Refresh yourself during the summer heat with art and the energy of creativity.
For the next weeks, we will be posting on a daily basis another installment of Through an Artist’s Eyes: Learning to Live Creatively offering you a pathway to art and the vision of the artist. Enabling you to develop your own inner creativity and apply it to the personal cycle of everyday living!
(And if you are familiar with our book, you might find new meaning by rereading it again!)
Bonus: The Art of Decoration (see: at the end of the article).
II. The Journey to Art
Photo, Courtesy of Joan Hart
Creative Routines at Home, Part 2
You become an artist–gardener, temporarily planting your blossoms in pots, vases, or other containers, on tables, desks, window ledges, in whatever rooms you wish. They may prominently adorn your most treasured piece of furniture or rest in a cozy corner known only to you.
For haven’t you created multiple works of art, not in paint or watercolor or clay, but through your own perceptions? A gallery that extends from room to room in bursts of floral color and form. You might also rearrange your interior world, composing it as a whole, no matter the size of your dwelling, from an efficiency or one bedroom apartment to a there-story house. Imagine yourself like Bonnard, an early twentieth century French master, who thought of his house as his studio to be painted over and over again in his canvases. The dining rooms, the bedrooms, even the bathrooms inspired him, enriched by vibrant wallpaper, intricately patterned tablecloths and rugs, and an array of knickknacks and flower filled vases.
However, you might prefer less ornate surroundings. If so, consider the works of other painters such as Andrew Wyeth, a renowned artist from the United States, whose portrayals of the inner spaces of his house reveal a much plainer environment of hardwood floors, mainly undecorated walls, and early American antiques.
Don’t worry about your budget, because you shouldn’t have to buy new furniture or decorations. Work with what you have, since your previous purchases probably already reflect your tastes. You might want to reupholster a couch or add a chair, even the introduction of an unusual figurine can make a difference. Most important, though, is how you envision your domestic world as a place where you can invite friends and family, or appreciate when you are alone, enlivened by the sounds of music or as a backdrop for your daily exercise or meditations during which you can temporarily relax.
The O’Keeffe Floral Gallery–Oriental Poppies, 1927, Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
The power of imagination can magnify any flower, from the modest pansy to the elegant iris. But the oriental poppies, royal to the core, easily exceed their normal dimensions. Just follow the pathway of color, an exotic spectrum of coral rose and tangerine wine, growing and enfolding both blossoms. Ebony violet too, revolving around the floral contents, expanding with life. Their yellow spreading through the petals, reflected in its own glow.
Georgia O’Keeffe began producing her monumental flowers in the early 1920s when she was living in New York City. By the end of the decade, they were selling for as high as $25,000, a record breaking sum at the time. But how can such an act of creativity be truly priced?
Click below to view Oriental Poppies:
https://www.artchive.com/artwork/oriental-poppies-georgia-okeeffe-1927/
COMING TOMORROW: MATISSE AND BONNARD
If you missed any of the installments, Through an Artist’s Eyes: Learning to Live Creatively begins on September 14, 2026!
Special Bonus: The Art of Decoration
American Art Pottery at the Smithsonian: the Useful and the Beautiful
https://www.si.edu/spotlight/american-art-pottery
The Art of the Rug in the Home
https://folkartmuseum.org/exhibitions/the-great-cover-up-american-rugs-on-beds-tables-and-floors/
Art of Porcelain
https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/porcelain/m016f4d?categoryId=medium&hl=en
Artists Homes and Studios
Copyright 2010: Joan Hart, Museum One, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented including photocopying, recording and information storage and retrieval without permission from the publisher.
ISBN 9780615301884
