There is nothing I love more than scattering random pieces of artwork throughout my apartment. I love the overall eclecticism of acquired pieces that were not made together, for each other, or even have the same colors. My design aesthetic is like that of a quilt. It is bright, random, patterned, and a patchwork of everything I love and all that is comfort. If I can't find a piece of art that I am sure has to exist somewhere other than my brain, what do I do? I make it myself. Though I do not fashion myself as a painter at all, painting is a hobby of mine that allows my brain to relax and take a backseat while my creativity takes the wheel. This painting shown above is a mixed media piece that I created that has a background of watercolor stained newspaper squares with an acrylic overlay of a painting. The Atlanta skyline is framed out by the ever-present power/telephone lines that decorate our sidewalks wherever we go. This painting is a reflection of my current environment and will always serve as a reminder of this time, no matter where life takes me.
In keeping with the use of newspaper, another favorite of mine is this mirror I found that is made from recycled Japanese magazine clippings. This piece incorporates the use of color, geometry, and the randomness of the magazine clippings to add a pop of color and reflection in my apartment. Sure I could look into the deeper meaning of the Japanese beauty magazine clippings that are subliminally telling me how to look while framing out the mirror, or I can be honest an admit... it is just really nice to have a mirror to glance into right before you walk out the front door.
Another interesting use of artwork in my apartment is in my bedroom. Instead of painting something to match my custom headboard, or spending hours to find the right color scheme, I found my inspiration in these Not For Tourist maps. My mom and I made a headboard from fabric from the fabric store that I work at a few years back. The center of the headboard is a printed orange silk with turquoise cotton twill side panels. So turquoise and orange are not the easiest colors to come by together, but the create a beautiful color palette. Inspired by my boyfriend's love of finding every bike path Atlanta has to offer, I found these interesting Not For Tourist Maps. Two of the maps showcase neighborhoods in Atlanta that I love, one is Candler Park, the other Virginia Highlands. These are the two outside pieces. The center piece is a map of the lovely Boston Harbor... a place I dream of being whenever I am dying to get out of this city. By tying the maps together with the simple orange frames, this triptych of my favorite places has a good aesthetic in the room, but a deeper, happier meaning to me.
Lastly, my favorite piece of art in my apartment. For years I have collected items from the Finnish textile design company, Marimekko. My mother always collected their things and she passed it on down to me. Their cutting edge design and bold graphics catch my eye and my heart every time I see them. A couple of years ago for my birthday, my sister gave me this piece of gorgeous Marimekko fabric. It was love at first sight! Being that my mom is a framer, I am always looking into new and interesting frames that she has at her work. I always had my eye on this bold, yellow, wood frame, but I had not use for it. As soon as I was given this fabric, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. Rather than try to make something out of the fabric by cutting or sewing it, I had the piece dry mounted and framed. This is a large piece, it is about 5' high by 3.5' wide. This definitely is the focal point in my crazy quilt of an apartment. This is a piece that I will always treasure and I will always have it in my home.
Art reflects you and your personality... so who cares if it doesn't match? It is your home, fill it with things that make you happy and not what you see in a magazine. If you can't be yourself in your own home, where can you actually be?
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