I love Arizona in March.  It brings beautiful weather, people-watching, socializing and continuous art festivals.

Saturday I spent my day volunteering at the Carefree Fine Art & Wine Festival with my husband Perry, Arizona Luxury Real Estate.  This show was the first of many art shows happening in the area and I just love them.  All of the creative people in one general area, waiting to finally make all their hard work worth it!  To show the world!

Carefree’s Fine Art & Wine Show was sponsored by the Thunderbird Artists and if you missed it, don’t worry, they will show again in Fountain Hills March 18-20, 2011.  The Thunderbird Artists have a spectacular show of over 165 nationally acclaimed and award winning artists. For an extra bonus these festivals have live music, wine tasting, food venues and excellent people watching!  For information on the art, artists and upcoming shows visit:   www.thunderbirdartists.com

Below are pics of who and what I saw:

This coming weekend March 11-13, 2011 is the Scottsdale Art Festival sponsored by Scottsdale Performing Arts at the Civic Center Park located in Old Town, Scottsdale.  This festival (more…)

Graffiti & Street Art is something I love to see when traveling to a big city and it has come a long way from what it use to be. It has helped beautify buildings & neighborhoods that once were ignored, if done in a positive way. The caption “Creative Vandalism” says alot, but should it be Vandalism? I think that’s where we need to put things in perspective. This art intrigues me especially because it was never intended to appeal to everyone, which in my opinion makes it – “Out of the Box!”

When I first started this post I was just going to show different works of Graffiti that I liked, then mentioning a bit about the artist, etc. yet when I started researching I ended up finding out so much more about the differences between Graffiti & Street Art and what the Artists feelings were behind them.

In one Bloggers statement about the difference:
“…….Most graffiti artists are self taught, street artists come straight out of art school. Graffiti is a lifestyle,  Street Art is a trend…..” http://tag-line.blogspot.com/2007/04/evaluations-debates-and-comparisons.html

What do Graffiti Artists feel about Street Art?  Most aren’t crazy about Street Art.  They wonder why Street Artists get “Preferential Treatment” when for years they have been slandered & arrested.  Many are angered because Street Artists are often hired to place their art over Graffiti and they feel it is a form of “disrespect” from one artist to another.

Street Artists don’t seem to have the same feelings.  Because most are commissioned, they feel it’s a job they were hired to do and they need to do their job. They have great respect for Graffiti and the Artists that create them, Graffiti started it all.  Street Artists feel Street Art is considered a “Cross over Medium.”

There has been a big debate on bringing Graffi indoors and into Museums and I’m not sure about that.  I think………… (more…)

I attended the High Point Furniture Market in October and the impression I got and buzz that I heard
was that it was slow. That the economy was definitely effecting market.  Well I expected this, in fact, I purposely went because of all things, I was excited about this.

I am an experienced designer with a new location.  I have been in the design industry since the late 80′s, working hard at it, taking time off for kids, working at it again, etc. etc.

When my husband took a job in AZ I knew that I had to start again.  Build again.  Start with a library again, seeing as I no longer had large design centers at my fingertips.  Well visiting High Point in a slow market and eager showrooms and reps have certainly helped me.  I never understood why manufacturers shrugged their noses up at designers and only welcomed the furniture stores with the large orders. Can’t there be both?Designers are the ones that are keeping the constant flow of revenue……..
Upon my return, I have received numerous amounts of material to help me facilitate my business and I will make sure I return the favor.  Thank you.

Now about the exciting things I saw!!

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Pantone is a standardized color system. It allows all manufacturers to use the same color, yet in their own unique way.

I just discovered the IPhone4 “My Pantone” app….and what a great app it is. It’s like a paint fandeck, with over 225 colors, on your phone and so much more. You can take a picture of something or use an existing photo, it scans the photo, picks out the colors that apply, then displays them. You can then select the colors that you want, drop them into a menu, save them, email them or both!

I can’t wait to play with this app at a clients home. I just love new technology!

I belong to a designer chat every Tuesday and the topic today is “What is my niche?”

Well…good question and takes a bit of thinking, can you smell smoke?

After contemplating this one for a bit, I don’t feel like I can just describe just one niche….I think I have a few different niches, so I will list a few that I am more passionate about. (You can recognize these with all the “loves” in the sentence, couldn’t think on another word!)

** I love to renovate. I love the history in older homes and buildings, I love to preserve or incorporate old and new. I love going into an old house and opening up walls to make it more open and into today’s world. I love to wonder who lived here before and before them and what they did for the world.

My niche: Combining old with new to give an updated look and feel

** I love to do framing walk-thrus on new construction. I always find hidden areas that can become storage. I find areas that reflect more or less light than I originally thought and use that to my advantage by using a mirror or a reflective accessory to bring more light into the room or a place for a halogen spot to light up a particular piece of artwork. Framing stage is also a phase to reassure any electrical questions you may of had.

My niche: Seeing and Understanding All Aspects of the Job in the Construction Phase.

**I love color. I love when a client is not afraid of color. I love when a client gets excited with me when I suggest using something bold and something that makes a statement.

My Niche: Color is definitely my niche!

**I love installing jobs. I love opening up the boxes at the job site and putting the picture that is in my    head into reality. I love presenting the final project to client and they are as happy as I am.

My Niche: Loving what I do and feeling the passion until the very end!!

This caught my eye when I was in Florida and reading “Florida Design Magazine”.  I titled my blog the same name because it’s perfect!!  Fearless with color!!  That is so me!

I love color.  Color can make such a statement.  Dictate a mood. Lift spirits or make things more serene.

I have found some clients intimidated with color yet if done correctly can make a room ageless.  By putting color in the simple accents such as a coat of paint, throw pillows, drapery panels, ottoman/accent chair fabric will allow you to make easy changes to go with the times, go with your mood, go with whatever you want.

Interior Designer Jamie Drake did just that in his own New York apartment.  He used color that just bursted with energy in the main areas. In the Master Bedroom, even though color was used, it was done in a monochromatic way with a patterned accent that made the room pop and still allowed a serene flow.
A simple flash of color in the guest room made a statement of drama yet still had the feel of a perfect setting of sleep.

To see the entire magazine article click the link below or click on the title “Fearless with Color”
http://www.floridadesign.com/web/issues/18_4/fearless_color/p1.asp