30 FOR 30: A MAD COOKIE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR THE AGES

Last weekend I threw a 30th birthday party. For myself. It was reasonably epic, thanks in large part to the wonderful turn out (thanks, friends!) and the super fun theme: chocolate chip cookies! And not just any chocolate chip cookies—the party was a 'March Madness' style bracket to determine the best chocolate chip cookies in New York City from among 30 contenders (get it? 30 for 30!). (I was inspired by this lovely lady.)

I ate so many cookies that I had a stomach ache for several hours afterwards. Now if that isn't the sign of a good party, I don't know what is!

In planning the fete I took the opportunity to put together a bunch of fun crafty decorations that I thought you might enjoy. After all, now that I have put the idea in your head you are totally going to go out and throw your own cookie party, right?

Click through the link to see some more photos of the fun!

THE GREAT HALL EXHIBITIONS: FELIX GONZALEZ-TORRES

This week something exciting happened. For the past nine months my colleague, Susanna Temkin, and I have been hard at work on the latest iteration of the Institute of Fine Art's Great Hall Exhibition series (this past fall we showcased the work of the fabulous Marta Chilindron). I am pleased to tell you that our work has come to fruition in a beautiful show—if I do say so myself—of the work of conceptual installation artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres, which opened this past Monday. 

The exhibition takes place at the IFA's historic Duke Mansion is open to the public every day from 1-4pm until May 1. If you happen to be in Manhattan and like contemporary art—or even if you just want to see the inside of our fancy mansion—I highly recommend you stop by and see the show.

Learn more about the exhibition and the Great Hall Series here; read a press release here.

all installation photos above taken by yours truly

BEHIND THE SCENES: THE (NOT SO) SECRET LIFE OF THE OBSESSIVE IMAGIST

I had a little panic attack this morning when I opened my computer and saw the date. December 12th! What?!! How are we halfway through December already? I feel like 2015 is stalking us like a lion in the Serengeti. Wasn't it only yesterday that we were preparing for Halloween?

All of this panic sent me into the typical tizzy of an a classic overachiever, leaving me thinking, what have I done with myself over all this time? Well, it turns out that when time flies is usually not because you are having fun, but because you are busy as all get out. This fall, while not making as much progress on my dissertation as I would like, I still managed to submit several (labor intensive) fellowship applications, write essays for a professor's amazing new book, interview two very cool artists for my dissertation research (this guy and this lady!), help curate this show and put together its catalog and probably some other things I can't remember. So, you know what, dear readers, let's all take a moment every once in a while to give ourselves a break! We work hard. We get things done. And though you may never check off all the items on your 'to do list' in one day/week/month, you are still making a difference. You are still moving forward (just keep swimming!). And that's what matters.

Don't you feel better now about 2014 winding down?

But, I do realize that this blog is supposed to be about art and design and eye candy and not so much about me blathering on about work. So here are a couple of instagram shots I took this fall of fun things I did to take my mind off of the stress of school/work/life. Hope you like them!

above | Over Thanksgiving I checked out the newly renovated Harvard Art Museums. The building is beautiful. The collection is amazing. The conservation studio is to die for. I highly recommend you head over there yourself.

 

Plus they have a crazy awesome organization system for pigments and restoration materials. It took all my strength not to break into this private room and drool all over those gorgeous cabinets and rainbow colors . . . 

above | I like to relieve stress by baking. For Thanksgiving I made apple pie and cheddar sage biscuits. They were tasty. That is all.

above | Last week I had the privilege of doing a little side project under the guise of my calligraphy business: The Wright Hand. I promised not to spill the beans about the client's identity (Sorry!) but let's just say that I addressed 400 beautiful holiday cards for a luxury beauty company.*

not pictured but still cool! | In other random crafty news, I am also hosting a holiday crafting event tomorrow at the wonderful Jo Malone store on Bleecker Street! We will be making holiday baubles from 12pm - 6pm. Stop on by and see me!

above | My fabulous family friend, Andrew*, set me up with some sweet tech recently (hooray for new computers!) and as I thank you I used the opportunity to send over a little holiday care package (tips for making your own here). I somehow managed to resist eating all the goodies—including chocolate peanut butter fudge and chocolate chip cookies with sea salt—before sending them off. Heroic restraint, I know.

And that's pretty much it! I am looking forward to some serious Christmas celebrations in the coming weeks and kicking 2015 off right. In the meantime, no more debbie downer stuff.

As always, you can follow all my exploits on Instagram here. I would love to follow you too, so drop me a line with your info and I will get on it! Until then, Happy Friday and Happy Holidays!

*I have removed parts of the addresses on these mailings for the privacy of the recipients.

