Correction of the ”Gutta Serti Method”

In last week’s House and Garden Tour blog I spoke a bit about House #2 on the tour, home of David & Sue Atwater, and her beautifully painted silk. I need to correct an error in that blog. The art of painting silk is an ancient process, but the method used by this artist Sue Atwater is called “gutta serti method”. It was revived in France in the 1960s, originally developed by Russian immigrants of the Tsars family who dispersed throughout Europe during the Bolshevik Revolution. Many of the family members were known to have landed in Paris, France in the 1920s. They brought with them their secrets of silk painting and a substance called Gutta. Gutta is a form of clear rubber used on the silk to create crisp images. It was the French’s love for this stunning hand painted silk which caused them to revolutionize the process by the 1960’s.
Gutta Serti Method of hand painting may have revolutionized the process, but the beauty comes from the artist’s natural talents and design ability.

The first step after the artist has created their design is to start the process with the gutta resist. The resist is painstakenly applied to the fabric to ensure the dies do not bleed into each other. Next, using the most delicate brushes the artist design is carefully painted onto the silk with the background being applied last. Once the artist starts the painting process it needs to be completed or hard unwanted lines will be created where the dyes dry between paintings. Did I mention that all these dyes are carefully hand mixed ahead of time to create just the right colors for each design? The painting is complete and the dyes have dried, the silk is wrapped between two pieces of clean newsprint. The silk and paper are rolled onto a wooden dowel, sealed with parchment and steamed over boiling water for 4 hours. Finally the silk is unwrapped and aged anywhere from overnight to a week; this sets the dye colors into the silk. Once the setting of the dye is complete the silk is framed into art or sewn into articles of apparel, or beautiful pillows. Although the process may be tedious the end result is some of the most beautiful silks you can image.

Artist Sue Atwater’s patience, eye and creativity for good design and her enormous talent as a painter makes her a true master of the “gutta serti method”. We are so truly fortunate to have this caliber artist live amongst us here in rural Maine.

