Back to the Chihuly Collection

Greater Tampa is an enormous metropolitan area, I'm not kidding when I say it can take an hour-and-a-half to get from one side of it to the other. That's an hour-and-a-half when there's no traffic.

There are a fair number of people here in the design business who know one another through Twitter and we've been threatening to get together for quite a while. Commutes are always a sticking point as we live scattered from North Tampa to Sarasota (that's a distance of 60+ miles) but on July 14th, a critical mass of us gathered in Downtown St. Pete for a face to face meeting. A first for most of those in attendance. I was just happy to be able to walk to our meeting place.

Downtown St. Petersburg has the only permanent collection of the work of Dale Chihuly in a museum setting in the world, and our evening started out there. So at 6:30, Eric Miller, Carmen Christensen, Tom Wiebe, Michelle Wiebe, Jeremy Parcels, Ginny Powell and I met for an evening of art and tapas. The tapas came later.

Many thanks to JoAnn Locktov (publicist to the stars) and Wayne Atherholt (Marketing Director at the Chihuly Collection) for making all of that possible. We were fortunate to have Wayne guide us through the museum privately and his tour began with an introduction to the art scene in downtown St. Pete. That's a drum I beat regularly and I was thrilled to have a fellow believer in St. Pete start out our evening.

The collection is just big enough to show a retrospective of Chihuly's work, but not so large that it's overwhelming.  I have to admit that when the Collection opened last year (I wrote about it here and here), I was a bit of a Chihuly skeptic. But I'm not a skeptic anymore.

Dale Chihuly's art is informed by the artistic tradition and in his creations, you can see echoes of everything from Native American Baskets to gondoliers in Venice. It's at once mythic and playful, contemplative and jarring, grounded and fantastical. We're fortunate to have the Chihuly Collection here and I'm fortunate to live within walking distance to it.

I'm fortunate too to meet such great people through my social media involvements and it's great to have so many so (relatively) close.

If you find yourself on the west coast of Florida, make it a point to drop in on the Chihuly Collection.

Meet Jill Vendituoli and her amazing tapestries

A year ago, I profiled my friend Todd Vendituoli's brilliant renovation of a house in Eluthera, The Bahamas. Todd's a builder who divides his time between Vermont and Eleuthera and you can read about his project here.

Well Todd's back in the US for the time being and last night he sent me a video that profiled his sister Jill's art and I was really blown away by it. Clearly, the talent pool runs pretty deep in the Vendituoli clan.

Jill creates tapestries using a needle, fabric and a palette of 450 colors, but her video speaks for itself. Check this out.





From Jill's website:

One of the things that attracted me to this medium of tapestry making was its traditional origin. The idea of a late 20th century woman working at a craft that had been one of the few creative outlets for women prior to this century appealed to me.

During the last two decades, it's been a joyful challenge to unite my creations with those of my stitching forebears. But, unlike these women, I have operated under the liberated assumption that if I can see it in my head, then I can stitch it with my hands: contemporary vision meets historical technique. By blending 450 colors of thread I can create a palette as extensive as a painter's. However, because of the slow and labor-intensive character of tapestry making, my art defies the high-speed confines of our postmodern world and connects us all to a past that endures. I hope that you enjoy viewing the fruits of my labor of love.

I love seeing someone take an ancient art form and breathe new life into while keeping true to its roots, hence my love of mosaics. In a lot of ways, Jill's work reminds me of a mosaic, only her medium is thread. Amazing stuff.

Jill's art is on display in her West Newfield, ME studio but you can find her on her website and on her new Facebook page. Show her some love!

A night at the opera again

On Tuesday night I had the distinct pleasure to attend the final performance of The St. Petersburg Opera's production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. My pleasure was magnified by an order of magnitude because I was there with the great Ginny Powell. Ginny had never been to an opera before and it was an honor to introduce her to the art form.

I met Ginny through Twitter about a year ago and last night was yet another testament to the power of that medium.

The St. Pete Opera's staging of Madama Butterfly was spectacular. The Little Opera Company That Could hit another one out of the park last night and it's been a joy to watch them grow and prosper through their five seasons. That I live two blocks away from the theater where they perform just makes it all the more sweet.

Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly made its debut at La Scala in Milan in 1904, it's gone on to enter the Canon of the opera world and has been in continuous production since its premiere.

Like all operas, it's a morality tale and it deals in archetypes. It never ceases to amaze me that that the human condition is the same as it ever was and grand operas prove that time and again. Madama Butterfly is an Italian opera set in Japan at the turn of the last century. Cio-Cio-San (aka Madama Butterfly) is a 15-year-old geisha who's sold in an arranged marriage to and American Naval Officer, Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton. Pinkerton goes back to sea shortly after their marriage and leaves Cio-Cio-San to raise their son with the help of her servant, Suzuki. Pinkerton promises to return before the "robins build their nests" but three years go by before he comes back to Nagasaki.

When he finally returns, he has his new American wife in tow and they plan to take Cio-Cio-San's son to raise as their own. With nothing left to give and nothing left to lose, Cio-Cio-San kills herself in front of Pinkerton.

It takes three hours and three acts to tell that story, but that's it in a nutshell. It's interesting that even in the early 1900s the US had an international image problem. It's interesting too that the story takes place in Nagasaki, a city the US all but wiped off the face of the earth in 1945.

Madama Butterfly is a glorious way to spend three hours. The St. Petersburg Opera's staging of it even more so. Cio-Cio-San was played by Lara Michole Tillotson on Tuesday. It was her first appearance here and her first time in that role. She was transcendent. Cio-Cio-San's big number comes in act two. Un bel di vedremo is one of the most loved and most recognizable arias there is and Tillotson's rendition of it nailed it in every way. I don't have a video of her performance but here it is as sung by my favorite soprano, Angela Gheoghiu:






In the original Italian, Cio-Cio-San sings this:


Un bel dì, vedremo
levarsi un fil di fumo
sull'estremo confin del mare.
E poi la nave appare.
Poi la nave bianca
entra nel porto,
romba il suo saluto.
Vedi? È venuto!
Io non gli scendo incontro. Io no.
Mi metto là sul ciglio del colle e aspetto,
e aspetto gran tempo
e non mi pesa,
la lunga attesa.

E uscito dalla folla cittadina,
un uomo, un picciol punto
s'avvia per la collina.
Chi sarà? chi sarà?
E come sarà giunto
che dirà? che dirà?
Chiamerà Butterfly dalla lontana.
Io senza dar risposta
me ne starò nascosta
un po' per celia
e un po' per non morire
al primo incontro;
ed egli alquanto in pena
chiamerà, chiamerà:
"Piccina mogliettina,
olezzo di verbena"
i nomi che mi dava al suo venire.
(a Suzuki)
Tutto questo avverrà,
te lo prometto.
Tienti la tua paura,
io con sicura fede l'aspetto.


In English, it translates as:


One good day, we will see
Arising a strand of smoke
Over the far horizon on the sea
And then the ship appears
And then the ship is white
It enters into the port, it rumbles its salute.
Do you see it? He is coming!
I don't go down to meet him, not I.
I stay upon the edge of the hill
And I wait a long time
but I do not grow weary of the long wait.

And leaving from the crowded city,
A man, a little speck
Climbing the hill.
Who is it? Who is it?
And as he arrives
What will he say? What will he say?
He will call Butterfly from the distance
I without answering
Stay hidden
A little to tease him,
A little as to not die.
At the first meeting,
And then a little troubled
He will call, he will call
"Little one, dear wife
Blossom of orange"
The names he called me at his last coming.
All this will happen,
I promise you this
Hold back your fears -
I with secure faith wait for him.

I like it better in Italian. Hah!

Matthew Edwardsen's Pinkerton was almost, but not quite, as amazing as Tillotson's Cio-Cio-San. His moral conflicts were as palpable as his fragile ego. Part of him wanted to be the man who has the world at his feet and part of him actually loved his Japanese child bride. It's easy to make him the bad guy but all of the characters in Madama Butterfly are products of the times when they lived.

For all of the attention Un bel di vedremo gets, what always amazes me about Madama Butterfly is the segue between acts two and three. In Puccini's Italian, the piece is called Coro a bocca chiusa. In English, that means Chorus with mouths closed but it's better known as the Humming Chorus. It is one of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music ever composed.





