Chairs and Buildings

Hi There! I moved...........

2011-09-30T18:43:00.003-05:00

Hi there. I have moved to www.chairsandbuildings.wordpress.com. Please come and visit if you saw the work in Leanne's book!

building shift

2010-11-05T09:28:00.004-05:00

I have not left blog world-I am trying to shift to a new and improved Chairs and Buildings identity.............bear with me.

ghost building

2010-10-31T06:47:00.004-05:00

I got down to Moss in Soho yesterday and saw the "Butch-Craft" show. The work is interesting because to me its a kind of "Brooklyn" look but as you get closer you see that the craft is super polished and fits nicely in the oh so zipped up tight Moss shop. Peter Marigold's work stands out because of his interest in molding the opposite to form the mirror of the work-the result is a "Rachel Whitheadesque' cabinet

building pictures

2010-10-30T15:58:00.002-05:00

A pop in from the a senior field trip to New York. I got to see last night at a favorite tradition of Friday Metropolitan visit aka" Drinks on the Roof". I visited an old friend the beautiful wood inlaid room from the 15th century from the Ducal Palace of Gubbio designed by Franceso di Giorgio Martini.

cloud building

2010-10-28T13:55:00.002-05:00

I think this is the manufactured version of the chair/cloud that I spied in the photographers portfolio months ago. This is a Poliform product by the ultra chic french designer Jean Marie Massaud. I like how its a homage to the Eames Le Chaise and its works with the current trend toward quilted,knitted upholstery...

building resources

2010-10-27T12:34:00.003-05:00

The last month has been a whirl wind of exhibitions, lectures and field trips...which makes life quite fun but for me unfocused. Thinking back on last week-a highlight was visiting local furniture manufacturer
Tupolo Manufacturing. Specializing in commercial custom work,with there minimum order being #1-this company is a great resource for designers as well as inspiring.......

Monster building.............

2010-10-26T20:26:00.003-05:00

While checking out a new favorite blog(thanks erin!) The Jealous Curator, I came upon this chair done by student Anni Arnefjord, a student at a new favorite school-Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm. I am loving these monster chairs......

"designer meets artisan"

2010-10-25T08:43:00.004-05:00

Spotted on Style-Files, Claire Anne O'Brien knitted stools are all the rage. I love the scale difference from the bulky knitted seat to the delicate legs. Now for us middle aged types do stools really work in interiors? They are great vehicles for ideas but are they used?

Story building

2010-10-22T13:49:00.004-05:00

This little lady has her dress on to go to Oxford in the morning for a
"One Night Stand at the Ole Miss Motel"-don't judge. I wanted to make a piece to talk about Sargent's Madame X. and Amelie Gaureau's life. The map on the seat shows her ancestral home of False River, Louisiana, the map then moves to her birth place of Toulouse Street in New Orleans and then the walk from John Singer Sargent's studio to The Academie De
Beaux Arts to hang the famous Madame X portrait and then a map showing the route from Amelie's home to Sargent's studio where she begged him to take down the infamous painting.

blank building..........

2010-10-19T16:28:00.002-05:00

C&B will be a bit dormant for this week as we get ready for One Night Stand in Oxford....follow the buzz on Erin Abbott Kirkpatrick's blog Afterschool Oxford .

exhibition building

2010-10-17T11:10:00.002-05:00

here is a tour of the Julia and Varina show if you did not get to Starkville..........

Building for big

2010-10-16T15:56:00.002-05:00

Just back from a morning at Kentuck in Northport Alabama. The bravest stuff is from the seasoned artists like Butch Anthony; one seeing his work was the first time I have uttered" I wish I had a space large enough" to acquire one of these giant entities and I really want to check out his annual Doo-Nanny next March.

Building Pink

2010-10-15T10:06:00.003-05:00

These takes on the Hans Wegner Wishbone Chair range from using lots of imagination to using almost none the most successful is this Sara Rotman creation. The Sea anemone is always an appropriate muse......The project is in an effort to raise money for breast cancer-the wishbone chair is a beautiful starting point.

Building Infinity

2010-10-12T08:25:00.003-05:00

The Ai Weiwei project at the Tate looks breathtaking. One Million porcelain sunflower seeds covering the great hall floor. The material has multiple meanings in the cultural narrative of Weiwei's work. I find myself alittle disappointed that they are not real sunflower seeds-I can work through the functional concern, three months of stepped on sunflower seeds-yuck. I can also follow the porcelain industry as key to China's economy and the gesture toward 100 million as a potent number in China. I can even work through the real/fake thing. But wouldn't have smelled great in there????

