Klaatu Barada Nikto!

Danger Will Robinson!  The robots are coming!

My friend, Laura, is having a baby.  Her first boy following two girls.  Since three of my children are boys, I'm pretty excited that she'll finally get a taste of boyhood.  She announced that she is decorating her nursery in grey, orange and a "pop" of turquoise.  And robots.  Ok, having noticed a few of her favorites on Pinterest and knowing that she keeps her walls bare until she's absolutely positive what to hang...  I decided to applique a robot for the nursery.

You all know I have just a few (sarcasm intended) vintage scraps (along with a million pieces of yardage) to choose orange, grey and a pop of turquoise from. That scrap stash has been growing exponentially.  These are some that fit the color profile.

I found some pictures of robots and combined elements that I liked.  Also, this had to be a sweet, friendly, gentle robot since he was going in a nursery - namely, he had to be smiling and I wanted him to find wonder in that butterfly I found.  After laying out fabrics, our little friend started taking shape on the ironing board.  Buttons would work for joints, huge snaps for eyes, rick rack for radio waves, and more buttons for knobs - all vintage.

Our robot was going to need a frame.  This is what I do for frames:  find one at thrift that works for size and paint it.  I do this because then I don't have to cut glass, cut a new mat sometimes, buy or assemble a frame, etc.  I used to be a custom framer and I often lament not having the tools, choppers, cutters, joiners, point guns, etc. that I had access to in the art gallery.  But I make do.  I found this frame at Salvation Army for around $5.  I decided to first slap some orange paint on it, and I mean slap.  Nothing fancy - just craft paint.

 Next, I took a votive candle and rubbed it on the beadwork and other edges.

 I chose matte aluminum for the frame - seemed mechanical, roboty and grey.

After the paint dried, I took a clean cloth and rubbed the places

where I wanted to see a little orange come through.

This took some elbow grease.

 But look at the payoff.

Some nice dimension to the frame, rather than just flat spray.

Next, the mat.  The robot needed a mat.  I took the existing mat from the thrift frame and made it narrower using a box cutter and metal ruler.  I didn't want a very wide mat - just narrow to add a border of color.  And it didn't have to be perfect because I was planning to cover it with fabric.

Time to prepare Mr. Roboto's word bubbles.

What would a happy little gentle nursery robot say?

Using a set of antique wooden letters, I stamped, "Beep! Blip! Bloop!"

 Ok, time to refine the pieces, check the layout, size, and border color...

our Gort is shaping up. Should I have his hand on his hip?

I really wanted him to be holding the butterfly!

 Covering the mat was easy with the old glue gun...

just like Carly's frames.

Now it was time to actually sew down the scraps onto the cotton ground.  I chose to do all the stitching in black.  Oh, by the way, before stitching, I tucked a little Stitch Witchery under each piece and stuck it down with a hot iron so it wouldn't shift during stitching.  I also could have done all the pieces with Heat 'n Bond, but I wanted to see raw edges and some fraying.  Heat 'n Bond, which I love,  makes things rather perfect.  I wasn't going for perfect.

Wanting to keep it three-dimensional, I opted for no glass.

Sure hope Laura's little guy likes his robby. 

Amazing Discovery

This 16 x 24 framed print, "Calling Us,"

is hanging in our porch - a room I've tried to give a retro vibe.

The dad is calling away - trying to locate his son to help mow the lawn.

The kid is crouched behind the dog house hiding.

And he's trying to keep his dog quiet.

I loved this print when I saw it leaning against an old dresser in a grassy field at a large flea market about 15 years ago.  I've always been a fan of realistic art from illustrators like Norman Rockwell.  The original framing with spattered gold paint was a plus.  It's so 60s... or late 50s.  Life was so idyllic as illustrated back then.  See dad call.  Call dad call.  See Dick hide.  Dick is hiding behind the dog house.  Spot is hiding, too.

Here's the amazing discovery.  When I put this picture back up on my wall after Christmas, I decided to do some research on the artist, Harry Anderson.  Shock of all shock - I have been familiar with Harry Anderson's work for a long time and didn't know it.  Actually, I even posted a Harry Anderson picture of Mary and Jesus at the tomb on Easter Sunday last week!  What?

