Summer is here and the perfect accompaniment to your summer sundress may be a straw handbag. There is a plethora to choose from. My search for such a handbag led me to think a bit about handbags in general and straw handbags in particular.
Summer Straw Handbags Read More »
Many of us may have an interest or passion we return to throughout our lives. For me, one of these is printmaking. My first experience with printmaking occurred right after high school at the Glassell School of Art in Houston. During the printmaking class we lived the learning as we explored a range of the intaglio printmaking methods; drypoint etching, chemical etching, and aquatint. Later during the sessions on lithography, we were assigned a block of Belgian stone and tasked with cleaning off the old image, creating one of our own and running it through a printing press.
Drypoint Etching on a Copper Plate Read More »
The essence of an object well aged brings character to a room. The same can be said for a garden. Deep rusty orange terra cotta pots and planters are ubiquitous in the Texas Hill Country. Eventually over time terra cotta pots will develop a whitened and greenish coloration on top of the natural rusty orange color. Not having the patience to wait for the patina to appear on my terra cotta pots spawned a search for a way to hasten the aging process.
Limed Terra Cotta Pots in Interior and Garden Design Read More »
When you live in the Texas Hill Country where the outside comes inside through dramatic views of gently rolling hills, rocky canyons, and tree lined arroyos, it is appropriate for us to consider interior design which recognizes and incorporates aspects of these elements. Drying and pressing native plants is one way; an alternative to this is to the botanical silhouette.
Botanical Silhouettes Enhance A Large Wall Space Read More »
Friends tell me there is a story behind everything in our house. The story or provenance is the history of an object. My fascination with glass globes and garden cloches began with these flowers from my sister’s wedding cake. She was married in a garden in Fredericksburg, Texas in the Hill Country and after the wedding the flowers traveled with me in a box on the back seat of the car.
Glass Globes and Cloches in Interior Design Read More »
My fascination with espalier, or training plants to grow on walls harks back to childhood when we had a yellow flowered, heavily scented Carolina Jasmine vine growing on the fence. Later, when married with dogs, we were probably the only couple who had a vine covered dog run. Here, in this photo taken during a two-week summer tour of Italy with my sister, ivy growing on wires strung between posts to create a living fence could be seen outside more than one villa in Montecatini Terme, Italy.
Espalier in the Garden Read More »
Fresh flowers are a lifelong passion of mine. Reflecting on flowers and flower arrangements calls to mind so many moments of my life… heather and baby’s breath in a porcelain vase shaped as a woman in a long dress, the flowers filling the back of her skirt; a birthday gift from my father. Standing in the lobby of the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. thunderstruck by the tall glass cylinders placed on a round mahogany table and filled with twisted grapevine stems and orange lilies.
Enriching Life Through Flower Arranging Read More »
Renewing and repurposing furniture you already own is one of the most satisfying experiences! Yes, it does take some amount of courage though less bravery is needed when the piece has outlived its current purpose. Here is a glimpse of my large vintage table in its new form. Read on for the full story!
Renewing and Repurposing a Table: Personalizing Possessions Read More »
A plinth is a support or base for a column made of a thick block of stone. The contemporary meaning for plinths used in interior design includes bases made of various materials for sculpture, decorative vases, altar candles, and other objects of interest.
This photo is a mezzotint print I made of a bridal headpiece found in a vintage shop. It wasn’t a clothing shop so the head piece was buried in a box of odds and ends of lace and hat ribbons. Unearthing it prompted a decades long fascination with bridal raiment.
Considering Wedding Gowns Read More »
