Artist Profile — Nancy Monsebroten

Award-winning ceramicist Nancy Monsebroten examines things others walk right past. “As a child I was very lucky to grow up on an isolated farm in North Dakota,” said Nancy.

“I was outside all the time, walking through nature and looking at nature. I knew where every flower was and when it bloomed. We didn’t get a TV until I was ten.”

Nancy’s love of flora shows in the graceful porcelain pieces like her Thousand Petals Vase, that she creates in her Onalaska, Wisconsin studio.

“I am just so inspired by nature,” said Nancy. “I will never run out of inspiration. My work is contemporary but it’s very organic and botanical.”

I was attracted to the serenity in Nancy’s work.

“People tell me that my work makes them feel very peaceful,” said Nancy. “A woman told me she has a very hectic job and she can sit down in
her living room, look at my piece
and relax.”

Nancy’s been making things all her life and credits her grandmother with sparking her artistic interests. “She taught me to sew and knit, to bake and to raise flowers,” said Nancy. “I was really lucky to have a creative grandmother.”

Nancy’s memories of Grandma have even inspired ceramic designs. “I have a vase called Grandma’s Perm,” said Nancy. Grandma washed her hair in rainwater to keep it white without yellowing. She would wash my hair in rainwater. This vase is homage to her.”

Another woman was instrumental in growing Nancy’s ceramics technique.

After getting hooked on ceramics when she happened upon a class at the University of Hawaii, Nancy’s husband’s job moved them to the East Coast.

“I did an apprenticeship in a private studio that I found when I visited the Smithsonian in Washington, DC,” said Nancy. I met a woman—Eleni Demetriou—at outdoor art fair there. She had a ceramic studio in DC and was looking for a full-time apprentice. She really showed me that ceramics could be a full-time career. I learned an amazing amount.”

“She would come down and show the two of us how to throw a pot and would say ‘make 50 of these and I’ll be back at noon.’ It’s so different than being in a formal class — it’s
so intensive.”

Nancy’s pieces are bathed in quiet, soft-colored glazes. “I mix my own glazes using recipes handed down to me during my apprenticeship…continuing the tradition of teacher passing knowledge to students.”

What Nancy does is not a quick process.

“A lot of my pieces are really time-consuming, like the Thousand Petal Vase,” said Nancy. “It really has 900 to 1,000 pieces. I get very relaxed sitting there repeating the process. It feels very meditative to me.”

Nancy works full time in her light-filled studio, right on the banks of the Mississippi river.

“We have a large, walkout basement. It has these giant windows and an oversized glass door overlooking the river. I can watch the sun move across the sky.”

Her ceramic students thrive in the setting. “They say it makes them feel calm,” said Nancy. “The view is so beautiful.”

This poem, “The Sensitive Plant” by Percy Bysshe Shelly, inspires Nancy in her work.

A sensitive plant in a garden grew
and the young winds fed it with silver dew
and it opened its fan-like leaves to the night
and closed them beneath the kisses of night.

Why do these words touch her?

“It is so simple yet so complex,” said Nancy. “It is something about finding the most amazing beauty in the most ordinary places.”

Nancy Monsebroten can be reached, and her porcelain ceramics can be purchased through:

• Her Web site
• Her Etsy store

Nancy found inspiration for her designs in plants, and in her grandmother’s curly, white hair. What simple things inspire you?

There’s a buzz in Carlisle, England around the bold DIY makeover of its railway station, finished late last week for the filming of a Homebase TV commercial.

Production designer Darrell Cooke and designer Kate McConnell created the metamorphosis of the station for the home improvement giant’s advert. Purple damask wallpaper, comfy couches and floor lamps adorn one platform, and even kitchen units were brought in.

But my favorite is the station’s bridge that was transformed in this celebration of paint and glitzy chandeliers.

According to Homebase spokesperson Rebecca Brock, “The campaign is about inspiring people with ideas…so the bridge was completed to demonstrate the range of Homebase paint colors–where any paint color can be mixed in store.”

Here are some shots of the bridge “before.”

And a peek at some of the platform decor:

The makeover was intended as temporary, but some station passengers wish otherwise. The event has even resulted in a Facebook fan page as locals are keen to keep the station under its new guise.

What do you think? Should the makeover, or parts of the makeover remain?