EXPAND//FOLD//COLLAPSE//SCULPTURES BY MARTA CHILINDRON

Big news, folks! I have spent the last several months working like crazy with my dear friend Susanna on an exhibition of work by Marta Chilindron and it opens TONIGHT! Her colorful, geometric, manipulable sculptures are seriously amazing and we are so excited to showcase them in the gorgeous Great Hall space at the Institute of Fine Arts.

If you are in New York City tonight the opening starts at 6pm, but the show runs until December 5th. If you can't make it in person, you can always check out the interactive e-catalogue we published (embedded above, also available here), co-written by Susanna and I and designed by yours truly. And check out the super cool preview video our webmaster and social media guru Jason Varone put together for us below. Hope to see you tonight!




Already in love with Marta's work? Me too! Find out more about her (and see more video demonstrations) on her artist's gallery page here.


(All images courtesy of Cecilia de Torres, Ltd. Top to bottom: Artist with Hexagon Spiral, 2013; Convertible Circle, 2009-2014; Ring, 2013) 

VIVA ITALIA! THE ITALIAN GRAND TOUR, PART THREE

I am back in action today with the next stop on our Italian Grand Tour: Venice! It's a city of romance, of crumbling buildings and rising waters, of Renaissance masterpieces and seafood specialities. We had a lovely time getting lost in Venice's labyrinthine walkways and sneaking peaks of its chaotic canals. While not our favorite place in Italy (I know, heresy!) it was spectacular to immerse ourselves in a place so steeped with history that every scratch on that wall seems like a relic from a lost era. Museums, churches, and a bit of shopping—we did it all. I am including a bunch of photos below that speak for themselves. If you have any questions about our itinerary leave it in the comments! 

Of course the city looks just as beautiful in color as it does in black and white . . . 

All in all a lovely way to spend a couple days! Here are a few of my favorite experiences/insider tips if you are headed there soon.

favorite church (exterior): Santa Maria della Salute, set on a plaza facing the grand canal!

favorite church (interior): Saint Mark's mosaics are not to be missed.

best way to get in a gondola: take a traghetto, a commuter gondola that ferries you from one side of the grand canal to the other for only 2 euro; there are six or seven crossing points open at any time, so to maximize the ride take one of the routes that cut diagonally across the canal.

best museum (for historic art): A tie between the Venice Guggenheim (now a must see stop for modern art lovers or people wanting a great canal-side resting spot) and the spectacularly chic space of the new Punta della Dogana museum of contemporary art (bonus! it's next to Santa Maria della Salute!).

best museum (for contemporary art): The Gallerie dell'Accademia is in a totally dilapidated building, but has some breathtaking altarpieces and Renaissance paintings (see photo of coffered room above).

best evening activity: Besides getting lost in a new neighborhood, I highly recommend heading to Piazza San Marco and listening to the black tie bands play in front of the swanky bars. It's sounds cheesy but there is something magical about hearing a jazz piano solo while staring at the twinkly lights of a world famous palace and church. (Don't believe me? Check out this video.)

best place for a romantic dinner: A tiny place with super friendly staff that's been winning acclaim for twenty years now, Osterie delle Testiere is wonderful. Get seafood and dessert. You won't regret it.

That's all! Next stop Cinque Terre, to be posted later this week.

VIVA ITALIA! THE ITALIAN GRAND TOUR, PART ONE

As you know, the hubby and I just got back from a glorious two week vacation in Northern Italy. It was the hubby's first time there so, of course, I had to give him the grand tour. We stopped in seven different places in 14 days; it was awesome!Since I took so many lovely photos and had such a good time, I thought I might share a bit of our itinerary with you in an ongoing series here on the blog. Hope you like it! We flew into Milan and hopped in a rental car headed straight for Lake Como. We stayed in the adorable town of Varenna, right in the middle of the lake surrounded by mountains and within spitting distance of Bellagio and Menaggio across the water. Basically, this place is paradise! 

We stayed in this incredible hotel built into the side of the mountain that was only accessible by—wait for it—funicular! 

The views, not surprisingly, were out of this world! The video above was shot from the balcony of our hotel room . . . so yeah . . . we lucked out. :)

We spent a lot of time checking out the other towns on the lake, zooming around in an awesome rental boat. There were so many gorgeous mansions, brightly colored harbors and jagged green mountains to see and bobbing by them on the water felt like a particularly special viewpoint.

The combination of sun, billowy clouds, sparkling water and silhouetted mountains made for a potent photographic cocktail and I couldn't stop snapping pictures of it all (I mean, could you resist this view?).

There was, most certainly, lots of lots of tasty meals (it is Italy!). Most were spent in lakeside cafes, sipping mineral water and lounging under sun-dappled umbrellas. See what I mean about paradise? 

I have to say that Varenna was the perfect kick off to our Italian grand tour. Only the first adventure of many, though, and I can't wait to share all the rest with you in the coming weeks. Stayed tuned!