The Ornamentalist: stenciling

Showing posts with label stenciling. Show all posts

Thursday

Geometric Floor

the floor is painted with an interlocking hexagonal pattern

I recently completed a floor for a new furniture and design shop in San Francisco using a really hip-looking interlocking hexagonal pattern. I have a bit of thing for hexagons in general, so this pattern really excited me.

the white painted floor / work in progress with giant stencil

My design was interpreted from African textiles, with a nod to the mid-century fabric patterns such those by mid-century design icon David Hicks, who had put his own spin on this look in the 1960's.

the finished painted floor

As the shop is in a long, narrow space, over 50 feet deep but only 10 feet wide, I designed a very large scale repeat, and elongated the pattern to help foreshorten the room; so even though the pattern is "stretched" it does look symmetrical, and the room appears wider and more stable as a result.

The pattern was painted onto the concrete floor using floor and patio enamel from Benjamin Moore, and a huge stencil I designed and cut in my studio Look carefully and you can see how the repeat fits together.

owner Lara Ritch in her showroom "Ritches"

"Ritches" a vintage furnishing store opened in the ActivSpace on 18th and Treat St. in San Francisco. Image via the Bold Italic.

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Tuesday

Ornamental Borders Workshop

Announcing the latest in our series of specialized workshops for decorative artists working to enhance and refine their skills


The bones of this ceiling design- borders! Ceiling by Lynne Rutter in the Paris Resort Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas.

Ornamental Borders: Two Day Intensive Workshop
in San Francisco
instructor: Lynne Rutter

Borders are the most versatile of ornamental embellishments! Even the simplest design can create a wonderful impact on a space. In this class we'll explore multiple techniques used to create some Renaissance-style ornamental borders, with an emphasis on design and transfer methods, as well as painting techniques including stenciling, pouncing, trompe l'oeil, lining, and gilding.

detail of ceiling border by Lynne Rutter

Learn each simple method and how to put them together to create more complicated designs. We'll explore how to adapt ornament for a variety of different applications in today's interiors, while you create your own set of full-sized samples in hands-on practice.

ornamental ceiling by Lynne Rutter

This class will be offered again soon. Email me to be put on the mailing list for announcements.

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Sunday

Palais Ferstel, Vienna

restored ceiling boss and stenciling, Palais Ferstel, Vienna

While visiting Vienna in 1993 I spontaneously stumbled into a maze of arcades with beautiful groin vaults, 19th century ironwork skylights and some memorable stenciling. When I found my way out I jotted down the name of the building, Palais Harrach.

shopping arcade in the former Palais Ferstel

This was not entirely accurate. On a more recent visit I sought out the newly restored Cafe Central and found myself wandering around a 19th century villa that had been beautifully decorated and converted to a commercial space, and found that this romantic revival gem was indeed the Palais Ferstel. The palace was designed in the 1860s by architect Heinrich von Ferstel, inspired by his many travels in Italy. It became a bank and stock exchange, and like many buildings in Vienna, was badly damaged in WWII. In the 1980s it was completely renovated and now houses elegant shops and galleries, and features a fabulous ballroom for events. It's sort of rafted together with the lower level of the baroque Palais Harrach, and these passages makes a nice little detour through the Freyung area.

detail from the Palais Ferstel vaulted ceilings

This ornament is very interesting to me because though it follows all the rules and placement of Gothic ornament, it seems to me neither Gothic nor Italian in style or color, which I suppose is often the case in revival styles. Nevertheless the repetition of the ivy leaf motif in so many of the painted borders and the cohesive scheme of olive, plum, and ochre makes for a nice atmosphere.

You can find more photos of this lovely place by searching on flickr.

all photos in this post by Lynne Rutter, Vienna, 2008
click on images to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Tuesday

Arabesque

An interior detail of the new Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi, photo by Imran Akram

A plate from "Art arabe : mosquée de Qaouâm el-Dyn: détails du tombeau" (1

My fascination with Arabesque ornament... may have begun in Prague many years ago, when I first saw the Španělské Synagogy "Spanish Synagogue", built in 1868 in the Moorish Revival style. Inside it is completely covered in geometric Arabesque designs. Seeing the architectural ornamentation on such a scale made me want to run home and encrust every surface I could find with pattern.

It's not just that it's pretty, but it resonates with the math geek in me. The division of space, the arrangement of color, the... fractals!

Arabesque art developed in regions where Islam has been dominant; such as Morocco, Moorish Spain, India, Turkey, and the Arab states; and embodies Muslim precepts in its themes, with the focus on patterns rather than on figures. The depiction of the human form is forbidden, considered too close to idolatry, and so the art tends to be decorative and ornamental in style - geometric, floral, calligraphy.
The style has inspired and influenced non-Islamic ornament and architecture in Europe and elsewhere, particularly in the 19th century with the trend towards in Orientalism in design, and romantic "revival" styles of architecture.

Kevin Dean's inlaid marble floor at the magnificent Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi, photo by Imran Akram

The incredible new Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi is a project that I have been watching with interest. It was completed in March, 2008, and I am especially gleeful over the work of British designer Kevin Dean included in the massive courtyard's inlaid marble floors (above) and archways, a fantastic modern take on the floral elements of this style. More gorgeous pictures of this splendid new mosque can be found on the photography site of Imran Akram .

"Islam Ornament" (mosaic ceilings) photographed in Pakistan by Judith Barath

Mosaics can also play a prominent role in the ornamentation of buildings. In addition to the overall appearance of a colorful pattern, the play of light over the surface of thousands of tiles adds another level to the message of this art: this all fits together in an infinite pattern... do you see now, how you too are part of a larger pattern, how you belong?

original painted and gilt arabesque ceiling by Tania Seabock

How envious I am of my friend and colleague Tania Seabock, for this incredible ceiling she created for a client in the arabesque style, which includes tens of thousands of gold faux mosaic tiles!

I have a room set aside for my own spin on arabesque ornament, and look forward to sharing my inspiration and progress.