A Parisian Time Capsule – Borrowed Blog

    

This “discovery” isn’t so new anymore and  has apparently been passed around from Facebook, to Apartment Therapy to soulpancake as well as most recently Messynessychic.com  I just saw it for the first time the other day so I thought I’d pass it on to you…hope you enjoy it as much as I did…

 A Parisian apartment left untouched for over 70 years was discovered in the quartier of Pigalle a few summers ago and I’ve been meaning to share the pictures with you. Time to unlock the vault …

The owner of this apartment, Mrs. De Florian left Paris just before the rumblings of World War II broke out in Europe. She closed up her shutters and left for the South of France, never to return to the city again. Seven decades later she passed away at the age of 91. It was only when her heirs enlisted professionals to make an inventory of the Parisian apartment she left behind, that this time capsule was finally unlocked.

The team that had the honor of opening what must have been a very stiff old lock for the first time in 70 years, likened the experience to ‘stumbling into the castle of sleeping beauty’. The smell of dust, the cobwebs, the silence, was overwhelming; a once in a lifetime experience.

There is a further twist to the story. In the apartment a painting of familiar style was discovered of a beautiful woman in pink. One of the inventory team members suspected this might be a very important piece of treasure. Along with the painting, they also found stacks of old love letters tied with colored ribbon.

With some expert historical opinion, the ribbon-bound love letters were quickly recognized as the calling card of none other than Giovanni Boldini, one of Paris’ most important painters of the Belle Époque. The painting was his. The beautiful woman pictured in the painting was Mrs. de Florian’s grand-mother, Marthe de Florian, a beautiful French actress and socialite of the Belle Époque. She was Boldini’s muse. And, despite him being a married man, she was also his lover. The art world went a bit nutty for the whole story and the painting was later sold for $3 million at auction.

What I find so intriguing about this story is not so much the discovered painting and the revelation of a love affair between a great Italian painter and the beautiful actress in an enchanting era, but more the story of Mrs. de Florian and why she stayed away from Paris for so long.

What kept her away even after the war? Was she running away from someone or something other than the Nazis? For all those decades, her rent on the elegant apartment in a flourishing city had been faithfully paid, but it was left to freeze in time. It all sounds like the perfect mystery…

the New York Gift Show

I got back late last night from the New York Gift Show. We’re talking acres and acres of home accessories, tabletop, jewelry & bags, and plenty of crazy randomness in between to keep it comical. There was much to see and I managed to see a lot ( enough ) in the one full day I was there. Buying for the store is like decorating for a dozen clients or more, all at once. You have to think about crafting a vision for merchandising when things arrive, buying “whats next” while buying what feels clients will be comfortable with and you have to cater those tastes to as many potential buyers as possible… After all selling your wares is the name of the game.

I expected to be buying hot bright colors for Spring/Summer, Dash & Albert rugs, indoor-outdoor ottomans, Sunbrella throws and the like but as you will see, my heart, my style and my gut all lead me back to rich and subtle tans, greys, aqua and navy. Always in my comfort zone and always in good taste.

We bought tables full of Chinese ceramics, blue and white pots, vases and bowls. Beautiful Tibetan rugs in pale heathered hues in (what else) tans greys and aquas. As well as deep colbalt table lamps, burnished brass decorotive mirrors and chandeliers made of hemp and beads of glass or stone… AMAZING!

So there are some of the Navy treasures, and here are some pretty aqua inspired finds I couldn’t live without…

 

GEOFFREY JOHNSON – Painter

This copy was “borrowed” from TheFoxIsBlack.com : 

North Carolina native Geoffrey Johnson has been working as a painter since 1995 after he completed a degree in Fine Art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. There’s something very impressive about his work and his images carry a sense of reflection and solemnness.

Most of what he paints is done with an amazing monochromatic palette and I’m instantly drawn to his use of sepia tones (not to mention the striking pale blue). His silhouetted figures are shrouded in an air of mystery and the way he manages to paint large groups within the landscape of the city while still presenting a sense of melancholy only enforces the sense of mystery throughout his work. These paintings are both alluring and haunting and I’ve a great fondness for them. Johnson doesn’t have his own site but more work can seen online here.