I'm really lucky to live in a community with an ironclad commitment to The Arts. I live in a small city yet we have two orchestras, and opera company and at least six professional theater companies. I can walk to any of our six performance spaces or our seven museums. In a state better know for its absurd politics and lap dances, I live in a cultural oasis. That's never a point lost on me. But our arts organizations are as threatened as anywhere else's.

In a time when arts funding is under siege and when companies as prominent as the Philadelphia Orchestra file for bankruptcy, arts organizations everywhere need your support like never before. It's easy to pretend the arts are an indulgence for the intellectual set but it's through the arts that western civ passes from generation to generation.

The arts, whether performing or visual, are what make us, us. They catalog and preserve our lives and our times, but more than that, they remind us of our place in the broad sweep of history. That I could see an opera the other night that premiered the year before my grandmother Stewart was born and that I could swoon and weep while hearing Un bel do vedremo the same way my great-great and great-grandparents would have connects me to them in ways nothing else can. That I can't look at a Mary Cassatt painting and not think of my sister Adele and that I can't see My Fair Lady and not think of my Dad are reason enough for me to know that the arts are important. Every time I hear Jeremiah Clarke's Trumpet Voluntary I see my Grandmother Anater. Every time I stand in front of a Degas or a Monet I wonder what my great-great-grandparents thought of Impressionism in its heyday. I live for the day to introduce my nieces and nephews to Hockney and Basquiat, Glass and Lindberg.

Arts organizations everywhere need you support. Do yourself a favor and go to a performance or go to a museum. Make it a priority and keep it a priority. Arts organizations with no support go way and they don't come back once they're gone.

This is my bridge

This is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

It crosses the mouth of Tampa Bay and it separates the Bay from the Gulf of Mexico. The bridge connects St. Petersburg and Terra Ceia, the town immediately across the water from St. Pete.

The entire length of the bridge is five-and-a-half miles and I rely on my many crossings to serve as a kind of mini vacation. Mobile service cuts out about half way up the center span and doesn't kick back in until you cross to the Terra Ceia side. I used to find that to be irritating but these days it's one of my favorite things about that bridge. It's a five minute respite from being available.

It's the tallest thing around here and if memory serves, at 431 feet, it's the tallest bridge in Florida. As tall as it is, it's a singular thrill to be crossing it when a cruise ship squeezes underneath it.

Driving north and home to St. Pete never ceases to inspire me. It feels like I'm landing an airplane on the downside of the hump and no photo I've ever seen or taken has come close to capturing the azure-emerald clarity of the water of the south Bay. "I live in paradise" I say to myself every time I'm making that drive.

It's difficult to live here and be near the water and not see that bridge. It looms over everything and it serves as our visual anchor. No matter where you are on land, air or sea, seeing the Skyway is an automatic location beacon. It's the pivot point around which the entirety of south Pinellas and north Manatee counties rotate.

It frames the sunsets and reminds me of the vast expanse and possibility of the Gulf of Mexico on its west side. The whole world's out there, just waiting.

That steel and concrete can join together to form such sculptural utility gives me hope for humanity. It reminds me time and again that art can be anywhere and that beauty abounds, it's just a matter of taking the time to make it and to appreciate it.

More than just about any other feature of the the part of the country I call home, The Sunshine Skyway feels like it's mine. It feels like my retreat, my point of reference, my personal bridge. No matter what happens, no one can take that away from me.

It's a dark day in Philly now too

The Philadelphia Orchestra's Board of Directors voted to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday. It's an effort to reorganize in the face of a five million dollar operating deficit. The current season will continue as scheduled for the time being, but this filing bodes ill for the arts in the United States.

The Philadelphia Orchestra at the US premiere of Mahler's Eighth Symphony in 1916.

The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of world's most renowned and respected arts organizations. Over the course of its 110-year history, names that loom over the world of classical music have assumed its helm. Names like Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Charles Dutoit and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Charles Dutoit

The Philadelphia Orchestra was the first orchestra in the world to start recording its work (in 1917) and was the first to appear regularly on the radio (in 1925). Under the baton of Leopold Stokowski, the Philadelphia Orchestra recorded the first-ever multi-track, stereophonic soundtrack for Disney's Fantasia in 1940.

