Posts filed under ‘Inspiration’
First Featured Redesign For Me!
Just got word my Elton chair before and after was featured on the ever-popular Better after blog! It’s my first piece to be featured on another blog–what a compliment. It’s a fun blog that just culls through the oodles of sites and just shows the yummy before and after shots of furniture refinishing projects. It’s a great resource for inspiration and ideas. Thank you Beth for forwarding my chair pics & thank you Lindsey for noticing our little blog!
New Adoption!
Abandoned behind the antique store…this will be a fun quick rehab project. Beautiful wood back, but I will paint the whole thing. What color?
Sean Wells via iPhone
Cheap Designer Accent
$10 retro starburst mirror at Family Dollar! Thought this would be cool in a grouping on a designer color wall.
Sean Wells via iPhone
Video: Skull Stroller
I finally got around to editing my first video project for Qprojects. I plan to try to do more videos in the future, especially after we get back into the warmer weather.
In this video, I convert an old bike stroller into a Skull. Why in the world would I do that? To involve my family in the joyful atmosphere of celebration for the annual Dia de los Muertos Marigold Parade in Albuquerque, NM! I use a fleece base and smoke-colored vinyl for the cover. The cover is clipped to the existing fabric canopy. I make tissue paper flower accents. It was a fun project and I introduce a bit of the history of Dia de los Muertos in the video. And, of course, my kids loved it! Enjoy!
Mason Jar Faralitos
Every year the holiday marketing machine gears up earlier and earlier. I try to fight it, but I love the holidays, so I always have one eye on the greenery. I just got this newsletter from HGTV and flipped through their 20 holiday make-it craft photos. I really liked this one image.
Click on the photo above to see the original HGTV slideshow.
It is simple and adaptable. Unfortunately, there are no directions, so I’m not sure what they used for the crystal base. It looks like it may be something like seasalt, but that would make this about $30 in candles. I will try to identify the material. But, the reason I liked it was that it is reminiscent of the faralitos/luminarias that we New Mexicans light our pathways with on Christmas eve.
I used authentic luminarias as decoration for our wedding. They were warm (both literally and figuratively) and romatic.
A faralito or luminaria (depending on what region you are in) is a candle placed in a brown paper bag filled with sand and lit on Christmas Eve. It is meant to symbolize a welcoming casa to guide the Virgin Mary as she searches for an open Inn. It makes the city magical. But, convenience has led to plastic & electrical imitations. They are still beautiful, but lose some of tradition and richness of the ritual. But, the traditional bags can be safe hazards and can blow over in the wind. These would be a nice modern and stylish compromise.
Awesome Flotsam & Jetsam Art
Caught a fun and informative show entitled “Washed Ashore: Plastics, Sealife and Art” while on my vacation today in Oregon at the Newport Visual Arts Center. It was a show of large installation art made completely of found objects that have drifted onto shore. I was amazed by the color and variety of objects. One display showed plastics that had been nibbled on by marine animals. It was sad to think of the creatures that had consumed this refuse.
The “fish” pictured has a hollow metal armature and plastic “scales”. The hollow belly is filled with styrofoam, a trash item commonly consumed by sealife. It is an inviting tactile display that invites you to explore with your senses. My kids enjoyed drumming on the “bones of a whale,” and dancing in the “tentacles of a jellyfish” among other activities. Will add more detail photos and more later. In the second photo, you can see how the bits of plastic are attached to the armature. There is a heavy steel frame making the general shape of the fish. Then, something like chicken wire (metal mesh) is applied. The plastic pieces have been drilled with several holes and are then wired to the mesh. All in all, the show is sturdy and took the abuse of my two toddler boys quite well. If you are in the area, it’s worth exploring, especially with children & children at heart .
For more on the center or the show, follow this link:
Washed Ashore show and Newport Visual Arts Center
Sean Wells via iPhone
Papers!
