Posted 4 years ago
IronLace
(930 items)
I think a lot of us, as collectors, also enjoy decorating & putting together evocative, nostalgic arrangements of objects in our homes.
1. The black painted cane & seagrass chair is late Victorian - Edwardian era. I purchased it at a local op shop late last year. It was dusty & had some chipping to the paint, but I fixed that up easily.
The table, which is of the same period, & matches the chair so well, came into my possession only last week, though I had been familiar with it in another context for two decades. Let's just say that I always coveted it. It was also very dusty, dirty, & in need of a little restoration, which I gladly undertook.
2. On top of the table, I've put together a small still life which reflects some of my passions...glass, books, pencils, & rulers.
The book is a fine visual history of pencils. Next to it is a nice old pencil from my art school days (almost 30 years ago!) - a "Black Beauty" by Rowney, made in England. Also from England is the classic boxwood folding ruler (one of several I own) made by Rabone Chesterman.
3. With my collection.
4. Two artworks of mine currently exhibited in a group show at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre. These are coloured pencil drawings (& yes, I used a ruler as well), titled "Blue Notes 1 & 2". A collection of 24 popular idioms that refer to the colour blue.
You have good taste.
Marin! I’m impressed with your art work- until I read the text, I would have sworn the “Blue” art pieces were mechanically or technologically made....but they ware the products of your talented hands!
The display with the Victorian furniture pieces is beautiful and interesting. Tell us more about the pencils.....
Many thanks, Bambus1920! Very kind of you to say so...
Patricia, thanks so much - & it is often the feedback I receive - that my work looks printed. It is a significant aspect of my practice to incorporate this ambiguity...I enjoy the idea of laboriously hand making something that appears machine - made. And of course I am something of a fan of Andy Warhol's deadpan remark about "wanting to be a machine." That really does appeal to me!
Pencils...where do I start? They are familiar, everyday things...mostly overlooked as being so ordinary that they barely rate a mention. But for some of us...they are a ticket to another world, an opportunity for visual alchemy - the transformation of humble materials (wood, wax, & pigments, which is basically coloured dirt) into something meaningful & transcendent in the form of art. Pencils are so accessible & democratic...they suggest childhood & play...yet they can also be esoteric & expensive, too...crafted from exotic timbers & filled with rare pigments.
They can smell interesting when being used or sharpened...sometimes pleasant, occasionally objectionable (certain colours even smell sulfurous). Like a candle, they wear down through use, after shining a brief light in the darkness. Ephemeral as life itself.
I confess to owning an awful lot of pencils. Some for use, & others, strictly for their personal beauty & superb design. Japanese pencils are particularly wonderful. But really...I like them all, fancy or plain. A pencil is the essence of elegance & utility realized in a concrete form.
Thanks so much, Mary, & really glad that you enjoyed my post!
I love everything about this post. I love your chair, your desk, and now I have to go research some pencils! I love what you wrote about them. And then there is the art! I thought it was wonderful, and that you had used a printing technique, but to find out it was all done by hand! Wow. Thank you for sharing this all with us; I really enjoyed seeing and reading what you wrote.
Many, many thanks, Michelle!
If only I had your talent!
Not just for art but to be able to find and stage things like this.
Lovely post
Thanks so much, Karen...you are too kind! :-)
It's just me playing around with the things I love like I've always done since I was a little kid...even then I was a (junior) obsessive collector & decorator!