Public building

2010-10-11T08:19:00.003-05:00

We are in the "could the week have more stuff going on???season". On Thursday at 2:00pm artist Erin Hayne and Nuno Goncalves Ferreira are coming to Mississippi State to lecture! Studio NunoErin is breaking new ground in Jackson, producing haptic furniture and installing this large scale public art work at the Jackson Convention Center. The lecture is at Fowlkes Hall in the Student Union-open to all. Please come.

Value building

2010-10-10T15:10:00.004-05:00

Get to a copy of Fast Company this month some very good insights into the design world. In particular the cover story article on Patricia Urguilo with ideas like sustainability is about longevity and that water taps should be designed to evoke the preciousness of the water available not the excess.......

furniture ideas

2010-10-09T21:05:00.004-05:00

So I look at art because I do generally feel that art is at times doing a better job of interior design. The art world, whether its money or chutzpah, just seem to get at ideas in furniture rather than just fill in the space. I have yet to work out the work of Tom Sachs.....his subject manner is too judgemental for me but his struggles regarding craft in the New York art world are struggles to learn from. I found images of his studio on the Selby and the most interesting things were the ad hoc/remade chairs about the studio. There is another discussion on Design verses Craft verses DIY?????

Life building

2010-10-08T19:26:00.005-05:00

A couple of more weeks of high production mode but frankly I need alittle C&B inspiration too! So I wandered around and came upon the work of Tanya Aguiniga . I posted about her breakout felt folding chairs at the advent of C&B but had not looked at her work since. A couple of things stuck me-a bold move to "Felt" a Eames DCM chair is true to message a found chair......right on. And reading her "about" statement; her work is more activist than design diva-very nice. This inspired me to keep on the path of the inverse career...........

I heart my graphic designer......

2010-10-07T19:37:00.006-05:00

I am in big change mode as well as generating alot of work.........I have decided to make Chairs and Buildings" more of a "thing". So I asked the very talented Jamie Runnells to think through what Chairs and Buildings might need if it were at "thing". First of all, she dealt with my ambitious vagueness with great elan and then proceeded to knock me out with some of the clearest, sweetest ideas around. See the best business card ever. Thanks Jamie-and stay tuned for more identity.

Its time

2010-10-06T08:17:00.004-05:00

Erin Abbott has sent out the beautiful poster for the One Night Stand Show and I am excited about my comrades in the show! If your in Oxford on the 23rd-come on by!

Thought building

2010-10-05T09:37:00.002-05:00

There is a heated debate in design schools as to whether the academia is following industry and whether it could be reversed. What I have found is the general curriculum of design schools is behind the times but if you look deeper into the colleges you see this trend toward small centers that are leading the way in design thinking. See the Aridlands Institute at Woodbury College in LA for an prime example. This fall's lecture series will lead the way in understanding water scarcity as a catalyst in the climate change discussion.

seeing some good work-

2010-10-04T10:12:00.000-05:00

Its a couple of weeks away but this year I get to go to Kentuck Arts Festival in Northport, Alabama. Evidently, the folk art heroes of the south, Amos Kennedy, Butch Antony and Charlie Lucas converge on this festival site and make it a must see event.

Clean-work

2010-10-03T10:08:00.002-05:00

Okay, the first show is almost up and now to clean the studio. I am using this image of Betty Goodwin's studio as clean studio inspiration and I hope to learn more about this upcoming show-entitled At Work: Hesse, Goodwin, Martin promises some valuable insights into the process of these three great artists.

Working more

2010-10-02T16:23:00.003-05:00

If your in Starkville the opening for this is October 14th, 5:30pm.

Working..........

2010-09-29T19:59:00.003-05:00

For the next few days I am going to take a break and get this show up. Stay tuned for exhibition photos-maybe a slide show...wish me luck. Annie

Image by Jennifer Hudson

roommaking-

2010-09-28T14:00:00.003-05:00

So I am working away on this installation and when I get discouraged I have found myself saying..."what would Studio Toogood do?" Master of the temporary, the work of Faye Toogood has captivated the London Design Week again and raised the bar for those of us who make rooms.....

