So Sylvie

Gracing Us with Art

How lovely on this grey winter morn to discover the wonderful art of Three Graces Gallery. I have to give credit for my discovery to Kim Naumann, a great artist in her own right, for including some of the gallery's artwork in her Flickr stream. Three Graces, out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was founded in 2004 by artist Kim Ferreira to provide a forum for "an eclectic variety of paintings, sculpture, mixed-media, pottery, jewelry and fine furniture." Indeed! Take a look:

paper cuts, by Elsa Mora ~






acrylic on panel, by Rachel Paxton ~




encaustic painting, by Kate Phillips ~



The name has its roots in Greek mythology:

"The classic pose of The Three Graces is said to reflect the three aspects of the gift: giving, accepting, and returning. Like the Muses, they were believed to endow artists and poets with the ability to create beautiful works of art."


acrylic on canvas, by Rachel Paxton ~




acrylic, ink, graphite, beeswax and Japanese paper on panel, by Liz Tran ~




mixed-media on canvas, by Sarah Ogren ~



This is just a sampling of the paintings and works on paper. There is an incredible variety of work in various mediums on the site, as well as on Kim Ferreira's Flickr,
like the Teeny Tiny 4 set.

polymer clay, acrylic paint, matte and gloss varnish 2.5" x 4", by Doubleparlour ~



If you're in the New hampshire area try to see the upcoming show of Teeny Tiny works at The Three Graces Gallery, February 6th through March 3rd, as well as other exhibits.
You can read about the wonderful artists represented here.

And please do pay a visit to Kim Naumann's Flickr sets to view her lovely artwork ~





Have fun browsing down the artistic bunny trail. Happy weekend everyone!

A Valley in Italy

I'm loving this book! Lisa St Aubin de Terán is my soul sister! A Valley in Italy is a memoir of a renovation in the Umbrian hills after "searching for a dilapidated Italian villa for three years". With a vision in mind, "I had a mental picture of my ideal house which I had been carrying around with me like a piece of luggage since my schooldays", and with a sensitive and sensible mind, "I wanted a house so huge that I could move from room to empty room without disturbing anyone", Lisa describes the journey with humor and affection. She's got me fantasizing about my dream home.

Sometimes that vision is mutable and changes with your needs at a given time in your life. But there can be an inner knowing of the underlying feeling of the place that remains a constant. Lisa says, "The design of the house was as fickle as most young loves, and changed in shape and layout all the time. The only constant features in my dream image were a pillared loggia, a stone arch, a terracotta balustrade and a line of sentinel cypresses."

I'm just beginning the book but I can tell that I am going to enjoy it all the way through. I love it when I gravitate to just the right book at just the right moment, as this one is for me. St Aubin de Terán throws herself headfirst -- or maybe heartfirst is more accurate -- into her dream with a combination of great self confidence and faith in the unknown. How often in our adult lives do we get to experience that sense of pure estrangement, of being in an unfamiliar realm. Defamiliarization. Not having a routine, or even a clear plan. Of not having the basics, like a phone, electricity, or a car. Not knowing what's around the next bend. How divine.

a road in Tuscany

Part of the dream for me is the luxury of starting from scratch. A blank canvas. Having empty rooms to grace with treasures. And new flea markets to haunt for those treasures. How enchanting.

a room in Florence

a flea market in Italy

And then of course I can dream about the garden for hours. What about you? Where is your dream house and what does it look like?

Campania, Italy

above and below: Chianti, Italy

San Francisco (Re)Acquired

There's a fun vintage online shop out of San Francisco I found via Craig's List.
It's called (Re)Acquired: objects found + dignified.
Here's a sampling of the items on offer:

silver deer, $35

cream colored table, $55



vintage tapewriter, $15



for me I like the little stag head, $15



Who is this mystery person selling these fun objets? Let me know if you've bought something from them before. Who knows. Maybe on my next trip to the city...

Run Lara Run

Lara Cameron is a multi-talented graphic and textile designer out of Melbourne, Australia. She's such a prolific artist and dynamic force, I see her as a sort of Kali figure with ten arms!

When we first "met" two years ago she hadn't yet begun her textile exploits, but was more focused on illustration and web design. She did the Blossom Home site for me, with an incredible, almost telepathic, talent for translating my ideas onto the "page". If you've ever tried to collaborate on something like that, long-distance, then you know how valuable her sort of talent can be.

The following week she walked into a screen printing studio just around the corner from her house and decided to take the plunge, transferring her original patterns onto fabric. It was a happy day that came after much soul searching and deliberation over which direction her art should take her. She dabbled with Etsy and her unique jewelry design for a time under the name Kirin & Co. She experimented with a tiny Gocco printer for paper and fabric. But all the while trying to find a way to apply her lovely patterns on a grander scale. Less than a year later she launched Lara Cameron, offering design services for web and identity, as well as her limited edition textiles and stationary.

The momentum built as she found collaborative forces in two other very talented textile designers, Bianca Van Meeuwen (originally from the Netherlands) and Tegan Rose. Last summer they secured studio space in a fabulous old brick building on the outskirts of Melbourne and together they founded Ink & Spindle, a yardage screening business.

"How many skilled women does it take to turn out great yardage?" "Three. It takes two to screen the patterns and one to make the coffee. Then rotate."

"There's really nothing more exciting than screen printing one's own design onto fabric. By hand. In our own studio." ~ Lara

It really sounds like a dream Lara. Best wishes to the three of you. May you print long and prosper :)

Elle Decoration SA has good taste!

Merci beaucoup to Elle Decoration SA for referencing So Sylvie today:

And thanks to Ingrid for letting me know :)