I CAN'T WAIT TO READ LEE KRASNER: A BIOGRAPHY

I remember being at The Brooklyn Museum a bunch of years back, seeing some of the paintings of Lee Krasner, and thinking "Damn, this was a brilliant woman. I wish I knew more about her!" So I was thrilled to find out that there's a biography out about her, written by Gail Levin. Mary Houlihan of the Chicago Sun Times starts her review of the book this way:

For decades, the defining footnote to Krasner’s life was her marriage to legendary artist Jackson Pollock, a long-suffering relationship that overshadowed Krasner’s own talent and contributions to American abstract expressionism. But now in the absorbing Lee Krasner: A Biography, art historian Gail Levin looks well beyond the Pollock factor to detail Krasner’s own brilliant career. She manages to do this in succinct detail stretching from Krasner’s Brooklyn childhood and involvement in the early 20th century New York art world to the decades after Pollock’s death and the eventual recognition of her own artwork.

SEE YOU THIS SUNDAY AT 4 PM AT MMMM...I WANT TO EAT THAT ART!

I am psyched to announce that the pie paintings of Mike Sorgatz, my husband and curator of Art In Brooklyn, will be featured in MMmm...I Want to Eat That Art.

The venue for this Sunday's art reception is part of Rush Arts Gallery, a nonprofit arts organization run by Danny Simmons, Russell Simmons' brother.

Hope to see you there! Here's the info:


MMmm...I Want to Eat that Art

Opening Reception: Sunday March 27th from 4-6 pm.

Corridor Gallery, 334 Grand Street, Brooklyn NY 11238


On view at Corridor Gallery from March 25th to May 21st 2011 is a collection of delicious works of by Robin Antar, Lisa Diller, Edie Nadelhaft, Douglas Newton, Michael Sorgatz, and Tony Toscani. This works were created using a range of media including carved marble, pastel, and oil painting. Each artist draws from a different inspiration within similar subjects.

Robin Antar is commenting on the current packaging and production of food items in relation to Contemporary Pop Art. By making these temporary edible forms into permanent forms carved from stone.

Lisa Diller’s subject is the works of art that are delicately constructed by French pastry chefs, documented in a Thiebaud style of composition. The luscious colors of fresh confections and honey glazes are documented the same way French Masters explored the plein aire traditions.

Edie Nadelhaft is fascinated by the ideas of magnification and the sense of taste that can be derived through observations of the mouth. Her cherry biter series explores the way luscious cherries are sensuously devoured.

Douglas Newton has been exploring the compositions of food items for some time. He finds delight in the reflective wrappings of candy and rises to the challenge of painting the nuances coming together.

Michael Sorgatz started painting pies for a school fundraiser pie social. The explorations reminded him of family ties to his grandmother’s farm life. The comfort and nostalgia is translated though visceral acrylic paint on canvas.

Tony Toscani finds solace and comfort in dining at diners. The relaxed atmosphere brings him heart-felt conversations enjoyed over edible sustenance. Toscani’s paintings document the table and the piles of food as seen in A Hungry Mans Breakfast.

RUN, DON'T WALK, TO SEE BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK

I've always loved Bill Cunningham's spread in the Style section of the Sunday NY Times. It's called On the Street and it's where he captures men, women, and even the dogs of NYC who sport stand-out outfits or accessories. I didn't know a lot about Bill going into the movie, except that he stood around 5th and 57th and took a lot of his shots from there.

This movie is quite moving. Bill is a man of great modesty and extreme integrity. His eye for stand-out style is incredible.

ABOUT THE FILM (taken directly from the film's website)

“We all get dressed for Bill,” says Vogue editrix Anna Wintour.

The “Bill” in question is 80+ New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. For decades, this Schwinn-riding cultural anthropologist has been obsessively and inventively chronicling fashion trends and high society charity soirées for the Times Style section in his columns “On the Street” and “Evening Hours.” Documenting uptown fixtures (Wintour, Tom Wolfe, Brooke Astor, David Rockefeller—who all appear in the film out of their love for Bill), downtown eccentrics and everyone in between, Cunningham’s enormous body of work is more reliable than any catwalk as an expression of time, place and individual flair. In turn, Bill Cunningham New York is a delicate, funny and often poignant portrait of a dedicated artist whose only wealth is his own humanity and unassuming grace.