I finally got around to visiting the paper store you recommended. It was heavenly. Delicate hand screened printed sheets hung neatly from the wall. Prices ranged from a couple of dollars to $25+. Lots of inspiring crafted paper products and accessories drew me through the store. I lingered on the sealing waxes and seals plated in gold and silver glistening like pirate’s treasure. I basked in the soft pastels of the ceiling covered in various delicate tissue paper items. I was mesmerized by the giant cascading origami chandelier. But I was on a mission.
I was looking for some red and black paper to finish a hush hush project. I was hoping to be overwhelmed by options, but there were really only two. I walked away with a beautiful red textured tissue paper with black Kanji scrawled across it creating a wonderful graphic pattern. I’ll be using it as a decoupage accent on a furniture piece. I’ll take step by step photos, so I hope I don’t mess this one up! More photos of paper store to follow when I’m not on the road!
Sean Wells via iPhone
St Anthony helps me find my art
I took a retablo workshop with my brother (the previously featured tinsmith) in Santa Fe today. It was wonderful. One of the traditional Spanish Colonial Crafts, a retablo is a piece of devotional art painted on a wood board that has been prepared with gesso. It most commonly depicts patron saints or other icons of Christianity.
As a child, I had participated in the youth market of the annual Spanish Market. But, as the distractions of life took over, I lost touch with the art. Now that I am back in NM and enjoying watching my brother foster his tin talents, I long to develop my retablo interest once more. I had studied with an incredible and well respected santera (=one who paints saints), Arlene Cisneros Sena. She taught me a respect for the art that I had not understood as a child. She reminded me of the true meaning behind these primative saint paintings: To honor God, a heavy responsibility for any artist to carry. Over a series of intense one-on-one lesons, she also imparted the advanced materials and techniques that go back to the original Conquistadors.
After finishing my studies with her, I felt much more secure in my understanding of the art of retablos, but I still did not feel a personal ownership of the art. I was also struggling with the realization that although Arlene’s personal retablo style is beautiful and impressive, it does not reflect my natural style of painting. I did not want to simply imitate her work. I needed to find my signature feel. I applied for Spanish Market last year and was rejected. I believe it was primarily due to the fact that I had not developed my work enough for it to have a consistent style (ie. my pieces did not look like they were painted by the same person). But, the rejection (as rejections are prone to do) stunted my motivation. My brother has been encouraging me to continue to develop and suggested this workshop.
I jumped on it immediately. As a one day workshop, the actual workshop was casual and not filled with too much technical information. We were given prepared boards and Juanito jumped right into a retablo. Each artist has a preferred media. Some use acrylic, others watercolors, others natural pigments. Juanito uses earthen clays which gives his pallete a very natural complimentary feel. I found myself freed to paint, unburdened from the responsibility of choosing or representing colors. The freedom led to a natural evolution of the painting and I was very happy with the result. Juanito himself has a very fluid, interpretive style. And, although my work is very different from his, his permission to loosen up with my hand gave me some confidence to trust my insticts. I’m very hopeful about applying this year for market and look forward to developing a few more potential portfolio pieces with the new techniques I have adopted. The piece shown is the retablo that I finished today, the image of Alma de Maria.
I was also quite happy to find out I had won the workshop raffle! Juanito painted a demonstration retablo depicting Saint Anthony (patron saint of lost items). He asked us to pick a number between 1 and 40. I picked 27 and hit the nail on the head. He personalized the retablo to me. It was a good day. If you ever get the opportunity, I recommend taking a workshop with either my brother at his shop (www.NewMexicoTinwork.com) or at the Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts (www.SpanishColonial.org). You can view photos from the workshop at my online gallery.
I would love to collect some clays from around the world! If you would like to send me some clays from your region, please send to:
SEAN WELLS
3167 SAN MATEO BLVD NE
ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87105
UPDATE 09/22/2010: My brother just added tin accents to my retablo. Here is the beautiful collaboration!
featured on creature comforts blog – haru’s lokta paper mobile
I woke up this morning and discovered that creature comforts featured my latest paper mobile in her very creative and inspiring blog. Thank you Ez! I feel honored to be included with many of my favorite artists.
By the way, you can view her beautiful photos on her flickr photostream.
♡Beth
Q Projects 
You must be logged in to post a comment.