“Angel” (Sligo Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland)
A Picture a Day (2/9/10)
February 10, 2010 by Paulette BeeteA Picture a Day (2/7/10)
February 9, 2010 by Paulette Beete
“Self-Portrait, Third Day Indoors” (Sligo Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland)
Fly: To float, wave, or soar in the air. “I cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound. I cannot fly with these stories strapped to my wrists.”
The Home Beete! Questionnaire with Sierra Bailey of Manic Trout
February 9, 2010 by Paulette Beete
I first discovered Manic Trout, the jewelry line by Sierra Bailey, in the 2008 Christmas edition of Real Simple. (Read my Oligoville.com interview with Sierra about her jewelry work here.) I’m not quite sure how, but I managed to resist buying myself a pair of her Sweetest Things earrings in every color in favor of actually getting something from Manic Trout for my sister. Not only do I love Sierra’s jewelry, but I also love her boldly impressionistic paintings. (And c’mon, how can I not adore someone who—as the photo above attests—is as magazine-crazy as I am?)
I couldn’t quite believe it when Sierra said yes to letting me feature her home on The Home Beete! (She’s about to move—thanks to a yucky flood—and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll get a peek into her new digs as well.) I am, of course, loving that her home is filled with books and art and then more books and art. I’m also heartily hearting the pintucked linens on her bed. Thanks for sharing with us Sierra!
THB: Where do you live?
Sierra: Smack in the middle of the village in Millbrook, New York.
THB: In five words or less, your home is . . .
Sierra: Where I love to be.
THB: What do you do at home?
Sierra: The Manic Trout studio is in my apartment and I tend to work excessively, so I’m in there great deal of the time I’m home. I do, however, manage to find some time to sleep, hang out with friends, exercise and read.
THB: What’s your favorite room (and why)?
Sierra: My library/painting studio, this past summer I put half of my living room in the Manic Trout studio, so I can literally live where I work and then made a second studio space in what was the living room which is crammed with books, a comfy couch and where I have my painting studio. I love having a more “personal space” to create in and retreat to during the rare times when I need to shut the door on work.
THB: What’s your favorite piece of art or memento or plain old thing in your home?
Sierra: I have recently noticed that every piece of furniture and thing in my home has a story that each piece has been brought in because I love it. I do however have a horseshoe from my first pony that has been by the front door of every dorm room, apt and house that I have lived in since I was a little girl.
THB: What could you never throw out . . . though maybe you should?
Sierra: I am pretty good about throwing things out, the only way you can continue collecting things is if you get rid of the stuff you no longer want every so often. I would however have to say that the obvious answer is my wedding dress from a marriage I am no longer in. It’s preserved in a pretty big box and lives under the bed, and I know its weird that I still have it. There is no sentimental value, but I wore Vera Wang and convinced them to do a few custom details to the dress, how could I get rid of a custom Vera Wang gown!?!
THB: What’s the best piece of decorating advice you ever got?
Sierra: As long as you love it, you can make it work in your home.
THB: What’s on your home wish list?
Sierra: I love furniture, but have absolutely no room for anymore where I live now…but if I could fit one more piece it would be an antique black pedestal table. There was one years ago that I fell in love with and didn’t buy for some reason and I have regretted it ever since.
THB: Got color?
Sierra: Yes! There is color bursting from every corner!
THB: Any last words?
Sierra: It’s amazing what a different rearranging can make in your life; when life throws you lemons, move the furniture around!
A Picture a Day (2/6/10)
February 8, 2010 by Paulette Beete
“Self-portrait with snow and colorful hat” (Living Room, Silver Spring, Maryland)
In this photo, snow is only snow. This is, in fact, a story- about my vanity. Catching a glimpse of myself in the webcam as I turned away to look out the window, I decided to look left rather than right, so that the left side of my face–with its darker patches of hyperpigmentation would not show. Then, I used the touch-up tool, to remove some hyperpigmentation fromthe exposed right side. If I knew how, I would have erased my double-chin. I’ve never thought myself particularly vain in photographs. I am she of the bright and cheesy smile no matter what. What has caused my vanity to leak out here when I am the one holding the camera? I suppose we all are storytellers and liars both . . .
Hitting the Links (2/6/10)
February 7, 2010 by Paulette Beete
Better Plate Than Never. I love these beautifully reworked vintage plates by artist Caroline Lotte, especially the Under Blue Skies series. Talk about upcycling! (via dear ada)
Knock, Knock. Sadly, if they invited me over here, I’d never leave. There are just way too many treasures to be ogled over. I love the white floors, and the way they reflect the light. And books, books, books everywhere. (via design*sponge)
Be a Wino or Just Drink Like One. “Frugal” and “fine dining” don’t have to be mutually exclusive if you follow these tips from my new favorite financial advisors over at Learn Vest. Drink up darlings!
Change of Address? It’s becoming more and more clear that I will have to move to Sweden to find my perfect house and perfect husband. Sigh . . . . Uhm, I’d better start saving for my head-to-toe North Face wardrobe pronto! (via dos family)
Who’s There? The only thing missing from these lovely photos of photographer Susan Tuttle’s home is me, curled up in a corner of her kitchen, with a gigantic cup of coffee, drinking in all the loveliness. Sigh . . . .
