Theres no doubt that this two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom bungalow near The Grove makes a statement with its unique exterior look, which combines green trim, red gutters, and tuck-pointedbrick. Built in 1884, the home has been completely refurbished to exude a modern, minimalist touch.The house is located just off of Manchester Road, near The Groves trendy restaurants, nightlife, and murals.

The home has undergone significantrenovations and now boastsa sparkling kitchen with quartz counters and stainless-steel appliances. The bathrooms havecustom tile work; the mainlevels bathroom includes agorgeous marble shower.Theopen shotgun floor plan is cozy. The house's warm hardwood floors and 9-foot-tall barn door are original to the house. Paired with bright white cabinetry and nude walls, the house is minimalist and clean.

The lower level is partially finished and offers additional hangout space such as a den area, which could be utilized as a second bedroom. Underneath the staircase is a chic home office with exposed pipes and a painted brick wall. The basement also has a half-bathroom.

The back of the house hasa large cement patio, making it the ideal spot for hosting get-togethers.

Address:4335 Swan Avenue

Price:$269,900

Realtor:Lisa Tricamo, Real Living Real Estate, 3142939339

Design STL's On the Market posts are editorial. Featured properties are selected by editors.

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Don't need a lot of space? Consider this adorable home in The Grove - St. Louis Magazine

We understand if you're feeling uninspired as we enter another weekend of lockdown. Eleven months into restrictions, it seems there is not much left to renovate, bake, or binge-watch, while the frigid February climate further encourages us to stay inside.

One of the perks to a lengthy lockdown, however, is that we can take inspiration from some fairly amazing former lockdown projects. The best part? They only take one weekend.

Read more: Modern interior design a guide to modern interior styles and design

While we may not be able to admire the exotic beauty of azulejos tiles on your travels, there is no reason why you can't bring a jet-set kiss of glamour into your home. While some mosaics take notably longer than a weekend to complete- you can still get busy with tiles in under two days.

For example, you can entirely revamp a small coffee table or stool with large tile in almost no time- meaning you can savor your Monday morning coffee on a rejuvenated piece of pre-loved furniture.

There are almost no rules when it comes to mosaics- as Rachel Shillander, creator of the widely - admired 'Disco Chair' revealed. The artist hand-stuck 30,000 mirror tiles to her chair as a tribute to the long-lost disco days we are all so nostalgic for over lockdown.

Granted, sticking 30,000 tiles onto a piece of furniture will take longer than one weekend. Though, Rachel's work only emphasizes the freedom we enjoy when it comes to tiles.

(Image credit: Adam Coleman)

'Imagine the solar system is a dance floor, and all the planets are just country-western, two-stepping around the sun,' shared Rachel, in her otherworldly description of her tiled masterpiece.

The artist continued: The chair is a hollow, thin-concrete monocoque shell, formed over an inflatable mold and covered in 30,000 individually handset mirror tiles. When placed in direct sun, either inside or outside, it creates a daylight disco as the sun cycles throughout the day, year, and varying weather conditions. As no two days are exactly the same, each day is a new, constantly changing and unique light show.'.

While your favorite gallery remains closed (unless you can have a virtual tour, in which case, nevermind,), there is a way of filling the art-shaped hole in your heart by bringing it into your home- in the most fashionable way possible. Your pieces can never look better than they do on a statement wall, alongside several other works of art. It's always looked stylish, it always will look stylish, and it only takes a day to create (art collection pending, of course).

Read more: Gallery wall ideas - 37 inspiring ways to turn art into an installation

In December 2019, author and interior stylist, Geneva Vanderzeil, first shared her 'Trash to Terracotta' project, in which she upcycled old vases she had found in a thrift store.

Geneva used liquid terracotta paint to cover the old color or pattern, so she was left with a vase that was shaped and colored exactly the way she would like. Since then, the author has shared a whitewashed version of Trash to Terracotta and a ceramic effect- which is equally as effective.

Let this weekend be the time you rejuvenate an aging vase that has outdated your color scheme. If you like the shape, there is now no reason to part with it.

As surprising as this may be, you may want a token of your daily lockdown walks to reminisce over in the future.

If you wish to preserve a piece of this era in the most elegant way possible, this trick is for you. While pressing flowers is a quick and straightforward process, the results could not be more beautiful, and they look charming in almost every room of the house.

Depending on the size of your frame, this project can consume far less than a day. However, you are left with an individual piece of decor and a sense of accomplishment, that will carry you through the rest of the weekend, and beyond.

Read more about the effects of the pandemic on our homes- 10 Ways Covid-19 is shaping design trends

Read more from the original source:
The lockdown DIY projects you can start and finish this weekend - LivingEtc

Windows 10 is a handy tool, but its not optimized for your needs right out of the box. This software comes with many useful tools, but it also comes pre-loaded with bloatware and annoying features that can get in the way of productivity.

The good news is you arent stuck using Windows 10 in its stock format. There are ways to clean up and customize the Start menu in Windows 10 to make it work better for your needs. Want more Windows help? Tap or click here for the Windows 10 secret everyone needs to know.

Whether its getting rid of annoying app suggestions or removing unwanted bloatware, youre going to want to clean up Windows 10. Luckily, its pretty easy to do. If youre ready to get rid of all that junk lurking in your Start menu, heres how.

You may have noticed a few suggested links popping up when you open the Start menu. Thats because Windows 10 Start menu has a feature that automatically shows recommended app links it thinks you may find useful. When you click the link, the Windows Store page will open for the app to buy and download.