I couldn’t agree more, so why re-write?  (Thanks theblackfox.com) In fact I’m so smitten, I want to place one of these in a clients home.  Making the pitch next week, hope they like it.

more artworks at: Shain Gallery, Hubert Gallery, Principle Gallery

MARY O’MALLEY – Bottom Feeders

And now for something completely different.  I shop everywhere, the gift show in NYC, local antique stores, the showroom I work for as well as Ebay, 1st Dibs and ETSY.  Well I was scanning ESTY for cool things the other day and came across the amazing work of Mary Malley.  um, Hello! I am crazy for these beautiful pieces.  Mary is a ceramic artist creating out of a barn on the south shore of Long Island. Her ESTY store is a dedicated to the ceramic functional wares she loves to make!  Please click over and see more of her work www.etsy.com and for additional information you can visit her website at www.maryomalleyceramics.com. Mary makes custom cremation urns, I might have to get one for myself… Not that I’ll need it anytime soon!  For more information please visit http://www.youveurnedit.com  If you have any questions or are looking for something in particular feel free to contact her at: mary@maryomalleyceramics.com

Here is her artists statement:  After receiving my BFA from The University of the Arts and living In Philadelphia I recently returned to my home near the ocean on Long Island, NY. Using my skills as a potter trained in traditional English and Japanese techniques I began to create a series of formal functional pieces to which I applied small sea creatures. The images are inspired by memories from my childhood and new familiar surroundings. Covering formal ware in crustaceans – which in real life have an unforgiving ferocity – has interested me because it is a reminder that no matter how much we try to control the creation of what we think is beautiful, uncontrollable forces like nature usually end up taking over. What truly excites me (and keeps me needing to make more) is marrying my love of functional porcelain pottery and a whimsical (or ferocious?) underwater world that mars the formality of each piece. The journey I take in deciding how to incorporate and compose these underwater elements with the service ware it is enveloping is what makes each piece completely unique. In the end one type of beauty is made more beautiful by co-existing with its foil, resulting in two completely different aesthetics existing harmoniously as one piece. 

Artist Spotlight: V. Bazhenov

Arabian coast. 1962

Vsevolod Andreevich Bazhenov was born February 18, 1909 in the town Serdobsk, Penza Province of Russian Empire into an artistic family.  His father was an artist and taught in a school. He become the first teacher of Vsevolod. Later he studied in Serdobsk art studio of artists A. Gofert and N. Kuzmin. Besides drawing and painting, Bazhenov was music lover: his mother Evgenia Nikovaevna was a pianist.

In 1928 Bazhenov graduated in high school and moved to Leningrad. In 1928–1930 he studied at the Tavricheskaya Art School, where he was a student of Mikhail Avilov, David Kiplyck, and Vladimir Fedorovich. In 1930 Bazhenov leaves the third-year college courses and arrives at the surveyors. According to some sources the reason care was difficult financial situation, on the other – the reorganization of the department of painting. After the course Bazhenov worked in the exploration, first as a surveyor, then the superintendent and chief of field parties. During the expedition he much painted sketches from the life of the Ural Region, Armenia, Khibiny, Karelia, the Caucasus and Kurdistan. From 1934 to 1941 Bazhenov worked at the Leningrad maping factory.

In 1940 he married Catherine Andreyevna Kuznetsova. June 24, 1941 was born the eldest son Alexander, who later became an artist of movies. After the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Bazhenov together with family was sent to Sverdlovsk city for specialty. In December 1942 he was drafted into the Red Army in the rank of lieutenant-technique as a senior cartographer. Discharged at the end of 1945. He was awarded the Medal “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945″.

In late 1945 Bazhenov returned to Leningrad. Since the autumn of 1946 he worked as painter for order in LenIzo. In 1946 was born middle son Vladimir, in 1952 – junior Andrew. The first part Bazhenov in art exhibition refers to 1937. Since 1951 he is constantly involved in Leningrad, Republican, and All-Union exhibitions of soviet artists. He painted landscapes, genre scenes, seascapes, sketches from the life, works in oil and tempera paintings. In 1951 Bazhenov was admitted to the Leningrad Union of Artists.  In 1950s to gather material for paintings Bazhenov made some long-time trips around the country, having been in East and West Siberia, in Altai Province and Ural Region. The result of these visits were the lot of excellent in painting nature studies, nominated Bazhenov as a leading Leningrad master of this genre.

