Monday, August 30, 2010

space making

I recently spotted this new piece by Nicolette Brunklaus. I am forever conflicted by the actually purpose of the pouf in interiors but it does function as a gateway to some great ideas. Brunklaus has experimented with the photographs on lampshades and curtains but this piece, maybe at the table scale, really is a spacial idea.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Sound building

Finally have had some time to research the work of Janet Cardiff and Georges Burn Miller. Known for putting together spatial experiences through sound; walks, installations-this piece "Opera for a Small Room" it almost a sound diorama.....

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Building a love of buildings

I have just survived the birthday party for the giant teenager (thirteen) a delightful all girl affair and I am remembering all the pretty parties, cupcakes and stories of "little girlness". While cleaning up I found my copy of Frances Hodgson Burnett's Racketty-Packetty House. The story of two doll house families, one wealthy and brand new and one many times used and pushed behind the nursery door. I wonder if this is the origin of my secret hope to be a marxist decorator-if one is reading about class wars in Victorian dollhouses at a young age it must have some effect.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Living in-205 south

We are settling into Lafayette Street and one of the pleasures is our parking lot-yes,our parking lot. Last year I actually commissioned two young designers, Mark Wise and Danny Wicke- to sort out Little Building's parking lot with a fence and planters and I am really glad I did. I will give a more detailed tour when I get some fall planting in. This space will make a small apartment delightful.

Building books

I am fascinated by the work of Irma Boom lately. I normally don't indulge in graphic design-its a heady expertise that I don't quite have the bandwidth for. But it seems that she is building books, thinking through scale, form and performance to a fine result.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

derivation........

Remodelista proposed today that the early work of Rietveld was a product of the economic crisis and his first work was from shipping crate materials. The tradition lives on with many a young designer-I think about how to go about it all the time. These are by-Gas&Air studio, Studio-mama and Kenneth Rasco

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

"design performance"

This morning I am all fired up about the work of Studio Glithero. A London duo; they make work that brings "process' forward it the artifact oriented design world. This piece an interesting conceit-Bamboo legs(hyper strong structural material) dipped in bronze to hold a paper cabinet...........a long discussion about stability ensues-

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Building delight

I remember as a student seeing very small black and white photographs of the Miller House and thinking wow I would like to see more of that. Well, recently the Indianapolis Museum has made a fabulous web site that describes the beautiful Miller house with architecture by Saarinen, garden by Dan Kiley and interiors by the lighthearted Alexander Girard. Delight and rigor.......

Monday, August 23, 2010

Some Good Building

Don't miss Citizen Architect Tonight on PBS-check your local listing for the time. A very moving film for a very moving construct.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Building a light touch

There is something very charming about this Paola Navone "experiment". I can imagine myself making this chair and then putting on a very fine party dress. Thanks Ghislaine for reintroducing me to Navone's work.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Library building......

Trying to decide if I NEED this book. I wholly respect McMakin's work to the point of envy. Concerned that looking at his work will influence me too greatly????

Thursday, August 19, 2010

building an image bank

I started furniture class this week and gave my speech about plagiarism verses derivation. Its a hard call in design school but what I do say is study furniture that has come before you know it well and make the derivation your own. My newest source for inspiration in the study of great furniture is the Wright auction house in Chicago. This site is so well put together and educational-a gift really.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Lounge building

Remodelista featured a very stunning steel garden wall today and while digging deeper in the same project there was this image of a carpet/chaise?? I could not find the author; photography clearing house sites are not quite up to that task it seems. But I love thinking about who could have done this piece-Claudy Jongstra perhaps, Christien Meindertsma? How does that leg structure work underneath??? So cool

the image of a building

Spotted at the National Portrait Gallery at a small Elvis exhibition were the photographs by William Eggleston of Graceland. I visited Graceland when we first moved south and really wanted to take pictures of funny things-like the white brocade sofa that was exactly like my grandmother's but did not. And of course Eggleston's documentation is far finer.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

building change

Well this is a hard post to write but as some of you know we moved from the beloved 305 Greensboro, to the back of the Little Building building and closed the cafe and moved our studio to the cafe space. All sad moves but actually the result has been very interesting. Madeline, Caleb and I are now living in a small space much like our Brooklyn life and oddly it feels "right". I thought I would document the result this fall for a number of reasons. One is it doesn't look half bad, two I feel better about our carbon foot print in relation to our family-also since we renovated the building the utilities are LOW.......and finally you see many small space articles and they all seem to involve young couples sharing space and we are not young AND we have a giant teenager in out mist-so its a challenge. So stay tuned and let's see how it goes-

