English BLoG

Recently, I was hunting around on Pinterest (nautical furnishings and furniture) and came across an image of an aluminum ship's window re-purposed into a nautical mirror. This picture was linked to a blog written by Courtney Price titled "The Hampton Designer Show-house"  where top interior designers turn a New England home into a, as the author describes it, "decorating masterpiece." The house located in Bridgehampton, New York was certainly dressed up in top fashion. Authentic ship fixtures re-purposed and used to create this beautiful nautical bathroom. By New York design company Melanie Roy Design. Part of the first floor (bath and mudroom) was designed by New York designer Melanie Roy of  Melanie Roy Design  selecting a strong blue and white striped wall covering and navy blue walls contrasting white painted wood trim and bathroom cabinet with polished steel drawer pulls and bath fixtures. The mirror and lights above the bathroom sink were re-purposed ship

October 13-19, 2014  From Baltimore, Maryland, to Portsmouth, Virginia Schooners underway at the beginning of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. There are schooners here, there and just about everywhere participating in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race (GCBSR). The 25th annual race begins Thursday, October 16th on the south side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis, Maryland. The schooners race throughout the afternoon and night into the next day to their designated finish line. For classes A and AA, the finish is an east-west line at Thimble Shoal Light and classes B and C finish at Windmill Point. Then they proceed on to docking in Portsmouth, Virginia along the quaint historic seaport's basins and seawall. Schooners rafted together at the High Street Landing at the end of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. Photo by Joe Elder. With 34 entries in this year's race represented from all around the Chesapeake Bay and as far away as Key West, Florida, they

It’s a folksy collection of whales, mermaids, fish, fowl, carvings, paintings, models, trade signs, weathervanes, folk and sailor art representing some of the finest American folk artists working today combined with with examples made in the past. Some are whimsical, others memorable, but they are all simply delightful! Swimming mermaid wood carving by Virginia artist Jac & Patricia Johnson. Welcome to Skipjack's Annual American Marine Folk and Sailor Art Show! This year once again features a select blend of marine marine art from some of the best marine folk artists working today together with a selection of vintage and antique examples.  This year, we have the privilege of introducing New England folk carver John Shaw to our show. His carvings represent a traditional rustic folk art style similar in composition to carvings created during the early days of whaling. Each whale is hand-carved and painted in a style that replicates an antique example. John's carvings are crea

By Peter Rindlisbacher Often, my art efforts have a direct link to my historical re-enacting.  A recent case in point was in Baltimore, participating in the Star Spangled Banner celebrations.  I towed my 27-foot longboat up from Texas, met with a Canadian crew, and some Maryland-based Royal Marines, and joined in the 1814 festivities. Driving to Baltimore, Md. from Texas with longboat in tow. The Maryland Yacht Club hosted us for the week, and we obliged by performing a wartime British boat landing at the Club.  We exchanged cannon shots, then I had fun with the crowd attending as an arrogant British naval officer, “… in time, you impulsive colonials will learn humility and your proper place in the world…”, and afterwards enjoyed a buffet dinner and chat with all combatants under a temporary truce.  The MYC gave me a gift club burgee pennant, and I surrendered my masthead Union Jack as a trophy of the affair. Re-enacting the landing of a British longboat in Baltimore,Md. during the Sta

Perilous Night; Naval Attack on Fort McHenry- Original Painting by Peter Rindlisbacher Oil on canvas measuring 48 X 72 inches, unframed. This just completed painting by marine artist Peter Rindlisbacher portrays the scene in the Ferry Branch of the Patapsco River off Fort McHenry about 1:;30 AM, September 14th, 1814. Nine armed barges full of picked men from the Royal Navy were discovered in the midst of their diversion attack, while Fort McHenry was being shelled with bombs and rockets from a line of British warships. The crossfire from the three U.S. forts and land batteries, and lack of progress in the British land attack, made the boats to withdraw out of range after a few hours of exchanging fire. Fort McHenry survived the night, of course, and a view of the flag still there by morning inspired the National Anthem. Previous portrayals of the 1814 bombardment of Baltimore have shown a view from the far distant line of British ships firing at Fort McHenry, or from the defenders` ram

The Schooner Virginia Races the Pride of Baltimore II past Thimble Shoals Lighthouse. Created by marine artist Heather Gabrielle Rogers. The first known ship inside a bottle was created during the early years of the 19th century. Like other sailor-made art forms, these were created aboard old sailing ships in an era when sea voyages lasted months and sometimes years. Whalemen, during their idle hours, produced scrimshaw for family members, sweethearts, and friends. Decorative and utilitarian objects were carved from bone, ivory teeth, and baleen, and designs were engraved on the same materials. But other materials such as wood, rope and yarn were also used, and many interesting and decorative objects were created from these. Two tall ships pass each other in this early 20th century ship in a bottle diorama. It is not surprising then that an empty spirit or a medicine bottle lying around aboard ship might have spurred the imagination of a 19th century seaman into devising a way to displ

Kevin Collins holds one of his sea bowls. Inspired by marine life that survive in the brackish habitats that exist along our Virginia shore, kevin Collins brings to life a unique collection of ceramic (porcelain) creations for your coastal home. The forms take on shapes of modeled bowls with oyster shells and barnicles and shell colored inner surfaces in shades of pink, coral, blues, greens and purples. Kevin's earthenware creations also take on the form of shell lamps, some actually starting with a piece of driftwood with small sea creatures added to the natural surface. His collection also includes shell-designed necklaces and earrings and even individual oyster shell and clumps of barnacles as refrigerator magnets. His designs are endless and we never know what Kevin will come up with next. These porcelain art pieces are functional   art oieces and perfect decor item for your beach and coastal home. Sea-inspired coral colored ceramic bowl with barnacles. Kevin's first experi

A matching pair of nautical anchor lanterns converted to table lamps. Selecting the right furnishings for your nautical room is certainly an important part of creating a successful interior. One product that tends to go unnoticed as a valuable and functioning part of creating the perfect nautical room is the appropriate selection of lamps and lighting. The majority of rooms that we have seen published in home decorating magazines like Coastal Living sometimes feature rooms with a nautical theme but these rooms tend to be lighted with plain, uninteresting lighting selections.  Others have settled for the cheap Chinese made knockoffs like those sold by stores like the Pottery Barn. Granted, the selection of quality nautical lighting is slim at best, but they are available if you know where to look. But before we get into the components of this blog, let's discuss exactly what the word nautical is, because there seems to be a big misunderstanding of what the word means. Nautical, is