The merriest time of year!

Seasons Greetings! Yes, its been light years in blog world since I last wrote, but this most certainly has been a transitional period. Anyways, I'm here! I made it, and I wanted to share a fabulous day doing fabulous NYC things. Its almost Christmas, and NYC department stores take decorations very seriously. Today Chloe (my partner-in-crime) and I got a late start, but left cozy Brooklyn to walk 5th Avenue with the masses. It took a couple of cups of coffee, and ended with a gingerbread cupcake. Here's a little of the magic:

Glitter lights...I want

Roasted Chestnuts

Henri Bendel

Burberry

Bergdorf Goodman...they won

notice the orchestra pit

Add caption

Astrology themed...all made out of paper

Barneys

haha

underground treasures

Even the ordinary subway ride can be extraordinary. Check out these pictures from an abandoned subway stop by city hall. I usually try to get above ground as soon as possible, but this article has made me start thinking about the possibilities of a secret community living in historic grandeur, with the magic of a Stuart Little novel. more pictures can be seen here, courtesy of the Huffington Post.

FAILE

Last night I stopped by the Perry Rubenstein Gallery on 23rd between 10th/11th to check out FAILE's new show Bedtime Stories. Known for collage work and mosaic-like pieces (each piece is contrived of small individually painted/pasted blocks), I was thoroughly impressed with the juxaposition of iconic, pop culture and graphics. Not only did FAILE have 12 large scale pieces, but perhaps most exciting was the rectangular pillar statue in the center of the gallery--the 3D perspective allowed for more connections made. The mix of typography and familiar images was delicious to the eye. My favorite part of the show is pictured above--i think it shows an interesting commentary on American history and nationalism.

The Underbelly Project

NY local Roa

Jeff Stark's installation

Faile

From the public realm to the undiscovered, the Underbelly Project is a huge art show would be a struggle to stumble upon. Created by two street artists PAC and workhorse (not their true names), they organized over 100 street artists to participate, risking their health and permanent records to work in dark and grimy conditions by putting their artistic mark directly on the walls of the gallery--an abandoned subway station. Artists were required to bring their own supplies, and had only one visit to start and complete their work for the show. For the full story (and a slideshow and video), check out the New York Times article by Jasper Rees. The official website for the project is under construction but worth keeping an eye out for.
**(all photos from NYTs article)

Most recently

I've started interning for the most amazing organization: Art-Bridge. What Art-Bridge aims to do is give emerging artists in NYC exposure while beautifying neighborhoods and aiding the aesthetic crimes of scaffolding which are ever-present all over the city. Artists submit their work (varied mediums accepted, as long as within a certain ratio), pieces are then selected by jurors, and the works are blown up and printed on vinyl. This is a growing organization that has great potential to transform the urban landscape of our city. Currently, we are gearing up for the public opening Art-Bridge: In Plain Site at the London Terrace Gardens on Thursday, November 11th, from 6-8pm. Food and drink will be served, and inside the building, there will be a curated exhibition of the original works. This should be a really fun night! Please come out and show your support!

For more information visit www.art-bridge.org

A sneak peek of the show!

More Salt Please...

I just got a picture and wanted to share....These are the labels I designed for a friend. A while back I helped her out with her salts--She takes French sea salt and infuses them with various dry organic herbs. More recently she made a spinoff with infused pepper flakes. She dries and jars the pepper flakes (with salt) herself. An absolutely precious gift.

numero dos

More work for sketchbook project....I'm still not sure if I want to add more writing or not. Thoughts? Comments? Check out more on the sketchbook project at RIGHT HERE.

bright lights

I couldn't help myself...My obsessions with mason jars and shiny things have once again been combined....more experiments, more beauty. martha stewart glitter, ribbon, sequins, beads, spraypaint, salt.

This I saw at a bar in Jersey City and liked. not mine.

Meet Clarabelle

Today, I held the most precious baby I have come across in quite some time. I finally had the pleasure of meeting Clarabelle, the two month old daughter of some of my oldest friends, Gabrielle and Leo. She's perfect. Showing off her skinny jeans, she has the face of her mother and behaves like an angel. And obviously, she took a liking to me immediately (I'm her Aunt Lizzie--not in a familial way, but in that cool way where I get to spoil and take care of her and hold and then go home without any real obligation, unless I was needed of course.) I made tamales for the tired couple, and then while they were eating, I got to hold and feed and burp her. And she didn't cry, she cooed. So, as her Aunt, I'm gonna show her off. You are all very lucky.

proud papa

I love her.

already nuzzled right in. 

Sketchbook Project...First showing

As I mentioned a while back, I signed up for Art House Co-op's "Sketchbook Project".  It is thrilling be working on something that seems so small, but is linked to thousands of people worldwide. I think I may even submit a page to their website. It took a while to get started on because the pages of the moleskine are so thin, I actually had to take the pages out and re-bind the book. (Note: this took longer than expected; I made two pamphlets out of bristol and kind of created my own stitching method, after talking to a girl from Paper Source and purchasing some waxed twine.) But now its perfect! Here's one of my first page spreads, based on a sleep machine I made back in my college days. The color in the photo is a bit off; I could not get the scanner to work. I'm enjoying this project because each page brings new possibilities, and it takes the pressure off trying to make things perfect.

