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Henry Road A Journey In Color
Issue 3 / Spring 2012
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XXXXXXXX Welcome! Thanks for visiting this third issue of A Journey in Color, my love letter about life at Henry Road. 2012 has had a busy start in the studio and in the shop and I managed to squeeze in a trip to Cape Town too! What a great way to start a year! As is often the case, this issue includes my passion for flowers in the form of stunning paintings by Brooke Fischer. Her lovely blooms currently adorn the walls of the shop. While on the subject of the shop, I have included a feature on the lovely clocks and pocket watches that we always have on our shelves. How I love a beautiful clock face! One of my all time favorites is the huge station clock in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Travel color comes from an incredible trip that my sister and I took to Vietnam ten years ago. The place and the people had such an impact that I still remember it like it was yesterday. I hope that you enjoy the loveliness that is Vietnam! Enjoy! PAULA SMAIL Shopkeeper. Designer. Daydreamer.
Henry Road 3949 Laurelgrove Ave. Studio City CA 91604 818.762.8966 info@henryroad.com
In The Studio:
NEW TEA TOWELS Nothing beats hanging out in the kitchen cooking, eating or just sharing a drink with friends! It’s a happy, relaxing place that needs happy fun stuff in it! We know you agree as our tea towels are some of our best sellers! We have selected a few more of our bold, colorful fabrics for a handful of new tea towels in aqua, pink, teal and crimson. We found these fabulous recycled kraft boxes to package them in so they are ready to be gifted to the friends whose kitchens welcome you always. The cutting, sewing, folding sticking and stuffing is done and we think they turned out pretty well!
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Travel Inspiration:
VIETNAM
Ten years ago, my sister and I spent a month traveling through Vietnam. We started in the south in Ho Chi Minh City and ended up in Hanoi. We traveled on trains, ferries, fishing boats, canoes, baskets, buses, and on the most popular modes of transport in the country: motorcycles and bicycles. We saw temples, rice paddies, markets, islands, mountains, gorgeous fabrics, and a few vestiges of a country that was a battlefield three times in the lifetime of the older generation. It was a voyage of color and beauty, of artistry and spectacular natural beauty, of complex history, and of some of the nicest, friendliest people I have ever encountered. Vietnam is a precious memory and an ongoing source of inspiration. It look forward to visiting again some time. My thanks to my sister for these wonderful photographs --all the pictures I took are still on paper only!
I love clock faces. I love their design and the stories they tell of time past. Luscious markings of age, great typography, creative hands, precise minute markings. And so I surround myself with them in the shop in myriad forms: pocket watches, alarm clocks, mantel showpieces and travel clocks all are showcased until someone falls in love and takes them home.
INSPIRATION:
THE CLOCKFACE
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Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. Henry David Thoreau
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SELF PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST:
BROOKE FISCHER The paintings and graphic design work of Brooke Fischer are inspired by nature, by hand-colored naturalist and botanical prints from the early 1800s and by Andy Warhol. Her work typically celebrates a singular object: a flower, a bird, a nest, a dragonfly - the simple things that pass by unnoticed unless we “stop and smell the roses”. Unsurprisingly, her graphic design company is called ‘Notice Designs’. Based in Los Angeles, Brooke is an avid collector of the things she loves and that inspire her work. She has an extensive collection of 19th century hand colored lithographs; a collection of natural curiosities including emu eggs and butterflies; and a heap of vintage letterpress printer blocks. Her paintings are currently on show at Henry Road in Studio City, This is her self portrait:
To date my proudest moment as an artist . . . That's tough, but I guess I would have to say my biggest accomplishment could be my proudest. In 1996 I submitted a charcoal drawing of the cover of Annie Lennox's Medusa album cover and was chosen from hundreds of submissions to do 26 24"x24" charcoal drawing of the 1996 Grammy nominees for a Grammy award party. I completed all 26 in 7 days! (whew!) They were all framed and given as a gift to each of the nominees.
My first creative masterpiece . . . I completed my first dragonfly painting in 2005 and I was really proud of it. There was something in it that fed my soul and inspired me to create my style that is painting (mostly) singular objects. Insects have been my muse. There is so much beauty and intricacy in nature it boggles my mind. My goal is to force people to focus on that one thing and appreciate it for just a moment. My hope is that when they pass by them in the world they really look and take in how wonderful they are. My favorite time of day . . . Bedtime. There is nothing I love more than sleeping. My favorite possession . . . I have to say my three dogs. They are my joy. The little wag of their tails when I come home. Always happy, innocent and loving. They make me smile everyday. Wait... do I possess them or do they possess me? A quote to live by . . . “Paint what you feel. Paint what you see. Paint what is real to you.� - Robert Henri from the book "The Art Spirit". A book every artist should read.
“There is so much beauty and intricacy in nature it boggles my mind.�
New Paintings by Brooke Fischer At Henry Road February to May 2012
Henry Road for Modwalls Tile Collection
One of our favorite collaborations is with Modwalls, a wonderful tile company in Northern California. Henry Road designs are kiln fired to the back of Modwalls’6” Lush® glass tile. They come mesh mounted by the square foot sheet for easier installation. For more information on our fun fabulous glass tile collection, please visit www.modwalls.com
THE NEIGHBORHOOD:
THE STUDIOS
Action! A word that defines the life of many of the people who live and work in this neighborhood. Media airtime for the past few months has been dominated by entertainment industry award shows. Red carpets are the glamour - the icing on the cake. Much of the work and ‘cake baking’ gets done in the studios and offices in Studio City and Burbank. Bright yellow signs with arrows that direct crew members where to park on location shoots are common place as are LA Film Office blue notices of filming hanging on the shop door. So if you are ever in town and a visit to the Universal Them Park or a tour of the Warner Bros lot is on your agenda, do a detour to visit us as we would love to see you!
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Until next time…some words to live by:
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea. drink the wild air” - Emerson