I must have flowers

Finished commission for a friend that will likely end up in the ETSY store at some point. You can visit my other work at https://www.etsy.com/shop/CurrantThoughts

The Midway Sprites

This year I was able to be part of a fantastic project in conjunction with my own place of work. MOSI in Tampa obtained a grant to improve the Richard T Bowers Historic Tree Grove, a project that I have been planning for over 10 years. This year, I am finally able to work on making it a reality.

The space is a small park of 16 trees which are seedlings of parent trees, each connected with a famous person, place or event. My dream has been to combine history, art and gardens to create a beautiful and moving space.

With the help of a Hillsborough County Historic Preservation grant, we have been able to start with a number of improvements. Each tree will have a sign that explains its past and is adorned with beautiful artwork by Holly Bird. Each tree will have an ethnobotanical garden to help interpret its past with concepts created by myself and the brilliant Jill Staake. An artists created wind instrument for each tree will give voice to every tree when the wind shakes their leaves. Lastly, each tree will have a bench for guests and each bench will be decorated with a piece of art created especially for the tree.

A number of incredibly talented artists created gorgeous pieces for the project, but this time I got to bring my art to work with me. I created the bench art mural for the Frank Lloyd Wright Ginkgo tree. I took my inspiration from the design of Midway Gardens in Chicago and the Garden Sprite statues that adorned the structure in its brief existence.

Last week the printed versions of the art arrived and on Thursday we will install the benches in place. In the next few weeks we will also install the printed murals on the garden benches and a piece of my art will finally have a home in the garden where I have worked for nearly 14 years. Anyway, here is the piece and the information that I put together for the MOSI website.

Kristen Gilpin: Artist Statement
I'm fascinated by history and how it reaches into the present. Modern ruins, ghost towns, lost graveyards and demolished places have a special draw for me. I enjoy researching and exploring these areas and using them as inspiration for my art.

This piece was inspired by the sprite sculptures and a sketch of a mural that appeared at Midway Gardens in Chicago. Midway Gardens was an indoor and outdoor entertainment complex that was designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Decorating the inside and outside of the complex were sculptures entitled Garden Sprites. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and sculpted by Alphonso Iannelli, these statues were angular and beautiful men and women. Some playful, others thoughtful, some victorious, the Sprites of Midway Gardens were paired with wall murals to create an otherworldly and beautiful space.

Midway Gardens changed hands and names several times in the brief years of its existence. In 1929 Midway Gardens was demolished and the rubble was bulldozed into Lake Michigan. The demolition included not only the building, but the hundreds of pieces of statuary that had been used at the site. In the mid 1940's several of the sprites were found damaged but intact in a field in Wisconsin, apparently having been saved from demolition. These few were restored and put on display.

Midway Gardens now exists only in black and white photographs, design sketches, memory and these few remaining intact and broken pieces of the sprites. I am glad I could help find a new garden home for the memory of Midway Gardens and the Sprites.

About Kristen: Kristen Gilpin is a historical reenactor, maker of butterflies, artist, calligrapher, gardener, adventurer and history enthusiast who resides in Tampa, Florida. More of her art can be seen at her art blog: melessee.blogspot.com

Prints of the Sprites can be found at my Etsy store: Currant Thoughts.

Four painted pendants

This is what happens when I am left alone on a Friday night- I drink spiked eggnog and paint things that amuse me. Each pendant contains two mini paintings inside a metal frame with glass covers.

Kiwi! Apteryx and Actinidia, respectively.

Kiwi! Apteryx

Kiwi! Actinidia

Kites

Closer Still

Two Pair

Now available at Currant Thoughts

Fear is the mind killer

I have illuminated a sand worm. In typing that sentence I may also have written a totally original and never before written or read combination of words in the English language.

The design is based upon cover art from an old paperback volume of the novel Dune by Frank Herbert. The text is the ‘Litany Against Fear’ from the novel.

This piece will be the first in a series of fine art for geeks. I plan to cover several worlds of science fiction and fantasy as well as some notable quotes which may be of interest to the science and history minded.

4x6 Watercolor gouache, ground mineral pigment, shell gold and ink on Bristol.

Prints are available in my Etsy store, Currant Thoughts.

Next on deck: Illuminating a weeping angel and a tromp l’oeil illumination inspired by the Nasrid plaster carvings and Kufic script of the Alhambra in Grenada.

Nine Tiles: Pink Petals

This is what happens when I let someone else pick my next project- I produce something I never would have done otherwise. My dear sister named my color pallet and subject, thus, pink and flowery.

These nine hand-painted tiles are currently available on my Etsy store- Currant Thoughts.

Nine Tiles: Butterfly Blues

Nine ceramic tiles painted with portion of butterfly wings in three shades of blue. Sold a few weeks ago before making it to the Etsy store.

Nine Tiles: Nature and Birds

This is the first of a series of painted ceramic tiles that I recently produced. It sold this week on my Etsy store, Currant Thoughts . The kiwi was my favorite mini-painting and may inspire a whole new nine tiles set of odd bits of nature.

Rock the Garden

Hand painted herb markers for the garden.
This is part of a group of projects I started and completed on a super crafty weekend a few weeks ago.
These will be heading to the Currant Thoughts Etsy store. Pictures of the rest of the projects from that weekend are coming soon.

New painted crafts

Hand painted flower pendants

Hand painted ceramic tiles

Hand painted ceramic bud vases

These crafts are already or soon will be available at Currant Thoughts. If you would like to commission a particular item, just contact me at melessee@gmail.com