While these suggestions can be useful in some situations, they can also be annoying. If youre tired of seeing these suggestions, you can turn them off, so they arent cluttering up your Start menu anymore.

Privacy, security, the latest trends and the info you need to live your best digital life.

To get rid of suggestions in Start:

The app list that pulls up in the Start menu can be a nuisance, especially if it came filled with pre-installed bloatware. Its pretty standard for computers to come loaded with bloatware, likeunnecessary apps and software, which can create a mess and make it difficult to find what youre looking for.

Even a simple install of Windows 10 can come with useless apps like Candy Crush Friends Saga or Cooking Fever. You can clear out this type of bloatware from your Start menu pretty quickly. Or, if you dont need the app list to pull up in the Start menu, you can disable the Show app list in Start menu instead.

To hide the apps list in the Start menu:

To remove programs you dont need or use:

RELATED: If youre having issues with the Microsoft update, click here for tips to debug

The Windows 10 Start menu is set to show you things like recently added or your most-used apps. Seeing new apps youve added in recent weeks can be helpful initially, but you may not find that feature to be as useful over time. Or, you may not want to be inundated with a list of regularly used or recently added apps.

If thats the case, you can disable those other options to clean up your Start menu. To disable the other options in Windows 10:

One of the unique features of Windows 10 is the Start tiles, which are large, bright boxes that give you quick access to certain apps. Some people may find those large Start tiles built into Windows 10 to be useful.

Not everyone likes being greeted by a load of square tiles with quick access to the Microsoft Store or the calendar when logging in, though. If you prefer to go without the tiles built into Windows 10, you can turn them off. Its pretty easy to do, too.

To turn off Show more tiles on Start:

Note: You must be signed in as anadministratorto enable or disable the Show more tiles on Start setting.

To rearrange or organize the tiles on Start:

RELATED: Windows 10 pro tips

Three folders populate the Start Menu as a default setting in Windows 10. They includeDocuments,PicturesandSettings, which may not be the most useful folders for your needs.

If you want to add different options to the Start menu, you can add additional folders to themix alongside the default ones. Maybe you want to add File Explorer, Settings, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, Network or even a personal folder. You can add one or all of these folders or as many that will fit to the Start menu.

Youll have to work within the Start menu screens height constraints, but you can customize what folders appear as often as you like.

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To add, edit or remove folders from theStart Menu:

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How to get rid of all the junk in your Windows 10 Start menu - Komando

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Its a busy weekend for Front Range galleries, fueled by social justice dialogues, pandemic fallout, Valentines Day, the Lunar New Year and other themes or plain old good art, which is why these spaces exist in the first place.

Trudy Chiddix, Hope Hands.

Trudy Chiddix, Plinth Gallery

Trudy Chiddix: Flaming Fingers Plinth Gallery, 3520 Brighton BoulevardThrough March 27Plinth Gallery hosts a beautiful show of new work by ceramic artist Trudy Chiddix, who embellishes her folk-art-inspired hand series with metal flames and words of encouragement to pandemic first responders and hospital workers. Alongside the hands, Chiddix adds elaborately decorated vases in kimono forms with added fused-glass elements, as well as whirl-winding figures, standing disks and lamp-like works lit from within.

Jill Mustoffa, Blue Year of the Ox, hand cut and sewn vinyl fabric on wood panel.

Jill Mustoffa

Parad'ox: Chinese New Year InvitationalValkarie Gallery, 445 South Saulsbury Street, Belmar, LakewoodThrough March 7Opening Reception: February 12, 5 to 9:30 p.m.; RSVP in advance at Eventbrite for timed-entry slotValkaries annual Chinese New Year exhibition is back, this year celebrating the Ox a sign of the Chinese zodiac known for reliability, persistence and honesty with renditions in a wide variety of styles and mediums, from paint and mixed media to scratchboard and hand-stitched leather. Each artwork is eight inches square, and available to view and buy both in person and through an online store at Valkaries website.

Autumn T. Thomas, Necessary Beings (detail), 2020, padauk wood, resin.

Courtesy of the artist.

From This Day ForwardBoulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th Street, BoulderFebruary 11 through May 31Opening Reception: Thursday, February 11, 4 to 8 p.m.Denver artist Tya Alisa Anthony, who herself works in a mixed-media mashup of photography, collage and sculpture, was tapped by BMoCA to curate From This Day Forward, an exhibition of artists working at the intersection of the Black Lives Matter discussion and the collective effects of living through a pandemic. The show, a varied body of work designed to get viewers thinking and talking, also brings forward underappreciated Colorado artists (and artists with ties to Colorado). Its an exhibition for the times that you wont want to miss.

Gabrielle Shannon and Jean Smith share D'art Gallery for From the Earth.

Courtesy of the artists

Gabrielle Shannon and Jean Smith, From the EarthVirginia Wood and Darlene Kuhne, Shared Spaces, in Gallery EastDart Gallery, 900 Santa Fe DriveFebruary 11 through March 7Valentine Celebration: Friday, February 12, noon to 7 p.m., and Saturday, February 13, noon to 5 p.m.Dart member artists Gabrielle Shannon and Jean Smith share the Main Gallery with a complementary exhibition of abstract paintings inspired by nature, and wall arrangements and columns of clay shapes reminiscent of stone cairns. Shared Spaces, in the East Gallery, doubles as a benefit for the Virginia Wood Fund for Artists in Need and Darlene Kuhne Charity.

A detail from Amy Hoagland and Jenny Cole's Scope of the Natural.

