artsy forager

Category: Live the Artsy

  • Dreaming. An Art Studio Reading Nook.

    Dreaming. An Art Studio Reading Nook.

    It is with the reading of books the same as with looking at pictures; one must, without doubt, without hesitations, with assurance, admire what is beautiful.”

    – Vincent Van Gogh

    What to do while the paint is drying?  If I have a comfy spot, I’ll grab a book and catch up on some reading. 

    As I’m daydreaming (a lot these days) about what my permanent studio will look like, I’m definitely conjuring up a cozy reading nook tucked in amongst the paint and canvas.

    4d37473ba3ed098fc5c054aedafc3898image found here

    Here’s how the perfect studio morning would go– I step out my backdoor and take a leisurely walk to my studio among the trees. 

    a94fd3351d59d57301b88115ccf3c04fimage found here

    After painting for a few hours, as I wait for the paintings to dry, I make a cup of coffee and curl up in my reading nook with a book.  Maybe an artist biography (this Joan Mitchell bio is so good) or maybe I’ll just flip through a book of work by a favorite painter, like this book of Georgia O’Keeffe watercolors.

    Of course, I dream about what that cozy little space will look like!

    Studio nook collageimages found here here and here

    Light walls, wooden floors, fresh, cozy, textured, warm.  A place with plenty of natural light (good for reading and painting!) and an atmosphere of sweet calm. 

    Since I’m daydreaming, why not be specific?  So I spent a little time on the Arhaus website and put together the elements of my dream studio nook!  PS- Make sure to check out all their lighting options— so important for good reading! AND during their storewide sale this month 10% of the purchase price of all lighting and accessory mirrors will go to Global Dental Relief. 

    Arhaus collage finalI think if you can’t go just a bit funky in an art studio, well, where can you?  And a few of these may be a bit too nice for studio life, but a girl can dream right?!

    1. Painting, Shadow On the Wall by Lesley Frenz. Must make sure furniture matches the artwork!
    2. Rug, Zayne 8×10 Grey Rug by Arhaus.
    3. Chair, Dori 31″ Upholstered Chair in Madeline Gold by Arhaus. For guests, but more likely the cat.
    4. Light, Wooden Prism 22″ Chandelier by Arhaus. Don’t forget, buy this baby & that’s almost $70 to GDR!
    5. Pillow, Boho Ivory Applique Pillow by Arhaus.
    6. Sofa, Fiona 97″ Upholstered Tufted Sofa in Brussels Rosewood  by Arhaus. I dream of velvet tufted sofas!
    7. Chest, Teal Ming Cabinet by Arhaus. For book & blanket storage, obvi.
    8. Ottoman, Gentry 50″ Upholstered Bench in Aliz Indigo by Arhaus. Somewhere soft for the tired footsies.
    9. Mug, Black & White Tumbler by Studio Joo. Coffee tastes better when sipped out of something beautiful.
    10. Throw, Faux Fur Brown Feather Throw by Arhaus. Something extra cozy for cold days in the PNW!
    11. Pillow, Stone Washed Velvet Rectangular Pillow in Stone by Arhaus. Never enough pillows in my world.

    Just thinking about this space and doing this exercise has me so very excited to settle into a permanent studio next year! I have no idea what it will look like or where it will be, but there will be books and coffee and pillows. Oh yes, there will most definitely be!

    Image sources linked above.

     

  • Live the Artsy: Deb Haugen

    Live the Artsy: Deb Haugen

    Home has been a subject in the forefront of our minds lately.  Over the next several years, Mr. F and I are saving like mad so that we can settle down and build a little house that fits our needs and our aesthetic perfectly.  What might that aesthetic be, you ask?  Well, it has a lot in common with the work of this month’s Featured Artist, Deb Haugen— fresh and organic, yet modern.

    LTA_haugen

    art | found here

    interior | found here

    In her work, Deb, a California-girl, balances that lovely line between the modern and organic, often employing watery, free flowing colored forms dotted with graphic ink drawing.  Translating her work into a living space means lots of white walls and furnishings dotted with pops of muted color and warmed with natural textures and graphic punches of black.

    A space like this is just dying for a post-beach fire, wine, and conversation!  If you’d like to see more of Deb Haugen‘s work, check out her website AND visit The Trove, Artsy Forager’s new Great.ly boutique gallery where you can find lots of Deb’s work for sale including these lovelies EXCLUSIVE to The Trove!

    Haugen_Greatly exclusives collage

    work by Deb Haugen available exclusively at The Trove

    Please note that the above works are cropped.  You can see the full versions here!

    *This post contains affiliate links.  As a Great.ly Tastemaker and curator of The Trove, I receive a small commission on each piece sold from The Trove boutique gallery.