In the Ha Long Bay. 1962

In 1962 Bazhenov embarked on a working voyage on the ship “Eugene Nikishin”, from Leningrad to Vladivostok around Europe and Asia with stops in ports of Gibraltar, Suez, Singapore and Vietnam. In course of voyage through eleven seas and oceans, which lasted more than three months, Bazhenov created nearly two hundred sketches, paintings, and drawings.  Some of large works were conceived by the artist is finished too late in his Leningrad art studio on the base of nature sketches and direct impressions of the voyage.  For the first time about 120 works from this series were exhibited in Leningrad in 1963 after returning from a voyage. Then the exhibition was shown in other cities.

In 1960-1970s Bazhenov with a group of Leningrad artists painted pictures for the mess-room ocean-going ships and submarines. He create about 100 paintings for ships of various purposes, mostly landscapes of our country. Most of this works were on the warships of Pacific and Northern fleets. Also he take part in creation special technologies for protecting the picture from the high humidity in a long-time voyage. In 1976 the artist was awarded the command of the Navy of the USSR for this job.

A special place in the artist’s creative journeys belonged to Karelia. For the first time Bazhenov visited here in 1931. In 1981 he first visited Valaam island, which came at the invitation of the local museum. From then until death Valaam was one of the main themes of his work. In 1984 the Valaam museum held a solo exhibition of paintings by Vsevolod Bazhenov. Its funds are kept many paintings executed on impressions from visiting the island.

Vsevolod Andreevich Bazhenov died on August 2, 1986 in Leningrad at the seventy-eighth year of life. He is known mostly for his landscpes, seascapes, and small-format etudes done from nature. His personal exhibitions were in Leningrad (1963, 1982), and Saint Petersburg (1994, 2009). His paintings reside in State Russian Museum, in Art museums and private collections in Russia, Japan, France, England, in the U.S., China, and throughout the world.

 

Information from: wikipedia

INSTAGRAM

 

One more addiction to add to the (growing) list: Facebook, Pinterest, BILLblog and now… INSTAGRAM.  I like the format because it’s creative and visual with very little text and very little Social Media advertising.  Sure there are folks peddling product but its all about the image, and no one is asking you to “like it”  you either do or you don’t.  There are fashionistas posting daily outfits, professional photographers posting beautiful images, there are puppy pictures, food pictures a little eye candy and yes a ton of self portraits (guilty).  These are just a small sampling of the folks I follow.  Some just post pretty pictures, others fitness achievements and others exotic trips or pets doing cute things.  If you’re not the type to play Words With Friends, Instagram is the ap for you.  It lets you play with exposure, focus, light, zoom and cropping plus there are borders and filters to change the mood of your shot.  I personally like posting food, my outfits and self portraits most.  I realize I’m not the first to discover Instagram, in fact I’m behind the ball on this one, but so what… Having a good time, enjoying the voyeurism and inviting you to come along for the ride.

 

OMG !

I just saw this on a friends Facebook page and had to repost ASAP on to BILLblog… At first I thought it was a light fixture, but no, It’s a real cloud.  crazy cool huh?  I would buy this ART!

Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde has developed a way to create clouds indoors by carefully regulating the space’s humidity, temperature and light. This intersection of science and art was recently named one of TIME magazine’s “Best Inventions of the Year 2012.”

 AMAZING!

Custom Map Wall Paper – Borrowed Blog

Came across this great product the other day on Designmilk.com  It was posted on 11.05.12 by Caroline Williamson in Art, Interior Design on their website.  I  had to share…SO COOL.

Maps have always been a fun way to decorate your walls but have you ever wanted a more personal map, like one specifically for your town or zip code? Wallpapered creates just that – custom wallpaper maps for any spot on the globe that means something to you.

Punch in the location you desire, the radius you want covered, then you customize the size and colors to your liking, and you’ll have your very own, one-of-a-kind mural.

Read more at Design Milk:

http://design-milk.com/custom-map-wall-murals-by-wallpapered/#ixzz2BvGSE6eQ

LA STYLE

I thought about it on the plane and realized that I hadn’t been to Los Angeles for seven years, that’s a long time… But after being here just one day I’ve realized that while shops, clubs and restaurants have come and gone and others have taken their place the city is largely the same. It still has beautiful weather, beautiful people wearing carefully crafted outfits, there is beautiful architecture – both old and new – and yes, still lots of glam if you know where to look.
This first image is part of Chateau Marmont - a haunt of the rich and famous and now me.  The old world glamour is really perfect, modeled after an infamous royal residence in France’s Loire Valley, it is a fantastical folly in the land of make believe.  The bungalows, pool area and hotel are all well perserved and are a total throwback to the glam days of Hollywood. I had a delicious lunch in the outdoor courtyard with great great friends, had a star sighting: Toby Mcguire, and loved walking the grounds and pool.

