Art

I was walking down a slightly busy street one day when I heard two men talking and I really wasn’t paying attention because I wasn’t from that town and I never expected anyone to be talking to me. As I looked up, I saw the two men talking and one of them was looking at me. Needless to say, I started listening to their conversation. The only trouble was, they were speaking Spanish. They might as well have been from another Planet because I couldn’t understand a word they said. Then the one man approached me and started speaking to me, but I didn’t know what he was saying and he couldn’t understand me. How awesome it would have been to be able to speak Spanish. In reality, only speaking one language can stunt your growth. Not physically, but how many opportunities have I missed? Places that I might have gone with confidence but I couldn’t speak the language.

Well, the people at Trufluency know this and has been working to make sure that those missed opportunities are turned into possibilities. They also know that children learn at such a faster rate and retain what they learn much better than an adult. That’s why they have Trufluency Kids. And, the younger they are being taught, the better. Trufluency Kids has many different classes that you can enroll your child in that fits your schedule. They also have several different age categories so you can choose the one that is tailored to your child’s age group.

I haven’t gotten to the best part. Your child doesn’t just read a script and perform mindless memory exercises; they actually interact with other students that are learning the language so that they can utilize what they have learned. All in the privacy of your own home. They have a teacher that teaches the lessons and over-sees it. Trufluency Kids is a great way to learn Spanish. The classes are kept small so that no one falls through the cracks and gets left behind. Everyone participates and everyone is heard. And if anyone has a question, they can ask it while it’s relevant and fresh in their mind so that they get the answers they need when they need it.

This is how it works: First you select the level of knowledge that your child has in the language (Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced). Then you choose the proper age class of your child. Trufluency Kids has over 150 classes so picking their age will narrow the choices. Then you can choose what day and time for the class so that it fits into everyone’s schedule. You can mix and match as well. For example, if you would like your child to have three classes a week, but the Monday, Wednesday, Friday classes don’t work with your schedule. Choose the Tuesday & Thursday session and either the Saturday or Sunday session to schedule your child’s three days a week classes. Here is a link that walks you through the whole process: https://trufluencykids.com/how-it-works/

And here is the link to signing up for classes. There is no better time than today: https://trufluencykids.com/spanish-class-schedule/

Oh and by the way, … I never found out what the man was saying, whether it was important or not. I wish I had known how to speak Spanish that day…

as always,… take care, be safe, and I hope you find this helpful…

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to travel throughout California, hopefully, you’ve taken some time to visit the mystical town of Ojai. Or if you haven’t, then you’ll want to add it to your bucket list after stepping inside the stunning home and property of Brooke and Steve Giannetti. The famous design duo behind Giannetti Home first discovered the mountainous region while designing a home there for a client. This inspired them to look for their own slice of Ojai where they could build their dream home and create a slower-paced life that was connected to nature. “Ojai is a unique, rural town that is home to so many creative people who are also drawn to its natural beauty and special energy,” explains Brooke.

And build a dream home they did. Built in 2013, Patina Farm—which they share with four Shih Tzus, four rescue cats, four pygmy goats, three babydoll sheep, three potbelly pigs, four miniature donkeys, two ducks, an assortment of chickens, a couple of turtles, and Hector the house bunny—is a three-bedroom home complete with guest house and ethereal rose garden. It’s a fusion of everything they love: classic design, modernism, and timeless details. After designing homes together for over 30 years, it’s safe to say the creative couple know how to create spaces that are not only beautiful but feel intentional and personal, too. In fact, life on Patina Farm deepened their connection to nature, inspiring them to lead a more peaceful and present life which unsurprisingly, also influenced their design philosophy across interiors, home décor, clothing, and books—they’ve co-authored several best-selling titles including Patina Style, Patina Farm, Patina Living, and Patina Homes.

“Hopefully our home reflects our belief that beauty doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated,” says Brooke. “I hope our home conveys our life values: the importance of family and a connection to nature.”

Keep reading to step inside the stunning Patina Farm property and discover more about their design process, goals, and inspiration.

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PHOTO: Patina Farm in Ojai, California with architecture by Steve Giannetti and design by Brooke Giannetti. Photographs by Lisa Romerein. What is it about this region that initially appealed to you?

