Aesthetically Me

 Aesthetic: the philosophical theory or set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place.
 Or the Urban definition: Something tumblr weirdos say way too often and use it for every damn thing under the sun. A generally annoying word.

Ok, I rather the first definition since it is the basis of what I am writing. My aesthetic tends to shift from serious high end mixed with everything to everything mixed with a serious high end. What I collect, what I use in personal decor, depends drastically on me and what I want to look at. Living room serious with only original artworks compare to the kitschy vibrant kitchen. But all of it is for my visual inclination. 

In selling, I tend to be playful but stay to consumer wants, even the things that they do not know about yet. Buyers are on a current trend for about a blink, embracing the entirety of what they believe to be "it".  My least favorite of these has been the shabby chic with chalk painting and variations there of. The shabby design aesthetics has been capitalized to no ridiculous end and has brought a whole industry with reproduction products from China. This apparently has spilled into the barn/farm flavor of the month as well.

Barn/farm was initially industrial/salvage or primitives and for some reason it has taken off on its own. My issue with it is that dealers have based their whole easthetic on this current wave. Their DBA, etc... not a wise choice. So how do you wrap your mind around this? You do not. You let it be the wave that it is. For those of us in the business for any extended period of time, we see the signs.
A show, a couple, a rush to success, compromised aesthetic.

Yes, the Fixer Upper couple comes to mind. Yes, everyone loves them. Yes, they appear to be who they portray but because of a rush to success, they too compromised their easthetic. Their cornerstone shop is filled with barn/farm reproductions from China at a huge mark up. In the reviews of their current venture it is the primary complaint. We are all privy to the same wholesalers so we see the compromise and markup.

The consumers aesthetic is "compromised" in a catch twenty two. Buyers love the rural raw pieces that say America, work, sweat, simplicity but we are buying China. Now of course there is someone in China working hard, assembling, taking care in their manufacturing in a massive scale, but it misses the point. The catch is that to capture the "feel" we have bought it from a country we associate with cheap labor, poor materials and bad manufacturing. That becomes not the "feel". We do not want the visual of a Chinese woman hunkered down putting things together and then product shipped in a c-train to America. Never mind my view of manufacturing in a country where there are no regulations on environmental responsibilities.

So although my aesthetic can be somewhat narrow minded, I do think it is important to look at the long term. I let pieces sometimes guide me, I do not let a movement, a craze dictate. The drawback, I never know where my day, week, month will go and I never know what the flavor is going to be until it hits me. That can be challenging and that can be what drives you. My friend Sigrid once told me, "...just go with it and trust yourself". So the hunt is not only for the item but for what satisfies your aesthetic. You know when it comes at you like a ton of bricks. Your aesthetic is complete.

Upgrade by redesigning, downsizing ideas & adding your two cents

There is no lack of apathy when it comes to creating. Creating from nothing, creating from found objects, creating in randomness and creating from bought items with purposeful outcomes. There is a whole host of ways to go. I tend to create through randomness until I find what it is that strikes me and then voila it is purposeful. But to get to that point you have to be able to let go. This is not an easy feat.

    

Letting go means to be blank, void of typical preconceived notions. For instance coloring within the lines. You are to color inside the thick black preprinted image. If you go out, there is some sort of ramification. Not much when you are 5 but definitely when you are 15. But what is it to just close you eyes and imagine the preprinted image and just color away. Outside, inside, over, under, it really doesn't matter. This is the forced box that has been programmed into us and we look to break free.

Likewise in creating a feel, a look, a concept, it is our bindings that we need to walk away from. Traditional versus modern. Conventional vsersus eclectic. I think most of us fit in between but struggle there. Creating and feeling wholely secure is the goal, but what can be done to take it from the norm to fabulous?

I find just throwing away thinking, just put it out of your mind, you are safe, you don't need to be coddled or stroked. Embrace the nothingness. Listen to your environment, let the sun embrace you. Not in a new agey way but just to feel. No Telly, no phone, no nothing but you. If you have to go to another room, travel trailer, shed, whatever. Sometimes even your car works. I do a vaiety, it is funniest if no one knows where you are quite.