Miles Memorial Hospital House Garden Tour Designer Critic

On Thursday July 9th, was the Annual House and garden tour, I had paid my $25.00 donation so I could see these beautiful homes and garden. Getting a late start due to needing to finalize some work before I could allow myself an afternoon off, around 2:00 I finally loaded myself into the car with ticket in hand and literally raced around town, so I could see all nine houses before the tour closed at 4:30. I started in the order that the homes were layout out in the brochure, which also seconded as a ticket.
It was a beautiful sunny day as I arrived at the first home, which was an 11 acre parcels loaded with color and great sculptures. I was greeted at the top of the driveway by the hostess waiting to mark my ticket and the owner of the home. I introduced myself an immediately asked the owner who did the great sculptures? It wasn’t something you’d except to see at a small rural home in Nobleboro. Come to find out the artist was the owner himself. I assumed he was a professional artist, but it turns out he was nothing more than a hobbyist with a lot of talent. Who knows maybe I just uncovered one of Maine’s next hidden secret talents. How exciting would that be?
Now already running late I choice not to go to house two as I know the owner and had seen their home several time before. Plus I was hoping to sneak it in at the end of the tour; most so I could look at the owner hand died silk designs created into wall hangings and scarves. She uses an ancient Japanese process which name escapes me at the moment. Pieces of art not like anything you’d see locally hear in Maine.
The new old home, this is a great example of what you can do with recycling. This home was about twenty five years old with the charm of a mid 1800’s farm house. Built with rescued beams, raised paneling these folk reproduces an old farm house from bits and pieces. This also include some beautiful gardens.
On to the next a late 1800’s farm nicely preserved with the owner displaying a beautiful collections of antique hooked rugs. The gardens where a group of boarder gardens with many of the plant in keeping with the date of the home, with a few extra for color, all in all quite charming. But no time to dilly dally off to the next.
This cute, yet surprisingly not so little ranch when you got inside became instantly known for its two large walk in close , which were well designed and organized. I mean what women wouldn’t want a 6’x8’ walk in closet just for shoes and purses and this was much small than the clothes closet. It was surely the envy of every woman on the tour. Unfortunately what everyone was missing was the simple elegance and livability this home displayed. So often on these tour you see home fill with art and antique it feel more like a museums than a home.
As I press on the last three homes require a shuttle. It’s now after 3:00 pm and I’m getting nervous I might not get them in. But I park my car load the shuttle and off I go. I was greeted as I was at most of these homes by fellow Rotarian on parking lot duties. I have to give hat off to these Rotarian who volunteer to assist year after year who make this fundraiser a great success for Miles Memorial Hospital. Without their assistance it would be almost impossible to get in and see some of these homes as the traffic would be crazy, not to mention the safety issues due to locations of the home. So Thanks you Damariscotta/Newcastle Rotary for a job well done. But back to Phil who greeted me with a smile and asked if I’d been here before. No I responded and still smiling he said you’re going to like this one. As I walked down the driveway to the house thru a small gate into a small garden before entering the house, thought know Phil is an engineer so this home will be formal and well organized home. Engineer are either very organized or the total opposite in my experience. And after all this house is on a house and garden tour so it couldn’t be the later. I’m once again I’m greeted by the hostess and shuffled off to the right with instruction on how to get around the house. The first thing to grab my attentions is a red glass shoe holding long stemmed whimsical flower and that was just the beginning. As I continued through the house it was like a trip through Alice and Wonderland with bright colored fabrics and whimsical art everywhere. Spiraling through the finished basement out to the back yard and into gardens and up to the decks it was nonstop fun. As I came out from the back of the house and saw Phil I just laughed and told him was right I love the house. I didn’t have the heart to tell him after his comment I expected to see something much more boring. Sorry Phil, I won’t let it happen again! The van shuttled had stopped, but Miles coordinators were continuing the shuttle in their own vehicles for us last few stragglers.
So once again onto the next! What a surprise and delight when right down the street is another house with its own version of whimsy and color. Yet not over done but just plain fun! Life is far too short not to enjoy it and these last two home owners certainly had it mastered. Keep up the good work Ladies I loved your homes. They were fun yet very livable, great for the mental health after a stressful day at work.
Now finally for the last home on the tour, hostess still smiley and the owner still cordial as the last few visitors stroll though there home. A small home with the attached barn nicely converted into living small to double the size of the home with a beautiful sun room off the backside. Looking like a great place to kick back and relax after a long day of smiling and talking to strangers.
I didn’t make it back to house two, but that was ok as I had seen it several times. It was a great way to spend an afternoon. It was a great cause to support and a very well put together fundraiser. Besides what designer wouldn’t enjoy sneak preview of other homes in the neighborhoods! I look forward to doing it again next year!

Slugs, Slugs and More Slugs, All in My Garden.

Here in Maine it has rained almost every day of the month of June and the slugs are devouring plants in gardens across the state including my own! What do you do? Well that’s easy, what any good Mainer would do, offer them a drink. Like many of us human’s slugs love beer! So how do you serve a slug beer? That’s easy, gather up a few empty tuna cans without the tops on them and put them in the dirt near your plants. Make the top of the rim flush with the ground. It wouldn’t be nice to make it difficult to for our little friends to get their drink would it? Now fill the cans with beer.

Slugs are a bit slow, and maybe a bit shy about drinking in front of strangers so leave them there for the night and check in on them in the morning. You will be surprised to see how many of them were thirsty. More importantly, that fact almost all slugs enjoy a good private Beer Fest. The great thing about this for you and me is slugs cannot hold their liquor, and if their drinking they are not eating our plants. Actually, you will see they are quit sociable amongst themselves and actually drink themselves to death. This is bad for the poor little slug, but very good news for the plants!

So share a little beer with your slugs, PBR or a Bud is fine! No sense in wasting a good Carrabbassett or a Shipyard on these little guys, their taste buds are not that refined! Just think this is one garden party your neighbors won’t complain about you have!

So the moral to this story is being kind to all others it pays off in the long run.

Maine Certified Interior Designer

New rules passed by the legislature effecting Architects, Landscape Architects and Interior Designers.

3 Jun 2009 ... A certified interior designer shall display the legend “Maine Certified Interior ... certified interior designer for Maine-located projects. This title must be on all business cards, corispondance and promotional materials these three disipline create.


