Sandy

The name Sandy brought to mind a first childhood friend. He was a ginger haired glasses boy named Sandy, and all at once the nearest memory and distant past intertwine. Where is he now? What does Sandy do and look as an adult? Suppose lots of us have similar associations from named storms and people.

This is Memo, pretty certain he will get a storm named after him.

Hurricane Sandy brought something last experienced 11 years ago in September. Both occurences left the city on quiet lockdown and with no power or ability to leave, days were spent with my truely's Esme & Devon. They made it up to my place the day the towers fell and up to them I went after the storm. 

"It reminded me of the way a friend described Manhattan after 9/11: Uptown was a color movie, downtown was black and white."  Joyce Wadler "Lessons Gleaned in the Glow of a Giant Night Light"

Perched atop a hill my childhood home in Tucson, AZ would be moated from the monsoon rains. The bumpy dirt road a river and tiny bridge a pebble under the rapids. Looking out over our cliff to see a gushing body of water where desert was once, a thrilling site to see.

As an adult the scope of natures disasterous effects make the danger far from exilirating. Admittedly having not payed enough attention to reported catastrophies in distant places before, life quickly enough patches up and moves on. The nuisance of having no power for days is ok, but to those who lost a home, a life, or an artist life's work..  

My post Sandy week has been saving drowned art works on tabled triages between sheets of bounty. What is to be saved and the sickening act of pitching a piece worth 30k into a trash heap. After the flood many Chelsea galleries are faced with uncertain reopenings.

NY Times Article

To help where we can do the most and keep moving forward through the frustratingly slow recovery with the tenacity of any weather worn torn New Yorker. This Thanksgiving will be an especially important one for us as we have come together to warm those who are cold and feed those who are without.

Please consider a donation to New York Cares HERE. 

Fall Happenings

Been doing much of everything, here is the attempt to share most of it with you. 

The making of fall bouquets:

A respite in New Caanan, CT satiated the travel itch for an oh so brief moment. 

•  A visit to Philip Johnsons Glass House 

• Philips de Pury auction of Murray Moss 'Dialogues Between Art & Design' The Michael Anastassiades 'kinetic light,' the slender Giacometti bronze a mere 30" in height sold for $3,000,000. Naoto Fukasawa's glass bench for a cool 15k had me transfixed to surfing the sea.                              My big take home was the auction catalogue. 

• Hearing from landscape architect Ken Smith one of many projects is the East River Waterfront Esplanade. Built into the shoreline is a diagonal construction of concrete and stone for a mussle waterbed, a unique feature to rebuild ecology and clean the river water. 

•  Then to toast an evening with a book launch for Rose Hartman's Incomperable Women of Style

Next moring the spring bulbs were planted deep in the earth and we give a few more horrahs before the bitter cold sets in. 

March Madness

Spring 2012 has begun in the big baad NY Art World 

Cindy Sherman @

MoMA. 

T.S. Eliot in Waste Land wrote that the month of April is the cruelest - certainly we may apply that to the month of March too. Oh! don't forget! "The ides of March have come! " sorta thing?

A rainy damp day is followed by a blasted out bright one starting.. now! "In like a lion out like a lamb", that's what the farmers almanac says.

The season is not going to be thaaat bad... 

Back to unveiling the glorious show of artist Cindy Sherman I found myself in imperfectly perfect pace with thee true Dame: 

ms.

Grace Coddinton

((imagine sharing glances amidst a sanctuary of Cindy Sherman))

... and there I was toting around my hot pink Celine trio, just to say it lent nicely to the effect.

" ...an influential artist who has enjoyed widespread acclaim — and market success — virtually since she first appeared, in the early 1980s, and who has never rested on her laurels, but has persisted, decade after decade, with interesting, surprising work."ROBERTA SMITH-Photography's Angel Provocateur 'Cindy Sherman' at Museum of Modern Art, NY Times 

A visit to Texas is up next.

 Cindy Sherman, "untitled" (2007-2008) Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures

Milestone Birthdays

So I am told, mine was yesterday. It's been a funny one and I guess a particularly good one. 

I saw one of the greats Winton Marsalis, he was celebrating his 50th, my 30th. 

We had a fancy bottle of champagne and dinner with two couples I share deep a admiration for.

The shop dogs wore bows: 

...and I received some perfectly appropriate gifts. 

a dream catcher:

art:

balloons:

and a very fancy 2 year subscrpition to this periodical:

In the midst of all this excitement I took a decorative arts midterm which haunted me with the latin phrase "Ars Longa, Vita Brevis"

Art is Long, Life is Short.

Distractedly made terrible date mistakes on the exam, upset with myself I blew off steam by running my fastest 6 miles in my goal of 13.

I felt much better and stronger. 