The property we purchased is located close to the center of town. We were drawn to the location as well as the beautiful mature oak trees on the property. We loved the idea of designing our home to connect to the trees and the rest of the natural beauty that surrounds our property. One of the 250 year old oaks shades the back of our home and is the focal point of the view from our living room and kitchen. We also wanted our home to feel connected to the history of Ojai.

The architecture of Patina Farm was inspired by the mediterranean architecture found in many of the beautiful original homes in Ojai that were built in the 1920’s, as well as the more rural farm structures found in our area.

What was your personal goal or directive for Patina Farm?

Our goal was to design a property that would allow us to feel connected with nature and provide a calm space that would promote creativity. We designed our home with an indoor/outdoor flow, blurring the lines between the interior of our home and our garden. We built veggie houses so we could grow our own produce and rose and flower gardens for us to enjoy both inside our home and outdoors.

Our animals are also a big part of our daily life. We created paddocks, barns, coops and pastures for them to enjoy that would also be beautiful for us to see from our home. We built the goat and sheep barn (our original chicken coop) near my office, so I can take small breaks during my work day to spend time with our animals.

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PHOTO: Patina Farm in Ojai, California with architecture by Steve Giannetti and design by Brooke Giannetti. Photographs by Lisa Romerein. How did this goal influence the design process?

We wanted our home to feel like it had been here forever, but we also wanted to create an open floor plan that was more conducive to the way we live. To achieve this, we used many antique building materials, like our antique barn beams, antique French roof tiles, wood interior doors, and limestone mantels to balance the more modern flow of space.

How did you decide on the color scheme?

Our color palette is inspired by the colors of nature (neutrals and various shades of blue and green) that surround our home. We keep our interiors neutral, and allow the views of the outside to add natural color to our home as well as the flowers and plants we bring inside.

Our home is almost always filled with fresh flowers from our gardens. Depending on the season, I’ll bring in David Austin roses in vibrant hues of pink, purple and yellows as well as French lavender and a mix of flowers from our new cutting garden.

What were your greatest finds when designing this home?

Before we built our home, we traveled to Belgium and France and found some amazing building materials, including a pair of limestone quatrefoils that are now focal points in our kitchen and living room.

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PHOTO: Patina Farm in Ojai, California with architecture by Steve Giannetti and design by Brooke Giannetti. Photographs by Lisa Romerein. How would you describe your style and approach to design/decorating?

Over 10 years ago Steve and I wrote our first book, called Patina Style, that describes our design aesthetic. We love using natural materials in our designs because they age beautifully over time.

We also believe in designing with intention. We don’t just create pretty rooms. We design spaces that reflect our lifestyle and how we dream of living.

Where do you look for decorating inspiration?

Our dreams for the way we want to live is the inspiration for how we decorate our home.

When we start a design, we are always thinking about the emotion we want to create.

Is it an intimate space for a couple of people or a space where our family and friends can gather? Is it formal or informal? Does it need to be both?

What’s your favorite thing about the space?

The connection to the gardens through the large glass windows and doors in every room of our home.

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PHOTO: Patina Farm in Ojai, California with architecture by Steve Giannetti and design by Brooke Giannetti. Photographs by Lisa Romerein. Do you have a favorite design feature or room?

I love all of our steel doors and windows. We painted them a pale gray rather than the usual dark bronze or  black. The light color allows the the steel  to frame the view rather than obscuring it.

Do you have a favorite piece of furniture?

It’s hard to pick one. My favorite pieces of furniture tend to be antiques because they add their unique story to our home. If I had to choose one piece, I think it would be the French cabinet in our kitchen. We used an antique instead of building cabinetry. I use this antique cabinet to store all of our dishware. I love creating different vignettes with all of our dishes.

We love the nuanced, neutral approach throughout. How do you keep your designs so balanced and timeless?

Thank you. We try not to follow trends. We use natural materials that don’t go out of style and antiques that have withstood the test of time.

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PHOTO: Patina Farm in Ojai, California with architecture by Steve Giannetti and design by Brooke Giannetti. Photographs by Lisa Romerein. Do you have any words of wisdom to share with would-be decorators about to embark on a home design project?

