Now You See It; Now You Don’t

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decorative ways to conceal cracks in a wall, Timeout for Art, timeout for art now you see it

“Often, we try to repair broken things in such a way as to conceal the repair and make it “good as new.” But the tea masters understood that by repairing the broken bowl with the distinct beauty of radiant gold, they could create an alternative to “good as new” and instead employ a “better than new” aesthetic. They understood that a conspicuous, artful repair actually adds value. Because after mending, the bowl’s unique fault lines were transformed into little rivers of gold that post repair were even more special because the bowl could then resemble nothing but itself.” – Teresita Fernandez

Panama City-PANAMA –   Like a stepchild that it is not, an impromptu project at Barb’s condo in Panama has been waiting in the queue of stories to share.   After receiving another two-year nonresident visa to work in the arts, I was free to leave Ecuador without a lot of red tape to return.    I first visited Costa Rica for a week, took care of personal business, visited with friends, and then on the return trip to Ecuador, bailed out in Panama to spend a week with Barbara.

Barbara is my amazing and tireless friend who is selfless when it comes to helping others.  Here are images from some of her past visits, starting with when she helped create the Magic Carpet at Casa Loca.

Barb preps border with fresh layer of Agua Stop.

Barbara brushes white over white!

Inventory from PlayaMart

This is surely the most lovingly-painted bodega door in the country!

Postscript:  Last year’s earthquake altered that Casa Loca chapter.  But let’s move on….

Recycled cans!  Why is Barb chuckling as she sits on the bench?

When the ocean advanced, Barb witnessed the changes.

Barb and I enjoyed a 30-minute detour* through the “Women’s Art Exhibit” in Museo Bahia de Caraquez. – *before the earthquake…

Thanks to Efrain’s visit to the property, Barb was officially infected with the birding bug!

Barbara has helped me with SO MANY projects, and even if it were just a week, it was time to spend time with her.   “I’ll be bringing my paint brushes,” I stated, “so be thinking of a project.”

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Timeout for Art: A Magical Room

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art studios, creative artistic spaces, Lisa Brunetti, painted concrete floors, transforming an ugly room into a happy one, ways to remodel an old room, wordpress challenge ROOM

“I step into my studio and nothing will be the same ever again.” (Franco Paisio)

This week’s WordPress Challenge is ‘Room,’ and these photos show how a farm bodega transformed into a unique studio space.  Enjoy the pictorial!  Z

August 2008; the fixer-upper challenge begins!

Let’s peer inside the bodega!

Timeout for Art: Blocks

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Drawing, magic carpet, Painting, Timeout for Art Blocks

A simple line drawing, photographed (gray) and converted to black and gray.

“When I can’t paint, I can draw, and this simple but very powerful tool gets me back to the very door of creativity.”  (Pat Corbin Henson)

Sometimes when I find myself going ’round in circles, I look through my archives and play with the designs waiting in limbo.   Rolling this drawing into a ‘bronze’ application on Irfanview provided a much-richer work of art with zero effort!

After tossing around options on the computer, I am usually eager to return to my pencil, which in turn preps me to return to my paints!

Magic Carpet Airlift!

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imaginary escapes, magic carpet ride, what to do for cabin fever, winter storm jan 2014

Applying magic to the fibers of the carpet!

Tropical drinks for everyone!

Zeebra Surprises

With the cold weather sweeping across the Northern Hemisphere, I wish that I could fly you to the tropics or somewhere – anywhere other than where you’re cold and miserable and enduring brutally-extreme temperatures. Galleriaredelius’ brilliant mind of a jewelry maker commented on yesterday’s post: “As for the music, how about this new interpretation of Fly me to the moon, by Anna Ternheim”

I wish that I could fly you to the moon, but my budget will not allow that kind of extravagance! I can, however, take you on a cyber-reality magic carpet ride!  After all of the hard work and suffering that Barb sacrificed to help paint magic dust into this work of art, it needs a checkout flight at least every six months… and it’s been six months since the last one!

What? No pizza?!

Connections are slow, so there won’t be a Rescue Command Center to coordinate emergency airlift itineraries to any of you who are snowbound and have cabin fever.   The Magic Carpet is undergoing preflight tests and will soon be making a round-the-world swoop!

Timeout for Art: Total Immersion in Color!

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paintings by lisa brunetti, quotes by van gogh, stress during holidays, taking time for yourself, Timeout for Art - Immersion in Color

“As you can see, I am immersing myself in color—I’ve held back from that until now; and I don’t regret it.” (Vincent van Gogh)

December often crams our lives with tasks and obligations that prevent us from taking a timeout for ourselves. We dart and dash from home to work to social gatherings and events, and we return home to unfinished tasks. Which balls do we drop while juggling too many, and what triggers us to throw on brakes and claim a timeout for ourselves?

