Name: Brooke
Location: UES, NYC
All Other Entries: Link Here
Pitch:
The first photograph is my living room. In it, I have a huge metal sign ("the Rainbow") that I found at an antique store in Stamford, CT and a copper etching by Ivan Valtchev that I won at the Free Arts NYC auction last year. The Rainbow was originally a neon sign on top of a diner in Texas. I haven't been able to find anything more about it (artist, diner, town).
Pitch:
The second photograph is the foyer of my apartment. I took miniture prints that came in a book about Mexican advertising (bought at the Tate Modern three years ago), cut them out and framed them separately. The book only cost me £10 and the frames about $5 each. Underneath it is a chinese cabinet that I bought on ebay from a dealer who is based just under the Whitestone Bridge. The vases were purchased at In The Woods in Edgartown, MA (about $10 a piece).
This is one of my favorites! I love the scale of the big sign...I want a sign like that! And the grouping of the ads in the foyer really makes a statement.
The prints framed up 4 x 3 is very appealing.
Seeing the framing and placement contrasts in this contest is very useful . . .
My favorite so far! (Of course, they haven't shown mine yet - LOL!)
Really love the sign -- an art form that is often overlooked. The rest is lovely, too!
This is very nice, and I love The Rainbow! The texture and the typeface are beyond wonderful. It kind of makes me want those lamps to be the brass Art Deco kind with the dome-shaped brass shades that Crate & Barrel (I think) carried a couple of years ago.
I love the Rainbow! How cool!
I think that finding scavengered pieces, like old metal machinery parts or old pieces of carved wood, are great for walls. A designer friend of mine found an old, rotting rowboat on a client's property and hung it from his loft ceiling. At Christmas he fills it with lights and "presents". Art doesn't have to cost anything to look great.
There's no place like home, there's no place like home.... I saw that flying man and rainbow and now I have a song from a favorite movie stuck in my head. I covet that sign. Does the neon work or can it be replenished? Awesome with or without the lights
I am so distracted by those green lampshades hovering in the middle of the wall. I like the little drawing, though.
Thanks everyone for the nice comments!
Kate (NC):The neon was removed long before I was in possession of the sign and my boyfriend (who blows neon) may redo it at some point...though I sort of like the way it looks now. What isn't visible in the picture is that I have back lit the sign using tube lighting. It isn't as bright as I would like, but it still gives a glowing effect.
Cindy: Not a big fan of my lamps/lampshades either. A bit too country for my liking. But they were hand-me-downs. And I haven't yet focused on replacing them. Also, the paint color looks a lot more torquise-y and the lampshades look a lot more hunter-ish than they are in real life.
Anne: Your friend's boat sounds fantastic! Someday, when I have room, I will look for larger pieces like that. I love "found object" art.
This is really nice - I like it a lot. I actually like the lamps - The one thing i would suggest is to get lower side tables so that the lamps are a bit lower (obviously, everything is dependant on budget of course).
The framed prints look really good too - only suggestion I have there is to bring them down a bit lower so there is less of a gap between the top of the cabinet and the bottom of the prints - you could probably achieve this by moving the top row and putting it below what is currently the bottom row. It's not a big deal if the items on the cabinet are in front of some of the prints - to me it makes it more interesting to see the accessories layered and not perfectly aligned.
I just realized that the link I had given for the auction/antique shop is wrong (the one I gave is the place next door). I found The Rainbow at http://antiquesinstamford.com/ . There is also this place (http://www.braswellgalleries.com/) where I found my leather chair (its a hidden recliner).
Brooke, the florescent tube sounds very nice. I like soft glowing light in a room and I like when people make interesting use of objects/illumination.
If I had a lot of money I'd commission some neon, but til then, rope lights make a good cheap substitute in my house.
Kate(NC): I am not sure where you are based (but I am guessing in North Carolina from your tag), but there is a really fantastic guy based out of brooklyn (Matt Dilling, http://www.litebriteneon.com/) who made a custom neon for me a few years ago. He also teaches a couple classes for those who are interested in learning. I took the class and had a really great time. If you take the class, you are able to make a bunch of stuff on your own and take it home with you. I still have some of my first pieces displayed at home.
Thanks Brooke, I always felt intimidated by glass though I love it. My friend does warm glass and I've played with that a little bit. Maybe we could explore neon together. I've been thinking of making a multicolored melted glass cover to put over a florescent tube. Think that would look good or would the glass get too hot or something? Electricity scares me.
I am in NC, I thought the person you mentioned was in NC, I love the link and am now fantasizing that my friend and I could stay in NY and take a class. My daughter lives there and I would love to have another reason to be there.
I'm wishing this were my place.
I'm confused here, what is supposedly antique?
Is it me or oes this look a lot like Kristian's apt. and the apt. featured in the NYT a looooooooong time ago?
Sophia, it's you.
Congratulations on your win, Brooke! Question - what brand is your lovely "juicy passionfruit" paint? I tried looking it up by name, but unfortunately while there are many find brands of passionfruit *body* paint, wall paint not so much.