For the first time, Lake Worth artists Isabel Gouveia and Stephen Futej are exhibiting together as husband and wife in Parts and Pieces at the Art Gallery at Eissey Campus, Palm Beach State College, Feb.21-March 23.
"Insularity Hills," oil /wax on canvas, 16 by 20 inches, $800
"Oneiric Place #5," mixed media drawing, 14 by 14 inches, $550.
The exhibition is a compilation of artworks selected from various bodies of work, so only parts are offered here. Both artists refer to the art of architecture, whether human or other.
Each piece, while intended to make an individual statement, often operates in harmony with other works and in several instances they are intended to contribute to a greater whole.
"Morning," digital print, 22 b y 32 inches, $700.
Highly abstracted, almost non-objective work has been explored for a century, said Isabel Goiveia.
“I still find it a vital and dynamic arena. Curvilinear shape and line simplify many elements relevant to my expression: the feminine curve, an opening, an architectural element, the line that traces a graph, or part of the organic world of swelling hills, fruits and its pods.”
She believes that openings represent not only the actual door but also contemplation, a portal in the dreamy direction, an exit or an escape. In her work she explores adaptation, deconstruction and reconstruction of a fictional space.
“Non-traditional, recovered and recollected material build the work and serve as an expression of the way we unconsciously live today, unaware of our limitations or abundance,” she said.
"Chac City," ceramic, slip and glazes, 19 by 6 by 6 inches, $550.
Stephen Futej says his work results from the accumulation of personal stimuli.
“Insight distilled from an encounter with machine, animal or nature may spark the creative process, or it could come from a song or a memorable quote.
"Mishit," ceramic, slip , glazes, 18 by 13 by 6 inches, $550.
“Each work is complete but is often a vignette suggesting something larger than itself.”
He treats the ideas as objects, and their compilation functions like a work composed of found objects. “I strive for an ambiguity of form that allows the viewer room to interact with the pieces on the level they desire,” he said.
"Vascularity," slips and glaze, 14 by 8 by 8 inches, $550.
The exhibition runs from Feb. 21 to March 23.
The opening reception will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Gallery hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For information, call 561-207-5015 or visit www. PalmBeachState.edu/gallery/currentexhibit
The Art Gallery at Eissey Campus is in the BB building of Palm Beach State College, 3160 PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens,
At this year’s Red Cross Designers’ Show House in The Mansion in Old Northwood, open now through Feb. 18, area design firms have decorated 15 spaces and in three of the spaces, you will see the work of local artists incorporated into the décor.
Arruza's 'D-Vine Baby, $1,500.
Interior designer Joseph Publillones’ dining room is eclectic with a continental flair. The color palette is gray, with black, orange and touches of gold.
He started with a table base with feet created by Pedro Friedeberg, who is known for his Hand Chair sculpture. The chairs are Louis XVI style; the 1950s screen once graced a Christian Dior boutique, and the side table is hand-artisan-made from metal. The carpet is a new style by Stark, a patchwork with an overdye.
The table is beautifully set with crisp linens, a centerpiece featuring a collection of Japanese Kutani vases and Meissen china, celebrating the Year of the Dragon.
For art for this room, Publillones used a work by West Palm Beach photogrpaher Tony Arruza.
“I choose Tony’s photograph because of its detail,” Pubillones said. In the photograph, there’s an image within an image of a trellis and a vine. “It’s beautiful, taken in Puerto Rico, and as you look at it you’ll see an Asian baby’s face,” he said.
“The image appealed to me, but in addition, since the room has an underlying Oriental flavor with the vases, carpet and the dragon plates, it tied into the overall theme of the room.
“I call the painting, D-vine Baby.”
To lighten and update the dark mahogany den, Joseph Cortes of HomeLife Interiors used whites and ivories, and the Stark grass cloth on the walls is backed with silver, “to reflect light and give the room the glamor factor,” he said.
