Outsider Art Skull Lamp

Just in time for Day of the Dead or Halloween, a Super Cool Signed Outsider Art Skull Lamp By Gerson Artworks of Texas. This lamp was sculpted from clay, cast in hydrastone and painted with acrylic in shades of Orange and Yellow. His bulging eyeballs are blue and there is even a "bug" in his nose! This Creepy Skull is mounted on a round wooden base. The white linen Shade is handpainted with Orange and Yellow Flames.

Creepy Skull Accent Table Lamp Light w Shade Halloween - eBay (item 360313270789 end time Nov-23-10 08:30:24 PST)

PearlShops4U Grand ReOpening!

Well Guys & Gals, Pearl is happy to be back! After an extended Summer vacation, a few Good Sales (:0) Of Course!) downsizing and relocating, we have finally started unpacking Pearl's eBay Treasures. Stop by the Store to see the Retro and Vintage treasures we have listed. The holidays are right around the corner, and Pearl always packs her finds and treasures like gifts. Lets go back in time and Recycle History with Style this year.

Black Americana Preserving the Uncomfortable Past

It has been many years since I visited the Museum in Black run by Brian Breye. Many years ago it was located in historic Lamert Park in Los Angeles. I will never forget my first visit.

It was a quiet summer morning as I poked my head into the open door. The owner was no where to be seen. I wandered the dark isles of African artifacts in solitude. Spotting an open door in the back, bathed in light, I slipped in and was confronted by a multitude of Black Americana artifacts and memorabilia. There were images on every wall, even the ceiling. I remember a large wooden hutch full of salt and pepper shakers. Post cards, Valentines, Aunt Jemima in every conceivable utilitarian form. Note Pads, Cookie Jars, Syrup containers, Toaster Covers and more. Artifacts and memorabilia from slavery, segregation and Jim Crow. My first thought ~ Well this puts "my collection" of odds and ends to shame. Just then, the owner tapped me on the shoulder and said rather firmly; “This room isn't ready for the public, it's my private collection.”

For the first time, I stood in front of someone who shared my passion to rescue these items. I wasn't going anywhere! I needed to know more about this collection. For me, the images of an uncomfortable past are a great source of knowledge, understanding, even pride. The fact that my grandparents and their grandparents had lived, struggled and rose above a society so intrenched in hatred, myths and stereotypes has been a great source of inspiration in my life. So we talked about the haunting images first, the scarcity of many of these treasures, who the collectors where and why imports and copies were being made today. I left with a new found understanding of my need to save these treasures and the importance of the past.

I've often wondered if the Museum in Black is still there and how it has changed. Since that chance meeting with Brian Breye, I realized that rescuing and preserving this slice of history is an honorable obsession. To reach the heights, to climb the difficult mountains of everyday life, we must understand and draw upon the strength of our ancestors. Our manifest destiny has been written and carved out of the uncomfortable past.

Here is a very small part of Pearl’s Private Collection:

Pearls Elements of Design

Dare to be different! Combine elements of your past with the modern comforts of today to create your one-of-a-kind Eclectic, Retro and Modern style. Be assured, everything does not have to match. In fact, diversity of elements can be so much more dramatic!

I grew up with many European and British influences. We ate meals on English earthenware and admired the china cabinet full of Royal Albert Old Country Rose. I’ll never forget one rare and wonderful day we had a tea party and actually used the Royal Albert. I’ve loved English china ever since.

I’m wild about American-made pottery and tableware. Names like Homer Laughlin, Russell Wright, Metlox, Franciscan, Taylor Smith & Taylor, McCoy, Hall, Marcrest and Vernon Kilns are among my favorites. Today many people purchase dinnerware in “big barn stores” and think nothing of it. The dinnerware of the past are collectable today because the importation of dinnerware from foreign countries drove many American makers out of business. Even English makers were influenced by the American designs of this era. The Japanese companies, like Noritaki and others are known as the “pretenders” by Mid-Century purists. I’m not a purist.

The first element of my design style is Eclecticism, a fancy word that just means selecting what you like from various design styles.

I refuse to edit my life to fit one defined style.
I love sleek and modern, but I love grandmas’ china too! My own interiors are filled with items made in the USA, England, Canada, Egypt, Morocco, Japan, India, Germany, Poland, France, Africa, Denmark and more. I have chosen elements that are modern and abstract, Native American, Colonial, African and Traditional. I have combined geometric prints with bamboo, copper, cork, hand carved wood and one-of-a-kind treasures made of clay. Some things are old, some new and everything in-between! Somehow it all works.

My second design element is Retro: a fashion reminiscent of the past.

The easiest way to turn your house into a home is to include memories of the past. I’m a Mid Century Modern girl myself, so I love all the kitsch of the 50's and the pop art, flower power flair of the 60s and 70s. I’ve filled my kitchen with Pyrex, Fire King, Anchor Hocking, Imperial Glass, Corning Ware and others. It’s not necessary to go “all the way” with retro. But it is the coolest way to entertain. Have a hip rat pack martini party and enjoy all of the cool bar ware of the 50s and 60s. Use grandmas’ china every day, just because you can. Don’t forget a great set of vintage flatware.

Looking for cool retro art? Consider ethnic or retro tapestries, old print ads, advertising items, even sheet music, framed and hung as a group in matching Picture Frames. Pick any subject like - space travel, world fairs, old cars, places of interest and your on your way. My obsession with the past started with a collection or postcards and life magazines. I framed them and now a once empty hallway is an interesting art gallery. Retro inspired decorating options are endless.