Drop-front Secretary (Secrétaire à Abattant or secrétaire en armoire) Guillaume Benneman Dilder

 And finished off the final hours of my first day of 30 with this diddy of a flick.

 Thanks to my friends for all the warm wishes and positive sentiments. 

Santa Fe, NM

New Mexico Landscape by Georgia O'Keeffe

We were brought to the land of enchantment for a very special couple who married. 

Balloon Fiesta photo: Lea Ann Willett

When your boss from Sprout Home is the one getting married and you are putting it together with your fellow work pals a familliar delirium sets in. It may be the 7000 foot high elevation, excitement of witnessing thousands of hot air balloons launch at sunrise, or simply all the surrounding joy. 

photo by Pitaya Japiean

Table centerpieces, flower crowns and little girl's posises...

the tiniest of detail towards a most perfect boutinnere by our Shirley...

photos by Ramsay De Give

to the sumptuous bridal bouquet Doan made.

Thanks for the memories! The experience was thoroughly enchanting to say the least. 

Portrait of Georgia O' Keeffe 

Good Causes

My buddies over at Marc Jacobs are involved with a pretty cool non for profit called Arts Connection. The mission of the organization is to help make the arts a more essential part of children's education. Since many public schools have cut funding, Marc Jacobs along with other designers have donated portions of sales to suport funding for afterschool activities in dance, music, theater and visual arts.

I was asked to make an arrangement this past weekend for the entrance for Bloomingdales on 59th & Lexington Ave for Fashion Industries have HeArt!. These students made drawings of handbags and I was very impressed! Honestly, my college portfolio next to these kids work looks more amature...

Pip & Estella

I had the pleasure of helping flower up and set for this wedding.  The space was weather worn sweet, textured, and perfectly encapsulated the couple getting married. Books, travel, and time were the repeat themes of the space. Located in Long Island City the Metrolpolitan Building is a hidden jem with multiple floors of endless curiosities. The owner herself, Eleanor Ambo is quite the trip, very much of the Miss Havisham personality. 

"... think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." Chapter 9, Great Expectations

"... no man who was not a true gentleman at heart, ever was, since the world began, a true gentleman in manner... no varnish can hide the grain of the wood; and that the more varnish you put on, the more the grain will express itself." Chapter 22

 "'So,' said Estella, 'I must be taken as I have been made. The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together make me." Chapter 38

River Club

Is one of the perfect settings for a ladies luncheon with it's light blues and pastels overlooking the East River. Leyla asked me to floral up the room for her friends bridal shower, and had the best time creating it. Together we explored the many options in the flower market and decided on evoking the beach where the girlfriends met.  Dusty Miller leaves with river grass and a sunlight garden rose made a sweet pave for a bridal celebration. 

fiver foundation

Today I did the flowers for the Fiver Foundation annual charity event. Fiver has been close to my heart since my best friend Jen introduced me to its worthwhile cause. Fiver strives to provide youth development to underserved children in NYC with the opportunity to go to summer camp in upstate New York, along with continued involvement during the school year. 

I wanted to keep the palate bright and cheerful with forsythia branches and daffodils, as it reminds me of my own days at summer camp!

wedding season

has begun!

Photo's courtesy of the delightful wedding photographer Kimberly Hurst. 

Check out her blog for more photos!

Everything is coming up Roses!

I got a last minuet Valentine order for 20 of these

Dolce & Gabbana Inspirations

A month has passed since my window for Dolce and Gabbana, and I continue to find myself thinking of the design. In the February Issue of Interview Magazine is an awe inspiring 14 page spread about Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.  

The article showed a personal light on the designers and explained how the two can collaborate so beautifully. 

Stefano said in the interview-"Our relationship is a very good example for everybody in the world, gay and straight. Becasue our love story continued, without sex and without living together. Why not? He was the first big love story in my life. Why do we need to cancel that? And I don't want to forget that."

If only all of us could find such peace in work relationships and move forward to forge something great.

Dominico is known for being, "projected in the future" while Stefano is more attracted to his Sicilian roots. This is what makes the balance of Dolce & Gabbana.

The latest inspiration for Spring/Summer 2009 collection is from Visconti's movie The Leopard (1963)  I watched the movie and was generally bored by the dialog, but what the screen showed was shocking, dark, and incredibly romantic.

While doing the flowers I was kept being told to break away from my, "trained floral design habits"- to be wild, loose, and imperfect. This was a challenge having been trained in a traditionally English style. The Italians see flowers quite differently and I am happy to understand and love it now.  

 

Holiday Card

This is the Holiday window I created for Dolce & Gabbana. Every fruit, flower, and desert is real, which required a constant upkeep. It was absolutely beautiful to work on and I look forward to more projects of this caliber. 

I discovered these Photographs by Mikael Jansson from the Dolce & Gabbana collection after I designed the window and card. I think it relates nicely.