“The Stark carpeting is another big focal point. Its contemporary geometric pattern sets the tone in that room.”
He chose to integrate works by Palm Beach artist Clemente into the decor. “Clemente works in many different styles,” Cortes said. “The works we used in the den are free flowing forms of geometric shapes with energetic color. He wants to engage the viewer’s imagination to create his or her own interpretation.”
'Pendant' by Clemente, $11,500.
Cortes was drawn to Clemente’s work because they are expressive and airy. “They also created a focal point backdrop with our two HomeLife custom-designed chairs and the Mies van der Rohe table. Pendant, with its bold lines against a background of color, had the right amount of energy for the space and imparted a contemporary accent to the interior.”
Christopher Leidy of Christopher Leidy Images said that he painted the upstairs hallway his “usual color of battleship gray” and then he installed pieces of his limited edition fine art photography. “You will feel like you are doing the breaststroke through my upstairs underwater hallway world,” he said. “Please come and check it out!”
Christopher Leidy's photographs start at $4,000.
The 36th Red Cross Designers’ Show House is at The Mansion, 3001 Spruce Avenue in Old Northwood. The house was built in 1923 by Orrin Randolph and currently owned by Monique and John Book. Show House hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $30.
The Palm Beach Cultural Council is hosting the South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship winners of Palm Beach County for its inaugural exhibition now through April 14 at the Council’s new headquarters at the Robert M. Montgomery, Jr. Building, 601 Lake Avenue. An artists’ reception is scheduled for Feb. 29, from 5 – 7 p.m.
Kevin Boldenow
Kevin Boldenow of Stuart chose to break away from the dimension of mania that he feels entangles most people. Rather, he uses his camera to capture the essence of the world as he sees it. “It’s like gathering proof that indeed we live within more than concrete and asphalt,” he said.
“More than six billion people walk this Earth and within minutes, another 1,000 are born. There are 300 million Americans working. They grab a cup of coffee in the morning, run out to the car with cell phone, and find themselves on the road fighting swarms of people doing the exact same thing.”
It’s important to notice the natural world around us, he believes –“the old oak tree or Florida pine standing beside the road, the majestic Washingtonian Palm and the Bougainvillea in full bloom.
“There is more to life than running to the next appointment.”
For more than twenty-three years, the Council has awarded $345,000 to 23 artists through the Fellowship program.
"Somber," B/W Photography, 28 by 20 inches, (frame size); $500.
Boldenow received the 2004 South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship Grant for Visual and Media Artists.
Located in the historic Robert J. Montgomery Building at 601 Lake Avenue in downtown Lake Worth, the new home of the Palm Beach County Cultural Council is open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please visit www.palmbeachculture.com.
More often than I’d like, our conversations seem to be about social media and how it works!
For example (setting, last Friday night at wine bar. Music playing loudly and hard to hear each other)
Martha: ??? Do you understand this? If you like me on my facebook page, you can get an excerpt of my new book, but I’ve been clicking it and nothing happens.
Me: I don’t see any link.
Clare emails: Martha, tell Christine to … (you get my drift)
new conversation (dinner after art opening 11:30 p.m. Thursday night):
Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner’s Bella Costa, at 111 Dunbar Road, saved from the wrecking ball by Benjamin and Elys Wohl in 1999, has been restored and is now offered for sale by Sotheby’s International Realty for $8.95 million. It has eight bedrooms, five bathrooms, one half-bath and 9,682 square feet inside and out.
Costa Bella is one of Mizner’s earliest homes, designed for Elizabeth Hope Gammell Slater in 1920, built after the Everglades Club in 1918, and in 1919, his shops and apartments on Worth Avenue, Villa Yalta for Clarence Jones, El Mirasol for Edward T. Stotesbury, the Munn residences, Amado and Louwana, and Mizner’s own home, El Solano.
