Art Archives - Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

Halloween again! I found these few vintage photos I wanted to share on here. I am not sure what I am doing on Halloween this year. I was hoping to go to the Village and go to a coffee shop with a side street view of the costumes. In the past that has been the best way to actually view the costumes since I am vertically challenged about seeing the parade. Last year I spent a couple of hours perched on a metal police barrier trying to catch a view by being raised up. I still didn’t get as good a view as I had in the past on the side streets. So I think I will return to my old route. Plus with recovering from foot surgery I have to be very careful in crowds for a while, not to get stepped on! I am now at the point where I can walk around for a while and don’t need the cane finally. If you don’t live in New York City you might not know how crowded and nuts the NY Halloween parade can be. Often it is the case that even some subway stations get shut down due to the crowds.
I cannot think of Halloween without thinking of my daughter Emily as she was growing up and all the Halloween costumes, or even just costumes in general for shows or school functions. So I have posted one of her as a toddler in her adorable pumpkin dress our neighbor made her, and another two of her as a fish for a show. The fish costume was made by a friend’s mother. I still have the little pumpkin dress, in the event that I have a grandbaby someday who can wear it!
If I get to see some great costumes from the NYC Halloween parade I will of course post pictures of them later on. I am thinking I will be a scarecrow again since it is a relatively simple costume to put together. I always think scarecrows need hay though and it isn’t easy to find hay. I may have to be a city scarecrow and go without hay sticking out of my sleeves or socks.
I hope you enjoy these vintage Halloween images. The last picture is not a vintage picture; however it was the best picture I took of a costume a few years ago on Macdougal Street, just a block away from the parade. That lady had a seriously good Pinocchio outfit!
Well I hope you are enjoying the beginning of fall. I for one am thrilled that summer is biting the dust. The humidity in New York is rough on me. I do like all the outdoor activities that are easier to do in the summer in New York though. I miss the kayaking already! I do enjoy the change of seasons and the leaves in the street, the bundling up in sweaters, hot cider, all of those little things that follow suit once the air gets crisp and has a bite to it.

June Lang

Betty Grabel 1935-1940

Brenda McNeilly’s Art Deco collection

Emily when she was a toddler

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Wall Streamers and “Handy Dandy Notebooks” From Granny Chic

October 12, 2015

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The handy dandy notebooks recipe comes from the Granny Chic book by Dottie Angel and Ted & Agnes. The idea is partially a way to reuse unused bits of paper or recycle old envelopes. So the first thing you need to collect is the stacks of paper you wish to reuse. When I am working at accounting jobs there are often unused pieces of paper, so I had a stack of unused pieces that I recycled. For fabric I used some old pieces of Liberty fabric that was pretty much swatches for upholstery or thicker household fabrics.

They do not have a recipe for streamers in the book. However, there are a bunch of pictures of them in the book itself. Plus in Dottie Angel’s Flickr photo albums there are enough pretty streamers draped across walls to make you want to create your own.

If you have basic sewing ability it is easy enough to figure out the streamers. If you are a real novice at sewing I can give you a few hints. You need a long piece of ribbon to hang your little bits of fabric scraps on after you have cut them into the shapes you desire. After that I found it easiest to sew a small zigzag hem on the little bits of fabric. Then attach them to your ribbon where you want them, with another zigzag stitch across, and remember to leave the edges open for space to hang the streamers.

If you get carried away or wish to make more elaborate streamers you may want to check out this video:https:/watch?v=er43ZIKEh64. I also attached it to my DIY recycling videos page. Aya’s project is much more intense, but if you really want to get into streamers, since they are colorful and pretty then this is another route.

These two are small projects that don’t take a lot of time. They could also make nice gifts to send to people over the holidays. The little streamers are nice since they can quickly cheer up a bland-looking dorm room where someone has just moved in.

I haven’t gotten to more projects from this book just yet, other than the “quirky & jolly string,” which I made heart-shaped strings from, and the “perfectly peach half pinny” aprons, which are made of vintage fabrics, pillowcases and linens. Both of the links to those posts are attached to the bottom of this post. I also bought Simplicity’s Dottie Angel pattern 1080A in two sizes so before too long I can make dresses for my daughter and myself from Tif Fussell’s pattern. Tif Fussell is the creator of Dottie Angel. Both Tif and Rachelle Blondel, who are the authors of Granny Chic, previously had blogs. Rachelle now has another blog, Dock & Nettle. If you wish to see Tif’s previous blog posts from her blog they are at http://dottieangel.blogspot.com/.

Rachel Blondel’s current blog is at http://www.dockandnettle.com/.

