[Elle Decor]
Gorgeous, right?
My senior year in college, I lived off campus in the bottom floor of an old Victorian house. there was a kitchen and a bathroom, and the original living and dining rooms were the two bedrooms. To close off the archway between these two rooms, the owner had installed two tall panels--maybe sheetrock? on either side, and installed a door in the middle. The panels were in my room, and one of them tucked nicely behind a carved teakwood screen I had picked up at a yard sale to close off the "closet". But the other panel was an eyesore. I knew I couldn't hide it, so I would have to embrace it--make it into something.
I had studied Japanese art and the Japanese influence in late 19th and early 20th century European art the previous semester, so off I went to the library to look up some of the gorgeous Art Nouveau ineriors I remembered so well.
Based on my reference, I painted the panel a plum color, using a drag technique. Then used silver metallic paint to create a swaying tree trunk and long graceful branches, and a set of hand made potato stamp--so high tech!--to make the cherry blossoms from white and two shades of pink paint. While it certainly did not have the craftsmanship of the screen in the Elle Deco spread above, it had a similar effect.
I was so proud of that mural. I was a writing major and even wrote it into the apartment of a character in one of my stories. I wonder if it's still there, or who chose to paint over it.
Do you have fond memories of early ventures in DIY? Any projects that bring you back to a place and time? I'd love to hear about them.
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