Visit to The Cloisters in Manhattan

The Cloisters, the branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe, was assembled from architectural elements, both domestic and religious, that date from the ninth through the sixteenth century.

The building and its cloistered gardens—located in Fort Tryon Park in Northern Manhattan—are treasures in themselves, effectively part of the collection housed there. 

 The grounds leading to the Cloisters are spectacular.... literally carved out of rock with cobblestoned walk ways and walls.

I love these trees....although I would never have the nerve to carve anything in them.

As you get closer there are QUIET signs posted everywhere.

The architecture is quite beautiful and the feeling of reverence and peace is everywhere.

I tried to take photos of some of the plaques so you can see what each place and piece is about.  These are some of the Chapels.  The huge stone walls keep everything cool.

The carvings were beautiful

 I'm not sure if you can read this but this is a wood carving of the Virgin & Child carved in the late 1100's in France........I mean.....the late 1100's...amazing in itself!

I could go on and on....everything was so interesting...I mean this Pieta was made in 1435

and the amazing collection of Unicorn and other tapestries

 The altars and the stained glass windows

 This is a huge fireplace flanked by more Unicorn tapestries

 The Mausoleum

And then of course....the inevitable snack bar and gift shop

Where I was sucked in and purchased this for a mere $60.00

...but I do love it!  I will put it with my other miniature nudes.

By the way...my daughter got married this past weekend...She was a fairy tale princess and is frolicking in Hawaii at this very minute

Love you both!!

The Guest Rooms are Ready

In October, I started building guest rooms downstairs to accommodate some

of my out of state family that will be coming in for my daughters wedding in a few weeks.  

This is what they started out like

And now....with some hard work....the payoff

This is the stairs.  I had purchased this stained glass window from
Small Holdings Farm

and the whitewashed fence piece from White Flower Farmhouse

several years ago....not sure what I was going to do with them at the time. 

I thought they were perfect together for filling up the tall space.

Now the foyer area....We had the old Deacons bench which fit perfectly in this spot.  

There is a closet under the stairs that fits (almost) all my Christmas decor.

The metal scroll was purchased at Pier 1 at 50% off....what a find!

This is the area between the two rooms....the other side of the foyer.  The corner shelf belonged to my Grandmother....it has traveled with me everywhere I have lived and been

many different colors.  I thought the full length mirror would be a nice

convenience for my guests....$2.00 at a yard sale.

And here are the bedrooms. We decided on one room with 2 twin beds

and another with a queen size bed. 

I think the room with the twin beds will come in very handy for

my granddaughters in years to come.

In trying to keep to a budget I picked up a few pieces at junk shops and yard sales and painted them.  The chair was at the curb....so that was free.  I love the luggage rack.  The lamps were a $5 yard sale find....but the shades were more expensive than I anticipated. 

I purchased most of the linens at Marshalls & TJ Max....

all very affordable for nice quality & 100% cotton

I also love hooks....of all kinds....so these are just two of the several I have incorporated

 into the rooms and foyer

I'm all ready for my guests....It will be great having my family here for two whole weeks....

it happens so seldom, that everyone is here at the same time.  I can't wait!

C. Jere' - Funky Wall Sculptures

About 10 years ago I came across this piece in an antique store....and with my love of all things metal....I had to have it. 

At the time I didn't know anything about the artist.  

I lost touch with the antique dealer that sold it to me for $35.00.

Several years later I ran into her and she told me she saw it on 

The Antique Road Show and it was worth $3,000.00

All I felt was guilty....I wanted to give her more money...

 

I thought...I better check this out and so I started researching C.Jere', pronounced (see-zhair-AY)

It turns out that C.Jere' is not one artist but two...Jerry Fels and Kurt Freiler. 

It is a creative compilation of their names. 

Together, they launched Artisan House in 1964

You can see more C.Jere' sculptures Here

The pieces are made of welded brass, copper and other metals and then coated with luminous patinas.

Some pieces are abstract and some realistic, flowers, trees, sunbursts, star bursts, bridges, seascapes, leaves, birds, street scenes etc.  

This piece incorporates  many of those elements

 I decorate the trees and fence at Christmas 

with lights and tiny ornaments. 

 

Turns out, that price was slightly inflated 

Several of my family members decided they loved it too and so thanks to ebay, 

my Aunt and my Son have one also....they were each able to get one for under $200.00.

Now that my daughter is making a home of her own, she wants one also, but they are up around $1,000.00

Well.....maybe I can get the family to chip in for their 1st anniversary.