Have you made your travel plans yet to attend the IDAL Convention this Summer?

IDAL is the International Decorative Artisans League and they hold their annual convention and conference each summer. It is an opportunity to network with colleagues and peers, brush up on techniques by taking classes from the pros and check out the latest in products and tools at the Expo. This year’s conference is being held July 20-24th in Hampton, Va. I am excited to announce that Regina Garay and I will be teaching a class at the convention called, “Building Your Online Brand”.

Regina and I actually met “online”. I found her blog (this blog) and started leaving comments here and following her on Twitter and friending her on Facebook. (Does that make me a stalker?) Anyway, we became fast virtual friends and started talking about techie stuff like social media, search engine optimization, website building and blogging. I have a marketing background and have spent my entire adult life helping businesses “get the word out” about what they do. So, it was a natural progression for Regina and I to start talking about how we can help people in the decorative painting industry use technology  and social media to grow their reach, expand their customer base and have their brand show up in a BIG way online.

We have invested a good amount of time studying the best online practices and putting into action what we are preaching in the class. We have networked, taken online courses and both attended the Design Blogger’s Conference in Los Angeles in February. Regina has poured her heart, soul and brain into this blog, Fauxology for the last 4 years.  She dove right into the pool of social media in its infancy and now is a high profile Twitter-lebrity in the Design Community. I personally have spent the last five years of my day job helping clients brand their businesses, writing marketing plans and developing strategies and tactics for successful campaigns; All online. Regina and I are so stuffed full of tech stuff that we can’t wait to unload some of it on all of you guys.

We decided to offer a class at IDAL so we could help the artists in our industry navigate the web independently and show them some of the important places where they need to be found online. Some of the topics we will cover in the class are:

1. How to set up and grow a blog
2. How to use social media to promote your business
3. How to set up Google Places
4. How Google’s changing algorithms are affecting  Search Engine Rankings
5. How to monitor the web for mentions about your business
6. How to use Linked In, Twitter and Facebook effectively
7. How to use analytics to track results
8. How to create buzz without spending any money
9. How to use long tail keywords to show up in organic search
10. How to get the referral engine cranking

So, for a small investment in time (2 hrs) and money ($85) you’ll be ready to conquer the on line world. Well, maybe you won’t be able to conquer it, but we will at least give you a road map to get you started on your way. Check out the other classes, too.  There are lots of great teachers assembling in one location for the week offering classes on everything from stenciling to counter tops. Why not take some time off, come and network with your peers and learn a few new tricks? I hope to meet you all IRL (In Real Life) at the conference.

Chicago has been a major center for American architecture since the late 19th century. The city’s most important early architects, Louis Sullivan, and his partner, Dankmar Adler, designed the Chicago Stock Exchange, built from 1893 to 1894. When the original Stock Exchange was demolished in 1972, sections of Sullivan’s elaborate stenciled decorations, molded plaster capitals, and art glass were preserved from the Trading Room. Using these fragments, the Art Institute was able to reconstruct the Trading Room in its new Rubloff Building, constructed between 1976 and 1977.

So says the Art Institute of Chicago’s site on this magnificent exhibit.  The exhibit is a huge reconstructed area you walk into to see all the stenciling and magnificent ornamental work.  It’s a must-see.

The Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room

Here are some shots I took — most came out fuzzy and what came out of my mouth was not fuzzy either.  (We’re not allowed to take tripods into the museum.)  I hope you can see the patterns enough to appreciate how beautiful they are.  So sorry…

Here is another pic from the museum site.  It is stenciled — and I always wonder who did the actual work.  It’s accredited to a firm called Healy and Millet, stained-glass artisans who did just a little more work than that apparently.  I found just a bit on info on them.  I’ll be looking for more since they have piqued my interest.

Artist Sharon Leichsenring, who is familiar with architect Louis Sullivan’s work, has noted on previous posts that he regularly used no less than 16 colors in his stenciled designs.  Incredible!  If you are looking for this style of stencil for your own use, you can run a search under “Adler and Sullivan stencils”, “Prairie Arts Stencils”, “Arts & Crafts stencils” or even just “Sullivan stencils”.  That’ll take you a few sites that can guide you along.  I also found some for sale at the actual Chicago Architecture Foundation shop but they do not list them online. (I would call them — they do have them!)  Now, off to continue the day…

I thought I’d use a few more of the images I took at the Art Institute of Chicago.  There are probably a few other posts left in those pics as well — it is a wondrous museum.  Today, I wanted to just have fun and showcase the ornamental and allover patterns we can find in paintings and decorative art pieces. Shall we?

This is Diego Rivera’s Portrait of Marevna. It’s actually the painting that started the pattern search for me. Once I saw the gorgeous design on the book, I thought “How many works of art have a cool allover design or ornamental pattern?”. I started collecting them. To see the entire painting, click here.