Elizabeth Hope Gammell was born Nov. 7, 1854, and died Aug. 22, 1944. Her father was Prof. William Gammell. Her grandfather was Robert Ives of the firm Brown and Ives and her mother is described in a New York Times story from 1882 as “reckoned the richest woman in America, her property placed at twenty millions or more.”
Elizabeth married John W. Slater ( son of William S. Slater, one of Rhode Island’s leading manufacturers and owner of the manufacturing village of Slaterville) on May 19, 1880. The marriage was on the rocks a couple of years later. Many details about that are in the 1882 New York Times story, but it’s hard to say if the marriage was on or off. Either way, she seems to have been known as Mrs. EHG Slater for the rest of her life.
In the early years of Palm Beach, Mrs. Slater is often mentioned, opening and closing her houses for the season, as well as hosting parties and prominent visitors.
She also built another grand house in 1902, Hopedene, in Newport, Rhode Island, designed by Peabody & Stearns, and, interestingly, it’s presently owned by Palm Beachers Craig and Michele Millard.
She was obviously a mover and a shaker, and her mansion, Bella Costa, ended up being a mover and probably had its fair share of shaking in the process.
Here’s that story: Palm Beach builder, Ed Cury, who bought the Dunbar property in 1999, planned to demolish the house, subdivide the land, and build two spec houses. But, instead, Benjamin and Elys Wohl bought the Mizner home from Cury, turned it 90 degrees, and moved it dozens of yards to the west. Cury later sold his oceanfront piece of the property to builder Bill Elias.
“We’ve always had an appreciation for architecture,” Elys says.
“We had been looking for a house in Palm Beach, and we saw how many of the old houses were being destroyed. We started to read the demolition applications for ARCOM, and we saw that the Barton house had come up for demolition,” explains Benjamin.
“We drove by to look at it and we were dumbfounded that this house with its significance and architectural details was slated to be demolished.
“We asked Ed Cury if we could save it and move it, and he was happy to oblige,” Benjamin says.
“After we moved the home, we restored it,” Elys adds.
The exterior paint, for example, is its original shade of pink, the color they uncovered after scraping through layers of paint. They tried to determine the original colors inside, as well.
“We felt we were saving a piece of history,” Elys says. “It has a heavy wooden studded door, a chandelier, numerous lighting fixtures, and a gorgeous several-hundred-year-old Tunisian tile floor in the entrance foyer.”
She believes that the plasterwork in the dining room was replicated from photographs of the Alhambra that Mizner had taken during his travels.
In Mizner’s Florida, author and historian Donald W. Curl noted that “Mizner’s detailng included a ‘stalactite’ lighting fixture and Gothic tracery for the dining room ceiling.”
Curl also noted the home’s “massive carved stone staircase,” and that, although more formal than Mizner’s typical work, “the extensive fenestration created an open and light vacation house.”
Descending down that stone staircase is impressive, Benjamin says. The green coral floor and sink in the powder room are unique and he’s never seen anything quite as black as the pure Belgian black marble in the foyer.
Other Miznereque features include the pecky cypress beams in the entry and living room, hardwood floors, tile, wrought iron work, arches, decorative columns and corbels, stone carvings and stone-carved mantels. Another interesting feature in the dining room is the terrazzo floor with thin metal dividers to create a tile effect.
“I can’t help but feel the touch of Addison Mizner, as I walk the marble floors, or when I’m just sitting in the grand ballroom reading a book to my kids,” Benjamin says.
“Having Shabbas dinner in the dining room has been enjoyable, too.”
“We’ve hosted so many guests there. The dining room is so regal, so grand, it makes the food taste better,” Eyls adds.
Now, though, they and their children are renting a 700-year-old home in Jerusalem, and are thinking about finding a permanent home, there.
For information, call Wally Turner at 561-301-2060.
There’s still time… artpalmbeach runs through January 23. And you’ll see some familiar faces (and canvases) there!
