Morphing Mixed Medium

Maria Pezzano is a name synonymous for art, painting, textiles and entrepreneurship... It is also synonymous for friendship.

I was lucky enough to meet Maria and her family as they were my neighbours when I lived in my loft conversion in one of the oldest and cutest neighbourhoods in Guelph. Her smile and passion for what she does is infectious, her giving and generous nature are a rarity these days, and her talent....well, as the pictures below will attest...her talent is insurmountable!

Maria explains her artistic 'process' the best, so I will leave it to her to describe how she comes to produce these magnificent pieces....

"The Process"

Maria Pezzano creates paintings using mixed medium.

From these paintings, she creates patterns and designs.

These are then printed with eco-friendly pigmented inks on organic cotton sateen.

These are then sewn into decorative cushions and duvet covers, locally.

Maria's designs are also printed on wallpaper to compliment the soft surfaces.

Other fabrics include: silk crepe de chine, upholstery twill, cotton linen blend, cotton silk and more.

Maria's ability to bring her visions to life through mixed media and to then transform these pieces of art into soft pieces of art through cushions and duvets are both inspiring and brilliant! Talk about the best of both (all) worlds!

The duvet covers are absolutely stunning...

One of her new pieces....

 Her use of colour and texture.....wow.....

 Cushions and cushion covers.

 Her father was a tailor.....

The next time you are in Guelph, be sure to drop by Maria's boutique at 77 Suffolk St. As you step through the front door, you will be greeted with a warm 'hug' of colour, texture and vision.

Maria and her new Studio partner, Karen Whylie/Coyote Photo, will be holding Fall and Holiday Open Studios October 18 & 20 and November 23 & 24. BE SURE TO DROP BY!! Also be sure to follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook!

I will leave you with some more of Maria's own words...she truly does say it best..

RR

Cottage Dreamin'

If you haven't gotten a copy of House and Home's April Edition...Go...Get one...Right now! You WILL NOT be disappointed! 

Whether it's the Frenchie with the Sunshine Yellow Bentwood Bench or the articles on 'The French Translation' and 'Pretty Organized', this volume is full of great ideas and pops of colour for Spring!

It also has an article that completely stopped me in my tracks and literally made me say, "Wow" out loud....The article is "Fresh & Wild".

It's about "a young couple who reinvigorate a lakeside cottage with nature-inspired finishes and exotic flourishes".

To me this is THE perfect cottage....the stone fireplace, exposed beams, the open-airy feel, the decor, colours, textures, layout, living space, the lot, the lake, the deck, the dock, the cedar shakes on the exterior...the list goes on and on about what I love and I literally would not change a thing!

They did a great job of mixing rustic, antique, weathered pieces with fresh new pieces. The 'beachy' colour palette helps keep the airy feel throughout, in combination with the tall ceilings and so, so many windows!

I love the owner's quote..."Cottages need a bit of whimsy...I love the relaxed vibe created when pieces from a million different places come together." I couldn't agree more!! The article talks about how this cottage has been a work in progress for quite some time and to me, that's exactly what a cottage should be...a never ending project that allows you to transform it into a place that is truly you...

If you are a regular reader of my Blog, you know that my goal is to own a cottage in the next 3-5 years....this is just the kind of article that helps me keep focused to keep on track to my goal of cottage ownership!

Happy Sunday!

RR

Just meant to be.....

A few weeks ago, I had posted the link to Dwell Studio's Calvin Leather Chairs on the RR FB page.

When I saw these tub chairs, I loved absolutely everything about them...their shape, their lines, their colour...everything! Then,... I noticed the price....not unreasonable whatsoever for such a timeless piece, but definitely out of my range.

I also realllly liked this version in the Glazed Linen fabric shown below!

So.....I happened to be out and about on Saturday with a good friend, checking out a new Flea Market in the area when......we stumbled upon these 2 'diamonds in the rough'............

Now I know they aren't EXACTLY like the Calvin chair, but when you remove the skirt, they're quite close! They're incredibly comfie (we did the 10 mins sit and chat test), they're in really good shape and best of all...they were only $20 each!!

As we were sitting there chatting, I got out my phone and went straight to the Tonic Living webpage to  see if I could find an upholstery weight fabric that I could cover them in. 

Needless to say, I would have had to have purchased about 20 chairs to re-upholster for all the fabric choices that I loved, but I was able to narrow it down to the option below....

It's called "Willow Storm" and it is a 'faux bois' pattern by Premier Prints.

Here's another view...