West Hollywood doesn’t suck either.  West Hollywood is bordered on the north by the Hollywood Hills, on the east by the Hollywood district, on the south by the Fairfax district of Los Angeles, and on the west by the city of Beverly Hills… so its a great location and the walkable neighborhood is a great mix of residential & commercial.  The architecture is largely extreme Art Deco, Spanish Colonial Revival, Monterey Revival, elaborate Italianate monsters – and fountains and statues, hidden gardens and fantastic ironwork and detailing.  The most famous building in the general area is the Art Deco Sunset Tower Hotel up there on the Sunset Strip (8358 Sunset Boulevard), back to its original name after being the Argyle for a bit – 1929, architect Leland A. Bryant. It’s very famous, in a good number of films, and once home to Howard Hughes, John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Zasu Pitts, and that famous gangster with the great name, Bugsy Siegel. It seems everyone lived there. If you’re really in the know – or if you’re lucky enough to have close friends in the know – the SOHO house is a private club on the top two floors of the 14-story, 9200 Sunset Boulevard.  Opened in spring 2010, Soho House West Hollywood has a bar and dining room that offers spectacular views LA.  The terrace garden dining area is lined with olive trees and covered by a retractable roof. There is also a comfortable sitting room and a private dining and bar area for members’ events and screenings.  Devine!

Red velvet club chairs in the screening room, whats not to love?

Borrowed Blog – Wild Ones

Wild Ones: Gentler Pocket Knife Has Animals, Not Blades as found on dornob.com and it’s too cool not to share…

The Swiss Army knife is a beautiful example of simple but elegant design – but it isn’t exactly meant for play. This Animal Pocket Knife was a 3rd year design school project created by David Suhami as a lovely alternative to the classic knife.

Suhami’s goal was to invent a toy for adults who enjoy playing with small objects. The safari “knife” is completely harmless, yet still beautiful enough to be appealing to discerning adult minds. The object features interchangeable heads, legs and tails for three animals: a rhino, an antelope and a giraffe. The pieces fold out just like those of a Swiss Army knife, creating multiple animals which all share a torso.

According to Suhami it is also possible to mix and match the animal parts to create some fascinating new hybrid animals. The animal parts are made of stainless steel (to represent modern technology) and the knife’s body is made of Tabebuia wood (to represent traditional craftsmanship).

Vase

Design house Pols Potten creates products that are subtle, innovative and with a hint of quirkiness while clearly exhibiting the traits of Dutch design tradition. Inspired by a tree, this shapely vase is perfect to use with tall bright flowers or as a stand-alone object.

Handmade of unglazed biscuit porcelain.  www.lekkerhome.com

ART …and a few random images

Hello friends.  I have a file on my desktop that is full of images I have collected but never used for a blog.  Landscape and architectural, snapshots, people, furniture and beautiful art in every form.  So I decided that today I’d pull some of the better “natural art”  shots a post them today.  But I have something to say about art first…

If you happen to be doing a large remodel or new construction do yourself a favor, literally set aside the budgeted amount you are comfortable spending on furniture, rugs and accessories and put it in a separate account or in an envelope under your mattress or where ever you like to squril things away.  NOW do the same with a budget for ART.  what goes on your walls once the are taped, skim-coated and painted is as important, if not more so, than the color of the walls, whether you chose satin or semi-gloss trim, what white the ceilings are or if the fireplace screen, the knobs on the side board and the chandelier all have the same finish.  ART is an important ingredient in home design and you should plan accordingly.  

No money for art? Hogwash!  Go to your local college, they’ll often have shows with great work at very reasonable prices… or an open studio event in your city or town is another option.  and if you really don’t have the money for any original art.  Cheap frames from a craft store can be filled with images from magazines, leaves, or what have you, heck… you can even hang empty frames in an interesting way to create your own “art”.  

OK, that’s all… I trust you get the point, now go out and support your local artists, and enjoy a beautiful weekend!  Happy Friday (the 13!)

Stairway to Heven

I have seen cable systems in homes many, many times but it has always been a traditional horizontal application with tube handrails and supports.  I was blown away when I found these images ( I wish I could give credit for design and installation – if you know, please add a comment).  This look is far from traditional when brought into the home but what was once a deck or exterior material has grown in popularity to the point where craftsmen are taking cable to a whole different level.  It’s decidedly a modern look and there is a nautical vibe as well, but the vertical application and no hand rails makes this staircase a work of art.