Learning about building

2010-09-26T10:43:00.005-05:00

I have spent the morning-learning about, researching the work of dutch artist Mark Manders. Things to consider; the wonderful use of language in his titles , ie. "silent factory" and "writing room fiction machine", the difference in scale in the objects that are assembled for the idea, the difference in materials (something I am not good at) in the assemblege, the razor shape way the installantion is photographed.......

Building Innovation

2010-09-25T09:59:00.005-05:00

C&B's comrade Ghislaine Vinas has hit a home run with the apartment that is the cover girl for
Interior Design Magazine this month- Vinas has an uncanny ability to mess the "store bought" with artisan craft and custom work-providing clients with a sense of place and livability.
Bravo Miss G! And I will be stealing the dipped upholstery idea.......

Image by Eric Laignel

Building a garden

2010-09-24T17:03:00.004-05:00

Its still in the 90's here everyday in Mississippi so fall has not shown up-but the light is changing in the back and if doing else the leaves are changing because they are just worn out....I took some images around the garden this morning-I must have entered my horticultural phase between the Sissinghurst book and planting fall cauliflower.....

Interior Building

2010-09-24T16:11:00.003-05:00

Last year at this time I was asked by A Public Space editor Brigid Hughes to make a project that started with a Found Object-at the time I had come upon the work at the Ulysses S. Grant Association and was captivated by Mrs. Grants Opera Shawl...That began a series of drawings that essentially re-decorated the Grants New York brownstone-in a fictional way. Look for the the drawings published in this issue of A Public Space.

Building a look

2010-09-23T14:21:00.003-05:00

You can not really think about Porter chairs now without conjuring up the image of Kelly Wearsler's Bergdorf Goodman's tea room. These chairs now frame the most beautiful of the beautiful in New York City.

chair building

2010-09-22T15:14:00.003-05:00

Recent research done on the "porter chair" as a terrific example of form and function. Popular in medieval Europe and up until 18th century England-note this one survives from in the Bank of England Museum. The egg shape was needed to protect the porter from drafts that occurred in the entry way of an estate or castle, one needed a porter to answer the knocker since the estate was so large...

Building rural

2010-09-21T12:07:00.003-05:00

I am really enjoying Adam Nicholson's Sissinghurst An Unfinished History . Well written with a bit about Vita, a bit about garden history, alot about environmentalism in the realm of historic preservation and alot about the reality of our world agriculturally and how drastic we have let it change in the last two centuries.

Building arabesque

2010-09-20T08:57:00.004-05:00

Spotted this "Bloomsburyesque" chair in the home of embroidery designer Erica Wilson and modernist furniture designer Vladimir Kagan on The Selby . My stitching skills are not even close but I will keep this image to aspire to.

Building structural logic

2010-09-18T20:07:00.004-05:00

A Thonet chair is made out of six components and then about eight to ten screws depending on the model number. The curves are an illustration of using the the circle shape structurally(the circle holds the legs and the arch shape maintains the back)-because its the strongest shape.

Room building

2010-09-18T09:31:00.004-05:00

Getting ready for a show at the Mississippi State Visual Arts Center 1, 808 University Drive., Starkville. The show opens October 4th, opening reception October 14th. Come see some new work!

new technique

2010-09-18T08:59:00.003-05:00

I have just stumbled upon the Japanese embroidery technique of Sashiko in my new best book Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Fabric Crafts. This simple running stitch really appeals to my modernist outlook.

building legacy

2010-09-17T10:06:00.003-05:00

The history of the Gebruber Thonet company is a very common industrial revolution story. The Thonet family hit upon a material condition that lent itself to a faster and more efficient manufacturing process. The look of the chairs embraced the fin de seicle and art nouveau sensibility of the 1850's. But what was unexpected was the enduring/timeless quality of the chair. Everyone knows the story of modernist master Corbusier using these chairs in all his projects more than 100 years after the birth of the no. 14-but who knew that we would using them into the 21st century without a hint of nostalgia.

Ode to Thonet

2010-09-16T13:53:00.004-05:00

As part of "Ode to Thonet" week I get to show this Tim Hawkinson piece. Entitled "Shrink", I love the reproduction of the reproduction idea...being that Thonet chairs can be considered one of the first mass produced furniture or furniture of the industrial revolution in decorative arts history.

twisting thonet

2010-09-15T09:43:00.003-05:00

I was included in a"twist on Thonet" round up on a Spanish blog earlier this summer and I thought I would share with you my folder of Thonets with a twist and share some history as well this week. This work was included and its some of my favorite thoughts about Thonet-Keisuke Fujiwara delicately wrapped the chair in gradated threads...........beautiful.

building day dreams

2010-09-13T14:42:00.003-05:00

One of my finest character flaws is that when I am under tremendous pressure, I daydream. The daydream usually involves travel and then a "pilgrimage to" an obscure building/interior that I have deemed necessary to view for my well being..... Currently under scrutiny for obsessive daydreaming is Paris and the Musee Gustave Moreau is the destination. Moreau in an early 19th century symbolist painter who made "literary" work. Not my taste in painting but maybe my taste in living......