So what is your process, do you figure things out on a pad, do you create a sample or do you begin the final project? Sometimes I don't even know where to begin. Sometimes I have a single object that is to trigger me. A plank, a metal door remnant, a random textile. The goal is to make sure that that object is not one where your focus is its original function or state.

The process is the key. I revel in the process.
                                   

This brings me to Emery Blogdon: His process took him to his shed. It was a need to work with his hands and filling a selfless void. He was a giver. He went from the ordinary to the extraordinary without any pretentions. It is organic even though it didn't have the visual fluidity, it has the movement. He found that space in a shed.

 

What attracts me to this was the honest letting go to bringing elements alive to do good or to feel. The movement of acquisition to incorporation is breathtaking. I happened on an article a few years back and was drawn to Blagdons work. It was deep. He was an independent rhythm finding that voice.

              

Does his intense installation work? Not by conventional standards. But it does. It does in the sense it brings you to a cognizant space within its presence. It draws an emotion, an experience, a finding of sorts. His body of work continues to travel and heal the senses bringing the process and its product to an innocence in a complicated, stressed and confusing world.

With installations that are multisensnory, as this is, it allows you to stop....breath....and reconfigure.

  

Real vs Fake

So it is really hard to focus on the business of antiques and collectibles when everything around you is going to pot. I am fortunate to live in California which comes with its own set of issues but at least I have the right to choose the way I live. By that I mean at least if I choose to not be a rascist I can without any pressure. But I do have friends who live in less diverse places. I digress.

So this month there is an article in DWELL about buying real vs fake furniture. I think it isn't that cut and dry. For myself, I deal in the trade of vintage and antiques. I do like to have original pieces by fabulous designers and craftsmen/women. But I am also ok with some reproduction or inspired by. One reason may be affordability but the other availability. For instance, I want a certain look in the kitchen for lighting. What I wanted and what was available was two different things. So I went to Ikea and purchased the lighting that has the similar look. Until I run across the lighting I actually need desire I feel it works in between. In the case of IKEA, they do have designers and for lighting I know that it is new and to code. But then again I work in the world of antique and collectibles. The ultimate recycling experience.

Dwell talks about the quality of workmanship and materials. Quality of items is a concern, I have no illusions about that and take that in to consideration when purchasing. They mention the pair of quality jeans. Jeans even iconic jeans such as Levis are not made I the country of origin thus in light of cheaper labor they have opted for cheaper materials. So a pair of jeans that run $55 to $65 are a bad example of. These were once considered a quality item is now resigned to questionable status.

On the other hand, for those who want an item of iconic decor such as the Eames lounger, but affordability is questionabe, sometimes reproductions can allow someone with taste but not the pocketbook a chance. Then when someone can indeed purchase one, they do so. It is not a cut and dry question. So much of design is out of reach for the average individual but we should never deny someone a chance for good design esthetic.
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Russel Wright early 30th century designer, believed, “good design is for everyone,” Wright, along with his fellow industrial designers, sought to democratize design by creating inexpensive, mass-produced objects for the American home.

A Free Soul

Watching "A Free Soul", with Norma Sheaer, Clark Gable and Lionel Barrymore. 1931, pre-code movie. Gangster being represented by an attorney whose flapper daughter falls for him.  Pre-code is that time between sound 1929 and mid-1934. The Motion Picture Production Code sensorship guidelines usually labeled "Hays Code".

So films with sexual innuendo, miscenegation, profanity, illegal drug use, promiscuity, prostitution, infidelity, abortion, intense violence and homosexuality. So it was difficult to regulate and there were many instances of dispute. A lot of film was damaged by going through and altering them, but some studio heads ordered items to be destroyed but many weren't.

Clark has some great phrases and Norma Shearer is amazing in her slinky silk dresses. Definitely sensorship worthy. I caught an expression he uses in mixed company:

So I looked up the word Picayune. It is a Spanish from Spain reference to blindfolding. But it was so obscure in the dialogue it prompting me to look it up. 

