At the end of last year I attended an art school graduate show. The artist of a piece that I had been advidly admiring happened to be there and I got her details and later bought the piece, titled Babel. The grab shots below really don't do the work justice. There is so much detail, and the colours are amazing.
A couple of galleries/art institutions had recommended Homestead Picture Framers in Henderson, and I'm glad that I took the recommendation. Fantastic customer service, loads of experience and great recommendations on framing options - they matched the border to the exact shade of off white of the work itself. They also gave good instructions on how to hang the picture so that the wall could take the weight. I have complete confidence that this isn't going to go crash bang in the middle of the night. We chose a shady spot in our hallway for it, and splurged on conservation glass so that it (hopefully) won't fade.
When my husband and I first started decorating our house, with pauses and sidelong glances, we asked each other what we thought of the light shades. Thankfully we both had the same reaction - the thought of modern lighting in our retro bungalow made us flinch. We agreed that it would be best to keep the old art deco light shades, replacing the one or two modern anomalies with something similar. I've since bought a couple of additions from TradeMe and now our home is filled with deco shades that compliment the ceiling moldings. They may not shine as bright as modern LED lights, but I see this as a flattering bonus. At any rate, it's a good excuse to buy some pretty floor and table lamps.
One of my home improvement objectives for the year is to tackle my hallways. They run in a big T shape through my house and are crying out for an update. The floors are near-perfect polished wood but the peeling 80s wallpaper (scratched to bits in corners by cats) is a real let-down. I can't wait to peel the walls and have them replastered and painted in Quarter Spanish White, ready for art work. I am already collecting items in preparation.
I picked up this perspex art block from the Auckland Art Gallery gift shop, while I was waiting for a friend to show up for a coffee date one lunch time. It's the perfect size for display in one of the two wall niches in my hallway. These niches are a very 50s design feature that I don't want to get rid of. The artwork is a print from the art galleries collection. Grace Joel (1865 - 1924), Girl with Scarf (c1896).