I like the allover background above — but especially the varied patterns.  This is Joan Miró’s Portrait of Juanita Obrador.  Below you will see Georges Braque’s Woman at an Easel. I love the designs along the background but the combination of colors even more so.

Of course, it’s not just paintings.  I spied this beautiful sculpture and the veil had an incredible carved lace design.  Please do click to enlarge the closeup below.

When I came upon this elevator grill by Louis Sullivan, I stopped in my tracks. Wonderful design, yes — but it brought to mind Sharon Leichsenring’s commission that we profiled during Elevator Week.  It was surreal to see the inspiration in real life after having written about it!

Louis Sullivan Elevator Grille

To see a close-up of the patina along the bottom, click here.  I spied another gorgeous elevator grille — this one from the Manhattan Building.

Just beautiful... They don't make elevators like this nowadays.

Here are relief panels from India showcasing repeat architectural patterns.

We arrive at one of my favorites.  Nathalija Gontcharova’s Spanish Dancer.

Each of the textile patterns on the dress had gorgeous dimension created with heavy-bodied materials.  It was incredible to see — I stood in front of it for quite a bit admiring the technique.  Close-up below.  A few years ago, one of her paintings sold for 10.8 million, setting the record for a female artist.

I remember how fun it was looking for designs and patterns in the museum in the midst of just enjoying all the works.  I hope you’ve had fun reading this post.  I’m sure I’ll write more about the museum soon. Have a wonderful day!

Here’s how things work at Casa Fauxology. I’ll go on an outing, take a few hundred pics, get giddy with excitement for the blog post (“The Readers will loooove this!”), upload the images onto a folder and then…I forget all about them.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve come across images that I’ve totally forgotten about that would make a fantastic post. You’d think I’d run out of things to chat about but no, I could write 2 – 3 posts a day if I had the time.  That’s how much good stuff there is out there.  Going through the folders is how I came upon today’s post.

The Thorne Miniature Rooms are of an exhibit in the Art Institute of Chicago. They have miniature room settings built into the walls and encased in glass — 68 in total — and each has something unique.  From ornate plaster to murals to handpainted wallcoverings to extraordinary ceilings.  They are incredible.  You can stroll through the exhibit and view each of them at eye-level. It’s an ode to the Decorative Arts.

Sorry it's so fuzzy but I did want you to see how the miniature interiors are showcased.

Here are some of the room pics I took…

Close-ups below

Love the ornate door and stencil design around the doorway.

A little gold leafing never hurt anyone...

They were artfully constructed at the behest of Mrs. James Ward Thorne of Chicago.  Some feature historically correct copies of the interiors of castles, historic homes and museums, from the 13th century all the way until the 1930′s. Here are a few images from the museum itself.

If you cannot stop by the Institute itself and you’d like to see all of the museum’s rooms in detail and with related information, click here for a stroll.  I hope you do – some incredible rooms are not even pictured here on the post.  Have a great day!

I had a bit of a time giving a title to this post. It all began when I saw the premiere of the new TRADhome digital magazine — it’s the collaboration between Traditional Home, arguably the most popular print magazine, and Lonny, arguably the most popular digital magazine. I came upon the article Of Worldly Riches and stopped in my tracks. It featured a bit of the Criterion Restaurant in London.

I mean, seriously. What would you have done if you had been led to these images?

Neo-Byzantine Architecture and Design

Gold Mosaic Ceiling

Gold Leaf & Ornamental Ceiling

Marble & Gold Leaf Columns

The Criterion building is blessed with neo-Byzantine architecture and descor. It’s here where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote of Dr. Watson first hearing of Sherlock Holmes. (I’m an avid Sherlock Holmes fan. Not of the latest Downey movie — but always the stories. The BBC version is phenomenal, though. Ahem.)  It is surrounded by gilding, mosaics, marble, dramatic arches and mirrored walls.  You can read more here, here and here.

These images made me think about all the yummy, delicious discoveries I’ve made online — and I’m so grateful we live in an age where this is possible.  How else would I have discovered such a glorious place without ever setting foot (yet) in London?  So, I could have called the post “The Criterion” but I did feel an overwhelming need to say thanks to TRADhome (and its parents) for introducing me to it.  If I’m going to say thanks to them, it also needs to be said to Rue Magazine, Adore Home, High Gloss and all the other online magazines that help fuel our imaginations.  So, today, I’m raising a glass to Digital Discoveries.  Have a great weekend, dear Readers!

