Photo by Eric Ferguson.

Mark Twain’s famous quote is inspiring me in these first days of fall. He said, “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”

After the lazy days of summer, it’s time to gently push my imagination back into focus. I have started with an envisioning process, trying to imagine family and friends arriving at my home for a hearty meal. Perhaps my front hall should welcome them with the colors of fall – luscious oranges, browns, and greens. And a touch of harvest created by artists…

I try to approach my home just as a painter would approach his canvas. This involves trusting my eye and my intuition, but mostly requires a focused imagination.

Thank you, Mark Twain.

Miss Jessie’s Mitten Cupboard
Don Green

I find beautiful furniture irresistible. And I’m completely in awe of furniture makers who create forms that celebrate the natural beauty of wood and achieve grace through simplicity.

Somehow, these artists have managed to sidestep the hype of the contemporary design world, and instead have stayed true to a legacy of making furniture by hand and building it to last for generations. It takes nature many years to grow a tree; artist-furniture makers believe that the furniture produced from that tree should last at least as long.

Furniture making is not just about aesthetics, function, and comfort. It is about poetry as well. The poetry of the wood, the richness of the wood itself, the feel of the wood to the touch.

C. T. Whitehouse
Nymph Forms

It is a study in the complexity of simplicity. C.T. Whitehouse’s nested bronze vessels are abstract and contemporary, but at the same time, nearly primitive.

I first encountered these strangely beautiful objects years ago at an art show in Chicago, and I never forgot them. They were somehow reminiscent of Richard Serra’s sculptures, exuding the same kind of power. The circular forms of bronze create a halo of light around the highly edges, reflecting on the patterned patinas inside.

This year, C.T. Whitehouse became a Guild artist, and I have the pleasure of seeing his work in person on a regular basis. Even better, we have the honor of presenting these extraordinary pieces to you.

Cannonball Swimmer
Marie E.v.B. Gibbons

Ruth Reichl, my favorite food critic (currently editor in chief of Gourmet magazine) writes that her favorite thing to do in a restaurant is watch people eat. Gathered around the table, friends lean in to listen to one another. “Good food, I see, is about more than merely eating,” she writes in her book Garlic and Sapphires.

I couldn’t agree more, as I believe that living with art is about so much more than the beautiful painting hung on the wall or the sculpture sitting on a shelf. It is about the way these items combine to create a very special feeling for the people who live in the home and those who visit.

When you introduce art into your home, you’re adding a layer onto a foundation established through the furnishings, lighting, and accessories that you’ve inherited or purchased over time. These possessions were doubtless acquired as much for their function as for their style. Creating an artful home requires the selection and placement of art that complements your core furnishings while celebrating your spirit.

Yes, it’s about the art. But even more, it is about building a home and a lifestyle that reflects something intimate about you.