So, quickly, so that you can go rather than read about it…
At JF Gallery:
William Finlayson, "Disenchanted"
Co-owner of JF Gallery William Finlayson said he’d been thinking about how to have some fun with the Disney font, when an acquaintance joked about being enchanted. Put DIS in front, and that would be a great word to play with using that font, he thought. So, here you have it — a mixed media on panel, 17 1/2 by 16 inches, $4,400.
Chisolm, "Layers in Time with Warm Reds"
Part of Chisolm’s Layers in Time series, Chisolm explained the makings of his “Warm Reds.” “What you see are layers of runs. I paint on plastic and cover my work with epoxy for the high gloss.” Price of this piece is $7,000.
Sibel Kocobasi, "Black Dot Come"
Sibel Kocobasi explained that she had just finished a series with animals, and, adopting a vegetarian diet, she needed a break, and this painting is part of it. What’s next? We’ll see…”Black Dot Come is priced at $6,400.
Jacek Gancarz with "Disposable Lighter Repair" and "Horse and Lion. Both are limited editions, 1/6, and $3,500.
At Whitespace, Jacek Gancarz was lounging about… Most likely, he’s thinking deep thoughts. As he has written (and photographed), so it is… “A blissful feeling comes over me as I wander through neighborhoods, looking and making pictures. Sometimes I connect with my subjects in the intimacy of their homes or sidewalks and realize there exists a reassuring sameness of character, one that is adaptable and resilient, regardless of status or location.”
And here’s some work by Ellen Liman, owner of Liman Gallery.
Ellen Liman with "Still Life Fruit," oil on canvas, 72 by 48 inches, each is $7,000.
Because of the scale, she said, her colors are bold and her strokes are loose. “I love texture, heightened color, figurative paintings. Like Cezanne, I’m trying to honor the flat surface and add dimension.”
And from other places at the show, and just because…
ArtPalmBeach’s fair schedule encompasses events, special exhibitions, topical lectures, special museum tours, site specific art installations, art performances and VIP programs. The fair runs January 20th-22nd from noon – 7 P.M. and January 23rd from noon – 6 PM. Tickets can be purchased at the door, $15 for a one-day ticket and $20 for a multi-day ticket.
For more information on ArtPalmBeach exhibitors and programming, travel accommodations, and additional exhibition openings, please visit www.artpalmbeach.com or call 239.949.5411.
The SeaFair became a floating art fair, for the 3rd edition of Miami International Art Fair, now through January 16. Docked at 100 Chopin Plaza, Miami, it’s “housing” 28 international galleries, including a couple (Art Link International, Lake Worth and Arcature Fine Art, Palm Beach) from Palm Beach County, as well as one of our “local” artists (sculptor Edwina Sandys).
Miami International Art Fair aboard the SeaFair
Along with artwork by a host of well known artists, Art Link also featured the work of a Miami artist, Daisy Papp.
Daisy Papp and Howard Brassner
“Daisy’s work takes common imagery and brings it to life in a way that creates excitement in viewers,” said gallery owner, Howard Brassner. Two of Papp’s large Marilyn Monroe works were on exhibit, as well as a sculpture.
Papp's rendition of Marilyn
Papp’s work features a variety of glamorous “Lady” icons from the past, and believes that with their passing, an era passed as well. Too bad, she said, while ladies listening in looked askance. “Women today could learn from them.”
In any case, Brassner has a Marilyn piece living in his home, and it makes him feel good just to look at it, he said. “It’s got a sensuality as well as sexuality about it that’s exciting and relaxing.”
Among other works at Arcature Fine Arts, Ryan Ross is featuring artists John Chamberlain and Hal Buckner at the fair, who share a booth of their own.
Hal Buckner
Over the years, Ross has collected many pieces by Chamberlain, who died Dec. 21, 2011, and is known for his colorful crushed, bent and twisted automobile-part sculptures. He once said: “I think of my art materials not as junk but as garbage. Manure, actually; it goes from being the waste material of one being to the life-source of another.”
