Hydrangea Hill Cottage

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Serendipity II

My second serendipitous moment in New York came when we happened upon this spectacular "Circle of Zodiac Heads" exhibition by controversial Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. We were approaching The Plaza Hotel when I saw this collection of bronze sculptures, each standing on a post approximately 20' tall. The heads are about 4 feet tall each and weigh about 800 pounds.

After doing a little research on this temporary New York exhibition, I discovered that Weiwei is the same artist who displayed over a 100,000,000 porcelain sunflower seeds at the Tate Modern in London earlier this year. I remember reading about it at the time and now know that Weiwei captures attention to help expose the true living conditions and repressions in China.

This is a very impressive work of art and I felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to see them first hand.

For more on this artist and his creations, check out this address http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-reviews/8507394/Ai-Weiwei-Zodiac-Heads-Somerset-House-review.html

Photos via Kay Furlong

Monday, June 06, 2011

Serendipity I

Ser-en-dip-i-ty - an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident; luck; good fortune.

I'm home again from a whirlwind trip to New York city last week that was fun, exciting, informative, fast paced, entertaining and, among other things, serendipitous!

As I told you in a previous post, one of my first stopping points would be Anthropologie......and it was! Couldn't wait to get there and see what was new! And it was great, as always.

I was still thinking about the display of dog art I saw there last March (2010) when I visited....all done in paper collage. It was unforgettable and I had thought of it many times over the past year.

So, it was with great interest, and very serendipitous, when I happened upon this book, Paperwork, by Peter Clark, as it immediately took me back to last year's exhibition at Anthropologie and I wondered if it was his dog art I had seen, or if it had been done by various artists (and perhaps inspired by his work)? I've tried researching last year's Anthropologie's display since arriving home, and I still don't know the answer to that question, but in the process, have discovered a lot of information about Peter Clark who, until last week, was a complete unknown to me.

If I may digress a moment, I need to mention that I had also hoped to visit the Crosby Street Hotel while in the city, as well. I have been following the interior design of Tim and Kit Kemp's British hotels for several years, so when I heard they were opening their first North American hotel in NYC a couple of years ago, I had to check it out online and when I discovered their Crosby Street Hotel had a fabulous dog art theme going on in the hotel lobby, I knew I had to visit there and get some photos.

My plan was made! While my daughter took her two children to visit the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side, I would dash over to the Crosby Hotel.....only 11 blocks each way!....I could manage that in an hour or two....after all, when we booked the Tenement Museum the week before we left for our trip, there were only 3 tickets left.....just enough for them and I would find something else to occupy my time while they visited the tenement building. However, while we were standing in the museum shop and at the very last minute, another ticket became available and I chose to do the tour with my family. There was no time left to get to Crosby Street, as we had other plans and the heat in the city was unbearable.....we had to get back uptown!

Getting back to Peter Clark, in doing my research on his work last night, I discovered that the Crosby Street Hotel is decorated with his dog art!!! And furthermore, a new art gallery opened in NYC in April and it's current (and temporary!) exhibition is Peter Clark's collaged dog art!! It's there until the middle of June! And the gallery, http://www.r-h-g.co.uk is situated on Mott Street, directly between the Crosby Street Hotel and the Tenement Museum on Orchard Street. Rebecca Hossack has owned an art gallery in London for over 20 years and has exhibited Peter's work there in the past - hence, Kit Kemp's (London) familiarity with his work.

So, even though I missed seeing the Crosby Street Hotel (I will yet), and missed seeing his current exhibition at this new gallery, I am elated that I found this book and learned more about Peter Clark's fabulously creative work - designed completely with recycled paper - old books, letters, maps, junk mail, stamps, and any other paper ephemera he can get his hands on. He's an artistic genius!

I hope you enjoy his art as much as I do! And, oh yes, I enjoyed the Tenement Tour and the extra time with my family!

Paperwork by Peter Clark

Bostonian

Brown Eyed and Handsome

Darling

Sweet Great George

Sailor Boy

King Charlie

Pug in Pink

Pride of Stride

Dog photos via Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery

Book photo via Kay Furlong

Friday, May 27, 2011

Fabulous Friday Decor

I came upon this gorgeous home while browsing through Architectural Digest recently and wanted to share it with you.

