vintage, “everyday art”.
Even though we live in an apartment, hanging things on the walls is terribly important to creating a homey atmosphere. Between being stuck with “blah beige” walls (you know how I adore color from my previous living space!) and living in the same layout as at least a few dozen other people in the complex, injecting personality that makes our living space truly “ours” has been a top priority. However, being on a shoestring budget meant that it wasn’t as simple as taking a trip to the local high-end antiques shop or Crate and Barrel. I’ve collected a mish-mash of things over time to decorate the walls with in nearly every room (to the point where I now am thinking I need to put the brakes on it–we’re running out of free space!), most of which is “found art” or things that are not necessarily meant to be hung on the wall. My latest purchase is perhaps my favorite and I just had to share it with you!
framed with a bt of felt behind to hold the pieces in place.
I recently spotted a few sets of vintage paper dolls on Etsy that I thought would be perfect for hanging over my workspace. I have a huge soft spot for paper dolls (I had a whole bin of them when I was little!) and these lovelies date to the 1940s so their adorable fashions definitely appealed! They were not expensive and somewhat show the wear of time and play (which I think makes them all the more precious), but for my purposes they are perfect. I framed a few with some spare frames I had stashed away and hung a few others along a piece of lace I have strung across one wall. It’s an easy way to add color, inexpensive, and is also quite unique!
strung up simply with a piece of vintage lace for “string” and mini clothespins.
These dolls ended up in my sewing nook, a corner of the spare room, is my spot where I can let my ultra-feminine side go in decorating. (I try to keep it a bit more tempered in the rest of the house–since Sailor Husband, although he appreciates my girly side, isn’t as enthusiastic about old dresses hanging on the walls or pink as I am!) I especially like to hang pieces that inspire me; whether it be clippings from an old magazine, vintage button cards, bits of old dresses or lace, I find it helps create a creative vibe in my little spot. But I’m thinking that they’d eventually look just as at-home in a playroom in the future!
What are some of your favorite “found art” objects? Do you collect anything to hang on the walls as art? What sort of “everyday art” catches your eye?
More pictures of the vintage paper dolls (if you want to take a peek!) can be found here.
November 12, 2010 ·
46 lovely thoughts
posted in around the house
· tags: art, playing house, thrifting + vintage
Rachel’s recent posts on taking a fashion sketching mini-course reminded me of a book I have tucked away in my shelves. It’s a sketching book from the late 30s, that I won on Ebay years and years ago. I remember it was one of my first purchases and seemed so expensive at the time! But I really wanted a vintage manual on fashion drawing, since modern sketching styles didn’t really appeal to me. So I thought in light of my reminiscing I’d share some snapshots of the pages with you!
The book is succinctly titled Fashion Drawing: How To Do It and was published in 1939. While I have never used it to formally teach myself any “vintage drawing techniques”, it’s been a fun reference for occasional sketches and inspiration. I love the sections on creating the appearance of texture (such as fur) in illustrations. Plus being a fashion geek all the little clippings of ads and various illustrations provide a lot of fodder for the imagination.
Looking at Rachel’s posts and then this book reminded me how bad I’ve been the past year or so with sketching on a regular basis. I do a lot of technical-sketches; figuring out how patterns go together, designing elements for sewing projects, quick doodles for future projects. But I really have not sketched like I used to–nearly every day! Still, I manage to fill up about 2-3 large sketchbooks every year and have them stacked next to the desk in my sewing nook for handy reference. I’m definitely not the most artistic person when it comes to drawing (technical illustration style is the look I’m most comfortable with. Even in art classes I could never get the hang of the “sketchy” look that seemed to be predominant!) Are you drawing-inclined? Or maybe you just like to keep a reference of ideas through doodles and notes?
November 2, 2010 ·
14 lovely thoughts
posted in books,vintage inspiration
· tags: art, books, vintage inspiration
[ click for a larger view. ]
… it’s just nice to pull out my colored pencils and outlining markers. Go through all the images on my computer and just sketch.
Creativity is a funny creature. Sometimes it likes to play nice and give you oh-so-many lovely ideas and motivations. Other times it goes to hibernate and hangs a big ol’ “do not disturb” sign on it’s door. This year has been a huge growing period for me in understanding how my creativity works, that it sometimes goes into remission and that it’s okay to give it a rest to recharge. For long periods of time I’ve been uninspired by my ideas. I’m grateful to my sister especially (who is another creative soul) for encouraging me to keep doing things, even though I felt the ideas were sub-par. Not to let it go completely, but to gently cultivate it even though there wasn’t much to cultivate.
