design in seattle

Interior designer's get-away to Seattle!  

Lots of walking and talking, site-seeing and Starbucks coffee breaks. 
Postcard views from the top of the Space Needle at sunset:

At the base of the Space Needle sits Chihuly Garden and Glass, an incredible display of the work of world-renowned glass artist (and Tacoma native) Dale Chihuly. AMAZING.

A couple of strolls through the iconic Pike Place Market to watch the fish throwing, and an abundance of food and flower displays.

A day trip with friends to Woodland and Duvall for the wineries and a farm-to-table culinary dinner.  

Such a great trip. Cheers to friendship and travel.

art escape

cold.   arctic.  windchill.
The buzz words in Minnesota this week.  So cold that all schools are closed today and tomorrow (-45 degree windchill).

Fortunately, over the weekend we broke out of the house for 
an art day at the Walker Art Museum!  

The Claes Oldenburg exhibit was interesting.   Indoor giant random sculptures of french fries, desserts, light switches, and toilets...  

Outside, the Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claus Oldenburg was ours to admire in the sunny, above zero weather.

The warm, green house was a bonus.  Good for the soul.

 

sls field trip

The sculpture garden,

a great spot to hang out in Minneapolis!

tree-inspired

The one-of-a-kind wall hanging is complete:

Tree Moss, sienna lynn studio

(5'-0"x 1'-7")

sculpture fun

I finally found a spot for my favorite metal sculpture! The metal toothbrush that I made in college sits prominately on a shelf in my 1/2 bath. The obscure assignment was to create an object from an unexpected material. I put my wood-working and art metal skills to the test by making a toothbrush mold out of wood, setting nails in the bottom for bristles, pouring metal into it, and filing it down. A little odd maybe.

Even more interesting was the assignment to show a found object in an unusual texture. My green astro-turf sink was a great compliment to a classmate's fur toilet. Unfortunately I didn't capture a photo of this! As soon as the presentations were over I pitched it in the dumpster. I did manage to keep a few of my sculptures around. Instead of "form follows function," I turned my forms into functional items!

This linear, non-figurative form is now a coat rack:

and the organic+geometric combo piece is now a book end!

bird house in my studio

I can hear it now, "hmmmm, interesting..."

The Gauguin painting below from 1894, is one of the influences for my piece titled, "Bird House in Tahiti." One of the interesting pieces in my studio!

Paul Gaugin's work is characterized by clear outlines, flat forms, and vibrant colors, derived from the native art. Over a hundred years old, it still has a modern-art feel.
I wonder if the plastic bananas will stand the test of time too... ;-)