Interesting Ways To Make Art More…. Interesting.

I am not one who tries to match art to sofas etc.. I believe that art is art and while it must “work” with the environment that you are creating, in the end it stands alone and you purchase it because it somehow “speaks to you.”

I do, however, buy according to the scale/shape that is needed for the intended space.

For instance if the art is to be hung over a long horizontal object then the art itself should be horizontal.

 

In the initial design phase of this house I knew that the architecture was very symmetrical.

This wall read 2′ window, 4’wall, 2’window, 4’wall, 2’window, 4′ wall….

After studying that for a while I felt that I needed to use this repetition as a pattern when we got to the accessorization phase.  In music there is a layering of melody and countermelody that adds to the over-all richness of the piece.

By using  2′ x 4′ vertical canvases I was achieving this subconscious weaving of melodies together.

To add the grace notes (the ones that make you really sit up and take notice) I choose to hang it on top of antiqued mirror.

However, that alone was still not enough to do the trick. A very creative builder friend of mine stopped by my studio one day as I was contemplating all of this and said, “Get in the golf cart!” 

 “Where’re we goin?”

 “To the old shack.”

There is an old shack on the construction entrance to our development that has lovely daffodils growing around it in the spring but the shack itself is falling down. Its wood, however, is very cool with a turqoisey-green moss growing on it.

Stopping in front of it Sean declared, “There’s your frame.”

Oh my gosh!!! Dead on.

He made a 3-d frame for me that allowed the art to float with-in the frame. I painted the background gold in order to pop the undertones of gold that were in both paintings then found a pair of gold pottery urns to sit in front of each one.

As a tongue-in-cheek approach to one of the paintings ( an abstract of koi fish swimming in a pond) I filled the urns with bamboo cane poles (get it? fishing poles ha ha)

This little element of surprise had the serendipitous effect of adding even more depth to the painting and to the wall.

Hanging the entire installment from small gauge chain directly from the ceiling beams took care of any weight issues and eliminated the need to drill through the mirror.

We are now waiting for the down lighting to arrive which will hang above each piece.

To see the finished wall/room go here.

Don’t be afraid to take some risks and have fun. Often that’s when you get your best results.

If you would like to say, “That was fun!” at the end of your project contact me at www.cindybarganier.com.