Junior curator Max organizes his first show in our living room

Toast (Tribeca Open Artist Studio Tour) was going on, and people all over Tribeca in and out of lofts visiting artists studios, so Max decided to hang some of his work and as well put  a call out to some of his friends to see if they wanted to hang some work in our living room.

His friends who got it together on short notice was his friend Liam, who put in a watercolor drawing that was made as a collaborative piece in their Eastern Woodland Indian study class. Max's friend Fritz Johnson and his dad Jeff brought by five beautiful pieces to hang. A self portrait by Fritz as well as an amazing drawing of Frauces Tavern, a little reminiscent of the outsider artist, Chris Murray. Annabeth Johnson's work included a drawing of a flag, an abstract character and a wall hanging piece. Max included some marker drawings of guitars, a kinetic-collage drawing he had made in a program at the Whitney Museum as well as a stamp art piece made in his art class at school.

Fritz Johnson's drawing of Fraunces Tavern.

Several people came by, including some of Max's friends to hang out. Max had put a big sign on the front door so people would know there was a kids show downstairs.

Annabeth's work (left) included a drawing of a flag, an abstract portrait 
and a wall hanging piece (right) 

Liam Bohde's collaborative watercolor piece of Eastern Woodland Indians homes.

Max's name marker drawing made in art class at PS 234.

Max's Pollock-inspired painting made in an Action Painting family art workshop at MoMA.

Pop-Up Kids Art show signage out front.

One couple and their daughter drove all the way in from Connecticut to walk around
and look at art in people's Tribeca studios and living rooms.

Max's Kinetic Collage piece done in an art workshop at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

KERRY SCHUSS gallery opens Bob Moskowitz Envelopes

KERRY SCHUSS opened the Envelopes show of paintings and drawings by Bob Moskowitz on Saturday, April 14th, 2012.

Mad Hatters were out in full force at the Easter Parade 2012 in New York

This young lady was perfection. Happy to be there, smiling broadly with the fun twist of
putting the purple, pink and green daisies on the inside of her wide brimmed hat.

All it really takes to get the hat makers at New York city's Easter Day Parade to talk about their fantastic headpieces at New York City's Easter Day parade is to wear one yourself. This is the third year I've gone to the parade, but the first time I took the hat-making business seriously. So I got to chat up those with the best, most amazing hats. I inquired as to who they were, how long it took to make their hats and what inspired them. Some of these people have been doing the parade with hats for 15 years! There were the usual themes to be found; birds, birds and more birds (in bird cages, on branches, in nests,) as well as bunnies, eggs, flowers and watering cans, but this year new hats themed like The Titanic and an early airplane strolled by perched on high. There were hundreds of people parading in hats and thousands upon thousands watching and photographing them. I myself was asked to pose for dozens of photos. Some of the outstanding Easter bonnets are here:

"The Easter Parade Rocks" writes out one jauntily bonneted young girl. 

Shades of green, a nest perched on a twig and a huge smile.

This sweet girl created a symphony atop her wide brimmed straw hat.

There was so much amazingness going on with this gentleman's getup, that it took me a few minutes to notice that the gray parrot on his hat was alive! And that the base of his hat was an upside down quilted handbag.

As this gentleman moved in front of Saint Patricks Cathedral, he picked up his ever constant poodle
out of its stroller for a photo with the menagerie. The neon dye job on the poodle coordinating
with the neon plastic bracelets is a particularly nice touch.

Very minimal nest-as-hat with a sheer dress embellished with brown feathers.

Nothing more adorable than sisters in pastel matching hats and outfits.

Clever Nor' Easter couple (who come every year) stopped to chat with a mother
and daughter trio who also come every year. "Did you get interviewed by Fox News?" Nor Easters inquired.
 "Yes, they asked what my hat meant," the Southern Lady under a trellis mom replied.

This couple was parading and texting.

Watering can gents do simple, effective matching hats. Last year they wore hat boxes.

Old fashioned meets thoroughly modern peeps-mini.

Effective small hats covered with plastic eyeballs and pom poms.

Flower pot trio.

This hat encompassed three favorite themes, flowers, bunny and carrots.

Carrot top hat and boy with orange basketball bunny posed together. Hilariously the lady carried a spritzer bottle and pulled it out to moisten her carrots from time to time.

Roses and more roses engulf a black hat.

