Marilyn Minter - Gold meets Girl

I've long been a fan of silver and nothing's going to change that, but recently I've been seduced by Gold. Why is that, not too sure, but it may well have something to do with the fact that it's never featured in my jewelery collection and has always been a favourite on my walls.

Silver and diamonds are sexy together. Possibly the idea of the gold leafed mosaic mirror that I handmade 15 years ago now becoming a feature of my blog banner and the fact that those mosaic tiles cost a mint per square metre, may well have been staring me in the face daily and imprinting their subliminal message with me. I have had flirtations with gold leaf when I handmade and sculpted this Elle Decor mirror a while back. So now its time to give gold some gush.

My son's just painted his skateboarding helmet in gold artist paint on a black matt background. It looks great and seeing how shiny the gold came up got me thinking of getting the gold out again.

When I first saw the Elle Decor mirror I just knew I had to have one, so I set one in a plaster of paris mould as the vague shape above. Let it set and air dry a couple of weeks so it would stand a vigorous sanding. The shaping took a week or so of subtle and gentle carving, none of the curves are symmetrical, but that's half the fun. I gold leafed the whole thing and it absolutely glimmered. The sea air has left its muted sheen on the surface. As you can see it's time to give it a new leafing.

The pictures I've coupled up this article with are about artist extraordinaire Marilyn Minter, whose unusual experimentation with gold has taken the fashion world by storm. She was recently commissioned for a mammouth Jimmy Choo photo shoot where shoes and handbags were treated to the brush's daliance with dawbs of gold. Marilyn has also taken gold to the level Goldfinger did in the Bond movie. Take a look at these seductive shots. Read more about Marilyn here.

Marilyn Minter (born 1948) is an American artist currently living and working in New York City. Marilyn Minter has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2005, the Center for Contemporary Art, Cincinnati, OH in 2009, La Conservera, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Ceutí/Murcia, Spain in 2009, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH in 2010 and the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, Germany in 2011. Her video Green Pink Caviar was exhibited in the lobby of the MoMA for over a year, and was also shown on digital billboards on Sunset Boulevard in LA, and the Creative Time MTV billboard in Times Square, New York.

She has been included in numerous group exhibitions in museums all over the world. In 2006, Marilyn Minter was included in the Whitney Biennial, and in a collaboration with Creative Time she installed billboards all over Chelsea in New York city. In the spring of 2011 Minter had a solo exhibition at Team Gallery, New York. In 2009, she had a solo exhibit at Regen Projects, Los Angeles.

Minter currently teaches in the MFA department at the School of Visual Arts in New York and has an upcoming solo show at Salon 94, New York, opening October 28, 2011.  So if you're in New York or thinking of being there in the next few weeks, make sure you visit Salon 94 for this intimate exhibition.

Ringo Starr's Superyacht

I had no idea that former Beatle Ringo Starr had a yacht, then again why wouldn't he. If you've got the interest in boats then go the whole hog. As a former EMI Records employee many years ago I had the odd surprise encounter in the foyer of EMI. You never knew who would be there on any day of the week and seeing Ringo and Barbara Bach was legendary.

Ringo absolutely knows style. He has the most beautiful superyacht, the Lady M at 164ft she's definitely super. Spotted near Astoria, anchored near the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon, Ringo was expected to fly into town and board for a couple of weeks cruise. Astoria is a picturesque town founded by John Jacob Astor on the fur trade of 1811 as the primary trading post in the Northwest.

This seafaring vessel will set you back $180,000 a week to charter, but it's well worth it for prestige and glam factor. Featuring an interior design scheme by Donald Starkey, the ship's most impactful feature is the master berth which spreads the full width port to starboard on the main deck plus adjoining lounge study and main bathroom finished in honey grained marble.

Complete with a deck lounge that has a summerhouse feel, an expansive sun deck with sun loungers and al fresco dining area, BBQ fit for an Australian chef and spa. Lady M is fitted out to accommodate 10 guests comfortably plus a crew of 12, you might want to pick up the phone right now and book your passage.

Pantry and Nursery - Clearing the decks for company

A big thank goes out to Dina of Honey & Fitz blog. Dina is an organizer extraordinaire. She's lived in Boston and is now relocated to North Carolina where she's loving life as a new mom to Knox and helping others with that all important inspiration around the house. I'm amazed at the changes she's made to places like a pantry, which on first glance look smart and uncluttered, but there's some sheer genius going on here. Take a look at her appearance on the Nate Berkus show, where she takes us on a "tour of tidy" in a beautifully decorated home.

Thank you also to Sarah of Pewter and Sage who as guest writer over at Honey & Fitz has delivered a wonderful post that features a nursery makeover. Her little girl Maura has just turned 1, and as they live near the water, Boston, Sarah has put together some ideas for a nautical nursery.

