Archive for March, 2011
Japanese Influence is Global-Part 2-Tea
Posted by Irene Turner in Art, Entertaining Sonoma Style, Interior Design & Renovation, Sustainability on March 31, 2011
Tea was first brought to Japan by Japanese priests who had been studying Buddhism in China in 593 AD. It wasn’t until 1422- 1502 that Murata Shuko, a Zen priest, created the first ceremonial tea ritual; elevating it’s status to a spiritual art form, almost a religion. This ceremony is called Cha-no-yu, meaning “hot water tea” and celebrates the mundane aspects of everyday life.
via Fog So Thick You Could Cut It With A Knife An excercise in aesthetic immersion…
According to Spacious Planet, the serving of tea in ceremony requires years of practice. Many traditional skills, besides the knowledge of tea, must be perfected such as incense, ikebana (flower arranging), kimono and shodou (calligraphy). For the host, the process of refining the tea ceremony is continual, one which may never reach perfection. Unfortunately, as with many traditions, the tea ceremony culture is changing in Japan. Continue reading “Japanese Influence is Global-Part 2-Tea” »
Japanese Influence is Global-Part 1-Art
Posted by Irene Turner in Architecture, Art on March 28, 2011
Japanese influence is global! As just one small example, you may ask what does Japan have to do with the catacombs in Paris? Well, check this out!
Photograph by Stephen Alvarez, National Geographic
In a sandy chamber, underground in the catacombs of Paris, in a room known as the “beach,” a wave rolls across a wall painted (and repainted) by cataphiles in the style of Japanese printmaker Hokusai.
Katsushika Hokusai was a Internationally renowned Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker from the Edo period. Hokusai is best-known as the author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (c. 1831) which includes his most famous print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. It was this series, specifically The Great Wave print, that secured Hokusai’s fame to this day . To me it is a commemorative to the history of Japan’s resilience in the face of the awesome force of Mother Nature on her shore’s. Continue reading “Japanese Influence is Global-Part 1-Art” »
Pink-via Santa Rosa Interior Design
Posted by Irene Turner in Color, Interior Design & Renovation on March 24, 2011
RIP Liz Taylor March 23, 2011-Pink Lace & Red Lips 1955 via Life Magazine
“I fell off my pink cloud with a thud.”– Elizabeth Taylor
I haven’t been much of a pink person. I don’t know why, but for some reason I’m beginning to like just a touch of pink. Perhaps it’s spring? Or, I’m the grandmother of a baby girl, so it could be exposure? Or, perhaps it’s part of the trend towards the lightening up of color in general, and fun, show stopping colors to add pop to a room. Or perhaps just a touch… Continue reading “Pink-via Santa Rosa Interior Design” »
The Real Downton Abbey
Posted by Irene Turner in Architecture on March 22, 2011
via Enchanted Serenity of Period Films
Downton Abby is a Masterpiece Theater series written by Julian Fellows (writer of Gosford Park and the Young Victoria), starring Dame Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern. The first season begins in 1912 with the sinking of the Titanic and in 7 episodes takes us to the announcement of war with Germany in 1914. It’s a well written, well made show that explores the fascinating and complex upstairs/downstairs relationship between master and servants in their own private world, during an incredibly vivid period of British history. But the real star of the show is…the house itself. Continue reading “The Real Downton Abbey” »
Russel Wright-Innovator of Slow Home?
Posted by Irene Turner in Architecture, Interior Design & Renovation, Nature, Personal Style & Well being on March 17, 2011
via San Francisco Museum News 2009
In the Mid-20th-Century, the name Russel Wright commanded brand awareness similar to that enjoyed today by lifestyle marketers such as Ralph Lauren and Martha Stewart. Known primarily as a pioneer in industrial designs, today Russel Wright is best known today for his housewares. Continue reading “Russel Wright-Innovator of Slow Home?” »
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