Thingy Thursday: Artist and Collector, Greg Irvine

Image Eve Wilson Photography

I can’t think of a better Thingy Thursday post to begin 2015 than the amazingly creative and collected space of artist Greg Irvine. I was wowed by this collaboration between filmmaker Paris Thomson of SIRAP, and Editor Lucy Feagins of The Design Files. Together they made a short video documenting Greg’s remarkable home, his collections and his paintings. 

Greg's collection of tortoise shell objects is stunning!

He has a large collection of vintage fabrics which he uses in his painting. TITLE: View to the Garden with Blue • MEDIUM: oil on canvas • DIMENSIONS: 4ft x 5ft

Greg believes in surrounding himself with a lot of beautiful things. . . a practice I'm more than a little familiar with, but I think you call mine hoarding!

His sketch books are jaw-droppingly stunning!  He has hundreds of them full of sketches/paintings like the ones above.

TITLE: Clarice Cliff & Flowering Gum • Limited Edition Print 1/100 • DIMENSIONS: 91cms x 84cms

Australian Homes · Greg Irvine from The Design Files on Vimeo.

Images are courtesy of Greg Irvine and Eve Wilson Photography and the film is by Paris Thomson / SIRAP and Produced by The Design Files with music by Digging Holes

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Grafter: Frederique Morrel

Hi Everyone, welcome back to my Grafters series. If you missed the two previous posts I featured Shannon South of reMade USA and Carolina Fontoura Alzaga. Today I would like to introduce you to Frederique Morrel.

I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of taxidermy. It just seems a bit gross and gory. But that was before I discovered Frederique Morrel˙s marvelous work. Her sense of humor gets me initially, and then the upcycling element or "decycling," as she puts it, grabs my attention next. I so enjoy her work. It makes me giggle and stand in awe. She's truly an original!

Vintage tapestries are gathered by family and friends to fit fiberglass taxidermy molds that have been injected with expanding foam. Realistic details such as teeth, tongue, hooves and ears are finished with resin or latex and then airbrushed. Real antlers, discovered by her "horny" husband, are fixed to the head and then the entire mold is covered with the vintage tapestries.

The special ingredients and materials she uses tell stories of simple and ideal happiness. These enchanting heirlooms have elevated taxidermy to a new level and I would love to have one of her works in any part of my home! Hope you are as taken with her as I am!

This is Frederique Morrel.  She began this quest after being troubled by the fact that her grandmother's needlework was discarded when she passed away. Ever since, she has been obsessed with the idea of making them come back to life, obsessed with the redemption of her grandmother's ardent work.

And this is Aaron Levin.  He is the guardian of the Frederique Morrel brand. He is often on the lookout for rare tapestries.  And together this power couple has taken on the task of re-enchanting the world. And, in my opinion, the stories told through these marvelous works of art have more than accomplished that goal.

Every piece is one-of-a-kind.

Meet Tony and Eva.

Images courtesy Frederique Morrel.

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Grafter: Carolina Fontoura Alzaga

If you missed my first post on my new Grafter series featuring those folks that have a talent for making something out of nothing, no biggy, you can go back and read it later.  Last week I featured Shannon South of reMade USA and today I would like to introduce you to Carolina Fontoura Alzaga a  multidisciplinary artist with a penchant for re-purposing castoff materials.

Carolina Fontoura Alzaga upcycled lighting designs are a step above the rest. At first glance I thought that maybe one of the components looked a little bit like a bicycle rim and then slowly I started to realize that the beads were not beads but bike chains! Inspired by Victorian chandeliers, DIY culture and bikes, the bike chain chandeliers designed and made by Carolina start out as anything but artistic but end up exquisite works of art.

She combines the elegance of a Victorian age with discarded bike parts resulting in a stellar example of grafter art, as well as upcycling done right.

If you are a Grafter or know of someone who is please get in touch with links and photos of your creations.

Photos courtesy Carolina Fontoura Alzaga and Re-Nest.

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Little Love Notes

 Image courtesy Reform School Rules

With Valentine's Day looming in the next couple of weeks, I've decided to start leaving little love notes for everyone.  I've got some that are a little bit mushy, some that are a little bit funny and some that are little bit jaded - just to cover my bases.

The above image makes me think of something Lily Tomlin has been quoted as saying, "If love is the answer, could you please rephrase the question?"  That would be a combo of funny and jaded or a "faded" love, if you will.

Next up is something I read as a teenager, wrote down and used as a kinda check list when dealing with affairs of the heart.

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