The Philadelphia Orchestra was the world's first symphony to sell recordings of their work via downloads from their website in 2006 and later through iTunes.

The Kimmel Center, Philadelphia

From its original home in Philly's Academy of Music to its spectacular digs in the Kimmel Center today, the Phildelphia Orchestra has been at the forefront of adopting new technologies and appealing to new audiences. It's one of Philadelphia's (and the US's, and the world's) great cultural institutions and now all of that is in peril.

Interior shot of the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, PA

Symphony orchestras aren't the sole province of the blue-haired and the idly wealthy. Arts organizations like the Philly Orchestra preserve and pass along the best of western civilization. Our very culture is at stake here. Arts organizations in general, and orchestras in particular, are community assets of the highest order. Keeping them alive needs to become a national priority.

This is the result of decades of slashing arts funding in schools, arts funding locally and arts funding nationally. You cannot have a great nation without great art. Repeat that often enough until it sticks.

If you live in an area with an orchestra, please go see a performance. Then keep going back. Make a donation while you're there.

This is Eugene Ormandy at the helm in 1975 as he conducts Gustav Holst's The Planets, Opus 32: Jupiter the bringer of jollity.

It's a dark day in Syracuse

The Syracuse Symphony is no longer. This was to have been their 50th season.

Along with the Syracuse Symphony goes the 150-member strong Syracuse Symphony Youth Orchestra, an important resource for aspiring musicians. The Syracuse Symphony is just the latest cultural institution to go silent. Symphony orchestras all across the country are reeling and most of them are in serious financial trouble.

It's not just smaller market symphonies either. The 110-year-old Philadelphia Orchestra has been flirting with bankruptcy all year and it's one of the world's most celebrated cultural institutions.

The arts are in trouble in this great land, the symphonic arts in particular. Art and music are vital to a healthy society and as go the arts, so goes everything else.

If you live in an area with a symphony, go. Go and then keep going. Once they're gone they don't come back.

Support your local orchestra

As I'm wont, I went to see my beloved Florida Orchestra last night at St. Pete's spectacular Mahaffey Theater.

Prior to the performance, the Orchestra played this video on a large screen that rolled down from the ceiling over the stage.




I'm glad to see that the orchestra put together that video but showing it to an audience of your supporters isn't necessarily the best place to show it. I feel like it's my duty to spread it around.

Many times a year, I sit in this theater and get transported for a couple of hours.

I cannot think of an art form that revels in the wonder and joy of what it is to be human as profoundly as orchestral music does. Classical, orchestral music unites an audience in a shared experience and for a couple of hours a couple thousand strangers enjoy something together. The differences that divide people don't matter in a concert hall. In fact, they don't exist.

The Forida Orchestra recently announced its 2011-2012 schedule and there are still single concert seats available for the rest of the current season.

The Mahaffey sits next to the incredible, new Salvador Dali museum in the Progress Center for the Arts along the water downtown. If you're looking for a day of culture and art I can think of no better way to spend it than an afternoon at the Dali and and evening at the Mahaffey.

In a part of the country better known for drink specials and regressive politics, that these kinds of cultural assets exist in the first place is nothing short of miraculous. However, like arts organizations all over the country, their existence is a tenuous one. Public funding for the arts is under attack now like never before and it's up to individuals to keep the arts alive int he United States.

If you live in Greater Tampa, support our Florida Orchestra. While you're at it, the St. Pete Opera Company, the American Stage, the Florimezzo Orchestra, The New American Theater, the Theater @620 and the Palladium cannot make it without your support. We're fortunate to have a host of smaller theater companies, too many to list here and every one of them needs an audience.

The arts contribute to the quality of life in a community like no other asset. I believe that to the very core of my being and dragging my friends to performances is one of my highest callings I'm convinced.

Where ever you are as you sit reading this, arts organizations in your area are screaming for your support too. There is no shortage of artists, but it feels like audiences are getting harder to come by. Make it a priority to see your local symphony and to support your theaters. Don't let these assets go dark.

In praise of HBO's Mildred Pierce

HBO is about midway through their broadcast of their incredible mini-series, Mildred Pierce. Without a doubt, it's one of the best period pieces I've ever seen.