MOMOFUKULAND MAKES FOR A GREAT ARTIST'S DATE

I was gonna scoot right back to Bklyn after a morning appointment in Stuytown on 18th and First. But the sun was so shiny and it drew me west on 13th Avenue. Good thing, too, because I ran into Momofuku Milk Bar. MMB is run by David Chang, a young and big time restaurant pioneer who shares the same alma matter as I. I had read countless articles and interviews with him as the focus. Really interesting guy, and I was curious to taste the Compost Cookie I kept reading about. So after wandering into Momofuku Ssam Bar and asking for the cookie, they directed me around the corner to the Milk Bar. That's where they sell his flavored milks, milkshakes, cookies, cake-based truffles, and cakes all made out of unusual flavor combos.

Stood in line looking at the offerings on the chalkboard menu. Tasted a sample of the Crack Pie soft serve. Decided Nah, I'll stick with the compost cookie. Too sweet for my taste but I loved the creative energy in this place. Noticed the collage of doggie photos above one of the eating counters and purchased a photo collage book of David's world called SCRAPS.

Please do check out this NY Times article to learn about the origins of the Milk Bar.

Psyched that I finally found this little gem, I kept heading west and ran into the giant Kiehl's Flagship Store on Third Ave. What actually drew me in was a sign outside for their Brooklyn Farmacy counter. Farmacy is a Brooklyn soda shop carved out of an old pharmacy in my neighborhood. So I was surprised to see a mini version of it inside of, all places, Kiehl's. But it did make sense, given the old fashioned theme of both places.

Oh, Kiehl's has a wall full of doggie photos too - hmmmmm, do I detect a theme in this neighborhood?

Then I went next door to Ricky's. Like many Ricky's now, there's a hair salon called Revolver tucked in the back. $55 for a hair blow-out (that's just a blow dry, no cut) - WHAT?!?!?!?!?!? This neighborhood is seriously pricey - that's the cost of a hair CUT in Brooklyn!!!!!

Anyway, I was happy with all the visual inspiration today. I am seriously motivated to go get a digital camera and a printer with a built-in scanner so I can start cranking out some creations of my own.

Photo Source: Momofuku Milkbar Website

I'VE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH BELLA FOSTER

So enchanted I was with Bella Foster's painting on the March Editor's Letter of the WSJ Magazine, that I wrote to Bella and asked her permission to post one of her pieces.

For more information about Bella, go to HER BLOG.

YOU CAN NOW BID ON MICHAEL SORGATZ'S BROOKLYN BRIDGE PAINTING

Hear ye, hear ye. All you lovers of the Brooklyn Bridge can now bid on Michael Sorgatz's well-loved painting which was once featured on the poster which advertised The 2008 Brooklyn Blogfest.

Proceeds from the sale will go to Public School PS 29.

Go HERE to join in the bidding fun!

CONGRATULATIONS ESPERANZA SPALDING FOR WINNING BEST NEW ARTIST AT 2011 GRAMMYS!

For more about Ms. Spalding CLICK HERE.

For more about her Grammy Win CLICK HERE.

Photo Credit: The Savannah Tribune

GOOD NEWS! THERE'S A NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT KEVIN CLASH, THE MAN BEHIND ELMO!

In 2007, I had the honor of conducting a face-to-face interview with Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo and a Co-Producer of Sesame Street. I welcome you to take a peek at the interview that has become the most visited post on my blog.

Imagine my delight when I discovered that there was a new documentary out about Mr. Clash. Doing some internet research, I learned that it was produced and directed by Connie Marks. Ms. Mark's film,Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, won the 2011 Special Jury Prize in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.

To learn more about the film CLICK HERE

To follow the film on Facebook CLICK HERE

D'ANGELO AND AMANDA WIN PAULA ABDUL'S LIVE TO DANCE

I had seen previews of Paula Abdul's tv competition LIVE TO DANCE but never watched it until last week. By then, they were announcing the top three acts that would move on to this week's finale. I'm really glad I caught the last two shows. The dancing was fantastic, Paula was right in her element, and I liked all the encouragement given to very young dancers.

