Spirited Pop statements

AS head of the art department at L.A’s Immaculate Heart school in the 1960s, Sister Corita (1918-86) made a splash in the international art scene with sociopolitical silk-screen prints and hand-rendered typography. The nun (born Frances Kent) synthesized Pop Art, advertising graphics, color and abstract shapes into vibrant spiritual messages that have a new resonance for today’s youth, says Jamie Rosenthal, who is exhibiting serigraphs at the Hollywood store Lost & Found. “She’s a local hero, and her messages need to be out there again,” Rosenthal says. Signed original prints, including the alphabet series from 1968 and ‘69, shown here, start at $400. 6320 Yucca St.; (323) 856-5872.

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SAVE

Antique, unique, on sale

Dos Gallos, which sells European antiques and rustic furniture from Central America, is continuing its end-of-year sale into 2007. The Los Angeles importer has handcrafted mangrove branch lamps with whip-stitched leather shades, as well as smoked stencil ceramic vases and lamps from Honduras. Savings are significant on reclaimed and vintage cabinets and dressers made from an aromatic cedar grown in the tropics. This manly 16-drawer highboy (originally $4,800, now $3,800) combines unpretentious detailing and warmly weathered wood. 924 N. Formosa Ave. (south of Santa Monica Boulevard); (323) 851-9117; www.dosgallos.com.

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FINDS

Lighting that’s set in stone

Mexican onyx, the creamy, gold-banded stone most often seen on souvenir chess sets and bookends, has found a modern expression as chic lighting fixtures. At Las Manos del Artesanos (the Hands of the Artisans), an importer of Mexican and South American handicrafts, onyx from Puebla is fashioned into table lamps made of a patchwork of square and pebble-shaped tiles. The one-of-a-kind fixtures start at $400 and can cost more than $2,000 for a 5-foot elliptical light. The store also sells onyx sinks. 7940 Herschel Ave., La Jolla; (858) 454-3443; www.lasmanosdelartesano.com.

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HAPPENING

Visit the sets

Have out-of-town guests? Looking for a weekend diversion? The Set Decorators Society of America is headed to the Warner Bros. back lot Jan. 20 for a tour of the props department and the stages of “ER” and “Two and a Half Men,” among others. “Spend the Day With a Set Decorator” includes breakfast and lunch. Cost: $50. Call the SDSA office at (323) 462-3060 or RSVP online at www.setdecorators.org.

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TRENDSPOTTING

Fashion designer dresses the walls

Fashionable once again, wallpaper now has designer status. The 60-year-old English firm Graham & Brown has commissioned six new prints by Julien Macdonald, who has worked for the house of Givenchy and was named British designer of the year in 2001. Macdonald’s boldly colored patterns include a crewel-style flora, a Regency chandelier print, a red and black fern design and the Persian-Parisian peacock print called Exotic, shown here. All employ the manufacturer’s quicker, easier “paste-the-wall” application, which allows customers to hang the paper dry on a prepared surface. Each of these rolls covers 56 square feet and costs $75. (800) 554-0887; www.grahambrown.com.

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Reaching the Scout: Submit suggestions to the Home section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; e-mail home@latimes.com.