Don't Let it Rain on our Parade! The art of the Easter Bonnet at the famous Fifth Avenue Easter Parade 2011 in New York City

A deluge of rain was predicted for Easter Sunday, but the clouds parted Saturday night and Sunday the brilliant sun shone down (with 73 degree F weather) on the thousands of people congregated on Fifth Avenue for the historically famous Easter Day Parade. Thousands of people strolled up and down Fifth between 57th and 48th streets with bonnet central on the steps of Saint Patrick's Cathedral.

My favorite bonnet of the day? This marvelous mechanized ferris wheel perched firmly atop a straw hat worn jauntily by a young man, who completed the festive ensemble with a whimsical rainbow-stripped jacket.









The young lady, below had created a somewhat sheer dress and hat of silk flowers and had even decorated the teacup she carried with purple posies. Such a sweet touch! Everything here worked so well, and her Audrey Hepburn figure suited this form-fitting floral fantasy. Her charming curly-cropped do peeked out from under the purple flowers on her cap.

Below: A very complicated (and heavy) hat inspired by the children's film "Up." Although the woman wearing it struggled to keep her head upright with it on, she smiled and posed for everyone who wanted to take her photo.

Below: The fantastic creativity of hat making was evident in this paper collage hat and jacket combo. The back of the jacket was themed with bunnies and imagery of the cruxifixion of Christ. 

Below: Festive Easter lilies sprout from a large walking silver watering can.

Below: It was particularly fun and festive when groups of friends dressed similarly and made matching themed hats and walked together! Here four super stylish ladies strolled down Fifth decked out in the new nude and pale colors of the season, a couple carrying their sorbet-colored hat boxes with them.

Below: A dynamic duo took it a step further and wore their hat boxes 

keeping their fluffy white chapeaux tucked inside.

Below: A jaunty trio of stylish lads with a gal pal. Loved that the boys hats matched their shirts or vests. Adore the cap with bunny ears made of brown floral fabric on the far left!

Below: Five friends chose moss green and turquoise as their color theme, 

while one of their friends went rogue red.

Loved all the textures this young lady included in her ensemble, from sequins
and fluffy scarf to feathers and stitched on green vines.

Below: These two ladies did the black and white theme best, with stripes, saucer hats and cool shades.

Below: A fanciful characther who complemented his plumed Mad Hatter hat with a fantastic costume. He offered Easter treats and wishes to Max, who sported a hat he decorated with water squirters. His joke was his hat was designed to water the flowers on all the other hats.

Below: This Versailles-like characther posed appropriately in front of the Versace boutique on Fifth.

Below: One of my favorite ladies from last year, pannier-skirt girl made a re-appearance wearing another fanciful skirt, this time embellished with roses. Her companion's head piece was a perfect match!

This dapper dog was sporting a tux and top hat.

Robin's egg blue Bugaboo stroller embellished with flowers carried the sweetest treat of all,
a wee little man in an Easter egg trimmed boater. 

My bonnet was fashioned of an Irish black bowler picked up in a Dublin market

festooned with orange silk flowers and a butterfly finger puppet, worn with my favorite fifties-style sundress patterned with gray and black roses.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!
-Monica Forrestall

PS A few more chapeaux on The Examiner site. Enjoy! http://www.examiner.com/culture-in-new-york/the-new-york-city-2011-easter-bonnet-parade-on-5th-avenue-picture#slide=32391251

March 13th, 2011 In loving memory

Five years ago we lost our loving mother and wife. Although a day doesn't pass that we don't think of our little mother, on the fifth anniversary of her passing, we took time as a family to reflect on this extraordinary lady, whom we had the privilege of loving and her life.

As my sister Renee reminds us, "The most important thing in our mother's life was her faith and living a life that was true to her beliefs. A devoted Catholic, mom chose to become a Franciscan because of her passionate love of Saint Francis of Assisi. Our mother loved animals and was dedicated to a life of simplicity. She adopted vows of poverty and went to church every day. She emptied her pockets for anyone in need. My brother Frank said, "Every day I get to experience mom's boundless capacity for love through her grandchildren, who still affectionately recall her as Grandmaman." Monica remembers her lifelong commitments to good works, for which she insisted on not discussing or promoting herself for doing. From the fifteen years she served meals to homeless gentlemen at Hope Cottage to her home visits and tireless work for the Saint Vincent de Paul Society. Anyone who stopped and and asked her for change she dug into her pocket or handbag. Natalie truly believed everyone was equal in the eyes of god, and she treated everyone the same, from the Premier of Canada to the man who found their way to Hope Cottage for a meal. Mom selflessly supported the work and dreams of her husband, children and grandchildren with a heart filled with love.
My dad, Tom Forrestall sums it all up, "To this darling lady, I owe everything I have."
We love you mom, then, now and always.


Natalie LeBlanc Forrestall on her wedding day.

Dad's 75th Birthday today

Dad celebrated his birthday today by painting and having a party with his family.

Tom in Karsdale, Nova Scotia. He is standing near the end of a rainbow.

Frank Forrestall's short film of his and dad's adventure in Israel in late 2010.

For six weeks my dad, Tom Forrestall had an amazing adventure traveling all over Israel with my brother Frank. Along the way Frank photographed and filmed their journey from the Dead Sea , north to the Golan Heights. Back in Nova Scotia, Frank created this beautiful film of their trio together, giving us all a window into their fascinating trip. Robinson Kinsman Gallery, who represent dad in Toronto, posted it on their website.

http://www.kinsmanrobinson.com/dynamic/artist.asp?ArtistID=4&ShowVideo=TRUE

--Monica Forrestall

Tom Forrestall's painting hangs at The Armory show

Tom Forrestall's painting of a figure in a landscape scene on the far right.