The second place act was young dancer Kendall Glover. Loved her athleticism.

Here's the start of a report on the winning couple from TV Eye:

The halfpint ballroom dancing couple from Miami, D'Angelo Castro & Amanda Carbajales, ages 9 and 10, were named "The Best Dance Act in America" Monday in the finale of Paula Abdul's "Live to Dance."

"I'm going to go to Disney World!" Castro declared upon winning the prize, $500,000.

In winning they beat the other youngster in the finale, Kendall Glover, 10, who came in second.

"Live to Dance" wasn't exactly a children's-only competition, but those were the two acts that got the most votes from home viewers.

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!

Information about Lunar New Year / Year of the Rabbit
Lunar New Year Programs at Museum of Chinese in America
Image Credit: MOCA

I SAW ALL THE LADIES SAY......WAY TO GO, ROKAFELLA!

I had the honor of attending the New York City premier of All the Ladies Say, a documentary about women breakdancers created by Ana Garcia a/k/a Rokafella.

What I appreciate about Rokafella's approach to filmmaking and to life is her emphasis on cooperation and collaboration between and among women. (A nice break from all the pop culture **** that pits women against each other. Enuf is enuf!)

At the end of the film, Rokafella got up on stage with 3 of the women whom she featured in All the Ladies, as well as with her super-supportive husband, Qwikstep.

People in the audience got up to express their appreciation for Rokafella's successful attempt to (1) trace b-girls back to the early 80s and show where a bunch of the women are now and (2) bring those women together to let them give voice to what it has been like to be female and part of that scene.

Rokafella: breakdancer, film-maker, community organizer. Let's keep following her lead!

WHO WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO RECEIVE A VALENTINE FROM YOU?

Thanks to my mom, I never thought of Valentines Day as a day that you could celebrate only if you had a "special someone."

Every February, she would lay out colored construction paper, paper doilies, glitter, sequins, beads, glue, lace, brick-a-brack - you name it! - and let me and my brother go to town making valentines for friends and relatives. So much fun!

Most years, I send valentines to friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues to express my appreciation for their friendship.

Do you think someone is going to turn down a Valentine card because you are not their romantic partner. Heck, no!

Send a fun card in the spirit of affection, appreciation, and friendship. There are lots of cards out there - like the ones designed for childen - that are not sappy, frilly, or corny.

Who is going to be delighted or surprised to get a Valentine from you? Your great aunt? Your mail carrier? Your neighbor's child? Your favorite teacher from grade school?

Think outside the box and imagine the delight as that person opens your paper gift!

NEED SOME NEW ENERGY? LET THE OUTSIDE IN

Whenever I feel the need for new energy, I open the windows in my apartment to get a cross-breeze going. Doesn't matter how cold it is outside; when I feel my energy lagging, it's time to throw opn the shutters and bring the winds of change in.

Other ways I create fresh energy and make room for the new:

(1) Buy flowers or a small potted something. Trader Joe's has potted daffodils for $2.50.

I am loving yellow and white together lately.

(2) Change the sheets.

(3) Move everything off my desk and give it a home. Take care of any unfinished business all the pieces of paper represent.

(4) De-clutter my shelves and move things around.

(5) Go for a walk. Look at everything like a detective or a scientist. Study people, dogs, and store windows.

(6) Watch Wendy Williams and catch up on gossip!

(7) Send out a birthday card.

(8) Do something nice and unexpected for someone - hold a door open for a mom with child, help someone across the street.

(9) Say "Thank you" to my husband for what may seem like the smallest thing.

(10) Take myself off of email lists so I can spend less and less time on the computer and free my mind and attention up for present time activities.

Photo credit: Yoshke.com

DON'T MISS "ALL THE LADIES SAY" FILM SCREENING AT WALTER READE THEATER ON JAN 30TH & 31ST

I saw lady breakdancer Ana Garcia a/k/a Rokafella several years back in Innaviews, a show she wrote and performed with husband, Qwikstep. Innaviews is one of many projects that have taken place under the banner of FullCircle Productions, Rokafella and Quikstep's Hip Hop / Dance /Theatre Company that's been going strong since 1992.

