And now...a Fine Art Installation for Residential, Corporate, Retail and Hospitality.

One of a kind.
Hand made.
Unique.

The Art Room - a fine art gallery in Petersburg, VA - features a wall of squares...not quite tiles, and not exactly like many other installations of this kind. Today, 135 individual little masterpieces adorn one wall.

The squares, loving called "miroir aux alouettes," are not manufactured, not mass produced, not based on trends, and not for everyone. The name refers to traps for larks [the birds!] which always feature mirrors, like these small treasures.

They're not glass or wood... they are small canvas squares [6x6x1"] that are hand painted and embellished with all sorts of unusual things... old Christmas cards, real gold foil, vintage pendants, glass mirrors, cannibalized jewelry, keys, tiny animals, beads, rhinestones, toys, tiles, tacks, gears, bait, buttons, bows and bits and pieces of a zillion different things. No two are alike. 
They are hand made by a duo of artists [known as Ibby & Ommie] who found inspiration in many places, and save every little thing that might be useful.

Many other artisans create or manufacture memory blocks, tiles, or boxes...in plaster, paper, copper, tile...create installations of a few or hundreds of pieces. Here are some examples from Sid Dickens, Houston Llew and Cedar Mountain... and hand made mosaics from Dusciana Bravura in Venice, Italy.

Houston Llew Copper

Cedar Mountain Mass Produced Blocks

Dusciana Bravura Mosaics

Sid Dickens Plaster Memory Blocks

 
For a high-end client who wants to make a similar impact, but also wants something no one else can possibly own, consider a grouping of these unusual little masterpieces -- that will begin many a conversation. Everyone that sees these unusual works of art stays and looks, and wants to know more.

On a bookshelf

Tiger, tiger...burning bright

Oh, Deer!

Penguin on a Bike!

They are elaborate, yet lightweight and can hang on a single small nail. They are not perfectly square. The edges are painted and adorned with ribbon or webbing; all are sealed with gloss coating. They will last for years without any maintenance

Orange Mandala

A client in Calabasas, CA with her first

!

Currently priced at $125.00 USD per piece; with volume discounts for groupings. The artists can customize pieces with your clients' colors, themes, and can include bits and pieces, logos, marketing materials, etc. They can match pantone colors or interior paint colors.

And, they make lovely, unique gifts!

For more information, visit The Art Room's Facebook Page...The artists can also be contacted through www.TheArtRoomPetersburg.com
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But does it match the couch?

At an art festival this weekend, I was approached by a really interesting character who got my grey cells bouncing around my noggin'. He called himself Seemore. [Have you met him?} His name is

SEEMORE

Charles Simmons and he is a BIG booster for his home town.

Occasional art festivals are one way I get to meet the public, take my show on the road... and hopefully make some sales of my work. Say what you will about art... I consider it my profession, and have no qualms about finding various ways to make a living.

It's a mixed bag.

Anyway, Seemore stopped by and told me he was looking for 
the next Martha Stewart. He thought it might be me! [Or maybe he says that to all the girls... or every artist he meets...] 

Well, I consider myself pretty clever, creative, can do all sorts of things... I can draw, and paint and grout tile with the best of them. I can design clothes, I can make a sample handbag from my own designs, I can dress a mannequin, darn socks, dye easter eggs, create sets for theatre, fashion floral centerpieces, do window displays, am a gourmet cook, do creative writing and make all sorts of art and craft thingamabobs. I don't have any livestock, but would love a sheep in the backyard to match my designer dachshunds. So, perhaps I fit his bill for the next Martha?

Seemore's actual purpose in attending the show was to find people [like me?] to come to High Point, NC. To visit, to perhaps participate in trade shows or be/display/rent in a showroom? I'm not quite sure. But, to be "discovered" as the "Next BIG Thing" seemed to be what he thought I could achieve in High Point. Or not. He was very honest.

"Dakota Daughter" Scottsdale, AZ

"Sheherazade" Stamford, CT

A RED wall!

He said some marvelous things about my artwork. And, my sense of color. However... he also uttered the phrase...asked the questions that many artists abhor... "But does it match the couch?"

 Apparently, interior designers who pick furniture, fabrics, accessories and ART for their clients in High Point and every where else... can make an artists' career if their work "matches the couch."

A Blue couch!

Seemore suggested I create work that will match fabrics and interiors that designers look for... and although I could almost say color schemes and palette I pick are something I "can't help doing" - from my inspiration in the moment, my thought process... I don't know...
Am I crazy for using COLORS??? 

"Ever" Museum Collection

Outrageous color combination!

Should I start perusing magazines looking for the latest trends in interior design so I can be more marketable? 
Are we still in the Tuscany trend? 
I haven't painted any villas or poplars recently...[ever?]

"Chauconne" Houston, TX

I never really thought about it before, and all the pieces shown here have sold... so someone somewhere must like red, purple, orange, yellow, teal and lime green! I guess a small minority.

I know most people are afraid of color [I had to paint my last house BEIGE so it would sell].

PURPLE????

I know most people don't like portraits. I know most people can't afford to buy original art. I get it, I get it...

If the point of making art... is not only to express yourself, but to also earn your way, pay your bills and put your kids through college - is that unreasonable? Is it time to SELL OUT and go beige or greige or sage green?

"The Karen E Project" Redondo Beach, CA

"Coco Rocha" New York, NY

"Can I get a Kiss? - Mexico City

 

What, neon colors? Unheard of.

Speaking for myself... Is creating DECOR that matches the couch the way to go?

An orange couch?

I guess I could make a lot more money if I did dog portraits...or flowers... or aspen trees... or landscapes or ponds or... the dreaded 

giant pear paintings. 

But, when I walk into my studio - and just create out of my

imagination, faces appear on the canvas 9 times outta 10. 

Colors that may or may not "go" together, or match a couch [Okay, I am being a smart ass here and I know it] get tossed together willy-nilly.

I know there is no real answer here, and I am sure if anyone bothers to comment... the opinions will be wildly different.

"Robin's Blue Bedroom Eyes - San Diego

Teal and Brown...that's more like it.

I am really glad I met Seemore, and might go visit him in High Point, or take a gander at design magazines... after all, being the next Martha Stewart would alright with me. I am sure I can stay out of prison or if I did end up in jail, I'd take up

Martha upon her release...with her knitted poncho

knitting ponchos, too.

Or better yet...  
the next Walt Disney
[after all, Walt & I share the same Myers Briggs ENTP personality type]

Like Seemore said...  
"You never know when Mickey Mouse is going to become Disneyworld."

So, what do you think?

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