Aug 2024 – Home Office Charm

Poured Paint Sculpture Lamps: Embracing New Artistic Influences and Future Creations

The featured image above was generated by AI after it analysed all the images on this post. Interesting 🧐 not sure I like it this week.

Now that all the lamps have their feet attatched the look is completed. I like that the feet echo the organic black shapes in the poured skin that surflaces the barrel of the lamp.

In creating a series of painted and poured skins and assembling each onto lampshade making backing I first thouhgt I was a bit crazy, but I didnt mind because people had volunteered that they loved what I had created. I later discovered that I am not solitary in making sculpural forms out of paint integrating a clear foundation for a more etherial spirited look. I had learned about sculptural skins before as we were taught that in my mixed media class at Central Saint Martins. But I hadnt come across an artist who had had integrated the clarity of acrylic sheeting in their work.

*Poured paint sculpture lamps: The first trio with all their feet fitted, allowing paintings to be formed into semi transparent tablelamps*

*15 cm acrylic abstract poured on PVC formed to tablelamp signed on the back..*

*20cm poured acrylic and ink laminated on PVC framed with black cotton formed to tablelamp*

Yet, this week I found new company for this sculpural element of my artwork in the work of Lillian Thomas Burrell. This American artist born in 1927 and five years younger than my mother, wrote a book called From Painting to Painting as Sculpture: The Journey of Lilian Thomas Burwell, by Lilian Thomas Burwell, Hampton University Museum.1997. I have orded a signed copy of it.

I learned about her this week, when Kitty Gurnos-Davis of @artistic.identities posted a reel on IG (16th August 2024) talking about the work of Lilian Thomas Burwell (saying she was ashamed to not yet had discovered her). From watching this reel, I entered into a new world. My internet research took me on a journey. I discovered the images of her sculptures made of painting canvas over a wooden form. There are also images and videos of her use of acrylic sheets with wood in her paintings on canvas.

The Lillian Thomas Burrell exhibition at Berry Cambell Gallery from You Tube

My prior career as a management academic allows me to understand the importance of asserting and connecting with the seminal works in my field. I know that using paint skins is something that is a constant in all my work. Seeing and using paint’s sculptural potential is what only a few artists do. It was encouraging to digitally meet the work of Lilian Thomas Burwell this week. I’ve downloaded the book to discover more about this genre and even asked for a signed copy so I can have it to hand for future reference and inspiration..

I shall be making more of these poured paint sculpure lamps in other colours. Purple and gold was requested on instagram and I might do a deep red and organic green and even a yellow and blue later.

What colour would you like to see?

Optimizing Your Backdrop for Professional Image and Connections

Organisational Aesthetics

AI created the featured image above after it read my post. I wouldn’t say I liked the first one it chose, but I settled on this one as the colours tied in with the green and gold that I talked about this week. This week, I’m reviewing the different themes in bookshelf backdrop styling that I do for my own shelf in my 9 to 5.

Themes for your backdrops

You can theme your shelf or backdrop beyond the colours of the books. The pictures below show how I have fallen into the trend of colour-coded bookshelves and am working to curate more meaningful staging for myself.

Consider curating talking pieces on your shelves to help you connect with colleagues. Avoid those bland vanilla Items you got because the influencer told you they look great. It might be a good idea to plan your shelf styling. You could take a picture on your phone and get the AI to rehash it to produce a simple outline like the one I did below. This might give you a sense of where the lines of the styling need altering so that they form that V shape or pyramid going across.

Image above based on photo of my bookshelf and the Android AI amended it to produce other stylised versions that I then selected.

Remember that it’s all about your personal branding (the extent to which you, in your backdrop, epitomise the organisation or company brand/ strategy), especially if you are a leader. It is also about your well-being through the social connection that can arise from extended chats about you and your curated collection. So what you place on the shelves should open up tales of your interesting travels, curious pieces of art you bought because you liked what the artist said or the strange way they made their art. There could also be pieces that tell of your scrapes and how you got through things; some examples below have those.

Whatever you do with your shelves in your 9 to 5 backdrop, ensure they are on message for you. Remember, it is your home, but it also plays a significant role in your personal branding and your potential in the organisation. The way we present ourselves on camera is now as crucial as the attire we used to carefully select for meetings with the boss.

Our backdrop is our new jacket.

What do you think or do about your backdrop for meetings? Think about it if you want your professional personality to shine beyond using the standard images available in Teams and Webex. Zoom, etc.

Black and Gold Lighting Design: Submission to the Design Competition

Organisational Aesthetics

The WordPress AI generated the featured image above of the gold lighting, after it read my post. I think it’s OK as an illustration of the mood. It seems to understand what my blog post is about home offices and new forms of lighting. But it does not represent what I created, but I’m glad it didn’t use my design. It only used the colours I’m talking about. So that’s what makes it OK.

15cm x 18xm painted skin assembled on table lamp frame.

Last week I wrote about preparing for the design competition, using my inspiration from visits to the design centre in Chelsea and noticing other lighting creators offering their variations of the black and gold lighting theme. This week I can report that i have submitted my work to the competition. Below shows the other images and videos I took of the later part of my process.

https://videopress.com/v/CUodZzn6?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&posterUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.files.wordpress.com%2FCUodZzn6%2Fvid_92810228_193319_747_mp4_std.original.jpg&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

See listing in the shop

Unique Office Lighting: Black and Gold Marbled Transparent Shelf decor

Organisational Aesthetics

The WordPress AI generated the featured image (above), after reading the content of this post. I quite like it.😍 It’s fun.

I’ve started creating my three entries for the Etsy Design Awards, inspired by my visit to DCCH. Yet I didnt anticipate to create what I created, but, after further thought, I think I subconsciously did. Instead, I’ve abstracted the black and gold lighting theme to create a very unique piece of office lighting. Below are some videos that capture key moments this week from my process.

I’d returned from a refreshing 5 days holiday by the sea and was inspired to use beautiful natually found items in my home as a basis for my art.

Arraniging wilted flowers for a still-life study to be painted at a later date

The original inspiration for my black and gold lighting (pictured above) really looks very different to what the fabric ended up looking like.

Then I started špaying frames gold. I did a 15cm and two 20cm frames.

The end result was a curious leopard pattern. The gold and black separated in amazing and unexpected ways. I might be creating a wonderful office lighting gift for leopard lovers 🤓