Getting Wordy

I'm no good at math, but I have always loved word puzzles. When I was a kid, I could take a 24-hour road trip from Michigan to Florida with just "The Big Book of Cryptograms" to occupy me. (Five children and two adults crammed into a 1970's Ford station wagon -- whoo hoo, good times.)


Don't you find it interesting that no matter how much time passes, the stuff that fascinated you as a child doesn't ever really fade, it just becomes more pronounced?


For instance, right now I'm on a pangram kick. A pangram is a sentence that contains within it every letter of the alphabet. Here's the most famous one (you probably remember it from typing class): 

"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

Well, I've started writing and embroidering a series of pangrams about 21st century life. Say, for instance, Queen Elizabeth were to drink one glass of tipple too many and start fantasizing?

(Study for Pangram "Queen Elizabeth", 2012, by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti.
Cotton, thread. 8"x 10". SOLD.)

The work above was part of the recent "Incognito" show at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. (I'm working on a bigger version now.)  Future pangrams waiting to be embroidered include subjects like Isabella Blow, Michael Fassbender, Gwyneth Paltrow, Balthazar Getty and more. (And maybe Nicky Minaj too -- she has rather a good name for pangrams because it takes care of 'j', 'k', and 'y' in one fell swoop.) 

I sold another embroidery in the "Incognito" show as well. Talk about the past pushing its way into the present -- this one is based on a word puzzle I came up with in college and have been playing ever since. The goal is to transform a four-letter word into its exact opposite by changing just one letter at a time. To challenge myself even further, I set myself the task of having each new word along the way add to the meaning so that it's not just a string of nonsense, it's a poem.

Here it is. It's called "The Journey From Love to Hate":

(By Lisa Borgnes Giramonti, 2012. Cotton, thread. 8"x 10". SOLD.)

There's going to be an embroidered series of these "Four Letter Words" too. (My next upcoming group show is in July at the Marine Contemporary Gallery in Venice -- details to come.)

Do you have any word games that you like to play?

xx/Lisa

Maya Brenner: Right Here, Right Now

Maya is one of the first people I met when I moved to my neighborhood in Los Angeles eight years ago. One day she knocked on the front door, flashed her radiant smile and suddenly I was missing Manhattan a little bit less. At the time, she had a small jewelry business that she was running out of her home. 

Things have changed slightly since then. :)

(Maya Brenner, jewelry designer.)

Today, Maya's sexy, delicate jewelry is a cult favorite among the chic set and can be found in stores nationwide. (You've seen her state necklaces on every celebrity and in every magazine.) As she says, "The jewelry in my collection is personalized, feminine and fun. I like to take a trend and make it into something that will never go out of style."

Clockwise from top left: New York state necklace, Santorini necklace,
Shark Tooth necklace and Twilight necklace.  Available HERE.

Now before I continue, I want to quickly cut to the chase -- because there's a very special reason for the headline of this blog post.  

Right here, right now, and only for A Bloomsbury Life readers, Maya is offering an exclusive 25% discount off her entire website. Just enter the code "Lisa 25" at checkout. Thank you so much, Maya!

      

(Maya's website HERE.)

Not too long ago, Maya's home was featured in a lovely profile on the Glitter Guide and when I asked her how the shoot went, she sent me some photos. (Well-known LA designer Thomas Michna helped her reimagine the space.) Do you recognize the cross-stitch sampler behind her?

(Maya at home with my piece "On Aging", 2010. Burlap, thread.)

How about in this room?

Maya collects art from friends and family and the fact that she owns two of my pieces just thrills me to bits, I have to say. There is no better feeling than seeing something you've created bring happiness to others. 

("On the New Economy", 2010. Burlap, thread.)

Click HERE to see the full tour of Maya's home, but I can't resist showing you a few more photos. Look at this side chair upholstered in Oscar de la Renta embroidery. Isn't it so 1970's Marrakech? 

Below, Thomas recovered an antique gilt bench in a delicate brown pinstripe. Above it hangs a framed Louis Vuitton silk scarf. And the rug (also seen three photos above) was a mild-mannered beige until he cleverly overdyed it a stunning lilac.