Courtesy of the artists

Amy Hoagland and Jenny Cole, Scope of the Natural, Main GalleryShelby McAuliffe and Molly Ott, Indoor Emergencies, South GalleryFirehouse Art Center, 667 4th Avenue, LongmontSecond Friday Exhibit Opening: Friday, February 12, 6 to 9 p.m.; RSVP online in advance for timed-entry slot at Eventbrite Longmonts Firehouse lets you attend this months Second Friday reception just the way you like it: in person, by timed entry, or virtually, with a live-streaming gallery tour and artist visit you can enjoy from home a useful opportunity, considering this weekends cold weather, not to mention COVID. Either way, youll want to see the site-specific art installation devised during the NEST winter residency by CU Boulder grad students Amy Hoagland and Jenny Cole, who melded art and science in an artificial natural environment. In the South Gallery, CU MFA candidates Shelby McAuliffe and Molly Ott address new routines developed under quarantine in the last year with a three-part video presentation.

Justin Beard Member ShowHart Krypilo, Strong Female LeadPirate Contemporary Art, 7130 West 16th Avenue, LakewoodFebruary 12 through February 28DIY forager and outdoor guy Justin Beard, whos mum on what hes creating for his member slot at Pirate, and Hart Krypilo, whos not, open shows on Friday that last through the end of the month. In Strong Female Lead, goth-connected Krypilo will present cut-tin sculptures paying homage to the female protagonists of sci-fi and horror stories. All in all, you cant go wrong.

It's lights out at Edge Gallery for Lighting Our Way: A Collaboration in Illumination.

Gayla Lemke, Wynne Reynolds, Stephen Shugart and Faith Williams

Gayla Lemke, Wynne Reynolds, Stephen Shugart and Faith Williams, Lighting Our Way: A Collaboration in Illumination Edge Gallery, Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax Avenue, LakewoodFebruary 12 through February 28Four Edge members Gayla Lemke, Wynne Reynolds, Stephen Shugart and Faith Williams put their heads and chosen art mediums together for a four-way sculptural installation dealing with the convergence of light and art, for a show one might enjoy viewing in the dark.

Michelle Lamb, Mrs. Fish's Bait Shop, mixed-media assemblage.

Michelle Lamb

Loveor Something Like ItCore New Art Space, Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax Avenue, LakewoodFebruary 12 through February 28Artist reception: Friday, February 12, 6 to 9 p.m.Core mounts one of two Valentine-inspired shows opening this weekend at the Art Hub in Lakewood, with a hearty display juried by Denver art maven and event promoter Dana Cain, who says she was literally crying a little about having to narrow 216 entries down to the sixty pieces youll see in the gallery. The things we do in the name of love.

Dark Heart 2021Kanon Collective, Art Hub, 6851 West Colfax Avenue, LakewoodFebruary 12 through February 27Opening reception: Friday, February 12, 6 to 9 p.m.Also at the Art Hub, Kanons Valentines Day entry covers the darker and funnier side of love with a varied show juried by Denver power couple and horror-flick fans Merhia Weise and Andrew Novick.

Jono Wright, "Leaves."

Jono Wright, Bleue Tile Gallery

Show Number OneBleue Tile Gallery, 3940 South Broadway, EnglewoodThrough February 26Red Mask Soire/Opening: Friday, February 12, 5 to 9 p.m.To visit the gallery, RSVP online in advance for a timed-entry slotBleue Tile Gallery in Englewood, the studio space of artists Helene Strebel and Courtney Cotton, announces its debut with Show Number One, presenting an eclectic group show including work by some local luminaries and national artists. This weekends opening wont just be reception; Bleue Tile is instead throwing a Red Mask Soire, and we suppose that means your COVID face gear ought to be red.

Raafi Rivero, Custom Jersey for Sean Bell, 2021, armature, yarn.

Raafi Rivero

Unarmed Artist PanelSaturday, February 13, 2 to 3:30 p.m., via ZoomRegister online in advance for Zoom linkIn conjunction with Raafi Riveros Unarmed, currently turning heads and starting conversations at Leon with its social justice themes and sports jerseys memorializing Black victims of police violence, a panel moderatedby Donna Bryson with artists Rivero, Tya Alisa Anthony, Narkita Gold and Edgar L. Page will shed more light on the discussion that starts in the gallery. Its free, but youll need to register in advance. Before or after, see the exhibition for yourself through February 27.

Brian Rattiner, Snow Day, 2021,high-flow acrylic, fluid acrylic and salt on muslin.

Brian Rattiner, David B. Smith Gallery

Brian Rattiner, HummingbirdChristine Nguyen, Lightness Within the Cosmic Universe David B. Smith Gallery, 1543A Wazee StreetFebruary 13 through March 12Brian Rattiner brings liquid-looking abstracts in rainbow colors to David B. Smiths main gallery from his Brooklyn studio, while Christine Nguyen helps celebrate Month of Photography 2021 with mixed-media cyanotypes and photo-based paintings in the project room.

Interested in having your event appear in this calendar? Send the details to editorial@westword.com.

Keep Westword Free... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Denver with no paywalls.

Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

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Things to Do Denver: Art Gallery Openings and Exhibits February 11 to 18, 2021 - Westword

The kitchen; looking down to the kitchen from the recording studio doorway, with the bathroom on the right; the stairs at the back, left, lead to the main level living area.The bathroom table was built by the wife from wood that came from one of the walls; the vintage wooden beads can be found at places like Rhode Island Antiques Mall, Pawtucket. Photography by Andrea Pietrangeli.

