at last...an ART wall....!

I love the Art Wall, or Gallery Wall as it is also referred to in a home.  Not saying that EVERY home needs to have one, but long have I wanted to have one in my own home.  Up until recently I just thought about it…not knowing if I had enough art to really make it as mixed media as I wished.  I like the idea of mixing three-dimensional and two-dimensional pieces, vintage and new and a mixture of mediums; collage, print, photography, paint, you get the picture.  My husband and I decided to finally try to make our sad little guest bedroom more of an inviting space.  We had two prints by Jay Ryan that were completely awkward on this wall….see before photo.  Frankly, I am embarrassed to even put this photo up because how I ever thought they looked “okay” floating on that wall is beyond me….I think I always knew they looked funky, but was too impaired in my own home to do anything about it…that happens with us designers sometimes….anyhow, the idea to turn this wall into an Art Wall really appealed to me for a few reasons:

1. I am the WORST at hanging multiple pieces of artwork at the same height and distance apart…no matter how much painters tape and times I measure, I am guaranteed to have one piece higher than the other, etc…it drives me nuts.  I love that you don’t have to be so precise with an Art Wall.
2. I really like the idea of engaging someone to look at the Art Wall and start picking apart the pieces individually…putting one artist next to another and having their stories and inspiration intertwine….a graffiti artist next to a fine painter next to my husband’s mother’s day card he made for her when he was six.  Stuff like that. 
3. In our case it really helped make the Guest Bedroom a lot more personal because so many of the piece we put up were done my friends and people that are likely to stay in that room at some point or another. 
4. It is ever-evolving.  You can add and subtract however you see fit.

sad before...

...better after!

From Upper Left:

Egon Schiele print, Vintage Puppy Eating Shoe Painting by unknown, my husband’s Kindergarten school photo, “Remember Falling in Love at Manitoba's” by myself, painted peacock on a found piece of driftwood by Sheryl Schroeder, Espo print, “Mockba, Carobou” by Russian painter, Sadovoi, parakeets by John Gould, four crosses by Sheryl Schroeder, ceramic parakeet piece from my grandmother, small oil painting by Tim Biskup, photography assemblage piece by Kara Wood and “Philadelphia Grocery Carts” by my step-father, John Avila.

the Jay Ryans are MUCH happier here.

here are a few other walls to inspire:

these two below were shot by Todd Selby for "The Selby is in Your Place" and features the artist Meryl Smith's space....which is out of control amazing.  See the whole shoot here.  And let me know what you think of her Halloween costume for 2007.

Soundtrack for this artsy-ness is one of my favorite artists I like to listen to when I am gettin' crafty:

bjork, of course.