So here we are on Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2017. Those pre-code days are circling back. In a time where press and journalism is seen as out of bonds. People's personal freedoms are being sequestered. The extreme right is coming into play. What we are allowed to know, to see, to hear and how we should feel is being dictated again. This time in the way of news. The Picayune.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

This is our first amendment. This was important enough to our forefathers they drafted it immediately.  I think that this couples well with:

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure procedures and grants nine exemptions to the statute.^[1][2] This amendment was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, despite his misgivings,^[3][4] on July 4, 1966, and went into effect the following year.^[5]

It is what it is and either we put our heads in the sand or we follow our convictions. Awe and inspired the Women's March follows. There isn't a thing in our makeup that allows up to return to those days where codes dictated what our heart and minds are allowed to witness.

We do see the past and find we are not returning there. As the weekend brings peaceful protest amazing creativity and eloquent speeches, I look at our lot in life and find that we are bound for positive change. It is chalenging to us to bare witness to injustice but now i sense those voices are met with other voices. One becomes two, then three and four. This becomes the force that calls for notice.

Go Away 2016

2016 started off pretty rugged. My father in law had passed away suddenly and threw everything in a whirl wind of upheaval. Then after the initial shock, paperwork mania etc.. things sort of settled. We managed to get a lot done personally. I guess personal progress no matter how small or unprofitable, is really substantial as well. Its the details, the drive, the sincerity that i think that's really what matters.

Got our new green house and built that, more planting beds, a cement pad storage shed, a new 57 travel trailer, new chicken coop straight from overseas, bunch of small work on the house. Moved out of a defunct store, did a few shows, continued to sell like a mad woman, purging, demoed a closet, redid our room, had numerous trees cut for us and our neighbor, got composting going. Moved, gave away, organized piles of wood  to make room for trailer, old chick coop (now our animal products storage) and jungle gym (construction materials holder). It sounds easy but everything had to be moved, cleared or cleaned, built, etc... lots of trips to our transfer site (dump). Lots of work. Some the tree rounds were more then I can lift.

So when I looked out on my world from the shed we built, I am satisfied. We do have more to do. Roof the garden shed, create more growing boxes, deck redo, fence redo, kitchen redo. It all is sitting there on the todo list. It is a lot but it also is so little compared to where I was. 

A couple of weeks in and so much is in the works and shifting. Not all laid out in a perfect manner but getting together a schedule. Need to uncluttered the clutter and bring some clarity to storage. Would love to just unload stuff but not sure I want the financial loss. 

Thursday morning and the potential for a large two day snow event may bring some time my way to get inventory done, rearrange the sheds and move on into the year. I think the potential for working on things in a more purposeful way is a rewarding outcome, but at the same time it had been difficult considering the things brewing in the world.

You got about working, planning, scheduling and then you her something and just want to quit. Things that make sense and should happen, aren't. The most asinine things are said, done, etc...and you cant process it adequately. It derails you. So I am trying to be informed but not derailed. But that is so difficult!

So today is a day to look beyond that. 

Clearing out the crowded shed (mind)

Holiday season is always a crowded endeavor. It is crowded in our home, business, project list but also crowded in my mind. That urgent sense of uncluttering is always in desperate sight. So what did I do this past week? Panel a wall, paint that wall, move an entire room around, clean it, organize it, build a bed, do several loads of laundry, dishes, cook dinner, did i mention that was in one day? Did I mention that was in one room? So much still to do and of coarse, walls have not been decorated.

So not only is this rush to get things together but also continue to move things out from inventory. I need to wrap several things to be mailed today but also get a new perspective of what I really want to hang onto. I really can't see me continue to take on things from people that are not in line with what  I have in mind. Christmas and the New Year are those times where you can reevaluate what you are doing.

Monday followed Christmas and we were well on our way to New Years weekend. I have items on hold to reach their destination this week but also I have to do a follow up on people who claim items and really haven't given me a time or any real communication. Frustration is not something that will be following me to next year.

We had decided to get off our mountain and away from snowbunny activity to see what was up at Antiques at the Barn and Antique Asylum. We spent less then a hundred and got a dozen and a half things, but it was just nice to get out, have lunch, take a drive. People were friendly and I can see they were happy to be back selling. Came home, relaxed, did some chores and rested since I wasn't 100%.