Building sustainable chic

Spotted at the Brooklyn Museum last month was the
Andy Warhol's Fragile Dress. This object does not have much to do with space but has everything to do with a sustainable way to make things. Although Warhol has an uptown glamour about his work I imagine in The Factory there was alot of "Look we can just make this with what we have around"-a "within Arms Reach" approach to making things-is there a resourceful yet glamorous approach to come?

Monday, August 16, 2010

Form building

Still unloading the mental bank from traveling this summer. The Cooper Hewitt is always a provocative stop for me. I wrote down in my notebook about these amazing "Lego like" pottery pieces by Dutch Phenom-Ineke Hans.
Designed as components to suit the function they are a formal dream.....

Space building-the image

I have discovered a nice way to document buildings while traveling and to attempt to understand them spatially. The Iphone PANO app. is my new buddy. This is not a new way of looking at space see the work of Gordon Matta Clarke and the wild work of David Hockney and his 80's Polaroid studies. All exhibit a frustration with the architectural composition as gospel.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Work building

I am still processing all that we did in the last month, visits, museums, being in great American cities. One of the great pleasures of my life is that some my best friends are artists and designers-so a wonderful meal complete with funny kid stories becomes a studio visit. My best childhood friend is the very talented Karen Deans of WoodenTile. Her studio reveals some very sweet biographical notes-paint cans from chicory coffee=mama is from New Orleans.
Rich Lives=Rich work......



Friday, August 13, 2010

Decorated Space

I realized my fascination with wall's that have a three dimensional quality must derive from my visit this summer to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Jefferson's front entry was designated as a didactic environment to promote the expansion of the country-conceptually and physically. Visitor's commented on the "strange furniture of the walls" Most objects are artifacts from Lewis and Clarke's Expedition and others are maps from his surveyor father and a clock that envelopes the front door with mechanical splendor.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Building compositions

It was my first visit to the National Portrait Gallery in DC and its a delight. Not only can you visit the elegant portrait of Ben Franklin in his gray linen but you can see these highlights of modernism upstairs. First up is this Harry Bertoia Atomic Sculpture wall. This beautiful composition of brass and light reminds me of the Helfand studio walls and Thomas Jefferson's didatic front entry-who needs paintings on the wall when light, form and shadow can jump at you......

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

building ephemera

I had a great visit with artist designer Amy Helfand while we were in Brooklyn last month. I have been shooting myself because I really wished I had taken a pictures of the compositions on her studio walls. Drawings mixed with delicate sculptures they rise far beyond the "inspiration wall". Luckily she had just been interveiwed by the oh so smart sightunseen web magazine and they have pictures to prove it. Thank you Jill Singer for providing a great tour of Amy's work and world. And thanks Amy for the delightful morning!

the image is from jill singer's article

Building opulence..............

D.C was a whirlwind of great painting after great painting in enormous stately rooms. But hidden is the elegant Freer Gallery is Whistler's Peacock Room.
Once the dining room of a London town home. The owner asked James Mcneil Whistler to consult on the color for the project; Whistler proceeded to embrace the project and the room became a painting in itself.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Life building downstairs


As I get settled into Mississippi Life from Maine Life-I thought I would share with the curious the Pearl Street House. Not quite finished but we had a good three weeks. These videos are a decidedly un-shelter magazine ready peek but I will use it this year to work long distance to finish the project up....so not everything thing in life is picture perfect. Composed image to the left is from Mr. Plommer.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Party Building

A few more days of life living rather than blogging....We had a 50 birthday party for Caleb and this image was made by the very talented and warm hearted Mr Plommer........Thank you for all the composition-