FINDS: Exotic Gourd Lamps by Calabarte

I think it is time to show you another of my FINDS on the internet. You may have seen this already but I am sure you will be enchanted and seduced by these the same way as I was when I saw these images for the first time.

I was immediately struck by the magic of the shadow patterns these lamps create on a wall as I am also a big fan of all Moroccan handcrafts, especially the ancient brass lamps which also live through the pattern they create on ceilings, walls and floors.

"Artist Przemek Krawczynski from Poland can turn an ordinary gourd into a wonderful, stunningly beautiful table or wall lamp. There aren’t any analogues and never will, because all this is manual and very tedious work. Przemek dries gourds and then lignified gourds decorates with various ornaments. Przhemek’s works are known under the brand Calabarte. Carved patterns, ornaments, holes and figured the track, colored rhinestones add to pumpkin-chandelier an elegant and exotic look. Light from such exotic lamps will surely give any room an extra special atmosphere." (read more...)

But the gourd lamps of the artist do not only live through the light and shadows they are also very fine pieces of art, intricately carved from Senegalese gourds.

In his own words Przemek says: "The pattern of the lamp is structure of symetric, crossing branching as from the perforated layer through three basic outer forms to the deeper light carvings.
White surfaces are deeper layer of wood which allow some light to pass through it. Although the thickness of gourd mostly don’t exceed 4mm (more is on the top and bottom) the carved patterns in that places create structure of three different depth. Each one shines with different intensity. That carvings were definitely the most demanding part of work. The supporting stem is finished with brown jeweller waxed cording.
Also the part of the cord between base and switcher is weaved by thin cording in the same type.
The base is carved in wood and finished with natural italian oil."

Enough said - here are some images which show wonderfully how the lamps look like in natural daylight and how they magically transform everything that's hit by the lightbeams in the dark:

(all images with courtsey of the artist)

If you are eager to see even more of these beautiful images please check Przemek's Facebook page.

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FINDS: The Ceramic Art of Candone Wharton

I cannot remember when I saw Candone Wharton's work for the first time - I only can say that I was fascinated from the first moment. I am always intrigued by objects which emerge from manual work, work that emanates from the soul, the phantasies of a person, work that is deeply inspired by ancient cultures such as Candone's work.

Ancient cultures have something magical which is not really tangible - we feel the affinity but cannot really say where it comes from, we feel a certain familiarity and a longing but are strangers nevertheless as if an invisible wall separates us from the original source which we cannot permeate.

"My education is American, the firing technique is Japanese, the glaze influences are from Morocco, and the forms are inspired by ancient architecture and vessels."

says Candone on her website.  And this is only a small part of her affiliations with foreign cultures. Candone grew up in Florida, studied in Georgia and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. After college she went to Europe, teaching ceramics in Sweden for five years. She also spent one year in Panama, teaching primitive ceramics to the Cuna Indians.

In 1977 Candone set up her first studio on Ibiza, a Spanish Island, and began working there as a full-time  clay artist. Influenced by her admiration for North African potters and her experience with Raku firing during college time Candone created her own style of ceramic art: her handbuilt vessels,boxes, bowls and platters are carved intricately with basketweave and blockprinting patterns. But not only that - Candone developed beautiful luster glazes which transform her objects into magical devices.

(all images with courtesy of Candone Wharton)

If you would like to know more about Candone Wharton and her fantastic work please check her website.
Oh and if you feel you should try your own hand on ceramics and Raku firing - Candone offers a two week workshop on Bali in November. I wished I could go...

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Art for Sophisticated Interior

In case you did not know yet I created another little blog as a resource and selling platform for my (currently) art work so that it can easily be found, with lots of detail photos and little text. The images should speak for themselves.
Lots of keywords have been entered, so that you can look for colours, various media, themes, titles. Additionally I added a search function which also should help to find things quickly. I thought that this is much easier to handle than a website or a blog where you have to scroll through lots of text.
Nevertheless I am offering links to the descriptions and "making of" the pieces - in case you want to know - and links to this blog here with examples of rooms where the art could look simply great.

The idea of the additional blog came into my mind because I often find websites and blogs where it is absolutely not evident at all whether you can buy the objects that are shown and where you can buy it. Even contacts are sometimes difficult to find. You have to look around and search, it takes too much time and in the end I believe potential customers are simply frustrated and give up. I don't want to repeat these mistakes.

The subject "prices" though is an entirely different thing. Although my prices are fixed in general I still want to have a chance for negotiation on certain works. Prices are also dependant on shipping and insurance costs. I can guarantee though that I will answer any question regarding my work within 24 hours.

Art for Sophisticated Interior

I would appreciate it very much if you would let me know what you think about this idea or whether you recognize any mistakes here...

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Art and Interior - a "Market Niche"

When I started this blog I never thought of being unique with the theme "Art and Interior" - I only thought it to be quite a nice and entertaining idea. Of course this little blog is nothing spectacular and my intention was not presenting only top notch interior designs - this is the job of those who are exclusively working for a special clientele.

My intention rather was to present ideas of a working artist who goes a bit further than just finishing a piece of art, selling it and never caring for where it is going to or in which environment it would settle. I am sure there are quite a few artists out there who do care but either they are not talking about it or they do not want to make it public so that the examples could be seen by a broader audience. I think this is a big mistake.

Admittedly - I am talking about my own art work exclusively at the moment - not about other art that could be placed in certain rooms - but this is not the point. The point is that I think that most people feel intimidated by art and therefore feel inadequate to judge where a piece of art could look good and where it is just out of place not to talk about craftmanship and lack of professional execution. I am not talking about art you might have found in a flea market (I love flea markets and art that can be found there) - I am also not talking about art bought by collectors for millions of bucks and not meant to embellish the walls of a small family home - I am talking about art that has a reasonable price, that represents professional workmanship, originality and uniqueness and that creates an emotional relationship with the buyer.

I am sure that exactly emotion is the most common impetus for buying art without knowing at that point of time in which environment it would settle in. Second place takes probably the wish to find anything that fits in a certain room above the sofa or the mantle of the fireplace. That is perfectly acceptable. What sense would it make to buy a painting only because you like it and then you have absolutely no place where it would fit? And even worse - you buy a painting and the place you have found for it is an awful match. Very quickly you would regret having bought the whole thing and curse the impetus that has made you buy art. This does not help the art in general nor the next artist.

And here we have the dilemma. Most people who care for art - or visit a museum or an art opening from time to time - feel what they are drawn too but they don't trust their own judgement. So for proper room design they either consult an interior designer or an art dealer/gallerist. But why not the artist her/himself? Wouldn't it be more appropriate and right to go to the source, to consult that person who knows the most about a certain art piece? And why are artists so reluctant to consider their work a product that needs the same introduction, a certain "maintenance" and care as any other sophisticated product?

I very much hope that my little blog here contributes to seeing art as something available and approachable and not something mysterious and detached. I think the more examples you see where interior design and art are creating a unique entity the more confident people will become to make their own decisions. And maybe the more real art (not the cheap prints, posters and reproductions) will find its way into the homes of people who just have an affinity for aesthetics...

Btw - if you happen to know of any blogs which cover the same subject - art and interior - let me know. I would like to add links!