Since this is rumored to be a kitchen design blog. I'll start off with a photo of the set for Mildred's kitchen.

Like I said, the production best period piece I've ever seen. Add to the lavish, painstaking authenticity of the set a story line that won't quit and you have a recipe for true greatness.

Three episodes in, HBO's Mildred Pierce is approaching true greatness. Again, because this is supposed to be a kitchen blog, check out Mildred's gas range.

Amazing! I love this series for how different it is from the film noir movie. You see, I have a thing for Warner Brother's 1945 version of Mildred Pierce.

Joan Crawford and Butterfly McQueen chew the scenery in 1945 

In fact, it's one of my favorite movies of all time. Like most people, I saw the original Warner Brothers movie long before I read the novel upon which it's based, James M. Cain's 1941 Mildred Pierce. In the hands of  Warner Brothers and in response to a whole lot of pressure from the Hays Commission, James M. Cain's novel of  eroticism, self-reliance and the Great Depression was turned into a film noir murder mystery. In 1945, murder was preferable to bed-hopping I suppose but the original wasn't a murder mystery. No one dies in the novel (except for little Rae) though I'm sure most of the characters wish they would at one point or another.

As great as that film is (Crawford won her only Oscar for her leading role), it's a very different piece of work from the novel.


James M. Cain's novel from four years earlier is a masterpiece in its own right and I'm thrilled to see it getting the attention it deserves care of HBO. Their mini-series is a painstaking retelling of the original novel as much as it's a nearly perfect period piece.

The last time the US experienced an economic upheaval similar to the one we're enduring now was in the the 1930s. That Mildred Piece's reversal of fortune came at the bust of a real estate bubble makes the story all the more easy to relate to.

James M. Cain was an important novelist and journalist in the early 20th Century. He wrote in what's called the roman noir style, he was all about the hardboiled crime novel. Mildred Pierce stands out in early work in that it's not a crime novel. Rather, it's a novel about perseverance and triumph over adversity. Further, it's the story of a woman and it's told from the point of view of a woman in a time where women's voices and opinions were not heard very often. Add to it that the Great Depression is practically a character in and of itself and you end up with a book that's a Must Read. So go read it. Please!

James M. Cain is one of the great writers of the last century no one's ever heard of but he wrote some important stuff. Three of his greatest works are included the collection I linked to in the last paragraph. The movies made from his novels endure and are some really great films.











As great as the movies are, his novels deserve to be read even more.

In the meantime though, watch the HBO mini-series. The story keeps getting better with each installment (even though I know where the story's headed). If you don't get HBO or live in a part of the world where it's not available, take heart. They spent so much money on this production that it's bound to be released on DVD in a matter of weeks.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf at St. Pete's American Stage

Richard B. Watson, Betty-Jane Parks, Matthew Stephen Huffman and Christine Decker in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf at St. Pete's American Stage

Last night, some friends and I went to see the American Stage Theater Company's production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? Wow, what a night and what a play.

Subtle is not something that describes Who's Afraid in any way and if you've ever seen the 1966 movie you know what I'm talking about. What made it onto the screen in 1966 was the scaled back version of this story though. The stage version is as a raw as it is nuanced and the incredible cast at the American Stage kept the play's three plus hours from devolving into a non-stop screaming match.

There's a neediness and something resembling love that undergirds George and Martha's dysfunction and watching Christine Decker and Richard B. Watson explore that onstage captivates as it repulses.

Christine Decker as Martha and Richard B. Watson as George on location somewhere in St. Pete. These two add a horrifying twist to the idea of a power couple.

Nick and Honey were played by Matthew Stephen Huffman and Betty-Jane Parks and their naivete and unspoken dissatisfaction adds the perfect fuel to George and Martha's fully realized volatility.

Bravos go out to the actors and the technical cast. The set and costumes were perfect and the American Stage's new theater was the perfect venue for this production.

If you are in the Tampa/ St. Pete metro area, go see this play. It's running through April 23rd and there are still seats available. You can buy tickets through their website directly and while you're on that site, check out the rest of their season this year and look over the line-up for next season.

