Thanks to my friend interior designer Dee Elms of Terrat Elms, who suggested me for the project, Mr. Webster and I have been collaborating on bringing new artwork to his Boston Design Center showroom, Webster & Company.
I pick the artists (most have ties to New England) and present available pieces to Mr. Webster. He and Visual Design Director Jonathan Giacoletto choose which ones to feature and where to hang them. We began in fall 2015 and it’s an ongoing success.
For a full listing of available works (as well as those that have sold), see the Webster Art Project tab here on my blog. If you are interested in pricing, please email me at stylecarrot [at] gmail [dot] com.
This fall I’ve had the opportunity to work on a wonderful new project: curating artwork for the Webster & Company showroom at the Boston Design Center.
I love art. I buy art like other women buy shoes. I have master’s in art history that I did for fun and I started collecting art around the same time. Friends have asked me for help choosing artwork, and over the years I’ve often thought of art consulting for interior designers.
This summer I was at the bar at Blackfish in Truro with my friend Dee Elms,who encouraged me. (If you don’t know her, she is a very talented, supremely generous Boston-based interior designer). A week later I got an email from Mr. Webster at Webster & Company, asking me if I’d be interested in helping find local Boston artists whose work he could hang in his showroom. (A little birdie suggested me.) He was looking to do a complete swap of everything he had hanging. Within a month.
In a frenzy, I scoured my files and sources for Boston artists (and some further afield in Maine and on the Cape) whose work I loved that aligned with Mr. Webster’s tastes. We met in early September, narrowed down my finds, and over the last few weeks the very gracious Mr. Webster and his meticulous visual design director Jonathan Giacoletto have hung the work. There are about 75 pieces from almost 20 artists, all either local or with ties to the area.
It’s been a thrilling experience, both working with Mr. Webster and his team and all the artists. I haven’t seen everything hung yet, but I plan to go this week. If you happen to be over there, stop by. (Obviously they’re all for sale. If you you’re interested, you can let me know.) Here is one piece from each artist represented. If you read ARTmonday regularly you will recognize some names. More photos to come of the installations in the coming weeks.
John Ross
John Ross, who has a degree from UCLA and is co-founder of design label PATCH NYC, composes photos inspired by Dutch still life paintings in his South End studio using only natural light.
Tess Atkinson
Tess Atkinson, who graduated from Skidmore College and studied photography at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, likens her images to being lost in a trance.
Linda Pagani
Linda Pagani, who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, photographs vast spaces to compose abstract new environments.
Anna Kasabian
In her studio in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Anna Kasabian crafts wafer thin porcelain pieces that recall the forms and motions of flowers, sea plants, and ocean waves.
Jenny Brillhart
Abstracting beauty from the ordinary, Jenny Brillhart, who holds an M.F.A. from New York Academy of Art and a B.A. from Smith College, lives and works in Miami and Stonington, Maine.
Judyth Katz
Having begun her career as a fiber artist, today Judyth Katz works in paints and pastels to create abstracted landscapes en plain air and from her studio on the Outer Cape.
MP Landis
MP Landis, who traveled the world with his Mennonite missionary parents, opened a bookstore, and painted in Provincetown, recently relocated from Brooklyn to Portland, Maine.
Jenny Prinn
Rain, laughter, footsteps, and foghorns are examples of the fleeting inspirational moments that inform Maine-based artist Jenny Prinn’s colorful abstract paintings.
Grace Hopkins
Grace Hopkins, who holds a B.F.A. from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, creates photographs with he look and feel of abstract paintings.
Hilary Tait Norod
Neuroscience and psychology are strong influences on Boston-based painter Hilary Tait Norod, who holds a B.A. in studio art from Skidmore College.
Steve Barylick
Former creative director and muralist Steve Barylick, who holds a B.F.A. from Massachusetts College of Art, paints abstracts at Joy Street Artist Studios in Somerville.
Linda Cordner
Linda Cordner layers pigmented translucent wax to depict subtle, atmospheric landscapes, all created in her SoWa studio.
Alicia Savage
Boston-based photographer Alicia Savage, who holds a B.A. from Northeastern University, documents her life and mind in self-portraits that hide her face but uncover her journey.
Budd Hopkins
Abstract Expressionist Budd Hopkins (1931—2011), who worked in New York and Wellfleet, combined geometrics with a gestural style. The Whitney Museum and The Guggenheim, among others, own his work.
Sarah Lutz
Sarah Lutz, whose abstract work refers to the natural world, holds a B.S. from Skidmore College, an M.F.A. from The American University, and lives and works in New York City and Truro, Mass.
Stephen Sheffield
Using film and nontraditional techniques, South Shore-based photographer Stephen Sheffield, an alumnus of Cornell University and California College of the Arts, creates narrative images with a cinematic feel.
