Showing posts with label beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beauty. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Flowers 101


{spray roses and eucalyptus in a brass bowl}

{hydrangea, spray roses and eucalyptus in a silver bowl}

{hydrangea and winter berries}


{mariana roses and winter berries}

We've had a lot of visitors to the house lately, which has given me a nice excuse to put together flower arrangements. I'm always surprised by the endorphin boost flower shopping and arranging brings me, not to mention the joy I feel by just seeing the flowers on a table or windowsill.

For the past couple of weeks, I've gone to Central Market on Tuesday evening to pick up the prettiest flowers and greenery I can find for a total of less than $20 (tip: CM sells long-stem roses in all colors for $1 each on Tuesdays!). Then I go home after class and turn them into two or three sweet arrangements.

My favorites above are the two in bowls. I thrifted those bowls over the weekend in East Dallas -- the brass bowl is about the size of a salad plate, while the silver one is huge, bigger than a dinner plate. The bowls cost me about $5 all together. The bright green of the eucalyptus, the whisper pink of the spray roses and the lacy look of the hydrangea gives it such an antique feeling, and the colors are just right for spring. They look Easter-y to me, actually. I'm not usually a pink person, but this works.

A couple of tips from an amateur, if you'd like to try your hand at flower arranging:
  • Get floral foam from your craft store. Neither of the bowl arrangements would be possible without floral foam to hold them in place.
  • Use unusual containers. Vases are fine, but even when I use vases, I like to use a big leaf to go around the inside so you're not seeing stems. I have a basket carved out of a tree root I want to use (fingers crossed that it's waterproof) and a vintage silver gravy boat. I also hang on to interesting bottles to use as bud vases.
  • Don't underestimate the power of greenery. Berries, ornamental grasses, curly foliage... I've even re-used hydrangea leaves, which are gorgeous, in arrangements with other flowers. The greenery adds texture, depth and interest that you can't get from blooms alone. It makes arrangements feel organic while hiding imperfections and gaps.
  • When in doubt, monochrome works. I think people get themselves in trouble by trying to make colorful vases of flowers. Keeping more or less to one palette and adding interest by different types of flowers always looks classic and polished.
  • Change the water and re-cut the stems. I've heard all kinds of old wives' tales about adding baby aspirin or a penny to the water to make the flowers last longer. Don't know if there's any truth to those, but I can tell you that clean water and fresh cut stems keep my flowers perky.

Let me know if you do try it! I'd love to see what you come up with. I'll keep posting my pictures too.

Monday, June 01, 2009

Cinque Pommes, or Apples and a Dish Rag on a Table

I've had three blissful weeks off of school, and this week will mark my return to SMU. "Le Sigh," as fellow Mustang Steffy Lou would say.

Really, I'm excited to go back. I'm taking a contemporary art course, a deep dive on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, and a class on a single painting -- Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Scintillating (I'm serious!)!!!

Édouard Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergère, c. 1882, oil on canvas

But I really have loved this little break. I read (for leisure!) till my eye muscles were tired, enjoyed happy hours with girlfriends, figured out what this thing they call "Thursday night TV" was, and painted!

That's right, I painted.

Ohhh, what a release! Those of you who know me well know how much I love art, but it seems that finding the time to do it is rare. Even when I'm not in classes, it seems there has been some practical consideration (work, wedding planning, work, moving, WORK) to stifle the creative juices. So I decided that in order to feel like I had really made the most of this three week hiatus, I needed to do something really artistic. (Brad was DELIGHTED to come home from school and see me painting. He is a huge encourager and tells me frequently that I shouldn't waste my gifts because of "busyness." He's right. It's too easy to make excuses.)

My preferred medium is pencil -- love the detail that I can achieve. I always shy away from color because I don't feel like I have a great grasp of it. But in studying Michelangelo last semester, I grew to really admire his facility and imagination when it came to colors.

Until the Sistine Chapel's restoration was complete in 1994, art historians thought the Renaissance master painted in browns, greys, and tans because he was primarily a sculptor and thus wanted to render in stony-looking figures and scenes.


One of Michelangelo's Sistine frescoes before restoration

But as experts worked to remove centuries of smoke and grime from the ceiling, they uncovered lemon yellows, cherry reds, tangerine oranges, and lime greens. He was not only a colorist, but one of the premier colorists of his time! Imagine how shocked art history students of the 1970s and before must have been to realize everything that was printed in their books and taught in their lectures was based on a giant misconception about Michelangelo's vision.

One of Michelangelo's frescoes of a sybil on the Sistine ceiling, post-restoration


But I digress. Seeking to challenge myself, I chose the most brightly colored green apples (Golden Delicious, to be exact) apples the grocery store offered and arranged them on my dining room table. I love that they are mottled with hints of red and orange too. I added a little dish rag to provide depth and visual interest -- though let's be honest, how interesting are apples on a table?

