November Show at Sweet Salvage

my winter aspen secretary displayed in 

the november Sweet Salvage show

note to self: learn how to use a camera.

dang! the "Before" pics didn't happen. who knows what button i was pushing. fiddle-dee-dee.  you will simply have to trust my written description of what these three interesting antiques looked like before I got my hands on them. the following projects were prepared in a little over a week during the end of october first part of november. 

note to you: nothing is stenciled. zip. this is all free-hand work.(i must explain this because people keep asking!) D:|

julie from one of the most exciting shops in the valley (Sweet Salvage on 7th) sent me to my workshop with three amazing antique pieces she had previously scouted out. my assignment: to embellish two in her white-on-white theme for the november show. the third piece i was granted full-reign to do with what I would, as long as it also had a basic white background.

first item:

white on white striped bureau

this beautiful low profile old bowfront bureau was a deep, dark, rich cherry wood color. the little gold key holes are awesome, as are the cute little wheels. it was admired in the pre-show exhibit the night before the sale by a young mother of six. she successfully snagged it the following  day! it went to a good home in mesa. (sniff) 

i had to completely stuff the key holes with thin strips of rags to keep the paint out, in case you were wondering. 

a word about manipulating the piece to appear genuinely worn & weathered. i am annoyed with furniture that someone obviously spot-sanded randomly or bashed with chains all over the entire thing. i don't know about you, but i've never seen anything damaged or nicked across every flat surface in the natural world.

is it not usually the edges that get the most wear? around moving parts?  

around contours?

and around darling little key holes?

 

     see this pattern of wear? ^  cool, right?  

i did that on "poipose". so you see, wear patterns are also aRt!

next item:

vine heart secretary

this slim-profile secretary used to be a light ash wood. the crowning trim was broken off.  my cheerful handyman of the hour was dave hale. he needed wooden pegs. none were found in the workshop. so he lickety-split whittled a scrap of wood and made his own! genius. sheer genius. the other peg holes were filled with the original pegs broken-off deep inside. he suggested it was better to buttress the top by adding supports attached to the back.(i later shaped these supports myself with a heavy duty blade). again - he crafted exactly what he needed right in front of my eyes while singing a tune that was stuck in his head. I can't remember, but i believe it was paula abdul...  

we applied wood glue like fairy dust and clamped everything to sit over-night. the end result is a very sturdy repair. dave! you rock, dude!

top piece firmly in place.

the vine motif, checkerboard and stripes were applied with very little measuring or marking in an original blend of "raffia" white and taupe. this seemed too dark once i finished, so i white-washed the entire thing with white thinned with my favorite medium, floetrol. 

um, not to be confused with the other flotrol. that would be gross. catchy tune, though. 

both techniques are done in a watercolor style with watercolor art brushes.

(the inside of the secretary is the original wood, stained but unpainted.  :(  no pics.

again, note the "natural" distressing. i chose areas most likely to chip or wear. i teased the surface with a flat screwdriver, a blade and my paint can opener. viola.

detail of wooden embellishment



this vine and striped secretary also sold the first day of the show. 

last item:

winter aspen secretary

here is a deeper secretary with drawers, and the beginning of the winter aspen piece. it originally was a very dark brown wood.

faint blue sky and first two trees blocked out.
more trees and branches, and the bark in near-final layers at this point. i lost count on how many layers.
a bird is charcoal penciled-in; do you see him? 

fun begins: paint applied
finished bird = about 20 to 30 minutes



second bird:

first paint application

 finished 

the inside original wood organizer:

awesome-sauce original drawer pulls:

note the dusting of snow in the air on this view of branches

all done. see, touch, smell and purchase our winter aspen secretary at Antique Gatherings!

professional finish-stage photos by asia. she's for hire. asiatanner@yahoo.com

gracias por todo, beautiful!

Ocean of Life

the Human Science website describes creative energy this way: 

"energy that gave birth to Life on earth is a living ocean. it is an ocean of creative energy. it never is static. even when it is static, its repose contains potential energy. energy in potential grows in potency."

following is potentially potent new life furniture aRt creative energy washing in from arizona's monsoon-filled july and august:

pine french provincial night stand now offered at the beautiful and exciting avery lane







side panels feature botanically correct 
shepherd's purse audubon style

top design = queen anne's lace or wild carrot (seriously, did you know 
it's the same thing?!)

busy pollinating side-kick.

don't forget the two ethan allen stipeified side tables . . .

or the dutch iris queen anne table also creating a buzz at avery lane!

custom laundry room mural

the client wish-list was expressed like this: "please make it happy. i want happy. 
a windy day, 

some clean white sheets blowing in the breeze, 

a lovely garden,a comfortable rustic 

little house,(that's a pie cooling on the windowsill btw...)an old-fashioned wash tub,

and there must absolutely be a tire swing. i want a nice tire swing on a beautiful tree 
in the yard. don't you agree? 

yes, i must have a nice tire swing."

(eastern blue bird on 

barbed wire mural detail)

yes, virginia, i agree.
all i know is i ate very well for three days while camped out muraling at this house.

thank you! kisses!

a rather common, every day rocker

 rocks out as a 

young wife's life-story so far!  

 symbolism: home state california poppies, 

teacher, spanish, track & field, 

mission to ohio, wedding date, etc.

turquoise accents ~ su color favorita

feliz aniversario, marin! 

(gracias, mijo mckellar!)

grandma gail's jewelry box is special

and now 
reflects both grandma's painting style, 

and granddaughter's modern black & white

tim loves you ~ happy birthday, sydney!

a blonde chest of drawers from avery lane

is a little forlorn & dejected

um, not any more!

a funky little table from avery lane 

was easily by-passed

but now is poppin' jolly. 

long live the queen!

bedroom trio:

a high standing laminate table 

and a primitive chest of drawers 

hecho en Mexico from pallets

are requested to match this little cabinet i forgot to get a "before" picture of. 

imagine it in it's naked former state: 

plain dark brown wood ~ 
now sweetly singing the joy of stripes 
and an antique soft mint green.

the high laminate table has been hand-painted at each "wood" area exposed to match the 
wood color of the chest of drawers.

get it? every single spec of what you see as exposed wood was hand-painted that wood color with brown acrylics.

compare the natural wood exposed below, waiting to be painted the darker wood as seen in the drawer detailing above.

this three-legged table has a story to tell 

i just don't know what it is.

this small curio shelf was a reddish colored wood thing scratched and scarred in a heap 

of mis-matched tupperware at goodwill 

waiting patiently for $3 and re-birth:

you can also find this fun shelf

at avery lane in north scottsdale.

remember the pigeon-rest bookcase rescued 

a while ago? 

a mirror to match

makes a perfect duet of antiqued turquoise 

here's to cheerfully anticipating 
an ocean 
of creative potency in all our pursuits.