Memorial Hat for Michael, Whitney, his dad and other beloved past souls. 

Memorial to the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Titanic with a crew and passenger
 list of chicks and bunnies natch.

A reproduction of the Wright brothers first plane on display at the Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Gents were part of the Horoscope Signs large group. 

Horoscope Sign Aquarius.

Chihuahua's in cute sheer coats with preppy owner wearing a ubiquitous bunny hat.

Hats off to all the fun of Easter in New York!

I have new found respect for what's involved in making an Easter Bonnet, from putting one together this year. You first need to think of a theme that will stand out. Newbies (me 2 years ago) will hot glue as many peeps and fake flowers as they can to a wide brimmed straw hat and pray it holds together. (My vase of flowers from the first parade fell off in the last half hour.) I had a bird watcher hat idea in mind, where no birds can be spotted because they are all on the top of the hat. What really impressed me from the past two years were hats that showed subtle, elegant craftsmanship. Black and white also really stands out from the Fifth Avenue sea of pastels. My materials? H & M hat ($9.99), black & white stripped ribbon from Tinsel Trading (1 and 1/2 yards for $3) and four white birds, black feather and the nest from Jamali Gardens in the flower district ($22) $35 total and 1/2 hour to put it together. Voila!

--Monica Forrestall

VISITING ARTIST: Lower East Side Gallery crawl

Sunny Sunday afternoon tour of LES side galleries with Curphey on March 18th.
Started at Canada gallery on Christie Street, naturally.

Gallery on Christie Street, focuses on contemporary American artists, 

this of the sculptural work of Michael Mahalchick.

Closeup of the decal covered Fender guitar.

Michael Mihalchick sculture piece of a glass table top, resting on stacks of gay porn,
with raw bacon pieces.

Since bacon flavoring is everywhere, why not as an art material? Decidedly a little gross.

A new interesting gallery opening here soon....

These paintings of Anja Schwoerer, that used denim as a canvas and bleach as paint were rather interesting. And reminded me a little of the ball pint pen pieces I did on denim for KS Art's show of ball-point drawings a few years back.

More of Anja Schwoerer's work at Beauchene Gallery on Orchard Street.

Michael Bauer's painting in the group painting show "Today" at Lisa Cooley Gallery.

Lisa Cooley's new space on Norfolk Street just opened a few days before.

Installation of an African-hut like large scale sculpture made of a hodgepodge of mops, legs of chairs
and other random materials by LA artist Henry Taylor.

Mop detail of the hut sculpture by Henry Taylor.

Liked the painting show "Slack Tide" of Sam Moyer at Rachel Uttner Gallery on Orchard. Paintings with textured surface that looks wrinkled or folded. 

---Monica Forrestall

Whitney Biennial artist, Elaine Reichek teaches a Family Workshop March 17th

We braved the shamrock festooned throngs (uptown for the St Patricks Day parade) on the subway to get to the Whitney for an artist led Family Art workshop, by fabric artist Elaine Reichek. The workshop began, as these things usually do, by looking at her work. The Biennial was packed on a Saturday afternoon, but 15 children and their parents, sat cross legged on the floor of the gallery where Elaine's installation of embroidery pieces based on Mythical stories was located.

Elaine spoke very eloquently to the children, about her work, after she told the story of Adriane and Theseus and the Minotaur.

On the way out we stopped in the next room, which was devoted to an installation of an LA based artist. She had filled her space with everything she owned. The children were most curious to play the Xylophone, and to ask what was in the cardboard box marked spiders. She answered, "Spiders." And proceeded to open the box and pull out many stuffed spiders that she had made.

Back in the art studio at the Whitney, Elaine began by going through many art images inspired by the mythical characters and creatures she was inspired by. She showed everything style from Romantic period of beautiful sad Ariadne to "buff" (as Max called them, minotaurs taken from modern video games. Fun, and all the children found images that they connected to and were inspired by in the piles of copies of the images put out on the table for children to use.

Table full of inspiring images, colored tape, markers, pencils and pens in the Whitney's art studio.

Next, Elaine said the project would involve the children creating their own mythological story and making a book, that is illustrated and bound in the next hour. 

Max's mythological story was about a mad scientist who created the terrifying minotaur. I love that Max posed
for two of the characters he wanted to include. I made a quick sketch of him, and he used the sketch as a reference  of the pose to make his drawing. 

--Monica Forrestall