Whenever I'm over at Maya's house, I find myself primping in her downstairs powder room more than I probably should -- but can you blame me? (Trust me, no matter what kind of a day you've had, you are camera-ready in this room.) The wallpaper was designed by Mary Kysar and is available at Walnut Wallpaper. A vibrant pattern like this is so perfect for a small space -- not being able to discern where the corners are actually makes the room feel bigger. 

I'm beginning to think coral just might be the happiest color.

(All photography of Maya's house by Sarah Yates.)

The Threads That Bind Us

Friday Update:

Also wanted to mention that last week I was lucky enough to have a cup of tea with Pamela of the blog "From the House of Edward", who was enjoying a brief interlude in Los Angeles. It's always lovely to meet fellow bloggers in person and discover that they are just as fabulous as you thought they were. She is stylish and charming and the owner of the absolutely most FLAWLESS skin I've ever laid eyes on. And talk about a love of Scotland that rivals mine -- she and her husband have a possible retirement plan there!

Thursday Update:

Just spoke to Santy at the Santa Monica Museum of Art who kindly sent me some better photos of the two pieces I entered. Check their website in June for "Incognito Revealed": an unmasking of all the artists who participated and their works.

(For those of you who asked about size, both pieces are 8" by 10".)

* * * * *

Now that the INCOGNITO show is over and all the artists are finally able to acknowledge their work, I'm so happy to finally get a chance to show you what I've been up to lately, embroidery-wise.

Check it out below (or click HERE):

Note: Apologies for the semi-dark footage of my new embroidery pieces -- I shoot everything with my iPhone 4 because I love the moody edge it imparts, but getting sharp details has at times been difficult. Good things lie ahead, though: I am saving up for a Canon 5D Mark 2 digital camera with video capabilities that will take "The Domestic Explorer" webisodes to a whole new level of clarity -- so be patient a bit longer!

xx/Lisa

Threads of Memory

I so remember this picture being taken.

(Me with my brother and sister in Madeira, 1971. I'm on the left.)

We were on holiday in Madeira and had taken a stroll into the town of Funchal to while away the hours before dinner. My mother was on a relentless quest to buy some of the island's famed hand embroidery and my brother, sister and I were dragging our feet about it. Coming into an open square, we passed a man holding a parrot and a baby monkey and stopped to look. Before we knew it, he had thrust the animals upon us. "Don't move!" my father said, whipping out his Leica. "One - two - three - smile!" We did...and waited for what seemed like an eternity while he adjusted and readjusted the camera settings. (Are all fathers the same?) My mother rolled her eyes in exasperation. (There was embroidery to be found!) Even the monkey closed his eyes and slumped forward, grabbing my shoulder for support. At long last, there was a blessed click.

We stayed at Reid's Palace Hotel, a legendary hotel frequented by Winston Churchill and George Bernard Shaw, perched atop rocky cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Days were spent in our bathing suits and in the evenings we dressed up for dinner downstairs in the enormous white Edwardian dining room. The scene was glamorous (lots of crocheted pantsuits) but the meals felt interminably long to us children, and my parents resorted to playing table games with us to keep us from falling asleep between courses. The waiters came to the rescue too: a napkin would magically transform itself into a dove, utensils became percussive instruments and little wrapped candies would periodically appear in front of us.

(Reid's Palace Hotel, Funchal, Madeira)

Before our trip was over, my mother had found her holy grail of textiles: beautiful sets of linen cocktail napkins embroidered with colorful figures and palm trees.

About five years ago, she gave them all to me, still in pristine condition. "Didn't you ever use them?" I asked. "Not really. Maybe once or twice," she answered. "I always considered them too beautiful."

Well, they are beautiful. For the last 150 years, Madeira hand embroidery has been recognized worldwide as being among the finest in the world. The microscopically precise stitches and elaborate details attest to that. But as I have written about before, to let them languish in a drawer for a lifetime is to fall victim to the tragedy of perfection.

