What are they looking at?

Happy pill for monday morning

Can't decide what I like most. 

The sunflowers, the $2 vase from Goodwill or the carrot cake

Mr B.

My current favorite buddy at the Art Institute. He's very reliable. He's always there, never complains and just looking at him slows me down to a nice peaceful state of mind. He'd look super on my front porch.

Holiday Decorating

                      
                                 Pumpkins are rather pricey this year.

Best Summer Plant

 It's the best summer plant because it's fun and it's STILL ALIVE. Most of my annuals burned up. But this Juncas "Curly Wurly" Rush Grass Plant did well in the high heat. Not expensive. I bought it at KMart.

Hot Rocks

A good friend of mine spent the summer in Maine. She came home with this beautiful sculpture for me. I call it my Maine Talisman. The strong granite will protect me from the negatives of life. If it doesn't, so what. I will simply think of her every time I look at it.
Thanks Carrie.

A Day at the Zoo

                Brookfield Zoo on a sunny day makes me feel...small.
                            It's impossible to take a boring photo.

It Must Be Spring

                           I've never seen an upside down bird's nest.
                     Apparently it's some kind of "weaver bird" - naturally.

Two Day Staging/Makeover

All I needed was two days and a shopping run to brighten up this living room. 
A few carefully chosen accents and it's warm and friendly.

Thank goodness for Big Lots, JCPenney, Home Goods and Michaels.

Monday at the Conservatory

It's "wisp" here in Chicago -  between winter and spring. The temps warmed up and I needed a jolt of nature.  It's impossible to take a bad picture at the Garfield Park Conservatory. These were just a few of my favorites.

                             Sorry for the lack of postings lately. 
                                I'm busy creating artwork for 
                          Gallery Ten in Door County Wisconsin. 
                           As soon as I can, I will resume with 
                                 interesting things to look at. 

Hang Your Collections

 

My collection of cookie molds hangs on a stairway wall. The designs include florals, holidays, animals, and figures. Along with amazing cookies, 

they also are used for paper and clay castings. 

You can purchase cookie molds at 

houseonthehill.net

Spanish-moss

I am always fascinated by the Spanish-moss that hangs from the cypress and oak trees in Florida. Actually it's not moss. It's an epiphytic plant which grows on another plant and makes it's own food by absorbing nutrients and water from the air and rainfall.

Life on Your Kitchen Table

Flowers are lovely to have on 
the table. It's also pleasant to look at something more personal. A small grouping of favorite things you haven't seen in a while are nice to enjoy in the morning with the cup of coffee. 

A book, a souvenir from a childhood trip, photos of those who don't live close, items we used long ago, favorite game pieces are just a few. 

    

Top sketch is from an earlier post. Bottom photo is actually three photos.
After a few small revisions, I am happy with the results. Now I need to
mount the painting on plywood, add a small frame element and hang 
it for Brooke and Collin to enjoy. 

Click on image for larger view.

Why I'll Never Be a Vegetarian

Every now and then I get a craving. Not often.
Since I don't have access to a Sabrett stand, I go for a Hebrew National all beef frank with sauerkraut and mustard, and a little chopped onion.

This was sacred food for my dad. He would not approve of the onions, but he'd forgive me. This stand was in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in honor of him, we devoured a few good dogs on the sunny steps of the museum.

6 Pieces of Scrap Wood

                                              

                                                    Color Theory

  Wood, fiber, metal  9 x 11 x 1/2

Available on my ETSY store  

 www.etsy.com/shop/MatangaBay

                          

Art of Color and Light

The Art Institute has this incredible staircase. The colorful light show installation is called Public Notice 3 by Mumbai-born artist Jitish Kallat. The words are taken from a speech given in 1893 by a yound Hindu monk from India, Swami Vivekananda at the World"s Columbian Exposition. The Art Institute was hosting a 17 day Parliament of the World's Religions. Just steps away from this staircase is the where he spoke.
It will be on display until May 1, 2011.

Boo, Tully, Moe and Gabby

Updated post from January 8. The animal mural for Brooke and Collin is coming along. Let's just say, I'll never paint on the ceiling of any church. With that said, I am having a lot of fun keeping it basic, fun and happy. I think the kids will love it. 

One more butterfly...........maybe sitting on Gabby's ear. 

They Don't Build Them Like This Anymore

I can't remember where I shot this in  Manhattan. These beautiful three dimensional tiles covered the upper portion of a building.

I wish I would have written down the address
to find out more about it.

"We Give to You Our Worldly Goods" was a series of pieces I created from a variety of found metal, wood and fiber. Some had as many as 25 figures, others only 3. The figures were made with cafe curtain hooks. 

 Men usually call them warriors, while women see them as tribes women or goddesses.

Fountain Face is Lonely

            
              Update photo from Jan. 29 post. Only 107 days until June 1.

Art Institute of Chicago

Wish I could say this grand spiral staircase is in my foyer.

It's one of the great views of Chicago looking out of the Art Institute. Hubby and I spent our Valentines Day looking at art, eating and taking photos. It was finally warm enough to walk around the city.

The Power of the Human Spirit

 Though this is not a political blog, 

I want to acknowledge the amazing people of Egypt

and wish them peace and freedom.

I designed a family card for a friend of mine.

                          

Bag Lady

If you love something, 

don't hide it in the closet. 

