A May Affair For A Beloved Mother

Happy Tablescape Thursday! For more colorful and creative table settings, please click on the image above to Between Naps On The Porch blog hosted by the lovely and talented Susan.



I created this table setting as a dedication to my beloved mother in celebration of Mother's Day.

(click on images to enlarge)
The tablecoths are fabrics that I purchased on sale at a nearby
bridal fabric shop. A beautiful pink satin with a floral embroidery pattern throughout. The topper was a pale pink tulle beaded with miniature pink pearls on the hem. Unfortunately, I was unable to truly capture the beauty of the trim with my camera outdoors.

The vintage etched stemware was a find at a nearby antiques store.

Pale yellow and pink ribbons placed together to bring more of the colors to the table. Crystal brooches from Michael's crafts store. The sky blue menu with silver medallion stamp tucked in the napkin pocket.

Vintage Minton china

Saint Francis Pattern by Barton & Reed

For evening drama(providing there are no mosquitoes) I purchased an empire chandelier which was originally hardwired and converted it to a plug- in to hang over a tablescape such as this which creates the perfect ambiance. I hope to create another outdoor tablescape for the evening before the weather gets cool. Stay tuned.

Colorred crystal stemware by Faberge

This is actually a placecard sitting on top of a napkin ring. I love the look of the napkin rings by Faberge with its rich enameled colors the brilliant crystals and pearls. I thought they would work perfectly with the tablescape so I was lucky enough to find placecards with a similar enamel color and finish that fit perfectly on top.

Sterling silver candelabras from my partner Dan's grandmother which were gifted to her on her wedding day.

I created the large floral arrangements with a variety of tulips,peonies and other(sorry, I forgot their names) flowers purchased from my local Costco.

The 2 smaller floral arrangements consists of a mix from(I think stalk or tube roses)Costco with Peruvian lilies and snap dragons from my garden.

Thank you very much for visiting my tablescape.

LIFE BALL 2009

If you're lucky enough to be in Vienna, Austria this coming Saturday May 16th, then you are in for a treat. The entire city of Vienna will be celebrating it's 17th annual Life Ball. A charity event for the AIDS foundation that has gained the reputation as Europe's largest most successful annual charity event. An international event that has brought celebrities and dignitaries from all over the world to contribute and support the fight against AIDS.

Proceeds from the Life Ball are divided evenly between AIDS Life, which sponsors the event and supports Austrian AIDS projects, and AMFAR, which distributes funds internationally to some of worst affected countries in the world. To date, Life Ball has raised more than $14 million to fight the epidemic, including over $2 million in 2008.

This year’s Life Ball features Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker, appearing on behalf of AMFAR, who will present the “Crystal of Hope” award to a pioneer in the field of HIV/AIDS. In addition, Oscar-nominated fashion designer Patricia Field will appear along with New York music sensation The Blonds and pop queen Katy Perry of “I Kissed a Girl” fame.

Each year, the Life Ball is staged as a baroque Viennese event featuring fashion shows, performers, and elaborately costumed guests.

Since 1993, world-famous celebrities and artists have lent their voices and support to Life Ball.

With their appearances and involvement, Sharon Stone, Sir Elton John, Kylie Minogue, Catherine Deneuve, Liza Minnelli, Kim Cattrall, Linda Evangelista, Heidi Klum, Dennis Rodman, Naomi Campbell, and Randy Crawford have inspired courage by promoting the joyful aspects of life, and in doing so have stood up against HIV-based discrimination and prejudice.

Life Ball is organized by AIDS Life, an independent non-profit organization that raises much-needed support for people who are HIV positive or living with AIDS.

Last year's Life Ball 2008 featured prominent guests including Sharon Stone (in her capacity as chairwoman of the American Foundation for AIDS Research), Amanda Lepore (who performed the 2008 Life Ball song[2]), Kim Cattrall, Marcus Schenkenberg and Linda Evangelista.

Each year the fashion show highlights the work of a well-known designer, with professional models as well as celebrities on the catwalk. In the past, the latter group has included Til Schweiger, Kylie Minogue, Amanda Lear, Cyndi Lauper, and Dolly Buster.

This is one event not to be missed if you ever visit Vienna in mid-May. This is definitely on my list of 1000 places/events to visit before I die.

NICK CAVE: THE WIZARD OF...AH'S!

(San Francisco Exhibit)

Ah! Ooh! Amazing! Visceral!Dazzling!Unexpected! Elaborate!Humorous! Grotesque?... words that have described the work of Chicago born Artist,fashion designer and performer Nick Cave. No matter what adjective may come to each individual's mind as they explore this artist's work, there is no denying his wizardly ability to inspire an emotional reaction.


(Chicago exhibit)

Cave is also the current chairman of the fashion department at the Art Institute of Chicago.



I first learned about this fantastic artist through one of my favorite blogs, House Of Beauty And Culture aka HOBAC, an Interior Decorator in the U.K. and extremely talented and entertaining blogger with an outside the box sense of art and style. Since then, I've become a big fan of Nick Cave's artwork.