My friend and I had fallen for the chairs and when I posted their picture along with the fabric choice on my Instagram page, so did everyone else! The responses were all in complete agreement....GET THEM!!!

And this is where the story gets ever more interesting!



When I had been looking at the Calvin chairs, I had also noticed and really liked this Mallory Chair, also by Dwell Studio.

Again, it had great lines, it looked extremely comfortable,  I loved the exposed wooden legs and the Glazed Linen Pearl option below had me almost drooling!


So...on this same day of treasure hunting with my friend...what else did we happen to stumble upon?!?!

Wellll.....This!!!! (see below)

Another chair that was very, very close to the Mallory and again, after another 'sit and chat' test for comfort, I got it! Just like the other 2 chairs, it too was only $20, is in great shape and has fantastic lines!

On to the Tonic Living webpage we went again and found this.... This is called "Cameron Storm", a more rustic, hand drawn chevron design, also by Premier Prints.




My friend and I were hooked, but I again turned to my Instagram followers and again received a resounding response to GET IT!!!

The only thing that concerned me was the actual re-uphostering....I had never done an entire chair before and thought these may be a little beyond my level of expertise until I had a bit more practice. As we were checking out, my friend and I were talking about this when the woman at the register said, "if you're looking for someone to redo your chairs, I know just the man and he's here right now".

THE FATES WERE WITH US ON THIS SHOPPING TRIP!

She took us to one of the other booths and introduced us to this lovely gentleman who had a look at the 3 chairs, we came to an agreement on price for all 3 for his work, I left them there for him and as they say, the rest is history (until I get the fabric delivered and can get it to him that is)......

It was one of those days when everything just fell into place....and by my calculation, I'll have 3 'new' chairs for just less than $200 each!!! Talk about something being meant to be....

It really does 'pay' to shop local and support local artisans!

RR

Curb Appeal..

While I'm finalizing my backyard plans, quotes and design, I thought I'd do some work on my front yard.

This was the front of my cute little cottage 'before'.It was a great starting point of established boxwood and lilac hedges (see below), giant hostas and bleeding hearts.



To begin to add to the curb appeal, I started off with planters with some annuals and went from there....

I wanted to stick with a consistent colour palate and consistent plants for the planters. I used Coleus (in 2 colours), Grasses, Potatoe Vines,  and Creeping Jenny.

I also stuck with the same style of planter. Squared, clean lines and metal.

Here is a picture of the planter, just after planting about a month ago...

This is a picture of the planter today....

As you can see, it's really filling in and I love the look! The hostas are really coming along too (see to the right of the picture)....they are one of my favorite perennials....they come in so many wonderful shades of greens and different leaf shapes & sizes.

These are the smaller planters up my front steps...a cute addition to just add a bit more foliage and colour.



It was then onto the perennial bed that boarders the sidewalk.

This actually started last summer when I began  'phase one'. I dug and planted 3 smaller beds, with the plan to make it into one larger bed this summer. With my trusty four legged, furry gardening partner, we set to work!

 

These are tulips I planted in one of the 3 gardens in the front of the house last summer. When I transformed the 3 beds into one larger bed this spring, I dug up the bulbs (after letting the flowers brown) and have replanted them, ...so fingers crossed they come up again next year !

I had my plan, knew the species I wanted, the colour scheme I was working toward and I then made many trips to various garden centres around Guelph and Burlington. One of my favorites is Northland Nursery just north of Waterdown (they have great prices, an amazing selection and to top it all off...they have Labs and horses..I was in heaven!) The plants below on my side stairs are all from Northland.

Notice the walkway to the left in the picture above? The garden that runs along it was also a project last summer and I ended up planting it almost entirely with hostas...the picture below is one of my favorites!

So...after lots of digging, removing sod, adding soil, peat, 'fertilizer', planting, watering and mulching....here it is..my new front yard perennial garden!!







I used 3 different Hydrangeas, a Burning Bush, SandCherries, a Barberry, Grasses, Dogwoods and a variety of other perennials, with the goal of sticking with a green, white, pink and deep burgundy/red wine colour scheme.

I am really, really happy with the final result and can't wait for it to begin filling in!

Down the road (hopefully by the end of the summer) I will also put in a flagstone patio between this new bed and the existing hosta bed, from the driveway to the walkway into the house. It is the never ending fun of home ownership!

Once things have filled in just a bit more (and I've cut the grass), I'll post a full 'after picture' of the front of the house/cottage...so "stay tuned"!

RR