Craftastic. Projects like this make me wish I was craftastic . . .or that at least I knew someone with some power tools. Actually, with these directions, even I could probably whip up this folding screen, which would make a groovy room divider or perk up a dull corner in addition to covering an unwanted window. If anyone takes the plunge, please send pix! (via Little Green Notebook)
Oh, sweetie. My fave kinds of crafts are the easy peasy ones that me me look totes brill. Like this recipe for infused sugars that’ll make your friends ooh, aah, while you coyly reply, “Aw shucks, was nothing at all. . . I’m just naturally genius, I guess.” (via design*sponge)
A Picture a Day (2/4/10)
February 6, 2010 by Paulette Beete
“At the Bus Stop” (Sligo Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland)
” [My day] looks from afar like a snarl of dead ends and broken places—sere, not serene. But I know different. . . . Things are stirring . . . just as the sap is rising in the tangled and hidden world outside.” (Catherine Calvery, from Victoria January/February 2010)
A Picture a Day (2/3/10)
February 4, 2010 by Paulette Beete
Seeing is a tricky business. How to know exactly which narrative will survive the shutter’s guillotine click? Or that long lonely distance from imagination through wrist through pen or keystroke to paper? James Baldwin said, “All art is a kind of confession.” I’d add too that it is a gamble, out of our hands perhaps before the work even leaves our hands. We neither know what the eye truly sees nor what narrative we confess in response.
A Picture A Day (2/2/10)
February 3, 2010 by Paulette Beete
“The Door is Open” (Sligo Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland)
I like how the plants on the windowsill are reflected in the mirror, as if in the darkened apartment, a jungle has stealthily started to overrun the living room. Or the moon has come down to play Peeping Tom, surprised the plants into revealing their true natures. What dramas unfold in that long moment between opening the door and turning on the first lights?
A Picture a Day (2/1/10)
February 2, 2010 by Paulette Beete
“Office Space” (Old Post Office Pavilion, 6th Floor, Washington, DC)
I have been making collages for as long as I can remember: countless pages from “16″ magazine tacked up above my bed (John Stamos in a mint-green polo against a pink background, C. Thomas Howell with a horse, Matt Dillon as Dally in The Outsiders), several magazines’ worth of phrases and pix on the door to my single my junior year of college. I like the idea that a collage is at once a fractured yet coherent narrative. Each of the elements belongs together yet the connections aren’t always explicit; they hover , instead, slightly out of reach of the tongue. (I’ve never been uncomfortable—as some poets I’ve known can be—with the idea of borrowing/appropriating/stealing-with-acknowledgement from others to articulate my own story as poem.) This particular wall touches on the deep affection I have for my day family, George Clooney, my heritage as a New Yorker and an Asian Indian, the Alvernian Drama Society, the aesthetic influence of Billie Holiday on my work, the price women pay for being artists, and the properties of light . . to name just a few threads.
Hitting the Links (2/1/10)
February 2, 2010 by Paulette Beete
“Through the Snow at Dusk” (Charlotte, North Carolina, January 29, 2010)
Pretty as a Postcard. I love this series of street scenes by illustrator Lehel Kovacs. Each view is based on a Google Map street view. The colors remind me of hand-colored vintage postcards, and the lettering has a mid-century feel to me. It doesn’t look like any of the street views are for sale, but you can check out buyable prints—like the cheeky (pun intended) beach volleyball diptych—in his online shop. (via Cool Hunting)
Flower Power. I’m loving these paintings by Australian artist John Baird. His use of color and pattern feels both formalized and “visionary” to me. Sort of like when someone writes a sonnet that hues more to vernacular than heightened language. By which I mean, buy me one, okay? Preferably Elsie, Flora, or Gertrude. (via dear ada)
Get it Together. I’ve been really enjoying this collection-a-day blog by the artist Lisa Congdon. I love that she’s documenting her collections both real and imaginary. It’s interesting not just to see Lisa’s trove of treasures, but also to see how people react to them. Today’s grouping of owls, for example, reminded me of watching Mr. Rogers. It also made me start to ponder why owls have had such resonance for me lately. A search for wisdom perhaps? As a side note, Lisa also had a folk-arty/60s-ish print on 20 x 200.com the other day.
Tea Off. Just because the kitchen is a place of eminent practicality, it doesn’t mean it can’t be pretty too. I love these graphic tea towels by studiopatro. They’re a little pricy, until you consider that they might just help put a smile on your face when you have to tackle a sink full of dishes or wipe down the counter after a near-fatal food processor accident. Not to mention they make a heckuva housewarming giftie. I’m partial to the Fig/Fern and Facade patterns myself. (via Fine Little Day)
Great Scots! I love this sneak peek into the home of Rosie Brown, mother of Verity Belle (sweet!) and proprietrix of Papa Stour, one of my wish list stores. I love all the commissioned artisan work in their house, especially the driftwood shelf and the backsplash behind the sink in the bathroom. Anyone up for a quick jaunt to Scotland with me in August? (via design*sponge)
For the Heart of Art. I’m loving these abstract-ish paintings by Tyson Anthony Roberts. They feel like a contemporary take on paint-by-numbers, in which each shape is broken into color blocks. I also love the elongated ovals that Roberts uses as “building blocks.” They remind me of the wee plug-in lites from the Lite Brite sets of my kidhood. (And yes, now the jingle is stuck in my head: Lite Brite, making things with liiiggghte, Lite Brite . . . ). Lucky for you, Messr. Roberts also has been a featured artist on 20×200.com recently so you can spend some pennies on “The Garden,” which I read as a riff on Seurat’s “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.” (via Aesthetic Outburst)
Art Works. As both artist and collector, it warms my cockles to know just how many visual artists are selling editions to raise money for the relief efforts in Haiti. Here’s a link to an auction on Flickr that’ll be taking place until February 14th. With more than 155 images up for grabs to date, you’re sure to find something that can grace your walls as well as advance grace to Haiti. And if you’re a photographer—amateur or otherwise—consider joining the group pool. You’ve got nothing to lose and the potential to give a whole lot. (via 20×200 blog)
