Serizawa at Japan Society

I need to get to see this exhibit of work by Serizawa Keisuke at The Japan Society. What I have seen online is incredibly graphic and smart and yet somehow friendly and maybe even humble.

Serizawa worked using stencil-dyeing(?) and I want to see what that is and how it is done. He was a Living National Treasure. The work here was done between 1955 and 1961. It feels completely contemporary. The entrance curtains are called noren....I want one for my apartment! The kimono is described as "Pattern Imitating Glaze Dripping Down the Side of a Jar"...

Enough with the surfaces....

Yes. The surface saga continues. Still a little OCD about
sanding/painting/waxing pieces of wood for the prop house business.
Today I got to use a surface I refinished for a job. I had to shoot some
bread for a client and used a board I reworked to look old. Perfect
for floury and crusty bread.

And here are some new pieces...

Oh, yes. I am still very boring and being compeletly anti-social because I am spending
so much time in the studio. OK, the week before last I had a job in Miami for 5 days so that
required me to be more happy-smiley but my head was thinking about painting---soon
I am going to begin painting "paintings" I think once I get these surfaces out of the way.

Tonight a friend called and asked "Where have you been!". I told her I am like Big Foot.
Rumor has it I exist but the sightings are rare and unreliable....

handicraft...

Well, this week when I should have been re-doing my portfolio or website or somehow working on my photography biz I found myself obsessed with refinishing surfaces for the prop house. First I started on a pine-plank "fence" we made a few months ago for a shoot that somehow never felt complete--the prop, not the shoot which was finished. So I went to Home Depot. There I dug down deep within myself to find my inner-handyman (which believe me is hidden very, very deep) and bought an orbital sander, wood filler, stain, paint and wax and headed back to the studio. Turned out to be super fun and relaxing. After I finished the fence thing every thing became kinda blurry and all I saw in front of me were things just begging to be re-surfaced. Next was a piece of wood just sitting there all sorta of plain I used "Fruit Punch" stain from Minwax and a reddish paint from Behr. Then a very old cutting board (don't worry we must have 25 or so cutting boards) and it I painted white. Next up was an old table with a ruined surface--magic markers, ink spill, etc. This became very reddish-orange. Then a maple piece also painted white and then another cutting board stained green with "Botanical" by Minwax and some dark forest green by Behr.

There is no stopping me now. I think I need intervention. This was all done in two days...

A few new things for the prop house..

Went shopping yesterday to Soho and ended up at Ochre on Broome Street. Got some things for the prop house. A few plates by Daniel Smith, a british artist who works in ceramics and a dark resin plate. Today it was raining and it has been for a few. And cold. And where did fall go?

So of course it was a perfect day to spend in the studio taking pics of the new things which I like very much.

Anime Kids

Recently I was outside my apartment and noticed some people in costume. Then I noticed ALOT of people in costume. These people were going to the local convention center, Jacob Javitz which is just a few blocks from my place, to attend an Anime Convention. The next day I took two assistants and kinda talked our way into the center and set up a little mini-studio.

I have no idea who the characters are that these conventioneers were portraying but I loved how intense they were about their depictions. Of course for some it was fun but for others it was a passion.

I really fell in love with the intensity most of these kids had for the characters and also admired the craft some of them brought to re-creating(out of fabric and paper-maiche) the characters in their costumes.

Where did summer go?

The light has changed so much. I looked at the sunlight coming into my bedroom today and realized how the direction of the sun has changed now that fall is here. Then I went to Union Square Farmer's Market and everything seemed to whisper "summer is gone...". That is OK. I bought some fresh and delicious Honey Crisp apples and they seemed perfectly content to be extraordinary symbols of the new season here on my kitchen table. And a nice pics from apple picking two weeks ago when I was in Wisconsin.

And I want to introduce some of my new friends. Two interesting ceramic birds (one a chicken I think the other a very sleek looking owl) and a hippo.

Today's Lesson, Children: Orange

In Chicago for the weekend visiting The Stylist. Went to a store called Den on Central Street in Evanston. For sure the owner, Daran Puffer, must like orange. He had some very beautiful orange (tangerine?) and reddish objects. Two great orange suede covered Milo Baughman chrome chairs and lamps, lamps, lamps. Turns out that Daran is an ace at renovating lamps and chandeliers and sconces. We ended up talking to him for a while and we took a look at his workshop with the trophy marlin over his bench and the figurine lamp that looks like she is trying on lampshades as dresses...