Gampel & Stoll Elephant Table Reveal

And here she is

I picked the table up in LA a week ago and was almost speechless when I saw her. The intricately carved top became so much more beautiful with the ivory lacquer instead of the black surface. The new finisher managed to "get" the tone just right. The best part of this process has been meeting new craftsmen. People of deep integrity and talent. Of course, these wonderful craftsmen are immigrants. These are the people that continue to make Americans (us) the outstanding country that we are. Immigrants bring us their talents, hopes, aspirations and goodness. For anyone to disparage them is to disparage our national identity. 

"Not My President" continues to be my motto.

Anyway.....politics aside.......

And to continue my black and (not too)WHITE theme,

I finally took some respectable photos of a pair of 18th c. Piranesi (Giovanni Battista) engravings  and of a pair of Toko Shinoda Lithographs.

G.B.Piranesi was the most famous engraver of 18th c. Rome (Italy-which still wasn't unified). Most of us are most familiar with his "Ruins" and "Prisons" series which are outstanding and highly detailed, but also a bit depressing. These two engravings represent water elements and include contemporary view of Roman life during the mid-18th c., there is a lot of activity represented and the views are full of life.

The Trevi Fountain, below continues to be a Roman focal point.

I don't think that the Castello dell' Acqua remains, however, this engraving tells us much about mid-18th c. Rome.

I had the folios framed with simple museum black mats and tarnished silver toned frames.

Toko Shinoda is a very well-listed 20th c. Japanese print maker. Shinoda was born in 1913 and continues to work--she is about to be 104!! She is recognized for her abstract her calligraphy works. Shinoda was influenced by Jackson Pollack during her time spent in the United States. Additionally, her pieces are held in many permanent museum collections.

As you can see, I'm having trouble photographing these pieces due to black matting and reflection of the glass--I could have ordered non-reflective glass, but that type of glass distorts the image seen through it...Life is not perfect.

I love the energy in Shinoda's work--it's stark, but perfect. I believe her works would incorporate perfectly into period designed rooms as well as mid-century designed settings.

We are going to get between 5 and 8 inches of rain tomorrow--so I need to hurry to get everything done today. I think we need a few prayers for that broken damn spillway up north. It needs to hold until the rainy season comes to an end.

Jones & Cole say "hi"