Recap of Gilding Class with Annie Lemarie

We had a great time with Annie, several decorative artisans from GMDA as well as CADA came to learn the secrets of Architectural Gilding on Thursday and Glass Gilding on Friday. We even had a student come down all the way from New Jersey! Here are some photos...enjoy!

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Annie talking about the gilder's knife.

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Melanie Kershner and Leslie Nesbitt practicing cutting and laying 23k leaf with Karen Jones looking on.

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Annie placing the first leaf on glass.

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My panel gilded, waiting for size to dry.

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All dry, look at that shine!

mine and Deb's

My piece on the left, Deb Watson's on the right.

my glass piece

A closer look...

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Thank you, Annie!!

Making an Entrance

Recently I was asked by one of my lovely designer friends, Wendy Appleby of Your Home By Wendy, to add a little punch to this foyer.

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The architecture had real potential and just needed something to warm up the walls.

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The finish brings continuity to the living room and dining room which has a similar color scheme. There wasn't a medallion over the chandelier. Inspired by some of my recent projects we decided on a scrolling ironwork motif that ties in the finish on the fixture.

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The door is a beautiful carved mahogany masterpiece. With a little faux bois on the trim it now fits in the space rather than sticking out.

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And here were my helpers for the job! Eddie (the dog) and Mr. Squinkers (the ferret)

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As always, thanks to the clients and to Wendy for the opportunity.

Ready for 2014!

If you follow me on facebook, you've seen some of the photos of my new storage space above my paint shelves. I looooove me some storage and get giddy when I hear the word organization. I know, I'm a dork.

Thanks dad!!

I am officially ready for the New Year to begin! Purged, cleaned, organized, you name it. Bring on 2014!!

What kinds of things are you doing to get ready for the New Year??

Knock on....wood?

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After a two year hiatus from participating in the HEC Decorator Show House, I have had the pleasure to design the grand foyer of this year's house, Mount Ida.  Knock on wood, that all of the efforts of the designers, volunteers, and workers will pay off with a record turn out of visitors! For tickets and more information, click here. My rendering for this year's promotional material.

Mount Ida is located atop the hill next to the Court House in Ellicott City.  Originally built in 1828 by members of the Ellicott Family, Mount Ida was built in the Greek Revival/Italianate style.  Sometime in the 1970's or 80's, the foyer was divided up into three spaces but has now been restored to all 30 feet of its original glory.  In designing the space, I wanted to honor tradition but had to add my own twist.

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The original foyer, as seen in this photograph from the Library of Congress, taken in the 1960's.

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This picture shows what I saw when I did my walkthrough.  These partitions were put in place sometime in the last few decades and the decor was left from when Mount Ida was a decorator showhouse in 1995. This is taken from the same vantage point as the black and white photo above.

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You then passed from the first space into this room. This is the central area of the foyer. The door to the right led to an office.

The first thing that happened was all of these walls, including a wall covering the back doors were taken down.  Repairs, scraping, cleaning, painting, and more painting took place over the course of 8 weeks.

And here are a few images of what my space looks like now just to tease you!

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Knock on...wood? You will have to come see for yourself!! ;)

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Look closely at the chandeliers that Bill Knapp fabricated. Can you tell what they're made from?

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This is Brian, the contractor who HEC hired to do all of the renovations that needed to be done, like fixing the waste stack that exploded in my space the week before I was to start. (I know. gross.)

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I really have to thank several people for making my vision happen.

-Paula Henry of Simply Put Interiors for help with the design layout, moral support, and great friendship.

-Bill Knapp, Bill Knapp Arts, for without him we would be in the dark.

-Alison Roy-Harrison of Columbia Interior Finishes for doing all of the basecoating for my space.

-Phil Adams from Floors Etc for my area rugs (all three of them!)

-Amy Alder for her upholstery expertise

-My mom, Carol Lenehan for her immaculate sewing skills on the skirted tables.

-My dad, Kevin Lenehan, for helping me build the skirted tables and wiring the chandeliers (all three of them!)

-Barry Sheehan- Metal in Motion, for helping out with my brainfart that "there should be a sculpture here..."

-The volunteers and members of HEC, Inc.

and Mikey, for his patience.

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We all hope to see you there!

Oh, how I wish there was more time in a day!

Warning: this is a rambling post, just to get some stuff off my mind.... Its not too long ago that I was worried that I would never be able to make it as a decorative artist.  When I quit my teaching gig in 2008 little did I know that the economy was going to take a nose dive. Talk about bad timing!  Now it seems I don't know how to keep up. Deadlines push my days along and I have to remind myself how lucky I am that Im able to do what I love day in and day out.  Don't get me wrong, I love painting, but it seems that I get overwhelmed and wonder how I'm going to "get this project finished quick enough" rather than enjoying the ride.  Summer seems half way over already (I always feel that the Fourth of July is the height of summer and its down hill to Labor Day) and I haven't been able to enjoy it.

I was lamenting the other day about how recently I've had to disappoint some clients because I can't meet their schedules because of how much work I have.  I take things very personally and want to please everyone.  I feel horrible when I hear "oh, that won't work. We have to have it done by xyz." I look at my calendar every which way and wish I could add a day here, move that there...but then that would mean I'd have to grow two more arms!

I've tossed the idea around about hiring help.  The problem is I'm a Perfectionist.  I guess it comes from my Grandma Lenehan.  Passed down from her to my dad to me. I can't trust someone else to do something well enough and have to go back and check their work. Is there therapy for that? Oh wait, I don't have time to go to therapy.

When I opened the studio I had grand plans for its use.  Workshops, rental space for fellow artists, open studio weekends, presentations, etc etc.  I've had to cancel the latest presentation because I was pulling 10 hour days on a project and had zero time to prepare.  I've also had grand plans for this blog. I just don't have enough of me to go around.

Perhaps its time to let go of a little and allow someone to help out.  Or I may be trying to rush things along.  Whenever I get an idea in my head its go-go-go on it.  Trouble is I have 10 ideas and I want to go-go-go on all of them at the same time. If only I could let things happen in their time. If anyone out there reading this is a recovering Perfectionist feel free to offer some advice!

So here are some photos of what I've been buried in the last few weeks. Thanks for listening!

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Two paintings (7'x9') The beams were woodgrained previously.

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Medallion: done with a Modello stencil , Proceed metallic plasters, glass bead gel, and Swarovski crystals.

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Woodgrained beams and glazed walls.

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Before

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Plaster with glaze

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