Trash Tuesday #95: Where getting it Cheap is Part of the Esthetic
by Pasadena Adjacent
The provenance of this object de art, an assemblance of various parts, is lost to time, but not to it’s time period. The “mod” fabric was dropped off from my Professor friend; the one with access to various Junior College art department closets. It smacks of a 1970′s “Simplicity – Easy Sew” tunic set.
The metal chair strikes me as vintage 70′s as well. It came to me by way of a “Sanford and Son” styled junk dealer. That rare bird perched between antique dealer and a church rummage sale. The perfect aesthetic – cheap. He had a business on the south side of Colorado, kitty corner to present day Osh. I liked him and he liked me. The window of opportunity for his business was brief, and one I took advantage of. The Oak card table with “spade” cut outs, hidden under 25 layers of paint, an antique clock that never ran, etc. The metal bones of this chair were sitting off to the side in a pile of god knows what. I pointed it out, and Sanford said “take it, no charge” And I did; gladly. The dowels were lifted off of some worn gardening tools; cut to size, sanded and lacquered. Since that time, I’ve added my own 25 layers of paint. The latest being “Real Orange” by Rustoleum; it was purple. It’s now part of the decor of Twyla Tower’s library. I plan to add Trash Tuesday #96 as a reading table.
In the Editor’s neighborhood of Pasadena Adjacent Highland Park, trash collection takes place on a Tuesday. The night before is a good time to canvas the neighborhood for castaways. It’s great sport. We use Tuesday on our blog to post the Editor’s treasures. If we haven’t scored any good curbside finds “Trash Tuesday” becomes “Tag Sale Tuesday” where the phrase “getting it cheap is part of the esthetic” still remains apropos
“Getting it cheap is part of the esthetic” was coined by photographer D Gordon
http://www.dgorton.com/
The Editor
I love this. You are so good at recognizing potential.
Our Editor Responds: Thank you for posting it. I was wondering why I was getting hits off of Face Book.
Gee, I can’t decide which color I like better. The purple (which I call cornflower blue, ala the Crayola) is gorgeous too. Also love the stone-stepping cat and the mural in the background.
Our editor responds: the purple version does give one pause, but the color in the photo is inaccurate and leaning towards the blues. Both Mr V and myself both realized after it was finished (and trust me, it killed me to make that re-do choice after hunting down purple at 5 different stores) The lesser choice of “Gumdrop Purple.”
Thats my newish kitty Twyla. I got her at 8 months, and have had her a year. The stepping stones I got in Altadena, the mural is a previous Trash Tuesday and the green stuff is seeded fescue.
http://images.oreillyauto.com/parts/img/medium/kry/51513_092112.jpg
Wow. Just wow. What a vision.
Our Editor Responds: The Twyla Towers are coming along. I’ve got the Tomatoes planted, am working on some thin tile inserts and maybe some glass inserts where the glass brick went. This area is in partial shade, so I think it will be a wonderful place to hang out once the heat hits. It’s also where the Thai Temple to kitties past is located. Thanks for the FB shout out
I just saw the mouse of the sill. Cool.
Our Editor responds: that was my valentines gift from Mr V. 75% off curio shop in San Pedro. I’m pleasably cheap too
Your place must be amazing. You have a decorator in you, and because you have skills and taste, your place wouldn’t look like anyone else’s place.
Our Editor Responds: I have a lot of competing interests in me. Mr V once described my creativity to a pizza with everything on it. My father was an engineer by trade, but he had a wonderful sense of space and form. He designed both of our home gardens. Considering the difficulty and do-overs I’ve had with mine, I can say in all sincerity, he was really talented.
I don’t know much about furniture history or design, but I must say, that’s a cool looking chair (in either color). Is it comfortable?
Our Editor responds: Some have expressed a preference towards the purple – maybe because of the repetitiveness between orange paint, the orange and green fabric, and green wall? but when it was purple, it felt wrong to both myself and Mr V.
And it is surprisingly comfortable. Lots of cushion and a nice height.
that is a gorgeous chair
Our Editor Responds: it is now
“1970′s “Simplicity – Easy Sew” tunic set.”
Our Editor Responds: I think so because this was the time frame I took Home Ecc. I remember sewing to left sleeves to my peasant dress. My grandmother sewed a great many of my clothes at that time. Still have a sewing machine. I prefer it to cooking.
I’m a sucker for green and orange.
Our Editor Responds: Hope the neighbors are. I ma be completing the house in Parrot Green
I like it in orange, it goes so well with the seat fabric. You’re so artistic and take so much care to renovate things. All those coats of paint must take a huge amount of patience. The chair fabric reminds me of me of the bell-bottom pants the King’s Road London crowd wore in the 70s. I love the way Twyla uses the stepping stones.
Our editor Responds: Removing the paint from the oak table took patience. Putting it on takes minutes. Twyla is using the stepping stones because i fear she doesn’t care for nature. Don’t have the heart to tell Mr V. But it has been fun to watch her climb to the top of the tower and sun herself.
Hey, I just got a 5 fear seal of approval from WordPress.com. Can it be 5 years you’ve been posting? >>>time >>>goes>>>quickly! I like the orange, the ground cover looks great with the wall color and “Matisse inspired” cabinet.
Our Editor Responds: Can you believe it? I’m close to hitting 500 posts.The ground cover is actually some kind of fescu seed mixed in with green unidentifiable fibrous stuff. Looks good though. Notice my cat doesn’t want to touch it? The girl doesn’t seem to be taken with nature. When completed, I plan a video tour and post
I love the chair in both its incarnations. The photo is perfectly framed with Twyla and the mouse.
It just occurred to me that Trash Tuesday would make a great book. You tell amazing stories about each of the items. And turning “trash” into something useful and beautiful, it’s such a meaningful way to sidestep this consumerist/throwaway culture while creating an artful home. If I had more time, I’d insist on helping you publish it.
Sorry again about Peoples. My heart is heavy for you and Mr V.
Our Editor Responds: Maybe we can mix it up – Trash Tuesday and something on the strange interconnections between obscure places. Sorry about the hold up. Your comments are coming through, but keep getting caught in the “approval” which shouldn’t be happening. the good news is the pretty new purple avatar.
I like Susan’s book idea. You can do it.
Gorgeous. But, then again, this is what we expect from visionary artists.
[...] Welcome to the unveiling of a mid-century pebble top side table; companion to last weeks #95 chair (scroll down). [...]
This chair is inspired. And that little Twyla is a beauty. Your Peoples story made me cry. Kitties just need a little love, and someone to understand them, and you gave him a wonderful home.
Our Editor Responds: Twyla replaced Tovah (Peoples former Siamese love interest). We referred to Peoples as the “downstairs cat” and he hated the Twyla Compound. To him it was STILL a cage.