Artist David Band

2009 ~ Cool in this Life.  Acrylic on Canvas

I recently came across the work of Australian Artist David Band, and just love his work.

2010 ~ Joy II. Oil & Acrylic on Canvas.

Asper 35. Monotype

2010 ~ Tomorrow Morning

These works are all available at the Tim Olson Gallery.

Cheers ~ Lara

Thrift Share - More Great Books

A few more recently Thrifted Books that I'm adding to my ever growing Library.  Why do I find it so hard to let go of the books???

Maybe someday I'll get around to doing the lessons in this Creative Paper Design book.  The examples created by students in these pictures are amazing!

1961 Creative Paper Design

These would probably take years of practice, but really cool!!!

1988 - Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph

I've admired the Photography of Diane Arbus for many years now, so I was super excited when I came across this one!!!

This book about artist Helen Dahm is written in German, so a little hard to understand.  Regardless, the imagery is quite captivating!

Helen Dahm  Buch Der Freunde

Once again, I'm linking up to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday along with Her Library Adventures Flea Market Finds, so be sure to check out all the other found treasures there!

Cheers ~ Lara

Decorating Dilemmas

We've been living in our Long Beach home for a little over 2 years now.  It's a rental, so we can't do any major changes like painting or remodeling ~ so I do a lot of tweaking to our furnishings.

My biggest decorating challenge has been our back room~den.  It's an odd shaped room off the kitchen and along the back of the house.  The door & window open up to the patio.  It's very long & kind of narrow and I just can't get it right.

View into Kitchen...say Hi to Stella!

I know hanging curtains would make a world of difference.  In a dream world, I'd knock all those windows out and put sliding glass doors across the back of the house!

Back corner of Room

View from Kitchen...notice how the TV has to be hooked up on this wall.  It makes area where brown couch is awkward.

I've rearranged the furniture several times & lately have been moving paintings & accessories in from other rooms.

This was a while back, notice all the red accessories.  They look great, but I'm sick of staring at the same colors for over 2 years and just needed a change.  Also, notice the bench & couch are angled differently?

I just changed up some of the pillows & the coffee table (this is the 3rd that I've tried).  I love the shape and height of this one...but the mirror is just not practical in this busy space.   Too many smudges & too much dog hair.

Also looking for new pillows.

Morgan at the Brick House just found the perfect coffee table on Craigslist in LA...it's EXACTLY what I've been looking for!  Why wasn't I scouring LA Craigslist last week???

I'm so jealous...wouldn't this table be perfect!!!  

I guess I'll keep tweaking till I get it right...and I'm open to any Decorating Suggestions!!!  You probably can't tell from the pictures that the tags are still attached to the pillows. lol.  But I'm still not decided on the brown floral pillows.  I wanted some more color, but think they feel a little too "patio furniture" inspired.  Thank goodness Home Goods has a 30 day return policy, I just don't know if these are right.

The hunt continues!

Cheers ~ Lara

Blooms IV

OK Seriously, Enough Already...I can't stop the insanity!

Taking pictures of flowers on my walks with Stella is my new favorite past time!  These are from last week.  Hope you enjoy them too!

These little beauties are called Fuschias

More Fuschias...how wonderful are these amazing flowers?

These were blooming all over a tree - Hyacinth maybe?

Roses

When the flowers are gone, your going to see lots of tree bark & roots.

Cheers ~ Lara

Thrift Share - Prison Break

Do you ever come across those people who seem to have a never ending Yard Sale?

You see the same neon signs every week, but hesitate to stop back in because you've already been?

There's a lady in Los Alamitos that fits this exact description.  I've actually acquired several great items from her (like these yellow lamps which I'd be grateful if you gave your opinion on)...and on my 3rd and last visit she gave me a big roll of posters because I'd bought so many other things and she remembered me. 

When I initially inquired about them, I'd only seen the first two posters not rolled into the pile, which were some local art gallery posters from 1984.  The rest of the loot was all rolled up and taped together and I wasn't actually able to see what the content was...all I knew what that she'd gotten them from an architect  years ago.

This past weekend, I finally got out an exacto knife & started cutting and peeling away the tape...and you can imagine my surprise when I uncovered a trove of architectural plans for Prisons!

Utah Regional Secure Facility

Look how happy these prisoners are...hanging out on couches with good art and their families. lol

Maricopa is actually pretty cool graphically & on a shiny silver paper (doesn't look too hot in the pic)

Omaha Correctional Facility

Once again, these prisoners are living the high life...playing cards & sleeping in nice beds. 

These are just a few examples, but all and all, there are over 20 posters that were produced in the 1970s and 1980s by the Architectural Firm HDR (Henningson Durham & Richardson) out of Phoenix, AZ.  I don't know what in the heck I'll do with all these prison posters...but if you know anyone locked up that may need an escape route let me know, I may be able to send you the layout. LOL.

Once again, I'm linking up to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday along with Her Library Adventures Flea Market Finds so be sure to check out all the other found treasures there!

