Ten High Street

New After 65 Years

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:05:00 +0000

Not too many businesses can claim to be in continuous operation since 1947 but ours on Route 1 in Camden has been selling fine art and antiques for exactly that long. Of course, times have changed radically since the end of WW II when Sarah’s grandmother first opened the doors on her “house full of antiques” and art. Today in keeping with that spirit, the “new” Ten High Street starts this season with four artists who have never shown there before, plus a cutting-edge digital gallery space designed to showcase the online presence of all of Ten High’s artists.

Today almost every artist has some sort of reflection of themselves on the web and it stands to reason that to do our job properly as their representative we need to show off that digital part of their lives. With our new digital art space we can give our customers a much more comprehensive and personal look at the creativity of the people we represent.”

Joining in the May 25^thopening celebration of the “new” Ten High Street, will be Donald Demers, a supremely elegant craftsman in the classic maritime tradition; Pamela Nelson, a wise, witty and graphically powerful manipulator of the English language; Rosi Reed, a sparkling explorer of the grandeur of outer space; and Jessica Stammen, who journeys to spiritual landscapes at once familiar and yet not quite seen.

The show opens May 25^th and will close Saturday, June 23^rd.

Living In The Store

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:13:00 +0000

We live a somewhat strange and very public life here in Camden in the summer. Our house and barn have a commercial zoning "non-conforming use" status as an antique and art business. As a practical matter this means that we live in our "store" among the things we offer for sale.

Our public aesthetic judgment is something we, by necessity, interact with all the time. It is virtually impossible for us, if we want to feel like this is our home, to sell or exhibit things we don't personally like. What the public sees is also what we live with.

Ten High Street is a no pandering zone.

Sculpture or Artifact?

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:16:00 +0000

As we scour the nooks and crannies of shops, malls and antique shows we often come upon things that, when taken out of their original context, can take on a completely different aesthetic. For instance look at this old storage box for large nuts and bolts.

In a machine shop it would be just be a convenient way to store spare parts. But looked at from another perspective, the "shabby chic" of its wonderful blue paint and the dancing randomness of its contents easily confirm its status as a piece of unusual industrial era decoration.

Self Discovery and Growth

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Still in The Van

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:00:00 +0000

This new sculpture, lying in the back of our van, is by the extremely talented New York artist Emil Alzamora. Its title is "Hone" which Emil explains as "turning inward to explore the essence of our humanity". On its pedestal the work also reminds the viewer that such personal searching isn't always easy.

A wonderful piece of art!

Old Walls As Art

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:24:00 +0000

Yesterday we went to visit a "hot" new winery near here named Scribe. It already has a great reputation among food folks in Sonoma and beyond. However what I liked as much as the beautiful site and great wine was the inside walls of a historic hacienda that is due to have some restoration work done on it this coming season. They were wonderful art!

The Huntington Library, Gallery and Gardens

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:54:00 +0000

This place is one of the great cultural institutions in the United States thanks to Mr. Henry E. Huntington. We had the good fortune this week to drive down to see it. A 2+ hour slog through LA traffic was a small price to pay for the visit. It would take a week to give you a comprehensive description of everything we saw but suffice it to say Mr. Huntington has left the the public one of the most comprehensive examples of inspired book collecting in America. Go there!
The art and the gardens are terrific too but the books are absolutely astounding.

Gearing Up For The New Season

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:32:00 +0000

Do you see the smiling driver in the car over there? That's Sarah doing what she really loves, buying great looking antiques for next season. In this place it was a pair of ceramic frog bookends and a hanging shelf made from a WW II bread baking tin filled with battered old zinc mugs. Sounds strange doesn't it? Not a bit of it. They're terrific! Wait till you see them.

Henry Miller's Creativity Rules

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:06:00 +0000

Work on one thing at a time until finished.
Start no more new books, add no more new material to “Black Spring.”
Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.
Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!
When you can’t create you can work.
Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.
Keep human! See people, go places, drink if you feel like it.
Don’t be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only.
Discard the Program when you feel like it—but go back to it next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude.
Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.
Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.

Thanks to The Improvised Life blog...It is really good! The Improvised Life

Happy Valentine's Day Sarah!

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Every now and then a casual photographer gets lucky.

A couple of days ago we were at lunch at a nice but ordinary spot a couple of towns south of here. After we had eaten we were walking back to the car and there, stuck in a hedge, was a vine of white roses. The sunlight on the hedge was dappled and a tiny bit of it managed to just kiss the center of this flower. One lucky push of the shutter button later and this gorgeous flower is mine.

Life is like that. One minute you're walking along minding your own business and the next second you find beauty. Meeting Sarah was like that.

As The Sun Sets

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:40:00 +0000

At dusk around here the setting sun spreads a sheet of gold on the sand where a wave has just been. It's a quite time. People stand by themselves for a while looking out to sea as families and friends gather up their blankets and coolers and head back home.