El Matal Ecuiador – having fun with color!

Although my life is fairly uncomplicated, the past few weeks have kept me rolling with little time for art. Even though hurried, I am always calmed and grounded even if I only have ten minutes to apply a bit more color to a painting before dashing out the door. I am instantly focused and grateful that I have found an outlet that grounds me in hurried times.

Which Way is North?

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acrylic paintings, copyright lisa brunetti, Hand-painted concrete floors, Lisa Brunetti art, Wordpress photo challenge Focus, z designs, Zeebra Designs

This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is Focus; “…For this challenge, get out there and take a picture demonstrating the concept of focus.”

Each week I photograph the progress on the compass design (painted on concrete floor) from several vantage points, so with pleasure I present the almost-finished design from many-different angles.

Because this is a floor, I keep asking myself, “Lisa!  Are those little bitty details really important?”

Timeout for Art: Compass

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Compass, Hand-painted concrete floors, Interior design, Lisa Brunetti art, Mosaic work, Problem floors, Timeout for Art Compass, Tromp L'oeil on floor, What to do with an ugly floor

“I don’t want technology to take me so far that I don’t have to use my brain anymore. It’s like GPS taking over and losing your internal compass. It’s always got to be tactile, still organic.”
Andrew Bird

Years ago I worked in a design studio for a company that produced custom carpets for hotels, movie theaters, casinos and private businesses.  Every so often we received an order for a hand-made rug, and the pattern had to be drawn on a huge canvas that was stretched to correct proportions in the warehouse.   To my amusement, most of the younger designers were graphic art whizzes, but their drawing skills were horrid!   I quickly became the hand-made rug specialist, and I would leave a note on my desk, “Gone to the briar patch! – ‘Brer Rabbit.’

How I loved the challenge of using my math and drawing skills to transfer a complicated design onto a giant canvas, then color code the areas to be filled in by another person!

I still enjoy using my internal compass to draw a complicated design on a forlorn concrete floor and watching the room slowly transform!   These photos illustrate one of several projects that tested my drawing skills this week.

Orderly – Daily Prompt

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Bodega floor, Lisa Brunetti art, painted images on concrete floors, what to do with an ugly concrete floor, wordpress daily challenge orderly

The Daily Prompt states:  Photographers, artists, poets: show us ORDERLY.

Easy!

Two days of hard work equals amazing progress!

Searching for good squeeze bottles for the paint, we found a supply that came with free drinks!

When I hit a slump in inspiration, I paint rocks and am magically back on track!

Sneak peek! The next project is coming soon! Yes, that’s paint!

Would anyone care to guess what this (above) will be?  It’s painted on the next section of the bodega floor and will help with navigational skills for the magic carpet!

Have a great weekend everyone!  I’m heading out for a walk on the farm!

Z

Helping Hands

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Acrylic Painting, Creative Group Projects, Daily Post, Daily Prompt: Helping Hands, i can do this painting workshops, Images of Hands, Lisa Brunetti art

Today’s Daily Prompt states:  
Tell us about the most surprising helping hand you’ve ever received.
Photographers, show us HANDS.

Hands?  Do I ever have an assortment of images of hands!

Enjoy!

Holy Piso, Batman, The Bodega Floor is Finished!

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Hand-painted concrete floors, hangar doors, Lisa Brunetti, magic carpet, the magic carpet floor, what to do with an ugly room

Holy Piso, Batman, The Bodega Floor is Finished!

Yes, ‘Stage One” of the bodega floor is finished! The first coat of a non-yellowing “laca poliuretano para pisos” is now drying, and the floor will be ready for its first inspection tomorrow! My friend Sarah Dettman and her tour group of 20 will stop by the house to for a sample of my life here on the river.

It’s not fair to let them see this floor before all of you in the cheering section!     The only problem is that Barb is not here for a celebratory test drive on the magic carpet!

Rabbit Rabbit & May Day!

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concrete floors, good luck traditions, hand-painted floors, may day, rabbit rabbit, rabbits, the magic carpet, the morris dance

Rabbit Rabbit! Happy May Day!

Painting late into the night and into the wee hours of the morning, I realized that a new month sneaked up on me! The good luck first words of the day, Rabbit Rabbit, ran through my head!   How many of you practice that tradition on the first day of each month?

This cute black and white rabbit roams the grounds of Hacienda Guachala in Cayambe Ecuador.  It hip hops along the GPS point of latitude zero – how magical is that?!

Rabbit rabbit, have you ever heard of the Morris dance?

Today is also May Day, and many schools will hold activities in celebration of the outdoors.  I will never forget when I worked in a design studio for a UK company, and one of our very-reserved supervisors broke out in an impromptu Morris dance!  I will forever treasure that memory!

