Tchochkes

No one can deny that Sygalle Giveon-Leshman’s pottery is colorful. Her patterns are lively, her technique strong, and those colors - it’s a rainbow on every pot.

She used to share a gallery in Zichron Yaakov with Nava Abel, my sister-in-law. Her website only has a fraction of the work that she does on it - and in my opinion it doesn’t show some of her best stuff. She does light covers, sinks, tiles, plates, vases, and more.

When you see her work en-mass it doesn’t look as chaotic as the examples given on her website. While her work is colorful and lively, it’s not overwhelming. I think the examples on her site are an extreme of her style.

I came across this designer, Elizabeth Trost in one of the local magazines here in Israel.  Something about these chairs just don’t look right to me… 

I like the striped fabric on this chair, but then those black wooden legs don’t go with the rest of the piece porportionally and the placement of the two back legs seems odd and unbalanced.

The brown textured fabric shown here makes this chair look like it came out of someones attic and again the legs are all wrong.  These legs are too delicate for the weight of this chair and the back legs don’t follow the same style as the front legs.  These legs are a little too ”zen meets woodcutters cottage” for me.

I lost it when I saw this one, the bright patchworkish fabric and then the chair legs that look like they came off of a dresser… I think these are the same legs as seen in the first chair but in brown wood.

And this chair had potential fabric wise, I could see it looking cute in a girls room but again the legs just don’t mesh with the rest of the chair.  It almost looks as if it is sloping forward…

 I have no kind words for this chair.  My guess is that the style was an attempt at “shabby chic”. What are those brown spots on the back?  They look like stains or mold… your guess is as good as mine! 

A while back a reader complained that Israeli pottery is dull. It lacked the color and vibrancy of the ceramic artists from her original land. I made a mental note that day to track down the colorful artists I know and prove that person wrong. ‘Israeli’s are colorful’ I insisted. ‘You just don’t know where to look.’

Then life got in the way.

Tonight I remembered the complaint when I was contemplating what to write (I actually have 3 homes ready to be reviewed for house tours, but I need to re-size the photos and for that I need some software - the first should be up by next week).

Ceramic Artists Association of Israel has a website featuring a huge collection of ceramic artists and their work. I have to admit that the bulk of the work didn’t help my arguement any. In fact, the pieces you see in this post were the most colorful functional pieces I could find. However, these are not all of Israel’s ceramic artists.

The first and last pieces in this post are from Hizi Raya, a Tel Avivi artist who loves to make pots. I like her use of color and pattern.

The green and blue cannisters above are by Hakkert Sara, a Haifa artist who prefers to focus on functional pottery. This is more the type of thing I prefer in my kitchen. I like to use the art we collect.

Bell Julian created the vase and bowl, above. I like the fading color - but I will admit this is more subtle in it’s color.

Ok, I’ve given weak arguements for the color debate. Even though the red plate above is gorgeous and glossy, there was only one on the site out of a lot of artists. The problem is that some of the best artists live on moshavim or small cities and don’t do computers. Michal Beckman in Beit Lechem Ha Glilit for example or Galia Jackson of Zichron Yaakov.

Wait… there is one… and that will be my next post in 2 days…

Performance Design

FRONT, the Swedish design group has developed a new technology from Japan that translates motion into product.  Pen strokes are recorded onto 3D files and actualized through the process of rapid photography… WHAT!!!

I saw a demonstration of this process at the MOMA design show in New York in April.  It took me a while to figure out what was going on.  Designers can draw anything they want and create an actual 3D prorotype. 

These designers are drawing their products that will become solid 3D objects like the chair below.   

In the future, I wonder if we can apply this technology to the oven and have it make a 3D dinner?  Now that would be awsome!

Obviously green in this otherwise neutral neighborhood, this small house makes a statement.  The house, recently featured in the April issue of ”Itsuv (Design)magazine”; located in a Moshave in the Sharon was designed by architect Shuli Beimel.

An orchard once stood in the spot of this new neighborhood and adding back some green keeps history fresh in the minds of surrounding neighbors.

From the front you can see the natural wood entrance door.  I think the combination of wood with the stone of the outside wall and walkway works well. 

Adding a lively mosaic or decorative accent to the entrance creates a natural welcome to any home.  This mosaic by artist Merav Feglin draws inspiration from the nature outside to guide us in.

 Red kitchen appliances! I like…

A perfect compliment to the green outside, this red kitchen adds pizazz the the entire house.  I love the stainless steel appliances but I would not want to clean them.  I have a small “simplehuman” trash receptacle in my home and it is a job in itself to keep clean.

Cool tiled bathroom, never a dull moment in here…

The tiles in this bathroom were designed by Merav and then hand crafted for the space.  It is unusual to use so much pattern in such a small room but the rest of the house is white so this room just off of the kitchen adds a welcomed suprise upon entry.

