Captivated.

Follow-up post to Part 1 here and mention here, slight change in thematic direction.

Words cannot describe the beauty that is the North Carolina Core Banks and to be able to work on a special (treasure) map for a special couple on location was a tremendously wonderful experience. Giant oak trees, boat rides, beautiful shells (Inspired Monday post to come), crystal clear turquoise waters, bait balls, fishing, seafood and great company!

The Original

This is the original painting, measuring 30″ x 11″ on thick watercolor paper. The idea was to work on a jewel-toned wedding map with pirate treasure map influences (the notorious Blackbeard once lived in the area) that would highlight the beautiful oak tree the couple will be wedding under, and would be an extra-special keepsake gift for their guests.

A Pirate History

The map would show all the important places for the wedding and point out noteworthy local attractions for out-of-town visitors. The towns in the vicinity were founded in the early 1700s and are one of the oldest towns in the country.

Wedding under a giant oak tree.

The wedding ceremony would take place under this giant oak tree and the couple wanted to include it in the map. What a lovely symbol of longevity in love!

Fun

Fun activities for the reception to entice guests.

Polaris

The stylized north symbol with the personalized wedding logo.

Ditty

I suggested a ditty for the map greeting, and the bride came up with this awesome poem above!

Please tune in next time for Part 3, the making of the keepsake map from the original painting…..

What the rain brought...

The wonderful thing about living in this part of LA, is the amazing little worlds we can escape to no more than 15 minutes from our doorstep.  Before I moved to this city, I never imagined that it would be ridden with hills and canyons with so much breathtaking beauty my heart aches everytime I see it.

A little patch of serenity

I took these series of images in our most recent hike through the Sepulveda Pass hills this past weekend. The unseasonably rainy winter has left behind a lush green landscape dotted with myriad pretty little weird and unusual wildflowers. So much inspiration so little time!

Pops of color

Growing wild...

My favorite encounter was with these strange little wildflowers below, little balls of thorns with a few tiny flowers sticking out of it.

Twilight flowers

The strangest things

Ethereal

The sun was setting as we walked, so we were blessed with everything bathing in a rosy golden glow! Unfortunately my camera battery died halfway so I missed out on some cool flora- miniature wedding bouquets and little mushroom caps! Till next time…

Functional Art

A few weeks back, I planned a trip out to Santa Monica for some supplies. It was not a trip I was looking forward to, it was raining,  I had other errands to run, and the thought of the dreadful-LA-traffic-rumor-that-isn’t, amplifying as city drivers panic at any signs of wetness was quite seriously horrifying.  To my surprise, my little hand scratched directions brought me to this tucked away artist community in the middle of an industrial and quiet part of the city.

Handmade Papers and Children's Art Wall

I was excited of course-my dreary little excursion has now become somewhat of an adventure! There were so many galleries, shops and buildings to explore! Here are some of my favorites, they include a functional art gallery, the Santa Monica Museum of Art, and a Japanese artisan paper shop. To me Bergamot Station seemed to have a sort of functional art theme running through it, which suits me JUST fine.

Functional Art Museum/Gallery/Shop

I really enjoyed looking at (and learning from) the unusual functional items that have been given a creative makeover-unique artist books, miscellaneous games, notepads, puzzles, twisted pendant lamp shades, contorted upcycled household objects, art jewelry, so much more….For those of you who have yet to visit LA, definitely make this one of your stops!

Mobile Planter

For the first of my Inspired Monday series, I am featuring an amazing local organization called 826LA, a non-profit writing and tutoring center in Echo Park, LA that I discovered during the recent Citylabs event and just finished a volunteer session with-illustrating for a storytelling field trip for 2nd graders.  What exactly is it that earns 826LA an Inspired Project showcase? Well, it hits all three requirements that I feel makes it worthy of some hero-worshipping-namely amazing creativity, passion for work, and last but not least, a genuine desire to help others.

I will start with the top of the checklist. Make no mistake, this is an extremely creative group, from the idea of the Time Travel Mart (scroll and see pictures below) and its fabulous products, to the tutoring center in the back and the way the spaces are designed and put together-definitely inspiring! From the moment you walk in, whether its through the mart at the front, or from the entrance in the back, the space itself to me feels like coming home-a great place to go if you want to conjure up stories of faraway lands and tales of monsters and superheroes! It has warm antique elements, modern design sensitivities, wall to wall bookshelves and radiates with playful wit.

The volunteers and interns that I spoke to during my storytelling illustration have a real passion and belief  for what they are doing-helping children learn to appreciate and enjoy the written word.  There is care and thought put into to every detail of a simple storytelling 2nd grade field trip-from a basket of sunglasses for posed mugshots of the visiting kids, printed photos and individual ‘approved’ booklets of the stories they all co-wrote, to a booming oz-like voice of the omnipotent Mr Barnacle the Big Boss staged to thrill and captivate the young audience.

I undoubtedly enjoyed my session there, surrounded by so much creative energy and malleable young minds!

I honestly feel that doing remarkable work with passion and a genuine desire to help others is a powerful, powerful combination. There are so many lessons that can be learned from the 826LA approach. Such an interesting combination of programs and products in a non-profit group is definitely a befitting first featurette!  Check them out ,volunteer at your next opportunity and be inspired!

Impatience

Spring in the Valley

Sometimes it feels like another world, where we live, where rules are broken daily and everyone goes about life like children whose parents are away.  Today, spring is early and eager young blooms explode disobediently into the world, parading fancy new skirts in the latest fashionable shade. Bright sweet oranges leap from the trees to frolick on glowing green grass, beckoning coyly to passers-by to be picked up and relished.

