It’s Philly Time!

February 20, 2015

Seen at the 2014 Garden Show.

The warehouse in Salinas could be taken for a beehive these days for all the hum of activity. We’re preparing the truck for delivering the goods to the Philadelphia Flower Show. Metal must be selected, counted, sorted, and packed. The booth – which will have a new look this year – has been designed, constructed, painted, and crated. (Thanks Brian and Lalo!) Lighting – Check! Tape, scissors, pens, tags, promo literature, calculators, screw drivers, energy bars, Starbucks cards, shrink wrap – CHECK! Have we thought of everything? Check? Not Check? Ah yes, change. We need quarters, nickles and dimes. Better run to the bank!

But we love coming to Philly every year. Return customers are starting to feel like old friends, business is always good and the flowers….Oh! The flowers! The floral displays this year promise to excite with the theme, “Celebrate the Movies.” According to the offical website of the Flower Show, http://theflowershow.com/ the theme is taken from a Walt Disney quote, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” And these people can dream, let me tell you! The rich elaborate floral creations are breath-taking and leave me thinking, “When I get home, I am going to GARDEN.” This is no small thing, for I have no talent. Walt Disney never met me. I can dream, alright. But execution is….ummm….problematic. I usually start with a Haitian metal garden stake. ( Like these: https://www.itscactus.com/catalog/garden_stakes-21-2.html ) From there, the plan falters somewhat. The stakes are pretty and I can’t kill them, though strictly speaking, I don’t know if sticking one in the ground and admiring my own eagle eye for placement qualifies as gardening.

A floral headpiece of one’s own design ALWAYS makes a statement!

Aside from inspiration, another of my favorite things at the Garden Show is kind of a combination ofthe flowers and the customers. The Show includes what is called a “Make and Take Room” where patrons can create extravagant floral headpieces to wear at the show. Some of these creations can be quite beautiful, and all of them – beautiful or not so much – are delightful. The people making them and wearing them are stepping out and having a good time. That is something to appreciate. (Incidently, we in the booth secretly vote on the best headpiece of the day. We’ll let you know if it’s you!)

See you in Philly!

Contributed by Linda for It’s Cactus

New Book on Gerard Fortune

January 22, 2015

Gerard Fortune outside his home in Petionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince

About 2 years ago, while in Haiti on a metal sculpture buying trip, Casey became aquainted with the folk art paintings of Gerard Fortune. Following quickly on the heels of her acquaintance were unbridled enthusiasm and acquisition. She purchased a piece for her personal collection and then set about to meet the artist himself with the idea of carrying his work at It’s Cactus.

“Fox Couple with Pet by Gerard Fortune

Gerard Fortune has long been on the Haitian naif painting radar, and is considered to be one of the greatest living folk art painters in Haiti today. Having said that, however, doesn’t mean that finding his atelier was any small task. It required asking alot of questions in several places around the outdoor art markets of suburban Port-au-Prince and finally offering $20 to a kid on a motorcycle to lead her there. Done and done! The connection was made and now, several wonderful pieces of his work are available on our website.
But that’s not all! A friend, Tony Fisher, who has a wonderful folk art shop in Philadelphia, has sourced a newly published book of Gerard’s work. It is the first and only in-depth study of his life and art and it is BEAUTIFUL! You can order it from him.

The book, “Gerard” does a superb job of tracing his 37-year career, with dozens of full-color photograhs that capture his broad, visionary character of his art. In addition, it tells in words and photographs, the story of Gerard himself, inasmuch as the story of an enigma can be told. What is clear is richness of expression in the life’s work of a talented, gentle soul.

Contributed by Linda for It’s Cactus

Creativity is the best part of Holiday Decorating

December 5, 2014

If you are like me, the minute the Thanksgiving dishes are cleared, you shift into heavy holiday mode.  I take inventory of items to be given as gifts that for months have been stashed in the “gift closet,” I have grocery lists for cookie baking in process, while wrapping and packing gifts to be mailed are on the “to do” list for next week, as is deconflicting the family schedule to shop for the holiday tree. This week, it is ALL ABOUT decorating.

