I have always felt that I was a fairly patient person. But now I'm not so sure. I have not left the house since March 14 and I'm going just a bit nuts: I miss my peers; I miss the stimulation of my clients; I miss Roberto and worry about him and his family as I do not have any work to give him....... I miss being able to create; I miss my auction (almost to the point of having a full fledged withdrawal meltdown). I do not
miss driving in LA traffic--that's about the only thing that I do not miss.
.........So I've been spending more time looking at very pretty things!! The Verdura piece above was commissioned by Dorothy Hirshon in the early 1940's. I think I need it to lift my lagging spirirts. YEP!!!, this might just do the trick and hold me over until we have good testing methodologies and a vaccine.
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Now, I have caught up with things that were lagging....Sent the 18th c. Swedish Drop Front Secretary to Camilo (actually he picked it up and then took his family to the beach) to restore.
Here is the secretary waiting for me at auction...
She looks pretty down-trodden and lonely. Here she is in my garage waiting for restoration
She looks even worse in the garage....but now I can show you the inside of the drop front, which is finely detailed in burl wood and is in excellent condition. It was a surprise to find that the fitted secretary section had not been painted. Good fortune did strike: all of the hardware (except the metal lid support) is original and I even have the key! Now to the last photo: once I could see the bottom of the secretary, it became evident that my puzzlement regarding the feet was spot-on. The front feet are old replacements---I knew that the back feet were bad replacements, but the front ones kinda looked OK. Camilo will replace all four feet; he'll carved a small section of the dentil molding that encircles the top section and there are couple of other areas that need a little help. When Camilo is finished, Roberto will match the painted surface.
When all spiffed up the Secretary will look similar to this one (I think this came from Tone-On-Tone, Loi Thai's shop in DC, as I recognize the topiaries)
I think this gorgeous secretary (which is superior to mine) is a one-piece; whereas mine is a two-piece. This example has a beautiful soft gray surface; mine has a scraped surface, which is also acceptable. I'll have Roberto soften the painted surface just a bit. But you get the idea. Thank you, Loi.
My thoughts are with New York and all of the parts of the world that are being devastated by COVID-19.
Prayers for our health and safety. I pray that we emerge with a renewed sense of community and purpose; with a restructuring of our priorities; with a renewed commitment to our communities.
Blessings for the day.
Mary & Cole
She looks even worse in the garage....but now I can show you the inside of the drop front, which is finely detailed in burl wood and is in excellent condition. It was a surprise to find that the fitted secretary section had not been painted. Good fortune did strike: all of the hardware (except the metal lid support) is original and I even have the key! Now to the last photo: once I could see the bottom of the secretary, it became evident that my puzzlement regarding the feet was spot-on. The front feet are old replacements---I knew that the back feet were bad replacements, but the front ones kinda looked OK. Camilo will replace all four feet; he'll carved a small section of the dentil molding that encircles the top section and there are couple of other areas that need a little help. When Camilo is finished, Roberto will match the painted surface.
When all spiffed up the Secretary will look similar to this one (I think this came from Tone-On-Tone, Loi Thai's shop in DC, as I recognize the topiaries)
I think this gorgeous secretary (which is superior to mine) is a one-piece; whereas mine is a two-piece. This example has a beautiful soft gray surface; mine has a scraped surface, which is also acceptable. I'll have Roberto soften the painted surface just a bit. But you get the idea. Thank you, Loi.
My thoughts are with New York and all of the parts of the world that are being devastated by COVID-19.
Prayers for our health and safety. I pray that we emerge with a renewed sense of community and purpose; with a restructuring of our priorities; with a renewed commitment to our communities.
Blessings for the day.
Mary & Cole
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