Friday, February 28, 2014

Open Studio 2014

An Afternoon Social
with Hats, Beads & Art
First, let me say, my Open Studio, "Hat Shop in a Box," was, IMO, a resounding success. So many of my old friends, new friends and family attended, that it really was a 2-day afternoon social.

The door bell kept dinging, the prosecco help flowing and the hugs kept hugging. And the beads and hats were flying off the shelves.
I am wearing a Laurence Kazar sequined blouse
newly purchased from Rosemary Wettenhall's
Greenwich Village shop, Madame Matovu.
My beads are called "Forget-Me-Not."
Hair by Wing of Sassoon, 18th Street, NYC


The Hat Shop in a Box
 I displayed my beads on the table covered
by an orange, silk scarf. My inspiration board was
illuminated by our pink, floor lamp,
a Jielde from France.
Below: closeups from the Inspiration Board.



 I gave the beads flower names such as
Gladiola, Hyacinth and Snapdragon.

 Collages which use my photos
taken in Pennsylvania coal country.
I also created little tableaus with some of my
doll accessories and furniture.

 I made the orange-velvet boater
for my bridal course at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
My teacher said it was "perfect work."
 Julliette cap with vintage feathers and
pansies, also made at FIT.

A series of my small drawings.
Hats and more drawings on the orange table.
Another drawing on a bookcase shelf.
One must have a mirror for trying on.
Our red table looks like it could have come from Design Within Reach. Not so. This table was rescued from an industrial waste heap. I spied it one day when we were at the Saint Nicholas Coal Breaker in Pennsylvania. It was sitting forlornly in a pool of black mud. We took it home, and had it sand blasted and painted red. It's quite happy now, in our kitchen.
 Jean, one half of the Idiosyncratic Fashionistas, models
her purchase which I call Nuit et Jour.
I made this hat with Jean in mind.
I used buttons from my mother-in-law's button box,
which I inherited.
I think that Jean has renamed the hat, "Orca."
 Val, the other half of The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas,
wearing "Orca," and sporting her
squid earrings, caught off the
shore of Montauk, fresh that
morning.
 Val looking soigne.
 My niece, Sarah Wedge, trying on Val's jacket
to complement the "Dahlia" beads.
 Sarah's choice: "Hollyhock."
 Sarah and her husband, Damon.
 My nephew, Jack, with Sarah and Damon.
Damon looks like he is wearing a puffy yarmulke.
Samira, mon professeur de français a 
l'Alliance Française.
Samira purchased "Snapdragon."
Très jolie!
 Richard with neighbor, Rosemarie,
wearing a Stephen Burrows dress,
and my beads from last season,
"The Chuckles Necklace."
 We met Paula some time ago at Morandi,
a restaurant in the Village where she is a server.
She also studies acting and makes hats.
 Paula made this charming hat with a seaweed motif.

The Yodas...
 Yoichiro Yoda, shows Richard his catalog from
his recent show at the Mitaka City Gallery of Art in Tokyo.
Yoi studied with Richard at Tyler.
"As soon as I started my freshman year at Tyler, I felt that I was finally on the right track. In my sophomore year, I met a professor named Richard Cramer, whom I felt I could put my confidence in his way of thinking about art. One day, one of the other professors questioned me about the perspective that I used in my painting, saying that it looked wrong. Then Prof. Richard Cramer talked back to the other professor, "Are you talking about the old fashioned (stale) perspective from the Renaissance era?" After that, I was very happy making paintings in my own way."
Yoichiro Yoda, "Dramas of Memory," catalog for show, 2012 


"Dear Stephanie" by Yoichiro Yoda
2012 oil on canvas 30 x 40 in.