  • Live the Artsy: Holly Farrell

    Post WWII prosperity ushered in a turning point in the world of advertising and manufactured goods– packaging and design were no longer concerned mainly with function, even the most mundane of objects were created with an appealing aesthetic.  This month’s Featured Artist Holly Farrell celebrates the beauty in these old objects, breathing new and fresh life into designs of the past.

    How would it be to live out Farrell’s aesthetic?

    LTA_Farrell collage

    art | found here

    interior a | found here

    interior b | found here

    With a bright and light modern palette, accentuated with touches of muted color.  Pops of graphic, retro pattern along with sleek metals recall the dawn of the industrial age, with those colors and a few carefully placed wood tones keeping the view warm and fun.  I can’t decide which of these looks I like best!  Which is your fave?

    To see more of Holly Farrell’s work, please visit her website.  The above painting, Soap, is a 10×24 acrylic and oil on masonite, available through Holly’s studio.

    Image sources linked above.

  • Live the Artsy: Erin McIntosh

    Live the Artsy: Erin McIntosh

    While we are getting settled into our new temporary Eureka home, what we want in our eventual forever home is heavy on our minds.  While Mr. F aka Mr. Practicality is thinking of square footage, alternative power sources and cost, I tend to focus more on how the space will feel and how we will live in it.  A home that is a peaceful retreat, yet full of life and creative energy.  The mix of warm neutrals, light pales and bright shots of color in Untitled by this month’s Featured Artist Erin McIntosh, feels like the best of artsy spaces– inviting, yummy colors and patterns and spots of cool serenity.

    LTA_McIntosh collage

     art | found here

    interior | found here

    Now to design a space how this painting feels– this interior featured on Apartment Therapy  feels like the perfect translation.  Though this series by Erin is based in geometric shapes, the  atmosphere remains organic and flowing, never hard and stagnant.  There is warmth to be found in the natural woods and nubby textures in the room and the pattern on the rug & other textiles calls out to the geometrics in Erin’s painting.  My favorite element, the light blue concrete floor, provides a stream of lightness and translucency, just as shots of the same blue  do in Untitled.  Oh how an Artsy could live here!

    To see more of Erin McIntosh‘s work, please visit her website!  Want to see more from the Live the Artsy series?  Check out the archives!

  • Live the Artsy: An Old-Fashioned Romance Inspired by the Art of Jenny Brown

    Live the Artsy: An Old-Fashioned Romance Inspired by the Art of Jenny Brown

    I hope you guys are as into the lovey-doveyness as I am.. if not, maybe this will help get you into the mood come Friday!  The work of this month’s featured artist, Jenny Brown, has always reminded me of old-fashioned Victorian valentines.  Mr. Forager and I aren’t ones for spending lots of money on Valentine’s Day, we prefer to just take a little extra time and attention with each other.  What could be more romantic than simply spending an evening absorbed in all things sensual and gooey-eye inducing?

    Here are a few ideas inspired by Jenny’s artwork if you’re having a case of romance block–

    LTA_VD_collage

     

    listen | edith piaf.   The French singer will lull you into the most deliciously romantic mood.  It is impossible to not get a little weak in the knees when she sings La Vie En Rose.  If you use Pandora, just create an Edith Piaf station and you’ll have mood-setting music all evening long.

    read | love poems by pablo neruda. Nobel prize winning poet Pablo Neruda’s writings are filled with intensity and longing.  A little dark, maybe, but passion is rarely all goodness and light.

    dine | red wine pasta. Everything is better with a little wine.. or a lot of wine!  Red wine pasta is made by cooking your choice of noodle in an entire bottle of wine instead of water.  The result is a surprisingly light, richly colored dish as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the tastebuds.  And of course, you can always re-enact this scene.

    drink | chocolate box dark chocolate shiraz Why should the noodles have all the fun?  Mr. F and I found this shiraz consistently smooth and rich and velvety and yummy.  We bought it all the time when we were in Florida.  We’ve yet to find it in the Northwest and believe me, I’ve looked.  If we do come across it, you can bet I’ll snatch up a bottle.  Or ten.  And the best part?  Totally affordable.  Come to mama.

    savor | rose petal dark chocolate Roses are a lovely momento, but sinful and seductive dark chocolate covered in tea roses?  Even better.

    watch | persuasion There is no shortage of romantic films to put you in a lovey mood.  But the 1995 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion remains one of my personal favorites.  A tale of a love denied and rekindled, its many sea and sailing references are the perfect complement to Jenny Brown’s romantic sea creatures.  And who could resist a love letter that includes the phrase.. “you pierce my soul”.  Ah, the fire of suppressed longing in Regency-era England!

