A Tale of Two Rooms

 

I’ve been working from home for the past few years and I truly love it.  I am much more productive and less distracted so I can get more done from home.  I am the type of person who works all day, every day,  so having my “stuff”  around me here is a great benefit.  Up until the last year I had my office and my studio in the same room and it tended to get cramped and very messy at times.  The office is right off my master bedroom and you can see it from there so I like to have it neat and tidy if I can.  So, after my daughter was gone at college for three years I decided to bite the bullet and take over her bedroom as my new art studio. 

Now I have plenty of room for my sewing machines, fabric, art supplies and everything else.  It is still very much a work in progress.  I am looking forward to putting up some Jackie Von Tobel drapery hardware from Helser Brothers soon so keep tuned. 

 

I did this room on a serious budget of $100.  I used all existing furniture that I had.  ( Yes, I can be a pack rat and had a lot of stuff in my garage including some old furniture I had made for my husbands office that he outgrew)   The only thing I bought was a few gallons of white paint and a couple of unfinished doors to serve as tabletops.  I slapped a coat of white paint on everything, including the floor, and called it a day! 

 

My favorite piece in the studio is a rolling cart that my sister Trudi gave to me.  I can roll it out into the center of the room and walk around it 360’ or I can tuck it neatly under my larger table so it’s out of the way.  I am also filling the walls with my kids art that they did as little ones.  I would much rather look at that than anything else.

 

I have tons of storage plus a huge closet that is far to messy to show you.  I’m sure I will fill it up in no time.  My office helpers above are hard at work fighting with each other!   Just like the real thing…..

 

This is what they can usually be found doing.

 

I love working in the new room.  It is so bright and sun filled and most of all it’s a constant reminder of my beautiful girl.  I left her yellow paint just as it was, warts and all.  It makes me smile every time I walk in there. 

 

You would think with all this new studio space that my old office would be perfectly organized and never messy but here is my desk today.  It’s just as crazy as ever but that’s how I like it.

New Projects for the New Year

I’m starting off the New Year like I ended 2011, by working. After a great weekend with the Hubby, family and friends in Del Mar, Ca, I am back in my office working on new artwork. January 10 will be the anniversary of my decision to delve into the world of art licensing. It’s been a fun and educational year for me, culminating with my agent, Jan, from Painted Planet Licensing taking my portfolio to the Atlanta art licensing show for the first time.

After a lot of trial and error I finally feel like I am slowly defining my style after a year of bouncing all over the place with no direction. I’ve never thought of myself as an artist. I’ve always related more to the title of designer so it’s hard for me to think of my work as art. I guess I see myself more as a decorative artist or product designer. Trying to compete in an industry filled with amazingly talented “real” artists is pretty daunting but I am no stranger to rejection and failure. They have been my constant companions throughout my various careers and I have always somehow come out ahead. Probably because I am so stubborn and just work myself to death until I get it right. Practice makes perfect!!!

My next huge project for this year is the illustrating catalog for the Helser Brothers Jackie Von Tobel Collection catalog for my signature drapery hardware line!!!!

I am thrilled to be working on this and we plan to launch the line at the IWCE show in Chicago in April. I can’t wait to see it all finished. This has been a huge undertaking for Helser Brothers and they have been fantastic to work with. I can’t wait to show you all the finished product line – it is Fabulous!!!!

I hope you are all working on fabulous new creations in your lives for the new year. May 2012 see all of your dreams and aspirations come true………………………………….

Happy Thanksgiving

copyright Jackie VonTobel 2011

I know he's not a Turkey but he's as close as I could get! I'm on the road tomorrow to San Francisco with my Hubby to spend the holiday with two of my kids who are in college there. We will be having a scrumptious take out meal courtesy of Whole Foods and lots of fun trying to eat in my daughters itsy bitsy apartment. See you after the weekend.

Have a Happy Holiday!

Banksy – Weirdly Wonderful

If you love modern art – particularly the street art variety – of which my husband is a huge fan, you must go see the new documentary (or perhaps a mockumentary) of Britain's most famous and elusive street artist Banksy.