The third element of my design style is Modern: belonging to the modern era; since the middle ages; relating to a recently developed fashion or style.

The modern styles of the 50s to 70s are being recreated by today’s manufactures. Everything old is new again. Remember lava lamps? Check out the big barn stores and you’re sure to find a “new” one. My favorite modern design style is Danish modern. Dansk tableware is perfect in the modern home. My concept of modern is based on elegant simplicity, form meeting function, and natural materials. Clean lines, biomorphic. shapes and organic materials fit seamlessly into the modern home of today

I'm Here to Help, Remember - PearlShops4U

The Last Door & Who is Ronnie Phillips?

Here I am again with another mystery find. A Matted Photograph that is Hand Signed in pencil:

Goree Island,Senegal "Last Door" Ronnie Phillips

It is dark, mysterious and moody. Covered in plastic, so at first I thought it was a print. I find myself drawn to that small patch of blue in the center of the stone stairway, under the arch at the end of a dark hallway. When I removed the plastic I found a typed page:

Goree Island was used as a warehouse to detain human cargo before they left their voyage of no return through the Atlantic middle passage slave trading route. The Island (88 acres) is located four miles off the coast of Senegal in West Africa. Goree changed hands from the Portuguese, Dutch, British and the French from the 15th to the 19th centuries.

History accounts for the immediate sense of horror that grips visitors when they arrive to where this castle was built in 1786 by the french. The tranquillity of the island today provide a stark contrast that can drown out the distant echoes of death and suffering that occurred here over 450 years ago. Babies women and men were kept in windowless rooms. The men who didn’t meet the required weight of 160 pounds went through weeks of fatting before they were shipped. The door is known as the "Door of No Return”.

Because of the islands excellent position, 2 miles off the coast, it provided an excellent departure point for millions of slaves and shelter against surprise attacks from mankind. Some see Goree Island as an emotional shrine, rather than a slave castle.

Ronnie Phillips

I should be listing treasures, instead I’m on a treasure hunt for information. A quick Google Search finds Goree Island less than a Kilometer from Dakar, Senegal Here’s what Wikipedia has. I guess it is a popular place for political candidates, Both Clinton and Bush visited the island - here’s a news article from the BBC and the official White House transcript of George W’s 2003 Speech.

That's a ton of information to think about and yet this photograph captures the essence of this dark and lonely place. I'm always amazed at the information hidden in the treasures we obtain. So the question remains: Who is Ronnie Phillips?

He was a member of NAIA National Association of Independent Artists in 2005. Here's the NAIA winter 2004-2005 newsletter. Ronnie Phillips a photographer, mixed media artist and painter from Georgia was on the panel for The Ideal Show: The Aritists' Perspective. Here's the only picture of his work I could find online: Mixed Media

Kira Fournier

Yesterday my fortune cookie said: "You discover treasures where others see nothing unusual." So True ~ I taped it to my monitor! I'm always finding treasures that I know nothing about. I enjoy the research and I am often surprised by the information a new treasure can reveal. Here's an example.



Off White Pot with Lid
Marked: Kira Designs TM © 1984 Kira Fournier G2.

You may see nothing unusual, but here's what I found out:

Kira Fournier (1950-2002), attended Wellesley College, Goddard College, School of the Museum-Fine Arts Boston, Corning School of Glass and received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona. In June of 1980 her article Making a Yunnan Steamer Appeared in Studio Potter Magazine. By the way, You may want to bookmark the Studio Potter. (be sure to check out the galleries of pottery.)

My Next Question . . . What is a Yunnan Steamer? The explanation was found at eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters: A Yunnan Steamer Pot is a covered ceramic dish that has a funnel in its base. When the pot is placed in a steamer, steam travels up the funnel and condenses on the lid's underside and is trapped in the pot.

Kira Fournier was a courageous artist and her personal Battle with Ovarian Cancer Eventually Became the Inspiration for Her Work. I think she stopped making pottery and began working with glass. At the University of Arizona, She Designed Sculptures in Glass of Her Own body to explore the Changes and Medical Procedures Associated with Her Illness. I found an article online about her 2001 exhibit titled Getting Out Alive Her work was featured at Sculpture Fest 2002, 2004. You can see a picture of one of her Sculptures here

In November of 2006, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center's Great Issues in Medicine and Global Health Symposium Presented "Core Strength: an Artist's Journey Through Cancer" an Art Exhibit and Reception to Honor the Late Kira Fournier.

While I sit here holding this rather simple pot, I see a Treasure! I imagine the artist creating this utilitarian treasure long before her illness changed her life and art. Most of us will never be able to own a sculpture designed by this well respected artist. I feel honored to be able to pass this treasure on to someone who will use it for it's intended purpose. By doing so, Kira Fournier, the artist continues to live.

Peace Through Understanding

My Latest Find ~ 1964 World Fair - Red Lacquer Tray


Research is the thing I love the most about selling treasures on Ebay. It is a fabulous opportunity to learn about the world. In Search of some juicy tidbits of Info about the worlds Fair I discovered YouTube. Okay, I know the rest of the world knows about the Tube but I'm a little slow.

Anyway, in 1964 Plans to build the New York World Trade Center were announced. "Beatlemania" was rocking the World . The "British Invasion" had begun while students protested the Vietnam War. Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa and Civil Rights Workers were found Dead in Mississippi. The first Ford Mustang rolled off the assembly line. Peace Through Understanding seems appropriate to me.

Now Back to the Blissful Innocence of the 1964 World’s Fair:


To Get a Very Retro Vibe be Sure to Check out Videos by retrodashmatic Some of the coolest retro clips I found!