domino factory exhibit

Several weeks ago when Kurt's parents were in town, we went to see Kara Walker's art installation at the defunct Domino sugar factory in Williamsburg. It was the final day of "A Subtlety" so the line was many blocks long even before the exhibit even opened. Thankfully, it moved pretty quickly and we were shaded under the Williamsburg Bridge for most of it. The sugar sculptures were pretty amazing but my favorite part was seeing inside the old factory that will soon be torn down to make way for a new development.

on the hunt: art

Kurt and I have a lot of things on our walls. In fact, we are running out of real estate. We've got posters and prints and maps and license plates and a tapestry and even a flag. But now I've zeroed in on this one wall in our bedroom that would be perfect for a big piece of art.

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Of course now it will be impossible to choose something! We're working on printing some personal photos (not a single one in the apartment so far!) but a huge dramatic photograph could be nice for the spot I have in mind. I've seen some great mountain scenery but I'm not sure I could stand Kurt's ski mania at a higher level than it is now. I would actually prefer something beach themed but it's hard to find a photograph that isn't cheesy (unless you can spend oodles of dollars on something from Gray Malin).

An abstract painting of blobs of color could work and there are several options on Etsy for affordable originals. I tend towards the blue/green spectrum but have also liked some accents of reds/oranges. I'm usually cheap but could see trying to DIY this being disastrous. Plus, I don't hate supporting up and coming artists.

A loosely painted landscape/seascape could also be nice but the options I've come across have been pretty blah. There's a fine line between the piece looking like it was painted by a five year old and getting too Thomas Kinkade-y, if you know what I mean.

Do you have any sources for affordable art? Any favorite pieces/artists out there?

mulholland hwang at invisible dog

After our latest brunch exploits, Jenn and I stopped by the Invisible Dog Art Center. Jenn had spotted their current exhibit, The Exploded Mind of Mulholland Hwang, over at Poppytalk and suggested we stop by.

The artists had lots of illustrations and dioramas spread throughout the gallery space. I won't claim to understand their complete motivation, but a lot of the pieces theoretically pitted different animal species against each other in battle. In some of the works, they would list strengths and weaknesses of certain animals (like llamas are stubborn, goats are kind of dumb, giraffes are tall (to step over things in battle)). My favorites illustration was probably "Lobsters against Monarchy" which just showed lobsters snapping their claws at a bunch of butterflies. Altogether it was pretty humorous. If I were to ever own some original art, I could see it being something like this.

27

Being a New Years Baby is an interesting thing. There are perks and there are drawbacks (like any other day I assume). One bonus of sharing my birthday with a national holiday is never having to go to work. Each year I am free to plan whatever activity my heart desires and drag my poor friends along with me :) Even though we were all suffering from the night before, Jenn and Kurt were troopers and took me to an art exhibit I'd been dying to see and out to a nice dinner. Thanks, guys! I might have been in bed by 9pm but I think 27 is off to a pretty decent start.

madison shop and new art

While Kurt and Justin were watching the Ohio State vs. Wisconsin game, Brett and I did some shopping along State Street, the main pedestrian strip running through downtown Madison. We came across a cute shop called Anthology, and I could have spent all day in there! I got some great Christmas presents (sadly I can't show you but know they are amazing!) and quite a few things for myself. Lots of new art for my walls!

storm king road trip

Since Kurt's parents were in town last weekend sans dogs (if you know me, you know I love dogs but those pups are kind of high maintenance), we tried to brainstorm fun things to do outside the city. Kurt and I have been wanting to visit Storm King Art Center for a while, and since his parents always drive in from Ohio, we could get there without having to rent a car.

visiting brazilians

Kurt and Erik recently had a friend in town from Brazil. Gui had been an exchange student in their hometown of Salem, Ohio and went to high school with Erik. Gui stayed with the Martigs in NYC a little over a week before meeting up with his girlfriend (she is in the midst of a 6 month study abroad in South Carolina) to travel around the US. Gui had never been to New York before, so it was great to show him around all our favorite sites.

To give Gui the full NYC experience, there was some brunching on the weekends. Giovanni's in Park Slope has a great brunch deal with unlimited Mimosas or Bloody Mary's (clutch for a brunch spot). Our helpful waitress even found Gui some vegan dishes, so he left just as stuffed as the rest of us.

Thankfully, Gui was game for biking, and we were able to show him more of Brooklyn via our favored mode of transportation. Of course we went to Red Hook and took in the views on Valentino Pier.

There was more skyline ogling at Pier 6 of Brooklyn Bridge Park where we could enjoy a drink, watch the sunset, and catch some beach volleyball.

One day, Kurt and I took Gui to Grand Central Station. Kurt looked it up and it is the sixth most visited tourist attraction in the world and the largest train station by number of platforms! Wow! We were all amazed with the Apple Store, and I made sure to introduce Gui to the Whisper Gallery. It's one of my favorite spots!

After Grand Central, we visited the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They typically have an exhibition on the roof during the summer where you can take in an installation piece and the amazing views over Central Park with a beer or glass of wine.

I'm a sucker for details, so I was sold by the Argentinian beer in honor of artist Tomás Saraceno whose mirrored sculpture was on display.

We had a blast with Gui and hope he swings back through NYC with his girlfriend before heading back to Brazil. And maybe we'll just have to pay his mother land a visit someday. World Cup 2014 anyone?!