I came to find out he's illustrated some of the most famous biblical scenes of all time.  These pieces in the collage above were commissioned by the LDS church.  I've seen them all my life and never knew they were created by the same artist as my little boy avoiding the lawn mowing picture.  Who knew!?

Harry Anderson was a contemporary of Norman Rockwell and one of the top illustrators of his time.  I've decided that I am now a big fan of this man's art.  And there's more.  Look at these!

 A Little Night Music - 1950.

A Good Housekeeping cover - 1950.

One of the Great Moments of Your Life... Your Marriage - 1951

The Marriage - 1946.

Daughter of Kings - 1951

This wonderful illustrator was prolific - doing cover art for Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Woman's Home Companion, Cosmopolitan, Collier's and more.  Sadly, he passed away in 1996 and I can't locate a single place on the internet selling his prints.  I would love to buy some of them.  The color, the brushstrokes, the light - I have a new favorite artist.

Seri-what?

The day before yesterday I was digging around in the basement looking for something when I came across this painting that I have had for many years.  I picked it up remembering how much I liked it and the thought occurred to me that in this day and age of the internet I could possibly find out something about the artist.

In the summer of 1980 between semesters in college, I worked at a small art gallery on the Milwaukee/Wauwatosa border.  One day a guy came into the gallery with a bunch of paintings on canvas that he was selling.  My impression was that he was going door to door along the street, but now that I think about it, maybe he was just going to art galleries.  He laid out his paintings and this one caught my eye.  I was a big fan of Norman Rockwell at the time and this reminded me of his work.  I don't recall if my door-to-door salesman explained how the painting was created, but in his sales pitch he did say that Vincent Price was also a collector of this artist:  H. Hargrove.  I bought it for $50 or $60 and it has hung around the house ever since and I have never known anything more about it or the artist.

Isn't the internet amazing?  I've often told my kids, "Ya just don't have to wonder about anything anymore."  Every question can be answered in an instant.  So, armed with that optimism, I sat down  with my curiosity at my trusty computer and googled, "H. Hargrove."  Was this a man?  Was this a woman?  I wondered if I would learn anything at all.  I was surprised to find 134,000 results for H. Hargrove.  Turns out he is now considered one of America's most famous living artists and was named the official artist of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.  His real name is Nicolo Sturiano and he's done well for himself since I was a college student in 1980.  I was beginning to realize that this painting might have appreciated in value, but after three hours of clicking around, I was still wondering if it had a name or what its actual worth might be - not even a ballpark guess.  There wasn't one google image of my painting.  I did learn that it is a "serigraph" which Nicolo Sturiano created by layering up to 30 colors on the canvas not knowing exactly what the finished painting would look like.  He is said to "paint with silkscreening."  The reason I can't find out much about this painting is because it is a very early example of his work even before he started producing numbered, limited editions.  Gallery listings only go back to 1982 and I know I purchased this two years before that.  So I sent an email to his website.  I found out there is a service offered to identify information about the painting if I send them a picture and $15.  So that's what I'm going to do because honestly... I can't tell if it's worth $25 or $6,000.  I'll let you know.

Fairytale Lovers?

I've had these two beautiful, richly color prints for a long time and I am preparing them to sell in my Etsy shop.  These fairy tale couples caught my fancy about 20 years ago in a barn sale.  They are actually pages from a book printed in the 1890s.  That's about all I know.  When I first purchased them, I looked up the names on the internet.  There was very little information available at the time.

There are now thousands of internet listings for the fairy tale, Prince Cherry.  Here he is accepting the magic ring from the fairy, Candide. Sent by Prince Cherry's father, the ring has amazing powers to keep our poor, stupid prince in line... kind of like a CTR ring with consequences.  Unfortunately, Prince Cherry has to learn the hard way to be good and kind and faithful, but he does... eventually. Kinda like the rest of us, I guess.

Now, I can understand not finding anything about these two on the internet years ago when I looked them up, but I was surprised to still find absolutely nothing again just a few days ago.  There was one listing on Google.  It was the same picture -- but no story!  Will I ever know the story of Graciosa & Piercinet?  Why is Piercinet on his knee with his hat off?  Is he proposing?  Is Graciosa holding up her hand in refusal?  Why are they in a secluded wood?  Inquiring minds want to know!