New House Art

Have you ever commissioned a piece of art? Until recently, I'd never dreamed of such a thing.

Marc Ellen Hamel

Seth Clark

So many design blogs, internet mags and tastemakers encourage collecting original art for your home, and in principle I totally agree. But when it comes to actually settling on one piece vs. another and swallowing the price tag, I have trouble making the commitment.

Bob Bransley 

Furbish Studio

So it was going out on a limb to think about a commission, but I knew that I wanted something large scale and abstract to go in the dining room in our new house to keep all the antiques and silver from feeling too fusty. And I knew I didn't have the financial resources for a major investment.

Enter my childhood friend and former summer camp-mate Clare Wilkinson, who was setting up an Etsy shop to sell her bright, happy abstract paintings and was taking commissions. Clare and I shared ideas and examples I'd saved to Pinterest via Facebook message (the artist/patron relationship in the digital age). We talked about the look and feel of the room and colors and I love. Then a few months later, a big cardboard box arrived in the mail from Chicago.....

I did a little jig when I pulled it out of the box and we hung it on the wall over the old church pew. I get a glimpse each time I walk from the kitchen to the living room (about 100x a day) and love it more each time I stop to look.  I've even caught the MM giving it a studied glance here and there.

It was such a pleasure to work with Clare and I highly, highly recommend her if you're looking for something personal and want to support an artist launching her own business. Here's her post about her artistic process (recognize anything?) and here's her Etsy shop.  Thank you, Clare!