Working

2010-09-12T13:01:00.005-05:00

Alot going on around here-October 14th a show opens here at the Visual Arts Center on campus. And on October 22nd I will be showing at the world famous Motel Art Show in Oxford...busy month. Here is a sneak peek prototype of some of the work I am into right now..Hope you can come by!

building forever

2010-09-12T10:18:00.004-05:00

I would like this in my garden. This poured in-place concrete Chesterfield sofa by British company Grey Concrete has got me thinking about permanence verses impermanence..........They says its comfortable.

building light

2010-09-11T20:46:00.002-05:00

Good night sweet New York. Hope you had a good day, see you soon.......................

Building a body of work

2010-09-10T20:13:00.010-05:00

My work has entered a very funny phase in the last year but I am getting what I have been interested in for along time; telling a story. These two pieces are finally installed in the Grant Association reading room at Mississippi State. The loveseat is an embroidered map of General Grants movements around the state of Mississippi during the war and the arm chair is the final formation at the battle of Vicksburg.

P.S. A bit of a repeat post but such great images by Caleb...

The power of the card board box....

2010-09-10T08:25:00.004-05:00

I saved this image at the beginning of the summer meaning to research it and came around to it this morning. In the mean time, Don Lucho's "casa de cardboard" has become an internet hit......but interestingly enough almost no depth of information about the project. So again the power of the image rules. I am interested in Lucho's debt to the work of Do Ho Suh and the early obsessiveness of Tim Hawkinson. Also a note to students-please don't complain about cardboard models that are due next week.......

building process

2010-09-09T12:44:00.005-05:00

I stumbled upon Coke Wisdom O'Neal's work recently and am fascinated by the process of his project "Big Box".
he builds this giant box in a location-say Texas or Queens and then asks people to come and have their portrait done-portrait as performance. He speaks about the amazing interactions that he would have while setting the photos alone.....on the Mixed Green web site.

Building industry

2010-09-08T09:38:00.005-05:00

I have had a crush on the Mill Building in Starkville since we first arrived. Named the E.E.Cooley building in 1962, it was originally the John M. Stone textile Mill built in 1902. This was a late addition to Mississippi's attempt at capturing the northeastern monopoly on the textile economy but it was some what successful. I just found out that Mississippi State has many Landmark status buildings on campus.. This will be some fun research.

building fabrication

2010-09-07T13:38:00.004-05:00

I can not seem to find this piece again on the web but as I recall its from the brilliant Scotsmen TimorousBeasties-designer and purveyors of all this slightly off in the design world. I admire this chair because I have been grappling with the same idea. This piece seems to have been made from a rapid prototype method, therefore an all in one process-so long grafting methods of construction.

Living in

2010-09-06T09:31:00.007-05:00

So we are in full swing of school life, teaching going to school-which means in and out of the apartment. We have a new discipline of keeping surfaces tidy and collections to a minimum.......how are we doing?

building details

2010-09-06T08:57:00.003-05:00

I am late to the party when it comes to the work of DoshiLevien studio's work. Their "my beautiful backside" sofa took many by storm a few years back-frankly was not impressed -thought it was a little inelegant formally. So to see these later pieces is really interesting to me. They are interested in changing up the structural conceit of a chair and work through it cleanly-my students take note of full scale mock up in slide show of work. The next level is the intense amount of thinking that went into the fabric/cushion...crystals? Logos? all in one????/

Building by making

2010-09-04T09:39:00.005-05:00

The work of young Brooklyn designer Mary Chan is developing slowly, steadily and elegantly. She recently sent me images of these beautiful floor mats she has made by hand. She mentioned the a runner she is working on is taking some time-awesome! Let's support a generation of designers that are "making their own way"....literally.

building charm

2010-09-03T08:31:00.004-05:00

Well its hopping here in Mississippi. I am getting ready for not one but two shows this fall. I just found out that I get to participate in the very fun Motel Art Show in Oxford. This is one of the many art/craft/design constructs that the super talented Erin Austin Abbott master minds. Her day to day adventures include overseeing the very cute and can't wait to get there Amelia-the shop-rows of candy colored sodas, cupcakes, small delightful ceramics. Mad and I are going to have a blast!

