Pop Some Bubbly, Make A Chair. It's That Time Of Year Again.

To inspire you, last year's winners are shown below:


1. Grand Prize: Cantilever Block by Adam Weisberger of Louisville, Kentucky
2. Second Prize: Kleeko Chair by Stacie Matrka of Columbus, Ohio
3. Most Popular Award: Chair Squared by Edward Cristman of San Rafael, California
Click here to see all of  last year's finalists.

Timeline:

• All entries must be sent to champagnechair@dwr.com by Monday, January 7, 2007, 5pm PT.
• Fifty (50) chosen finalists will be notified, via email, by January 9, 2008 and must send their chairs to the DWR office (225 Bush Street, 20th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104; attn: Champagne Chair Contest) by Friday, January 18, 2008.
• Online voting will take place during the week of January 28–February 1, 2008.
• Winners will be announced online on or around February 4, 2007.

Judging criteria:
Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

• Craftsmanship
• Creativity
• Character
• Innovative use of materials

Prizes:

• Grand Prize: One Grand Prize winner will receive a $1,000 DWR Gift Card and be featured on DWR's homepage.
• DWR Staff Favorite: One Staff Favorite winner will be selected by DWR employees and will receive a $500 DWR Gift Card.
• Popular Vote: One Popular Vote winner will receive a $500 DWR Gift Card. Winner of this award will be selected by an online poll.
• Fifty (50) contest finalists will be featured on our website and will be included in a traveling exhibition . showcased in DWR Studios across the country.

Click here for details.

Artists Take A Seat: Paintings Of Chairs by 5 Different Artists.

The subject of 'chairs' for painters is clearly a popular one. Be them industrial, traditional, mid-century modern or ethereal, they dominate many a painters' canvas.

Going back to such masters as Sargent, Van Gogh and Matisse as well as contemporary masters like David Hockney, the 'chair' has been a constant source of study.


Above: Chair by William Singer Sargent


Above: Chair With Peaches (or Lorain Chair), Henri Matisse


Above: Van Gogh's ubiquitous chair


Above: David Hockney's Chair painting

There are so many talented contemporary artists who paint chairs as subjects, it was hard to choose whose work to share with you.

For this particular post, I've showcased some prolific contemporary realists and their chair paintings.

Like the previous post on swimming pools, I love the the fact that these chairs are not occupied by people. It makes the actual chair the figure in the painting, personifying it in such a manner that a human presence would only fight with the content.

I hope you enjoy the following works by Ada Sadler, Karen Hollingsworth, James Shilaimon, Christopher Stott and Matt Condron.


Ada Sadler
Some of Ada Sadler's beautifully rendered work:









Karen Hollingsworth
Karen Hollingsworth's elegant, ethereal and lonely chairs:










Above: Karen Hollingsworth

James Shilaimon
Below are some of James Shilaimon's breezy and inviting chair paintings:













Christopher Stott
The technically superb work of Christopher Stott:















Above: Christopher Stott

Matt Condron
And lastly, Matt Condron's work, evocative of middle America's waiting rooms, bus terminals and laundromats:
















Have a thing for chairs? Then these may interest you:


Above: Tashen's book on Chairs
Buy it here.


Above: Vitra's Chair Poster

Buy the Vitra Chair Poster here.

Vitra's Miniature Chair Collection. All available designs can be bought by clicking the link below:
Available for purchase here.

And the winner is.... The 2007 DWR Champagne Cork Chair Winners

Design Within Reach Announces the Champagne Chair Winners:

1. Grand Prize: Cantilever Block by Adam Weisberger of Louisville, Kentucky
2. Second Prize: Kleeko Chair by Stacie Matrka of Columbus, Ohio
3. Most Popular Award: Chair Squared by Edward Cristman of San Rafael, California

I Was A Very Good Girl (according to Santa)

Santa was very good to me this year. And good to Abbey, my dog, as well! I received some of my favorite things from my This Next wish list and more!

No returns or ebaying this year (okay, I got doubles of a few things and will ebay those), so look out for them!

See more of my (now over 3000) shopping picks, categorized by lists,on Thisnext.com here.