“A New Yorker by choice and marriage, Edwina Sandys was born and raised in London. In 1969 she considered standing for Parliament, which placed her squarely within her family’s tradition. Not only was her father the British Cabinet Minister, Duncan Sandys, but her grandfather was Winston Churchill. It is telling that these major political figures were both talented artists. Through her richly varied life experience, Edwina is uniquely situated to create work related to the global issues of our time.”
“Your life is your art. It’s you canvas,” she said, and that pertains to everyone.
The Miami International Art Fair, on the SeaFair, is located at 100 Chopin Plaza, docked at the Intercontinental Hotel adjacent to Bayfront Park. Hours are noon to 10 p.m. Jan. 13-14, noon to 7 p.m. Jan. 15-16. A one-dy pass costs $15.
Saturday 17 December 2011
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Last August, after Amy Woods and I launched NorthCountyCurrent.com, we consulted with business anaylst Sharon Geltner at Palm Beach State University’s Small Business Development Center in Boca Raton.
We are letting you all know that she’s now available for consultation in Palm Beach Gardens, as well. Due to popular demand from north county businesses, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will now offer FREE social media consulting from the PGA campus of Palm Beach State College (PBSC) – Administration Building.
Personally, I owe Sharon a Big Thank You… I can say that she forced me to go to a deeper level with WordPress, and I am not a PHP person. I learned about sticky posts, and that my WordPress theme has a spot for quick edits, helping me really clean up our site. I also learned a lot more about Plugins and Widgets. It wasn’t all that bad, and didn’t take me so long once I tackled the projects (so there is hope for you, too!)
She advised us to tweak our bios and headlines (I am still resisting on the headlines. my bad…)
SBDC, hosted by PBSC in Palm Beach County, offers professional expertise consulting and workshops to small business owners and entrepreneurs to help them succeed in both the domestic and international marketplace. All SBDC services, including help in the areas of finance, business plans, incorporation, taxation, publicity are social media, are FREE.
Sharon will be in Palm Beach Gardens on Thursdays, starting Jan. 5. Phone for your appointment now, through Ted Kramer at 561- 862-4784 or email Sharon at geltners@palmbeachstate.edu.
Now, a bit about Sharon: She has won awards for newspaper reporting, publicity, corporate communications, videography and online media campaigns and her clients have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com and Newsweek.com. Check out her You Tube video, “The Fat Lady Has Not Sung: Why the Internet Needs the News,” about how search engines rely on daily newspapers.
Sharon is president of Froogle PR; an Internet marketing, online reputation management and SEO firm.
Lambert doesn’t like glazing his pottery. So, he’s developed a clay body that vitrifies after being fired in his wood-burning kiln for 76 hours — the heat saturates through the clay, making it very strong.
The effects he produces on the surface of his pieces has to do with controlling the way the heat and ash go through the kiln, as well as the way he and his team load the kiln.
Here's what a piece made of the special clay looks like in its bisque form. That's Lambert holding it up for us to see.
Then, they take a piece of wadding (sort of looks like a hot-dog wreath, and glue it with Elmers to the bottom of a mug, for example, and they place that on top of a dish, and that creates different designs depending on the type of pieces that they are loading in, as well as the way the flame and the ash are moving across the surface, marking the work.
Lambert holds up the mug, so that we can see the wadding glued to its bottom. Later the wadding will be removed (obviously).
Lambert sets the cup on top of the plate, demonstrating how the pieces are loaded in the kiln.
Here's a piece already fired, showing how the markings are made, and how the ash colors the plate as it is blown across it.
Every time they do such a firing, they keep careful documentation of what works and what doesn’t: when they start firing the kiln, when they are stoking it and how much air is going in and out.
As I said before, it goes on for 76 hours and the team has to stoke it, throwing in bundles of wood (like you’d see at Publix sold for the fireplace) every five to eight minutes. They end up using two to three cords of wood. They rotate the four people on the firing crew and they also have a team of assistants to bring them the wood bundles, etc.
