this week in montecito, mary & i stopped in to visit penny. she lives locally and we’d never met, but i’d been filled in on her arty collections & eccentric house so i was v. interested in seeing it for myself.
a folkart mariachi quartet were there to greet me as i stepped onto the porch.
once inside my senses were on overload. for example this is penny’s studio…
it is filled to the brim with her neatly organized supply collections & art. armed only with my iphone camera i attempted to take photos so i could pore over them later in more detail.
missus matisse in her afternoon yoga poses.
some work of penny’s below…
penny mast mccall
she’s a happy hooker and embroiderer. needlepointer and general all around maker. she patches together fabric, thrift store finds, embroidery, and makes these intricate panels that are positively extremely %$%#%^&ing excellent. i didn’t fold one up when she wasn’t looking and stuff it in my purse. i didn’t. no no no.
but i wanted to.
her photographer husband wayne also has a studio in the house. here is wayne, as painted by santa barbara artist, keith puccinelli.
the luminosity of this painting is heartbreakingly lovely. i’m eager to find the painter online and see more of his work.
penny is a great collector of local artists. she & wayne are, in her words, thoroughly enmeshed in the art scene. as i am thoroughly clueless about most scenes other than the menu of pierre lafond and their takeout scene, i enjoyed talking to penny and learning about the artists who make-up her extensive collection.
one i particularly liked was santa barbara painter phoebe brunner. 2 of her paintings follow…
i cannot get enough of california landscapes. just love them!
isn’t the marriage of the cloud painting and blue plates just perfect?
jimmy’s bar by patricia chidlaw
walks on water by jeanne dentzell
painting by margo dunlap sculpture piece by shari elf
painting in black frame by caroline allen
due to my extremely refined taste if i could only steal one collection it would be all of her ceramic birds. many of which she finds at thrift stores.
red boots by susan tibbles
a card from the montecito bookstore where penny works.
one more sunset & sunrise walk then it’s back to the gleaming metropolis. i’ll miss the pacific and the floral-scented air of montecito, but it will be good to see the cat posse and have a few days at home before i start back to work on tuesday.
see you soon!
p.s. i just found THIS link to some of penny’s hooked art and…if you go HERE you can read a brief piece on exhibit penny & wayne were in together.
You were probably in that house just spinning around not knowing where to look next. I especially liked the red boots with the reused kitchen items. I was at an art pop-up show in dec. and picked up a little item made from an old clove spice box and the wings are made from a colander and the feet were little spoons. Loved her whole house.
These travelogues are such fun! Thanks for surrounding yourself with such stellar, interesting humans, and allowing us a peek!
Bless her heart for letting you share her beautiful castle and thank YOU so much for this wonderful experience!
Well, that was delightful! Thank you so much for sharing!
Love, love, love the house and loved the card so much that I tracked it down to The Mincing Mockingbird & The Frantic Meerkat via the Internet and promptly ordered an assortment. Thanks for sharing!
hey thanks for doing that!
love that postcard! perfect
thank you
What an amazing house! It would take days and days to see everything……………
How nice of Penny to allow you to show it to us, and how nice of you to give us a glimpse inside. Thank you. 🙂
WOOOoooza! In love with it ALL. What a journey you had. Now … I want to see inside your purse … before you leave the building …. just to make sure. :o) Beautiful stuff. hugs, Donna
Oh thanks for taking us on your visit to Penny,s wonderful home ,I love that I get to go places with you….
Yet another enjoyable & enlightening visit, thank you for expanding my horizon! ♥
Holy cow! That is some artsy home! I love houses like that where you could look for hours and still not see everything, and then you would have to ask to spend the night because you need to see the rest of it, and you secretly want to find out what they eat to see if it is as magical as the house, and might feed your creative spirit like it seems to do theirs, and then to stay in a bedroom laden with strange and mysterious treasures, and pretend you are Alice In Wonderland….and stuff. Most wondrous! Thank you, Mary Ann! Enjoy your last hours at the sea.
Holey Crap!!! I want my house to look just like that!! I love it all. She lives with all that art. What an experience seeing it..Thank you Miss Moss!
There’s nothing else to say but this is just exactly the kind of person I’d love to visit, and exactly the kind of house I’d love to snoop around in. I might be tempted to pinch something myself – probably couldn’t get out with that large wooden angel though. What a delightful time you’ve had, and thank you for taking us with you!
What a house!
When I saw all of those ceramic birds I thought ” I bet Mary Ann wishes she had a huge tote bag on her shoulder!”
If I ever make it to California this studio would have to be on my wish list.
So glad you made it to Penny’s Playhouse. Shari Elf is the Joshua artist… I knew you would enjoy her bird diorama…Thanks again or the play day!! SV