What a day!!

Well, I just checked my blog only to find that I am missing several pictures that I thought I had loaded on my Mexican pottery collection - this particular post has been most challenging! I think I will take the "How to" lessons from All Things Bright and Beautiful and try again tomorrow - sorry about that!!

To top it all off now my computer is saying cannot connect to blogger !! Talk about frustrated!!!!!!

Mexican Pottery

I know we have visited my breakfast room before, but this is where most of my old Mexican pottery lives. I collect some contemporary pottery, but most of what I have is old tourist pottery bought at estate and garage sales in the United States(mainly Texas and New Mexico) over the years.

Actually, when I have hunted for pottery in Mexico, I have found that the old pottery, made in places like Puebla and Tlaquepaque, is not there anymore. Please don't misunderstand, there is still a ton of great looking pottery being made there, just not the tourist pottery that people used to bring home from vacationing south of the border during the 30s, 40s, and even into the 1960s.

The first "new" pottery I began to collect I found on a quick trip to Nuevo Laredo in the early 70s. I bought three square bowls with lions on them and they hang on the wall above the window of my breakfast room along with an assortment of other plates and platters from the same potter.They were designed and crafted by the well known potter Gorky Gonzales. Gorky is an educated craftsman who has chosen to work in an authentic majolica technique. While he was in a small studio in the colonial town of Guanajuato , Mexico when I first visited him in the mid 70s, he had moved to a much larger facility when I was fortunate enough to visit again in the 90s. He has more help now and my impression is that his son may have taken over his business at this point. I have collected many of his pieces over the years and have them scattered around my house - some decorative and some useful! If you are interested in learning more you can go to www.gorkypottery for a lovely and informative presentation.



The pieces in the front with the sort of drip glaze, are old and come from Oaxaca. I have a Mexican teapot collection, and a few of them are also included in this grouping. There is one Talavera vase tucked back there, but the rest is Gorky , along with a few on the right made by another contemporary potter named Capello. He is in the same region as Gorky and while his style is similar, he actually does some more formal looking pieces.

There are several good books on the subject of Mexican pottery. I especially love one of the first I ever read entitled "A Potter's Mexico"by Irwin and Emily Whitaker, published in 1978 by the University of New Mexico Press.

For more current study of Mexican pottery, try "Popular Arts of Mexico 1850-1950", by Donna McMenamin, published by Schiffer Publishing in 1996. Another one published by Schiffer is called "Ceramica, Mexican Pottery of the 20th Century", by Amanda Thompson in cooperation with the California Heritage Museum, Santa Monica, published in 2001.

I have now lost this post twice -once due to my mistakes and once I think due to blogger's outage - so, I will continue in another post but want to go ahead and publish this one before I lose it! (the post and my mind!!)

Did someone say "edit"?

I love the concept of editing, I really do. I read about it all the time. The best designers are always preaching "editing" your space.

I look longingly at the most beautiful interiors with minimal accessories and furnishings arranged in such an orderly way and I wish I could BE that person with such discipline. I love the simplicity and quiet beauty of just a few fine things displayed on a table or chest......I try - I put things away, I sell things at antique shows, I give things away........and I still have too much stuff! I just cannot seem to edit enough, especially when it comes to my collections!

I started picking up these carved stone books at antique shows several years ago. They are difficult to find so my collection is small. I only know one other person who collects them and he has a huge assortment. He is Steve Wyman, my friend who owns Uncommon Objects, on South Congress, in Austin, Texas. Uncommon Objects is a fabulous vintage and antique group shop that is like no other! The dealers are extraordinary in their ability to find the rare, unusual, weird and interesting..........not necessarily "fine" antiques, but always curious and unique. Their ability to display their treasures is unequaled and it is always fun to stroll through the shop for inspiration and amusement. The shop has been featured in a lot of design magazines, from Country Home to Elle Decor.

I don't know much about stone books and have never found anything written about them.Many of them are carved to look like Bibles, but not all of them. Steve has told me that some were carried by people who wanted to carry a Bible to church, but might not have been able to read, or may not have had a "real" Bible.

A few of the ones I have are painted and personalized, and clearly mementos from travels. One is dated June 27, 1899, and has the words "Margaret Griffin", Elgin, Nebraska written on it. Another is dated 1915 and is marked "Souvenir Soldiers Home Hot Springs, South Dakota" written in a semi circle around a floral and fruit painting.It is one of the smallest ones I have - probably about 3 inches by 4 inches.