It actually wasn’t until quite recently that things started to feel less forced and more like the way I remember them. I finally finished the sketchbook I started in January (I usually go through 2-3 big sketchbooks a year). I had been picking out sewing projects that inspired me and also were useful to fill gaps in my wardrobe. I gave myself “permission” to just create something if it caught my eye (and I had the time to do so). Even seemingly mundane, daily tasks like doing my hair or makeup I tried to view through the lens of being creative in a small way. Infusing that sense of wonder and excitement back into the littlest things was important.
[ click for a larger view. ]
I know many others go through dry periods too (whether or not you are “creative” in the art sense, or your talents lie in another area!). We all hit bumps in life that throw us a bit harder than we expected and sometimes it isn’t as easy as getting back up right away and dusting ourselves off. Sometimes you just need to lie still and heal a bit. I’ve come to realize that that’s okay and not to censure myself for feeling any less than 100% creative. But to enjoy and be thankful for it when it’s there.
Have you ever been through a “creative dry spell”?
August 10, 2009 ·
37 lovely thoughts
posted in casey's musings
· tags: art, musings
( click for larger view.)
This past weekend I finished up yet another of my sketchbooks; this one I had been slowly filling since early Autumn. The beginning is peppered with scribbles about the wedding, lists and other things that were heavily on my mind six months ago. But as of late, I once again started to record garment details and create a visual wishlist of clothes I’d like to make one day. Recently, I had someone ask to take a peek into my sketchbooks, so I’ve pulled a few of my favorite pages from past books:
( click for larger view.)
Interestingly although I’ve taken numerous art classes in the past, I still tend to be very sketchy with my garment drawings. It’s a way for me to work an idea out on paper before it escapes my imagination forever, and things tend to get messy! I have literally a box full of these sketchbooks that I brought with me. Every few months I’ll go back and look through them, culling new ideas or rediscovering old ones. It’s fun to find some themes and motifs continue throughout several books as well; some of which eventually worked their way into a final project or garment design.
Do you like to sketch your ideas out? Or do you record your ideas and inspiration or prepare for a project another way? I’d love to hear how you keep your inspirations!
February 17, 2009 ·
24 lovely thoughts
posted in casey's musings
· tags: art, inspiration
I still haven’t quite finished that dress I posted a sneak peek of on Monday (the polka-dot material was snipped from the most major alteration I did). It is just missing the voile ruffle, but I dare not show the entire piece until it is complete! hehe. Hopefully by Friday I shall have eked out an hour of sewing time to finish it…
Anyhow, I spent a little bit of time the other night, winding down with a cup of chamomile tea, my pretty little cahier (I found the website of the manufacturer–they are some other, absolutely delicious notebooks!), and a pile of inspiring images that had been sitting on my computer.
As you can see by this page, Art Nouveau has been absorbing me quite a bit lately! Design History class this week we spent most of the three-hour class discussing the movement and viewing utterly gorgeous slides!! I was in heaven! I think I took nearly four pages of notes… hehe! I just love the color and vibrancy of line; I think it fits quite well with the mood springtime brings. Do you ever feel a stylistic look fits well with a particular season?
I think perhaps next week I shall declare it A Week of Thrifty Finds! I’ll post a photo (or two…) of some lovely goodies I have happened upon in the past months, since I have been so bad about sharing them (and its quite a pile now! hehe!). Is anyone else game for five days of blog and thrift-fun? Do let me know… perhaps we can organize an informal little something.
Oh, and before I dash off, I wanted to remind you that the deadline for signing up for the Creative Cacophony Swap is nearing! Be sure to drop me an email by Friday evening if you’d like to be included… I think it is going to be so much fun!!!
Have a lovely Wednesday, all!!
Cheers!
[ Ali, is having a week of Amelie themed posts!!! What a perfectly lovely idea… a whole week of basking in Amelie goodness! Read all the posts (thus far) here. Discovered via Frolic!.
March 26, 2008 ·
6 lovely thoughts
posted in casey's musings
· tags: art, inspiration, links
