Summer Gilding

What do you do when it rains every day and it seems that all of your co-townies have fled to the beach? A) You are allowed to be jealous for about 30 minutes. B) You quickly get over it and you start organizing and catching up, and sooner than you know in your rummaging-around you find something that just beckons to be refinished by your idle hands! (Well, at least that happens to me.)

I hang on to old frames and pick them up at antique stores, which are aplenty around here.

A dear client recently brought me his collection of gold leaf from the 60's to play with.

(Collected during his wild years as an abstract/figurative avant garde painter in New York):

So play in the studio I did!

The first frame I tackled was a white ornate 70's "plastique" frame.

I gave him a distressed gold leafed look with some verdigris, specks and chips.

Next this Tibetan carved wood frame. I let the warm wood tones come through the finish in the end, with a light green contrast wash.

Last but not least: these old pressed tin frames found new finishes as well: under-coats of purple, green and Chinese orange were followed by a distressed random gold leaf treatment, showing some of the under-color, followed by an antique wash, verdigris, specks, a light dusting of rottenstone -- and a gentle polish with some steel wool.

"Voila!"

Time well spent, don't you think?

See you soon !

(PS: It's usually not as busy in the summer, so if you have a special project on your agenda, it's a great time to bring it in for us to tackle it creatively.)

Beate

 

Beyond the Gates, 2013

Please join us on June 8th, 10 - 4

at BEYOND THE GATES

Grace Church Historic Farm Tour

in Keswick.

It's a great event, and after you tour the beautiful historic properties on the list, there will be food at the Fair and many family friendly activities as well as many of your favorite local artists -- and it benefits many of your favorite local causes!

I will bring new hand made frames fresh from the studio and new decorative items from the shop.

See you on Saturday! 

(Our own LLB will be closed that day in order to attend!)

Extended! Kay Taylor's "Sheridan Avenue Tails" at Atelier ONE.

We've had such a positive response to Kay's show that I have decided to ask her whether we can extend the show through the end of June! It's been so much fun to have these guys at the gallery, I am excited that I get to host them for another month.

In the mean time, we're working on some very special shots of Titus. You can find those on his Facebook page. If you're not a fan yet, pop over there to see how much fun he's having -- and we are too! Kay's eye and skills with the camera are really amazing. Here is Titus a la Warhol.

If you have not had the chance to pop by and see the show, Atelier ONE is open Tuesdays - Saturdays. 

And Kay has provided us with plenty of her popular note cards too so that you can share the show with your friends.

See you soon and thanks for all of your wonderful comments and compliments on the show.

Keep posting those so that we know how much you love her work!

Beate

Aah: that Titus.

It's LLB's second anniversary, but who's been getting all of the attention?

Titus!

Lately it's been ALL about Titus.

Titus is our chief style consultant and head of security at LLB.

He greets clients with a very (!) imposing "Woof!" (and some of even you get a "Woof-woof!")

and then he inspects you VERY-very carefully.

Stalking you throughout the store, he sniffs and snorts up every scent that lingers on your shoes, toes and pant legs. Dog smells are Mr. T's favorite, because (in case you did not know this yet and  I don't think he always realizes this) he is a dog -- and he LOVES other dogs. Small ones especially. He can sniff them out on you in 30 sec's. His tail starts going and his nose becomes ever so excited. Here goes the tail, back and forth, back and forth. 

At this point, you may look -- but you may not touch. He likes to tease.

Finally (yawn!) he graciously lets you pet him.

SCORE!

Once he is your friend, watch out. He can get VERY excited. 

And when he brings you his treasured stuffed bunny, you're really golden.

Well, he's made such a golden friend in local photographer Kay Taylor this year.

She is the magic eye behind his latest photographs and she coincidentally also met him through Facebook. They have a lot in common. They both love dressing up (dogs, that is), cupcakes and dachshunds, and they both love garden gnomes.

They are best friends now it seems.

Enough to make a mother jealous...

He sits for her like a little star.

He allows her to dress him up in frames....

... and VERY swanky eye wear...

(... and less swanky eye wear...)

... just like her own adorable dogs:

We have big plans for Titus. Stay tuned:)

And don't forget to visit his facebook page off and on, 

he loves new tall fur-less friends and he is always up to new shenanigans! 

See you soon!

xoxo TITUS

(and Beate)

PS: Kay is available to take photos of your dogs as well!

Contact me at LLB for details, or simply visit her website. 

Ciao!

We love cards!

Yes, I am still a fan of snail mail!

Whenever I can I visit and purchase stamps from my little post office out in Whitehall because I am so afraid that one day "Poof!" in this virtual age it will be gone. I love to pull a hand written note from a friend out of my dust covered little mail box, and I get even more excited when it comes from overseas.

