Copenhagen, Illustrated

As I've been talking about occasionally on this blog, we will be moving out of NYC fairly imminently.  One of the possible places we might be moving to is Copenhagen.  Isn't this illustrated map of Copenhagen by Matt Chase pretty fabulous?  

Discovering Columbus

Hello Columbus.  Nice to see you all up close and personal.  

I went to see the Tatzu Nishi Discovering Columbus Exhibition by the Public Art Fund a couple weeks ago.  The exhibition is actually a room that has been built around the statue of Columbus in the middle of Columbus Circle.  Overall, I liked it.  It provided a different perspective on Columbus Circle and the statue.  It was surprising how large Columbus felt up close.  However, although there were some clever things about the decor of the living room Columbus entertained us in, I do feel they could have jazzed it up a bit more.  There was a little something lacking.

Regardless, the views from the top of the exhibition were stunning.

59th Street

Broadway, facing North

Central Park West

One fabulous thing about the exhibition is that it is free.  Although you have to reserve tickets in advance.  Originally it was supposed to close mid-November, but it is now scheduled to close December 2nd.  Check it out here.

I love how the woman in this shot appears to be self-consciously smiling at the camera...

I was there at the end of the week Hurricane Sandy hit.  Columbus Circle happens to be right nearby where the crane is dangling in Midtown.  Broadway South of Columbus Circle was cordoned off and so were many of the adjacent streets.

After the Storm

View of Central Park from Columbus Circle. 11.2.2012

There is a melancholy hanging over the city post Hurricane Sandy.  We have been lucky here on the Upper West Side in that we did not lose power and most of the damage up here seems to be confined to the trees.  Regardless, the last week has not been 'normal' by any means, even here.  Most of our friends in our neighborhood did not work all of last week for various storm related reasons: from being unable to get to work due to the loss of the transit system, to their offices having lost power, or having their office indefinitely closed since it was located across the street from the dangling crane in Midtown.  There is a long line of cars that stretches in front of our house every morning while people wait to get gas.  Store shelves are emptier than usual.  Schools have been closed all week.

Although power has been restored to many, our friends and family that are still without power are going on over 1 week without power in winter weather.  Pretty awful.  And then, there are those in worse circumstances still that have lost their homes. The sadness is palpable, although so is the determination to go on.  That people are offering to help in so many ways is uplifting. Things are slowly beginning to feel more normal but I think in some ways we may be only beginning to learn what the true costs of the devastation will be.

How to Help
Artists Giving to Sandy Victims
Help a Family that Lost their Home

Inspired by...Maira Kalman

Rick Meyerowitz

Ok so everyone seems to be highlighting Maira Kalman this month.  See here in Lonny Mag and here on Design Mom.  And why shouldn't they (or I)?!  She's fabulous!  I loved reading her illustrated columns in the New York Times (now available as books:  "The Priciples of Uncertaintly" and "And the Pursuit of Happiness").  Illustrating the "Elements of Style"? Brilliant.  Her style (art and writing) is so direct and relatable, poignant and funny.  Thank you, Maira, for you all your loveliness.
Now I'm going to have to delve into her children's books with Fiona.

Some other interesting links concerning Maira Kalman:
Love this article, especially the story about her mother.  Just that small tidbit of information says so much about her.
She gave a TED talk
Julie Saul Gallery

 

The Vogels...Herb & Dorothy

While painting this evening I also watched/listened to 'Herb & Dorothy' on Netflix on Demand.  Herb & Dorothy have been collecting art since they were married in the early 1960s.  They were devoted to collecting, in particular, minimalist art.  It was interesting to get to know them a bit as a couple of modest means but with an intense passion for art that they funneled into collecting art.  The movie offered a unique view into a specific part of the New York art world of the late 20th century to be sure.  But most of all it was inspiring to see the passion with which they loved the art they bought and also the relationships they cultivated with the artists they collected.

I painted a small piece inspired by them.  I would show it to you but I can't get my scanner to scan the whole piece. Only random parts of it. Hmm. Going to have to figure that out.  ahem.

explained absence...and tonight, paint

We've been sick pretty much non-stop since we returned from our Road Trip of the East Coast. Boo.  We all caught colds coming back from our trip.  Then Fiona contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth disease (not to be confused with the bovine foot & mouth disease.  this one is mostly confined to toddlers).  And I somehow got another nasty cold.

