I'll Be Home For Christmas......

It's been so lovely to be home the past few days after two long weeks of finals.

While on break I have the extreme fortune of shadowing my mentor Jackie Starr on a few of her projects (more on that to come).... 

But since I've been home, I've noticed that my Mother needs some serious reworking on her house...

My Mom and Dad live in the Central Coast of California which is now known (with much eye-rolling) throughout the world as the happiest place in America.

Though it is flattering to have our own Shangri-La, we don't want anyone else finding out about it...

While we live just south of San Luis Obispo in a tiny village called Shell Beach, all the locals consider ourselves SLO people. 

View from my house... no big deal ;)

Unfortunately, THAT is just how my Mother's decorating in our home has been going since we first remodeled it 13 years ago..... SLOW.

There are still walls with only primer on it, cheap bathtubs were installed and the faux yellow gold handles on EVERYTHING make it quite.... how shall I say.... lame.

Now don't get me wrong I love my Mom to death..... however.... her lack of time put into the wellbeing of her house is sometimes embarrassing.

I have told her many times she needs a facelift on the place and could never quite make her see what I (and everyone else) was seeing...

Then I found the perfect adjective...

...Our home looks like a well furnished frat house...

Just the words seemed to make the song "Amazing Grace" come to life! She once was lost but now she's found, was blind but now she sees..."

My point is not to dog on my Mother, she does amazing things for so many people and gives every breath of herself to doing good. But in the process of helping others, the one who has suffered the most is her house. 

Now I will do something about it....

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Showdown: Heather vs. The Rich Hoarders.

I helped my dear friend and mentor, Jackie Starr, reorganize new bookshelves in a room she was redesigning. There must have been almost 1000 books to put up and the owners didn't want to get rid of any of them. 

Jackie is an amazing commercial interior designer and I am so happy she asked me to help her set up these new shelves. Two hours into the job she had to leave to work on another project, leaving the rest of the work up to me. 

I think the result turned out pretty stellar.

In the end it was Heather:1 Hoarders:0

Still Life.... FINAL-ly

Had the hardest time in drawing. My siblings have always been amazing amazing artists and after 5 months of drawing and composition I finally ended the class with this creation. 

I must say, the bagel is one of my favorite parts of this. But it was hard finding fruit for this stil life that complimented each other that I would still want to eat ;)


The Vase however, I am super proud of. the likeness is uncanny :)

I just hope this now means I'll never have to use oil pastels again....

till next time...

Creating Kate

My Drawing and Composition instructor, Amanda, gave the 6 of us in class tiny templates of a photo to grid and reproduce. We all had no idea who we were drawing, as the pieces had been shuffled and divvied up randomly. 

I think the Kate Moss would be proud ;-)

Love and Other Holidays...

My family and I have this tradition every Thanksgiving to make an ornament out of what we can find in the house and exchange them after dinner. This year my lovely boyfriend shared Thanksgiving with us and brought his own ornament to exchange. As luck would have it, my 90 year old grandmother, Eileen, was the winner of his little creation. Needless to say, she LOVED it. :)

Malcolm Home, Studio Apartment Remodel

The Malcolm family asked me to redesign their daughter's bedroom into a studio apartment, where she may have more privacy. 

With the addition of the kitchenette, faux oak floors and new placement for the bathroom door, the remodel was a great success.

 Original artwork of the client  and client's friends was displayed through out the studio.

 Attention to detail was given to the smallest corners, including a vase of dried roses from the client's many performances on the stage.

 A reinforcement beam was redecorated as not only a support against earthquakes, but a ceiling lever book shelf.

 An old couch given to the client was stripped of its upholstery and cleaned to show its cream finish that complimented the room.

 Scattered framing surrounding the bed not only added character, but distracted from the concealed door, which the client wanted covered for privacy, but was not to be walled in.

 Depictions of Alice in Wonderland can be seen throughout the apartment.

 A recycled Victorian vanity was restored and painted in a matte black with dark gold trim to offset the white of the room.

 The grey wall paint was added to open the room while simultaneously giving it a calming feeling in contrast to the many pieces of wall art.

 The espresso colored kitchenette was added so that the client could make meals in her studio without disturbing the residents in the main home.

 Colorful, mid century dishes were found in various antique shops and flea markets.

 The Dala Pony also been seen throughout the apartment to pay homage to the clients Scandinavian culture. 

 The "Luna" painted guitar was painted by me personally to add character to the instrument.

 The coffee table was also restored by me to exhibit the client's love of collage, travel photography and editorial photography. It is finished with a polyurethane varnish for protection.

 More details of the original art wall.

 More details of the dish ware.

More details in the television corner.

Photos by Terilee Dawn