Learn the Art of Selecting Art and Nourish your Soul

Design Your Home and Design Your Life

The process of designing your home becomes the process of designing your life.  Each decision you make is inspired by your personal story, lifestyle and aesthetic preferences that bring you joy and peace of mind.  As the design experience unfolds, my clients learn about themselves and whether or not they are aware, what nourishes their soul.  As a result, the desire to bring art into their lives becomes a need.

Even if your walls are saturated with the colors that make you feel good, blank walls eventually present an uneasy feeling.  At this point in your project, selecting art that fits you like a glove is a must, as it sets the tone and energy of your space, while speaking the language of those living in it.  Art takes many forms, including paintings, tapestries, photography, faux finishing, murals and ceramics to identify a few, and figuring out what’s best for you and your space is a beautiful discovery process.

Whether you are at the point in your life where you would like to purchase art for your home, or would like to begin the process of discovering what type of art nourishes your soul, the following ideas will help you begin your journey.  These include connecting with individual artists, working with an art dealer/consultant or contacting a faux finisher/muralist.

“When I’m feeling something about a particular subject and can convey it in a painting, and then someone looks at the painting and says ‘Yes.  That is exactly how I feel!’, then I know I’ve done my job.  I feel connecting through art makes the world a less lonely place.”
~Ronit Wiener

The Power of Human Connection

I love speaking to artists directly, and learning about their WHY – why they feel compelled to create and what inspires them.  Connecting to individual artists, which you can do over the internet, or in person at local art festivals or galleries allows you to discover if you speak the same language.  I often hear the expression “it doesn’t speak to me”, or “it really speaks to me!”  In other words the art form is speaking the same language as its viewer.  It puts into words an emotion or several emotions that articulate what he/she is feeling in that moment of connection, such as joy, peace, yearning and empowerment.

Two artists whose work have a strong voice and speak my language are Ronit Wiener and Simon Kenevan.  Both Artists describe their Why as a gift to others.  For these two artists, painting is a tool for expressing words that don’t exist for deep emotions they are experiencing in moments of time.  The result is the gift of connection to the person who may or not be aware of their need to fill a void or nurture themselves.  Ronit Wiener describes her self-empowering work as this: “When I’m feeling something about a particular subject and can convey it in a painting, and then someone looks at the painting and says ‘Yes.  That is exactly how I feel!’, then I know I’ve done my job.  I feel connecting through art makes the world a less lonely place.”   Yes!  It’s beautiful to realize that we are never alone on our journey, that there is always the power to connect emotionally with others.

Simon Kenevan also gifts the world with paintings that evoke joy, inspiration and comfort.  He wrote to me these powerful words that hold so much truth: “Touching souls is most profound, and the most precious of divine gifts. Imagine how it feels to place the missing piece in your home amongst all of the other things you hold dear.  To sit with it in private.  To feel its love.  To stop time for a short while.  To share with your loved ones yet keep ‘something’ for yourself…I feel humble to think about it. Art is magic. We need it.”   Thank you, Simon for articulating what many of us are feeling but can’t quite figure out how to express!

Easy Access to What Makes Your Heart Sing is at Your Fingertips

Paintings are just one art form that will nourish your soul. There are so many others, and with the internet there are infinite avenues to discover what speaks to you and your budget.  Jayson Lawfer founded The Nevica Project in order to gift the world with easy internet access to discovering art that speaks to you.  I couldn’t agree more when Jayson says, “I always say that one should buy the art that makes their heart sing.  If something really touches you in a way that you can’t stop thinking about it, then you should buy it.”  Jayson is an art dealer and ceramic instructor who owns a cozy gallery in Chicago where, upon entering, you aren’t just greeted with a hello, but a full on conversation is encouraged.  Jayson offers a variety of art at all price points.  Visiting his gallery and meeting him is a must if you have embarked on your art selection journey.  Jayson will guide you through the entire process from creating visual representations of the art in your home, physically bringing it to your home so you can feel if it’s a good fit, and then installing it for you.

Even Your Walls Can Art Speak

Let’s not forget the power of color and texture when considering selecting art for your space.  Faux finishing your walls is yet another way for bringing art into your home.  Paul Minnihan of Minnihan Painting gifts his clients with his uber talent in creating faux finishes and murals that are created in direct collaboration with you.  As a result, you become a part of the process in creating your own, unique dream space.  In the thousands of faux finishes Paul has created, he never creates the exact same finish twice.  One would say wallpaper feels like art, too.  However, the pure and organic beauty of faux finish is that it can be applied to all types of surfaces, it does not show seams and it can be painted over.  In addition, with faux finish, on site adjustments in color and technique allow for responding to the specific lighting, energy, and aesthetic needs of a space.

These art selection ideas are just the tip of the iceberg.  Art is all around us in so many shapes, colors and sizes and the process of discovering the right art for you is a beautiful art form in itself!  Please share with me what makes your heart sing and what speaks to you.  I can’t wait to hear YOUR story!