This year, I undertook my decorating with a determination to be creative and group things together in ways I hadn’t tried before.  It turned out to be a fun experiment, with which, I will say with very little modesty, I got good results. Starting with the mantle, I arranged the Ortega Wise Men I collected years ago with my more recently acquired Aguilar market women. (See our wonderful selection of Aguilar figures here. https://www.itscactus.com/catalog/Aguilar_Family-35-1.html ) Who said the Wise Men travelled alone?! They now process splendidly together following yonder star. Then I had a brainstorm regarding Guatemalan belts.  How terrific they look as bows on a wreath trimmed with Oaxacan tin ornaments!  In truth, I have the wreath hanging in my window, but the backlighting was so horrible,  I opted to photograph it on the door instead. Good either way, says I! (Yes!  We have Guatelmalan belts here: https://www.itscactus.com/catalog/Traditional_Belts_and_Hair_Ties-58-1.html  and Oaxacan tin ornaments here: https://www.itscactus.com/catalog/TIn_Art-70-1.html  Call the shop at 831-998-8993 for an even greater selection.)

My greatest decorating inspiration, however, came when I spotted our new Haitian metal signs that say “Peace on Earth.”  Oh!  I though, “that might look pretty great attached to a wreath.”  See what you think.  And by all means, do some experimenting on your own. The best part of holiday decorating is the creative part.  If it wasn’t for the creative aspect, decorating would just be work.  Bah-HUMBUG!

Contributed by Linda for It’s Cactus

Stealing the Show

August 11, 2014

My husband and I rarely agree on movies. I like dramas, historical films, documentaries, and the occasional rom-com. He on the other hand, favors sci-fi, thrillers, and action-adventure movies. You see the problem, I’m sure. Maybe you even sympathize. But it was a dog-day-of-summer afternoon and although both of us had things we SHOULD have been doing, neither of us wanted to do them, so my husband said, “Think there’s a movie we could go to?” Quickly, I spun up Fandango and started perusing the possibilities. “A Most Wanted Man”? ” Nope.” “The Hundred Foot Journey? Oh, no, wait. I’m saving that for Girls Night Out with Sylvia and Angie.” (There was a “whew” from the male in the room. I heard it.) “Ummmm…..Would you go see Chef? It’s got Dustin Hoffman and and Robert Downey, Jr. and Sofia Vergara and it’s about…” “Yeah, I’ll go see that.”

It didn’t matter that he didn’t know what it was about. I knew I had him at Sofia Vergara and it started in exactly 20 minutes, which was just enough time, so off we went.

In case you’re not up to the minute on this summer’s hot movies, “Chef” is a light comedy road movie about the recently fired chef-de-cuisine of an A-list LA restaurant and his efforts to simultaneously re-build his professional life and his family life in the back end of a food truck. (For the trailer,  click  here: http://www.fandango.com/chef_165720/movieoverview ) We enjoyed it – and why not? The cast is stellar, the story is heart-warming, the soundtrack is awesome, and all of that is well and good.

However, there was a scene-stealer and truthfully, I think it made the movie. I don’t know if

everyone would notice, but I did. And pretty much the rest of the theater audience became appreciatively aware of it when I jumped up in the middle of a dialogue between Jon Favreau and Sofia Vergara and pointed it out in not-very hushed tones. There on the patio wall, right over Sofia Vargara’s left shoulder, was REC22. “OMG. ‘Birds in Flight’ That’s OURS!!!”

You want to talk about product placement! Promenantly hung on the mocha-colored stucco wall, delecately framed by bougainvilla. It was lovely. It was perfect. It was OURS!

