Summerdale- Chicago, IL

Good day, everyone.  We’re dedicating today’s post to that fiery cousin of love: passion. Specifically– passion in the sense of what moves you emotionally.  In my humble opinion, people who are in tune with–and feed– their passion(s) tend to be happier in life.  Happy people have an uncanny ability to attract even more happiness. The book, the Secret, tried to explain the concept but got too wrapped up into the material aspects of the law of attraction. But, I digress.

Let’s step back to basics to the subject at hand: passion. For me, I’m passionate about great experiences– whether it’s getting away for a quiet winter weekend in Douglas, MI or exploring Spain with my Hubs (as we did last summer)– I love it all.  Nothing enhances the memory of those experiences more so than a piece of art.  The word “souvenir” has its origins in the French language, signifying “to remember.” Therefore for me, travel and art collected along the way are at the center of a great experience, which translates into my passion.

Bringing it into focus, let’s take a look at some of the art at RWP, and what they represent:

This first piece is appropriate for Valentine’s Day:

This vintage record cover was a wedding gift from our friend and Chicago jazz legend, Elaine Dame.  She and her band played this song at the conclusion of our ceremony at our dear friends’ Michael and Doug’s Red Gate Farm in Fennville, August of 2014.  It perfectly captures the experience of exhilaration that day and is also lovely to look at.

That record cover perfectly captures the memory of the joy of that day, and is probably a good bridge to the point of what constitutes art.  As the saying goes, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” so too is the definition of art.  Some may be predisposed to think of “art” as having a hefty price tag, but consider these pieces as contrary to that notion:

The top painting came from a trip years ago to Buenos Aires, where we made it a point to visit “La Boca,” a colorful neighborhood featuring some amazing local artists.

The painting cost less than our lunch that day, but every time I look at it, I remember the experience of that wonderful trip.

Equally, the floating-framed sketch below the La Boca painting above came from a highly rated Trip Advisor find in Girona, Pals, Spain, last summer.  That sketch was a place-mat!  Add a great frame from Michael’s and voila!  — a wonderful (and economical) way to capture that experience and turn it into art.

The idea of collecting art to mark an experience is a passion for me, but it also pays dividends, as we’re able to also patronize the world’s artists that add so much culture and color to our lives, and encourage them to continue with their own passions.  Here are some of our favorite local artists, from well known Saugatuck legend (and Oxbow alum), James Brandess,  to my new local fave, Cortney Rutkauskas, and noted Chicago artist, Byron Gin:

Now that I’ve shared my passion, I want to encourage you to explore yours.  Especially when you’re visiting the lovely art coast of Michigan.  By all means, take advantage of all that there is to experience in seeing and doing, but don’t forget to capture the memory with a wonderful piece of local art.  I hope you can appreciate why it’s my passion!

Reservations are coming in for the summer and we’re busily readying RWP for a great start to the season.  The snowy weather has kept us inside when we’re here from Chicago– which is a luxury for us to be able to focus in on projects we’ve wanted to complete for years.

Project 1, my grandmother’s hutch:

I never really thought much about this hutch growing up– it sat forlorn in my grandmother’s basement for years, replaced by an upstart mid-century modern blah blah hutch in the formal dining room upstairs– a room I remember eating in once.  Instead, all family gatherings were held in that basement– which held a 20′ long table with “reclaimed” (that word wasn’t in vogue yet.. we called them old) bus benches for seating. As kids, we’d run past it to get to the pool table, or play some bastardized version of shuffle board with the inlaid tiles (WTH?).  In retrospect, that hutch was always there in the background, with its stately, almost luxury-liner of years-ago air (it was/is mahogany afterall).

When we acquired RWP, it had that distinctive retro air that– refreshingly– was not modern, or even mid-century modern.  It was a throwback to a decidedly more old fashioned era.  One which would be well suited for Grandma’s hutch, albeit rethought with the nautical vision we held.

Accessorized with my mother’s 150-year old Wedgwood (there is a story there on how she acquired it.. for another time), this hutch is fresh and a wonderful connection to my grandmother, my mom, and sharing it all with you all!