You'll be Happy to know that I have numerous Posts worth of Beautiful Images that I will saturate the Land of Blog with for days on end for a while, just from my two days of Me Time at the Shops on 7th Avenue! *Winks* My Pathological Picture Taking was in hyperdrive, even tho' I've been really falling behind and ambivalent about so many other things lately. *Smiles* One of my Favorite Vignettes this Month at the 'Raw And Refined' Event at SWEET SALVAGE was this wonderful Space reminiscent of an Artist's Loft.
I've always had a Love Affair with my particular Vision of the Quintessential Painter's Loft Space... and this Vignette captured that Vision and Essence Beautifully. Loads of fresh Flowers in Zinc and Enamelware Vintage Containers, Bright Colors, Weathered Garden Art, Brushes and Easels filled with unframed Art being Created... oh my!!!
Even though I do have the Privilege of having an Art Studio Cottage, it is not a Loft, nor does it have those rough exposed Old Brick walls, huge floor to ceiling windows to allow tons of Natural Sunlight to spill in, weathered Barnwood flooring, vaulted ceiling with Industrial Lighting illuminating every recessed corner, and huge French Doors opening up into a British Style Secret Garden that can blur the distinction from Inside and Out. Okay, so yes, my Vision of the Quintessential Artist Loft and Studio Space is Grandoise and very Specific... but isn't that the Stuff Dreams are made of after all?
I've seen Publications featuring those Perfect Artist Spaces that I drew my Vision from... embellishing it all with heady doses of Imagination. And it's Fun to find any Vignette reminiscent of that Picture I've painted on the Canvas of my Imagination over the Years. I don't know that I shall ever have that exact replication of an Art Studio in my Lifetime or not, but I do know what it should look like. *Smiles*
My Family has often Wondered why the exposed Old Brick Wall would be so Important an Element to me when clearly I would probably just hang an Antique Persian Rug upon it!?! *LOL* And they're right, I probably would... but I still Love exposed Old Brick Walls... and any Building I go into that has them, is a slice of Heaven on Earth to me!!!
What Elements are representative of Heaven on Earth to you my Friends when you walk into a Space? What Atmospheres make you absolutely Swoon?!? Make you linger? Make you want to replicate such a Space in your own World, with your own distinctive Spin on it of coarse?
Or... have you ever walked into a Space or seen one in Publication that you could just move right on into without changing a single thing? Because it was just that Perfect and so very YOU even though someone else happened to Style it!?!
Whenever you are not the only one inhabiting a Space of coarse there must be some compromises to accommodate everyone else out of Respect and Consideration... but if you could be totally Selfish... what would THAT Space look like? Feel like? Smell like? Embody? What would be the very Essence of YOU in a Space if there were no boundaries and no limits to what could be procured to get it just right?
What little Details would be Important to you? Even if nobody else cared or noticed? If you had a Secret Private Space to retreat to, would it look very much like the Space you would Welcome Guests and Family into... or would it be over-the-top unbashedly the Stuff of Dreams even if not of Form and Function? *Winks* I have to Confess mine would look something like what one would find if they were to fall down the Rabbit Hole and into Alice In Wonderland's World... an Alice who was the Offspring of Morticia Addams had Gomez been Gypsy Royalty or the Twin Brother of Jimi Hendrix perhaps. *Smiles*
Sure, I can Admire Traditionally Styled Spaces of any Genre too... but I would be most comfortable in Spaces that were Enchanting and Surreal, Spaces that looked like a Dreamscape come to Life. Spaces where if a Unicorn were to trot by the window you wouldn't be at all surprised and it wouldn't look out of place or the least bit Unusual. *Winks*
At times I haven't pulled back the reigns when I'm Styling my Personal Spaces and its raised some eyebrows to be sure. *Winks* And even when I feel I've Restrained myself, it's usually still quite Quirky to most folks since the Weird and the Wonderful have to co-exist with me for it to Feel like Home Sweet Home!
Yes, I do have some Raw and Natural Elements... and some Refinement too... but mostly and generally the more Unusual the better in my book... or in my Rooms. *Smiles* But I also Confess that if I owned several properties I'd probably Style each one completely different. Depending on the location of each property there would probably be distinctively different Elements comprising the Atmosphere of it. One on the Beach would quite obviously have that Beach Cottage Style... unless it was in Bora Bora... and then it might be more distinctively Polynesian Style.
A Cabin in the Woods would probably have loads of Nature blurring the distinction between being inside and being outside... and I don't know why, but a Rustic Retreat would definitely have more Hippie Elements thrown in were I to be Styling it... Commune Style I like to call it, getting back to the basics.
A Penthouse in the City... why definitely Art Nouveau would dominate that Space... or maybe a splash of Hollywood Regency Styling... where a Gabor Sister would feel quite comfortable coming for Tea.
I realize that I personally have many facets to my Styling Preferences and it would be Dreamy to get to Style many different spaces just to see what it all would look like when each came together?
And perhaps that is why I Enjoy these Events so much... especially the Occassional Sales where everything starts as a Blank Canvas every Month and then a New Theme comes together and Transforms each Stylist's Space into something directly from the Canvas of their Imaginations and incorporating what they have so carefully Sourced as Inventory to bring it all to Life for our Enjoyment and Shopping Pleasure!
The only thing I Enjoy more than seeing the Great Inventory other people Source... is the Thrill of the Hunt myself! Turn me loose in a Junkyard and I've been Transported to Seventh Heaven, wading thru the Junk to find Rusty Gold. Or visiting Op Shops and Tag Sales to see what other people's discarded Treasures can be Re-Found and Rescued!!! Even combing the Beach, the Desert, Abandoned Spaces and Places is a total Rush to me!
And I Hope that at least for Today, during your Visit, you too were Transported to some Magical Place or Space on the Canvas of your own Imagination via the Images Shared? There will be loads more, I Promise, because I have chosen to lose and loose myself into Photography to Soothe and Feed my Soul lately. And then try to find the Words later that will come with each Post... be it Fluff, Imaginings or Personal Revelations Shared with Blog Friends.
I do so Enjoy your Visits, your Camaraderie and your Friendship here in the Land of Blog... even on days when my Crown is a little wonky and I'm not having such a Great Day... maybe even moreso on THOSE days actually!!! *Winks*
Be sure to come back for MORE, because we've just scratched the surface... Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian