good art won't match your sofa

Meeting Rothko at the MOMA.

  "Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." - Thomas Merton

When I walk into someone's home for the first time, I am often most drawn to what is on the walls. As much as I love beautiful furnishings and home decor, it's the art that can tell us a deeper story, giving the "outsider" a glimpse into something personal that may never have been revealed through words. Truly, art is the heart and soul of a home.

I didn't grown up with this value but I do remember filling the walls of my bedroom with posters and memorabilia that was pleasing and meaningful to my youthful eyes. And now that I think of it, anyone who peeked into that room would have also peered into what was going on inside my teenage mind, getting a greater understanding of who I was and what mattered most to me. Things like Jesus, music and cats.("Hang in there, baby." Sheesh.....) Looking back, I believe there was a certain awareness, albeit a subconscious one, that this type of self-expression was quite important to me. 

Early in our marriage, my love of home decorating blossomed but somehow I lost this early inkling that those blank vertical spaces were places of real potential to showcase something special. I was busy filling up our walls with whatever I could find that was cheap and matched our chosen palette of country 80s decor. And I can count on one hand (okay, maybe one finger) the number of items from my home that made it into this century. Perhaps they're on someone else's wall somewhere but I guarantee they're not on mine.
 
Enter our friend Hal. Through his influence, the earlier awareness that was birthed back in my little bedroom resurfaced and grew into an appreciation for original art. Specifically, with the notion that "normal" people like us could, or SHOULD, have our own personal collection. Hal, a true connoisseur, began purchasing original art for his home way back when the rest of us were doing what I described above. Sure, he was a guy who loved the "finer" things in life and we gave him plenty of grief for his uppity ways. But what I began to grasp was the intensely personal nature of the art he collected and the deep meaning behind them. Over the last 20+ years, Hal and his wife Gayle have shifted their home styles from 1920s Tudor to 1970s modern and everything in between. Throw pillows, wall colors and some of the furniture has come and gone but I guarantee those beautiful works of art still have a place on a wall somewhere beside others that have since been purchased. And they still tell the part of what is now a bigger story.

If this is new to you, have no fear. Collecting anything is a journey, right? It happens over time but it can start any time. Original art can be expensive, but it doesn't have to break the bank. Some of the pieces we have collected were costly investments to us but others were simply interesting and unusual finds at flea markets or local shops on travels around the world. Or gifts from generous friends. Or wonderful works by young, still "starving" artists. Or original pieces made from our own hands. The common thread that runs through them all is the revelation that unfolds as they "tell" us their story while we live and move among them.

Left to right: Husband's vacation photo of garage door graffiti from Haight-Ashbury in San Fransisco. 1950s nude drawing from a page of artist's sketch book I purchased at a local antique show. Mixed-media piece by moi. Bunny by amazing local artist Charlotte Foust. Original collage work by my husband, made for me before we were married...love. Another drawing from same sketch book (behind arrangement). Our first original piece by Charlotte Foust when she was a young starving artist.

Center: Original painting by the ever-talented Mark Durham of our sweet kitty Harriet was a gift to me from some amazing girlfriends. Lower left, another Harriet portrait by Charlotte Foust. Unbeknownst to Charlotte, Harriet passed away while she was working on this piece. Notice the "angel wings?" A serendipitous touch. Above left: "Catbird" folk art piece I purchased at a local antiques show. Top: Harriet's favorite toy she loved to carry around in her mouth.

This piece caught our attention at a local gallery when the husband and I were visiting friends in Tulsa, back in the day when we used to actually take road trips! We wrapped him up in what appeared to be a body bag and strapped it to the top of the Volvo, carrying him 1,000 miles to his new home on our wall in Charlotte!

Our best vacation souvenir to date from a most memorable trip to South Africa 4 years ago. She wins the "furthest journey" award from Cape Town to Charlotte.

Center: An original sculpture by a Colombian artist, is a treasured gift from hubby's former boss. Left/right: 2 pieces in our growing collection of world famous Orient and Flume art glass from hubby's hometown of Chico.

Beautiful work of calligraphy from our friend Roxanne serves as a constant source of encouragement to us.