I've obviously been absent from this space lately.  In addition to our illnesses, I've decided to put most of my energy into creating art, and to make blogging a lower priority for a while.  I expect to get into a groove where I can do both, but for now, I have been sketching every night (almost since mid-August), and tonight, painting.   Here is my palette for the proof.

Sketching...

I have decided to start posting the occasional sketch...since the middle of August I've been trying to draw every day, even if it's just for a few minutes.  Sketched this earlier tonight with pencil from a photo I took of Fiona a few weeks ago... I added a little watercolor to the lips.  Recently,  I have really been getting into the look of drawings with watercolor.

Road trip!

We are on a two week road trip of the East Coast. Last week we left NYC and rented a car to drive down to Yorktown, Virginia and spent a few days with my grandparents. We then continued down south to Charleston, SC where we rented a beach house with a bunch of my family for my sister's wedding this past Saturday. The wedding could not have been more perfect and now we are staying on at the beach house for a few more relaxing days at the ocean and fun nights in Charleston. This picture was taken looking out toward the path to the ocean from our deck. Heavenly!

Today at the Playground...

Here are a few favorite pics I took today with my new DSLR.  I'm still shooting mostly on auto mode, but I experimented a bit with manual mode today...and I'm happy to report that some of what I learned when I used to shoot with my parent's film SLR camera 10+ years ago is bubbling up from the deep recesses of my memory...

Finally....

I FINALLY did it.  I braved 34th street to go to B&H yesterday (love B&H, hate 34th Street) and bought myself a DSLR camera.  I didn't want to spend a ton of money on my first DSLR since I'm pretty much a beginner so after some research I decided on a refurbished Canon EOS Rebel T3 with a basic 18-35mm lens.  I am in love.  Why oh why did I wait 6 years to do this?!  I think I was afraid it was too big and bulky to carry around and I wondered if I would really use it.   But the image quality is so fantastic just on auto mode, and I can't wait to delve into manual mode.  And the camera is really not that heavy (at least not with the lens I have).  Here are a couple pictures I took yesterday afternoon with my new DSLR... Um, the quality is soooo much better than my Canon PowerShot A710 or my iPhone Camera.

Governor's Island Ferry Terminal Art

I love how this art installation by Lawrence Weiner stands against the Brooklyn Skyline on the ferry fender rack at the Governor's Island ferry terminal.

Ice Cream at Dylan's Candy Bar

We were out and about all over the city this past Labor Day weekend.  Patrick was out of town so it was just Fiona and I adventuring about.  We spent part of Friday visiting some home deco stores around the 59th Street and Lexington area.  Since we were indulging my whims, I figured Fiona deserved a break so I treated her to an ice cream at Dylan's Candy Bar.

It was our first time there and she was enraptured by the colors and the kids.  And boy did she savor that ice cream, barely letting me get a bite in.  She had a dairy sensitivity until about a month ago so she has only had ice cream a handful of times.  It is such a riot watching her eat it.  Her eyes roll back in her head a little and she pretty much looks like she has just tasted a little bit of heaven.  Welcome to your lifelong love affair with ice cream kiddo.

We walked back to the West side through Central Park and enjoyed watching people begin their long weekends relaxing in the beautiful sunny weather...

Governor's Island a/k/a Pig Island

We visited Governor's Island over Labor Day Weekend with some friends for the annual Pig Island Festival, a celebration of pig, sourced from local farms.  The day was perfect for an outdoor festival.  Friends, sun, good food, beer and music in the great outdoors.  It doesn't get much better than that!

Visions of New York City: Broadway, NoHo, Near NYU

The first time I visited New York City in 2000 I completely fell for the look, feel and architecture of the area near NYU north of Houston Street on Broadway, and its surrounding streets.  Until I moved here, whenever I imagined New York, I imagined this neighborhood.  I'm still in love.  Took these pictures last weekend...

Washington Square Park, with the small 'pea'

 

Patrick, Fiona and I were in the village last weekend doing some shopping and we decided to stop in Washington Square Park so Fiona could have some time to run around in between stores.  You don't see any of the major park landmarks in the pictures in this post because we spent most of our time with Fiona in the playground.