I'm psyched to announce that Ana's documentary, All The Ladies Say, is appearing as part of the annual Dance on Camera series at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center on January 30 and 31st at 6:00 and 4:00 respectively.

For info about TICKET SALES and more information about this not-to-be missed film event CLICK HERE.

Hope to see ya there!

From All the Ladies Say blog:

All The Ladies Say is a film that highlights the lives of six iconic female street dancers from San Jose, Atlanta, Miami and Chicago, who havcarved a niche in the physically challenging, male dominated breakdance world. Discussions about motherhood, sexual tension, femininity versus masculinity and the rap industry/mainstream images are a few of the themes explored by the documentary’s main characters. International dancers not only make appearances but also add their two cents about life as a B Girl in the Hip-hop world.

MUPPET CUPCAKES

Photo Source: Click Here

Uploaded by Cupcake Occasions UK

TINY BUDDHA: 50 WAYS TO OPEN YOUR WORLD TO NEW POSSIBILITIES

I just subscribed to a blog called Tiny Buddha. Love the title!

And then opened up an article called 50 Ways to Open Your World to New Possibilities.

Here are suggestions 11-16:

11. Walk to work and open your eyes. You may find a gym you want to join, or an organization where you’d like to volunteer.

12. Talk to someone while waiting in line and ask what they do. You don’t need to wait for a specified event to network.

13. Make an effort to connect with people you pass—smile and make eye contact for a little longer than usual. Being even slightly more open can open up your world.

14. Learn a new skill. Start taking piano lessons or karate classes.

15. Say yes to something you always talk yourself out of–sing karaoke or take a kickboxing class–even you’re afraid of you’ll feel embarrassed.

16. Take a walking lunch. Walk around your neighborhood for a half-hour, with no destination in mind, and then eat at your desk when you return. You never know what will happen when you get out without a plan.

THE POWER OF AN UNEXPECTED GIFT

At the end of a workshop I attended last weekend, my friend and artist Lisa Ingram walked up to me with a small gift in her hand. She extended the gift to me.

"What is this for?" I asked with delight and surprise.

"It's a belated birthday present and you've been so great."

When I got home, I unwrapped the ribbon and tissue to find a small, beautiful painting that Lisa had created and mounted on a small canvas. What an honor to now have her work in my home. How lovely to receive an unexpected gift after the rush of the holiday season.

Inspired by Lisa's gesture, I decided to act on an idea I had had for a while to give the security guard at the school where I work a small pot of Daffodils to keep on her desk. She sits by the front door, so she can't really keep decorations around. I thought it would be nice for her to have the bright yellow right in front of her and for families to get to see the flowers right when they come in.

She loved the daffodils and it felt great to give a small expression of my appreciation for everything this woman does to help make people including myself feel so welcome at the school.

Outside of annual birthdays, anniversaries, and other annual events that you help people celebrate, remember the joy of giving the occasional (or frequent!) surprise gift. It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive, just a heartfelt expression of your appreciation for that person.

Photo credit: Design Sponge.

BALTHAZAR, TACOMBI, AND WENDY WILLIAMS - ALL IN ONE DAY!

I get a lot of creative energy from hanging out in SoHo. So imagine the dreaminess of getting to go to two fun, and totally differing, food hangouts in one day.

First, thanks to my brother Adam's gift to us for our one-year anniversary, we had breakfast at Balthazar, which is a SoHo institution. I loved the dark wood paneling and our corner seat where we could see most of what was going on. There was a constant influx of people; never a dull moment at this place. Remember that tv show Will and Grace? This was their fav. place to go for brunch.

We then waded through the snow and slush in search of a winter jacket, only to find a lot of picked -over merch.

Later in the day, when we needed a little protein to sustain ourselves, I remembered a place I had passed by and wanted to try. A guy outside sweeping pointed us in the right direction and we finally found Tacombi, a loft/garage with a taco truck inside. Truly heaven. It was spacious, fun, warm(!), inexpensive, and they were showing The Endless Summer. Since Mike and I are both from CA, we felt right at home here.

