Noël et le Théâtre français...Christmas

Le musée de l'opéra de jute Luxe.
I have tickets for front row seating...Tickets sold at the door for each and everyone of you.

(All Théâtres Built By Dore Callaway, Burlap Luxe)

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I am taking to the stage as the artist director with an entertainment venue of unforgettable dance and song.



In the quiet I have been creating theatres like a French toy maker in Paris and it's here where magical French opera and theatres come to life with salvaged vintage woods, fragments of old, along with wire and paints inspiring imaginative artful play in a "Joyeux Noël" production.

Wire Chandeliers created by me, "Dore" adds aged glamour to their stages, with a little bending, twisting and stringing of mini pearls, this is one of the many I have created.





So many ideas swirl around my desk where scraps of papers host plans and measurements in all I create. It's a place that inspires the magic of the stage and the art it performs.

I look at each one carefully...listening to what it wants to become. By adding architectural salvage, the small, impressive facade and columns create grand enchantment. Handmade wire chandeliers with layers of old light up on aged, grey wood floors where paper doll mice and snow angels take to the stage. I love the snow-filled trees and the tiny flurries that cling to the bare branches determined to stay, making for merriment and wonder in a performance.






A paper cut-out of the snow angel shadow dances her reflection on the stage wall.




Inspired by all things French with history, toy opera theatres appeared in Paris department store Etrennes catalog, "Christmas Catalog", circa 1875. They were created to entertain a child's imagination where children can write and produce their own stage play or a performance of the opera. These small wonders were intended for children but adults enjoyed them as well. Early 1800's toy theatres are rare and if found they carry a pricey tag.



Linking holiday theatres with my dear friend "Anita Rivera" at http://wwwcastlescrownscottages.blogspot.com About a year ago I was taken with the charm of her opera theatre. I knew halfway through her performance that I had to have one. Anita's opera theatre was full of wonderment where little mice appeared in a shadow performance behind a curtain; it was a performance that touched the edges of my heart. Anita inspired my first building of one. I knew then I had to create more, ones with historical French charm that fuse the romance of a decayed opera theatre with a stage where one creates.


Inspired by knowing that a 100+ years from now my theatres will still be part of someones play in a theatre performance. Size: 19" height 12" depth 21" length.

Théâtres to appear in my "etsy shop" this week.

Dusted With Gray

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Artist Dore Callaway (Me)

Found, not lost forever. A beautiful old garden shed shelf painted in old brown paint and riddled with nails to hang much needed garden tools from found its way into my studio where I create. Charming this piece was a given, then painting a surface that looks layered-as if only time could prefect.
The "finish" was to feel as if it were weathered like a neglected piece of garden furniture with distressing that thins to a dirty film settling into the cracks showing imperfections adding age. Blending its now shades of milky whites dusted with weatherbeaten grays, allowing it to merge with the soft shades of the French landscapes.

A salvaged shelf doing its job for 40 plus years while saving it from a tear down, this piece of garden history became mine letting it once again become something.




Perfectly sized 36" long by 9" deep 7" in height, heavy solid heirloom wood.
Finished and distressed ready to illustrate French garden roses and the love for gray.

Evoking "Frenchness"

Honoring the salvaged shelf for its aged beauty, adding a gracious gentleness to its new use. "I don't often show the less then desirable, because I see desire in all."
~ Dore


"With Brush In Hand"

Bird Stories, Who Dare Not Rise And Fly

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The art of restoring life to my latest peaceful art, hand painted by Dore Callaway. This little gem was a cast off and it became my mission to breathe new life into it. This heavy weighted paper tray, wall papered with a small print was not much to speak of. Yet I found layering paint and aging it with peaceful shades, to then paint a little feathered life to it would evoke a peaceful story. As you all have noticed I have been telling some sort of bird story here and there on various pieces of found objects of desire, this piece needed a story of its own. The harmony and spirit of our little feathered friends add calmness to our sanctuary place.

The French call little flea-market gems brocante. Not quite junk, not quite valuable. Brocante is best chosen by its passion to intrigue rather then its appreciated worth. Many number of objects vintage or made to look and feel antique, can be used to decorate flea-market brocante. I love creating a vignette out of lost items in the shuffle of being junk. I will rescue old frames, wire cages, and wood boxes, all these items I find intriguing enough to paint a peaceful bird resting on a branch. I then will take and paint coat after coat of sealers to the piece, this will assure future heirloom quality to it.


Painting my peaceful bird art to just the right piece is why I call it bird stories, every piece will tell you its story. This little flea-market broncante was a cast off, and its beauty was over looked to what it could have become. I love that our wild feathered friends can bring so much charm and endearment to a home. The French have said it well, "La douceur de vivre" adding atmosphere that defines living at its best.

This piece that was not quite junk, not quite valuable has new stories to tell and will hold value for someone new to love.

Inspiring you to make something out of nothing.