House + Home
Decorating Artfully
Art Donovan originals. Top: Illuminated French wine barrel stem rack. Bottom, from left: Steampunk design; hand-carved wall lamps; Sage Marine #3 built for high-salt air, moisture resistance and semi-covered outdoor use.
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his summer, decorate your home with work from East End artisans. Long a haven for creative minds, the East End also boasts a number of craftsmen who design and create one-of-a-kind pieces for Hamptons living.
Southampton lighting designer and Steampunk icon Art Donovan continues to push the envelope with his Victorian-inspired techno creations. His illuminated designs run the gamut of genres and styles, but Donovan has become world famous for his unique Steampunk pieces, often created from found objects, antiques and some of the most cutting-edge technology available. The artist’s work has been shown around the globe, including two major Steampunk shows he curated in Oxford, England and Seoul, South Korea. He has also written two books on the subject and, with his wife Leslie, has a line of marine-grade lighting (Sage Marine) for oceanside locations, boat staterooms, yachts and other seafaring vessels. Visit donovandesign.com. Celebrated Springs-based craftsman James DeMartis wears many hats, from artist to blacksmith. He has developed a unique set of skills as a sculptor and designer, and his experiences as an artist are varied, from exhibiting in art galleries to a stint working on the production of the recent film Noah. (He built the big metal stove shown in that epic.) With a long history working as a blacksmith, he uses a coal forge in his Springs DansPapers.com
studio in order to create metal works from wrought iron. He also works in copper, zinc, stainless steel, brass, bronze and aluminum. DeMartis values the simplicity and precision of working with hand tools, and creates one-of-akind works of art from commissioned pieces to stair rails, gates, table bases and other furniture. DeMartis even uses a specific type of West Virginian coal that he hand selects because he feels it heats to the perfect temperature. In addition to his commissioned art pieces, DeMartis continues his work in the blacksmith trade for the Wheelwright Shop in Bridgehampton and Parson’s Forge in Springs. Visit jamesdemartis.com. On the North Fork, Peconic’s John Mehrman has made a second career out of handcrafting furniture and home goods from reclaimed wood. Working with old pieces of timber, some of which come from old East End barns, or rough sawn lumber (“green” wood), Mehrman creates tables, benches, cabinets and other items that work in both country and city homes. His work is in high demand at White Flower Farm House in Southold. He credits White Flower Farm House’s Lori Guyer for her ability to scout out raw or recycled materials and then bring them to him with an idea, or with just a simple desire to see them made into something more. A math teacher for 30 years, Mehrman always had an interest in woodworking. “I’ve done a lot of work with my head and my hands all my life,” he says. That includes building his Peconic house with his wife. Visit facebook. com/pages/White-Flower-Farmhouse SUMMER 2014 | 103