So I use them. For morning coffee, for afternoon tea, for an early evening cocktail, for almost any reason I can dream up. And every time I hold them, I am reminded of a parrot, a monkey and an enchanting family vacation in a legendary cliffside hotel -- once upon a time long, long ago.

Stitching Up The Noughties: A Blow-by-Blow

I arrived a bit early for my preview show at the ACME gallery on Friday night.

(Photo by Martha Adams)

The cocktail party was from 7 to 9pm and I wanted to take one last walk around the room before people started arriving.

On Wednesday, I hung the works and in the middle of the space installed a 19th century threadbare rug, a loom draped with a work in progress, a china teacup with the dregs of some Fortnum and Mason tea...

...a shambolic mess of tabloid magazines...

...a chair with a chain mail headrest (because I am an embroidery warrior) and black feather wings (because shouldn't they be required for every armchair traveller?)...

...and 125 cans of Diet Red Bull (no explanation necessary).

On the far wall was a floor-to-ceiling wallpaper I created from books in my personal library.

I wanted people to feel like they were entering an abstracted, exploded version of my brain, and that high literature + lowbrow tabloids + a lot of caffeine + tools of the trade = the recipe for my samplers.

(Wallpaper, detail)

Almost before I knew it, the gallery was packed with familiar faces and friendly strangers.

The signature drink was Pimm's Iced Tea.

(Photo by Martha Adams)

It was so gratifying to see people looking at my pieces and reading my work.

The gestation process for this show was long and at times, I had trouble seeing an end in sight. Now, here it was in front of me.

(Photos by Martha Adams)

I gussied up my loom by painting it black, studding it with brass nailheads and transforming it into a bespoke piece of equipment.

(Photo by Martha Adams)

According to my calculations, over 15,000 feet of cotton embroidery floss went into the creation of my samplers.

(Photo by Martha Adams)

Scary figures, scary headlines.

(Photo by Martha Adams)

I plan on returning to the gallery again and again over the next month to continue adding words to this piece in progress.

(Photo by Martha Adams)

Royal Apothic founder/blogger Sean O'Mara (on right) came and it was such a treat to see him...

(Photo by Martha Adams)

...as it was C&C California founder Claire Stansfield (on left) and fellow blogger Julie Anne Rhodes.

(Photo by Martha Adams)

Good friends, good neighbors...

...and very good eight-year-olds completed the mix of invited guests.

As for family, I was well-represented by my two men...

(Photo by Martha Adams)

...and my mother, sister and two nieces who had flown out from Michigan for the show.

(Photo by Martha Adams)

And now, the samplers...

There are ten pieces in the show, all at least three feet by four feet, with some even larger. (Check back for exact measurements.)

"On Tucking Your Daughter Into Bed"

"On Priorities"

"On the Price of Beauty"

"On the New Economy"

"On Aging"

"On Being Realistic"

"On Truth in Art, Part One"

"On Role Models"

"On Dark and Stormy Nights"

"On East vs. West"

Sorry, I can't figure out how to make the photo bigger by clicking on it. The text reads:

Soy chai latte, downward dog,

Hike up Runyon, kiss the smog.

Palm trees, glamour, sushi roll,

LA's tattooed on my soul.

But NYC is in my skin,

The noise, the crowds, the grit, the sin.

Subways, cynics, coffee black,

Will always keep me coming back.

.................

For those of you in Los Angeles, the show runs through May 29th. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-6pm. All price inquiries for the pieces should be directed to the ACME Gallery (323-857-5942).

I would like to give a massive thank you to o ACME owners Bob Gunderman, Randy Sommer and director Molly Concannon for their unwavering enthusiasm, support and killer cappucinos, to Sarah Walker for setting the proverbial ball in motion, and to all my friends and neighbors who have so generously helped me out with carpools and playdates these last six months (you know who you are).

Also, thank you to my dear friend Martha Adams, who so beautifully documented the evening.

Lastly, to my very own Piero and Luca, thank you for being ever-understanding, ever-encouraging and never once begrudging the months and months I spent bent over the loom or crouched on my hands and knees on the floor, head down, needle and thread in hand, silently counting counting counting.