Artistic Endeavors Archives | Page 42 of 55

Artistic Endeavors

The art cabinet makeover

The art cabinet is finished! In case you forgot (or missed it), here is how it looked when I bought it… It was charming as is, but it was a bit orange for me and I had a “vision” for it. You can see more details on the before HERE and the pieces that inspired me HERE. Finding really cool hardware was a key part of executing my vision. I sourced these cast iron pulls from England on … They were the perfect hardware to dress up the drawers. It was a little tricky installing them, though! The drawer dimensions were irregular and several were broken, so I had to eyeball a lot of the pulls, hoping they were lined up and level. I painted the cabinet in MMS Milk Paint Grain Sack. I didn’t sand or prep the piece and I ended up with a lot more chipping than I wanted! I paint a

November 22, 2016 40 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

drafting light & a big step

Now that my major deadlines are past and I am home from my trip to Montana, I am catching up on some things that have been waiting for my attention. I’m also looking forward to getting back into more sketching, painting, and product design. I’ve gotten my creative space set up pretty well, but I realized I was lacking something for cloudy/rainy days – a work light. Most of the time, we have gorgeous natural light in the studio, but there are days when it’s dark, even sitting right next to the large windows. So, I ordered a simple clamp-on drafting light from Amazon. I looked for something a little more unique, like a cool antique brass lamp, but they were just more than I wanted to spend. This white one is definitely more modern, but the white color makes it neutral enough that it works. It even provides a

November 16, 2016 31 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

mms-3468

November 16, 2016 31 Comments

All Things Home

antique “art cabinet”

I have been pushing towards a few deadlines over the last several weeks and, while it’s all been fun work, I was really ready for a change of pace! Jeff gave me a chance to get away on Saturday, so I went on a trek to HomeGoods and to a local antique shop. I am almost always shopping for things to sell and I did some of that on this trip, but I also took some time to shop for myself. And I found this awesome piece… It’s an antique cabinet, obviously handmade, probably a piece some guy built for tool storage or something. It’s been well used and worn over the years, but I find all of the rough edges very endearing. And, what pushed it over the top for me is that it’s perfectly sized to store art supplies. The cubbies are long enough for brushes, pads of paper, palettes, and finished works.

November 1, 2016 61 Comments

All Things Home

how to upholster a broken cane-back chair…

…because you know you wanted to do that at some point in time, right? Top Google search -“How to upholster a broken cane-back chair?” Well, here is your answer! So, the chair itself isn’t broken, but the cane back is. It’s actually missing entirely, but that qualifies as broken in my book. So, here is how to upholster a broken cane-back chair. I bought this chair quite a while ago and Kriste commandeered it from the stash to use as her desk chair. Well, our stash is very thin and my back was killing me perched on a stool all day, so I commandeered the chair from her. Clearly I need to go desk chair shopping if we have two people who need to sit and only one proper desk chair. So, I’ll do that. Until then, I needed to take a break from sitting at a desk, so I decided

October 25, 2016 48 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

be the artist you are

At the end of my post on Friday I shared, “I feel like I’m finding my legs a bit as an artist…trying to embrace the artist I am, not what I wish I was (if that makes sense.)” Well, it did make sense to several of you and I’ve been thinking about that statement and your responses a lot. I’m realizing how much I limit myself when, instead of working developing my artistic voice, I focus on other artists I admire and how my work isn’t like theirs and it probably will never be. I love browsing the works of artists to find inspiration, ideas, and to learn from them, but I constantly have to fight the natural tendency to compare my work to theirs and to allow their talent to discourage me. If I can’t paint/draw/create like her/him, I shouldn’t even bother. First off, I’ve been watching some tutorials on watercolors

October 24, 2016 47 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

studio happenings

With freelance design work and a book deadline looming, I have been pinned down in my new workspace to get things done and turned in on time. I feel like I’m learning and growing each day and I’m really proud of what I’ve been creating, but I am ready to hit an antique store, work on some furniture and just get away from my desk! Just a few days more… While I’ve been working on those projects, Kriste started painting the chairs I picked up on my trip to New York. I’ve been debating whether I wanted to paint them or not, but I decided they would benefit from paint. I also debated about the color, because I thought they would look good in many of my colors, but I finally decided on MMS Milk Paint Grain Sack. I also decided I wanted to leave the rushing unpainted. It will

October 21, 2016 25 Comments

All Things Home

$100 craigslist drafting table

I have realized that as my work changes, my workspace needs to change, too. When I work on furniture and photoshoots, I rarely sit at a desk or work table. I’m usually crawling around on the floor or scooting around on one of our wheely stools. I’m in a season right now, though, where a lot of my work involves sitting, painting, sketching, and writing. I’ve been spread out over one of our workshop tables, but it is a pretty impractical workspace. I also get this beautiful natural light in the studio and I was set up away from the windows. I’ve needed to set up a proper workspace for a while and I finally got the push I needed when this antique drafting table crossed my path… I found it on Craigslist for $125 and my dad negotiated the seller down to $100 and, as always, he picked it

October 19, 2016 39 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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