Here's the finished work:


I've been toying with a name for this painting (about 16" x 20", oil on canvas). Anything from the uber artsy, like Cinque, Cinque Pommes, or Charis -- Greek for "grace," which the number five symbolizes; to the obvious, Apples and a Dish Rag on a Table; to the playful, like 'Dem Apples. I think it shall just remain unnamed. :)

I will readily admit it's not inventive or daring, but it was a fantastic exercise for me as I get outside my artistic comfort zone. All in all, the investment was some yellow and green oil paints (I had the other colors), a canvas, a Saturday morning, and two evenings after work. The thing about working with oils, it seems, is that you have to wait for them to set a bit if you want to do a lot of layering. Not a happy reality for this impatient girl.

Meanwhile, my fellow artsy kindred spirit was painting this streetscape in Portland (one of my top five favorite cities in the world):

Stephanie painted this as a Mother's Day gift for her sweet mom, Carol. Please pray for Stephanie's dad, who was in a terrible car accident on Saturday, May 23, and is recovering. The Wanderlusters have put their wanderlusting on hold and are in San Antonio until Andy is able to make significant progress.

I'm envious of how personal and painterly it is. You can really see her hand in it, and the way she has interpreted the shadows, reflections, and the depth of the clouds just wows me! And of course as kindred spirits we WOULD be doing paintings at the same time -- unbeknownst to each other.

Here's thanking the Creator for art and lovers of art everywhere!

Thursday, January 08, 2009

To the Lady in NorthPark Whose Whimsical Outfit Made Me Happy

Based on a True Story


Like a jellyfish billowing near the top of the blue water, with light finding its way through diaphanous folds, your skirt flounced in slow motion, a beat behind each purposeful step. You walked like a Parisienne parading a Standard Poodle through Les Tuileries – or even like the poodle herself – each footstep abrupt but delicate; intentional.

From the buttery leather of your brown booties to the grandmotherly chignon that betrayed your Carrie Bradshaw-like aesthetic, you were on a mission.

Perhaps you had just come from a consultation at Barney’s where you were commissioned to create some new artwork, a thankless backdrop for unreasonably expensive designer garments. The clipboard tucked tightly under your left arm may have itself clung to your sketches, lines on paper destined to become your next forgotten oeuvre.

You didn’t even carry a purse.

A man with tattooed fingers held a heavy glass door open, and you were off. You likely slid into a stuffy Mercedes or Lexus SUV and set off to pick up your stepchildren from private school, but I’d like to believe you sped away on a Capri Blue Vespa, skirt be damned, bound for your studio where yards of empty canvas await fat tubes of unctuous gesso and pigment.


Wednesday, August 27, 2008

New 'Do and a Throwback

New haircut... Modeling the coif du jour with my feather headband, natch.


Brad seems to like it! Hahaha. :-) Such a goober.



I had a lot of fun tonight with this site, "Yearbook Yourself." You upload a photo of yourself and see what you would have looked like in days gone by, from 1950 - 2000. Check me out as a high school senior in 1992... Awesome!

So what about you? Were you destined for another era? Check out 1982... It's a trip!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Good for the Soul

It's no secret that I hate exercise. I maintain a decent diet and eat lots of fruits and veggies, but I still tend to get really hung up on body image. If I feel bad about the way I look, it affects my entire attitude.

But my dear, sweet neighbor, Carol, is doing her part to help me change my attitude. Carol is an incredible woman. She is a former aerobics instructor and P.E. teacher, and she teaches swim lessons as much as 60 hours a week during the summer. She runs marathons, teaches a wellness class at church, mentors 10 women, takes continuing education at local colleges, volunteers at a nearby pregnancy care center… and much more. She and her wonderful husband Don introduced us to our church, Lake Pointe, by bringing over a care package of chips and salsa and some church brochures shortly after we moved in. They have blessed our lives so richly in just the short time that we’ve known them.

Carol is an overflowing fountain of energy, and when I mentioned to her that I was looking for a way to get in shape and relax, she invited me to a yoga class she heard about through her granddaughter’s dance studio. Well, it wasn’t just yoga. It was yoga fusion – a mix of fast-paced hip hop, aerobics, weights and cardio, all in a really hot room. The only “yoga” aspect is the last two minutes when we breathe deeply and say “Namaste!” It’s a great workout, and a really good jump start to my fitness routine.

Tonight yoga was canceled, so Carol asked if I’d like to go on a walk with her instead. I agreed, but I should have known that a “walk” by Carol’s definition is more like a jog in Katie’s world. We speed-walked around the neighborhood for 33 minutes and I felt like I ran a mile or two! (I try not to let on… Carol barely breaks a sweat!) Here’s a picture of me and my fitness-loving neighbor/friend at a ladies’ Christmas party at church last year:



It's hard to argue that exercise is good for the body and the mind. And when you’re like me and struggle with a negative body image, it’s good for the soul. Most of us who have grown up in the church know this verse, and it really rings true:

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I want to arrive at a place where my goal is to honor God with my body. I’m on my way there, but I’m not there yet. I’d still like to have a body like… Evangeline Lilly or Rachel McAdams or January Jones!

I had dinner with some good, Jesus-loving girlfriends last night and we ended up talking about our insecurities. One of my friends recommended this book, Wanting to Be Her: Body Image Secrets Victoria Won’t Tell You. I came home and immediately one-clicked it on Amazon! It should be here before the weekend. I look forward to reading it.

Lord, I’m yours. Help me to truly honor You with my life, including in the way I take care of and view my body!