Star TurnIn the scene-stealing world of color and design, black is the new white. Black isnt going anywhere. It looks fantastic, especially in a small space, says designer Janelle Blakely, founder of Blakely Interior Design. It creates contrast, your eye is drawn to it. Case in point: its use in the renovated kitchen and bath of this Wakefield project, where it kicks up the look several notches, enhancing the homes cool, retro vibe. Black creates a wow factor, she says.As a former Masonic lodge, the unassuming building, dating to 1890, was never intended as a residence. The kitchen, stuck in the back on a lower level, had been used as a mess hall in its early life. The goal for the new homeowners, a punk rock star and his artist wife, was a better organized, functioning space for their getaway home, but created on a decidedly non-rock star budget. We wanted to make the house work better, Blakely says of her clients. The couple, who love vintage, also wanted to move the kitchen, redo the bathroom, and add a recording studio and art studio on the same floor, all while minimizing wasted space.

The window covering is custom made in Blakelys workroom, blakelyinteriordesign.com; the faucet is Grohe; the walls are Sherwin Williams Iron Ore. Photography by Andrea Pietrangeli.

Full ExposureFirst order of business was the demo, which the homeowners tackled themselves, gutting the whole bottom floor to save money, as well as managing the construction. They took on a lot, Blakely says. The bathroom got a facelift; the shower was retiled and the open brick was preserved. The sink, a perfect size for the small space, is original to the house.

Whats gone, however, are the small boxy rooms that were once the kitchen. Gone, too, is its ceiling; the couple liked the look of the exposed beams, part of the original structure. With that approach, theres always the possibility of uncovering unpleasant surprises. We were fortunate. There was just some piping, Blakely says of what became a design feature.

What had been the kitchen space is now a sweet breakfast nook with a view of the back patio, and it also faces the new kitchen. Vintage black pane factory windows that the wife found separate the two spaces, preserving an open look and creating a focal point.

The kitchen and bathroom floor tiles and black penny round back splash are from Best Tile, Warwick. The kitchen cabinets are Ikea; the gas range is Miele; the chandelier is from Pop Emporium. Photography by Andrea Pietrangeli

History LessonThe kitchen is well thought out, again with a nod to the couples respect for the past. The undercounter stools are an antique find and the sinks and faucet were in the house when the clients bought it. The owners multi-bulb hanging light fixture and the under-counter stools are also vintage.

Blakely gets design inspiration from the use of color, working with clients to find out what theyre drawn to. Her job is to help them embrace colors intensity in different degrees.

In this case, the creative through line is the choice of black and white in the kitchen and the bathroom, from the geometric floor tiles in both rooms to the black cabinets and white quartz counters, warmed up by the wooden rafters, in the kitchen.

During the several weeks of renovation, the resourceful couple set up a mock kitchen upstairs where they cooked out of a microwave and, temporarily shower-less, took baths in a copper tub. Living through a home renovation isnt for the faint of heart, as anyone whos survived it can tell you.

How do you make their budget work with their aesthetic, ending in a result that will rock their world? Blakely asks.

In the case of the Wakefield project, the successful answer rocks on.

Link:
This Bold Artists' Abode was Once a Frumpy Masonic Lodge - Rhode Island Monthly

With the release of Home+ 5 by Matthias Hochgatterer, there are more reasons for HomeKit power-users to try the app than ever before. One of the apps strengths has always been creating automations based on device attributes that arent available in Apples Home app. Thats why I was already using Home+. However, now, the app has added a new design, folders to organize automations, Smart Groups for accessories, a Favorites view, and backups, which make the app more compelling than ever.

Although its not new to this version of Home+, it bears repeating that the app supports HomeKit API functionality that isnt exposed by Apples Home app. Thats how Home+ is able to support automations that arent possible in Home or by using Shortcuts Home Automation feature.

A simple example is one that Ive been using all winter. Were in the midst of single-digit temperatures in the Chicago area, which means my heat has been running almost nonstop for days. As a result, the air in our house has been incredibly dry.

To assist our furnaces humidifier, I broke out a standalone humidifier and plugged it into an iHome Smart Plug. I have a Netatmo Personal Weather Station and figured that I could set the humidifier to turn on automatically when humidity levels dropped beneath a threshold value. Thats not possible with Apples Home app, but fortunately, its an easy automation to build in Home+ 5, which supports sensor triggers as well as multi-condition automations.

Its that sort of extended automation support that has made Home+ a central part of my HomeKit setup for quite a while now. With the latest update, though, I expect Home+ will appeal to an even broader audience.

If you have used Home+ in the past, the first thing youll notice is that the app has been redesigned from top to bottom. Many of those changes are similar to the tile-centric UI found in Apples Home app. Thats a UI that Im not a big fan of in the Home app, and Im torn about it in Home+.

On the iPhone and Apple Watch, I think the tile UI takes up too much space. However, Home+ does a little bit better job with the space available on the iPhone than Home does, and despite taking up more room, I think Home+ 5s tile UI looks better than previous versions. I also appreciate that users coming from Home to Home+ will be more familiar with this UI. So, although I would personally prefer a more compact UI, I expect the new UI will appeal to a broader audience than before.

Other Home+ UI updates include updated icons that fit better with the design of iOS 14. There are now 99 icons, which provide a wider variety of choices than Apples Home app. Automations can also be stored in folders, a nice touch that makes large collections more manageable.

Another nice touch is Smart Groups, which collect similar devices into groups within each room. For example, Ive got seven lights in my studio, and none of them are grouped in the Home app, allowing me to control them individually. Home+s Smart Group of those lights doesnt change that but lets me control all seven as though they were one light. Home added a similar feature in iOS 14.

Home+ has added a Favorites view similar to Homes too, which can be synced with Home+ 5s Apple Watch app from the iPhone version of Home+. There are a handful of devices that I access manually nearly every day and having them along with data from a couple of sensors in one place is a big plus. Its worth noting, too, that the Apple Watch app has been updated, and in my testing, devices respond within a couple of seconds when scenes or devices are controlled.

Last but not least, Home+ 5 adds backup functionality, a feature for which I have a newfound appreciation. As I explained on AppStories a few weeks ago, I had my entire HomeKit setup wiped out over the winter holidays due to what appeared to be an iCloud bug. I took the opportunity to rethink my HomeKit setup, which was a positive, but with the number of devices I have, it took quite a bit of work. I know Home+ isnt the first app to offer this feature, but its the app I prefer for the vast majority of my advanced HomeKit automation, so Im glad to see that the feature was added. Now, Ive got a backup of my setup neatly tucked away in iCloud Drive in case disaster strikes again.

Home+ 5 is the perfect next-step app for anyone with a growing collection of HomeKit devices or who wants to do more with automation. With the latest update, Home+ 5 has further cemented its place among the HomeKit apps I regularly use, which is why I highly recommend checking it out.

Home+ 5is available on the App Store for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch for $14.99.

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Power-User HomeKit App Home+ 5 Adds Automation Folders, Backups, and a Fresh Design - MacStories

The dull concrete median with six light poles in front of Richey Elementary School probably dont draw much attention.

But a color-filled project involving students from six local schools will soon guarantee that the concrete barrier draws plenty of notice.

Sometime this spring, the median will be graced by nearly 300 set of handprints of students from Richey, Kruse and Morales elementary schools, De Zavala Middle School, Jackson Intermediate School and Pasadena High School.

When engineers involved in the city of Pasadenas Richey Street renovation project reached out to city education liaison Trish Eubanks to seek participation by Pasadena ISD in beautification work related to the effort, she jumped at the opportunity to incorporate youths from the community.

Lets make it look good, she said.

The Richey Street project is part of an ongoing effort by the city to make improvements to the north side of the city between Texas 225 and Southmore Avenue.

Since 2018, the $12 million project, with funding divided between the city and Harris County Precinct 2, has updated the street with improved or added storm sewers and lights and new traffic signals.

The project also has provided upgrades to the four-lane road and installed wheelchair-accessible lanes on sidewalks. The goal is to mitigate flooding in nearby homes and ease traffic at a main entry point into Pasadena.

Add in the Hands Across Pasadena project, in which the handprints will be set in square mosaic-style tiles, colored and glazed and then incorporated into the median.

I thought it was a great way to bring focus to area schools near Richey and wanted to showcase the children of that area, Eubanks said.

Eubanks is familiar with the I-cant-wait-to-get-out-of-here attitude young people sometimes have about their hometown as they contemplate their future. She wants to change that.

I want them to have a sense of sense of pride in where they come from, she said. If they can have some ownership in this project, they can feel they have some ownership of their community, that this is where they come from, where they grew up.

Eubanks said she and the citys engineers put careful thought into the actual tiles and what size, colors, type of materials were used.

They decided they would use 6-by-6-inch tiles, place them in three rows with six tiles to each section. Students at Pasadena High School will glaze and fire the tiles to prepare them for installation.

Eubanks spent 30 years in education, including 15 years as assistant principal at Pasadena Memorial High School. She had retired when Mayor Jeff Wagner called on her to join the city as an education liaison.

He wanted more of a partnership between the city and school district, she said. There has always been a kind of disconnect with kids and their city, and if young people dont feel like they have a stake in the game, they dont have that sense of pride in where they come from.

Alongside each set of prints will be a students initials and projected graduation date.

By identifying those kids and the year they graduate, I wanted them to be able to come back and say, Thats me, Eubanks said.

At De Zavala, 41 students placed hands onto tiles. For Principal Melissa Garza, the prints are more than decorative. The project is like motivational art, she said.

It gives them hope and it gives them something to look forward to, Garza said.

Parents were not able to attend the schools recent handprint event due to COVID restrictions but have expressed as much enthusiasm as students, Garza said.

Parents are already talking about having their kids take a picture next to their tile with their cap and gown, Garza said. They can drive down Richey, and its like a daily reminder this is their high school graduation date. We talk about school, we talk about graduation, we talk about college, but now its in concrete. Thats a big deal.

Eubanks shared one anecdote about a middle-schooler whose handprints, initials and graduation date are waiting to be set in concrete.

He told me he was going to be the first member of his family to graduate from high school. So, I told him, Now you have you have to live up to that date he has a definitive goal to shoot for now, she said.

yorozco@hcnonline.com

Go here to read the rest:
Pasadena abuzz over project involving hundreds of kids handprints - Houston Chronicle

Interior design trend predictions for 2021 have one thing in common: they highlight the mixing of old and new as a way to achieve a fresh look as we continue to spend more time at home. Straight-from-the-showroom style is giving way to styling with vintage and antique items, blended with newer elements to create a collected and balanced look. Concerns about manufacturings impact on the planet are also driving this trend: fast fashion is out, while well-made artisan and sustainable style is in.