Displaying Photographs

It’s always the last thing a client thinks about, but 9 times out of 10 I get asked about art, wall decor and family photographs.  Family Photographs… they are like rabbits, you put two of them out and before you know it there are 6, or 10… or more!  Whats a designer to do?!?  Of course the ones I’m typically presented with are “snap-shots, in non-matching frames, some color and some black and white.  What to do?

EDIT!  If you have 3 or 5 photo’s of your best friend, baby or partner… Pick one (ok two) of your favorites and put the rest in an album, or in a private setting ( offices are perfect ) and keep your “collection” together as best you can.  Don’t mix in do-dads.

NEXT… Try and coordinate your frames to one type or two (ok, 3 if you must but no more) I like White frames, because I like white – and I think you see the image not the frame – but you can mix brown and white, silver and white, gold and brown, brown and black or black and white, or… well you get the point.

THEN… practice grouping the images you want to display on the floor to get a good idea of how they will look best hanging together.  If you’d like to take an extra step, cut out paper templates of your frame sizes and use painters tape to hold them on the wall as you organize them.  I love a grid, but that only really works when you have like size frames (mat size can vary – keep that in mind) and like frames.  If your collection is a little bit hodgepodge, then go with a loose, eclectic arrangement.

Random Friday – Just Pretty Pictures

Would it be ok if I just post a bunch of random – random but pretty – pictures today?  I’m doing a big installation today at a clients and I’m already running late!  I’ll try to post a picture of the house I’m working on today remotely from my iphone.  I have been collecting these images for some time.  Happy Friday!  

…and thats not even all of the images I have to share from my “miscellaneous” file.  Maybe I’ll post more randoms next friday.  Bye!

Guido Mocafio – Borrowed Blog

Guido Mocafico’s Magnificent Rectangular Serpents

As a person who collects art, respects the creativity of artists and a designer who appreciates beautiful works that can really make or break a home, the work of Guido Mocafico hits a home run with me.  Not only would I own one of these pieces – I love the black mysterious background he has chosen, further enhancing the already sinister mood of the images – I would hope to use one or several in a space for a client.  They are bold and graphic, the colors are amazing and like any good piece of art I could look at them over and over and over.  Something else I like is the unexpected rectangle, these animals typically so organic and coiled shown compartmentalized and color blocked, a unique juxtaposition.   

Pinched from the pages of the Colossal Art & Design blog…

Generally when you encounter a photograph of a snake it’s coiled up in a circle, a clump, or perhaps dangling from a limb, twisted into a naturally organic shape. Y’know, it’s snakelike. Photographer Guido Mocafico has taken a decidedly different approach with his Serpens series (Part 1, Part 2), choosing instead to place the snakes into rectangular boxes, snapping each photo from above at a precisely balanced moment, turning chaotic figures into something distinctly geometric. From Mocafico’s selection of different species to their gorgeous coloration and almost zen-like positioning, I’ve never seen anything like these. For more serpentine photography don’t miss the work of Mark Laita who travels everywhere to photograph the world’s deadliest snakes. (via supersonic electronic)

While We Are On The Subject (of PHOTOGRAPHY)

If you are a young collector, or want to build a collection quickly or just like to shop for art from your bed, try 20×200. Founder Jen Bekman launched 20×200 back in 2007 with two core goals: They want everyone to collect art, and they want to enable an economy that allows more artists to make a living by making work. And, of course collecting should be fun, easy and doable from bed.

All of the art, prints and photographs in our curated collection are carefully produced: Every work is accompanied by an artist-signed and numbered certificate that ensures the one you own is part of an exclusive edition created with the artist. Once they’re sold out, they’re gone for good-so if you see something you like, snap it up.

So far, they have released more than 400 editions by over 200 artists-emerging, established and legendary-and are always looking forward to introducing you to even more new art. Be the first to see new art a few times a week by signing up for the 20×200 Newsletter and get ridiculous daily deals by signing up for the 16-Hour Steal.  You’re Welcome…Happy collecting!

Douglas Friedman – Photographer

The glam-factor of my blog went up a few notches when these got posted, ay? I have been a fan of Douglas Friedman for some time now but when I saw these images I was really enamored. His images are so rich, I love the palette on these shots. Here is a bio from his website.

