Tarantula Table
Kino Guerin
Photo by Elyse Belanger

To the casual observer, furniture design appears to be a matter of basics. Chairs need legs and backs, tables have to be elevated from the floor, beds should be horizontal, cabinets need shelves at least and probably doors as well. And yet the artists who create furniture continue to surprise me with their originality. The adage “there is nothing new under the sun” is wrong. There is always something fresh and different under the studio furniture maker’s sun.

Witness the work of Kino Guerin, an artist from Quebec who is new to The Artful Home. His bent wood tables are seemingly fluid, almost like a body in motion as captured in a photo. I feel as if his “Tarantula Table” is going to walk across the room to shake hands with me! As our juror Michael Monroe noted, this bent wood technique is really difficult, yet Guerin makes it appear effortless. WOW.

What the artist brings to the ABC’s of furniture is fresh ideas, inventive techniques, unexpected materials, and a sculptor’s eye and view of the world – even the mundane world of things to sit on, eat around, sleep on, and store in. And our lives are the better for it.

Campo de Verde II
Tim Harding
Photo by P. Meyer/C. Hooker

I’m one of those people who, when shopping in a women’s clothing store, has to touch every single piece of fabric. Touch is such an important sense for me, and I respond to the various fabric textures in a visceral way.

This sense of texture takes center stage in my home, where I create drama and interest with a wide variety of textiles such as hand-woven coverlets and artist-made pillows. Other pieces, such as chunky baskets and carved wooden bowls, add depth and soul to a room. These are the things that you just want to reach out and touch – over and over again.

And now, finally, texture is headed back to the walls! There has been a strong resurgence of fiber art in the last few years, and artists are responding with innovative work that transforms entire walls and rooms. Take, for example, the silk wall pieces by Tim Harding, who creates iridescent patterns with multiple layers of silk. This luscious work has become of a customer favorite for obvious reasons; it is so beautiful!

Art quilts, tapestries, even hand-made paper all fall into the category of art pieces that reveal personality through form and texture. This is art that warms your room as well as your heart.