Etsy find: Keep on rocking
This brightly colored print by Yumalum is perfect for the any mid-century modern fan.
New Art Exhibit Featuring Allen Levy
Vastu is pleased to welcome back artist Allen Levy. Stop by between now and July to see and purchase Levy’s great contemporary pieces.
From Fort Wayne, Indian, Levy graduated from Purdue University with a degree in marketing. After spending years in the corporate world, he decided to follow his passion and become a full-time artist, a passion he discovered while taking an elective art class in college.
He considers each painting a new artistic journey and is interested in the experimentation of color, light and luminosity while striving to create a sense of balance within each composition. In Levy’s pieces, you’ll often find an intense interplay between organic flow and structured ideas and the limitless possibilities that lie between.
Levy on his inspiration:
“My inspiration can come from a variety of sources including personal experiences, immediate surroundings, music, and the enjoyment of simply being creative. There are pieces that are densely and aggressively painted, and others that possess a more luminous and tranquil quality. I want my paintings to make you feel something and I use a range of mood, color and composition to get you there.”
New art exhibit featuring Yasuko Fujioka and Stephen Cimini
Vastu is pleased to welcome artists Yasuko Fujioka and Stephen Cimini. Stop by between now and early June to see their amazing work.
Yasuko’s collaboration with patterns, employment of materials and my personal letters are her life story…expressions of observations and fascination with the beauty and sorrow of daily life. They are a refined connection to the universality of her essential inner sentiments. These connections are her purest and most honest relation to the world.
Vastu’s 10 tips to better design: #4
#4: Art matters
Artwork is your chance to personalize a space, by choosing specific pieces that have a history or provide meaning. Using large, colorful, or carefully grouped artwork can give a room the focal point to define and create a mood. Smaller, well chosen items in seating areas draw you and your guests closer and create intimacy in a space. Large items provide visual impact quickly and immediately set the mood of a room. However, even the best furniture in a room or art in a collection can seem wrong with it’s not positioned correctly. The right items still have to be in the right places.
To keep from hanging art too high (setting off the balance and proportion of the room), the center of artwork should be at eye level, or the bottom of art should be approximately 7” above the sofa height. Personal photographs and smaller artworks usually work best in smaller, more intimate spaces, like bedrooms, studies and hallways.
Hint: Art can be seasonal too. Keep your pieces rotating throughout your house, to provide fresh perspectives to rooms as you spend more time inside. Or create an art budget for the year, treating yourself to new pieces throughout the year.
#1: Simple solutions, #2: Fabric first, #3: Mixed green
Bored with your room…
…follow the advice of Cococozy and cut up a large map, or poster, and frame it!
bad art: {iconografitti} by Hans Kline
One of the first iconic brands that came to the mind of Hans Kline, as he sketched for his bad art : { iconografitti } show, seemed to be an obvious choice: Chanel. The perfect CC logo and the simple lines of the classic perfume bottle are both able to instill traditional ideas of glamor while having a certain street sensibility to still be cool.
The artist also plays with the concept of brand and recognition by frequently replacing the ‘e’ in Chanel with an ‘s’, creating a “Hans” in the middle of brand while most viewers never notice the trick of the eye.
The work of Hans Kline will be showing here at Vastu now through January 16th. Stop by any time during store hours to see his amazing work.
For more on the show, click here.
Dress up Your Shelves: Books By Color
Do you color coordinate your closet? Why not try color coding your bookshevles?! It is a great way to add visual interest to your shelves and your room, and a creative way to extend your color schemes to an unexpected place. Color coded bookshelves can act as artwork becuase it is so eye catching. Now how’s that for a color story?
Images via: Real Simple, Everything Fabulous, Chic Geek
$500 or Less Art Exhibit extended 2 weeks!
Works by area artists Joel Traylor, Campbell Maloney, Maryanne Pollock and Gennara Moore will now be on display through Sunday, November 7th. So, now you have a little of two weeks left to stop by Vastu showroom to check out the paintings, digital designs, and mixed-media pieces all on sale for $500 or less. We are very excited to be able to offer original artwork at affordable prices.
We hope to see you here soon!
Etsy find: Dodeline
We stumbled upon this fun birthday card on Etsy. This handmade card from Dodeline features the iconic Saarinen Tulip chairs. A perfect way to send birthday wishes to the mid-century modern lover in your life!
Getting to know: Joel Traylor
Artist Joel Traylor is currently showing some of his pieces at Vastu as part of our second “$500 or Less” art exhibit. Be sure to stop by between now and October 24th to view his work!
How long have you been painting?
I have been painting since the summer of 1996. It was a very cathartic time. Until then I had journaled obsessively. I stopped writing virtually overnight as I struggled through an existential/spiritual crisis. I found solace in the visual creative process. Those initial, explosive works, have fueled the last 14 years of creative exploration and curiosity.
Welcome to Design Clique
Have feedback or ideas you'd like to share? Click here and let us know what's on your mind.
Share it with us and we will address it in one of our "Design Direction" posts.
