Enhancing Your Environment

Enhance your environment is what Laura Howard does at Decorative Designs in Ocala, FL. You see her in the photo above (left) with one of our students, Lea. Carlynne and I and several of our students recently took advantage of the opportunity to see what Laura and her crew do at an event held at her studio on SR 200 in Ocala. It was a fantastic Artists Date for us (for an explanation of Artists Date see Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way). Laura has many creative experts working for and with her and she herself has a huge amount of specialized training in faux finishes and other artistic mediums. She has trained in many places in the US as well as Italy and has over two decades of experience. Her showroom is a decorator and artists delight, a playground devoted to creative endeavors.

Here you see some of Laura's helpers at the desk with samples of faux finishes behind them. According to their website, "the possibilities are limited only by your imagination." And indeed I was amazed at what they can do with materials very similar to the ones we use on canvas. This photo shows a demonstration of applying Venetian Plaster. It was absolutly inspiring to see the textures and finishes achieved and all the exciting materials available at their location. They have all the supplies you need to enhance your environment, from faux finishes to murals, trompe l'oeil, marbeling, to texture appliactions or they can do it for you, custom designed to your wishes.

Decorative Desings is an incredbily creative place. Here you can see Diane and Carlynne examining some of the results. I was astounded at the faux marble and the textures created with a product called Wood Icing. We are now playing with a glazing cream we purchased from Laura. I strongly recommend that you join their email list and find out about classes and free demos. Here is a link to their site Visit them and enjoy. And watch here for more info on some of our favorite and most inspiring creative people. As we work on getting the word out about our work and studio, we'd like to feature the work of other artists also. We want to do this every Wednesday and call it Word Out Wednesday. If there is an artist you would like to see on our blog please let us know.

I wish you peace and creativity, Kelli