Artist Gugger Petter

 

Artist Gugger Petter with one of her beautiful works of art.

Do you notice art when you are in public buildings? I do. I love art of many forms and can't help but notice it when I am out and about.

 One of my favorite collections happens to be at Nordstrom. I have not researched who is responsible for putting the collection together, but I should. In both the Austin and San Antonio stores,  in the shoe departments, are huge, fascinating pieces of art .

Behind the checkout counter of each shoe department are the very large newspaper "paintings" if you will, or woven tapestries, created by Danish artist Gugger Petter. (Pronounced Googer Peter)  

I don't remember the first time I noticed these wonderful works of art, but I fell in love with their charm and have been intrigued by the method of creation ever since. They are very large "canvases" of twisted and rolled newspaper woven together to create the images. They are wonderful!

Gugger has been working with newspaper for the past 21 years. She takes everyday life  observations and creates over sized images with the paper. Gugger uses current newspaper for each piece, and considers it "the diary of our lives", so in this way, a piece of her work becomes historical as well.

She has done commissions of famous people you may recognize in the following photos and is collected by art lovers around the world.

To read more about THIS one, go here.

Gugger is represented by the Jane Sauer Gallery in Santa Fe, and her work is featured there this month in their current show.

She is known for her landscapes of legs, shoes and dogs, as well as for her beautiful Madonna pieces.

Aren't the details exquisite?

To learn more about this amazing artist, visit her website 

and
be sure to visit the Jane Sauer Gallery, as well, to see the current exhibit and available works by Gugger.


All images thanks to the Jane Sauer Gallery and Gugger Petter.

Bird Love with Geoffrey Gorman, Duane O'Hagan, Billy Hassell, and Liz Steving

My wonderful new bird sculpture, "Alba", with her nest, created by Geoffrey Gorman, from the Jane Sauer Gallery in Santa Fe (I know, ya either love him or ya hate him - I love him!) inspired me to look around my house at all the birds I live with.


Oops, a dog on a wonderful Brunswig and Fils fabric I picked up once at Warrenton during the Round Top antiques fair................. now back to birds................


This tin bird is part of an assemblage created by Liz Steving, featured at other times in my blog.

This is an amazing painting by artist Billy Hassell. I have had it for a number of years and never tire of it.


One of my tramp art treasures that I also acquired a number of years ago. It is a favorite of mine.
I put different things in it. At times it has had some of the many bird's nests that I have collected, other times it might have shells in it. Right now it has some mystical herb bundles picked up in Taos, New Mexico.

Here we go - this is the same fabric from above. It has all sorts of creatures on it - I could only buy a few yards of it, so I made a window shade and covered a bulletin board with it.

An old Mexican blanket in my entry hall chair - looks like it's birds again!

My treasures from our last trip to New York - of course, when choosing my John Derian plates I was drawn to the ones with birds.


A sweet pillow from a favorite Nashville shop near Vanderbilt and Belmont
Universities called Pangaea.

Another John Derian plate, this one a Target edition that sits in my kitchen - love it!

I have collected old crockery, jugs, bottles, you name it..... over the years, both to keep and for re-sale, and it's no surprise, some of the ones I have kept have birds painted on them!

I love this one with the peacock, bought at Round Top, from one of my all time favorite antique dealers, Toni Perkins.

Another old crock with a sweet little song bird .......................

I love the amazing things of nature - bird's nests, wasp's nest, leaves, butterflies, shells.........I am in awe of the intricacies and details in something like a wasp's nest. I don't like wasps, I am always intrigued that they can build nests like they do! Birds are really amazing, building different shapes and sizes of nests, using different materials, depending on what kind of bird they are.




Two antique French weather vanes given to me as gifts years ago, one from my mother and one from my very dear former mother in law, Mary Webb (as in Joni !) . Both were picked up at a wonderful little French antique store in Houston, the name of which escapes me now. I loved them and both mothers surprised me with them, not knowing the other had the same idea in mind. Thank you to both for lasting treasures.


Another favorite little piece of tramp art, a wall pocket, this one has carved horse heads and on top, little carved birds!

I used to have a huge collection of old mercury glass, but have sold it at antique shows over the years. I kept my very favorite pieces, though, and they just happen to have birds painted on them! The pair, with the white water birds, were the first pieces I ever bought. I am very sentimental about them as they came from Martha Waldie, another all time favorite antique dealer. Martha was from Dallas and died several years ago. She had an incredible eye and was a well respected dealer in Dallas as well as in New Mexico, and of course, at Round Top.


As if I don't have enough pillows........this little hooked jewel came over during the red photo shoot and just never went back to the store!

Last, but not least, my birds perched on sticks, created by Duane O'Hagan of the Taos Blue Gallery in Taos, New Mexico. I just love his work, and if Geoffrey Gorman is too funky for you, these little guys will just steal your heart! As for me, I love them all!!