Picking over my glossies lets me pare down publications overloading the bookshelves.
Back in July, shortly after the move from our city apartment, I wrote about the beginning of my house in turnaround. At the time there were some 80 packed boxes still in the garage. Today only 10 remain. The thing I’m learning about turnaround is that it’s an editing job – figuring out what from the past will work in the future. That includes going through years of home design magazines and using my x-acto knife to neatly remove full pages of images (mainly without type) I feel are suitable for framing and resettling on a picture wall – or walls. I’m trying not to think about it and just go for what I like. But so far they fall into a few categories that reflect my general interests: flowers and botanicals, architecture, artsy food, and art-I-can’t-afford.
Practically speaking, using magazine pages is a way to acquire terrific images for framing that might otherwise cost far more, even at auction. I haven’t focused in on an inexpensive source of suitable frames yet but the pictures are all the same size and I’m keeping them on a piece of stiff cardboard so the edges stay neat. Once I have a large collection, I’ll work on putting them together in an advantageous spot. Since I’m also in the process of selling eleven original modern prints, I have blank walls galore.
The Spanish government publishes a tourism magazine that includes gorgeous color photographs. This one, of an edible flower and fruit salad in a glass bowl set out on an old-fashioned damask cloth, initially gave me the page-framing idea.
Nature is so amazing. Thick-skinned, black monastrell grapes from Spain’s Jumilla district take on an almost abstract quality when seen up close.
I’ve made no secret of my love for tile. This photo of mosaics from Roman Spain and other artifacts in the palace of Lebrija in Seville, along with the amazing cream and brown colors of the stone and tile, is such an inspirational image I wish it could be a mural.
American art has always been a passion of mine. Yet I saved this Mary Cassatt portrait basically for the slightly abstract Aesthetic movement sofa fabric, which I find so contemporary.
Scottish Heather Houses are rustic Victorian-era huts built in the woods. The interior of this one is quite extraordinary with its walls and ceiling composed of white birch, hazel and larch trees plus moss and braided heather worked into intricate patterns. Anyone who loves Adirondack style cannot help be attracted to its distant relative. At some point, I’ll get to my newfound awareness of moss.
Wow! I cannot stop staring at the 1st photo ~ I absolutely love it!!
Have a wonderful weekend ~
xoxo Laura
Have you ever made really big, messy spontaneous collage on a willing wall? It’s amazing how rich and evocative it can be – been a while since I did one…
Tricia, about the collage, I’ll paraphrase what I said to a vendor at the greenmarket who asked me if I grow vegetables. I told him I don’t grow anything but I’m happy to buy vegetables to support local agriculture. Much the same about the walls. I wouldn’t have any idea of how to do such a thing. What I could see doing is a mural-size photo affixed to the wall like wallpaper. Or decorative painting — though I can’t do that myself and it’s $$$$. I’m really best at designing the outcome putting in picture hooks!
Glad you like the image Laura. Irene is coming for the weekend so it should be interesting. Just hope I have a garage and a house by the time she leaves.
The grape photo is mesmerizing. I love it. A collection of pics like that would be awesome.