Eye Candy Overdose

The best part of last week was taking a field trip on Friday, to the little town of Owatonna, Minnesota...

Maureen carlson (maureencarlson.com)  asked me to ride along on Friday to Owatonna, to pick up some of her art that had been on display in the foyer of a hospital there.

The lobby has three beautiful glass-front display niches, set into the wall of a sunny waiting area.

Maureen's wide range of sizes and styles of art were showcased beautifully.

I love the mixed media pieces, like the soul boxes, love the intricately masked figures that are some of Maureen's favorites to create.  The puppeteer catches at my love of marionettes, and the James Christensen inspired piece at the right delights my love of pattern (I'm lucky enough to own a Christensen inspired fish sculpture made by Maureen, and he's looking over my shoulder as I type).

Silvan, keeper of the keys, came over from the Owatonna Arts Center to open the cases.  He is a fan of fabulous hats.  I wore one.  I was instantly hugged hello.  I'm a fan of fabulous guys like Silvan.

This is the back view of the Owatonna Arts Center, which was originally an orphanage.  The entrance to the arts center is through the blue door, at the left.  I'm not sure what the front looks like, but everything I saw was beautiful, so I'm sure it's lovely, too.  You could go to oacarts.org and see if there are more photos there.  I still have lots more photos to resize and post for this blog, so I'm not going to risk wandering over to their site just now, for fear of getting lost. 

When a local church was demolished, someone had the foresight to save the windows, which are now joined into screens, and placed around the event room.  This is just one of many. 

Silvan spoke of doing different Christmas themes every year, and these panels were done the year they did a New Orleans Christmas.  I am soooo going to steal this idea!  It's 1/4 inch masonite, cut in panels to fit the window frame, then jigsawed out and painted matte black!  It may not be wrought iron, but even up close, it is elegantly simple.

For a huge building, it has a very tiny library.  Hopefully this wasn't the room that held all the books back in the days of the orphanage!  What's lovely about the size of the room is that it's just right for a painted ceiling that can be photographed with a normal camera by laying on one's back on the floor.  What I won't do for you, dear readers!  I googled the artist and tracked down her website.  Again, I didn't spend any time there, as it would surely suck me in long past bedtime (it's already past bedtime, actually), but oh, you DO want to check it out:  lynettestudio.com.

That's Lynette at the top of this close(r) up.  She painted the mural on panels in her studio, which her parrot nibbled, and then installed it on the ceiling.  The parrot nibbles are still slightly visible.  Makes me smile, and think of things I've delivered with the almost imperceptible doghair painted into the finish...what're ya gonna do?

Though the upstairs was beautiful, the downstairs tour was really the most fun.  We got to see the workrooms set up for pottery and other arts, the supply rooms, and best of all, the prop room, where Silvan displayed a sense of the absurd quite equal to mine.  What's in your closet?

Though we were running late to get Maureen back to her art center on time, she insisted on making another stop before we left Owatonna.  She has wanted to show me this building (which now houses a Wells Fargo Bank) for years.  It was designed by architect Louis H. Sullivan, and is considered to be one of his finest.

These are the terra cotta details on the less ornate back part of the building.  They don't do 'em like this anymore.

Here's just one corner of the magnificent lobby.  Most everything you see is three-dimensional, except the wide band of the arch, which is intricately painted.  Here, I'll show you some close-ups...

These chandeliers weigh 2 1/4 tons each, in case you thought to wonder.  I want to know how long it took to create the original from which these were cast!

This is the skylight whose corners are anchored by the chandeliers.

Just one of multiple bands of intricately hand painted cast plaster or terra cotta.

...and more detail.  I'm satiated.  Overloaded.  Really glad that eye candy has no calories, cause if it did, I just  consumed a two story wedding cake, after a meal of several decadent courses of gargantuan proportions!  I'm in sugar coated bliss!

 If you want to add a little (and compared to this, even my most decadent confections are a little) eye candy to your home or business, check out my portfolio of possibilities at theartofthehome.com.

I love it when you leave comments below, and of course, if you have creative questions you think I might be able to answer, you can email me at dawnmariedelara@gmail.com.  Believe me, I do not mind sharing my secrets for crafty recreations of fabulicious designs.