Eat Your Fruits and Veggies: OjaiStyle at the Ojai Farmer's Market

Having just read Oprah's 21-day vegan blog, I'm feeling a little depleted of my fruits and veggies. Oh I try to eat 45 servings a day (is that right?) but some days is harder than others. For example, today I had an avocado and some wine.

To inspire us all, I am posting some great pictures from photographer Whitney Hartmann and the Ojai Farmer's Market.

I also need some flowers!

I need to try these.

Here are some beautiful images of edible art from several OjaiStyle artists.

Stawberry Giclee Print

By Kate Hoffman. Giclee print of drawings originally seen in Edible Ojai. Printed on museum quality watercolor paper, hand signed and numbered. Edition of 100. Framed in Mahogany.Strawberry 6’x4” (framed 10”x8”). $150.00

Pears Photograph

By Cindy Pitou Burton. Sepia series print on watercolor paper, matted and framed, Large (29 ¼” x 23 ¼”) $365; Small (21” x 17”) $255.00

Persimmons II

By Katie Van Horne. monotype on paper, unframed, 14” x 30”$750.00

What inspires you? OjaiStyle asks...

As a non artist (but art lover), I am always interested in the inspiration behind artists works. How do artists come up with their work? Is it daily events? Is it a lasting memory? For me, I wake up in the middle of the night with my ideas. Granted these ideas are things like what I will be serving for dinner the next day or perhaps breakfast.

On my recent visit to Ojai, I spoke with Bernadette DiPietro about her Batik 'Two Grandmothers.' Bernadette brought out her high school graduation photo that features Bernadette with her two grandmothers. She said she has had the the image in her mind that became the inspiration for the artwork.

Below is the photo with Bernadette's two grandmothers...

and the artwork 'Two Grandmothers'

Bird, Yurt and Some Dirt: Pictures Around Shahastra's Art Studio

Below are some pictures from in and around Shahastra's art studio – a yurt. We love it! So very Ojai, her studio is a wonderful mix of art, jewelry and peace doves!

Here Shahastra's vivid and vibrant oil and pastels adorn the studio.

Her iron work is shown all around her property.

Peace doves all around.

OjaiStyle at the Casa Barranca Wine Tasting Event

It was the perfect day for wine tasting (but really, what day isn’t?). On Saturday, June 14, 2008, the music was playing the wine was flowing and OjaiStyle’s fine art marketplace was on display. Casa Barranca Winery is located in Ojai at a historical Greene and Greene home. For those of you not familiar with Greene and Greene, here is a two sentence history lesson.

Brothers Charles Sumner Greene (1868-1957) and Henry Mather Greene (1870-1954), who established the architectural firm of Greene and Greene, were influential American architects. Active primarily in California, their bungalow houses and larger-scale ultimate bungalows are prime exemplars of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Here are some pictures from the event.

Bernadette DiPietro's beautiful art on display.

A great pour!

Yin and Yang DiPietro Real Ojai Chickens

This weekend we had the privilege of meeting Yin and Yang DiPietro. Yin and Yang are the lovely chickens that produce product for Bernadette DiPietro’s amazing Ukrainian Eggs. They posed perfectly as they must have known their picture would be on the world wide web! Those smart chickens. Here they are and some of their beautiful eggs. You can see the entire Ukrainian Egg collection at OjaiStyle.

Yin and Yang Posing for All About Ojai

Free Shipping From OjaiStyle

Summer is here!

That means bbq's, fresh produce, swimming parties and outdoor entertaining.

Freshen up your home with a new piece of fine art, pottery or glass. Be sure and check out our summertime love-themed homepage!

http://www.ojai-style.com/

Enter code SUMMER until June 22, 2008

7 Tips for Beginning Art Collectors

Magnolia Abstract Photograph

By Cindy Pitou Burton

Here is a great article from ArtInfo.com By Caroline Kinneberg

• NEW YORK—Starting an art collection can be intimidating for a number of reasons: financial constraints, lack of a formal art background, or the attitude beginning collectors can be greeted with at certain galleries, a standard of customer service W.M. Hunt of the (friendly) Hasted Hunt Gallery describes as: "You could be set on fire and no one would give you a glass of water." Last week, Hunt moderated a panel at Aperture Foundation's gallery about the first steps to creating a photography collection. In principle, the advice applies to other sorts of art as well, though Hunt told ARTINFO, "Photography seems like a smaller field of dealers and auction houses. As overwhelming as it is, it's easier to negotiate and, at least in the past, the financial consequences weren't so huge." At the panel, Hunt talked to beginning collector Gael Zafrany,
  who works at Charles Schwartz Ltd., preserving and creating museum and personal collections; longtime collector David Kronn; Modern Art Obsession blogger Michael Hoeh; and designer Todd Oldham about their experiences as fledgling collectors. ARTINFO gleaned the following pieces of advice on amassing pieces of art:
  