Before you start designing your home (or your client’s home), take some time to imagine your future life: how will you spend your days? Your years? How will your home need to change during the time that you live there to suit the changes in your family life?

Don’t spend too much time looking at other designers’ work. It can get confusing.

It’s helpful to write down your design process and why you do what you do, so you can understand the reasoning behind your decisions.

How regularly do you edit your home?

We are always using furniture pieces from our home in the designs we create for our clients, so our home is constantly changing. It definitely keeps our spaces feeling fresh.

Any advice for creating a space that’s minimal yet still warm and inviting?

Natural materials always warm up a more modern space. In a minimal space, it’s also nice to include a few antiques that can be appreciated in a sparse room.

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PHOTO: Patina Farm in Ojai, California with architecture by Steve Giannetti and design by Brooke Giannetti. Photographs by Lisa Romerein. List your primary design influences, specifically, what design principles do you borrow and implement within your own practice?

Our clients’ stories and dreams are our biggest design influences. The stories they tell us about their past, present, and future are always in our mind when we are designing their homes.

Any design tips or tricks you can share?

Limiting the number of different types of materials has a very soothing effect on a home’s aesthetic. We only have one type of wall and floor stone, wood flooring throughout our home as well as one wall color. This allows the spaces to flow together beautifully.

Describe a typical work-from-home day…

Our work days are a wonderful balance of creativity and rest. We have site meetings in Los Angeles on Thursdays, but the rest of the week we work from home. We wake up before dawn to get ready to feed all of our animals. It takes us about an hour to feed everyone. People always say that it looks like so much work, but it is actually the best part of our day. After breakfast, we start work. Steve likes to draw in the morning. We usually have design meetings in the afternoon, after lunch and an animal visit break. We have a layout table in Steve’s office, where we review fabrics, materials and plans. If we have client meetings, we move everything to our dining table in our main living area. The day winds down around 5:30 pm with a dog walk around the neighborhood and a visit to the barn, coops, and paddocks to make sure everyone is safe from predators before sundown.

What’s the best piece of decorating wisdom you’ve ever heard?

Your heart knows more about design than anyone can teach you in a decorating class.

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PHOTO: Patina Farm in Ojai, California with architecture by Steve Giannetti and design by Brooke Giannetti. Photographs by Lisa Romerein.

As a parent, you’re tasked with the incredible responsibility of making choices for another person that will affect the course of their entire life.

You choose everything from what they eat to how they spend their free time. But one of the most important choices of all is with their education.

You want to pick the perfect school for your child, but the options are overwhelming. So how do you find the best school? Read on to find out!

Consider Your Child First It’s easy to make choices based on what worked or would work best for us, but keep in mind that your child has their own unique set of wants and needs. What worked for you as a child might not be the right choice for them.

To find the best school for your child, you first need to have an understanding of them as a person. Do they thrive with more structure or less? Do they require a challenge or more individual attention?

Factor in learning style as well. How does your child learn? Do they prefer working alone or in a group? Do they need an environment that encourages creativity?

Research Your Options Next, you need to research the options in your area, as well as online, if homeschooling is an option. Make a list of all the possible schools, then dive into each one. Research the following information about each:

What does the curriculum look like? Does it follow a particular approach to learning? How is academic performance measured? How does the school’s academic performance compare to other schools? What is the behavior policy? How safe is the school? What kind of extracurricular activities are offered? What steps are taken to find great teachers? You also need to look into things like application processes, deadlines, tuition, and payment plans if you’re considering private school over public school.

Visit Schools From Your List Once you’ve narrowed it down to a few options, it’s time to visit the schools in person. Because while you can learn a lot from online research, it’s important to get a feel of the school’s atmosphere and day-to-day activities.

You should meet with both the principal and teachers in your child’s grade, as well as other parents, if possible. Observe the students as they go through their day and the culture of the school.

Montessori schools, for example, offer a far different culture from traditional classrooms. Student-led learning is encouraged, along with independence. If this sounds like an environment suited to your child, click here to learn more.

The Perfect School is Different for Every Child There’s no such thing as the perfect school for every child. Children are individuals, and some thrive in environments that others might find uninspiring.

The key to finding the best education for your child is to understand their unique needs and learning style. Once you have that, you can begin to narrow down your options until you’re left with the school that will bring foster a love for learning in your particular child.

