sneak peek: karen gelardi

i'm so thrilled to start the week off with what has to be my favorite sneak peek yet. artist karen gelardi was kind enough to open up her home to us and i'm simply smitten with the spaces in each photo. karen's words explain things much better than i can so i'll let the pictures and her words do the talking. as always, you can click here to see additional and full-sized photos of karen's home. thanks so much to karen for sharing her home with us- and congratulations on her successful show at the center for maine contemporary art!

["My partner Charlie Schreiber and I bought this house several years ago and are working away on the renovation. We started with the big projects (re-wiring, replacing windows, etc. etc.) and are starting now to plan the more fun things like the interior. The house is a 1940s Cape that was built for a doctor and his wife who was a nurse. They had a private practice in the house— the waiting room and doctor's offices have become my studio. Charlie is a sculptor and his studio is in the garage. The first photo above is of the bedroom. The green on green and blue on blue pillows are made with sample fabrics I hand silkscreened. Most of the fabrics I print are for sculptures but I couldn't resist making a few pillows too! The pattern on the green pillow was inspired by drawings my mother used to make of flowers. Ferdinand lamp. The photo directly above is of miscellaneous stuff in the studio and a peek into the entryway. You can see my silkscreens and a model for the upcoming show is on the table. Charlie made the metal balancing sculpture on the sideboard."]

["My father loves fishing and when he takes me and my brothers and sister along, he will paint portraits of the fish we catch. Bird photo by Carrie Hoge. Books by Maine author Kenneth Roberts. The origami giraffe was made by Ron Harrity from one of my triangle drawings."]

["The waiting room"]

["This is our bathroom: The painting is by Portland artist Patrick Corrigan and I thought it was the perfect thing to put in the bathroom which in the process of being renovated. "]

["This is our mantle: Fish painting by my dad. Charlie made the carved plaster shell. I am not sure who made the little landscape drawing. This pair of black sculptures is by Amanda Barr from the White Light show at Motel Gallery. She also made the tiny hobo bag. David Aaron made the painted wood sculptures. I love bundled things and I couldn't resist purchasing these from his show at Little Cakes Gallery. The glasses are inspired by Buckminster Fuller's glasses— Charlie made these as part of his halloween costume a few years ago. The painting on the right was made by my dad when he was in high school in Taiwan."]

["The guest room bookcase"]

["The office: Since we are still renovating, I have not been able to hang this large painting that my mother made. So I have put it in the office on its side until I can properly hang it."]

["Ths is our dining room and a salvaged lamp from a house that was getting demo'd. Table from Aunt Martha."]

["My brother John made this lead gorilla in high school. The antique lead sledders were handed down to me from my great grandmother's holiday figurine collection."]

["Ink drawing by Michael Capotosto. Miscellaneous panels and projects; Ferdinand lamp."]

["This photo shows the floor of the studio as I was getting ready and sorting through work for the THICKET show in Rockport at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art"]