 My brother, David, and Junko and Toshi Yoda,
Yoi's parents.
Both Junko and Toshi are wonderful artists.
 I digress.
Junko and Toshi had a joint show at the MC Gallery in NYC.
Here is Richard with Junko's
Flight Maps works.
Looking down into one of Junko's works.
It's a globe showing the earth with the flight map of a plane
from New York to Tokyo, as seen on an airliner's video screen.
Junko and Toshi before a galaxy of Toshi's paintings,
which he has done over the course of 10 years.
Debra Rapoport wearing
one of her fantastic hats made from Viva paper towels.
Shara, my friend Cindy's daughter-in-law,
regarding Debra's hat.
Elka trying a hat.
 The Great Pink Hat Try-On
Batting first, Cindy,
my Elmira college friend.
 Batting second, Julie.
 And batting third, and winner
of the MCP award,
"Most Cutest Player,"
Sienna.
Joyce.
Flawless beauty.
The chic Maryann.
No one does black, leather, bows and satin better.
She is wearing a necklace of her own design.


My friend, Cindy Perry Tavernise, brought me this diminutive
Mexican hat shop in a box. 


À Bientôt!



Sunday, February 16, 2014

Escape to Naples

Sojourn in the Sub-Tropics
Last week it was off to the Gulf Coast of Florida, for a brief stay with my sister, Susan, and her husband, Rick, in Naples, Florida. We were extremely lucky to fly between the snow flakes, just missing two storms. It was totally delightful in Naples, with sunny 70 and 80 degree weather.
I met this man at Vanderbilt Villas, where
my sister is staying. 
He kept following me around and trying to
talk to me. He wanted to tell me about his 4 degrees.
It's all pink there.
I walked to the beach each morning. 
So tranquil and beautiful.
I saw dolphins.
Susan rides her Trek bike sometimes 14 miles a day.
 The vegetation is lush.

 We had tea at Brambles in Old Naples.

Strawberry rhubarb pie.
Susan volunteers at the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp
Sanctuary, a 14,000 acre wildlife refuge.
She leads second-graders on
"The Great Insect Adventure."
 We shopped at Lilly Pulitzer
in Old Naples.
 Love this coral and blue tunic.
 Ladies and their daughters in Palm Beach
in their Lilly Pulitzer shifts.
Photo from "A Privileged Life" by Susanna Salk
 I have always been intrigued by the
Lilly Pulitzer look,
but when I got up close,
it held less appeal.
Maybe it was the price tags.
 My preferred mode of travel:
Orange-sherbet colored bikes with white walls.
 Cakes for the Florida ladies.
 Deluxe things for privileged children.

 A preppy shop.
I wanted to love it ...
but I guess I'm too much of a New York girl.
 We dined at chic restaurants.

 Susan and Rick at the Cote d'Azur,
a dining treat from our sister, Jeanne, and her husband, Chris.
The food was delicious.
The best meal in Naples.
 We saw cattle egrets in parking lots.
 I found Lilly in the
Diva Fashionista Resale shop.
 I escaped unscathed, purchase wise.
All for the best as I would have been
awash in a sea of pink coral.
 These darling espadrilles once
graced the tiny foot of a 
debutante, no doubt.
406 Willet Avenue
Home of Sam and Mary
This is the house in Naples that my parents, Sam and Mary Markel,
purchased in the 70s.
It's a duplex, and their best friends purchased the adjoining
apartment. It gives on to a canal in the back,
and they also put in a pool.
The current owners have repainted, but have not turned
it into a McMansion like other houses on the block.
 Happy Times.
Mary, my niece, Sarah Wedge, and Sam
sitting by the canal.
 Sam dressed for golf in Naples.
No one could accuse Sam of disappearing into the crowd.
 Sam in his white, linen suit
doing his best Rat Pack imitation.
He's Frank.
Sam with his beloved Excalibur.
Happy Valentine's Day
 to you all!
(P.S. I finally let this roué take
me to dinner.)

À Bientôt!

Don't forget ....
 my Hat Shop in a Box,
 is this Saturday and Sunday
from 1 to 5.
Email me for directions.