The film chronicles the history of street arts emergence and eventual acceptance as “the real thing” through the video camera of an eccentric Frenchman who may or may not be a real person.

Exit Through The Gift Shop was a huge unexpected hit at the Sundance Film Festival and it is building a cult following in limited release across the US.

It gives a great insight into the artistic process while at the same time showing how commercial the world of art can be. It is a “do not miss” even if modern art isn’t your thing.

Enjoy!

Passion for Peacocks

I’m just to tired to write an intelligent post tonight so I thought I would share some of the new images I have filed in my “Peacock Obsession” file – enjoy!

www.decor8.com

www.tracyporter.com

www.jackievontobel.com

* Also too tired to give credit – sorry – if I have used your image please let me know and I will gladly link it.

Roger Thomas Does The Oscars!

Rendering by Jeffrey Schneider

Roger Thomas, my fellow Las Vegas designer and hospitality designer par excellence has been tapped to deck out this years Oscar Awards , Architectural Digest Greenroom! Thomas single handedly revamped Las Vegas style with such properties as The Golden Nugget, Mirage, Bellagio, Wynn, and Encore among many others all over the world.

He brought sophistication, class and distinction to a world formerly filled with plastic afrontery. Las Vegas owes much of its succes over the past twenty to Thomas and his muse Steve Wynn. I am so thrilled to see AI tapping into his incredible talent. Congratulations Roger - it's about time!

Troubling Trend? Taxidermy

I think most of you know that I adore peacocks. I even included them in my pillow collection as I adore the coloring and the regal beauty of the birds. I was troubled to see that many vendors at the winter shows where highlighting taxidermy as their dominant accessories.
Dead, stuffed animals were everywhere: under glass domes, on decorative pedestals, framed as art, and posed on all fours.


Peacocks were the leader in this disturbing trend. But birds of all sizes and varieties were available in abundance. The collection of dead, stuffed aviary specimens at Guadarte was beautiful but creepy.



This trend was not limited to fowl, large mammals were also in vogue with lions, tigers, giraffes, and even elephants available for sale.



It was sad to see these proud, beautiful creatures reduced to elements in a visual display selling fabrics.



The most disturbing was a display by a famous window designer for Hermes that portrayed a luxury campsite filled with Hermes products that was stuffed full of exotic animals including an elephant. I just don't get it!



All of this is in answer to the resurgence of the Cabinet of Curiosities a trend that began in the Victorian area. Personally I think it should have stayed there.



While many of the items in this new decorative category are not as disturbing as stuffed tigers or cheetahs they were all once living creatures who were killed for our need to decorate our living spaces. This is a trend that I just cannot get behind and I find it odd that it is becoming so mainstream. In a world were you feel uncomfortable wearing fur or exotic leather I wonder why there is not an outcry against the killing of these animals for decoration.

What do you think?

Gabriela Ibarra ~ Colorful Happy Art

Mixed Media Artist Gabriela Ibarra creates beautiful dimensional still lifes that have an innate energy and vitality that just love.







She looks just as energetic as her art and she has a little daughter named Olive. Isn't that just the greatest name!!

Visit her website here

Henrik Simonson ~ Inspired Art

I've got a new art crush ~ from Denmark by way of the UK meet Henrik Simonson. Much of his work has a distinctly Asian tone with a bit if grunge and whimsy thrown in for good measure.


He describes himself as a painter but would rather say that he draws his work. The foundation of his art is the drawn line with paint being a co-conspirator in the process.




His pieces have great depth from the layers of sketching, paint and more sketching.


On his website he speaks about his process and the fact that he likes to leave remnants from deleted motifs behind by only erasing them lightly so they show through in the finished work.



His use of color in washes with strong highlights is soft and soothing to the eye.


Even his vibrant red pieces have a soft quality to them that is hard to achieve with such strong pigment.


Limited edition prints are available of many of his works through galleries listed on his website.



Visit it here.

All images www.henriksimonson.com