Petaluma ceramicist Forrest Lesch-Middelton of FLM Ceramics employs a creative process that checks many of the boxes of this newyet olddesign trend. He hand-throws tea pots, bowls, plates and tiles and covers them in intricate designs using his own screen-printing technique, called Volumetric Image Transfer. This technique allows him to transfer screen printed pattern and imagery onto the surfaces of his pots while they are still wet and being thrown on the wheel. He shapes the vessels from the inside only, in order to not disturb the pattern. The result is contemporary fine art decor that references Old World style.

Lesch-Middelton likes to work with clay for its sustainable qualities.

Clay is unbeatable as a material, he said. Its the most readily available material on earth. You play with it in its plastic state, decorate and fire it, and it turns to stone.

The Petaluma ceramist is inspired by 12th-17th century Turkish and Persian patterns and designs and the syncretism in art and crafts brought about by trade along the Silk Road, a network of trade routes that connected Asia, Northern Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Using modern techniques, he creates functional ceramics and tile that reference this period, as well as Islamic architecture and history and modern themes of globalism.

It speaks to history, said Lesch-Middelton about his particular style. The New York Times wrote in 2013 that his ceramics look like the products of an ancient civilization whose people proudly insisted on being buried with their dishware.

While drawing inspiration from the past, theres also a futuristic strain in Lesch-Middeltons work. For example, he uses a flat sheet of metal, or a Chladni plate, covered with sand to create shapes and patterns for his tiles from sound waves.

The Chladni plate or technique was invented in the late 18th century by German physicist and musician Ernst Chladni to visualize the effects of vibrations on mechanical surfaces. Lesch-Middelton adds an avant-garde element by using a signal generator that generates sine, square and triangle sound waves through a wave driver (a special type of speaker) to create geometric configurations in the sand.

Lesch-Middelton collaborates with his partner Beth Schaible and an apprentice to create the tiles. Schaible, a block printer, lends her calligraphy to some of the pieces. The trio works out of their community studio, Petaluma Pottery, and collaborates with interior designers to get their tiles into peoples home. They also sell directly to customers via the FLM Ceramics website. Their tiles have been used by customers on floors, stairs and fireplaces and as backsplashes. Projects have ranged in size from a row of just 10 tiles over an antique sink at a Texas boutique hotel to covering the floors of eight rooms in a local home.

Filling large orders definitely requires discipline as each tile is hand-thrown but Lesch-Middelton knows it comes with the territory of being a dedicated artist in this particular line of work. And even the repetitive process of creating one tile after the next can yield new inspiration and a new way of looking at the creative process.

Sometimes your best discoveries come on your 10,000th tile, he said.

Lesch-Middeltons sees discovery as an integral part of any creative endeavor. From the curiosity and wonder of the beginner through the process of learning by doing to the effort of constantly refining ones craft, discovery is a process the artist needs to remain open to, he says.

Eventually, if we are lucky, we make it through all of this to a place beyond trying, learning and doing to a place of being. Soetsu Yanagi (a Japanese art critic and philosopher) refers to this place as a space where objects are born, not made. Its a place where sometimes, on your 10,000th tile, you may be open enough to see beyond what your hands made and be affected anew. Our best work comes from that place, and maybe every once in a while I am lucky enough to glimpse and create the product of that place.

Editors Note: Travel, dining and wine tasting can be complicated right now. Use our inspirational ideas to plan ahead for your next outing, be it this week or next year. If you visit restaurants, wineries, and other businesses during the pandemic, remember to call ahead, make reservations, wear a mask and social distance.

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Petaluma Ceramist Creates Artisan Tiles That Add a Sense of History to Modern Homes - Sonoma Magazine

Weve hit the time of the year when we really start to understand the movie Groundhog Day. By that I mean that were living in a constant state of washing, fixing, and hauling. Out of all the months of farming, Id say, for strictly grain farmers at least, that February is the hardest month of them all. Its not the one with the longest hours or the hardest days, but its definitely the one with the hours and days that seem the longest.

You see, the rest of the year is filled with fixing tile, planting, spraying, pulling the weeds that spraying didnt kill, and harvesting, but February? Well, February is filled with shop work. Maybe Im alone in this, but I hate shop work.

Everyone loves getting to head to the field whether it be to fix tile, spread fertilizer, or put on anhydrous ammonia because youre outside and one step closer to putting seed in the ground. It keeps you busy and leaves you with the feeling that only a good days work can give you.

Everyone loves planting, and even if they dont love it because it stresses them out (Im talking about me right there if you couldnt tell), its still a satisfying and fulfilling feeling when the job is done. The days are long, but they leave you with a feeling of accomplishment that the seeds you planted will grow into a crop youll be able to harvest in a few months time.

I wont say everyone loves spraying because that would be a lie, but spending the summer spraying gives you the opportunity to assess how your crop is doing. The days may still be long during these summer months, but they give you a little bit more freedom than planting and harvest do at the very least.

Everyone loves harvest. Id bet my life savings that for ninety percent of farmers, harvest is their favorite time of year. Its the chance to see just what an entire years work has earned them, a chance to see a years worth of prayers answered.

But no one seems to love the winter months quite as much as the rest of the year. Dont get me wrong, as someone who struggles with anything involving mechanics and fixing things, I completely understand why. Its the time of year I dread the most because Im not able to be outside doing what Im actually capable of doing, but its honestly one of the most important times of the year.

It gets a lot of hate, but in all actuality, this time of year may be the most important of them all. Its these long winter months patiently (or impatiently in my case) awaiting warm enough weather to head to the field when all the important work gets done. You see, working on fixing all the equipment and getting it ready for the coming year keeps things running smoothly for all of the fun parts. Getting the planters finely tuned now keeps those seeds going into the ground without issue or delay come April and May.