Hang it up on the 

back of a door.

I Need Inspiration on Wednesday

This is one of the first mixed media pieces I did years ago. I gave it to a good friend of mine and she still has it displayed in her dining room. 

Looking at art I created in the past is like reading an old diary. I look at it and say "What the heck was I thinking?".

I need to start some new work and I always like to look back before I go forward.

Alfabet Soup

                     Do you know your A B C's?

My Laughing Buddah

Most of my recent posts have been "visually busy". I thought I'd give you a calm, happy image to enjoy this Sunday.

This is Hotei. He is the god of contentment and happiness, guardian of children. Supposedly based on an actual person, he is widely recognized as the Fat, Laughing Buddah. His origin is from Chinese Taoism/Buddhism.

According to legend, if one rubs the Laughing Buddha's great belly, it brings forth wealth, good luck, and prosperity.      I better start rubbing.

For a long time, I had been looking for a buddah. I imagined buying a large stone figure, but instead this small 5" hand carved figure "found me" in a crowded antique mall. He sits on the window sill by my kitchen sink and greets me each morning.

Gallery of Whatever

As a home stager and stylist, I'm aways in need of wall decorations. When I ran out of enclosed cabinet space to store them, I found a blank wall leading down to my studio. Now, not only is it functional storage space, it is a gallery of great stuff I love to look at everyday. 

prints, postcards, 

photos & quotes

empty frames

mirrors

plates

letters

whatever

I say, find a wall and hang it up.

Images Like This Just Keep Me Smilin'

This magazine photo of Carly Simon on a swing has been on my inspiration wall for a very long time. There is no date on the pages, but I think it was from an issue of InStyle or Martha. I change the images on the wall often, but I just can't seem to let go of Carly on a swing.

Work in Progress

A friend of mine asked me "What have you been up to these days?" (Frankly I tend to hide during the winter.) I started to tell her. Beading necklaces for "Gallery Ten" in Door County Wisconsin, painting a mural of animals, sorting thru years of magazines.... blah, blah, blah.

This is an unretouched, unstaged photo of my worktable. Can you find Waldo?

R.I.P.

This past summer I purchased this lovely "Escargot" Begonia. It grew on my front porch, so lovely, so big and I felt like Martha Stewart. It's now a shriveled up, mass of dead plant matter. I need a moment of silence, while I mourn my plant.

I'd Rather Be Here

If I close my eyes, I can feel the heat of the sun and I can hear the squealing voices of the kids standing in this fountain. 

Only 123 days until June 1.

Help From the Strangest Places

While I was on a cruise, I took this photo looking out of our cabin. This large, worn cargo ship obviously had stories to tell. The name "Courageous" appealed to me because I had not seen that word for a long time.

Recently I started looking at the photo, and I began remembering it from childhood books, describing the characters of the stories I was reading.

I find myself needing to be just that - courageous. However until I honestly feel it, I will fake it. My red cape will help.

Garfield Park Conservatory

 A fabulous "escape destination" for those of us who live in the frozen land of Chicago, is Garfield Park Conservatory. It's a wonderful oasis of lush tropical plants and flowers that transport me out of the deep freeze and into the warm, misty rain forest. Cabin Fever is not good for the soul and this place is an instant lift. G.P.C. here I come.

Primal Ten

This is a mixed media composition of found metal, wood, copper, beads, string and napkin rings. Plywood is wrapped with an old feedbag and I assemble the "tiles" on top.

Because I worked as a graphic artist for many years designing catalogs, it's never my intention to create realistic art. Although these  arrangements may remind me of real life things,
they come from purely abstract thoughts.

Instead of buying souvenirs, I usually come home from trips with a Ziplock bag filled with odd pieces of metal I found on the sidewalks.

Coffee Can Art

I noticed there were lots of coffee cans in my studio filled with junk. After they were covered with canvas, and sewn, copper pipe was used for a handle and they were decorated with the junk originally found in them. 

They started selling really well at art fairs and I started drinking way too much coffee.

I needed a "Thinking of you" card and honestly I rarely make cards. Sounds silly because I am surrounded by art materials. But this time I grabbed a stiff sheet of hand made paper and a fabric patch and started punching holes. The inside message was printed on the 'puter since my handwriting is unreliable. It's a good idea for me to have a few of these on hand. Lately there are lots of people I am thinking about...

Lately I use lots of trays when I am styling a home, or staging one. They're easy to find and easy to change. I'm not the flowery type so I went for an ethnic look.

Hang it Here

I found this ugly, brown wall hanging rack in Goodwill and thought it had potential. A few coats of paint, new brushed nickel hooks and it looks great on the wall. Unfortunately, it's not on my wall.

Comfort Food for a sad day

Having a hard time getting stuff done today. It's a sad day. Feel like I want to stuff myself with something decadent or alcoholic. Think I'll stick to decadent...like chocolate and a really good cappuccino. My idea of comfort food. 

But them again, a really good Cosmopolitan would chill me out.

Mural for Brooke and Collin

This is a sketch for a mural panel that will hang in the playroom of Brooke and Collin's house, my clients in Iowa.  It will be a series of three - animals, a town scene and the third topic is yet to be determined. I am not an illustrator, but I have enough drawing skills in me from my days as a catalog designer to get by. I will post the color version when it's completed. Sorry for the overlap on the right side. This blog site is really the pits.