The other two full baths which are predominantly white don’t use as much pattern.  I like the subtle accent of the small multi tiles on the floor in this shower. 

On my way out I snapped this photo of the lavendar bushes with the green exterior and the gray outdoor tiles.  These designers thought of everything and it shows.  

I always hibernate in the winter. My garden is sleeping and I just can’t be bothered to move in the cold weather. Now that the weather is positively stunning, however, I can’t stop being outside and puttering in my garden. I have become so obsessed this spring I’ve even started Israeli_Gardening, a Yahoo gardening message board.

I wasn’t aware before I started the board, but there’s also a board for anglo’s gardening in Jerusalem.

Happy growing!

Color Trend Alert!

Be bold, be beautiful, be bright…

Some designers have been using them for years, like Tricia Guild featured in the photo above.  More recently I have seen brights emerging in collections across the board. 

I found these “no twist” Thomas O’Brien towels online at Target.  I just learned about “no twist” yarns on a recent trip to New York from a friend in the towel business.  This up to date finishing process gives the towels a super soft hand.   Too bad Target does not ship to Israel… I’ll keep an eye out for the no twist here and keep you posted (no pun intended!).

And these super colorful leather Moroccan puffs from John Derian are a sure update to the leather 70’s bean bag chair seen in every wood panneled play room back in the day… well, back in my day!  I like the cheery colors, but these don’t look very comfortable. 

How about a bright leather date book or two from Graphic Leather to go with the towels and the stools?  Their collection also includes leather pens in the same bright colors, easy to spot around the house! 

Silk is one fabric that takes bright dyes really well.  The Silk Trading Company has a collection of textiles that are bold, bright and beautiful. I have also found silk pillows and bedcoverings here in Israel at the Home Center at reasonable prices.

If you keep looking you can find more and more brights from fashion designers like Jil Sander and big name stores like The Conran Shop. 

Happy shopping!

I know I have been neglecting the blog lately. I swear I’ll start focusing again soon - just give me a few weeks where school doesn’t bog me down, children aren’t sick, and work is normal!!

So instead of writing about things in Israel (there are three houses in my neighborhood waiting for me to photograph them for house tours) I’m writing more about Kips Bay. Ok, I’m really writing more about Kips Bay because I found parts of this room shockingly ugly and I wanted to rant about it to anyone who will listen.

I don’t know what Philip Gorrivan was thinking.

The first pic shows the part of the room that I like. The sofa with the geometric cushions are great. The geometric carpet is a bit much, but again, it fits and it emphasizes the style of the room. The upper wall and ceiling color are divine and I love that contrast with the red in the cushions. The narrow table and the geometric wall mirror - also very cool.

Then look to the back wall…

See those awful beside tables? It’s Hotel 6 circa 1977 - all it needs is orange shag carpet and avocado green wallpaper. Open it up and you’ll find a Gideon Bible. It’s 70’s design, but the bad 70’s design. The kind that makes you cringe. To make it worse the back wall has a tacky mirror inlay. See - geometric sheets, good. Geometric pillows, good. Geometric carpet - I can live with that. Mirror inlay to veneer wall in a geometric shape - OVERKILL.

And really, what’s with the pictures behind the pillows but in front of the headboard? (That is the headboard, right?)

Here’s the thing though - I went to Philip’s site - and his work is seriously gorgeous and amazing. Not a single flaw on any of the pages. You MUST go there to see his work, it’s colorful, interesting, current, and fun. Retro, but in a very chic way (instead of the ewww - 70’s show way.) Of course, this is what Kips Bay is all about. Designers taking risks - so I can’t really chastise that much.

Even still, I hate those side tables…

If you happen to be in New York…

Be  inspired with these bright, fun flowers by Takashi Murakami.  Not only does this artist tap into the current brights trend, he combines fine art, design, animation and fashion to bring us a spectacular show that can be seen at The Brooklyn Museum through July 13th. 

Here are a few more examples of his work.  I find this fully saturated room soothing in an odd sort of way…

You can see the whimisical print in this close up… Somebodys watching you!

Eyeball print

Tapping into fashion, Murakami was comissioned by Louis Vuitton to re-design their well known two tone logo.  The result changed the face of high end handbag design. 

Original Louis Vuitton Color Combination

Louis Vuitton Bag in brights by Murakami

Clearly, Murakami has a keen eye for textiles, product, media and fashion.  I am sure we will see more of his work in the future.

…

Decorative Arts

Local artist Yael Novak’s whimsical work is positively devine.  Her ceramic sculptures are an artistic expression that are simple and sophisticated. Her work is of exhibition quality and can be found at ceramic co-ops in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.