February is our reminder that the time spent preparing for the busy season is just as crucial, if not more important, than the busy season, and I think thats something everyone can reflect on even if theyre not involved in the agriculture industry. Its the time and hard work put into making something a possibility that matters more than the actual event most of the time, and that effort is something worth appreciating.

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Holbert: The short winter hours bring on the longest of days - The Daily Republic

Sue Skinner - Feb 9, 2021 / 11:00 am | Story: 324488

Photo: Contributed

John Rousseau, an inventive composer of wood furniture and buildings, calls Summerland his bat cave.

He must like it because he has spent 30 of his 38 years there.

The Batcave was Batmans secret headquarters and command centre. John feels Summerland is a sanctum where he can wait.

It is where he centres his creativeness while waiting for a tsunami of projects he knows are on the way from urbanites around the world seeking the highest calibre of home furnishings.

People want quality. I create pieces families will fight over when bequeathment comes, pieces that live for generations, he said.

As I sat across from him, I felt the tsunami had already arrived. His passion is palpable, and our conversation is made more vibrant from his energy and love of all things wood.

He learned two valuable skills from his dad, John how to work with wood and how to sell. His dad taught him at a young age to make designer birdhouses to earn money.

He felt like a millionaire when he sold all of them at the princely price of $20 each.

As much as he enjoyed his birdhouse venture, John discovered sports and music while at school. He needed to be the fastest runner and to be the best on stage, a drive that has never left him.

He enjoyed singing and writing songs and started a three-piece band, Lucy Psychosis, that produced three albums by Grade 12. In those days, music was his life.

He was going to attend Selkirk College in Castlegar, but reality set in. A musicians life could easily lead to poverty, not something he wanted.

He still plays and composes and did a live concert in Summerland in 2016, but he plays for fun these days.

The idea of building quality items out of wood was still a thought, but he moved to the service world and enjoyed working at restaurants and wineries for a few years.

A pivotal point came after a gruellingly busy day when his fellow worker, a 50-year-old, sweating and exhausted, turned and said, Im too old for this.

John realized at that moment, he was as well if he wanted to do something with his life.

Just like Batmans daytime persona, Bruce Wayne, a businessman and entrepreneur, John began developing his life and business plan.

He needed his Robin.

He met Karen, an interior designer, seamstress, silversmith and jewelry maker while tile setting. The work relationship turned to romance and today they are married with two young girls.

He enjoyed tile setting, but his heart was always in wood. Custom building in wood gives him the freedom to create.

Today, he surrounds himself with a team of like-minded craftsmen he picked for specific contracts. They are men who value family and work balance, gentlemen in overalls, who share his passion for quality work.

Currently, he is building a one-of-a-kind studio/shop for his future contracts. It will be a huge building using over 60,000 square feet of lumber. A real neat bat cave.

He showed me a picture of a self-designed joint using the cruciform style a specific type of joint that has four spaces formed by welding of three plates of metal at right angles. His is surrounded by perfectly fitted slots of wood.

He just recently finished a 14-month adventure with Cedar Creek Wineries. Look here to see some of his recent work. Guitar players will love his Guitar Garage on this video. This is a multi-drawered cabinet designed to hold your guitars. Very cool.

What makes his work special? Every square inch is designed and thought about.

The iPad is always with him, so he can troubleshoot challenges immediately.

There is no time wasted on site, thus a clarity of ideas is created between the client and him.

His favourite client is someone who wants to work with him step by step. He loves to create and curate together with them.

We had been talking for over an hour and his passion still oozed out of him. He talked about the living qualities of wood and how it changes continually.

What does he plan for the future? His dreams arent small and he thanks his mom for this particular idea.

The future will be a challenge between science and tech, he said.

By 2032, he wants to build a self-sustaining smart hut in the wilderness. Just like the huts hikers travel to in the backcountry.

Engineering, architectural, science students, and lovers of wood will hike to this hut and monitor year round the changes Mother Nature makes on such a structure. A building where students can truly experiment, share and learn from.

In the meantime, he will continue to build beautiful and unique creations.

What is his kryptonite? Batman always kept some in his safe in the bat cave.

Living in the shadow of your potential.

I have no fear that he will ever do that.

If you pass Summerland at night and see a glow surrounding it, dont worry, it is just that burning passion of John Rousseau lighting up the night.

Contributed - Feb 2, 2021 / 6:00 am | Story: 323765

Note Photography, Mariel Nelms

It was the fastest sell out in 27 years at Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts (MISSA) for any of their courses.

MISSA provides high calibre specialized workshops with world renowned teachers in the field of choice.

Who was this teacher and how did he get such an international reputation?

Visionary potter Peter Flanagans journey was not a solo one nor one that started last year. Peter with Daphne, his artistic partner, and wife, have created beauty and pushed the artistic boundaries of porcelain ceramics to new heights and size.

Daphne, daughter of Peg and Des Loan, grew up in her parents gallery, Okanagan Pottery, which they started in 1968. Most Okanagan people knew this blue-grey building on the right going out of Peachland on the way to Penticton. The iconic building was only recently torn down.

She loved her family and the world of clay and wanted to go to school to learn more, so she enrolled at the Kootenay School of Art in Nelson.

Peter grew up in Victoria and always drew and painted as a kid. His mom studied design and his dad was a lover of architecture and a draftsman who also taught Peter carpentry and manual skills.

Peter loved going to art galleries as a kid, decided to pursue art and enrolled at the Courtenay School of Arts.

