SNEAK PEEK: E&T New Stencil Pillow

I am working on some new pillow stencil designs inspired by vintage American quilts, Pennsylvanian Dutch motifs, and Fraktur...Hopefully available in Limited Edition on Etsy soon!

INSPIRATION: The Library of Congress as Historical Resource and Jaw-Dropper

I am a total histo-bibliophile and wish that I, like JAY WALKER, had a personal museum of human imagination with an outrageous collection of books, reproductions, artifacts and eccentric objet d'art to keep me constantly entertained and inspired. Instead, I have to be content with the world at my fingertips but never enough time to explore all that lay before them... One of my secret (but not so secret anymore) resources for E&T historical research is the fantastic Library of Congress... I especially take note of font usage and letter spacing.






All images borrowed from our nation's great LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Before reproducing or using any of the images displayed in this post, refer to The Library of Congress's form on copyright and other restrictions.

Honoring The Home: Commemorating Space in Oil

Before the advent of cameras, those who could afford it hired artists to render their loved ones forever in 2-Dimensions, creating cherished likenesses often hung on walls or kept in lockets. Virginia-born artist, Sarah Dougherty, brings this time-honored tradition to her personal places of interest, taking time to commemorate the interior (and exterior) spaces that have captured her attention and been her numerous homes...







In August at Found Gallery, she did a spacial reconstruction of her Mexican Cottage (where she spent a year being an artist... so jealous! ) and currently has a show at The Green Bean in Greensboro...

She has a book for sale (here)
and for more info, visit her website

I am just wondering whether she will do custom room portraits; I would have loved one of my long-forgotten childhood home.

Cheers to the NEW YEAR : perpetual calendars.

As the new year (quickly) approaches, I'm thinking of new year's resolutions to stay organized. I can get so wrapped up into product development and design in my studio that sometimes (embarassingly frequently) I forget what day it is...

solution = THE PERPETUAL CALENDAR (the ultimate GREEN date keeper, as long as you can find something you love and won't get tired of... and remember to "wind" each day.)

The following are some of my favorites:

Timor Desk Calendar
by Enzo Mari
$ 149.00 at nova68

Sukie Perpetual Calendar
By Darrell Gibbs and Julia Harding
$ 9.95 from chronicle books

Perpetual Calendar (1959)
by Enzo Mari
$ 160.00 available at hive modern



antique mahogany and brass desktop perpetual calendar
$ 225 at rubylane antiques



Antique Sterling Silver Perpetual Calendar
$ 575.00 at Tudor Rose Antiques

*N E W* FAVORITES - vestiges

I collect/save all of my grey hairs just waiting for a moment of high-art inspiration to strike...
I "heart" melanie bilenker: a fantastic jewelry artist with incredible craftsmanship who- inspired by the victorian use of lockets as keepsakes of remembrance-uses fine metals, pigment, resin/epoxy and hair to capture "quiet minutes, the mundane, the domestic, (and) ordinary moments."

MINT RING (2004) copyright melanie bilenker jewelry

A CHATELAINE FOR COLLECTING, RECORDING, AND REMEMBERING: FOR SOPHIE CALLE. (2005) copyright melanie bilenker jewelry

Remembering Childhood Holiday Crafts

Maya*made has a wonderful quick and easy tutorial over at her Blog on how to make a snowflake garland out of newspapers (because I seriously forgot how to make snowflakes!). I instead used just plain newsprint that I had left over from artschool (the thinner the paper, the easier it is to cut. PS: origami paper also works well: it's already in a square & comes in an endless array of colors and patterns.). After tracing and cutting out my snowflakes, I wanted an additional embellishment of glitter: I ironed, spray adhesived, and then dipped them in Martha Stewarts "carrara marble" fine glitter available at Michael's Craft Stores. ( slightly messy, but worth it.) I hung mine via mini brass safety pins from a vintage french lace garland across my mantel inter-dispersed with my collection of vintage teal and aqua glass ornaments.

HOLIDAY DRESSING

I am officially on ernst & thistle vacation time and am busy making the house (aka small, teeny-tiny victorian duplexed apartment) wintry & presentable for a few choice guests. Its my first time playing with "snow in a can" and I am not ashamed to say: I HEART it; I sprayed the magnolia branch, and snowflakes silhouettes onto the front door as well as a WELCOME exclamation with 3 inch hardware stencils above the entrance. When you don't get the real thing, all straight & narrow naturalist intentions aside, you make do with the, albeit artificial, alternative.