If you wish to see her previous blog posts from “tales of ted & agnes,” they are at http://talesoftedandagnes.blogspot.com/.

I hope you enjoyed this post and are enjoying the beginning of fall. I have attached a small gallery again of pictures from the Granny Chic book.

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Josh Davy and His Robots Made From Reclaimed Materials

September 14, 2015

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Several months ago I saw a photo of a robot made by Josh Davy. I immediately wrote my friend to ask where he bought that robot. Josh has been making his robots since 2011, when his first one was made of wood. In 2014 he began making a collection of robots, one per week for three months, and the collection grew more elaborate as time went on. He began using bits of metal, parts from bicycle gears and old vintage tools. He would then fill in any gaps in the work with his silversmith skills and equipment. When he had his first robot gallery show he sold eleven of fourteen pieces on the opening weekend.

I really like Josh’s robots. They are as unique as various individuals. They vary from looking somewhat serious to playful. Josh leaves his viewers to interpret the robots as they choose. Some of his pieces have broken watch faces from old timepieces; others have small bits of animal bones. They all are very interesting to observe.

Josh also is a jewelry maker. He grew up being intrigued with his grandmother’s jewelry box. He began making jewelry and miniature metal sculptures. Later he was accepted at the Cleveland Institute of Art. While in Cleveland he was a partner in a small artisan jewelry shop for four years. In 2010, after joining a Denver art gallery as a painter, he began silversmithing again. Between his jewelry and sculptures he has been creating enough art work to do two solo shows a year at Denver galleries. You can view more of his work at his website: http://www.joshdavy.com/

I hope you enjoyed this post about Josh’s work. I am aiming to find more artists to write about. I will be on the lookout for artists who are using reclaimed materials especially.

Josh Davy

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Bernard Blossac & Jean DeMarchy- Two Fashion Illustrators from the 1940’s to 1960’s

September 10, 2015

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I ran across some of Bernard de la Bourdonnaie Blossac’s illustrations awhile back when I was writing the post about Antonio Lopez, the illustrator. I was struck by the simple elegance of his work. He was born in Paris, France in 1917. His parents owned a large piece of property in Solonge, north-central France and this place is where they enjoyed the sport of hunting. Bernard Blossac, a more creative soul, did not like hunting and he spent his time drawing and painting still life settings and landscapes instead.

He studied at various art academies and in the atelier of Paul Colin, prior to being discovered by designer Robert Piguet. Piguet introduced him to Paul Caldaques, President of the Chambre Synicale de la Couture. (1) Soon after meeting Caldaques he began publishing his drawings in Vogue, L’Officiel, L’Art et la Mode, Harper’s Bazaar and International Textiles. (2) Aside from Piguet, Blossac worked for such designers as Christian Dior, Jacques Fath, Jean Desses, Balenciaga, Worth, Carven and Givenchy. (3)

After the war ended in Europe, Blossac drew for several foreign journals. He traveled to the US and to London, England for business. For thirty years he devoted himself to his craft professionally. After that he continued to draw, only more for pleasure than for a living. At the time of his death in 2002, his nephew, whom he had adopted, took care of his remaining collection of art.

I could not find much information about Jean DeMarchy, the illustrator of the final drawing in this post. This does not stop me from sharing the stunning drawing by him for designer Lanvin in 1952. Much of DeMarchy’s work was published in “Harper’s Bazaar” during the 1950’s.

Both artists featured in this post used pencil, pen, soft pastels, and charcoal for their mediums. Both incorporated lovely simple lines and achieved the look of aristocratic elegance and class in their drawings. While the clothing itself was beautiful, the artists captured the essence of the experience of wearing the outfits.

My grandmother, Annette Lavender, used to have a beautiful collection of vintage fashion illustrations upon her bedroom wall. As a child I often admired them. What a lovely way to get a glimpse into the fashionable era of another time.

If you yourself would like to collect some fashion illustrations of the past, this website (http://hprints.com/search/Bernard-Blossac/) has several prints by Bernard Blossac, as well as other fashion illustrators. I did not see a copy of this illustration by Jean DeMarchy however.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I had foot surgery on my right foot last Friday morning, so I have been recuperating and it is a slow process. I find it quite difficult to wrap my head around writing posts at this moment. I have several in the works but perhaps by next week I will be more able to focus on them. I have been on pain killers and feeling quite drugged. Right now my life is revolving around my right foot healing and that involves a small repetition of daily acts such as icing my foot regularly, cat napping and hobbling around in between. Luckily I have been getting help and am being well taken care of.

I do hope you enjoy whatever is left of summer, and the coming joy of fall. Fall is one of my favorite seasons and I am seriously looking forward to fall and fall posts!