Chair armies

2010-09-02T14:57:00.004-05:00

I came across this image of the porch at Washington's Mount Vernon. These Windsor chairs on runners seem to stretch across the porch for many feet...Some founding fathers ingenuity-

Building trees

2010-09-01T08:45:00.004-05:00

I don't mean to crib from the very well done web magazine sightunseen but I can not get this work out of my mind. I am always looking for new ways to develop form and artist Juliette Warmenhoven is making great strides. Form developed from the growing plant life it seems, a sensibility from a chic garden shed...

space making

2010-08-30T08:21:00.003-05:00

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.

Sound building

2010-08-29T11:39:00.005-05:00

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.....

Building a love of buildings

2010-08-28T09:44:00.003-05:00

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.

Living in-205 south

2010-08-27T09:12:00.003-05:00

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

2010-08-27T08:33:00.003-05:00

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.

derivation........

2010-08-26T20:44:00.007-05:00

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

"design performance"

2010-08-25T08:37:00.003-05:00

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-

Building delight

2010-08-24T14:52:00.006-05:00

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.......

Some Good Building

2010-08-23T08:01:00.003-05:00

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

Building a light touch

2010-08-22T20:19:00.003-05:00

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.

Library building......

2010-08-21T10:17:00.003-05:00

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????

building an image bank

2010-08-19T15:53:00.004-05:00

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.

Lounge building

2010-08-18T16:18:00.003-05:00

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

2010-08-18T07:57:00.004-05:00

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.

building change

2010-08-17T20:29:00.006-05:00

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

2010-08-17T08:01:00.004-05:00

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?

Form building

2010-08-16T09:49:00.004-05:00

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

2010-08-16T08:25:00.004-05:00

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.

Work building

2010-08-14T09:03:00.008-05:00

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......

Decorated Space

2010-08-13T08:33:00.003-05:00

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.

Building compositions

2010-08-11T07:48:00.006-05:00

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......

building ephemera

2010-08-10T17:19:00.005-05:00

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..............

2010-08-10T08:22:00.002-05:00

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.

Life building downstairs

2010-08-09T08:43:00.008-05:00

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.

Party Building

2010-08-02T10:38:00.003-05:00

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-

building the inspiration

2010-07-27T13:09:00.005-05:00

We visited the project we are working on in Brooklyn on Park Avenue-I thought I would divulge the source for the siding idea. The second picture is a warehouse here in Belfast and I looked at it alot last summer and when Erin and Owen (client/collaborators) were working on what the building should be clad in I thought of this image......I loved that the blue is tone on tone with the sky........The siding is meant to be a gentle envelope with all the action and life of the building going on inside.

Building Greek Revival

2010-07-27T13:03:00.003-05:00

This is an interesting variant of Greek Revival. Unlike its southern counterparts the facade does not have to have the deep porches and balconies to shade from the sun. Here in Maine the facade wall is flat and probably super deep to create insulation for the colder months. But one fine building,built in 1840-The White House,1 Church Street Belfast-its said to be a terrific B&B.

building crush in depth

2010-07-26T09:23:00.003-05:00

This is a video of my newest obsession Primrose Hill here in Belfast Maine. Them some big old columns....take that Natchez.

building connections

2010-07-26T09:04:00.004-05:00

We are back in Maine after a week in NYC. I am going to try to post about things that stuck with me in NYc and not just talk about things that everyone sees. First in my mind is the Starn Brothers Big Bambu on the roof of the Met. On Roof of the Met has become the summer sensation but this is a different vibe than most. I initially missed the Rocky Paine elegance of last summer but these knotted and wipped together connections are staying with me. The Makers of the structure are climbers and there seems to be a language all there own for how the nylon ropes go together. Next time I am there I want to go during working hours and hear how they are thiking about these knots.

white building

2010-07-23T06:58:00.005-05:00

The Brooklyn Museum's exhibition Kiki Smith Sojorn is a great way to drop out of the hot city for a couple of hours. All the work is in or on an ethereal Japanese paper with even light bulbs and chairs-yes chairs! enveloped in white.

Boat building............