(Jack Shaiman Gallery New York City)

Cave's latest exhibition titled "Meet me at the center of the earth" is currently at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California through July 5, 2009. A definite must see.



It's a collection of colorful scavenged textured materials and shiny found thrift store objects collected creating one of a kind costumes that many art critics have described as a combination of ethnic ritualistic costumes infused with haute couture. The result, "SoundSuits".


(Cave pictured here with his wearable soundsuits)

When asked about the history for the creation of the "Sound Suits", Cave explains that the evolution of the art itself sort of has multiple layers to its meaning, however the nemesis for the name was behind the Rodney King incident which became the launching moment that inspired it's creation. He categorizes his work as wearable sculptures.


Reminiscent of African ceremonial costumes, yet similarly connected to haute couture, Cave’s Soundsuits are physical manifestations of his energy.



He has said, ‘I believe that the familiar must move towards the fantastic. I want to evoke feelings that are unnamed, that aren’t realized except in dreams.’ Thus, through the acts of collecting and reconfiguring, Cave explores and reiterates cultural, ritualistic and ceremonial concepts.

For me, his arrangement of the bold colors on many of his works are just reminiscent of a Faberge egg. Multi colored and faceted.


(soundsuit 2009 collection- Mixed Media)

Biography
(from historymakers.com)

Performance artist Nick Cave was born February 4, 1959 in Jefferson City, Missouri. His mother, Sharon, raised him and his seven brothers. Cave seemed to take after his great grandfather, who was a poet and painter.

At George Washington Carver School in Fulton, Missouri and at West Junior High School, Cave, influenced by Michael Jackson, showed performance and artistic ability. Graduating from Hickman High School in 1977, he enrolled in the Kansas City Art Institute where he continued to express himself through both visual art and dance. In 1979, Cave met Alvin Ailey and spent that summer and several summers thereafter in New York City studying with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.




Graduating from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1981, he designed displays for Macy's Department Store and practiced professionally as a high fashion clothing designer, artist and dancer. Cave earned his M.F.A. from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 1988.



Joining the faculty of the Art Institute of Chicago immediately after graduation, Cave has built a reputation as an educator and performance artist, especially with his ritualistic "Soundsuits."



Cave explains the suits are a ritualism of his feelings about the isolation and insulation attendant to being a black male in America.


The details on this sculpture is spectacular.



Just poke enough holes for me to see and breathe and I'm off to Fashion week.



This beauty reminds me of a comment posted in the San Francisco Chronicle about his work.."somewhere, Doctor Seuss is looking down with a smile".









Many of these Soundsuits are made with a combination of fabric and human hair. The only other time I heard of the hair ideas was from Chris March of Project Runway's season 4.

LET IT BE

A Hummel Lesson Learned The Hard Way

Whenever we visit Dan's parents, we never leave without his mom handing us a box of something she just wants to get rid of. Most of the time they are things we love. However, sometimes they are items that we personally don't have an attraction toward. Such was the case for a box containing 17 Hummels(above photo of all pieces). A series of small table top ceramic figurines that were the original creation of German artist/nun Maria Innocentia Hummel, who sold her first collection in 1935 and have been a hit ever since. 4 of the 17 pieces had a small chip on them which made me consider tossing the box in the trash. After all, Dan's mother said she no longer wanted them and to just get rid of them. Although the pieces are charming, for me, they just aren't "shiny" enough. Yes, I am a big lover of shiny objects. So, Dan and I decided to put all 17 pieces as a group on Ebay. It would be my first time as a seller on Ebay as oppose to buyer. Not really knowing much about the demand for the figurines AND wanting to make sure we could get someone to buy them off our hands, I offered up all of the pieces for $10.00. The bidding was set to end in 5 days. Day 1 & 2, no takers. Day 3, still no bidders, however, if you're not familiar with Ebay, it provides a feature to buyers where they can tag an item they are interested in as "watch this item". This allows them to keep track of the item being sold. For the Ebay seller, he/she can see if potential buyers are watching an item of theirs. Day 3 ended with 2 bidders watching. Day 4, there appeared to be a slight bidding war. 3 bids were offered moving the price from $10.00 to $21.50. I was so relieved someone had offered to buy the pieces AND that I was going to bank $21.50 from them. I did my little happy dance that night. The afternoon of the final day, I decided to see if there was a change or maybe someone had a question about the pieces. The bidding had gone up to $60.00!! Of course I was excited but then I began to wonder if I had been a fool this entire time. This was a thought that crossed my mind when trying to decide on a minimum to start the bid off. Maybe, it would have been prudent to do some research on the pieces that were in good condition. Well, it seems I should have made the extra effort. The bidding ended at $276.00. I was estatic. This was my first item for sale and it was success. However, I later learned from the winning bidder who happened to be a Hummel expert, once he received the items, that several of the pieces that were in perfect condition alone were worth at least $100.00. I didn't need to hear that. Nevertheless, I'm still happy that I was able to make money getting rid of the pieces to someone that I knew would appreciate them. I now have the seller's bug and have since been gathering many unwanted items in the garage and basement for auction.