So when do you want YOURS to ship? It’s not every day that you have the chance to order a genuine piece of Hollywood memorabilia. This is your moment! Don’t wait! (“As seen in ‘Chef’ ” plaque sold separately.)

Contributed by Linda for It’s Cactus

The Birds and the Bees

April 17, 2014

As you know by now, we at It’s Cactus are always interested in how people use and display our products.  Therefore, when a gentleman at one of the recent retail shows approached the check-out loaded with four birds and three bees and declared, “I can’t resist.  I’m hanging these together,” we all started laughing appreciatively and applauding his wit.  Birds and bees.  Gotta love it.  We’ve all heard that time-honored, picturesque euphemism for sex, but where did it originate??

Apparently you have to go back to England in 1825, when Samuel Coleridge wrote his poem “Work without Hope,” to find the first use of “birds and bees” as a metaphor for human sexual activity.  To quote:

“All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair –

A great display idea and a chuckle-inducing visual pun!

The bees are stirring – birds are on the wing –

And Winter, slumbering in the open air,

Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!

And I, the while, the sole unbusy thing,

Nor honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing.”

It might be a stretch, but it’s the earliest documentable hint of birds and bees together in that connotation.

Later, in 1875, American naturalist John Burroughs wrote a set of essays entitled, “Birds and Bees, Sharp Eyes and other Papers.” Burroughs aimed to present the workings of nature to children in a way that they could easily understand and appreciate. One might also leap to the assumption that his descriptions were vague enough for the comfort and refined sensibilities of Victorian era parents. His work does refer to bird and bee activity, but conspicuously does not include any specific reference to the phrase, “birds and bees” with regard to sex.  It is therefore curious to me that he gets any credit for the metaphor at all, but so be it.  Theories are theories and who am I to argue?

Finally in 1928, American composer Cole Porter wrote “Let’s Do It,” which lyrically presents the pretty metaphoric picture in the song’s introduction:

When the little bluebird
Who has never said a word
Starts to sing Spring
When the little bluebell
At the bottom of the dell
Starts to ring Ding dong Ding dong
When the little blue clerk
In the middle of his work
Starts a tune to the moon up above
It is nature that is all
Simply telling us to fall in love

Porter appears to have been making deliberate, if oblique, reference to ‘the birds and the bees’ and it is reasonable to assume that thereafter, the phrase became a part of the common vernacular.  Just for fun, I thought I’d listen to a Billie Holliday performance of the song on YouTube.  Wouldn’t you know it?  Her 1935 rendition didn’t include the introduction! I had to go to the soundtrack of Woody Allen’s 2011 film “Midnight in Paris” to hear the song performed by Conal Fowkes in its entirety.  So for the nostalgic and the curious among you – Voila! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eraOhezY23s

Contributed by Linda for It’s Cactus/Beyond Borders

Masks and the Spirit of Carnival

February 10, 2014

Haitian masks, made from simple materials, are marvels of imagination and craftsmanship.

In just under three weeks, the solemn Christian season of sacrifice and restraint known as Lent will begin. With all of its associated forbearance, however, observance of the Lenten season will be preceded in many parts of Christendom by the joyful, blow-it-all-out celebration of Mardi Gras, or Carnival.

Carnival revelry is conducted with great exuberance in Haiti, but nowhere more enthusiastically than in Jacmel.  Throughout its environs, preparations for the spectacular Carnival parade are undertaken weeks in advance.  Bands gather and practice, dancers choreograph and rehearse, costumes are designed, sewn and decorated, and perhaps most extravagantly, larger paper mache masks are prepared. It is because of this extraordinary celebration that Jacmel has become the creative locus for paper mache products of all kinds.  Small serving bowls, decorative items, stand-alone sculptures, and most importantly masks have put Jacmel on the map for this particular type of folk art form.

