Imagine

The final of a series of paintings I did for Imagine--title inspired by the name of the occasion itself. I had so much fun doing these paintings, I hope they earn some money for DIFFA. We'll see next Friday. . .

A Bird No Longer in Flight

A pair of mixed media paintings

Over the Hills and Far Away

Here is another mixed media painting I created for Imagine. I like using mixed media because it is symbolic of my hodge-podge life. A little bit of this and little bit of that for this gal :)

Pretty Little Things

I created several mixed media paintings for Imagine--a student-run silent auction that our school holds. Proceeds are going to DIFFA-The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. I used paint, fabric, paper, modge-podge, ink, and vintage jewelry. As the title suggests, I hope this 12" x 12" painting finds itself a home with an owner who appreciates how sweet it is.

http://www.theblackapple.typepad.com/

Emily Martin is one of the most popular artists on ETSY and I can see why from her art. The picture shown above, though, shows her interior design talent. I love how she created an off-balance cluster of silhouettes in the corner of this room with a slanted ceiling. Take some time to look at her website and experience her whimsy and almost meloncholy artwork and designs.

Another image from theselby.com--aka, my newest internet haunt. I'm completely coveting the wood carving on the far wall. I also love the choice of colors in this room (i.e. the lime green door!) And, how cool is this floor?! I could spend some serious time in this eclectic heaven.

Tour of My Apartment

I've been wanting to post pictures of my apartment for quite some time now, but have never seemed to be able to make the time to do it. Well, on this wonderfully sunny summer Chicago day, I took a personal day today to "do homework" and figured this would be a great way to procrastinate since the lighting in my apartment is perfect for photo taking! Enjoy a walk through of the world of Sean and Margey.

ENTRYWAY

As my friend Emily pointed out, this area went unnoticed before and now it is a space to be enjoyed with my mom's artwork, an old bright yellow filing cabinet, an owl hook from Urban Outfitters and some magazine racks from Target.

A Happy Buddha greets you as you enter our apartment

LIVING ROOM/TV ROOM

Anyone who knows Sean and I knows that we had a little "battle of the sexes debate" over our couch---mine v. his. But, I think even he will admit that the vintage orange couch is an awesome focal point of our apartment. I scored the couch and the "surfboard" coffee table from a thrift shop in my parent's neighborhood. My mom and I took the table, which had an awful stain on the top, to a car detailing place and had them spray paint it. The shag rug was a bargain at Urban Outfitters and my mom got the standing lamp for free when it came to her not functioning! (It has since been fixed and we love the way it highlights the painting at night.)

My favorite Website!

My mom's beautiful painting.

Sign that Sean has been here

I got these vintage chairs on Craig's List and they rock. No, literally, they are rocking chairs.

Another sign of my slight obsession

The lamp in this photo was given to us by Sean's mom. I updated it by painting it a shiny black and getting a new shade and I love it.

I replaced all the switch plates in our apt with stainless steel. It's a small touch, but everyone notices them. Did I mention this is a cheap solution to modernizing an old apartment?

BEDROOM

This lamp was a CB2 splurge and I love it! I also painted an old dresser that Sean was going to throw out black and this revived the piece. (Does anyone else hear Rolling Stones in their head?)

A cluster of pictures above our bed

I love to mix old and new as seen here with the blend of a modern dresser from CB2 and a vintage mirror, vases, and jewelry box. The chandelier adds a sophisticated touch.

I got these vases at a thrift shop out in Utah

Random art on the wall

Art that I purchased from The One of a Kind Art Show at the Merchandise Mart

A chair I painted and reupholstered and the "Owl" pillow that Sean and my nieces love!

More artwork care of Denise Murray. A.k.a my mom. A.k.a the best artist I l know.

DINING ROOM

I love the color on the walls in this room because it changes all day from yellow to ochre to green at night. I had friends over for a party at night and they wouldn't believe that the color was yellow. Now, that's fun with color theory!

I'm not going to lie, sometimes I talk to my plants. Don't worry about it. And, I absolutely covet this vintage fan that my mom got for me at a garage sale.

I'm sorry Zak, you are never getting this bookshelf back.

Vintage memorabilia from Sean's dad.

Since my easel has been out of commission for a while, I use it to showcase another love of mine--the band Chicago!

I don't think anyone comes to the apartment without commenting on the red bike.

More signs of Sean. Here is his dad's camera collection.

Sean and I have fun with this little guy putting him in different poses and places in the apartment.

An old radio that Sean fought for on eBay and a modern record player.

I got this credenza for free! An antique shop was throwing it away and I literally took it from the alley. Score!

I love this bowl! The table is from my mom and the chairs are from my sister. She bought them at this little known place called IKEA.

We are definitely pro-bikes in our apartment :)

Old fishing thingies--Sean could tell you more.

JC breaks bread with us whenever we sit down to eat.

BATHROOM

I actually painted these paintings the day of our first party in manic Margey mode because there was a horrible mark on the wall before I painted them blue. Even though they were a last minute creation, I really enjoy them.

Sean hooked me on to hookless shower curtains.

The paintings were inspired by the window film we used, so no one can see into our shower.

KITCHEN

My mom gave me this stand

I got this old blender at a garage sale. It still works!

I just love the way this looks. There isn't even anything in it.

Combining Sean and my "design visions" gets interesting sometimes.

Lastly, an old tin in the kitchen. I just love the shodows in this picture.

I hope you enjoyed a walk through our apartment!

(Note: Sean's room did not make it to the tour for reasons of messiness and recliner-related design issues.)

Check out Kenyan and Grace's country home at http://www.theselby.com/. I love that nothing about the their life seems to fit convention. They have a pegleg collection, for heaven's sake! Another reminder that convention is boring, overdone, and highly overrated. (At least in my humble opinion.)

http://ariyamastudio.com/home.html

I officially became a purchaser of art when I bought an original of this print entitled, "Lakefront" at the One of a Kind Art Show at the Merchandise Mart last December. I chose this particular piece because of sentimental value, but all of Hiroshi Ariyama's art captures the liveliness and beauty that is Chicago life.

I've posted several of his "El series" below for all of your viewing pleasure. I think they are so engrossing and almost eerie, not unlike the El experience itself. He captures the isolation and human detachment of public transportation.