NOLA on my mind -- Zeitoun, Hazelnut and Robert Tannen

Sometimes things just come at you all at once. I've been meaning to write about some very cool jewelry designed by New Orleans artist and planner Robert Tannen.

I saw his work at the Lori Warner Gallery earlier this month. AND, he's the father of my friend Erica Tannen who carefully composes the e-list -- which encourages shopping and cultural visits along the CT shoreline. The shape is based on the traditional New Orleans shot gun house. Proceeds from the sale of the wooden shot gun house necklaces go to rebuilding the city. I like (love) the silver "block" necklaces (see below). Thanks to Kim Tyler for the photographs.

Then I heard that Tannen is collaborating with architect Frank Gehry on some new affordable housing for the city. Here is a model of the Modhouse.

Last night I finished reading Zeitoun Dave Eggers magnificent non-fiction account of the lives of Kathy and Abdulrahman Zeitoun during Katrina. Phew. This afternoon I see in T&C mag that Mad Men's Bryan Batt has a shop in NOLA called Hazelnut where he has a line of toile de Jouy based on the city's scenes. Check out this tray below.
NOLA, we're done for a while. Except I need something from Hazelnut. Anything.

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Rebuilding Rawand - Brick (Itafari) by Brick (Itafari)

Leave it to HARO founder Peter Shankman to be involved with a really wonderful foundation working to help Rawanda recover from years of genocide.

There will be an online fundraiser September 25-27 by the Itafari Foundation to help build the Kigali Parents Secondary School. You can sign up here to receive updates. You can buy a brick for $75 and help build the school. You can help others see that this isn't just Africa's problem. You can watch a moving video here.

Ok, no more fundraising for at least a whole week. Back to design stuff.

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September means Charity Water reminder

Last September I wrote about Charity Water here.

This year Scott is 33 and he's asking his friends to make a donation of
$33 in his honor. I continue to be amazed by the wonderful work of this organization. This year I am happy to say that the September Campaign is highlighting their work in Haiti, a place dear to me.

I have made a donation in honor of my friend Peter Olausson (21/9). Happy Birthday Peter!
And happy birthday Scott.

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Carrie Gustafson -- Glass Artist

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.

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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.

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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)

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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.

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