Florida has a reputation as a cultural wasteland and in most cases that's not very far from the truth. But there is culture here and I'm fortunate to live in a city where I'm surrounded by it. The American Stage is this area's oldest Equity theater and that it's thriving in a time when arts organizations everywhere are slowly dying is as much a testament to the management of the the theater as it is a statement about the people of St. Pete.

Local arts organizations are an incredibly important part of what makes a place unique and worth living in. If you're not in my area and you can't support The American Stage, The St. Pete Opera, The Florida Orchestra, our many smaller theaters, dance companies and our amazing museums, your community has assets similar to ours and they need your support and patronage now more than ever. Make it a point to go see a play or go see a symphony or go to an art museum. Unpatronized arts groups, organizations and facilities go away and that's nothing short of tragic.

Here's the American Stage's video excerpt from their production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?

OK New Orleans, it's time to go see a play

My great friend Kevin Smith is returning to the stage this weekend after a 20-year absence and New Orleans you're the lucky host.

On Friday night the Crescent Theater Collective is staging Parallel Lives at the Shadowbox Theater. Parallel Lives was written by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy in 1989. Here's an excerpt from the Crescent Theater Collective:

In the beginning, when the earth is without form, and void, two Supreme Beings meet to plan the creation of the world with the relish of two slightly acerbic interior designers decorating a split-level on the Upper East Side. Once they've decided on the color scheme of the races (a little concerned that white people will feel slighted being such a boring color) they create sex and the sexes. Afraid women will have too many advantages, the Beings decide to make childbirth painful and to give men enormous ... egos ... as compensation.

From this moment on, writers Kathy and Mo whisk the audience through an outrageous universe of gender-benders struggling through the common rituals of modern life: dating, mating, coping with guilt, bar life, curb life, sex, sex, sex. With boundless humor, Parallel Lives examines the ongoing quest to find parity and love (yes, love) in a contest handicapped by capricious Supreme Beings.

Parallel Lives will have its Gulf Coast premiere on April 1st (no kidding) at The Shadowbox Theatre and run for three weekends. Local actors C. Patrick Gendusa and Kevin Smith share an engaging sense of creativity as they switch roles and, occasionally, sexes. Glenn Meche artfully directs this series of satirical sketches that will leave you giddy  with laughter all the way home.

You can buy tickets prior to the show from Eventbrite. It's killing me that I can't be at Kevin's premiere tomorrow night but hopefully some of you out there can be. The show will play tomorrow, 4/1 and then continues on 4/2, 4/7, 4/8, 4/9, 4/14, 4/15, and 4/16. All performances start at 8pm and the show runs for two hours.

I've seen Parallel Lives performed before, though regretfully never with Mr. Smith in a lead role. It's hilarious and well worth a night out. So come on New Orleans, go out and support The Arts in the Crescent City.

The Shadowbox Theater is at 2400 St Claude Ave  New Orleans, LA  and here's a map:



View Larger Map

Go and tell Kevin I said hello. Again, buy tickets here.

The Last Breakfast

Freelance sculptor and and illustrator Brian Stuckey is brilliant.

Nothing short of brilliant. Here's his website.

Details:

Congratulations Yulia and Julie: results from Mosaic Art International

Yulia Hanansen and Julie Richey are accomplished mosaic artists, great friends of this blog and recently-announced prizewinners at this year's Mosaic Art International juried show.

Yulia was awarded best in show by the three-person, international jury. She won for Jupiter: Great Red Spot, her interpretation of the Great Red Spot visible on the surface of Jupiter.

"Jupiter: Great Red Spot," c. 2010.
Materials: Layered stained glass.
Size: 36" x 56"
Price: upon request

From the artist: "Jupiter has always fascinated me as unrealized star- a planetary body that is too small for a nuclear fusion action. It is a giant planet that we can never land on. And it is in charge of one of the greatest hurricanes that we can observe- the Great Red Spot."

Artist statement continued: "Because of a layered layout, this mosaic required some research on structure of the GRS. I had to contact a NASA scientist who was very generous and sent me a couple of papers that she has written on cloud deck observations of Great Red Spot."

I've long appreciated Yulia's ability to make art and science co-exist in her work and it's a thrill to see her recognized with Mosaic Art International's Best in Show.