Interested in learning more about helping your child get the most out of their education? Take a look at our blog!

About Author LaDonna Dennis

LaDonna Dennis is the founder and creator of Mom Blog Society. She wears many hats. She is a Homemaker*Blogger*Crafter*Reader*Pinner*Friend*Animal Lover* Former writer of Frost Illustrated and, Cancer…SURVIVOR! LaDonna is happily married to the love of her life, the mother of 3 grown children and “Grams” to 3 grandchildren. She adores animals and has four furbabies: Makia ( a German Shepherd, whose mission in life is to be her attached to her hip) and Hachie, (an OCD Alaskan Malamute, and Akia (An Alaskan Malamute) who is just sweet as can be. And Sassy, a four-month-old German Shepherd who has quickly stolen her heart and become the most precious fur baby of all times. Aside from the humans in her life, LaDonna’s fur babies are her world.

This entry is part of an ongoing series highlighting new collections. The Archives of American Art collects primary source materials—original letters, writings, preliminary sketches, scrapbooks, photographs, financial records, and the like—that have significant research value for the study of art in the United States. The following essay was originally published in the Fall 2020 issue (vol. 59, no. 2) of the Archives of American Art Journal. More information about the journal can be found at https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/aaa/current.

The Ronald Davis Papers shed light on the storied life and career of one of the most significant American painters of the postwar period. Already in the early 1960s, while Davis (b. 1937) was a student at the San Francisco Art Institute, the precocious originality of his work caught the attention of local heavyweights, including Tony DeLap and Fred Martin. In a review from 1964, preserved in the papers, art critic Alfred Frankenstein counted Davis among the Bay Area’s “excellent new talents, especially in the hard-edge style.” It was not until 1966, however, after having relocated to Los Angeles, that Davis mastered a new technique of pouring, painting, or dripping polyester resin on sheets of shaped fiberglass, resulting in his spectacular Dodecagon series. Playing with illusionistic spatial effects, these paintings brought Davis instant international fame, with one-person exhibitions at the Leo Castelli (1968), Paul Kasmin (1968), and Nicholas Wilder galleries. Researchers can track Davis’s rise in the 1960s through rare exhibition catalogues and posters, newspaper clippings, announcements, and extensive correspondence with galleries and museums around the world.

Davis’s early success gave him the means to acquire impressive lodgings. Researchers will enjoy thumbing through a set of photographs that document his Pico Boulevard home and studio. They show how Davis lived, surrounded by the work of admired friends such as artist Frank Stella. They also depict a large aquarium, which he lovingly maintained until it shattered disastrously in the 1971 San Fernando (Sylmar) earthquake. In 1972, Davis moved into a new home and studio in Malibu, which he designed with architect Frank Gehry. The angular, open-plan building is represented in Davis’s papers through photographs, drawings, building specifications, records of disputes with community members over the location of fences, and lists of leaks in skylights and windows awaiting repair. One of several contact prints shows the home’s bold interior spaces and its jutting profile, replete with galvanized, corrugated-steel cladding. The architectural volumes of Davis’s new quarters harmonized with the preferred shapes and formats of his geometrically informed paintings.

The papers also contain intimate correspondence with his parents and children, and evidence of a half-decade-long epistolary relationship with Australian artist and collector Oscar Edwards, who sent Davis Aboriginal art in exchange for work of his own. There are letters from well-known interlocutors including art historian Michael Fried and artists John McCracken and Seth Siegelaub. Additional dispatches reveal other facets of Davis’s artistic identity, including a wealth of correspondence with Gemini G.E.L. and Tyler Graphics that documents his passion for printmaking. Occasionally letters offer a glimpse of the artist’s sense of humor. In one, dated April 27, 1976, and addressed to art critic Jan Butterfield, then at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Davis queried: “What paintings of mine are you planning on showing in the Bicentennial exhibition [Painting and Sculpture in California: The Modern Era]? Hopefully you’ll include a red, white, and blue painting!” His valediction—“Patriotically yours, Ronald Davis”—suggests he was inclined, at least for the moment, to tap into the upbeat national mood.

Matthew Simms is the Gerald and Bente Buck West Coast Collector at the Archives of American Art.