Douglas Friedman was born and raised in New York City in 1972. He studied Anthropology and Documentary Film Making at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Post graduation, Douglas worked for a few years making movies in the film industry. After working on SE7EN, The Game, and Fight Club as assistant to director David Fincher; Douglas left Hollywood with his camera, a suitcase and a one way ticket to Indonesia. The next year and a half was spent traveling the world and photographing everything he came across; from sherpas at the foot of Mt. Everest to sharks 100 feet below the Sulawesi Sea; and the architectural vernacular of each port of call along the way. He returned to NYC in the late 90′s to begin a serious study of photographic technique and theory. His fascination with architecture and design found its way into his work and shortly thereafter, Douglas was shooting stories for Wallpaper, Domino and Elle Décor magazines. Over the next few years, Douglas began exploring his interest in fashion and portraiture and established himself shooting highly stylized environmental portraits for publications like Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, and Vanity Fair among others. Douglas has had two exhibits of his fine art photography. The first, a collection of boldly graphic images featuring the architecture and landscapes of the rural Midwest and the urban Far East was sponsored by Missoni. The second, a colorful series of abstract portraits of burlesque dancers in New York City was underwritten by fashion design duo Ruffian. Douglas is currently working on his next show which explores portraiture that is heavily informed by the subjects’ situation. Douglas is a bold-faced name for more than just his photography. As a darling of the young international social set who gravitate towards the worlds of fashion and art, he frequently finds himself on the other side of the lens as well. His charisma and charm are as infamous as his movie-star looks and his signature 70′s moustache. He’s often written about by the same publications for which he shoots. Douglas currently divides his time between Los Angeles and New York.

Hosfelt Gallery NYC – Luka Fineisen

New York: Using frost, foam, food, glitter, viscous liquids and molten metal, German artist Luka Fineisen presents ambitious sculptural works that explore moments of becoming.  This exhibition is the premiere of Fineisen’s work in the US.  ”Phase transitions” is the term used in thermodynamics to describe the shifts between solid, liquid and gaseous states of matter.  At a literal level, this is what Fineisen represents in her work – tipping points – the transitional moments when a substance changes from one condition to another.  While playing with formal sculptural concerns of modernism and pos-minimalisim, she explores movement and potential.  Luka Fineisen was born in Offenburg, Germany and educated at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf.  She has exhibited in museums throughout Germany.  This is her first solo show in the US.  The show ends Saturday March 31st.

Hosfelt Gallery New York is located at 531 W 36th Street, between 10th and 11th avenues. Due to construction, 36th Street is accessible only from 10th Avenue. Hours are Wed-Sat 10-6. For more information, contact Celene Ryan at 212.563.5454 or celene@hosfeltgallery.com. images top to bottom:Bubbles, 2010, plastics, various sizes from 3 to 16 inches tallFrosting (detail), 2012, coolant, humidifier, metal, wood, rubber, styrofoam, frost

Bloom – Borrowed Blog

I had to share this post from http://www.thisiscolossal.com                                                                                                                                    What a beautiful tribute those who traveled these halls. Love it, so pretty.

In 2003 a building housing the Massachusetts Mental Health Center (MMHC) was slated for demolition to make way for updated facilities. The closure was a time for reflection and remembrance as the MMHC had been in operation for over 9 decades and had touched countless thousands of patients and employees alike, and the pending demolition presented a unique problem. How does one memorialize a building impossibly rich with a history of both hope and sadness, and do it in a way that reflects not only the past but also the future? And could this memorial be open to the public, not as a speech, or series of informational plaques, but as an experience worthy of they building’s unique story?

To answer that question artist Anna Schuleit was commissioned to do the impossible. After an initial tour of the facility she was struck not with what she saw but with what she didn’t see: the presence of life and color. While historically a place of healing, the drab interior, worn hallways, and dull paint needed a respectful infusion of hope. With a limited budget and only three months of planning Schuleit and an enormous team of volunteers executed a massive public art installation called Bloom. The concept was simple but absolutely immense in scale. Nearly 28,000 potted flowers would fill almost every square foot of the MMHC including corridors, stairwells, offices and even a swimming pool, all of it brought to life with a sea of blooms. The public was then invited for a limited 4-day viewing as a time for needed reflection and rebirth.

Perhaps no single installation or piece of art seen on Colossal has touched me more deeply than Bloom. After learning about it for the first time a few weeks ago I decided to reach out to Anna and ask if she might be willing to share some photos and information about the genesis and execution of such an incredible installation.

Please visit www.thisiscolossal.com for the original post, an interview with the artist and more images.