Realize, too, that it took them two days to load the kiln, so that they could get all the pieces positioned properly for the effects they were after.
“We want to block the flame from going right though the kiln and when it’s bouncing around inside, that’s how we get the different colors,” Lambert explained.
Here are some of the finished pieces, showing a variety of coloration and markings.
Very cool…
Lambert won’t be having another kiln opening until March, however, you can go to his ETSY site to see his work, pricing and to purchase. Click here.
You can also visit his Web site, to learn about his process. At his home, he does have a studio, and he does sell out of his studio. Click here.
This day, potter Fong Choo was on hand, so I had the good fortune to learn what he does, too.
Fong Choo holding two of his teapots.
He’s originally from Singapore, and lives in Louisville, Ky. He studied business in college, and fell in love with clay when he took a class in pottery. He currently has a show at the Lighthouse ArtCenter in Tequesta.
Now, he does something totally different from Lambert. Here’s what he said (and by the way, he fires his pieces in an electric kiln: “I fire my glazes at lower temperatures. And then I overfire them to a much higher temperature, causing overmelting, which creates jewel tones.
To get the effects he’s looking for he does endless hours of testing, and his forms have depressions that are designed to catch the overrun.
He loses 60-70 percent of his work.
The handles that you see in these photos are his new idea and latest endeavor. Since he’s getting ready for the Smithsonian Crafts Fair (April 2012, Washington D.C.) he’s playing with ideas.
“I make teapots for a living,” he said. “In Singapore, tea drinking is a way of life. Traditionally, potters make these little teapots — Yixing. But I’m not one of those potters, however their work inspires me.”
Choo will soon be going to teach at the Torpedo Factory.
Monday 12 December 2011
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Cameron at Tree Towne
I finally had to put my friend, Isabel’s, small Christmas tree away (a godsend for two Christmases). Lights were dead, and dust was yaythick, and the kids will want to see a real tree for Christmas.
So, since there were only two trees left at Publix (and rather brown looking at that), I decided to go to Tree Towne, and was met by Cameron Vanderee, who had both arms clad in wreaths like bracelets. “Want a wreath?” he asked. No, I said. “I want a tree. Help me pick one out, and give me tips so that I can spread the word.”
About Cameron: He’s been coming to Florida with Tree Towne for 8 years, since he was 19 years old. It’s a kind of vacation for him. When he’s not doing Christmas trees, he works in construction. Cameron is from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Tree Towne has a variety of trees. This year, it had Frasers, Douglas Fir, Grand Fir and Noble Fir. On this lot (in Boynton Beach), Tree Towne had trees up to 13 feet, but, people have ordered trees up to 20 feet. It will sell 10,000 trees this Christmas, Cameron told me.
I said, not for me. No wreaths. “Give me something no taller than you and something that will last through Christmas.”
He told me to buy the Fraser. In his opinion, it lasts longer, has a nice scent and is priced reasonably.
So, I asked, how do you tell if it’s fresh?
He broke a tip off of one of the ends, and said to see if it looks like it still has some green left in it, and some sap. I hadn’t thought of that one.
Run your hand along one of the branches, and the needles should not come off (I knew that already).
What about the other trees? Some people like the Douglas Fir because they like the puffiness of it, he said. The Grand Fir (from Oregon) has a slight citrus smell to it. The Noble Fir is similar to the Fraser and holds its needles.
Any tricks to keeping them green? Cut off the bottom of the trunk a little. Keep it watered (obviously), he said, and when you water it the first time, some people claim that warm water helps. It’s supposed to open up the tree cells.
Tree Towne sells something for that purpose, and some people put aspirin or sugar in the water…
I tried the warm water routine, but he picked me out a nice tree….
Tree Towne has a north county location in Jupiter at Indiantown Road and Old Dixie HIghway.