Mike somehow mustered up the energy to move on to The Brooklyn Museum. Me, I was craving the warmth and quiet of our Brooklyn apartment. So I came back home to sit in the late afternoon sun and watch Oprah and The Wendy Williams Show.

THE MOST MEANINGFUL HOLIDAY GATHERING THAT I ATTENDED

The most meaningful holiday gathering I went to this season was the end-of-the year meeting of Creative Conversations. This is a group of women visual artists and writers that I helped launch almost two years ago. We get together every month or so to explore different aspects of being women artists, and take turns facilitating the meetings. It is a fantastic group of women; everyone is supportive of everyone else in a totally genuine way.

Two women facilitated the first portion of the evening and called it 2010 in Review. There were three parts to the Review. They were as follows:

1. A look back at this past year's accomplishments. Each woman was asked to list accomplishments she was proud of in areas such as creativity, business/career, family/friends, finance, and adventure.

Some items I listed were sticking to a stretch routine and going to pilates classes; year one of marriage; putting together a great gift for my mom's 70the birthday; collaborating with friends on an art party; getting a job that I love; staying in touch with my great aunt.

2. What am I thankful for? Who? What?

We each wrote out a list and mine included my new job at PS 29; this group; my husband who is kind and funny; hot running water; episodes of Shean the Sheep ; nice neighbors; and The New York Times.

3. Looking to 2011: What do I want to achieve? What do I want to try? What do I want to do differently? What do I want to keep on doing? What old goals can I let go of?

On my list of wants was a fitness routine that I love in the company of friends; seeing friends more often; a new art form to explore; a second form of income that has some room for creative expression; a way to learn how to cook different dishes.

After each woman shared some of what she had written from these three items, we moved on to the Gift Exchange. Each woman had brought a wrapped gift which symbolized something that had given her creative strength or inspiration. Each of us took the wrapped gift which most appealed to us. Keep in mind that we did not know the content of the wrapping. Amazingly, each woman received a gift which in some way related to her goals/wants for the year 2011. Talk about serendipity!

This gathering was the perfect way to celebrate all the wonderful relationships we had built with each other over the course of the year.

DONALD, THE FALLEN MAN & LEMON MERINGUE PIE

I decided even in the swirly whirls of the blizzard to go out to SoHo in Manhattan yesterday. On the way back, the train's last stop ended up being two stops short of my subway stop. When I got out, there was a man lying in the snow with one woman kneeling down beside him. It turned out that he was a city employee who was shoveling show off the steps descending to the subway. He had fallen into a big patch of snow against the wall at the bottom of the stairs and was afraid to move because he was in so much pain. It also turned out that he had a heart condition. The woman and I stayed with him and kept checking in to make sure his supervisor (very gruff guy) called 911. We kept hearing that 911 was extremely backed up and the wait for help could be hours.

The whole vibe down there with his colleagues was pretty rough. Kind of a dog-eat-dog vibe.

At some point, a male nurse joined me and the other woman and he was really great, a kind and gentle soul. Donald, the guy who had fallen, finally could not take the cold of lying in the snow anymore and asked us to move him out of it. Another bystander came and helped the nurse move Donald to a dryer spot. I said "Donald, you win the prize for having the worst Monday" and he laughed.

Donald felt light-headed so the nurse suggested we find something sweet for him to eat. I said "I have a pear and a lemon meringue pie in my bag." Lisa told me that while I was down the street getting the ambulance she gave him some of the pie and he said it was delicious. You never know when a lemon meringue pie will come in handy!

I went up the stairs to the top of the subway station several times to call Donald's family and pull in help. The third time I went up, his supervisor was waiting for an ambulance. I looked way, way down the street and said "Isn't that an ambulance down there?" I jogged (carefully!) down a couple of blocks and sure enough there was a volunteer ambulance just sitting there. I told them we had a situation down the street so they made a U-turn and came around. Just as I was walking back to Donald, a second a larger ambulance came. So this huge crew of people came at once and took Donald away to the hospital. As they were carrying him away, Lisa and I muscled our way past the crew of burly guys and said our good-byes to him.

Sometimes the inconvenience of a snow storm and the ways it gets us to slow down is a good thing.

Donald, Lisa, and Male Nurse - you are all in my thoughts!