{"id":141,"date":"2015-03-16T10:35:34","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T02:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/?p=141"},"modified":"2015-03-16T13:05:07","modified_gmt":"2015-03-16T05:05:07","slug":"opening-the-laminex-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/?p=141","title":{"rendered":"opening the Laminex box"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEEK EIGHT – (february 23-26)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve run out of paint chips – only a slight setback really, as they are easy enough to come by. A trip to the local hardware store is imminent.
\nAlas, my studio genie has other thoughts and leads me instead to two boxes of Laminex\/Formica samples. I bought these years ago from an interior designer who wanted to move them on – a weird purchase you think?\u2028I have a few different sizes\/makes – all with beautifully dated colours.<\/p>\n

I had long thought of making a \u2018quilt\u2019\u00a0 from them but my oh my their weight is hideous!
\nNow it is a case of not minding the weight – these are feathers – and everyone knows that feathers weigh nothing.<\/p>\n

I settle on a small group of rectangular samples – my least impressive set – if they don\u2019t work at least I am not wrecking my favourites. \u2028The colours are dull, the feel is dated. It will be perfect for my initial idea.<\/p>\n

Are they good nude as I had always imagined using them? \u2028Probably, but I want to take it further, they need to announce that they are feathers.
\nThey also need to be hand drawn – I love the difference\/similarity aesthetic of the hand-drawn repeat. \u2028Even though this will take time, the discipline of this type of repeat suits me.
\nI trial different markers, inks and pencils to get the desired look.
\nThe winner is a Posna Acrylic Paint Marker – .7 pin marker in Silver.\u00a0 The flow of this metallic paint is erratic but using a 6H pencil for definition gives it the subtle definition I seek.<\/p>\n

\"trialling<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why play with Laminex when I have shelves of beautiful fabrics?\u2028Two reasons\u2026.
\nGrowing up, all but one of the kitchens I knew had benches and tables covered in Laminex.
\nBeautiful wooden tables were stored or moved on whilst modern practicality reined.
\n(The exception was Auntie Bon who lived in a totally inspiring house in the arty Eltham bush).<\/p>\n

The main reason is that my father was a Builder and he had a set of totally covetable Laminex samples – that I was not allowed to play with.
\nI think part of the attraction was in that difference\/similarity aesthetic that I have –\u00a0 and I know that I had it way back then. These samples illustrate, in a gentle way, the beauty of colour and pattern graduation.
\nAnother memorable thing was the Ball Chain that they were held with – I still regard this as special. \u2028It is brilliant timeless design that also handles beautifully.<\/p>\n

\"laminex<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whilst I still have no desire to again live with the Laminex tables of my childhood they will help me to tell a story of the my past.
\nI am thinking that these samples will become table coverings of some sort, linking the women in my life, their generosity in the kitchen and their love of the making\/decorating the table.<\/p>\n

\"showing<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By the way, my dad\u2019s samples are mine now.
\nWill I use them? \u2028Certainly not brave enough for that yet!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEEK EIGHT – (february 23-26) I\u2019ve run out of paint chips – only a slight setback really, as they are easy enough to come by. A trip to the local hardware store is imminent. Alas, my studio genie has other thoughts and leads me instead to two boxes of Laminex\/Formica samples. I bought these years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","spay_email":""},"categories":[2,12,4],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=141"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147,"href":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141\/revisions\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janmullen.com.au\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}