What is so appealing about this down to earth home is it's low maintenance charm.....just what we are striving for as we age.....low maintenance homes, that is!

First of all, the whole house flows from room to room with mostly white (Benjamin Moore Antique White) in the living room and throughout, with that gorgeous, almost baby blue color interspersed throughout with a touch of complementary lavender in the bedroom....softness throughout. All white would be way too stark, but the blue adds a touch of comfort and serenity.

Secondly, the floors are mostly reclaimed wood...some dark, some light (painted?) and some natural looking. More importantly, easy to care for without carpets, area rugs or mats.

The rooms, beautifully done by designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard, are very inviting and welcoming, despite the fact there is not a whole lot of ornamental detail......just enough, in all the right places, to make the rooms comfortable and appealing.

The touches of leather in the living room, dining room chairs and foyer chairs also make for low maintenance care.....and again, that soft blue is so easy on the eyes.

The master bedroom is almost minimalist with just the bed and night tables at that end of the room and a chaise in a cosy corner by the fireplace. Notice that all that was required on the walls is that beautiful hand painted wallpaper. Despite the minimalistic look, it is very cosy and has just the required elements for pure comfort.

What really personalizes this home is the homeowner's collection of vintage Americana (as seen with the roosters, cash register, etc.), the old kitchen table the family has owned for years (and carves all the family's important information into), mixing old with new - beautiful new, comfortable furniture mixed with old barn doors and other antiques, and surrounding themselves only with what they love (as in the homeowner's collection of black and white vintage prints in her office), their beloved books and flowers......always flowers.

Who would believe this is the new home of heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon......and it is lovingly shared by their 12 (yes 12!) pomeranian dogs.

That's why I love this house so much - it is soft, comfortable, welcoming, beautiful and totally lived in and enjoyed!

Hope you enjoy this and have a great week......I will be back in a week or so!

Living room

Another view of living room

Love the barn doors!

Kitchen

Kitchen dining nook

Dining room

Foyer

Master bedroom

Master bedroom reading corner

Sharon in her office

All photos by Roger Davies via Architectural Digest

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Window Dressing

One more posting and I am off to New York city with our daughter, Melanie, and our grandchildren Olivia and Camilo.

With only 5 days in the city and a very lengthy to do list, getting all our sightseeing in could be tricky. We'll see how much we accomplish and will enjoy every minute trying!

With endless museums, shops, theatres, restaurants, galleries to see, it's sometimes easy to forget to look in the windows of the shops as we rush by. More often than not, it's the windows themselves that are so fascinating and creatively dressed. The first shop I rush to in New York is one of my favorites, Anthropologie. I love to browse this store with it's goods from around the world, but it's their creative displays that leave me mesmerized. I can't wait to see what they have this year and will bring photos back.

Late last summer when I was in London, we went to Harvey Nichols department store in Knightsbridge and took a few photos of the amazing displays in their windows and interiors. Who would imagine a dress made of clothespins or a headdress made of swizzle sticks and cocktail umbrellas among other things? Someone very, very creative!

Hope you enjoy!

Clothespin dress

A Closer Look

Book sculpture

A Pencil Tree

A Closer Look

Nuts and Bolts Bicycles

A Life Sized Parrot

Cosmetic Accoutrement Headdress

Cocktail Accoutrement Headdress

Shop Queen

All photos mine

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A Passion for Pink!

Anyone who knows me, knows my passion for pink! A somewhat controversial color, but I've always been inclined to it - notice the background color on my blog!

Some people seem to think it's too girly, or too much fluff......or whatever, but at the same time, it offers comfort, softness and calmness.

We know that soft pink lighting in a room creates a relaxing feeling and that soft pink lighting at a dressing table softens one's features. Soft pink in a bedroom offers calm and serenity and what could be more beautiful than an arrangement of soft pink flowers.....the final touch to any color room as it is so neutral! Sometimes, just a pink accent will soften a look.

Pink with gold accents....gorgeous! And pink, green and cream.....my all time favorite color combination....just cannot go wrong with that one!

Here are a few of my favorite images.....including a touch of whimsy!