T. Allen Lawson at the Autry Museum

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:22:00 +0000

Every year the Autry Museum in Los Angeles has a show and fundraiser that they call "Masters of the American West". It is a very strictly curated, by-invitation-only exhibit. The judges choose artists from all over America who, in their opinion, represent the best western landscape painters working today.

Tim Lawson is one of the very few artists who regularly paints both in the east and in the west. The judges chose him for the 4th year in a row!

Lawson had three beautiful works in this year's show. A huge, very powerful tree drawing, the only one in the whole exhibit, plus 3 paintings. As usual Tim's works were very well received. He sold all the paintings. Much to my surprise the drawing didn't go home with someone. Maybe it was the fact it was a drawing. Selfishly, I am very glad the the piece will be coming back to Maine because I haven't had a chance to show it in our gallery yet. It is an absolute STUNNER. Wait til you see it.

Doctor Delbert's "Sleeping Hole"

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:12:00 +0000

He's homeless and sort of crazy. He has made this little trinket covered "sleeping hole" that he wheels around on a cart so he can crawl into it and sleep during the day under the swaying palm tree in the park that runs along the beach. Heaven only knows what he does at night. He probably pushes his cart around until the sun comes up again because it's too dangerous to sleep on the streets in this city in the dark.

Bubble Gum Alley (Charming In An Icky Way)

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:05:00 +0000

Every now and then, as we travel around we come upon things that are so strange and, may I add, in such bad taste that we feel a need to pass them along for your considered opinion. Because in some instances, bad taste pushed far enough takes on a perverse charm all its own . Take the case of this alley in downtown San Luis Obispo, California.

Whoever first stuck their gum to the wall started a trend followed by thousands and thousands of others. The result is a couple of gooey Jackson Pollock walls that probably have more DNA per square inch than anywhere else in the US.

Any thoughts?

Music Man

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:17:00 +0000

Every Saturday in this city there is a wonderful farmers market. In addition to the exquisite produce, various musicians show up, some good some not so, to play and sing a wide range of music. The owner of this guitar sings upbeat catchy children's songs. Usually after a few minutes he is surrounded by mothers and their kids who jump and clap happily with the beat. (The little ones usually do the jumping and clapping but every now and then a young mother will join in too.) It's a lovely sight to see and he earns every buck that comes his way.

Coming to Ten High Street (Maybe)

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 12:12:00 +0000

When it comes to a sculpture made of granite, 12 feet tall and over 5 feet wide; the decision to show the piece is as much a factor of logistics as aesthetics. This new piece by a young master stone carver fall squarely into a category called: "I like it but will it fit." We'll see.

(By the way the glowing balls are made from beautifully hand-carved marble.)

Standing In The Light

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:40:00 +0000

A Video of Ten High Street (and us)

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:21:00 +0000

Bill Parker Hindsight Media is a charming videographer based in Massachusetts who specializes in intimate documentary films of people and small institutions. For my birthday, Sarah hired him to tell the story of us and our individual journeys that have now merged to become life here at Ten High Street. As envisioned, the video will include interviews not only with us but also with friends who are artists, collectors and curators.

Bill came up yesterday to start work. We had a terrific time with him. First, he sat us under hot lights doing an extended Q & A and then he wandered around our house and barns letting us point out things that held particular personal significance. All in all it was a fun and enlightening experience. Talking about ones life in front of a camera helps put things in perspective and the view, though somewhat disconcerting at times, is most certainly interesting.

Talented Mr. Parker will be back soon and the journey will continue. Stay tuned...

Bedding Down Our Last Show Of This Season

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:00:00 +0000

At this time of year we start to button up Ten High Street Gallery. The T. Allen Lawson show we had in August was a "barn burner". A rousing success in every way. (largest crowd to attend an opening, most sales etc.) Serious collectors came from all over the US to attend the kick off parties which included not only the traditional Friday afternoon reception but a gala dinner for the artist afterwards.

However, as gratifying as the popular and commercial successes of the show were, what brought us even more satisfaction was the constant stream of visits to the exhibition by Tim's fellow artists who would linger for hours (no exaggeration) studying his paintings, taking notes and discussing among themselves the bravura excellence of his craft. When artists flock to a show of one of their peers that is the highest compliment of all.

So now all we have on the walls of of our gallery are reverberating memories of a wonderful 2011 season as Ten High Street hunkers down in a chilly fall rain. That said, our thoughts are already turning towards the new year.

We are now designing a new web site and Sarah and I are about to take off on a trip to the mid-west which will turn south along the Mississippi to New Orleans. We intend to buy some inventory of small pieces for the antique side of the business as well as give Sarah some book research opportunities and a chance to attend a conference on ceramics in Baton Rouge. As for me, as I said, I'll be planning next season. Stay Tuned!

A Very Beautiful Lamp (One of Two)

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:40:00 +0000

This lamp is one of a pair that we made here at Ten High Street. Making lamps is really not that hard mechanically. What is difficult is finding the right combination of "ingredients".

In this case we started with a pair of vintage eastern European glass containers. The folks we got them for said they were from the Czech Republic and that makes a certain amount of sense as there is a lot of glass produced over there and the booth at the Brimfield show where these came from was absolutely full of hand blown glass that had been imported.