Sumptuous

One of my favorite pastimes these days, is to recall my childhood fancies and attempt to bring them into some form of renewed, adult fascination while pondering on how, if any, age has changed my views, thoughts and aesthetics.

Carressed

As far as I can remember, the tomboyish side of my youth that rebelled against feminine frou-frou with Daddy’s pants and polo t-shirts, oversized steel-toe boots and shorn hair disappeared completely within the confines of my girlhood bedrooms. In there, my Georgina alter-ego hung up her dirty scout uniforms and flannel shirts.  My bedroom was something that was always completely, utterly and undeniably feminine-pink bedspreads, fringed tablecloths, stuffed toys.

These days, I have reconciled with my girlish ways and while the tomboy in me still surface sometimes for internal wardrobe battles, hitting the golden age of 30 has brought upon a new flush of meaning. Now I have womanhood ahead of me to contend with. Right on cue,  I have been secretly coveting a boudoir since discovering it’s spatial meaning beyond corset fetishes and midnight rendezvouses. Defined as a room or space within the home that offers a comfortable and unabashedly feminine respite, it glorifies and celebrates womanhood and all of its pleasurable rituals.

The lovely pictures I have attached above are from The Paris Apartment and really best exemplifies what I believe to be the adult incarnation of the girlhood bedrooms of my past. I am most inspired by the notion of the boudoir as a heightened den of pleasurable textures-lace, silk, fur, satin, brocade and the refinement of craft-both in objects and in furniture.

While Parisian aesthetics can at times appear too ornate for my liking, it is the richness and bold embrace of materials, textures and unrestrained delight for beauty that rings most loudly for me.  These set of spatial virtues probably explains why there are so many versions of the woman’s boudoir in so many different cultures,  all raw, beautiful, romantic and deeply personal.

]]> http://www.treespacestudio.com/blog/2010/01/13/boudoir-for-a-girlhood-passed/feed/ 0 http://www.treespacestudio.com/blog/2009/10/07/a-tropical-fruity-mix/ http://www.treespacestudio.com/blog/2009/10/07/a-tropical-fruity-mix/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:59:41 +0000 thetreespacestudio http://www.treespacestudio.com/blog/?p=420 Here’s what I’ve been working on lately, it’s a branding, interior design and planning project for my parents’ juicebar opening soon in Georgetown, Penang at the new Komtar Walk. I wanted to showcase an image that is both modern, yet home-grown,  a delicate balance of tropical flavor, whimsical fruity fun and a family-run business. It [...]]]>

A Juicebar in Georgetown, Penang

Here’s what I’ve been working on lately, it’s a branding, interior design and planning project for my parents’ juicebar opening soon in Georgetown, Penang at the new Komtar Walk. I wanted to showcase an image that is both modern, yet home-grown,  a delicate balance of tropical flavor, whimsical fruity fun and a family-run business. It would be really nice to get rubber stamps for the logo and stamp it onto paper-bags or boxes for takeaway.

Surrounded by fast food joints in the strip, I wanted Fruity Mix to stand out as a warm, welcoming and cozy hangout joint. Lots of warm tropical woods, minty greens and glowing modern orange.  A rustic, home-grown edge to take away the the slickness of most such joints. Chalkboard menus for easy and economical menu changes (according to the fruit seasons) and a fun painted mural of an abstract local fruit tree to add a splash of fun to the environment. Soft fabric lampshades in juicy shades and patterns for an even more homey feeling that invites intimacy.

It should be a joint enjoyed by locals and tourists alike- nourishing themselves on healthy, unique concoctions all made from the delicious varieties of tropical fruit, as well as yummy snack platters found nowhere else.  A juice bar to drop by, to hang out and to have parties. The banquette easily accommodates formal seating arrangements for large parties with the simple addition of a rectangular table top. Imagine a fabulous birthday party with your best friends while slurping on fresh fruity drinks and special cocktails blends, snack platters and home-baked celebration cakes!

Some environmental-friendly tips: glassware for eating/drinking in,  disposable plastic cups only for take away. Fruity Mix can also offer pretty stainless drinking bottles for toting. Repeat customers are encouraged to bring along their Fruity Mix bottles for filling up and will get discounts on their drinks. I really think a slim whiskey flask type of stainless steel bottle should be made, so that they can be packed easily in bags or briefcases. I have yet to see one in the market. Ideally, the Fruitymix bottles are so fabulous and cool that everyone would want to have one for themselves-and Fruity Mix gets brownie points for free advertisement and saving the landfill!

fruitymix bottles

Cheers!

Amy

After a Long Trek

There is a certain wildness about the California wilderness that is not present back East. The mountains are steeper, the roads and trails longer, more barren, the plants at once more menacing and thorny. Beauty bares fangs. Maybe it is the constant blazing sunshine, the bleached empty riverbeds and the scarcity of running water that conjures up panicked images of a bitter crawling through sand-choked deserts, dying slowly of parching thirst. Perhaps, it is the often-told heroic stories of men and women who fought and died to conquer the west, to scale and tame the grand majesty and the seething, surging power of its mountainous landscape.  But maybe, just maybe, California the wild-eyed child serves to remind those of us who have forgotten, that for all its apparent fragility and gossamer-thin ecosystems, nature remains a world that would and could engulf us if we allowed it to.

Chateau by Dan-Phillips

Bottle Cap Mosaic Wall!

Dan and Marsha Phillips are my heroes of the built world. They craft beautiful homes by hand for folks who can’t afford to buy a home.  They assist in the loan application process and walk the owners through a hand-built home from recycled and discarded building materials, objects and whimsies. It is absolutely incredible. Their website has many more photos and monographs on their methods. Absolutely worth a visit.