Ellen Levine Dodd
Ellen Levine Dodd, who grew up and studied art in New England, creates expressive compositions with colorful gestural brushwork in her Northern California studio.
Joe Diggs
Working from his home studio overlooking a pond on Cape Cod, Joe Diggs sometimes strategically plans his compositions while other times is guided by pure emotion.
When someone from Framebridge reached out to me I was intrigued. If you read my blog regularly or follow my Instagram, you know we have a lot of artwork. And a lot of it is unframed. I immediately accepted the offer to try it out its service for mail order picture frames.
Susan Tynan (who hails from local brain bank Harvard Business School) founded Framebridge last year. She was spot on in the thinking behind the company, saying “What makes visiting a traditional custom frame shop uncomfortable? Let’s remove it. The up-selling, the unclear pricing, the overwhelming, outdated selection–gone.” Because seriously, nobody has used those glossy purple frames with the rounded edges since the 1970s.
Framebridge offers 21 styles of mail order picture frames, which are hand-cut and assembled at its production studio in Maryland using top-of-the-line materials including acid-free matting and foam boards and UV protective acrylic.
Here’s how it works: Choose a frame from the 21 options (you can try them virtually by uploading a photo of your piece), provide approximate measurements, choose from a white matte, off white matte, or no matte. If you can’t decide on a frame style, the Framebridge design team will make three suggestions for you.
Once you know what you want, indicate whether you have your own mailer or want them to send you a flat mailer or tube mailer. That’s it. Soon the mailer will arrive at your doorstep; pop in your art, stick on the pre-paid shipping label, and send it off. You’ll receive an email when they get your piece and another in about two weeks once they’ve shipped it back to you. If the team has questions (maybe they’re not sure about orientation or somesuch issue), you’ll get a friendly personal email.
If you have a digital file, you can upload it and Framebridge will print and frame it for you using heavyweight, luster photo paper with archival inks. You can even have them frame mini Instagram photos through the iPhone app . Pricing is based on size, not frame style, and ranges from $39 for Instagram minis to $149 for a piece up to 32″ x 40″. Shipping is free both ways.
A few weeks ago I got back my first two mail order picture frames from Framebridge. I love them and I just put through orders for two more. Have a look.
Stephen Sheffield
Fort Point, Boston-based photographer Stephen Sheffield, who is a friend of ours, posted this photo of his son swimming last summer on Facebook. I had to have it to add to my growing collection of artwork of pools and swimmers. I love the way the moody blue water looks against the pale wood Marin frame from Framebridge. It’s on my bookshelf right over the sofa where I work.
My husband spotted this Stephen Sheffield photograph (on the left) on Facebook a couple of years ago. I think Steve shot it with one hand while driving the trailer that he and his wife Alison decided to rent for a road trip to Disney World with their kids during winter break. I used Framebridge’s modern white frame called Irvine. (The piece on the right is a watercolor by my son done in the woods during an art in nature class at Castle Hill in Truro years ago. It’s in an ill-fitting off the shelf frame.)
Stephen Sheffield
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F R A M I N G O P T I O N Sat F R A M E B R I D G E
There are plenty of options at Framebridge. Let me know how yours turns out.
Fort Point Open Studios in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood is this coming weekend, Saturday & Sunday October 18th & 19th. It is the 35th anniversary of Fort Point Open Studios and more than 150 artists open their studio doors to visitors, thanks to the hard work of artist and organizer Gabrielle Schaffner.
You can spend the day exploring the historic waterfront warehouses (there are artists’ studios in 14 buildings, all within walking distance, though there will be a free shuttle too) that are home to painters, sculptors, ceramicists, jewelers, performance artists, printmakers, book artists, photographers, and others for a behind the scenes look at where Boston artists create their work. There are both established artists and emerging talents.
My friend and longtime Fort Point artist, photographer Stephen Sheffield whose studio I blogged about this spring, will be there, as well as graphic designer Jennifer Hill who I know from Design Salon (and Facebook), and furniture maker Quentin Kelly, whose color-edged stool I included in the Boston Globe recently. Also, textile artist Amy Nguyen who creates Japanese designs; I met her last year at the Apple Store Genius Bar. I was also very psyched to discover, just today, photographer Alicia Savage whose “Morning Light” series I plan to do a follow up post on, and the chunky scarves and mittens by A Third Piece.
Fort Point Open Studios is free, and there is free parking too in the lot at A Street and Binford Streets. (Turn onto Binford Street from A Street towards the Channel, then turn left into the parking.) Head down there next weekend, and look for me.
This weekend is Fort Point Open Studios in Fort Point Channel, Boston. Some of the artists I’ve blogged about, plus plenty of others, will be opening up their studios for visits and sales. Here’s a preview. Hope to see you there!
Saturday, October 17th and Sunday, October 18th, 11am to 6pm
