Another Way to Fly by Thomas Philabaum

Artists at the Artful Home make beautiful works of art for individuals—pieces that can be mailed or shipped direct from their studio to your home with relative ease. But our artists also create works of art in places enjoyed by many, including airports, hospitals, parks, hotels, restaurants, and spas. I’m happy to introduce a new blog series that identifies some of these fabulous public art projects. It’s just another example of the way our artists lend their creativity and craftsmanship to the world to make it a more beautiful and thought-provoking place.

These photos from the Tucson International Airport feature the work of Artful Home artist Thomas Philabaum. Created in 2008 from fused and slumped glass, “Another Way to Fly” is composed of thirty glass “carpets” arranged in an upward spiral. Ranging in size from 16”x 24” to 36” x 60”, the panels are suspended from the ceiling of the airport’s Central Pointe, in the middle of the airport’s terminal.

Photographs: Martha Patey

Oops! That’s right! Not everyone is in the holiday spirit just yet! But I am!

Why, you ask? Because over the past 2 weeks I have been surrounded by nearly 1000 holiday ornament samples from about 55 different ornament artists! Each Spring we have a call for ornaments, asking artists to submit a maximum of 20 ornaments each. We all await the arrival of these samples like children anticipating the arrival of house guests! Are they here yet?

Finally by the middle of March they have all arrived and, oh what a sight! Amidst a sea of colors and shapes, each ornament begs to be noticed, to be adopted as part of the collection. But, alas, only 112 make the finals ! And within that count there must be a range of colors- reds, golds, blues, purples, greens- and lots of fun shapes like a pig, a lamb, some birds, a mermaid, a rooster, a teddy bear, a fish, a dog, a cat, a pickle and even a binky!

First pass brings us to 189 ornaments. Now the real work begins, as we whittle that number down to 112. Now this process is not without its pain points, believe me, because everyone on the selection committee has an opinion! Oh, shock! But in the end reason prevails, as we review what made 2008 a success. Next step is to name each ornament! Now that is really the fun part! We look at an ornament and try to capture its essence in a short moniker- something that creates a sense of familiarity with the customer.

Then we merchandise or group them together, so that they will compliment each other when viewed on the same page. Finally each ornament is professionally photographed both individually and in group shots. These images are then used in both our catalogs and online. All of this before late August when we will finally unveil the entire collection to our audience!

So stay tuned! Now that you know the behind the scenes stuff, the 2009 collection will have SO much more meaning!

BMW 320i – Roy Lichtenstein

Whenever I hear that an event is taking place which exposes people to art—particularly when they are not expecting to encounter art—I get excited. I am a big believer that art does not always have to be serious, does not have to be viewed with arms crossed at a museum. I am also a lover of serendipity. So I had to investigate the exhibit of unexpected art opening at Grand Central Station in New York.

The show is the BMW Art Car Tour, which started in Los Angeles and travels on to Mexico later in April. Since 1975, 16 prominent artists have painted BMW cars, and the work of 4 of these artists is on view at Grand Central: Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein (pictured below), and Robert Rauschenberg. The cars are on display until April 6. While I find the cars amusing to look at, I can’t help but compare them to the cars with advertising graphics which I see driving around my own city today. I find it ironic that several of the artists featured are pop artists, a movement all about art imitating life.

I compare these cars to the Art Cars which get paraded in the San Francisco Bay Area. These are cars into which artists pour their hearts and souls and unbelievable materials. creating an original work of art where once there was only a vehicle for transportation. I have had the good fortune of serendipitously encountering these art cars while walking my dog in North Beach, and it was indeed the most wonderful experiencing of art barging right in on life!

Central Park South, January
by Bernie Huebner and Lucie Boucher

When viewing new work, there are several unspoken filters that I use in my observation. Is the work original? Have I seen anything like it before? Does the artist have something new to say? Is it well crafted, well executed? Does my heart beat a little bit faster?

At Artful Home we were introduced just last month to the work of Bernie Huebner and Lucie Boucher. And I was intrigued by the sight of a new approach to glass art. These pieces are like 3-dimensional glass drawings. The artists first cold-work the glass with band and ring saws, grinders, drills and lapidary wheels, then kiln work the glass by fire-polishing and fusing different grades of frit and detail elements. They sandblast the glass to achieve a beautiful surface quality.

When we saw the work in person at the Philadelphia Buyer’s Market of American Craft, we could see the intricacy of the pieces , could see the glass forms moved and manipulated, could really appreciate the work glowing in light which the artist has provided. It is no wonder they received the 2009 NICHE Award for Fused Glass, NICHE Magazine, 2009. Perhaps they will make your heart skip a beat!