Tuesday morning now has arrived, I have been up most of the night feeling less then perfect. Have big goals for today, basically regrouping, cleaning, making lists, straightening out. As I stay on task and muddled through ill health, I want to focus on these things and bring those overwhelmed feelings to a manageable state.

2016 has basically been a big zero starting with my bf's fathers passing in February, my continued estrangement from one of my children, feeling the loss of my best friend and business partner and finally our decision as an electoral nation to pick the man child, I do have to turn that around in what we do and what we focus on. There is a light at the end that tunnel.

My youngest offspring, Wesley 15, made it clear a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to become more of an intricle part of my business. Which actually brought a smile to my face. It would mean scheduling more shows, making decisions together, planning in a more productive manner. Although I have support, I would not feel like I am out there flapping in the breeze alone. This could be what I need, he needs and the positive change we are welcoming.

So 2017 could be a definite turn around in the shadow of not so great 2016. It is up to us.

Friday is deceptive

Friday is a funny thing. Throughout my adulthood it is suppose to be exciting because it is the gateway to the Weekend. But the premise is you are not working over the weekend, so it is actually a let down. I always work on weekends. When I taught, all my prep was on the weekend and when I did anything else it was on the weekend. So some, like the BF, think it is great, I think it isn't so much.
Fridays predicament was getting some things accomplished and then go down below to do a little shopping. I had acquired an outdoor work table or so i think it is an outdoor work table in aqua. This fellow brought it by for me too buy. I should have known when he said he would grab it out of the truck that things weren't going to be that great. He talked my ear off and then left.

 

I know this color is a hip thing at the moment but not for me. So I moved it to my work area near the garage. That is when i discovered what i had in store for me. Where the long pieces meet their perpendicular companion my hand could go through it. Upset, I decided much like the Six Million Dollar Man, I would build it better then it was. Ok that just gave away my age. 

I pulled the bad plank and found two in my reprotoire that I could fill in. There was still a problematic area that was to be filled in with wood putty. So I cut things to jive with one another and then followed with putty. When that finally set, I opted for an indoor outdoor paint, barn red. Standard off the shelf. 

So not complete, but will find time this week. Since it needs to go away. 

As quickly as I could I moved on to going down the hill to shop. First stop was a Latte from Starbucks by the Outlet mall and off to Target. I spent a good hour and a half shopping, browsing and figuring out what I needed. From there I went to a series of places until I ended up right back at the outlet mall for Pottery Barn. I had eyeballed this Killim rug for the longest time and I was waiting for a sale. Rug in hand I made my way home. Unload, organize, dinner and then out til morning Saturday. 

Good Morning Saturday!! Slow start but then I realized we were picking up an armoire and have to demo the closet out. Demo you ask. Yes, this was a makeshift closet that was made from the shower of the original two room cabin. Of coarse I did not wear shoes, safety glasses or gloves. Of coarse I was injured. We got it done, got truck packed for the dump and left. It was a joint effort. Wes would clean and we would demo. 

 So we picked up the Armoire!!

Got it home, purged a couple bags of clothes and organized. Then we ordered a pizza and called it a day. 

Sunday we spent the day doing two different things. I focused on pickups from clients and the BF focused on all around chores. Between working online and getting things done, I realized I was still in my pajamas. I guess I was relaxing in a way. With Cape Fear playing the background and Robert Mitchum being his eerie self, I got off the computer and we decided to take a ride out to an area I have mentioned before, Lockwood Valley. 

He was looking for quail, I was looking to relax and maybe collect a few rocks for my landscaping project. I read, listened to music, worked on my phone and eventually Chris returned. No quail but we drove around a little to see if there were any signs of anything. I gathered some rocks and by 5 it was starting to get dark and time for us to come home.

Chris made burgers on the grill, hung out, watched the telly and talked about the weekend. My hands hurt, I have multiple cuts and such from wielding the hammer. But the weekend was a wrap. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day for a little R and R.

So Friday is not a lead in to rest and relaxation, but really the opening of a can of hard working worms.