The masks of Haitian Carnival are of every conceivable theme and style.  Some are caricatures of historical figures, current politicos, or pop-culture icons.  Some are of animals or birds, which may be indigenous to the island, a faraway jungle, or the far reaches of fantasy.  Both playful and ceremonial, these masks are often worn to depict an older, wilder Haiti dancing through the streets in a chimerical parade. (Click here to see a photo essay of the Carnival parade in Jacmel in 2011 http://goatpath.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/haiti-carnival-2011/ )

The basic steps required for paper mache mask-making are actually rather simple.  Strips of paper are dunked in a soupy mixture of flour and water and

A cheerful sun face in bright colors such as these create a light-hearted visual punch.

placed over a base form, usually of clay.  The paper is allowed to dry for several hours to form a rigid outer shell.  Once removed from the base form, embellishments of paint, glitter, sequins, yarn, and more are applied to the mask. (Click here for a video demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eyN_7XnJo8 ) God, of course, is in the details, and masters such as Didier Civil, Pierre Edgard Satyr and Tidier Lavoyant have achieved such skill as to have their work collected world-wide.

Whether museum worthy or just for fun, Haitian masks are authentic pieces of folk art that can make a decorative statement of joie de vivre.  The spirit of Carnival – anytime!

Contributed by Linda for Beyond Borders/It’s Cactus

Sometimes We Just Need a Little Help – Part III

October 24, 2013

This triptych has sat on my buffet table for years, but it occurred to me that it makes a wonderful holiday hearth screen. Wow! I thought outside the box!

What would the holidays be without hauling out the holly and fluffing up the beard on the “soon to be an heirloom” Santa pillow and putting out a few (in my case dozen) poinsettias?  Christmas decorating fills my heart with joy, it’s true, but I do find that I put the Santa pillow HERE because it always goes HERE and the nativity set goes HERE and the Three Wise Men go HERE and so on.  In other words, without meaning to, and often without me even realizing it, I get in a rut, decoratively speaking.

So not that it would ever happen to you, but if in fact, you did fall into a similar creative void, here’s a look at some ideas that might infuse your thinking with new possibilities.  These holiday sculptures may already be part of your “stash.”  and if so, you might be inspired to use them in a different way.  And if you love what you see, but have not yet acquired, well, My Friend, we can help you with that!  Scroll on down, and see what moves you…

Though it has a hanger in the back to display on a wall, the Three Kings can also be propped up on an easel for a tabletop arrangement.

You can tie a bright, sparkling bow on and give this birdie a different tree to roost in.

A present on a present! But if you need to put it back with the tree of life after the holidays, be sure to trim the package of someone that lives at home!

So maybe you took this idea from a previous post. Well, if the tree of life comes down and the holiday sampler that your sister-in-law did goes up, here are a few ideas for the birds…

Julio Balan’s Angel Stake 3084LE can become a herald angel in a potted Christmas tree. Give her a little dash of color with a holiday hair ribbon.

Sometimes We Just Need a Little Help – Part II

September 26, 2013

Wire a tree of life to your iron gate. Nice!

I would imagine that at one point or another, probably when we first got acquainted, you were in our shop or stopped at one of the many wholesale or retail shows that we do each year.  While there, you no doubt observed that all of our Haitian sculptures are hung on brightly painted panels or interior walls for display.  Knowing that the art is good for hanging indoors or outdoors, you may have wondered how it looks hung in various outdoor settings.  The answer, with all due modesty, is TERRIFIC!   Here then, are some ideas for you to use Haitian art to embellish your outdoor space.

A small sunface with climbing vines hung near a front door can be welcoming.

Bees buzz above the flower beds.

In a window, hung with a hook from the frame, a happy faced mask peeks over the sunflowers.

Sometimes, we just need a little help…

September 19, 2013

Crazy good antique store that still has MY French typewriter. Coulda, shoulda, woulda….

Horizontal pieces, such as this one-of-a-kind angel by LaGuerre Dieufaite, can add interest above an interior doorway.

