Creature Comforts

Living in a city apartment for 17 years didn't allow for many overnight house guests. When and if people stayed overnight, I tried my best to make them comfortable (on my living room floor). Dreadful. I always dreamed of having an empty guest bedroom, with a freshly made bed, clean towels laid out, and a candle ready to be lit, magazines and a few snacks - a-la Martha Stewart. Of course these treats would be arranged in a basket like these:

There is something so nice about having things within arms reach once you have settled into your room,
& not having to bother the hostess. 

My friend Rachael is an expert at arranging guest rooms complete with any and every desire a guest could have. Believe me, I have stayed at all of her homes over the years and leave one happy customer. She outfits the guest rooms with carafes filled with fresh water on your bedside table, a pad of paper & pencil, and plenty of fresh towels of course. But then she goes the extra step: chocolate within arms reach next to the bed - right next to the universal remote just begging you to watch Apple TV all night long. The closet is no exception. In there, she leaves a tote bag for your trip down to the lake, an umbrella for rainy days in town, a luggage rack, and of course, a cozy sweatshirt for sitting around the fire pit at night. (Which somehow made it into my suitcase upon departure…) oops!

Comforts from Rachael's guest rooms.

When we finally bought a house, although it had an entire lower level apartment complete with 2 full baths and kitchenette, it really had no extra bed room for us to keep a guest bedroom empty. We converted half the apartment to Josh's studio and the other half to a large family room. When guests come to spend the night, they can choose between Beckett's room (with a new double bed) or stay downstairs on a queen Aerobed (which is surprisingly comfortable). I am still craving the day when I can arrange a room for guests and leave it ready & waiting with all the little things they may need during their stay. That will have wait until the kids go off to college. 

Until then, I can do small things to make guests feel comfortable when they are visiting. I have so far readied the family room for the kid's & their friends. This is so much more convenient than running up and down with snacks & drinks. They can help themselves and have no excuse to come upstairs! I am now trying to think of the next guest basket to have on hand for summer guests…maybe a new beach towel, some flip flops  & sunscreen?

The only problem so far: this is located just outside of Josh's studio and I am constantly replenishing.  hmm...

Polaroid, I Love You.

I recently did some renovations in my art room and came across some old grad school projects. My favorite pieces are from a Polaroid series I shot. At the time I was taking a graduate photography course in NYC and was amongst some very talented photo majors. Yikes. I hate the darkroom. 

Some Polaroids of film & film camera. Ha.

 I was not a photo major and the serious photo majors could sniff me out a mile away. I was, as they soon figured out, an art history major. Gasp. That's right- the much frowned upon major by any serious fine arts major. I totally get it now. I was at the bottom of the art-world pecking order. And so they pecked. At every class discussion and critique, they scoffed at my views and opinions. So I kept quiet did what I wanted. 

For once, I did not conform. I dug my heels in and did not step foot in the damp, musty dark room, but instead, chose to express my photo narratives through Polaroids. Many of the photo students thought (and did express to my face), that I was taking the easy way out. I'd like to think of it as being ahead of the game. My love for the Polaroid stems back to my childhood straight through today's Instagram sensation. Why do I love Polaroids?

Polaroid of Gramps & the girls circa 1977

One of my Instagram shots

They are instant, tangible moments in time. Beyond the instant gratification, the color quality is what appeals to me. Unlike today's super high resolution, crystal-clear digital images, Polaroid prints have a desaturated, sometimes ghostly appearance. It's images seem slightly imperfect and has a certain retro feel to them. Enter: my obsession with the movie The Virgin Suicides (based on the book by Jeffrey Eugenides) both written and directed by Sophia Coppola. Love her. Understatement. Sigh.

The quality of the film reminds me of the Polaroids I grew up loving. So when my photography professor outlined our next assignment to include some type of narrative, I whipped out my Polaroid, dragged Josh around the east village, and imagined a sister from the Coppola movie, party shoes on, hopeless and sadly taking her life. Here's what I came up with:

A few shots from the series.

As I hung my work for the class critique, the other photo majors paused, whispered and moved on. I took that as a compliment. Maybe they hated it, I'll never know because my professor didn't allow them to talk about their darkroom-developed prints. Instead he devoted the entire time to talking about my vision, the dark story being told, the beauty of Polaroid. I felt vindicated and justified. I didn't make any friends in that class, but that's ok. I was proud of my work and the fact that I didn't give into the norm. I wonder how many of those photo majors now have Instagram accounts. Shame on them! Just kidding.

