We've been working on the design for the little compound that will be home to Laura Roberts Design as well my art studio and personal residence. We are so grateful for our design team at Pollen Architecture: Elizabeth Alford, Claire Townley and Ted Young. The design perfectly fits our aesthetic and the site. Colin Cook and his team at Gravitas will be constructing it. We'll be talking with the team at Strukture One in the blog as we're approaching this a little differently from traditional framing. Thank you for your innovation Jarred, Michael, and Peter.

Kristen Thorsen is my right had as usual. So grateful she joined the team this year. We'll be sharing progress, design decisions, vendor partners, challenges and successes. Please join us in this exciting journey.

xoxo,

laura

We met Kathleen Gerdon Archer at her White Bird Gallery outside of Boston in an artist’s community this summer. I was dawdling behind my husband at some other galleries and he cam rushing back to get me exclaiming that he found something that he thought I would really like. He was absolutely right.

She was showing from two of her series: The Mapmaker’s Dream and Choice. Here is what she has to say about Mapmaker’s Dream:

“Using the element of water, I tell a story that begins with water-filled abstract images which over time become clearer and end with subjects who are clearly visible, but enveloped in a light fog.

My intention is to obscure the line between painting and photography while documenting a change in my recent family history.

The titles are randomly applied sentence fragments from The Mapmaker's Dream by James...

Many of you know how much I LOVE textiles! and I was completely overwhelmed upon an impromptu visit to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston this summer when I saw the entrance to a very extensive Chihuly exhibit. Wow! The glass vessels were presented with native american baskets and large slabs of wood.

Lotus Gallery celebrates their 10 year anniversary in Austin, TX. Lotus Gallery was started by Francisca Tung in 2001 after a career in hi-tech in California. She made a career switch and decided to share what she was really passionate about: one of a kind creations and antiques from Asia. Francisca already had a large collection so se didn’t have to buy much. Francisca loves to travel and learn about cultures and she now also has items from Africa and European Continental pieces.

Bonnie Glendinning launched Art Muse, an affordable online gallery in October 2009. Bonnie is passionate about affordable art. At Art Muse, you can purchase archival prints of original works. Prices start at $25 for an 18.5 x 18.5” piece and goes up incrementally.

“No blank wall left behind.” And “Art for All” are two of Bonnie's mottos. She first had the idea and registered “Art Muse” in 1997 but it was really before all the technology was available and affordable. It’s the perfect time now, though. She continues to add new artists and build the gallery.

Bonnie thinks some people can be intimidated by starting their art collection. Art Muse helps make it affordable. People can gain their confidence in purchasing what they like and maybe one day purchase an original.

Here are some of the popular artists from left to right - Jad Fair,...

Ava, my daughter, and I went to the grand opening of the dberman gallery in Wimberley last weekend and highly recommend it. The bluebonnets are just starting to come out and it's the perfect time of year to take a jaunt to the hill country. The Falco Peregrinus by Shawn Smithgreeted us from it's cage.

How fitting that Roi James is the steward (his word) of a 16th c. Italian Renaissance painting from the circle of Barocci. It was the Renaissance paintings that originally attracted Roi to painting in the first place. He started painting seriously at the age of 28 with oils. He had dabbled in watercolors with his mother, also a painter, at a young age and did quite a bit of drawing. He has become one of my favorite painters of any time period or any location on the planet. I wouldn’t mind at all if my home was a Roi James gallery. Roi was kind enough to share his favorite pieces in his collection in his home with me today.

The Stephen L. Clark Gallery held a book signing for Kate Breakey’s Painted Light by University of Texas Press on Sunday night. This is a follow up to her first book Small Deaths and is very much a retrospective from her earliest mathematical work and still lives through small deaths of flowers and birds, cacti, and memories and dreams.

A Kate Breakey opening at the gallery is always a fun event. Andrea caught some fun photos of Kate meeting photographer James Evans for the first time and also Kate signing book. Do you know anyone in this photo?

Jennifer Elsner and David Shields have probably never spent more than $250 for a piece of art in their collection and yet they have quite a collection… with stories to tell. The couple have the design studio, Viewers Like You, and David is the Assistant Chair of Design at UT Austin and is also the primary researcher for the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection. The couple met and fell in love while getting their M.F.A. s from the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

The couple’s collection has grown by getting pieces for free, trade, and gifts. The large print behind the sofa is by Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Many of his installations invite the viewer to take a piece of the work with them which is how the couple ended up with this artists work. They picked a free...

David and Ransom’s home was one of the favorites on the 2009 AIA Homes Tour. The harmony of the architecture, materials, furnishings, and art is perfection. I came away wanting to have my own private art tour. So when I ran into David and Ransom on the 2010 AIA Homes Tour at the Webber + Studio remodel at Chimney Corners I asked for a private tour and was greeted with an enthusiastic and immediate “yes”.

David Webber is on the board of AMOA and they are Webber + Studio architecture. They started their home in 2006 and moved in 2008. Definitely check out the professional architectural photos of their home on their website Webber + Studio.

One of the most memorable vignettes in the home is the grouping of four Four Feet of Texas by Katie Maratta above the Herman...