A few weeks ago, I had the great fortune to have a morning to wander through the Sablon section of

Brussels for a few hours, all by myself.  The Sablon neighborhood is upscale and wonderful with the highest density of antique shops per square block that I can possibly imagine.  In fact there were so many, I started taking photos of them, just for fun.  But I didn’t go into any; most were a bit, um, rarefied, shall we say?  Except one.  It had a

“wanderer-friendly” appearance and in I went.  There, amidst the art deco glass and brass buckets was the most glorious manual typewriter.  It was French, I could tell by the arrangement of the keys and the accent marks. Accent aigu! Accent grave!  I loved it.

LOVED IT.  But I didn’t know what to do with it, so I didn’t get it and now I am left with nothing but

aching melancholy and remorse. I bet I could have thought of something.  Surely I could have.  I’m a clever gal.  I could have done something great with that fabulous old typewriter with the French accent marks.  Maybe I just needed a little guidance.

Which got me to thinking:  How many times have I overheard the remark at trade shows and in the shop, “You know, I really love

this Haitian metal piece, but I don’t know what I would do with it.”  OHMYGOSH! Let me spare you the anguish of loving and leaving – your guidance is HERE! Take a look at a few of these ideas for displaying Haitian iron.  These photos are not meant to be directive, but suggestive.  Hopefully, they will inspire a few ideas of your own.  So much the better!

Make a grouping that combines color, texture, and depth. Hang a few birds as though they are about to perch in the tree. (RND 253 plus SM491 B and E)

Tuck a smaller piece into a smaller space, such as a corner by the window.

First in a series. Contributed by Linda for Beyond Borders/It’s Cactus

The Work of Art

July 30, 2013

If your coffee table book stack is puny, if your resource library isn’t quite up to snuff, or if you’ve got just a little bit more shelf space, I have a suggestion for you.  A new book that just came out in July from IFAA Media and Museum of New Mexico Press: “The Work of Art,” by Carmella Padilla.

Now, I will tell you that between the covers of this book I’m recommending is a fair bit of self-promotion.  You only have to skim down to the second paragraph of the book jacket to read: “At the heart of this story is the work of the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe…” but that to me is okay.  I like the Market.  Beyond Borders was a vendor there for a number of years and I personally support it by attending whenever I can. As Patricia West-Barker put it in a July 8^th article in the Santa Fe New Mexican, “The International Folk Art Market’s origins, past, and future are well covered in the opening and closing chapters — but Carmella Padilla’s ‘The Work of Art’ focusses on the personal lives and community accomplishments of many of the artists who helped define the market’s first decade.” In other words, it strikes a decent balance between promoting the Market and providing useful information about premier artists and their extraordinary work.

The author has plenty of accolades, and she tells the stories of the artists with lovely literary flourishes.  The section on Haitian artists Georges Valris and Serge Jolimeau is illuminating, as are many others, though I will hereby confess that at this writing, I have not yet read them all.  Those that I have read,         however, certainly ring true.                                                                                                                                                  

All well and good.  But what really makes the $29 you spend for a paperback version, or $60 for the hardcover (Which you can order online with a click  http://ifamonline.mybigcommerce.com/the-work-of-art-folk-artists-in-the-21st-century/) is the photography by John Bigelow Taylor and Dianne Dubler. If you like what you see in the first 165 pages, you’ll eat up the final 65. That section features stunning gallery-style photographs of folk art masterpieces and “was purposefully designed to be a meditation on the artwork,” said Kelly Waller, who served as the photo editor for the book. Obvious care went into the selection of works to be featured and the details captured therein are quite simply astonishing.  In the photos are revealed intricacies that defy description, from the tiniest of stitches in a Bhutanese textile to the faintest of brushstrokes on a Mexican ceramic piece.  Whoever coined the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words” wasn’t kidding. And whoever decided that folk art is “primitive” should have his head examined.

Contributed by Linda for Beyond Borders/It’s Cactus