Next came the hard part. Finding something beautiful and interesting to put in the old jars. In this case we used spools of old Scalamandre silk thread, also from Brimfield I might add. The blue, red, green and gold sheen of the various silks gives the lamps an elegant glow that fits beautifully in a lot of different settings. We particularly liked how they looked in our Boston living room next to the window overlooking the Charles River.

Finally we come to the shades. We have our important ones custom made by a very talented lady who's firm goes by the melodic name of Gaialumina. These are made from coated heavy textured paper with little square swatches of soft red and yellow.

All in all a most lovely way to light your room.

Cucumber Soup For Lunch

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:35:00 +0000

The cukes and the cherry tomatoes live right outside our kitchen window growing in a bed where we used to have Annabel Hydrangeas. At 11 this morning Sarah decided we would have her patented cucumber soup for lunch. At 12 we sat down to eat it. A meal doesn't get much fresher than that. Who says an art gallery can't be multi-faceted?

A personal insight into the life and art of EB Watts

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:04:00 +0000

Being bi-coastal is one thing but, being bi-continent is entirely something else. EB Watts (Lizzie to her friends.) was born in New Jersey, summered regularly in Maine and for a long time now has divided her time between England and the United States.
The link that follows at the end of this post will take you to her art site which is part of a bigger site dedicated to the promotion and history of her husband William's English ancestral holding, the grand and historic Capesthorne Hall. I think Ms Watt's current art is informed in many ways by the life she has led and is currently leading. She travels widely, has studied extensively in Italy and now is responsible for the ongoing decoration of the public areas of Capesthorne.
Her paintings sing with her worldly imagination and give the viewer vignettes of the worlds flora and fauna assembled in the most delightful settings.
Click here and enjoy!

Another Opening...Another Show

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 18:03:00 +0000

The day of an opening is always filled with housekeeping. Are the floors clean? Wastebaskets empty? Windows washed? Are all the nail holes filled and painted? Is that a damn spider web way up there in the highest corner of the gallery ceiling? Etc. Etc.

I spent this morning with all those concerns. However, right now I have bolted my lunch and, miracle of miracles, find myself alone in here with a half hour to spare. So I sit and look around.

On every wall is wonderful art. Tim Lawson's trancendently beautiful painting "Endurance" graces our center wall.

While in the house gallery EB Watts' erudite whimsy delightfully shows itself in "Cats With Pasta and Rocket"

The pace will pick up again soon, and in a couple of hours we will have a hundred plus folks milling around here trying to get a better view of a particular work of art. But right now it's just me, the sunshine, a gentle breeze and rooms full of art.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Seeing Is Not Looking...(A Primer)

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:36:00 +0000

Let's begin with the T. Allen Lawson painting above. It's title is "The Release of Winter" and upon first glance it is exactly that, a woodland interior with the first bare ground of spring breaking through the winter's waning snow. It has a lovely, foggy damp beauty that is very familiar to us Mainers.

Now, let's really look at it. The two dark trees in the foreground dominate the work. All others play a kind of supporting cast to these two stars. Look at how their trunks curve in opposite directions. It reminds me of how tango dancers strut and bend away from each other in the beginning. The darker male has no branches to hide his haughty stage right stance while the woman, with her curves softened by twigs of a branch, bends the other way.

Notice how the branch on the female tree just touches a third tree. The large fallen branches (trees?) in the left foreground also point to that tree. Could it be that we are witnessing some kind of arboreal Shakespearean drama?

I can hear you now. "Hold it John! All this visual conjecture is pretty far out."

Is it really? Isn't good art supposed to help us see things we might not have found otherwise? My tango dance with its mysterious stranger might not be yours. You might see the two little saplings standing in the clearing in the right middle ground of the painting and think they look lonely and a little afraid. It doesn't matter that your truth is not my truth. The point is both our truths and many more can be accessed by a painting such as "The Release of Winter" and for that we can thank Tim Lawson.

She doesn't like to be called "Lady"

noreply@blogger.com (John Ames) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:13:00 +0000

But she is one. Lady Bromley-Davenport to be specific. She was born Elizabeth B. Watts in Oldwick New Jersey into a family of active artists. Lizzie takes her art very seriously. She has painted all her life and has continued with her studies abroad.

She is married to William ( now Sir William ) Bromley-Davenport and lives with him on his family's estate in Cheshire, England. Lizzie makes it her personal responsibility to decorate or oversee the decorations of every room and event in their stately 200 room " Capesthorne Hall ". Lizzie has a son, a daughter and five grandchildren living in England.

I've known Lizzie for a long time and I think her art is wonderfully unique. She travels a lot and uses the birds, animals, flowers and artifacts of different global regions in combination with her own fastidious, whimsical and uniquely fashionable renderings of their particular regional landscape.

Her show which opens August 12th will feature these unique paintings and is guaranteed to bring good cheer and high style to all who see it.