Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Mining Map and a Pediment Impediment

Has Jack Frost made an appearance in your neighborhood? It feels like he is sitting right on my doorstep today. It is a chilly -20 outside and while it is supposed to be warmer by the end of the week it sure feels like I should see penguins and polar bears playing in the yard!
When it is this cold there isn't much painting going on (at least in my studio) so I tend to focus homeward, making a few changes. Today I am breaking out the trusty old paint brush and do a few minor paint jobs, like painting the frame on this auction find.
Photobucket It is a 1911 mining map and I absolutely fell in love with the colors in it, they will look fabulous in our office. Sean has a love of maps so I threw up my paddle and brought it home for $10 (along with another engraving that I gave to my sister). It has been beautifully preserved, matted and framed but I am not too keen on the natural wood frame so I am goint to paint it a dark grey.
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A little more exciting addition to the house is this old door pediment.
Photobucket We want to paint it out, but we have those little butterflies about altering such a beautiful and perfect piece. Our first thought was to paint it a light grey and mount it over the door since the wall is so tall and bare up there.
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But it also occurred to us that it might make a fun contrast to hang it above these simple, modern photos.
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Wherever it ends up, we feel like it is one of those cool pieces that you don't see very often and will be a cool conversation piece. And every house needs a few of those!

15 comments:

jandjhome said...

Love that wood piece. I think the contrast with the white walls and frames would be amazing. Great fine!

beachy in the burbs said...

I really love that map! Can't wait to see how it looks in the painted frame.

Claudia said...

Hello,

It's gorgeous. I think it would look beautiful above the black and white pictures. Anywhere it goes it will look beautiful.
Thank you for sharing.
Claudia

Michael Wurm Jr said...

i'm all for painting. i love everything you paint.

...but... that piece is the one thing i wouldn't paint. it's stunning. stunning.

and as jandjhome said i love the contrast.

The Brick Cottage said...

You always have the neatest finds!

Angelica said...

Oh my goodness, amazing finds! Love them both - thanks for sharing. I still definitely want to hit up an auction with you and learn how it's done from an old pro like yourself.

Heidi said...

New to your blog and absolutely love it!!! Your creativity is such an inspiration! Thank you for sharing!

liz @ bon temps beignet said...

Fun new blog design!!! Your sister did a great job : )

Kari --- said...

Definitely over the front door... so it's something pretty to look at each time you leave... and so it doesn't compete with those gorgeous photographs.

Shannon @ What's Up Whimsy said...

I love the new design!! And I love that pediment! Where or where did you get it??

Darlene - Our Creative Life said...

That pediment is STUNNING! I would have bought that in a heart beat! I think it will look FAB above your photos just how it is...no paint needed! The wood is gorgeous!

christine, just bella said...

That map is gorgeous - I love the colours. My husband has a thing for maps too! He just bought about 6 vintage ones on ebay.

Krystal Wight Armstrong said...

Both such neat finds! I'm interested to learn more about these little auctions you speak of. Is that kind something one might find in many locales, are they generally full of just neat old stuff that sell pretty low? How'd you get into that?

Anyway, great pieces; do show us how they end up! And sorry for all the cold; I'm in S.A., TX with family and its perfectly warm with not a bit of cold yet...it's coming our way tomorrow, though.

Anonymous said...

I love the wooden piece too, I think it would look great above the door!

The S's beach house said...

I think it would be amazazazing above the door! Almost perfect!

 
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