An attentive manual that thinks like a maker and reads like a quiet manifesto Sheila McGraw’s Painting and Decorating Furniture presents itself at first glance as a pragmatic handbook: techniques, materials, step-by-step procedures. Beneath that useful surface, however, the book stages a subtler argument about how objects participate in our lives — about the ways … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Painting and Decorating Furniture by Sheila McGraw
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – A Place Called Home: Creating Beautiful Spaces to Call your Own by Jason Grant
Jason Grant’s A Place Called Home invites readers behind the velvet drapes of his own design atelier to explore the alchemy of turning four walls into something resonant, personal, even soulful. More than a how‑to manual, Grant’s book situates interior design as a narrative art, one that interweaves personal history, sensory detail, and cultural signifiers into a … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – A Place Called Home: Creating Beautiful Spaces to Call your Own by Jason Grant
Weekend Book Reviews: Upcycled Chic and Modern Hacks: Thrifty Ways for Stylish HomesBy Liz Bauwens & Alexandra Campbell
In Upcycled Chic and Modern Hacks: Thrifty Ways for Stylish Homes, Liz Bauwens and Alexandra Campbell offer a refreshing take on interior design that merges creativity with sustainability, presenting a thoughtful guide for those who wish to transform their homes with both style and conscience. This book is more than just a manual on DIY projects—it’s … Continue reading Weekend Book Reviews: Upcycled Chic and Modern Hacks: Thrifty Ways for Stylish HomesBy Liz Bauwens & Alexandra Campbell
Weekend Book Reviews: Simple Homes: Calm Spaces for Comfortable Living by Mark Bailey
In Simple Homes: Calm Spaces for Comfortable Living, Mark Bailey delivers a work that transcends the conventional realm of interior design, offering an exploration of domesticity that is as philosophical as it is practical. Bailey’s vision is anchored in simplicity, and he champions an ethos of “less is more,” urging us to reconsider the complexity of … Continue reading Weekend Book Reviews: Simple Homes: Calm Spaces for Comfortable Living by Mark Bailey
Some People Have The Strangest Sense Of Decor
Now, I know I've seen this devil cyclops somewhere before, so I have to give credit where it's due, even if I'm not sure who did it originally. My initial inspiration for this was seeing some Halloween decorations around my neighbourhood. Quite a few people have shrunken heads hanging around. I imagined someone who has … Continue reading Some People Have The Strangest Sense Of Decor
A Very Successful Salvaging – The Wardrobe
Take a little time hunting through my "Repurposed" posts on The New Renaissance Mindset and you'll find an ambitious project I started last summer. I salvaged this old rundown cabinet that was tossed in the garbage. It was in a pitiful state and I di in fact take pity on it. I dragged it home in … Continue reading A Very Successful Salvaging – The Wardrobe
Transformations with Life #16 (Raku and Living Eucalyptus)
I made this abstract vessel many years ago and I've never published a picture of, I think. I was in a dark place when I made it and didn't really like it at first. It has moved around with me and gradually has found itself in more visible places. I recently had it in a … Continue reading Transformations with Life #16 (Raku and Living Eucalyptus)
Transformations With Life #15 (New Home for the Prickly Pear)
I'm frequently amazed at what I image when I look at cactus like these: I see buildings, I see people in a crowd, and I see balloons on strings. What I find is all smiles. I catch myself smiling at these little beauties. I catch myself talking to them like pets. I really get a … Continue reading Transformations With Life #15 (New Home for the Prickly Pear)
Transformed With Life #1
I recently opened a box full of ceramics bowls I made a few years ago, because someone asked me for one they saw on Arts M.Perron. They wanted to use it for something entirely different than I originally planned for it. I conceived it as a tea bowl. Their alternative usage inspired me to look … Continue reading Transformed With Life #1
The Folkish Art Deco Lamp – Part 1
Am I Folk Art or Art Deco? This big guy has the most wonderfully hideous macrame shade over the metal cage you see here. If you can possibly imagine it, the macrame was torn and tattered, and covered with what looked like an old apron turned into a lamp-shade cozy. It was quite the sight … Continue reading The Folkish Art Deco Lamp – Part 1
The New Renaissance Mindset 