Radical Sabbatical

Ladies and Gents, after 20 years (I don't count the first 5) of either being in school or working full time, I'm on a sabbatical. And honestly, as enjoyable as it is, it's also a little weird. I told myself that I was going to to take this time slowly (maybe a month) to figure "IT" out. Ahh, the elusive "it". Let me tell you, three days in and I'm closer to finding "it" but I would say for a person who doesn't really know how to relax, I've done OK. Firstly, here is the destination location of my sabbatical, a charming town called New Hope, in a comfortable river home. Today was a particularly sunny day with temps in the 70s. No wind.

view from back deck of Delaware River

I have projects, I have ideas, there are things I want and need to do in order to make the most out of this: apply to grad school, make my own cheese, create a new blog on wordpress for my portfolio (don't worry, I'll let ya know) read for pleasure, learn how to cook fish for one, work on my sketchbook for the project, develop my own greeting card line, go to the dentist, learn how to silkscreen with the sun...I could go on for days. But I'm trying to take it one day at a time (it's only day three) and selfishly, enjoy it. Today was glorious; I made real progress on the sketchbook and will be uploading some pictures tomorrow if I can get the scanner to work. Today was also the first day I successfully poached an egg. Sometimes its the small stuff but really I'm quite proud.

atop a salad with lentils, leeks, tomatoes and ricotta  drizzled with balsamic:amazing!

The other thing I did, was ponder and plan uses for the 75 tomatoes on the kitchen counter. From my mother's farm, they are so fresh and sweet but I cannot possibly eat another. seriously, after eating tomatoes in every meal and between, my stomach is dying from the acidity. I was forced to rice cakes for  dinner. no more. But then how do I become victorious over the fruit flies? I can't let them go to waste....Well, thanks to a recipe courtesy of Smittenkitchen, I learned how to roast my own! click here for the recipe. Tomorrow, its salsa time.

the bounty post throw-out.

SF nostalgia

Thank you M and T. the hosts of my surprise going away--very surprising and the most thoughtful thing ever. Tim even made tofu.

Ok, so I made the big move, and let me tell you, I must have some sort of emotional blockage because I don't think I realized I was going to uproot my entire life until two days ago, two days after I left. Maybe it's because I was sleep deprived, maybe it was the rain, maybe it's the fact that I've been listening to Fleetwood Mac non-stop (and not in that "let me flail my arms and wear loose hippy clothes way, but that, let me be trapped in my own thoughts--as I type, "Landslide" plays in the background), but Tuesday, I poured a tall glass of wine, and I wallowed. Which is ok, because I also believe (even if I don't always follow my own advice) that you have to really feel an emotion, immerse yourself, then let it go....even as I say this, "Say that you Love me" comes on and I'm snapping my fingers.So firstly, I apologize for being a bad blogger, I have no real excuse except for the fact that I just moved 3000 across the country. But now, now my friends, I am back. This post is a tribute to San Francisco; to my last days there, to my favorite people, happy places, and delicious meals. Salute.

E cupcakes. delicious

Ahh the memories. B&W pix of the past three years everywhere. I plan on making a book.

 I should also mention that I was working my job up into the end of my time there, and despite being overwhelmed, I really wanted to hit all of my favorite places before I left. Farmer's market and excessive samples, Delores park, Blue Bottle in Hayes Valley, mainly a ton of walking...one of the things I will miss most. But before I sold my bike, Gringo Viejo, I wanted to him out for one last cruise. And because he can't handle the hills the way he once could, I took him to the Ocean Beach, a place I like to be contemplative, or at least pretend to be.

 After the ride I needed a snack. So I stopped at Trouble Cafe for some iced coffee and a delicious piece of Cinnamon Toast--so simple yet so wonderful. I think the bread is from Outerlands (in my opinion, one of the most thoughtful restaurants in the city; You can watch the owner baking bread for the next day, and it is amazing.)

 Then I went to General Store, a place I had always wanted to check out. A lot like the Curiosity Shoppe in the mission, but with a beachy vibe. This is from the garden in the back---I want this magical greenhouse.

One of the people i will miss most is my good friend Jen, because she is the lady I lunch with. And personally, i think lunch is my favorite meal to go out to; it's cheaper, its less crowded, and I love the occasional glass of wine in the afternoon--it allows me to feel European. For our last meal, she took me to YAMO, a hole-in-the-wall burmese/chinese restaurant that I would argue is on par with Burma Superstar, if not better. There are 8 stools, and three ladies constantly cooking and you can watch it all. We each had a coconut water (macheted open in front of us) a delightfully spicy tea leaf salad, and an entree for 15$. And we over-ordered. And I wanted to be rolled home. But totally worth it. Thanks Jen for a great last lunch

where EVERYTHING is cooked.

Tofu on cold sesame noodles. Delightful duality of sweet and spicy.

Hands-down, the best tea leaf salad in the city.

So I've gotten it out, and I feel better. Thanks for reading. Hasta Luego San Francisco. Catch ya on the flip. Hopefully this next phase gives me more to share.