Coming up on October 2 at The Blanton is "Turner to Monet: Masters from the Walters Art Museum". When you go -- take a short trip upstairs to the Manuel Bravo exhibit. I went with two photography friends, Andrea Turner and Ashley Unbehagen and had a lovely afternoon. The show features Manuel Bravo andsome of his contemporaries such as Bresson and Kertesz who are two of my all time favorites. We took our time taking in each photograph. Then went back and each picked out our top five and why. The gentleman at the left made all of our lists.

On display in the center of first room was the book The Family of Man by Carl Sandburg and Edward Steichen. It documented an exhibition curated by Edward Steichen in 1955 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It included 503 photos...

The summer has gone so quickly! Last spring I remember waiting with bated breath for the Matisse as Printmaker to come to Austin at The Blanton Museum. It runs through August 22, 2010 so there is only less than two weeks left.

As a student at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, one of the requirements in the Intro to 2D class is to go to the Print and Drawings Collection in the museum and choose a piece to copy. I chose a Matisse print very similar to this current’s exhibition press image. I was mesmerized by all the information Matisse gives with so few lines. Quite incredible.

This exhibit is comprised of 63 prints by Henri Matisse drawn entirely from Pierre (his younger son) and Tana Matisse’s foundation. The dates of the work range from 1900 to 1951 so you can really see how his style evolved. I had a lovely afternoon with a dear friend I...

It is so fun to meet people that value and get inspiration and energy from art. Hellen Pennell is just one of those people. I mentioned her in an earlier post when I met her at a fundraiser Progressive Dinner for our childrens’ school. She came to my house first and noticed the Kate Breakey photographs and she also owns Keith Carter’sGarlic. We connected. The last stop on the dinner was Hellen’s newly and beautifully remodeled home by architect Kevin Alter/Alter Studio. Great light. Great art. Great people.

Hellen shows me her Alexander Gorlizski Introvert #2 in the living room. Wow! It will be the inspiration for the large living area that is currently the container for the leftovers from the home. Hellen sheepishly covers her eyes when she says that she saw the Golizski piece in the December ’07 Elle Décor magazine and tracked down the gallery on the Internet. She said for her that buying art is usually a more...

Stacie Smith... Artist. Comedian. Musician. Thespian. Hairsmith.

You can see her chalkboard drawings at Art House's 11th annual 5 x 7 fundraiser that starts tonight. Hundreds of artists with Texas ties have created unique 5 x 7 pieces that all sell for $100. All pieces are anonymous until purchased.

Stacie has some of her large abstract pieces in her hip South Austin hair studio. While in the chair for a long needed haircut yesterday she described her iconic portraits for the 5 x 7 show.Frontiersmen (pictured left) are chalk on plywood. The set features Clark & Lewis, Crockett & Boone (top row); Wild Bill & Doris Day as Calamity Jane in the Musical Calamity Jane, Crying Indian & Woodsy (second row); Mr. Clean & Brawny (70s version), Laverne & Shirley (third row). Hilarious word handler that she is commented on a friend saying "don't you mean Lewis & Clark, not Clark & Lewis". Stacie said "why is it always Lewis &...

I ran in to Stephen Clark at the Lance Letscher opening and he said the hottest thing at AIPAD, The Association of International Art Dealers, in New York were Kate Breakey’s photograms. They were hung salon style and stopped people in their tracks. The Photograms were also presented salon style at the Stephen L. Clark Gallery in Austin last summer. Steve told his assistant Amber “that might be the best art wall I’ve ever seen” and encouraged her to sign the wall.

Shortly after Steve’s accolades to Amber, a collector couple from Houston with a large photography and painting collection walked in to the gallery and the woman turned to her husband and said “Honey – that may be the best art wall I’ve ever seen.”

I just got off the phone with Joseph Zambarano about a potential new project and he asked if I had seen the lounge at Fusebox Festival headquarters. I asked him to send me pictures immediately to post here since it is coming down on Sunday. Joe is an amazing artist, builder and craftsman and crafted the kitchen at Beverly Skyline. It sometimes took a day to set a cabinet as they are very precise and the work is impeccable. Joe also made the entry bench under the Roi James painting on River Road.

Joe wrote a little summary for us:

"Splinter Group members, Mark Macek,...

Four times a year you can find the creatives of Austin at Pecha Kucha night. Pecha Kucha was started in Tokyo in 2003 and has grown to over 300 cities. Each presenter gets to show 20 slides and has 20 seconds per slide. 20 x 20. Painters, architects, writers. landcape designer, theremin players and musicians of all types (yes!), photographers, choreographers….you name it, they will be there. Presenting, connecting, listening, inspiring.

Check out Lance Letscher at the d berman gallery. We went for night on the town with Cori (owner of Wildflower Organics ), Marla Henderson (Marla Henderson Design), and Teva (special gal). We started at happy hour at Botticelli's. Marla, Georgian girl that she is, recommended the spicy shrimp on polenta from their $5 happy hour menu. They also have a $5 wine and specialty cocktail menu. Fantastic! Their outdoor patio is fabulous this time of year.

I believe in the creative process and creative spirit and believe all homes should have at least one piece of original art. I believe in falling in love too. And each time I buy a piece of art, I feel that "falling in love" feeling. When I help clients purchase something, when I get the tingle up my spine I know we have found the right piece.