On Encountering A Joyfully Artsy Restaurant on my Trip to Mexico

I hope you are enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend!

I just returned from a trip to Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico with my mom and my daughter. We had a fantastic time. In Guanajuato, we had a “hotel snafu” which resulted in us having to find new hotel at the last minute. I left my mom and daughter safe with the taxi driver as I dashed around to check room availability. There were two hotels on the same street, with the same size room and beds, and the same price. One was plain to the point of stark. The other had hand painted tiles, hand wrought ceiling beams, unique metalwork sconces, and a wood engraved armoire. Like the other room, there was no art on the walls, yet it oozed with charm. Which one would you pick?

Even if you don’t consider yourself a “visual person” or “artistically inclined,” it is a stupid question, right? We loved our little hotel room in Guanajuato.

On our trip, there were at least a dozen decisions like this daily: which restaurant, which park, or which street was most interesting to us? I noticed price point, prominence or efficiency were secondary to me. Given a choice, I gravitated toward the option that offered the most humanity, the most care, the most art. We ate at an expensive restaurant aimed to please tourists but it was stiff and unremarkable in the food and décor. The next night we found a small restaurant off a side street and as soon as we stepped in I was enamored. The restaurant WAS the art and every wall offered something visually and texturally amazing. Before we even sat down, I knew the meal was going to be a highlight of my trip.

I may be more visually sensitive to the environment than most, but to me art is so much more that what is hanging on the walls. Art is the humanity, the care, and the thoughtful design of the space. And why not? Creating a space of care for yourself or for other to enjoy does not have to be an expensive endeavor. Whether you have a fine art collection, bought your favorite piece at a discount store or your children’s artwork is your favorite thing to put on your wall, take the time to curate an environment for yourself that resonates with you and delights your soul!

Nicole’s Room – Try This at Home!

I collaborated with Svetlana Donets for her daughter’s room in their new home. We were aiming for a super soft garden backdrop with a bold and dynamic element in the foreground. And sparkles. Lot’s o’ sparkles.

If you want to really delight your young daughter: sparkles. It is one of the easiest tricks in my bag. A past client and his daughter developed an advanced sparkle delivery tool. Owing to the young inventors age-induced speech impediment it was aptly named a “farkle gun.” While I think it would violate the patent that is certainly pending, I will share with you the basic recipe: Insert and tape a straw to one corner of a plastic baggie filled with sparkles. Cut a hole on the other side of the baggie so when you blow through the straw: watch out! Sparkle heaven! How to get the sparkles to stick on the wall? Use a clear faux finish glaze. It acts like glue and dries clear. The glaze may have a slightly different sheen than your wall so be sure you either “sparkle” the whole wall or paint the glaze in a specific shape (Hearts! Stars! Her name!). Nicole’s mural also has glow in the dark highlights, so day or night it has a touch of magic.

Svetlana and Morgan

Alex’s Room

After a successful collaboration in Nicole’s room, we jumped into a four wall mural for Svetlana’s son, Alex. He was only a baby but we wanted to create something that would grow with him throughout his childhood. I painted a nature scene, the idyllic backdrop for a boy’s life that might be spent fishing or climbing a big tree, but left out the cartoon airplanes or cars that might make the room feel “babyish” to a ten year old. With this kind of open ended backdrop she can hang airplane models from the ceiling or removable stick-on hot air balloons or pteradactyls to match Alex’s changing interests. The mural can be a canvas for Alex’s interests and daydreams to populate the landscape. In the meantime, the parents can enjoy the peaceful respite of rolling hills, hawks, frogs and cloudscape while they rock their infant son to sleep.

It is not December yet, so I am going to ignore Christmas organizing for one more day and instead intend to snuggle up at home with my family!

Sending blessings to you and your family,