Another artist whose work I revere and whose friendship I treasure is Julie Richey. Julie won Mosaic Art International's Best 3-D Mosaic for her figurative dress sculpture, La Corrente.

"La Corrente," c. 2010
Materials:Marble, smalti, seashells and 24k gold
Size: 29” h x 22” w x 22” d
Private Commission

From the artist: "La Corrente is about beauty amidst destruction."

Artist statement continued: “It was created during the Gulf oil spill and it alludes to the many destructive forces, both man-made and natural, that creep in with the current.” Richey describes her work as “utilizing the innate opulence of mosaic materials – 24k gold smalti, marble, semi-precious stones, iridescent glass and minerals – to embellish sculptural forms in unexpected ways.”

Both women have fantastic websites that showcase more of their work and both women have work available for immediate sale and are open to private commissions. I invite you to explore both of their sites to gain some insight into how this most ancient of art forms is expressed in its highest forms today.

Julie's site is called Julie Richey Mosaics and you can find Yulia Hanansen's site is called Mosaic Sphere. Drop in, say hello and tell them I sent you.

Congratulations once again Yulia and Julie!

Conductors on Twitter, oh my!

I make no secret of the fact that I love Twitter.

I also make no secret of the fact that I love classical music.

Photo from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

Well, what happen if the two things combined? Well for one day only they have. Today is Ask a Conductor day on Twitter.

A little background. On Twitter, if you have a question to ask the universe, you use something called a hashtag. Hashtags go on the end of a Tweet and they are indexed by the site, so anyone can search for them. The hastag in this case is #askaconductor. Click on that last link and you'll go to the Twitter search results for instances where that tag's used in a Tweet. The directory's updated in real time.

So if you're a Twitter-er and you have a burning question you want to ask about classical music, just ask it and use the hashtag #askaconductor. Conductors and orchestra people from all over the world will be monitoring Twitter today and answer these questions personally. There are conductors from all the world's major (and minor) orchestras involved so who knows? Maybe Michael Tilson Thomas or Esa-Pekka Salonen will answer your question. Here's the link to the #askaconductor site.

From Cornwall to you with Merlin Glass

Last April, I wrote a post about a Cornish glassblower named Liam Carey. I'd met Liam on Twitter and I was very impressed with the glass door and cabinet knobs he makes. I'm still impressed and Liam's been working overtime on his marketing efforts. Liam's company is called Merlin Glass.

Merlin Glass just made a marketing video. As a glassblower, Liam makes far more than door knobs and in this video he's making a perfume bottle. Feast your eyes on this:




This video's as well-made as his glass. Wow.

Merlin Glass is available outside of the UK if you buy from Liam directly. If you're interested in becoming a dealer they would love to talk to you. Check out Merlin Glass' website.

Silestone sold me. Wow.

This is a new 60 second TV spot Silestone rolled out in Spain. Here's the video and audio without the voice over.



Holy cow, I think that's the best video I've ever seen in the whole kitchen and bath industry. Not only is it stunning, Silestone assures me that the entire thing is done in CGI, there's not a live image to be had anywhere in that video. That's doubly impressive.

It's the product of a Spanish videographer, Alex Roman, and his The Third and The Seventh Agency. I've seen Alex Roman's work before. This piece entranced me a year ago. It's nearly 13 minutes long, but watch it if you find a spare chunk of time.



The Third and The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

I absolutely love it when art and commerce combine.

Congratulations Nicolette Toussaint!

Nicolette Toussaint wrote a guest post for K&RD last April while I was in Chicago for KBIS. Nicolette's a designer, writer and artist from San Francisco and she's had a pretty rough go of it this year. In what I'm convinced is the first sign of a turning tide, she's opening a show of her paintings this month.

The show's at The Artist's Alley, a fine art gallery in the SOMA district of San Francisco. It's about a block from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. If you're in San Francisco and you'd like to see her show, shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you the particulars.

Nicolette's a skilled watercolorist, something I learned only recently. She's selling prints of her work on her Etsy shop and she has a more extensive profile on the Behance Network.

She's also available for hire as an architectural renderer, hint hint.

So congratulations to Nicolette on her gallery show. Her prints would make terrific gifts this season, don't you think?