Architects="Maine Licensed Architect"
Landscape Architects = "Maine Licensed Landscape Architect"

New Rule for futher information:
http://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/professions/architects/pdf/NewRulesLegend.pdf

Demystifying Feng Shui

So many Americans have little or no knowledge of Feng Shui. It is the Asian art of placement so energy, or better known as chi, is allowed to comfortably move about. Many American have a difficult time understanding or believing this energy exists, you can’t see it. Lets look at the human body as an example, blood run through our veins within body and is circulated through the heart, but what makes the heart pump. Each and every one of us has a similar energy to chi running though our body. We cannot see it, if we do not eat we can feel the energy slow us down. Chi is an energy that is in the environment all around us. Energy works in the environment very similar to how it works within our body. You cannot see it, but it affects how we feel and how we act at times.

The art of Feng Shui is very complicated it but let’s take a look at it from a very simplified perspective on how it works with our homes. You may not believe as many Feng Shui practitioners do, that there is good energy and bad energy in your home, but lets look at some of the simpler thing you should do to achieve good Feng Shui and why from a westerner view they are good design. First look at where you place a house along a road. It is bad Feng Shui to build a home on an outside corner on a road because it forces bad chi towards your home. I would say this is bad design from my western perspective because if a vehicle is traveling too fast down the road and cannot make the corner there is a good chance it will come through the wall of your house. We all know of a few of these homes in your town. So you can see the bad chi in this situation. Feng Shui like good design practices has a way to fix this bad chi by building some type of protection like a stone wall or a row of tree to prevent the house from being hit or damaged. By building this wall or screening you have diverted the bad chi from coming at your house or diverted the cars energy from hitting the house. Now you can see that Feng Shui is really just good common since design when looking at it in its simplest form.

Let look at another example with in your home know. It is bad Feng Shui to line up the front door with the bad door. The good chi or energy move in one door and straight out the back door. Looking at this from a design perspective you’ve divided your home into two pieces and created a throughway straight through your home or a wind tunnel if both doors are open. Good design would have you meandering through your home to enjoy it not beline through it.

These are just a couple simple example that points out this ancient art of Fung Shui, is really good design practices. that takes into account both the phyical and phycological aspects of design.

Spring Projects: Low cost, Big results

In this economic down swing when stress is running amuck in everyone’s lives, now is a time to look around your home and office to see what can be changed to reduce stress. One great place to start is with clutter. Living and working in a space full of clutter is enough to make your head spin, not to mention that it’s bad Feng Shui. Clutter has an extremely negative effect on people in general. Removing clutter from a space and organizing it is like lifting a burden off your shoulder. So, start this spring doing a little organizing and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. Not sure where to put all that junk? Find creative ways to add storage to your space, such as by using an ottoman that doubles as a trunk, or building a bench with drawers that hide kids’ toys.
One you’re organized and can see the walls and floor again, consider giving the room a face lift. It gives things a clean fresh look, but it’s also an opportunity to add to the calming effect you’ve created by removing clutter. Paint is an inexpensive way to change the mood of a room for the better. Light shades of green are great for reducing stress. Other light colors coming from nature can have a similar effect, and neutrals go great with virtually any furnishings. Beware of using bright colors that can over stimulate the brain, such as reds. The goal here is to reduce stress, not add to it.
So what are you waiting for? Go make this year’s spring project one that will improve your quality of life!

The Lady’s Room Consignment Boutique: Chapter Two

About one year ago I took a business class to assist me in setting up my new interior design consulting firm. During the process I met an amassing group of women all looking to succeed in making dreams come true by starting and maintaining successful businesses. This is where I meet Pam Olson, owner of The Lady’s Room. At that time in early 2008, the store was only a pipe dream. After getting to know Pam, she asked if I could take a look at the space she had leased and give her some ideas. We quickly put some plans together, added some color, and in April 2008 she opened up for business. In late January this year, Pam contacted me and informed me that she was out of space and wanted to move to a bigger location with more pedestrian traffic. So off we went again. Taking part in the process from the start this time around, I had the opportunity do some quick calculations. We made sure she had enough space to display her wares with a little growth space to boot. Having the space we needed allowed us to create a much more inviting atmosphere. My partner always tells me a project half planned is a project half done. On the second go around with The Lady’s Room, this proved to be true. Good design can make or break the success of a new business, especially in the case of retail. I would like to thank Pam for trusting me with the design of her new space and I wish Pam the best of success in her new location!