  1. Focus on the future
  Oldham forewent food for a week, he recounted, when he bought a pair of Cindy Sherman film stills from a Houston gallery before both either he or she was famous. "I knew that it would be worth it, and I had to have it," he says, and was right: "In 1980 it was worth $500, and now it's worth at least two—almost three—zeros more at the end of that."
  
  2. Be selfish
  Hoeh, who works in finance in New York City, focused early in his collecting career on pieces that reflected his interests: industry and the city. Kronn amassed 11 photos by his "early obsession," Irving Penn. The panelists agreed: A personal collection is for personal enjoyment, and collectors should buy what appeals to them, not what's in fashion.
  
  3. Do your homework
  Although some collectors buy impulsively, Hoeh called purchasing "a methodical process," especially for collectors with limited financial resources who need to be selective. Kronn said he has a collection of art books that rivals his collection of actual art; he also advised potential buyers to "look at as much work as possible."
  
  4. Have patience
  Kronn suggested collectors develop a list of works and artists that interest them so they'll be poised to acquire when opportunities present themselves. Oldham suggested to "show up wherever you can" (auctions, galleries, [ED note ONLINE] or anywhere else art is sold) and noted that the interesting works at Art Basel Miami Beach were not, in fact, in the convention center but at the satellite fairs.
  
  5. Avoid the "gallerinas"
  Those "glorified shopgirls," as Oldham jokingly called them, are notoriously intimidating. Many of the panelists avoided them by buying their first pieces at benefit auctions, where, Zafrany said, museums donate works by under-the-radar artists to increase their exposure.
  
  6. Get bang for your buck
  "I can't collect what I really love because I can't afford it," Zafrany said, but her young collection is edgy and noteworthy nonetheless. She bought one of Thomas Allen's pop-up pulp fiction pieces long before Aperture published a book about them. Another find was a New York City streetscape by Walker Evans that isn't representative of his work but that Zafrany characterizes as a sweet, simple photo of the city she loves.
  
  7. Haggle
  While Hoeh said negotiating at galleries was uncommon even until the recent past, Oldham divulged that bargaining a sticker price down 10 percent is now "pretty standard." Either way, there are other ways to manage price points: Kronn bought an Edward Weston on eBay; collectors can put down deposits over time; and it never hurts to have friends in the art world (and access to their insider discounts!). In the end, though, Hunt told ARTINFO the most important thing to do when buying art is to "commit, commit, commit! Look at the hair on the back of your hands, listen to your heart, figure out if you can afford it, and then commit!"

Brown is the New Black

We love brown! You name it -- amber, whiskey, brunette, coffee, russett and auburn. The tones of brown are aplenty this summer season. Check out some of OjaiStyle's most fashionable jewelry in every shade of brown.

Rutilated quartz, pink shell

By Tegan Hope. bracelet, handmade sterling silver clasp, rutilated quartz, pink shell,
7 ½”$90.00

Garnet and Whisky Quartz Necklace

By Lupe Razo.

Garnet, nine pear-shaped whisky quartz drops, sterling silver, 17”

$275.00

Whiskey Quartz and Pearl Earrings

By Lupe Razo

taupe pearls, whiskey quartz, sterling silver, 1 3/8”$75.00

Goslar garnets

By Tegan Hope. necklace, handmade sterling silver clasp, goslar garnets, small clusters of garnets, 17 ½”$250.00

Mixing it up with Mixed Media

Locked in a Memory
By Bernadette DiPietro.

ixed Media on Wood from the Mixed Media Assemblages Series

12” x 12"$850.00

According to Wikipedia, mixed media is in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed. There is an important distinction between "mixed media" artworks and "multimedia art". Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct visual art media. For example, a work on canvas that combines paint, ink, and collage could properly be called a "mixed media" work - but not a work of "multimedia art."
.

An Elephant and a Buffalo

By Bernadette DiPietro.

Mixed Media on Wood from the Mixed Media Assemblages Series

12” x 12"$850.00