Cheers ~ Lara

Blooms III

I love taking pictures of the amazing flowers in bloom in Cali...usually on my nightly neighborhood strolls with Stella.

This rose drenched trellis is so romantic. 

Lilly

The Jacaranda Trees are in full bloom, and there are beautiful purple flowers alive in the sky!

Surrounded by a world of Color on the Ground.

Cheers ~ Lara

Shady Drama

A few months ago I posted about this sweet collection of lamps that I purchased from a yard sale.

I've been on the lookout for the perfect shades every since.  

I finally bit the bullet and ordered a set of Calligraphy Scroll drum shades from Pottery Barn.  But wouldn't you know, the very next day I found a set of Art Deco style drum shades at Tuesday Morning for about 1/2 the price.  Now I'm torn!!!

Art Deco scroll Shade 

Pottery Barn Calligraphy Shade

Which shade fits the bill??? I just can't decide?!?!

Cheers ~ Lara 

Sweet Sweet Stella

Playing in the Spring Blooms

Thrift Share - A Few fun Finds

Our neighbors rose bush...just loving all the Spring Blooms :-)

Another wonderful week of living in CA.  We've had some out of town guests staying for a visit...and have had lots of fun catching up with our great friends. While I haven't been doing too much shopping, I did get to visit about 3 thrift shops, and here are a few of the things I found.

SOLD

Excuse the geek in me, but I was a sucker for this 12 sided polygon toy (aka...dodecagon) when I saw it.  The model was probably used in a classroom somewhere along the way.  Im debating weather or not to sand & repaint it.  I think the original finish with chips and all adds to it's vintage charm.

This is the first Casserole dish I've ever bought at a thrift. It's by Heath California Pottery, and in excellent condition.  It's so simple, yet so charming.

I couldn't pass up a pair of Frye boots, even if they are not my size.  These beauties (SIZE 6) will be heading to my Etsy shop soon.

My best find this week, maybe even the best find of my year...was this Mid Century Clock. 

SOLD

Mid-Century Meridian Ceramic Clock by Howard Miller
I posted more about it on The Thrift Collective, so you can read all about it out there.

Once again, Im linking up to  Apron Thrift Girls Thrift Share Monday as well as  Her Library Adventures Flea Market Finds!

Cheers ~ Lara

Thrift Art Gallery - Irving Shapiro

Jenny's Cove ~ Watercolor on Paper. 9" x 12"

I came across this watercolor painting by Irving Shaprio at a Goodwill a few years ago.  The jagged rocks and vivid color in the painting caught my eye.  It's nicely matted and framed and seems to be from the 60s or 70s.  I fell in love with it immediately and it's been hanging in our home ever since.

Irving Shapiro was born in Chicago.  He studied painting at the Art Institute and the American Academy of Art, both in Chicago.  The American Academy of Art Library is actually named after Irving Shapiro who was a distinguished fine artist and watercolor painting instructor there from 1945 until he retired.

Signature:  I. Shapiro, AWS

This beautiful example of his work is in the permanent collection of the Illinois State Museum.

Irving Shapiro (1927 - 1994)
Forest Floor, circa 1968
Chicago, Illinois
watercolor, 19 3/4 by 27 1/2 inches
Illinois State Museum collection

Cheers ~ Lara

Thrift Share - I'm Back!

I've been on a bit of a thrifting hiatus recently, its been a mix of travel, allergies & tons of work...but I'm back to my old ways & picked up a few fun things this weekend.  

My better half Tim (I tell him that sometimes for fun, lol) loves shoes, and I thought he may actually like to put this old shoe shine kit in his office & put it to use.  I believe its from the 70s, and it's filled to the brim with brushes, waxes & polishes.  He says his dad used to have one just like it...but decided he'd rather go to the shoe shine guy than do his own waxing (he's a little spoiled!)

This 1950s GE Oscillating Fan works like a dream.  I think it's crazy cool and is in great shape with the exception of a large black marker ink across the base.  But for only $5.00 I couldn't just let it stay behind.

Since the Industrial Modern revolution is in full swing, I picked up this old file box for only $1.  It's still got the original file folders and am guessing it's 1960s or 1970s.

This book "Young Children and Their Drawings" is very interesting....but also a little sad as it shows many normal drawings but is also a tool to assess developmental issues based on drawings too.

These Disney Dominos are from 1976 and a complete set of 28 will make a great listing in my Etsy shop.

These sweet little dresses & amazing suit are also for the shop.  Clockwise from Top Left:

1980s Escada 2 piece suit in an amazing Plum Purple

1950s Yellow Shift Dress from B.H. Wraggle

1970s Cotton Shirtwaist Plaid Dress

Mixing up the separates :-)

Hope you enjoyed my Thrifty Finds & I look forward to seeing all the other amazing treasures on Apron Thrift Girls Thrift Share Monday as well as Her Library Adventures!

Cheers ~ Lara