{interior shot of Grand Central thanks to Kurt!}

brooklyn beer tour

We're slowly pecking away at the beer book (like here) and decided to combine some drinking with cultural events on a recent Friday night.

Our first stop was Build it Green (where the GCC Winter Festival was held) for Brooklyn Green Drinks Holiday Party and a Crafted at the Canal Market.

Then we popped over to an exhibit opening at the Gowanus Studio Space.

Hmmmm, piles of potatoes with candles...I can't say I always "get" art.

Next up was a stop at our favorite Rocky Sullivan's in Red Hook. 

Since Red Hook is a little difficult to navigate on public transportation, we were braving the cold on our bikes. In between bar stops, we rode out to Valentino Pier for the view.

It's always nice and quiet there and you get a great view of Lady Liberty. See her off in the distance?

Our next stop was Chip Shop, a British themed bar and restaurant famous for their willingness to fry just about anything. We had British beers and curry fries while taking part in a rousing discussion on congestion pricing. We are a fun bunch :)

Our eyes were bigger than our....livers....this night and even though we had more bars to hit and coupons to use, we called it a night after the Chip Shop. This stuff is hard work!

foray into painting: part i

I'm such a tease with all these broken up posts, right? Sorry! Part ii hasn't happened yet. It's hopefully in the fuuuuuture.

I think my purpose in life is to cover my walls with things. I'm always on the hunt for something interesting to display. Lately I was inspired by this wall mural and thought I could recreate something like it on a smaller scale. I probably could have picked up supplies somewhere more convenient to my home or office, but I will always look for an excuse to go to Michaels (and Home Goods) waaaay on the Upper West Side. I grabbed an economy pack of canvases and some craft paint (on sale!) while unsuccessfully trying to brainstorm other craft projects.

Once I had a couple hours blocked out for painting, I spread out on my amazing new table and planned the size and angle of my chevron stripes and sketched them out in pencil. My completely unhelpful assistant was there to supervise.

The palette. The colors look completely crazy onscreen but you get the idea: burnt orange, deep magenta, mustard yellow, gold, and aqua.

Then I began the tedious process of applying color by color. I wanted a hand crafted look so I didn't want to tape the edges but tried to stay within the pencil lines with my brush strokes.

Looking back I wished I had been more loose with the design like my inspiration (and her inspiration). I was pretty rigid with the color arrangement and could also vary the width of the stripes. It didnt turn out as miraculously as I had hoped. C'est la vie! Good thing I bought a multi pack of canvases! There's always part ii!

I actually like the closeup best. Maybe I will chop it up into tiny pieces. What do you think?

alabama in soho

Yesterday I was doing a little shopping in Soho after work. As I passed by CB2, I thought Hey! Wait a minute! I know those posters! The style was so familiar and when I paused on the sidewalk to survey the display, I realized they were prints from Amos Kennedy of Kennedy Prints! In Gordo, Alabama. Amos does a lot of work with the Rural Studio, and I even visited his letterpress shop outside of Tuscaloosa when I was a student at Auburn.

The posters are for Pride Month and advertise a message of acceptance and tolerance. Check out the organization he partnered with here and you can find the one of a kind prints from CB2 here (but sadly they are sold out online!). The world seems smaller and smaller everyday :)

cheap art

Facts:
1. Nice art and frames are expensive.
2. I am too poor for such things.

A little secret I have for filling lots of wall space for not a lot of money is wrapping paper. Specialty stationery stores (Kate's Paperie, Paper Source, and Paper Presentation here in the city) carry large sheets sold individually for about five bucks. I've gotten several maps (as long as you don't mind Russia still being called he USSR) and vintage posters like my newest addition seen here in the bathroom. The paper is 20 x 28 which is actually an odd size frame and difficult to find in typical American stores. However, the brilliant Swedes at Ikea have several different models that fit the sheets perfectly. A couple years ago, I bought a couple simple wood ones for about five dollars each. Unfortunately, they don't carry that one anymore but have a plastic version for the same price. I splurged in the bathroom and got the $20 Ribba frame for my skeleton friends.

I also bought a map of Italy that I want to hang in my kitchen "area". I got the cheap black plastic frame and want to refinish it to look less chintzy (and not black). Decoupage or gold/silver leaf came to mind. Jeez...i grew up watching too much HGTV. Any ideas?

watercolor wednesdays

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Lately I have been admiring artist Caitlin McGauley's beautiful watercolors. I first saw her work in Lonny Magazine and the weekly posts she writes for their blog, aptly named Watercolor Wednesdays. She often paints ordinary objects and scenes but they always turn out energetic and quirky. They are never perfect but always have character. Maybe I am drawn to them as a departure from the everyday plans and elevations I stare at on my computer screen.

After seeing this building elevation today, I want to do my own! I had the briefest foray into watercolors during college and it would be great to pick up a brush again. The technique I used previously was excruciatingly time consuming, but I like the fast and dirty method Caitlin employs in her work. Hopefully the imprecision will make up for my lack of skill :) It would be great to decorate the walls in my new room with some scenes from around the city. Who knows...if they turn out decently, it would be fun to sell some on etsy. You too could own an original piece of art by Melissa Graveline one day! I'll keep dreaming...