I became acquainted (read: fell in love with) with the work of Carrie Gustafson at My friend Lori Warner's new Studio/Gallery in Chester, CT.
This Boston artist makes by far the most beautiful glass that I have seen anywhere. A graduate of RISD, Gustafson also studied in Murano. According to her website, her patterns are derived from nature. I find her finely textured is glass amazing and I think that I just talked myself into buying a piece. All of her work is at once delicate, yet substantive. She is a regular at the Smithsonian Craft Show. There is an excellent video describing the process here and it is clearly described on her website. Gustafson is also represented by the North Water Gallery on Martha's Vineyard.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Carrie Gustafson -- Glass Artist
Sunday, July 26, 2009
International Garden Photograper of the Year -- Rachel Warne
Well, not exactly. The latest issue of Gardens Illustrated has a short piece on Rachel Warne that caught my eye.
Ms. Warne won the 2nd place in Best Garden Photographer's Association Portfolio Award category for he Autumn Study, part of the IGPOTY -- click on winners, then click on portfolio. The aster, above looks almost hand colored. Here is her artist's statement:"I wanted to make a study of plants outside their usual environment. The plants were all gathered from my neighbourhood – from the forest, the sides of roads and even someone's front garden. Although they are all dead, photographing them is a way of bringing them back to life."
The back story is that Warne was ill for a time and while she was recovering -- she's fine now -- she collected plant material from East London and brought them indoors and made these wonderful images with a light box. I love the beech, above. Do visit her website, it's quite lovely.
Do you love to put these on your nose in late spring? I do. There's an incredible likeness to a colored pencil botanical in the image above. Reminds me of mouse ears.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Rambles -- Patrick Dougherty's Stick Art
I recently had the privilege of working on a Patrick Dougherty installation at the Florence Griswold Museum.
"The Rambles" is site specific installation that was so much fun to participate in. There were two shifts per day led by Patrick a self-described "stick artist" from North Carolina and his assistant Mike. Mike had been a volunteer last summer on a piece Pat did in Virginia. I volunteered three days, once at the beginning of the project, in the middle and at the end. I figured that I would get the most out of knowing all of the steps. His website is beautiful and has breathtaking photographs from all over the world. Scotland is a must see.
The photo above is from Day 4, I think. The first day that I was worked, we stripped leaves and made piles while the holes were being dug for the heavier saplings. It was very team oriented at the beginning.
I was quite surprised that they had gotten this far one I worked the second time. Note how the columns are coming together nicely (above). Each day Pat reminds the teams to throw out ideas for a name. This morning googling around, I found a video, produced by the museum, where Pat announces the name of the piece.
I like this little fenestration detail. Toward the end, there is a great deal of neatening-up required.
With one day left, things were definitely coming together. I dropped by afterward and little kids
were running through it gleefully. Grownups react favorably, but sometimes have to ask "what it is". Toward the end of the building the museum was smart enough to ask Patrick to deliver a whoppingly super lecture, but they didn't make a video. I would have loved to have such a remembrance. He showed photographs of not only his art, but the home he built and his garden, where he has benches filled with stick people. Very funny. I'm hoping to obtain some photos of them and will post them. Speaking of photography, I'll be posting some better ones later. These are just Iphone shots.
I cannot wait to see it in snow. Actually I can, I lied. The work above is at the University of Southern Indiana New Harmony Gallery in 2003. (photo by Doyle Dean)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Urban River Arts -- Portraits of Obama Benefit
My friend DD is on the board of Urban River Arts, a cool organization in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.
Tonight the 5 month old community art center is holding a benefit from 5-8 pm at Danny Simmons' Corridor Gallery located at 334 Grand Ave between Greene Ave & Gates Ave. There will be music and food (generously donated by local businesses). It sounds like fun -- for kids and grown ups alike. As I poked around the website, successfully avoided getting back to real work, I found that URA has developed relationships with Brooklyn giants (no, not Giants old people) such as the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Brooklyn Children's Museum. BAM, what about you??
Urban River Arts is a community-based, non-profit organization devoted to the artistic, emotional and social development of children and adults, according to each person’s needs. Through individual and group activities that honor creative expression and through partnerships with educational organizations in the neighborhood, students build self-confidence, verbal and social skills, and the ability to express and communicate their deepening understanding of the world through the visual arts.
It looks like fun. Go! It's up through July 25th. Support your neighbors and aspiring artists.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Categorizing PIECES -- Atlanta
I was admiring a very cool chandelier in the "what's hot" section of Elle Decor recently.
The store's url was listed and so I visited the Atlanta store Pieces. (Note: it is also a 1stdibs shop) Yes, the store has lots of cool stuff, but what I like about it is that it categorizes it's wares not just by function, but by color -- which is FUN! Am I obsessed? I'm rather like that with my collections, although I do shapes too. Time to get back to work! 
Wonderful hand blown etched glass.
And a raincoat for my imaginary whippet Hermes.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The High Line -- Things are Looking Up
The High Line, a new raised park in New York's Meatpacking District opened today.
You know, meat, as in Diane von Furstenberg, Prada, Anya Hindmarch. Section 1 traverses 9 blocks. On the Fact Sheet, it says that this section is .5 miles, but I thought the pr person said that it was a mile. The 1930's raised rail structure, once scheduled for demolition, was rescued by the Friends of High line leaders Joshua David and Robert Hammond. Designed by James Corner of Field Operations with Diller Scofidio & Renfro.
First reaction, it's going to be hot up there in the summer. It wasn't too hot when I visited on June 8th and yet my mind sang "it's hoootttt" (in a high Jon Stewart voice) atop the new paved area.
I am concerned about this little primula. As a gardener, I would tell visitors not to worry about the plant material. It's young. We don't know how it will proceed. But it's designed by Netherlands-based Piet Oudlf who has an excellent reputation and a way with grasses.
There are a couple of different seating options. There's this bench that has an organic connection to the surface of path.
And there are lounge chairs. How will NY'ers stake out this wee bit of real estate?
The Spencer Finch site specific piece, The River That Flows Both Ways, is made up of 700 individual panes of glass, each hued to represent a color of light reflected off the Hudson River. It is one of the highlights of the High Line.
Smartest of all is a water feature that will cool the toes of tourists and residents alike.
See that river beyond? It's celebrating it's discovery by Henry Hudson. Things didn't turn out too well for him, but I think that there are many events related to the 400th anniversary of European discovery of this majestic river.
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