Yes, we need less paper in the world... but with all the instant messages and less bulk there also is that moment we forget about because we don't have anything tangible to hold on to and it just evaporates.

But a card! I love a good card. The process of picking it out. There is the thought that went into designing the card that you're passing along. The meaning of what you write inside it. The beauty of it. The sense of humor. Addressing it... sticking it in the mail... someone carrying it off and away... and then having someone on the other side of the country pick up that card again and sharing in what you wrote, connecting with you. Cards can be funny or deep or meaningful -- or just a little "Hello!". And often they can be really artistic. 

I have a whole big box of old cards (or they are displayed on my fridge) and every once in a while I dig around in that box and find people and memories I had put aside somewhere deep inside my busy head.

Cards spread joy. And sometimes you just need to spread some sass.

Or sweetness.

That's why I love carrying cards at LLB. And I've been so excited about what I've found over the past two years. This week I'm adding another wonderful company to our collection.

Cartolina Cards are designed by Fiona Richards in Canada. They are environmentally friendly and really artistic, beautiful and unique (just like our recent addition of Two Trick Pony). 

I mean, sometimes there is just the perfect card that says what you've JUST had on your mind:

Come check them out some time soon: I'm sure you too have someone who's dying to get some snail mail from you! Or, if you're a spring baby like me, everyone's birthday seems to be  happening right now (we like to hang out with other spring babies). We have lots of birthday cards!

We carry

Cartolina

Sheridan Avenue Studios

Pooch Cards

Casati Art Studio

Two Trick Pony

Cavallini

Riveting Notes

Lola & Bella

& more

So see you for some snail-mailin' soon! 

Beate & Titus

PS: You asked what? Of course there are Titus cards!

A day at "La Linea Bella !", photos by Amy Benoit.

Talented C-Ville photographer Amy Benoit spent the day at La Linea Bella last month. Even though she was under the weather, she was as cheerful and creative as always.

If you haven't been to La Linea Bella: It's Charlottesville's latest addition to a very eclectic group of really great framing galleries. We're lucky to have to much creative energy in one spot for all of these creative businesses to do their magic.

LLB opened her doors in May of 2011. I have a long history of love for framing. In fact, I've been framing for 20 years now. I graduated from the Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, D.C. in 1991, where I specialized in printmaking. When I returned to Charlottesville from a one year hiatus on the Outer Banks, framing was the perfect profession to sink my teeth into and I received my initial training at the oldest frame shop in Charlottesville.
I ended up managing another creative frame gallery here in Charlottesville, until in 2010 I decided to focus my energy on my own dream venue, La Linea Bella. It's been a great adventurous trip, a lot of diligent work -- and a lot of fun! In January of this year I took over and expanded into the old "Mystery in  Common" place next door to me and I added a light filled gallery in the front of my new space, I am still in the process of hand finishing the floor in the gallery, it's a work of love in progress, just like everything else at LLB.
Atelier ONE @ LLB is to house art by new local or regional talent.
The rear houses my new expanded open workshop, which I am really excited about.

I look forward to the next 20 years of framing and art adventures and hope you'll join me along the way!

(La Linea Bella is now the home of LLB, Casati Art Studio and Atelier ONE @LLB.)

Amy Benoit, who came to follow me around the workshop this past month, has an amazing eye for color and a wonderful warm sense of humor. And she moves so quietly and quickly around you, you don't even know her keen eye is following you along the way.

Amy usually photographs sweet couples and wee ones, which makes working with her so much fun and so much less intimidating and explains her fresh eye and take on things.

It takes a lot for this busy-bee German to hold still long enough for any photograph. I think Amy captured the spirit of the entire venue so well. It's nice to see it from another view like this sometimes. Thank you Amy for a fantastic visit!

Cheers & Cin Cin to everyone else: to a fantastic 2013,

Beate

La Linea Bella !

Atelier ONE @ LLB:

Casati Art Studio:

In the background: my mascot, Luna the goat.

My companion: magical Titus the Teckel, head of security at LLB -- and chief stylist:

See you soon!!!! Thanks for taking a peek!

Copyright 2013 La Linea Bella ! Fantastic Framing & Art, Charlottesville, VA

Happy Hump Day!

Did you know? 

In China, purple represents spiritual awareness, physical and mental healing, strength and 

abundance. A red purple  symbolizes luck and fame. 

The Chinese word for purple, zi, is connected with the North Star, Polaris, or zi Wei in 

Chinese.

In Japan, purple is the color of privilege and wealth, the color associated with the Japanese

 aristocracy. The word for purple is murasaki, which is also the name of the wisteria flower.

In Europe and America, purple is the color most associated with individualism.

Well, there you have it! At LLB we do love purple... among all the other wonderful colors 

out there. 

Ciao!