult. What happened is that I started to decorate the same way I draw—by instinct. The best way I can describe it, is that I got to that space you get to when you doodle while talking on the phone. Aren’t those always your best sketches? Mine are. That is the place I like to go to when I create. And it’s the same place to go to when you decorate. It’s located somewhere in the middle of the chest. If you spend too much time designing with your brain, instead of your heart, your rooms will be tight and stifled.

Of course, designing with your heart is not as easily done as drawing with your heart. Certain questions, like “will this piece of furniture actually fit in this space?” and “is this cupboard going to make it through the entryway?” have to be answered. Can’t bring the old eraser around to solve those issues. But, really, engineering aside, anything goes.

The easiest way to be expressive in a room is to find unique ways to hang things on a wall. Groupings of the strangest things can be dynamic when hung up. There is something about a collection of like objects that can rock a room.

Collections do not have to break the bank, can add color and texture, and are often a lot cheaper than hanging framed art on the way (this honesty coming from someone who sells paintings). And the fun is really in the hunting and gathering. It’s treasure hunting without the risk.

So those are a few  random thoughts on home design for February and some random shots of my not-for-grown-ups house.

 

Key advice: Have fun. Life is too short to worry about being proper when you decorate.