Industrious Lighting

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ 07848

973 383-6057

Hanging lights envisioned from old industrial parts are more than just "Antiques Made While You Wait." They are a way of looking at familiar objects differently. Instead of being seen solely for their original purpose, they are set free to become their own "architecture."

An oscillating fan guard becomes a chandelier shade.

A heavy-duty pulley easily supports a fragile, lightweight glass shade.


A hay bale trolley holds a pair of black tin shades
and shows its intricate casting and metallic color.

Brake drum lights, either hung as spherical
chandeliers or placed on the floor or a table,
are sculptural and functional.

Old stuff...New use.
It's a "lightbulb moment!"

Footprints in Time

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ 07848
973-383-6057

Confucius said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".

Shoes...they take us everywhere and they identify who we are...a worker, a ballerina, a princess. These reliable old friends carry us through our daily routine, a momentous event, or an exciting adventure. The styles of these "works of art" reveal if we are practical. fanciful, trendy or chic. Their design tells us about the times in which they've walked to destinations of joy, sorrow or discovery...all without fuss. Oh, the tales they could tell!

Reality, with An Abstract Twist

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ 07848

973-383-6057

Richard Kapral's paintings are like New Year's Day...everyday, all year long. Ordinary subjects are seen with a fresh eye. The colors are alive. The compositions are quirky and, no matter how many times I study them, I always find a surprise that makes the painting new, all over again.

For example, "Windowledge" (pictured) is a "view" for the viewer. The outside world lies on the other side. We must look through. The landscape sometimes seems somber. At other times...dramatic, as if a storm is moving in, while we are safe inside, looking out. In certain light, the painting is playful and all about the friendly objects inside, with peaches rolling along the bottom edge, about to fall off.

I guess Richard's paintings are like life itself...reality at the whim of perception. It's all in the way we look at things.

Christmas "Cookie"

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ

973-383-6057

It happens every year as the Holidays approach. Everyone gets into the spirit and starts decorating...hanging festive ornaments, bows and greenery. I resist. In fact, my reputation as a Humbug is well-known. But this year, an old bottle rack just wouldn't take "No" for an answer. Every spoke begged for a shiny red ornament. Then, a wirework bust that just fit the top appeared in a friend's garage. I swiped it. A few leafy branches, a handful of rhinestones, an old leather belt and a Christmas Party Girl began to emerge. Too short! Quick...several glass blocks and a dusty, old foundry pattern elevated her standing in the world.

So far, everyone that has seen her smiles.

Who said I don't like Christmas?

Made for Walkin'

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ

973-383-6057

And that's just what we do... antique dealers, that is. We walk, and then we walk some more. These buying trips to the UK really are a marathon. Staying with antique dealer friends, Francis and Barbara, means that my alarm clock can never sleep past 4AM, when we are off and running around antique venues in the pre-dawn light. Of course, that is the "Lucky Hour" when you find the best stuff, like oil paintings that have been asleep far longer than you.

I never grow tired of the early buyer buzz. And, seriously, there is so much walking involved in the hunt that it's given new meaning to the term "Boot Sale".

Friendly paintings

Bogwater Jim
Lafayette, NJ
07848

973-383-6057

Of course, we love old china. There is the richness of the cobalt blue that ginger jars wear and the comfort of the swaggy little borders on plates that filled the cupboards of our childhood.

But oil paintings picturing these items sometimes thrill us even more. It's like seeing an old friend become famous.

Still lifes that offer that "reach-into-the-painting" sensation are a feast for the soul as well as the eye.

As realistic as these portrayals might be, there is
always a softness that canvas renders unavoidable.

Still-life artists possess the knowledge of what touches us and the skill to capture the essence of their subjects.

"Ladle and Plate", Robert Sabo/ 2007
"Ginger Jar", G. Rhodes/ English/ 1923