One of the first decorative painting books I ever bought was The Complete Book of Paintby London interior designer and finisher David Carter. This was 1997.  I literally carried the book wherever I went and showed everyone who would listen about decorative painting. (Yes. I was obsessed even back then.)  In fact, back in 2007, I picked the book as one of my top recommendations here on Fauxology.

Well, you can imagine my extreme pleasure when I found out he converted his home into a small guest house called 40 Winks.  It is a four-story Queen Anne townhouse built in 1717 and redesigned by Mr. Carter himself.  He started by renting out two of his rooms for fashion shoots and then thought to extend that to overnight guests. Voila!  Instant sensation.  Of course, he calls the interiors “whimsically glamorous” so that can’t hurt. Here are a few pics…

Although there is no room service, there is a continental breakfast, a garden to lounge in and you can use their fully-equipped kitchen.  You can see the two rooms available here.  Since the Hubs and I usually spend our days out and about and just like coming back to a nice hotel to relax, I can definitely see us heading there when we do visit London.  Perhaps I’ll even have a chance to meet him as Mr. Carter does still reside in the home.  One can dream… 

Carrie Chavez over at Snuggery Style and Irene Turner of Irene at Home invited me to be a part of a Twitter movement called #JapanLife. It was put together by Parasol Communications and it encouraged bloggers and tweeters to share a unique aspect of Japanese life and/or culture — and at the same time, encourage donations to the Red Cross to help Japan through their recent tragedies.  I’ve decided to write a bit about the decorative arts history of Japan, an eco-friendly Japanese product line and an incredible world-class artist who lives in Tokyo.  Let’s begin, shall we?

The Japanese have a unique decorative history.  Some of the most important eras occurred within the 400 years between the 15th and 19th centuries.  15th century Japan was filled with strife and samurais roaming the land — yet the decorative objects always exuded a serene quality. Japanese ornament is based on a feeling for the harmony of nature and for human beings, placed carefully in compositions. At the Shogun court, the presentation of architecture and decoration in synergy was of extreme importance.  The shoguns were expected to showcase good taste in every aspect — from furnishings to painting to architecture.  The renaissance in the decorative arts history of Japan occurred during the Momoyama era, where gilding, lacquer finishes, sculptures textiles and the creation of pigmented artworks flourished. Up until modern times, the Japanese wrote with brushes as opposed to pens. This helped create an easy familiarity with brush techniques which led to an instinctive feel for painting.

One of Japan’s best decorative artists is Yaeko Kurimata of Faux Arts Design.  I first learned of her work by reading a beautiful post in the Ornamentalist blog.  She says that “we don’t have a great history of decorative paint like the Western countries” but she tries to stabilize and further the Japanese decorative arts in the modern times.  With her permission, I am posting some of her studio’s incredible artworks.

I was also inspired to speak to Florida artisan Teresa Farland, who has a deep knowledge about the beautiful Shizen product line inspired by and imported from Japan.  “Shizen” is a Japanese term meaning “natural beauty” and it also reflects its eco-friendly qualities.  It has four main lines:

• Shizen Kai – Made of crushed seashell, coral, natural soil, sand, and stone.  It provide a natural pearl-like glittering texture finish with resistance to mold and mildew. Primarily used in hospitals and schools in Japan.
• Koruku -Comes from the bark of the cork oak tree and recycled straw from the rice stalk of the Japanese Cypress tree.  Because of the cork’s tiny air spaces,it has thermal insulation and heat retention qualities for energy savings.
• Kyoto - The most traditional of finishes found in earthquake prone Japan and named after the Japanese capitol city that survived fires, earthquakes, and the firebombing of WWII; is one of the best preserved cities in Japan.  Its primary function is to bridge minor cracks and maintain its flexibility.
• Pataan – Pataan means “pattern” which is a critical element in Japanese design.  The Japan approach to design has historically been linear and asymmetrical, deeply emphasizing texture and elements.  It is a perfect texturing medium for creating subtle to bold textures, is extremely durable, flexible and controls humidity.

Here are some sample photographs using the Shizen product line:

Yaeko Kurimata of Faux Arts Design posted the vision for her studio on her website. “Since ancient times, interior design has been used to make our lives more comfortable.  The architecture of the world heritage sites bear witness to the beauty that was created by human hands. I believe that nothing is superior to human skills and mankind’s artistic and creative imagination.  Today, more than ever before, people need a nurturing and healing environment.  Our role is to provide the positive energy of nurturing spaces through images and colors…in improving modern life.”  I think these words can also resonate for the incredible tenacity and strength of the Japanese people.  Much love is sent to them today and every day.

To donate to the Red Cross to help Japan, please click here.

Research: ArtNet, Wikipedia and Scholastic
Thank You: Teresa Farland and Yaeko Kurimata for your incredible help and research within a very tight timeframe. You are much appreciated!