Balzer Designs

Highfield Hall and Patrick Dougherty Stickwork

I recently stopped by Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA. It's an historic home, which unfortunately was denuded many years ago when it went up for sale and the contents of the home were auctioned off.  That bad fortune has been somewhat reversed as it has been turned into a museum and event venue. 

Outside on the lawn was a Patrick Dougherty Stickwork Sculpture and it was magnificent!

Inside the house was a series of fiber exhibits.

Including this seriously spectacular "quilt."

There were also some photorealistic drawings (under glass and so they didn't photograph well) and a small collection of collected leaves:

And while the house has been largely denuded, there were still fireplaces and stained glass and one very giant mirror to admire.

All in all, a great place to spend a few hours.  I wish it hadn't been quite so boiling hot.  The grounds are extensive and look like a lovely place to go for a long walk, but we just weren't up to it in the heat.  Next time!

Thanks for stopping by!

Truro Historical Society Highland House

I love old houses.  It's no wonder, therefore, that I bought an old house.  I've always been delighted by their quirky charm.  Touring old houses is actually a passion that Steve and I happily share.  So you can imagine our delight at stumbling upon the Truro Historical Society's Highland House.  The first floor is set up as a museum with cases full of historical artifacts and a brief history of the local shipping/fishing industry.  But I was most drawn to the stone fireplace and the gorgeous molded tin ceiling.

The second floor is a rabbit warren of themed bedrooms.  I particularly liked the painted dresser:

All in all a very sweet museum to visit.  We took a quick walk down the lane to the Truro lighthouse after the museum:

Inside the lighthouse were these kids coloring book pages...

...and you know what I love about them?  There are just 3 white lighthouses.  Every other version of the lighthouse imagines it as something totally different and I loooove that.  Why do we ever teach people to stop imagining?

Here's to imagination!

---

P.S. Tune into HSN today during the 10am and 6pm EST hours to see me demo sewing, serging, and the PTouch Embellish!

Toulouse-Lautrec Exhibit at the MFA

There is  currently a great Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit at the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) here in Boston. When they first announced the exhibit, I wasn't that excited about it.  I had seen a wonderful Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit at MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art) in NYC in 2014 and I thought there was no way this one could top it. 

I was wrong.

This exhibit is an entirely different beast. The official title of the exhibit is "Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris."  I would say about half of the exhibit is artwork by Toulouse-Lautrec's contemporaries.  This exhibit, therefore, tells a story about Toulouse-Lautrec's myriad influences.  I found it quite interesting.

I didn't take a ton of photos, but here are a few of my favorite pieces from the exhibit:

In the final room of the exhibit, I saw an item that looked familiar.  As it turns out, it's an item from my late Father's collection of optical toys.

It was lovely to see it on display in the museum.

The exhibit runs through August 4, 2019 and I think it's worth a visit if you're in the area!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cleveland Museum of Art: Part Two

Today I'm sharing more photos from my visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Lots of lovely paintings to see today.  I tried to take a lot of close ups so that you could really see the hand of the artist.  Enjoy!

I am mildly obsessed with this George Bellows painting of two men boxing.  Personally, I have a lot of trouble watching boxing in real life.  Two people hitting each other in the face isn't my idea of a good time.  Nonetheless, this painting is done with such mastery that I must have stood and stared at it for 15 minutes.  I love the way the faces in the crowd were rendered.  It's so full of life and movement and yet absolutely painterly.  Swoon!

So what are you going to take away from today's post?  Is there a color palette?  A painting technique?  A subject matter?  And idea for a composition?

Tell me! I'd love to know!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cleveland Museum of Art: Part One

While I was in Cleveland, I stopped by the Cleveland Museum of Art. This was my second visit to the museum and I got to see a bit more of the museum this time around.  In fact, I saw enough of the museum that I've divided my pics into two posts for you.  Today is part one -- lots to see and enjoy and be inspired by!

These next few images are from an exhibit on Scandinavian Textiles (swoon):

I find fabric design absolutely fascinating.  I can spend hours scrolling through Spoonflower and thinking about how clever and talented other people are.

Some things to take away:

• Once again, I encourage you to take a moment after scrolling through these photos to think about how they might inspire you.
• The first half of this post is a lot of sculptural elements.  Does that kind of 3-D work inspire you in any way?  The texture?  The shapes?  The dimension?
• The second half of this post is mostly hand drawn textiles.  Does that style of work inspire you in any way?  The colors?  The lines?  The layering of patterns?
• Even if it's just for 5 minutes, consider sketching one element you see here.  Here's a sketch I did of one of the floral elements -- done on a scrap of paper with a ballpoint pen:

It doesn't need to be great art. It's just a reference.  But taking the 5 minutes to create the sketch (a) means you did something creative today and (b) means you filtered some of the incoming inspiration through your own personal artistic style filter.

I hope you found some inspiration for your day! I'll be back tomorrow with more photos!

Thanks for stopping by!