Hummingbird’s Postcard!

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Barbara Seibel, Bodega Floor Magic Carpet, concrete floors, Guayaquil Malecon, hand-painted floors, Travel Ecuador, What to do in Jama Ecuador, where to eat in jama ecuador

Barb at Punta Prieta, just up the coast from the town of Jama

My trail is about to take me out of town for a few days, so enjoy this final postcard from Barb!  See you when I’m back on Wednesday!   Z

(From Barb)

Dear fans of “Zeebra’s Designs and Destination.”

WOW!!!!! I must say I am not only amazed but also totally overwhelmed with the response that Lisa has received on her WordPress Blog concerning the Zeebra’s Flying Carpet’s Post Cards.

Thank you everyone for the encouraging comments and well wishes through all of our journey on the “Carpet”. What fun we had. Lisa has such a great spirit, (as you all have seen) energy and love that it’s easy to catch it from her…..and that I did.

I left Ecuador with a lot of fond memories and a little sadness at having to leave Lisa and “The Riverhouse.”   However I will cherish all of those memories, new friends, not only from the towns we visited, but Lisa’s Blog as well.

Buen Viaje, Barbara!

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concrete floor designs, I can do this painting workshop, jama ecuador, Life in rural Ecuador, manabi ecuador, Painting concrete floor, what to do with an ugly concrete floor

Sunset Rio Jama

Approaching the midnight hour, I’m wading through photos from the past three weeks of Barb’s visit.  At times this rural life on Ecuador’s Pacific coast seems like a blend between outdoor survival school and an arts camp!   Barb  learned how to blend washes of transparent color on a painting, how to combine colors, create tromp l’oeil/fool-the-eye effects and how to use geometry to transfer a sketch to a larger surface.

Night heron with fish!

She’s learned that the river birds chatter throughout the night, that mosquitoes will find you, (so will curious snakes and frogs!) and that the equatorial sun bites fast!  In addition to shelling fresh peas from the garden, Barbara also experienced a unique vegetable that the locals call ‘achojcha.’

Achojcha and Lima beans bask in the equatorial sunshine.

Barb now understands that perfection in art often robs a painting of its freshness and spontaneity.  She also understands the need for breaks from intense painting sessions.   A few days ago we took a break and watched my friends harvest a shrimp pond near the Riverhouse.

A Hummingbird for a Hummingbird!

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acrylic paintings, art by Lisa Brunetti, Hand-painted concrete floors, I Can Do This

Searching for good squeeze bottles for the paint, we found botttles that came with free drinks!

(Ecuador)

The last few days were busy ones as Barb and I worked on several projects.  Barbara is a spark plug of energy, and I dubbed her Hummingbird years ago!  She zips back and forth, requires many little feedings, recharges her batteries and continues to flit from task to task!    Although she might crash late at night, she’s cheerfully awake at dawn and resumes her high-energy embrace of each day!

Guess what we’ve been painting?

While working on the bodega floor, I suggested that we halt work and switch to a painting for her home in the Republic of Panama.   No subject could trump the hummingbird theme, so after looking at many images, we combined several to create a hybrid hummingbird!

What’s For Breakfast?

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Breakfast Ideas, magic carpet, quinoa crust, quinoa pizza, Quinoa Recipes

What’s for breakfast? Anything served on the magic carpet will surely be a unique experience!

As Barbara and I enjoyed our unique breakfast while test driving the magic carpet, I stated, “Probably no one else in this country is having this for breakfast.”

Barbara replied,  “Probably no one else in the whole-wide world is having this for breakfast!”

It looks like pizza, and is sort of tastes like pizza, but, it’s a very fast way to convert left-over quinoa into a fairly-healthy breakfast.

Mix left-over quinoa with one (beaten) egg, a dash of salt, then add enough flour to hold it together.  Press into a slightly-oiled pan and cook on medium heat until browned on the bottom.   Flip it to the other side and brown for another five minutes.  Flip back, add warmed tomato sauce (i used leftovers from yesterday’s creole sauce)  and top with mozzarella.  Cook on low heat until mozzarella is melted.

It’s so easy! Quinoa-crust pizza!

Ta-dah!

Buen provecho!

Z  (See Quinouli Frittata for another breakfast option)

Progress: Bodega Floor

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Acrylic Painting, hand-painted floors, magic carpet ride bodega floor, painting concrete floors, what to do to an ugly room

Two days of hard work equals amazing progress!

A long day of painting can be quite exhausting, and Barbara clocked out and went to sleep hours ago!  Her batteries will be recharged in the morning, and mine will be dragging!    I think you’ll be pleased with the progress on the bodega floor.  Enjoy the photos!