I love the way she has shown the Vintage International Code Flags in smaller frames and used letters A B and C as a spin off from traditional alphabet flash cards.

Sarah has also incorporated vintage Star Charts of the Equatorial skies into the mood board mix which I love.

Up there too is a beautiful print from Czech artist Jan Skácelík

Jan's work features solid bursts of colour and bold retro styles. His graphic renditions of crockery from retro Nordic Catherine Holm are inspired. So if you've been trying to get your hands on cups and saucers or enamelware by this bohemian behemoth, try a poster from hanz as he's got the look captured with his poster series.

Clocks go forward for summertime

And so its the long weekend.. yay. The clocks go forward one hour, to create summertime in NSW with the exception of Queensland, who do not go forward as they have enough heat and sun during their daytime in summer.  Even though we are Spring the conditions outside are wet, windy and cold. 

No time for cruising around, but when conditions are better, then we'll be bound for secret bays and beaches on this glorious coastline.

Hope you have a lovely and creative long weekend. I know I shall be hard at work all this week. No rest for the wicked.

SS Gairsoppa - robot reveals silver ingots in ships hold

Seventy years ago the SS Gairsoppa became another casualty of the battle of the Atlantic. Sunk by a U-boat, it might have been forgotten, were it not for a cargo that looks set to become the largest haul of precious metal to be retrieved from the depths of the Atlantic.

Along with tea and iron, the Gairsoppa, which sank off the coast of Ireland in February 1941, was carrying 200 tonnes of silver – valued at £150m at today's prices.

The ship's remains were found earlier this month by Odyssey Marine Exploration, an American firm which won the contract for the salvage from the British government in 2010.

Under the terms of its contract, Odyssey said, the firm would retain 80% of the cargo's value, with the remainder – up to £30m – going to the Treasury. Although no silver was spotted in a preliminary examination, records indicate that the ship – which was en route from India to Liverpool – was laden with 7m ounces of silver bullion when it went down.

Andrew Craig, Odyssey's senior project manager, said: "We've accomplished the first phase of this project – the location and identification of the target shipwreck – and now we're hard at work planning for the recovery phase. Given the orientation and condition of the shipwreck, we are extremely confident that our planned salvage operation will be well suited for the recovery of this silver cargo."

The Gairsoppa was completing the final stages of its voyage when its captain decided to re-route for Galway on the west coast of Ireland. It was a decision that would bring tragedy: a German U-boat attacked it on 16 February 1941, and 84 men died when the ship went down. Only one man, second officer Richard Ayres, survived after making it in a lifeboat to the Cornish coast two weeks later. Two other crew members who survived the sinking died while trying to make it ashore.

The shipwreck was located by Odyssey's underwater robot three miles below the surface of the North Atlantic, around 300 miles off the coast of Ireland. The hole blasted by the torpedo was clearly in evidence, and Odyssey said it was able to identify the remains from features such as the type of anchor and the red and black colours used by the British Indian Steam Navigation Company.

Greg Stemm, the company's chief executive, said: "We were fortunate to find the shipwreck sitting upright, with the holds open and easily accessible. This should enable us to unload cargo through the hatches as would happen with a floating ship alongside a cargo terminal."

Stemm said he had "high confidence" that the silver would be found because an initial examination had confirmed the presence of tea chests, which were also reported to have been on board the ship.

"The tea is a lighter element of the cargo that would have been placed higher in the hold than the heavier silver, so we're confident that the silver cargo is still there as well," he added.

Odyssey hopes to carry out a full recovery of the cargo in the spring. The company does not expect to find any human remains.

Neil Cunningham Dobson, the company's principle archaeologist, said: "By finding this shipwreck, and telling the story of its loss, we pay tribute to the brave merchant sailors who lost their lives."

Last week Odyssey was ordered by a US appeals court to return to the Spanish government the treasure it took in 2007 from the 19th century shipwreck of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes – and which is estimated to be worth up to $500m.

Determined to see an upholding of the so-called "finders keepers" law – which would give it the right to keep the treasure it found in the shipwreck – the company said it would press on with its long-running legal battle, requesting a new hearing before appeal judges.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Transport said: "The contract for the salvage of the SS Gairsoppa was awarded by competitive tender in accordance with government and departmental procedures.

"While we do not comment on the specifics of such commercial arrangements, Odyssey Marine Exploration were awarded the contract as they offered the best rate of return to HMG."

Clipper Sailing Ship Geometric pattern Poster Print - by...

This clipper is one of four new designs styled for hanging in a boys room.

Clipper Sailing Ship Geometric pattern Poster Print - by... (clipped to polyvore.com)

Coastal Lighthouse Geometric pattern Poster Print - by empressionista...

The lighthouse is in the new geometric poster series - it reminds me of the coast.
Coastal Lighthouse Geometric pattern Poster Print - by empressionista... (clipped to polyvore.com)