Wednesday, October 22, 2008

eBay Find of the Day: Vintage Doilies as Art

I'm semi-obsessed with this picture, which I recently saw on Oakland artist Lisa Solomon's blog.

Such a deceptively simple idea -- just a group of crocheted doilies tacked to a wall -- but so beautifully composed and rendered in Solomon's hands. I love the soft colors and the casual but intricate way they're juxtaposed against one another.

I couldn't even begin to create a grouping as lovely as this one, but I think it might be fun to try. I wouldn't trust myself to combine colors as masterfully and subtly as Solomon has done here, but suspect a group of ivory doilies would look equally lovely against a painted wall.

Although crocheting is most definitely not part of my limited crafting skill set, crocheted doilies are plentiful and inexpensive at just about any flea market, estate sale, and -- of course -- on eBay.

Take this set of 12 vintage, handmade doilies, for instance. Current bid: $5 for the lot of them.

(P.S. In addition to wall art, here's another lovely idea that employs vintage doilies. What kind of art or craft projects would you use them for?)

2 comments:

Lynne Rutter said...

i used a number of doilies (my great-grandmother's fancy handiwork) as well as a few finds from ebay and chinatown, in my fabulous doily resin table, built for me by fossil faux studios in san francisco

pictures are here: http://www.lynnerutter.com/2008/02/lacy-doily-table.html

Anonymous said...

Wow, that arrangement is pretty incredible.

My mom collects vintage doilies and likes to use them in her crazy quilting, which is a style of quilting that involves a lot of embellishments like embroidery and applique. Not exactly my aesthetic, but it can be quite pretty in small amounts.

 

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