2010-07-22T15:13:00.004-05:00

I am pleased that I was exposed to the artist Yayoi Kusama via seeing one of her works rather than on the web. Kusama's body of work is epic and a purple row boat enveloped in soft sculpture tendrils is a powerful object in the very well done Matter of Abstraction show at MOMA.

idea building

2010-07-21T07:18:00.006-05:00

Caleb and I sent a good long time at the Cooper Hewitt yesterday. The Triennial always leaves me with the "I got to get out of here and work" feeling...but I stayed and got some good thoughts running through my head. I liked the Margret and Christine Werthein's Coral Reef Project; mostly because of its none function-developed to create awareness and community. This crochet project is also plain beautiful.

Building business community

2010-07-20T07:20:00.004-05:00

While really wandering around town (NYC) yesterday-I found this very interesting place,not just a shop, a place. The very funny idea of a yarn shop/boutique/community center-Wool and the Gang is a great addition to NYC's trend toward less retail more idea..think Andy Spade's place.
Knitting also seems to be the medium of choice for community activist-I just heard about artist friend Frida Gylfadottir's project knitting a giant scarf to celebrate the joining of her small town and the neighboring town. More on that later this year.....

Building gold

2010-07-19T08:56:00.004-05:00

Last week we got a trip into Rockland, Maine and to the Farnsworth Museum. I rarely take pictures in Museums-lighting bad, can always find a better reproduction- but when I saw for the first time these chairs by Rockland native Louise Nevelson I got so excited I took a snap. I have not seen these before in any of the books. A great example of the gold period...

Red looks good on you..........belfast

2010-07-16T09:08:00.006-05:00

There is something about the light in Maine that makes any hue of red, orange(think daylilies everywhere), rose look amazing-we could work with this idea in the interiors of Pearl Street?

Building friends

2010-07-16T08:59:00.004-05:00

Remodelista included the humble Greensboro bath along with some very chic interiors-we are quite flattered.

Building crushes

2010-07-14T11:52:00.007-05:00

Here are some current building crushes here in Belfast. The big white box with the Corinthian columns was built in 1812 and was a summer family residence until the 60's. Belfast has a great program
Museum in the Streets where you can go through the town and understand the origin of most buildings..

Pearl Street progress

2010-07-12T06:37:00.004-05:00

Drum Roll please- these are snaps of Pearl Street-if the plumber arrives today then we will be in tonight! The sinks,tile fixtures,doors are all things within arms length...ie in the barn and left over from jobs-its looking pretty cool.

boat building

2010-07-12T06:32:00.003-05:00

We arrived safely in Maine on Friday-lot's to do to get Pearl Street habitable for the month. Here is a structure on the farm-bennett's boat house-he refurbished his sail boat here and now houses it during the winter...I love the shape.

Some red building

2010-07-10T06:34:00.000-05:00

The best thing at MassMoca was the sumptuous spaces made by Orly Genger. What a color red and what a way to make space. Interior Designers watch out this is how you make a room.

Library building......

2010-07-09T06:16:00.000-05:00

Had a fine time at the Mass Moca book store this book is very inspiring- all sorts of ways to make drawings..... And Mad and I found a very fine bookstore in Williamstown.

Building New England

2010-07-08T11:16:00.003-05:00

Mass Moca today and a nice afternoon at The Porches........Not much to say but enjoying New England.

building pretty

2010-07-07T21:15:00.004-05:00

I realize this is a strange "decoratory" image for me but we stayed at the very lovely Keswick in Charlottesville. Most of the design is- design from your very elegant mother- but I do have a new goal of my flowers matching my Queen Anne chairs....

Country Building

2010-07-06T12:20:00.003-05:00

This morning we made the epic pilgrimage to Thomas Jefferson's house. Perched up on a vast hill I could not help but think that the man much have been quite special as to have as many visitors- yet the house be so remote. Monticello is really for me the beginning of functionalism and maybe the first germ of modernism. Every corner has had an architectural thought and all to better the pursuit of happiness.........

building across America-starting point

2010-07-04T17:23:00.006-05:00

This is my farewell note to Starkville for the summer. The back view from Little Building essentially is the rail yard of Starkville. I had no idea that the train stop running through the town just 5 years ago. I am of course transfixed by this condition after reading the one of my favorite history Books- The Promise of the New South, Life after Reconstruction by Edward L. Ayers These are not the prettiest parts of Starkville but I find them the most interesting.