He knew nothing about pottery, but he had to take an introductory pottery class, and met Daphne.

Her nose was into a pot when we first met, he said.

It was early December, 1979, everyone had left the studio, but they stayed to make sure the heat of the wood-fired kiln was kept constant.

It was so cold that the mortar on the brick door froze when they were bricking it up, a far cry from todaysgas-fired kilns.

The pottery was fired and so was their lifelong teamwork.

It takes dedication, love, and understanding of the long hours and not always great results with constant fortitude to work together.

They both attended the University of Victoria, where Peter received a degree in art history.

Soon they moved to the Okanagan and after just five years, they had a 2 1/2 year waiting list for their dinnerware. It didnt take long for people to realize how good they were.

Peters career got a real boost in 1989 when he was one of five winners from around the world in the Second International Cara Ceramics Competition in Mino, Japan.

Each judge was allowed to pick one favourite competitor. The Japanese judge picked his bowl, lightly coloured deep with subtle flora inside and his -to become-signature triangles on the rim.

Their family grew and for a time, Peter left pottery and entered the corporate world.

This time away from his art created an itch to get back and to stretch to see what limitations he could squash. He knew with Daphne they would be the perfect duo for innovation.

The synergy between Peter and Daphne is palpable; you can feel it when you are in the room with them. Together, one idea grows out of another, their teamwork feeds their creativity. The idea of the huge charger was born.

I met them when they invited me into their home.

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest surrounded by wood, so when I sat at their long wooden table, warmed by a real wood fire, it was like being home with great friends, such is their hospitality.

I drank dandelion tea from a mug they designed and made, which felt like it was made for me. It was pretty, fit well into my hand and kept the tea warm.

It was hard to look directly at them because I was surrounded by their phenomenal works of art. I felt like a kid in the worlds best candy store, so much to see and experience.

The huge porcelain ceramic chargers huge plates on steroids facing me were the result of an idea hatched from his hiatus in the corporate world.

The size was difficult to master some are in excess of 30 inches in diameter. The size, weight, large surface, often not flat, can easily collapse.

Part of the process is fascinating and elusive you have to have a huge leap of faith.

Bases of material share their common character, but get their uniqueness from the trace elements from the environment, Peter said.

Ah, clay from the Okanagan will be different from clay from somewhere else. He uses locally sourced materials.

They also began to experiment with wood ash for their glazes. They love ash from pine, fir, and cherry wood. Peter explained that it becomes fluid when fired and pools to create surface texture and colour.

It takes both of them to move these chargers into the kiln very carefully and they are fired at1,300 Centigrade for 24 hours, and then cooled for 48 hours.

These chargers have intricate centres that are three dimensional, some with a crackle type of glaze. They lamented about how tricky these centres are and how many collapsed in the creation process.

Their size, designed for large wall spaces, take up almost all the space in the kiln. Miscalculations can be costly in time and money.

Their innovation of glazes and construction and locally sourced materials when possible make their chargers unique pieces of art.

It is no wonder potters around the world are anxious to learn from him and he is in demand as a teacher for his understanding of the different processes needed.

Words are inadequate to describe the majesty of these creations. You need to see them up close and personal.

You will be able to do this Oct. 9 to Nov. 14, at the Wood, Clay and Canvas exhibition, Peachland Art Gallery and at the Circle Craft Gallery, Granville Island, Vancouver for September.

Alas, my time with them came to an end much too quickly. I felt a sense of loss that happens when you leave a place of peace, creativity, and greatness.

Sigh.

Sue Skinner - Jan 26, 2021 / 6:00 am | Story: 322952

Photo: Contributed

Rio conjures up visions of vibrant colours, sultry movement, and joy.

I hope you arent thinking Brazil because Im thinking of Kelownas own maker of hats.

Rio Branner is a milliner, a hat maker. Her studio is full of possibilities for someone wanting to be unique, fashionable, unforgettable, and, dare I say, seductive?

She is just the creative personable artist to make your ideas come to life.

A person who makes hats is a milliner. The word comes from the 15th Century where the Duchy of Milan in Italy was famous for the Millayne bonnet.

This word eventually reached England and became known as a maker of caps hats for men and bonnets hats for women.

Hats became so popular that no one left the house without one.

Hats went out of vogue in the 19th Century. Some believe it was the car that brought on the demise and some blame Dwight Eisenhowers building of highways, making car travel more popular, and the height of the inside of the car being non-conducive to wear a hat inside.

Whatever the reason, hat popularity certainly waned.

Rio wants to bring custom-made hats back into popularity in B.C.

She didnt have to go far for inspiration. Her mother, Robbin Roberts, was a potter and her grandmother, June Bell, had a berry and poultry farm on Bell Road in Kelowna.

Grandma June was resourceful and when she found a plethora of feathers, she started making feather hats. Rio showed me a picture of one of her hats. Fantastic.

Besides Grandma June, hat making has been around since cavemen. Perhaps not hat couture probably just a pelt was thrown over the head for warmth, but people have been wearing hats for a very long time.

More than 43 million baseball hats were sold last year according to Google. Individual unique hats, a lot less.

Rio, a true Kelownian born and raised here was always interested in fashion. After high school, she moved to Victoria and started giving new life to used articles. For 20 years, she made purses and jewelry from reclaimed, previously loved, items.

Hats have always been on my bucket list, she said, something she must do.

To make a hat is time-consuming, expensive, and oh, so creative.

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Wood lover has a bat cave - Don't mess with a soprano - Castanet.net