Work in Progress #4

Another ongoing project that will never end is working on our boat. While this is not  necessarily an artistic endeavor, the interior design aspect of the boat is right up my alley. Since it was built in 1968, it requires annual mechanic maintenance and cosmetic maintenance. Years ago, before kids, Josh and I could devote many weekends each spring sanding and varnishing mahogany panels, sewing custom curtains, polishing chrome and making small repairs wherever needed. We went all out:

Working on the boat circa 2003

With the limited time we have to work on it currently, Josh takes on the hard stuff: making sure the engines run, the toilet flushes and that we won't sink. I assist him with these issues in small ways, but my focus is making the boat as pretty as it once was in it's heyday:

This season, I will do my best to spruce up the interior. Although the wallpaper and headliner is ripping in places and has an overall stained appearance, there's nothing I can really do about that with limited time and funds. Luckily, after years of watching HGTV design shows, I've learned how to draw attention away from the ugly with new and fresh items. Here is a peek at how I plan to fool the eye:

-new bedding for the twin bunks & sewing pillow cases for twin bunks
-printing & framing new photos for the walls
-replacing the interior carpet
-sewing new curtains
-sanding & staining swim platform, & stairs to flybridge
-painting fresh boot stripe
-repairing dinette cushions

Kid's sitting at the dining table. The naugahyde upholstery has since torn at the corner.

One of the frames that need to be filled & hung.

New nautical bedding from Ikea for the kid's bunk beds.

Two of 4 pillows that need nautical pillow cases sewn.

I just love this fabric for the kid's.

This job is way over due.
I don't think we have done the swim platform in a couple of years.

A sample of the new carpet.

The old curtains - water stained from windows left open? Not sure.
Need to sew some new ones.

Below deck- couch turns into bunk beds.

I'll post photos as these jobs get ticked off my list so stay tuned...

Work In Progress #3

While gearing up for our annual tag sale, I came across a few lovely items my father in law cast in bronze years back. He was a sculptor professor at Stony Brook University and had access to an incredible foundry. He would take beautiful things from nature and cast them eternally in metal. He experimented with casting eggs, peanuts, crabs, rocks and even marijuana roots. Shhh.

For years he struggled to cast horseshoe crab shells. He would collect their shells after they had been stranded and sadly died along the shores of his Long Island home. Unfortunately, their dried out shells would trap sand and cause voids when casting. A few good samples made it and they are precious little treasures of a creature that originated over 450 million years ago! Yes I said 450 million.

He was recently cleaning out his studio and asked me if I wanted his horseshoe crab shell collection. Um…yeah! So I inherited his shells and this is what happened…

 This is just one of the crates that hold various sized shells.

Inspiration:

The idea of these amazing creatures becoming extinct one day made me appreciate my father in law's attempts at casting them in metal. Since casting them proved problematic, I thought I would try to replicate the look and feel by using gold spray paint. I do love gold ya know.

Where is this going?

Since the shells are extremely delicate and crumble easy, I am experimenting with different ways to strengthen it before I apply the metallic paint. I am headed to Home Depot this weekend to grab some spray plastic, a cousin of Plasti-Dip. I am going to spray a variety of sizes and play with how to display them. I love the way they look hanging simply on the wall- but the question is: which side do you hang facing out? Once I perfect the method, I'll update this post and let you know where this is headed. They may be coming to a gallery near you...

Work in Progress #2

After yesterday's gripe about how many of my projects are started and stopped, I am continuing to post them for a few reasons. 

1. I'd love any feedback, advise or suggestions.

2. I need to organize my thoughts and "to do" list and in some way, this blog is a giant list for me.

3. I need some sense of accomplishment. Even though these are not complete yet, I need to remind my self of what I have achieved so far.

Initial Series

Inspiration:

Louise Nevelson. Her work involves grouping objects together and achieving a sense of unity through color. My goal in this first of many initials I am hoping to make was to take objects relevant to my subject (in this case, my 2 year old Godson). I made this for his second birthday. I know artwork is a lame gift for a toddler, but I'm hoping as he gets older, he will appreciate it. The objects are sprayed with several coats of paint and then assembled on large canvas. This one was approx. 22" X 30". 

Lesson learned: 

As work is finished, pack away for safe keeping. When I finished this piece, I had it resting in the kitchen until I left for London with it. Two nights before I left, it fell over. I went to catch it and I put my hand through the canvas! Had to remake it...Must have been really thin canvas.

Where is this going?

I am hoping to continue this idea, perhaps take commissions. I may try putting them on etsy.com and take orders if anyone shows interest. Major obstacle: I have to spend some time collecting buckets of odd toys and game pieces (if you have any you need to toss - send my way). I'll hit some yard sales this spring to try & stock up.