Bone Puff by Josh Urso

Yesterday, I was interviewed by a reporter on the subject of color. The article is going to be about living with different colors, and what effect color has on mood. While I am a big champion of living with color, and could not help but carry on about orange and yellow, I find I am also incredibly attracted to WHITE. Having once painted a living room seven different colors of white, I have become attuned to the way white can emphasize form, line and nuance.

The interview sparked me to consider what I might include in my life if restricted to the color white, and what I found was that TEXTURE is key. Anything but basic, the purity of white allows artists to approach the simplest of forms – or the most complex. White can act as a unifying element among highly textured pieces living together in one room.

In honor of the release this week of The Beatles video game, I decided to create a “White Album” with examples of how artists in a multiple of mediums explore this most complete of all colors.

Josh Urso’s Bone-Puff Pendant Lamp, challenges my senses. Made of fabric, yet holding its spherical form, this white lamp begs to be examined as it casts pure dotted shadows from the many mesh perforations. In this case, white makes the piece stand out in a room, yet allows the fabric, texture and interplay of hard and soft to be the interest.

Lynn Meade hand-carves porcelain. In her Round Tempest Vase, the white clay surface serves springs to life, completely enveloped in voluptuous curves of the carving. While white porcelain can sometimes be pure, even sterile looking, Meade’s attention to detail makes this white vase tactile and rich.

In John Maggioto’s Decanter, a completely different passion for texture interplay with white is exhibited. Through an innovative process, this piece marries the texture of marble and paper, using white as the accent of light within the moody darkness of photography.

Last year, we interviewed several designers as part of the 6th edition of The Guild Sourcebook of Residential Art. Here is one of those interviews.

“I really have a passion for what I do,” interior designer Kendall Marcelle admits, “and I have a lot of fun doing it.” That enthusiasm and commitment to excellence shine through in the attention she lavishes on each artful detail of the spaces she creates.

Her firm, Kendall Marchelle Design Associates, founded in Florida in the early 1990s, focuses on high-end residential projects. Marcelle’s versatility allows her to design in either traditional of contemporary idioms, but regardless of the style, she always encourages her clients to explore original art. “I love to use art,” she admits. “It adds a lot of personality.”

To homeowners who are wary of collecting, Marcelle counsels, “Don’t be afraid of it. Try it! Start in a small way, with a local artist, or even at a local craft show.” An avid collector herself, she notes that “art is a lot more attainable than people think. I’ve found original art in everything from flea markets to very expensive galleries.”

Choosing the right art pieces for a private home is an opportunity for collaboration. “There’s a lot of emotion in art,” Marcelle notes, “and that’s why unless I’ve worked with a client a lot and really know their tastes, I don’t like to necessarily go out and just buy. I usually like them to be involved.”

“We concentrate so much on furniture, which important for confort and style, but in the end it is the art, fine rugs, accessories, and sculpture that really speak to you,” she notes. “The sofa and chairs become background.” Drawing on wisdom steeped in experience, Marcelle concludes, “Buy art for the art of living with it.”

Beau Chene by Michele Hardy

Framing
There are many considerations in framing textiles as well. While glass protects against humidity, dust, insects, and touching, it is important to allow an air space around the work and to use conservation glass and acid-free mats and backings to avoid harming the fibers. Many fiber works – especially large pieces – are best displayed unframed.

Installation
Many of the works created by artists featured on Artful Home will come ready to hang, and any artist whose work you purchase should have suggestions for hanging his or her artwork safely. One good way to hand fiber involves handstitching a four-inch-wide twill tape (used in upholstering) onto the back of tapestries. A strip of Velcro is then attached to the tape and another adhered to a board (shellacked so no acids can leach out) that is covered in muslin. Screw eyes are used to secure the board to the wall, at the optimum height.

Cleaning
While fabric protectors such as Blue Magic Tectron may solve many of the problems associated with soiling, fading, and humidity, periodic cleaning will still be needed. Some pieces can be carefully vacuumed, with a mesh screening places of the work to minimize fibers being either disturbed of extricated from the piece. Dry cleaning, though, by anyone other than a well-versed conservator, can be danerous business; textile conservators around the country specialize in cleaning fragile artworks.

When appropriately cared for, contemporary fiber art will endre long after its creation. Good care from the beginning will guarantee that the best of our textile treasures will be passed on within the family for future generations to enjoy.

Summer Sparkle by Marge White

Safe placement of fiber art is very important. Ultraviolet rays (sunshine) are the most harmful, but incandescent light can also break down natural fibers. Works in fiber should be placed not only out of direct sunlight, but at a safe distance from artificial light, where heat can destroy the material. Likewise, fiber work needs to be kept at a distance from heat vents and radiators.

Too-close or too-intense lighting not only risks physical harm to fiber art, but also diminishes these works aesthetically. Intense light can distort the colors that have been painstakingly and masterfully chosen from the ultimate effect. Works with subtle transitions in color, and those in which light plays on fibers and in which spatial depth is critical, must also be lit very carefully. Solutions include adding lenses to a fixture to soften bright spots, using up-lights from a floor canister, and lighting the artwork from across the room.

The right light source will enhance, not diminish, the aesthetics and mood of the work. Is the art dramatic, moody, romantic, cheery? Cool colors are enhanced by daylight; incandescent lighting is high on the red, or warm, end of the spectrum; halogen light is visually less blue than daylight, less red than incandescent and has a crisp, almost icy whiteness.