21: AUGUST 2010 ARCHIVES

AUGUST 2010 ARCHIVES
August 30, 2010
New Mexico Magazine
The Power of Turquoise
Tricia Ware

Today brings another story of Turquoise, this time from New Mexico. Photographer Kathleen Brennan toured New Mexico to capture how the people of New Mexico have been using Turquoise for years. Whether it is in paint, jewelry or fashion, New Mexicans have known about the wonders of turquoise for years.
Enjoy some of the lovely photos from Kathleen Brennan's journey through New Mexico.

Stucco wall in Truth or Consequences.

A piece of turquoise from the Cerillos mines.

Common door in Turquoise in Adobe home.

August 27, 2010
Have you ever done a remodel that required peeling off layer upon layer of old wallpaper? And upon the peeling you stumble onto a layer that is so charming and unexpected that you almost fret to tear it for fear of losing such a beautiful link to the past. If so, we have an artist that you must check out, her name is Kathe Fraga.
Kathe is a friend of Lee's who is a very talented artist. Her work is lovely with a sweetness that reminds me of my childhood. Her exceptional use of colors (with a special nod to turquoise) really capture that moment in time where happiness resides.

Kathe’s art is inspired by the beauty and romance of old: vintage silky kimonos, hand-worked embroidery, lacquered little boxes, blocked wallpaper and panels from years ago, distressed with age, revealing a soft loveliness still…you’ll see layered colors peeking out behind one another—pinks, blues, lavender—speckles of gold, a wisp of glitter. Look for a small shy heart. A nestle of lovebirds. A French phrase. Each piece meant to be seen as part of a larger scene that’s been hidden away…until now.
The influence of time spent by the artist living in the beautiful old cities of South America, Denmark, England, and France can be clearly felt.
Kathe's paintings are acrylic on frescoed canvas, finished with lacquer.

August 23, 2010
I met these lovely and very talented people at Maison & Objet in Paris. Their sense of color is so beautiful that I wanted to share it with you.
--Lee

"Lizzy Ashard and Stephen Morgan the company’s co-founders and designers first met at The Central School of Art and design in London. After careers in stage and TV design, products design, ceramics and lecturing we met again in Somerset where we have both settled with our families. Inspired by an enthusiasm for design, colour, contemporary design and craft we decided to set up our own company – MORGAN ASHARD – designing and making fine carpets."

"...inspired by Georgian woodblock prints, architecture, textiles, rock formations and whatever catches our eye."

"Made with the finest Tibetan wool which is traditionally hand carded and hand spun. The yarn is then dyed using vegetable or mineral dyes giving the finished carpets a natural abrash (subtle shading differences) and lustre with great depth of colour."

August 20, 2010
We stumbled onto an interesting story about Marimekko. Marimekko is a familiar and very colorful brand that was a “pioneer" in bringing color to a very cold and bleak region of the world—defying all sterotypical concepts of “bleak colors” for “bleak areas” starting in the 1950s.
In the 1960s Marimekko came to the forefront of fashion in the United States when Jacqueline Kennedy purchased several Marimekko items. She was even photographed for the cover of Sport Illustrated wearing a simple pink Marimekko shift dress.

These colors are certainly not in the usual Finnish topography for a greater potion of the year, yet Marrimekko has established a brand identity that ran counter to accepted concepts.

August 16, 2010

As I may have mentioned, we have been doing research for a new book we are working on. In our quest for knowledge we have found some really interesting color related people, places and things.

Today I share a little color nugget about Max Factor.

"In 1920 Max Factor gave into Frank Factor’s suggestion and officially began referring to his products as "make-up" based on the verb, "to make up" (one's face). Up until then the term "cosmetics" had been used as the term ‘”make-up” was considered to be used only by people in the theatre or of dubious reputation and not something to be used in polite society.

"Back in the 1930's and 40's, during the glory days of Hollywood, the world of movie make-up was dominated by none other than Max Factor."

"Jean Harlow, Claudette Colbert, Bette Davis, and virtually all of the major movie actresses were regular customers of the Max Factor beauty salon, located near Hollywood Boulevard."

"The original Max Factor studio contained four special celebrity make-up rooms, each designed to bring out the best in women of a particular hair color: one room is labeled "For Blondes Only" (and is decorated in flattering shades of blue); other rooms are solely for redheads (done in mint green), brunettes (dusty rose pink), or brownettes (pale peach)."

August 13, 2010

The Boston Globe
The story of pink
Photographer Lisa Kessler unpacks the many meanings of a color
by Eugenia Williamson

Today Lee was a guest on NPR radio via the Seattle station KUOW. She was engaged in a lively discussion with the host, Ross Reynolds and photographer Lisa Kessler, who was engaged in a three year photographic search for all things Pink.

Here is a little excerpt on the history of pink that is quite fascinating done in a Q & A format from the article.

IDEAS: Is it true that pink started off as a boy’s color?

KESSLER: In the 19th century, babies were all dressed in white; it was much more important that babies be distinguished from adults, [and] whether you were a boy child or a girl child didn’t matter so much. Boys wore dresses, and little boys and girls were dressed alike. At the turn of the century, there were changes in dye and fabric technologies that made it possible to make more colors. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a big discussion about what color should be assigned to what gender. A lot of people felt — the quote comes from a Chicago trade journal — “Pink is for boys and blue is for girls.” Some people think it’s because red is a power color, and pink is a watered-down red. Blue was considered more dainty.

See more here [Boston Globe].
Hear the conversation KUOW.org

August 9, 2010

Does this picture look like it might have been taken in the Caribbean? This amazing looking discovery of colorful fruit was spotted by my son Ben, in the wilds of San Francisco, of all places.

This wildly stunning tree is called Arbutis unido or strawberry tree.

A quick Wikipedia search tells us that the Strawberry Tree is "native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe north to western France and Ireland."

"The fruit is edible, though many people find it bland and mealy; the name 'unedo' is explained by Pliny the Elder as being derived from unum edo "I eat one", which may seem an apt response to the flavour."

August 6, 2010

The influence of Mondrian

Over the past few months we have been doing research for a book that is a historical retrospective, of sorts. As we have been scouring through the past for inspiration we have stumbled onto some really incredible artists and designers who we feel deserve a special mention.

One in particular is Piet Mondrian. Mondrian gets our attention because of the simple quality and beauty of his work and for the ongoing impression that his art still has on design through the ages right into today.

As part of the art movement De Stijl (Dutch for "The Style"), works of art produced between 1917 to 1931 in the Netherlands. De Stijl was founded by Theo van Doesburg with Mondrian. De Stijl was a movement whose intent was based in "spiritual harmony and order".

Let's start with a few words and works by Mondrian himself.

"I believe it is possible that, through horizontal and vertical lines constructed with awareness, but not with calculation, led by high intuition, and brought to harmony and rhythm, these basic forms of beauty, supplemented if necessary by other direct lines or curves, can become a work of art, as strong as it is true."---Piet Mondrian