There are some old book ends made to look like carved books and I have picked up a few of these along the way. They are not as old, but fill in the collection nicely, especially for stacking.

So, there you have it.......just one more of many quirky things that I like. If you ever see any stone books, don't buy them - email me and tell me where they are!!

Also, if you find yourself in Austin, you should stop by Uncommon Objects for a really fun,one of a kind shopping experience!!

Meanwhile, edit,edit,edit..................

Time, time, time..................

While my blog got off to a great start, I have been very remiss in keeping up with posts! Time is an issue, as many of you have discussed in your various blogs. To visit others in the design world is so much fun, and to comment, reply, revisit, post on one's own - oh my! what a world unto itself!! So, I had this great inspiration a few weeks back when Joni, of Cote de Texas, did a wonderful post on her sister's collections.

To digress a minute, my plan is to bring a host of interesting places to you from around the Texas Hill Country, but alas, the holidays came and along with them a host of family, friends,celebration......... and some obligatory activities. Not a lot of time for meandering around town snapping photos and writing interesting things on my blog!

So, with the "collections" idea, I realized that I have MANY collections right here in my own house and I could write about those. Well, I have been waiting and waiting for TIME to take really good photos, and then TIME to write really well and give informative facts about each thing I collect............and here I am and it is January 10 and about thirty other things are pulling at me...............and then today, I suddenly realized that not all of you write long, fabulous, fascinating posts ALL the time - sometimes you just stop by with a fun photo or two and a "hello"!! So, that's the plan for this post - a few things I love and then on to the rest of the day!

PIQUE ASSIETTE - I can't alway tell you why I love things -I just know it when I see it. Usually they are old and sometime crusty, and almost always make me smile. This old mosaic stuff was made in the Victorian time. People would make what they called "putty pots". They would spread putty or plaster on an old jug, bottle, plate or some other kind of vessel. Then they would press different "treasures" into the putty - maybe old jewelry, buttons, pieces of glass or pottery - and then let the putty set. Sometimes people refer to them as memory jugs. One other interesting tidbit - people also made "mourning pots" and covered them with little trinkets from the life of a deceased loved one.

I like mosaic in general, but usually don't care for the newer "copies" of these old vessels. I can't base what I like on any fact -just my"eye", strange as it may be!


CAMP BLANKETS - being a Texas girl and loving the Southwest, I have gathered old camp blankets for a while now. Sometimes they are stacked within an old cupboard and sometimes actually used at the foot of a sofa or on an ottoman for cuddling up in or warming bare feet.My requirements are not academic - purely visual. I like the ones that are old and soft and they must have great color and graphic design. I like old Navajo rugs, too, and old, soft, faded Mexican saltillos.

That's it!

Well, I have had just about enough about me! I do want to share with you the above photo of an old sign I bought once at the Heart of Country Antique Show in Nashville. I think it must have come from an old furniture store. I love what it says FIRST FURNISH YOUR HOME......IT TELLS WHAT YOU ARE Isn't that great! Just one of my quirky finds that I HAD to buy and then figure out what to do with.......

I was reading from "Dwellings" by Stephen Sills and James Huniford this morning and I quote "We all have a broad array of objects,periods, styles, and colors that we like and respond to, but selecting those we really want to live with on a daily basis, and to spend time and money on, is a difficult process."

I'll say!! This may well be my greatest decorating issue - I like way too many things and although, I do believe that our homes should reflect WHO we are - and that some rooms that are strictly put together by designers look exactly that way - the whole process of focus and editing is very hard for me. My love of country and folk art, in a great, clean space, draws me to Karin Blake, and my tendency towards warm, cozy and fabulous (and dogs!)makes me want to visit Bunny Williams. Did I mention Cindy Smith in Charlotte or Charlotte Moss in NYC? Do you think I have a problem? Oh! and I love the work of Mariette Himes Gomez and Susan Zises Green........and I would move right into Kathryn Ireland's California-Spanish house!

So, my design and decorating journey continues............I hope to share something totally new and interesting from the hill country with you later this week while I continue to learn from all of you talented bloggers who have welcomed me so warmly! Stay tuned.

Step Outside - A view from the balcony

I think this view from the upstairs balcony is especially pretty. It opens from two of the three bedrooms upstairs, over the kitchen and family room.

This shot give a great view of the house design discussed earlier- the "main" portion of the house seen across the red standing seam roof and the other part appearing to have been built to join later.