One of the many things I love love love about NYC playgrounds is that they all most all have water features that are turned on for hot summer days.  Fiona is fascinated by all the water features in New York City playgrounds and this one was no exception.  It is such a joy to see her play in them.

There were a ton of musicians playing in the park that afternoon, and Fiona danced right along to their music.  There is always so much going on in Washington Square Park but this day seemed exceptional and it was all so right.  I'm trying to really remember this visit to the park, since it could be one of my last before we move from NYC (if we move...)!

Just Breathe...

This week, I've been focusing on being ok with where I am in my endeavors and then moving forward from there rather than focusing on what I haven't done.  I find these words quite on point.   

(via Skillshare's Facebook Page, if anyone has original source, let me know!)

'Up North' - Grayling, Michigan

Patrick's parents' 2nd home 'Up North' in Grayling, Michigan has a river running through the backyard.  And a huge deck and lawn from which you can sit, all day long, and do nothing but watch the river and be perfectly content to do so.  If it gets too hot, you can dip your feet in the river or if you are brave, your whole self (but it's pretty cold...).  If you are feeling bored, time for a canoe trip or fly fishing on the riverboat.  Every night we eat dinner and then watch the sunset over the river from the deck.  It's an outdoor summer paradise.

We visit every July during the weekend of the AuSable River Canoe Marathon (it's the AuSable river that runs through the backyard of Patrick's parents home).  The race, according to the website, is the longest non-stop professional canoe race and the oldest continual canoe race in the United States.  It's starting point is in Grayling, just a quarter mile up from their house so the race goes right through their backyard.  It's become a family reunion of sorts and Patrick's parents throw a big party for everyone to watch the start of the race.

Grayling bustles with activity during the race weekend. It's probably the biggest weekend for the town all year - there is a craft fair, a parade, a carnival and a vintage car show to celebrate the race.   I've come to love visiting every summer; checking out of the busy craziness of New York City and stepping into a world where there are no pressing obligations, and time moves at the slow pace of the river rolling by.  It was so hard to leave last week especially now that Fiona can enjoy the great outdoors more too...

Another great thing about Patrick's parent's home is that it is within easy walking distance to everything in downtown Grayling.  The town has a number of cute local shops and restaurants downtown including the Bike Shop,a pizza place, several arts gallerys and gift shops, a beef jerky shop (!), an outdoor clothes store and Thanks a Latte, a coffee shop with internet access.  Patrick's parents don't have internet at their home and there wasn't any 3G network for our iPhones, so if we wanted internet we had to walk to the coffee shop.  It was actually really nice to disconnect!

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Greetings from Grayling, Michigan!

Patrick, Fiona and I are in Northern Michigan this week at Patrick's parent's house. I'm taking some fun pics that I will share once we get back to New York. But in the meantime, here is a photo of some lovely flowers that I took on our walk to the local donut shop this morning and a picture of Patrick and Fiona eating donuts, yum! (um, yes, Grayling has an amazing local bakery called Goodale's with out-of-this-world donuts and since we've been here I have been on a 2 donut a day diet).

Charleston Trip Continued...

How gorgeous is this view?? This is what we will be looking out at during my sister's wedding in the Charleston in September.  She is getting hitched and having the reception at the Creek Club at I'on in Mt. Pleasant just across the bridge from Charleston.

Here is a pic of the hall and its big porch where the cocktail hour will be while we look out at that amazing view...

And here is a pic of the stairs on the side of the hall where my sister plans on entering from as she descends into the garden where the ceremony will be held.  Such a dreamy and romantic place!   Just like Charleston itself...

Since my Mom and sister and I were in town to finalize all the wedding details (the fun stuff: food, flowers, linens etc.) we usually didn't wander out and about until the early evening, when the light of the sun setting on the city was breathtaking.  

We had heard amazing things via word of mouth about McCrady's restaurant, which is a run by chef Sean Brock who embraces the local food movement and specifically and uniquely heritage grains as well as other local food.   We tried twice to stop by McCrady's for a drink and a snack at the bar (since we didn't have reservations) but we decided both times that even the wait at the bar was too much...and resolved to make reservations when we are back in September!

Really, I can't wait to share this place with Patrick and Fiona in September.  We are renting a beach house with my family for a weeks so it should be a nice, relaxing trip.