    Diamonds and over-priced meals out are nothing compared to a little old-fashioned artsy inspired thoughtfulness and meaningful romance on the big V day.  How are you planning to keep the home fires burning on Friday? 😉

    All image sources linked above.

     

  • Live the Artsy: Inspired to Be Bold by M.A. Tateishi

    Live the Artsy: Inspired to Be Bold by M.A. Tateishi

    I’m a firm believer that art is not just about what the artist makes, but what you take from it. Living the Artsy isn’t just about living with art, but living out art each day in our lives.  One of the things I love most about the work of this month’s Featured Artist M.A. Tateishi is how bright and downright audacious it is.  This artist is not afraid to use color, to deconstruct and then resurrect her surfaces, all resulting in work that inspires me to be move forward as bravely as she does.

    Circling the Globe by M.A. Tateishi

    I thought perhaps you could use a bit of artsy inspiration, too, so in the words of Simon de Pury..

    BE BOLD!

    Bold collage

    found here here here and here

    BE BRAVE!

    brave collage

    found here here here and here

    BE AMAZING!!

    amazing collage

    found here here and here

    I’ve been finding things in life to be a bit daunting lately, but just looking at M.A.’s work and putting together this post, thinking about these women that I look up to, who are so much braver than me, I feel empowered and encouraged.  I hope you do, too.

    Images linked above.  See more work from M.A. Tateishi on her website.

  • Live the Artsy: Camp Like an Artsy

    Live the Artsy: Camp Like an Artsy

    If you’ve read the blog for a while, you know that Mr. F and I are the outdoorsy types.  We’re those people who are happier sleeping in the woods than in the midst of a busy city.  There is something about sleeping under the stars that rejuvenates the creative spirit!  Good gear is important, but you don’t need to buy out REI to enjoy being an artsy in the outdoors!

    Camp Like an Artsy

    Here are a few ways to camp like an artsy!

    1.  Create a playlist 

    The journey starts before you ever leave home!  Get your mind in the mood by creating a playlist for the road. The perfect music can set your spirit off in the right direction as you begin your adventure.  Mr. Forager created a playlist that we usually listen to when we’re headed into the wilderness.  Heavy on Eddie Vedder, Nick Drake, and Ben Harper, it’s our own way of getting Into the Wild.

    Camping_Into the Wild

     via

    2. Bring along bits of home

    Camping doesn’t have to equal uncomfortable!  Bring that favorite blanket, bed pillows, and tablecloth.  A tent feels more like home when you’re surrounded by your favorite things.

    Camp Like an Artsy_Anthropologie

    via

    3. Camp civilized

    Artsy camping doesn’t mean franks & beans and gross coffee!  It’s super easy to make coffee via French Press when camping ( just boil water! ) and we love to make fresh foods like pasta and fajitas rather than the old standby burgers.  A little red wine may even help you sleep. 😉

    Camping_coffeevia

    4. Don’t forget your artsy tools

    You are bound to be inspired by the quiet and the beauty of your surroundings.  So make sure you pack what you need to take advantage of the situation!  Whether it’s a sketchbook, some watercolors or a guitar, gettin’ your artsy on is the perfect way to relax at camp.

    Camping_colored pencils

    5.  DO forget your iPhone 

    Yes, your iPhone can come in handy for taking photos and you might even use it for its outdoorsy apps like StarWalk.  But having it along is usually more of a distraction than a convenience.  Besides, if you’re really out in the wild, chances are you won’t have service anyway!  So take the time to completely unplug.

    Camping_Disconnect6. Just relax and enjoy

    The more you let yourself settle into the ease and quiet of the outdoors, the more relaxed your mind and spirit will become– and the more awakened your creativity will feel!  Let your mind wander as your feet do the same.

    Camping_relax

    Happy Camping, Artsies!

    Images by Artsy Forager unless otherwise linked below the image.

  • Live the Artsy: Her Name Was Anna

    As fellow Artsies, I know that you are familiar with that sensation that comes over you when gazing upon a favorite work of art.. you want to jump right in and live inside the canvas.  Well, dear Artsies, I say you can!  In this new series, Live the Artsy, I’ll show you how a work of art can come alive as a living space.

    Living in Her Name was Anna by this month’s featured artist Diana Lemieux means dark, cozy walls that envelop you like a forest, classically traditional shapes, and a few punches of color for attitude.  I’m picturing a little Notting Hill apartment that smells of heather and tea.

    art | Her Name was Anna by Diana Lemieux

    space | via Decor8

    Any work of art you’ve fantasized about living in?  Let me know in the comments and I might just show you how to Live the Artsy!