..........and this one is the best to show the actual design of the house. To the right is the master bedroom "wing" shown previously.Over to the far left, you can see the two story section of the house and the balcony. The upstairs has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. I love this view. While it is definitely a hill country house, I sometimes think from back here it looks like an old Southern home in any number of different places!

Getting Personal..........Master Bedroom

Walking back through the kitchen , dining room and great room,at the far other end of the house, we come to our master bedroom. It is a wonderful, light filled space that has French doors opening to the backyard. It may be my favorite room of the house. I so enjoyed reading about master bedrooms from Patricia Gray (http://www.patriciagrayinc.blogspot.com/ and wish I were more of an "intentional decorator", with one of those seriously pulled together bedrooms.

However, I am an emotional shopper and decorator. I buy what I love and then just throw it all together. Some days I am confident that this style of decorating is right for me, and other times I feel like I am so random it is scary! Some examples are: the rug is from an auction in Maine a few summers ago, the lamps are from Toby West in Highlands,North Carolina (love NC!!) , the cottage , "folky" chest is from a shop in Comfort, Texas where I was in a group shop once upon a time and fell in love with it before the dealer could even get it into her space, the tramp art frames are part of a collection accumulated over many years, and the red leather chairs are from Pottery Barn.........etc etc etc.......the list goes on! Oh well............I keep trying to be more focused in my decorating, but I am not sure it is "me"!

The master bath is a mix of travertine tile and a yummy, apricot color marble that I love. Of course I have to "funk it up" a bit with leopard towels from Pottery Barn, and my collection of shells from many much loved beach trips to Port Aransas and South Padre Island!!

TV/family Room

This is a cozy room opposite the breakfast room, down a short hallway from the kitchen. We gather in here to watch the news and movies. Sometimes I go into the great room and sit by the fire if I want to get away from the television! The cabinetry is the same long leaf pine seen throughout the house, and the ceiling is old reclaimed bead board. This room opens to a screened in porch where we have dinner in the spring and summer. If I were to build a house I would find a happy medium between this room and the great room. While the larger room is a nice space when we have company, I prefer the smaller more intimate feeling of this room - if only it had the fireplace!

Come in to the Breakfast Room

If you were to step outside from the dining room, you could enter another part of the house from the porch that wraps around the front of the house.

The open door leads to the wrap around porch that was so common to the old German houses. The porch you see runs along the outside of the dining room and the door at the end opens to the living room.

We were not the original owners of this house. The people who built it wanted an old fashioned breakfast room. The window looks out onto the front yard and catches beautiful morning sunlight. I have some of my collection of old Mexican pottery on the plate shelf on the far wall. I found most of the pieces in the U.S. at estate sales and auctions. It is not as easy to find anymore as it has become more popular to collect. Many people used to buy the pottery on their vacations to Mexico and bring it home as souvenirs. There are many patterns specific to different regions of Mexico. On the wall above the window I have more of the Gorky Gonzalez pottery collection.

Kitchen

Looking towards the dining room and.................

coming in from the dining room......... you see more of the same rock work as in the dining room.Also, notice the use of the long leaf pine in here. I collect old Mexican pottery as well as that of contemporary potter, Gorky Gonzalez. I have been picking up Gorky pieces since the early 70s. I bought my first plates in Nuevo Laredo, but since then have been to his studio in Guanajuato, Mexico, near San Miguel de Allende, several times. It is always fun to go to the original source for things we collect. Gorky has numerous artisans working for him now, but I still love his pottery!

Moving along........the dining room

This picture makes the room look longer than it actually is, but I like that you can see that both sides of the room are wonderful windows and French doors. Of course, I had to add some color - I just can't help myself. Local artist, Tom Proch, painted the bead board ceiling a sort of aged tobacco and toned down my wild Mexican blue doors and windows with the same smoky, "old" glaze.

If you look closely you can see that the rock work is laid in a different pattern here. The rocks are cut and laid in a more uniform manner. The rock work in the "first" part of the house is much more random.This room leads into the kitchen, where the stone walls continue in the same pattern. I love interior stone!

Come on in!

This is the entry hall of our home. The mirror frames are from an old church in La Grange, Texas. The piano was my grandmother's, and the painted cottage chest from new England has a wonderful marble top.

All of the doors and cabinetry in the house are constructed of old long leaf pine, a very popular building material in hill country homes.

This is the view from the entry into the living room. Notice the rock work pattern in this main part of the house. When you see the dining room you will notice how the pattern is different. This was done to look like the houses that the Germans might have built in the past - as if my dining room was a later addition.