Growing up in Holland, MI, every May the town was absorbed in preparation and celebration of Tulip Time. This annual festival celebrates the Dutch culture of the founding settlers and every year massive fields of tulips bloom and wooden shoes are retrieved from storage. Being neither Dutch nor prone to enjoy historical festivals as a child, I grew up annoyed at the very site of a tulip. But now as an adult, geographically removed from the claustrophobic tourist crowds of Tulip Time, these bulbs now have a soft spot for me as a harbinger of springtime. One of the more interesting anecdotes about tulips and the Dutch was Tulip Mania, a period where tulips, imported from Persia, were so wildly popular that they had economic impact. From wikipedia: Tulip mania (Dutch: tulpenmanie) was a period during the Dutch Golden Age when contract prices for some bulbs of the recently introduced and fashionable tulip reached extraordinarily high levels, with the major acceleration starting in 1634 and then dramatically collapsing in February 1637. It is generally considered to have been the first recorded speculative bubble or asset bubble in history. In many ways, the tulip mania was more of a then-unknown socio-economic phenomenon than a significant economic crisis. It had no critical influence on the prosperity of the Dutch Republic, which was one of the world's leading economic and financial powers in the 17th century, with the highest per capita income in the world from about 1600 to about 1720.[4][5][6] The term "tulip mania" is now often used metaphorically to refer to any large economic bubble when asset prices deviate from intrinsic values." That does sound somewhat familiar to something(bitcoin). Born from this mania was a unique vessel to display these valuable blooms, the Dutch Tulip Vase, also called a Pyramid Vase. Tulip vases can be round, square or oval and they are made in different sizes; the big ones have multiple floors and consist of loose stackable sections. At every level of the vase, one can insert flowers into each of the spouts. The big tulip vases were used to decorate the hearth during the summer and the smaller vases would be placed on the table on a festive occasion. Here are a few of my favorites: If you have any interest in acquiring one of your own, Etsy has quite a few options, or you can get one modeled after those in the Rijksmuseum at their gift shop.
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Faye Wei Wei is a British painter that produces large scale, enigmatic paintings. With their surreal imagery and loose brushwork these paintings remind me so much of the Symbolist movement of the late 19th century. Her works are a high contrast combination of thick black line-work and pastel colors. Sometimes the imagery looks like it may be an illustration for an ancient Roman myth, and she is seems to be part of a new wave of neoclassical artists that are popping up in Britain. I am very much in approval of this embracing of the surreal and classic. In an interview with Arteviste she describes her process of making her work:
"I usually start with a feeling, line of poetry or an image that will stick to my mind and not let go for days. I try and get into a state of total commitment and concentration. I’ll draw a lot and sit and think for a long, long time. I think I have to be feeling quite brave that day. It takes a lot of nerve to make a mark that is convincing. Something the beautiful Nicole Wittenberg taught me in New York was how to hold a brush loaded with paint, how to push it with conviction and power on the surface of the canvas, to let it ebb and flow with the emotional logic of the form you are presenting and to never lose your nerve half way. Nicole is the most wonderful human and would paint by my side and let me watch and absorb all her wisdom. We would spend afternoons just drawing lips together, or drawing the sparkle of someone’s eye she’d show me how to make them wink right back at you. The process of painting is always a lovely surprise, it’s always that beautiful, pleasurable moment where you step back and see what you’ve made and it’s quite an amazing feeling of wonder. I feel as if I’m dancing with something that beats and breathes, working to form a seductive image." You can purchase some of her small run prints for a fairly reasonable price from the Cob. gallery. The Charleston House is a living work of art. Tucked away in Sussex, the house was the hub for the Bloomsbury group, a collection of artists and writers including Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. The couple rented the house in 1916 and it became a retreat for artist, that then adorned every inch in art and collected decor. House & Garden UK has a beautiful tour photographed by Paul Massey. Read on for more. Raoul Dufy was a French artist who helped originate the artistic movement of Fauvism. Les Fauves, “the beasts” in French, were artists that painted in a bold and frenetic manner. Their works were considered so wild that critics said the paintings could have only been created by beasts. While his work would now be considered fairly tame, at the time it was truly groundbreaking. Once he was exposed to cubism his art took on the bold lines and color washes that became his distinctive style. Dufy enjoyed success as an illustrator and decorative designer for textiles and ceramics. His work often featured glamorous interiors and occasions, like yachting parties and the French Riviera. It was this focus on less than serious subject matters that may have hindered him from having as much critical success. What I love most about his work is that is always seems so joyful! There’s a riot of color and the line work is so energetic. Just looking at his paintings makes me smile and I think his illustration background influences his interiors, I feel like they are scenes from a story and I try to interpret them.
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