Earlier this summer, I hosted my Book Club for our discussion of the book, Georgia by author Dawn Tripp.  Georgia is a historical fiction book about iconic American artist, Georgia O’Keeffe.  In keeping with the theme of the book, I created an “Art Theme Tablescape”.  I had a great time putting it together.

Here’s a look back at it.

MY TABLESCAPE

Gathering together artwork and art supplies was my starting point…

I took some old cans (various sizes), painted them and filled them with items an artist may use such as brushes, pencils (both lead and colored), and paint sticks…

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I hung an old paint canvas as a backdrop…

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A CLOSER LOOK AT SOME OF THE TABLE DETAILS

Georgia O’Keeffe was best known for her paintings of enlarged flowers.  I inserted pictures of flowers as part of my tablescape to symbolize this…

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In 1928, Georgia O’Keeffe painted her masterpiece, Oriental Poppies –  A vase of poppies on the table symbolized this…

Between 1918 and 1925, O’Keeffe served as a muse for famous photographer and art promoter, Alfred Stieglitz.  Despite Stieglitz being 23 years older, the two fell deeply in love and eventually married after Stieglitz’s divorce became final.  I added a camera, a couple of books about Alfred Stieglitz’s photography, and a framed photo taken by a photographer to represent him…

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I included several art books including books about Georgia O’Keeffe and her artwork (from my local library) – the Georgia O’Keeffe books also served as references during our discussion of the book

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Between 1929 and 1949, O’Keeffe spent almost every year in New Mexico.  She collected rocks and bones in the desert.  Skulls became a feature in many of her paintings – I placed a small skull on the table…

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Artists’ Materials (Details)…

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ARTWORK & SIDE CHEST

To create the idea of an art gallery, I gathered various pieces of artwork and displayed them around the room…

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I also hung up a poster displaying photographs taken by Alfred Stieglitz…

Source of all photos: Google

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PLACE SETTINGS–

I kept place settings plain.  I wanted the focus of the table to be on the art details…

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LUNCH IS SERVED–

I served a simple chicken salad with celery, grapes, and hard-boiled eggs.

Fresh berries with vanilla yogurt & rolls…–

Carrot cake for dessert….

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BOOK DISCUSSION

We all enjoyed this book. We had a good discussion about O’Keeffe’s intense personality, her relationship with her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, other characters/people in the book O’Keeffe seemed to be close with, and about her provocative artwork.

Special note:  To my dear friend who wrote her very hard-earned doctoral dissertation relating to Georgia O’Keeffe (& a couple of other key figures) – I thank you for piquing my interest about wanting to know more about artist Georgia O’Keeffe, and ultimately reading this book.  You inspire me!

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Oriental Poppies, 1928
Photo source:
GeorgiaOkeefe.net