Dad's egg tempera painting was chosen as one of the pieces to be exhibited in the Contemporary Canadian Art show in The Art Dealer's Association of Canada booth at Pier 94 at The Armory 2011. The painting was loaned by his Toronto gallery Robinson Kinsman, who had this painting in a one- person show of dad's a few months back.

I visited the booth on the very busy Saturday afternoon to see the painting installed and take some photos of dad's beautiful painting. The imagery in this egg tempera painting is a quiet scene of downtown Dartmouth. Here are some shots of the booth (above).

Close-up of the painting.

Max taking an upclose look at his
grandfather's painting in the booth.

Here's an overview shot of part of the Armory from the stairwell that leads to the modern wing on Pier 92. This are is mainly contemporary European and South American galleries.

The Armory show as seen from stairwell leading to Pier 92. 

--Monica Forrestall

The Kids are Alright: NYC's newest art fair The Dependent at The Sheraton put the fun back into fairs.

Call it old school, if you will, but the history of The Armory began as an inexpensive art fair in the Gramercy Hotel (then called The Gramercy International Art Fair) in 1994. It was organized by four hip young art dealers  who couldn't get into the established fairs;  Colin De Land, Pat Hearn, Matthew Marks and Paul Morris.

Last night, Swiffer-looking "yarn art pieces" wandered the halls of the twelfth and fourteenth floors, with one room devoted to a performance of hanging out, drinking beer and watching art videos. Affordable for all the invited and fun, the newest NYC art fair, The Dependent was a one-night wonder where participants had an hour to set up their rooms and where, appropriately, many participants rolled their art in, in suitcases.

At KS Art in room 1407, gallery director Kerry Schuss showed Freddie Brice paintings
 of watches and Ray Hamilton outline watercolors.

It took over two floors of The Sheraton Hotel at 160 West 25th Street for one afternoon and evening, Friday, March 4th. Some galleries rooms looked like artist club houses, others fitted up the room with items that "made sense" like Polly Apfelbaum's tie dye bedding (below) and artful pillows and curtains in Cleopatra's room #1408. Then there was all the crazy, creative ways artists installed art in the bathrooms. Plastic flowers stuffed into one, sculptures in shower stalls next to the drain---tubs filled with ice and beer was everywhere. The lines to get in were long, 45-minutes we were told by someone who made it up.

Apfelbaum's "rainbow roll" bedding in Cleopatra's room.

A painted satin 50's wedding dress and Zine display in room 1203. 

One Night Stand mixed media painting.

Soloway Gallery in room 1203.

Oversized fake nose and eyeglasses in Canada's room.

Max Schuss and his Goth-inspired drawings.

Artist Max Schuss hogged the bathroom to watch Youtube videos.

Sculpture and painting installed in one bathroom

Bread and scented oil at Cleopatra sent herbal aroma down the halls.

Tubs of beer were ubiquitous.

Creative use of found art materials like wet wadded up toilet paper
to make bows on bathroom mirrors.

Some online reviews of The Dependent follow:
Hyperallergic:
http://hyperallergic.com/20133/the-dependent-art-fair-2011/

Art Observed review by N. Linnert

http://artobserved.com/2011/03/ao-on-site-photosetnews-summary-new-york-the-dependent-art-fair-at-the-sheraton-hotel-on-26th-street-floors-12-and-14-march-4-2011/

Artfagcity.com dubbed it a success.

http://www.artfagcity.com/2011/03/07/the-dependent-fair-as-seen-through-the-crowds/

Michelle Levy for Artslant.com reported many attendees saying this fair would be the only one they attended. "The spirit of The Dependent felt less about the actual art and more about camaraderie and solidarity, along with an inevitable shade of insider-ness."

http://www.artslant.com/ny/articles/show/22067

Artnewsworldwide.com pre-show report:

http://www.artnewsworldwide.com/art-fag-city/17429-the-hip-and-practical-attend-two-new-nyc-art-fairs.html

And Hyperallergic's piece on who was attending The Dependent. Hey, there's our friend Joanne and Sheeba.

http://hyperallergic.com/20110/emerging-collectors-at-the-dependent/

-Monica Forrestall

Maxwell Projects gets a couple of nods in New York Times review of the Outsider Art Fair today

The Outsider Art Fair is on this long weekend in NYC at 7 West 34th Street location. My husband Kerry's outsider/folk art business Maxwell Projects has a booth there, and today got a nice mention in the New York Times review of the fair by Martha Schwendener. Follow the link below to the story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/arts/design/12outsider.html?ref=design

Aaron Birnbaum's "Two peacocks in  tree"

"Outsider art also accommodates the late bloomer. Aaron Birnbaum, a retired New York tailor, started painting at 65. His lovely “Two Peacocks in Tree” from 1985 at Maxwell Projects is framed by painted pieces of a wooden crib found in the street." writes Ms. Schwendener in the N Y Times.

Gallery owner/director Kerry Schuss of Maxwell Projects and KS Art in his O.A.F booth.

Artist Chris Murray's NYC inspired artworks line Maxwell Projects booth walls. 

Artist Chris Murray's NYC cab work on paper at Maxwell Projects booth.

Opening night benefit event on Thursday, February 10th drew a wonderful crowd.

Kerry and Monica at the benefit opening night of The Outsider Art Fair.

Artwork from around the show:

Howard Finster sculpture.

Carved shoe soles and bicycle seats.

Many wonderful examples of collage work from different outsider artists.

"Four Seasons"

The Electric Pencil  yellow house drawing.