When interior designer Debbie Wiener makes over a room, her goal is twofold: 1) To create a beautiful environment that people are pleased to be in and 2) To “Slobproof” it. Debbie coined the term Slobproof to describe her philosophy of designing with families and pets in mind.

Here’s a living room that Debbie recently decorated. The room before was bland and lacked the warmth of the family. In fact, the room was so uninviting that the family and even the dog, spent little time there.

Before

In order to combat the kid’s spills and the dog’s hair and messes, Debbie used textiles with vibrant color and pattern. Mixing warm and dark hues to contrast and complement, she created a space that has both playfulness and functionality.

After

The furniture is from Debbie’s Slobproof line, made to hold up to the roughhousing of both children and dogs. The line uses Crypton fabric, that features a breathable moisture barrier that prohibits liquids from penetrating the fabric to the cushion below.

Debbie specified window treatments that are high enough to stay out of the way of children and pets, and she accented the space with a few key architectural found items such as the unique red lacquered table.

More family-friendly design ideas are available in Debbie’s recent book Slob Proof! Real-Life Home Decorating Solutions.

I struggle with creating a stylish home that is also practical for my family. Do you?

Here’s a creative use of space, that an adventurous entrepreneur might appreciate.

WaterSpace in the UK has come up with the H2Office — a floating office space designed to fit perfectly into an unused marina slip. Take a look:

According to WaterSpace, the H2Office includes:

• Space for one or two people to work
• A “breakout” area (perhaps for small meetings, meals etc.)
• An external sun deck
• A kitchenette
• A pull-out berth (for occasional overnight stays)

Here’s a fun slide-show tour of the floating office.

(via Springwise.)

What do you think? Will this idea catch on? Do you know someone who would thrive with a floating office as their workspace?

by Leona Gaita

Today we are joined by Leona Gaita, HomeWorkshop.com Interior Design Expert and Contributor. Leona shares with us her inspiring ideas and advice to help us enrich our homes and lives with beauty and elegance.

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If you get the urge for a fresh little warming up for your windows, but you don’t know your way around a sewing machine, here’s a very simple but elegant Do-It-Yourself
Window Valance:

This style is very versatile, and really takes on the look and feel of the fabric you use. In this case, I’m using a rich autumnal floral, so I’m going to call mine an Elegant Country Valance. If you used a silk, it would look formal. If you used a white canvas with a navy blue ribbon, it would look nautical, and so on….

I let my lumber yard cut the 1″ x 3″ to the exact length I needed.

Then fold the fabric in half, selvage to selvage, right side in. Measure out the width you need, plus the two returns (the distance the fabric returns to the wall to cover the end of the lumber). Mine is 43″. plus (2) 2 1/2″ returns, plus 1/2″ on each side for “seam” allowance.

Trim the width down to the desired width, adding 1/2″ for seam allowance. So in my case, 43″ plus 5″ (for  both returns) plus 1″ (for seam allowance) = 49″.

Then, using no-sew fabric tape, make a three sided “pillowcase”, enclosing the two ends, leaving the top open.

Press the taped edges firmly (I did that with the handle of my scissors). Then carefully turn it right-side-out, and iron seams lightly with a cool iron.

Choose (and mark) two spots on the 1″ x 3″ and staple one end of one piece of ribbon to each spot. For mine, I placed the ribbon about 9″ away from each end.

Then mark the center of your lumber, and the center of your “pillowcase.” Start by stapling the center of the fabric case to the center of the wide side of the 1″ x 3″.

Then gradually staple your fabric out from the center on both sides, until you’re a few inches from each end.

Then fold the return around, and staple that to the top, and a few extra staples to keep the corners flat.

Then bring the other end of each ribbon around to the front and staple the ends  to the top.

Install two small angle irons. Make sure they’re level. For a 43″ valance, I would spread them about 30″ apart. Then sit the valance onto the angle irons, and screw up into the lumber. I like my valances kind of high, hanging just a couple if inches below the window frame, so that it gives a feeling of height, and doesn’t block light from the window.

Spend a little time fussing over the folds and the ribbon placement, and you’re done!

Now repeat…ALL OVER THE HOUSE!

HAVE FUN!

Leona Gaita has an infectious enthusiasm for interior design that she shares with us, with her clients and with the readers of her popular blog, Gaita Interiors.

With a lifelong involvement in the fine arts and design, Leona designs for Gaita Interiors, a staple of the local community for over 40 years, serving Larchmont, Westchester County and the New York metropolitan area.