Thursday's Art Opening List

In Search of the Miraculous or One Thing Leads to Another

Graphic Designer Milton Glaser's current work on view

October 1–November 24, 2010

AIGA Gallery

164 Fifth Avenue (between 21st and 22nd Streets) in New York

( http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/exhibit-milton-glaser )

 Steven Kasher Max's Kansas City; Art, Glamour, Rock and Roll

The Strand Book Store will host author Steven Kasher, writer Steven Watson, artist Lorraine O'Grady and featured photographers Anton Perich and Danny Fields

September 30, 7:00PM - 8:00PM

( http://www.strandbooks.com/app/www/p/calendar#1511 )

“Naked Measures” Exhibit at Church of St. Paul the Apostle

Naked Measures — Openings’ fourth annual exhibition features a diverse group of 20 artists who explore the elusive mystery of spirit, body, and soul through a variety of visual media, including photography, painting, drawing, mixed media, and sculpture

September 30th, 2010 Thursday
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Exhibition Date:September 17th – October 29th, 2010

( http://openingsny.com/?page_id=218 )

The One Office to Dinner Dress of this Season

J Crew's Wool Flannel Slivie Dress
(uhm..change those shoes..)

click on title for more details

Sigh...

All Images © Simone Rene 2010

Music Video Break Day

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Tuesday's Mentual Musings

Knowing it's time for  a change, a move, something new and different and actualizing any of those things is always an issue. Change takes time, a move requires a decision and something new requires letting go and reaching beyond something familiar. Knowing it's time is the first step and knowing that even while the shift is occurring we are OK as we are and where we are allows us to move.....It's time.

hmmmm

I am not much of a drinker and when I have a drink or two Vodka isn't the drink of choice but this Crystal Head Vodka bottle makes me want to buy one, let my friend drink its contents and let it get dusty on one of my bookshelves.

click on title to go to site and be entertained by Dan Aykrod's reason for the bottle's design

Movie of the Moment

Music Video Break Day

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Prada Spring 2011

sigh..sigh..sigh 

Not fair! I am still sorting my woolies for this winter

(Side Note - Has anyone noticed that many of the "high" name accessories are being made with PVC synthetic leathers, recycled fabrics, findings and such but are still in the same price ranges, if not higher ones, as those made with real leather, new fabrics and findings?..)

Fascinating...

Masdar, a sustainable carbon-neutral metropolis designed by the architects Foster & Partners and located 20 miles from downtown Abu Dhabi, opened this week.

Residents began to arrive to the 1st sections of the 3 1/2 acre zone that is part of the sustainability-oriented research institute. Eventually the city will house 45,000 residents and welcome 45,000 commuters each day.

click on title to go to the NY Times slide show

Monkey See

monkey picked tea?

I suspect animal activist are going to be all over this product despite distributors claiming no monkey's were harmed in the picking of this tea.

Click on title for details and availability.

Inside Paradise

All Images © Simone Rene 2010

Music Video Break Day

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Lingerie Living

The corset on the left is amazing and would go soooooooo well that Bridget Bardot hair!!

Bardot Inspired Hair

I have been going through the pattern collection. I am still culling things.

I had to stop and share this photo.

Isn't that hair great?

Where is my Aquanet and teasing comb?

Music Video Break Day

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This Week's Art Opening

Robert Blackburn Printingmaking Workshop opening

Thursday, September 23. 6:30 - 8:30 pm

( http://www.efanyc.org/blackburn-2020 )

8th ANNUAL NEW YORK BURLESQUE FESTIVAL

click on title for more details

I lust...

for these  Nine West shoes

click on title for a closer drool...

3-D Lingerie

I adore 3-D Pop Up Books so I was very happy when I opened a September magazine and Vanity Fair Lingerie's ad presented itself.

Now I see pop-ups everywhere!

Here Kitty, Kitty....

I secrety love Talbots and finally feel grown up enough to wear their clothing.

And I love this season's Leopard-print pencil skirt

click on title for details while I go into my fabric stash for that animal print suede from 1982.

(I think I better be careful with all this animal print, I don't want to end up looking like the Peg Bundy character from married with children!)

Tuesday's Mental Musings

What if we all stopped looking for a savior or a prophet?
What if we all accept we are prefect as we are and that we don’t need to be saved by anyone else other than ourselves?
What if we stopped looking for a parental figure to guide, nurture and in some cases punish us for misbehavior and instead become our own parents and forgive those we were born to for doing the best job they could?
What if we adhere to the laws of the land and listen to our own internal moral compasses and seek to be connected to others in a responsible and respectful way so that we consider our actions when it involves dealing with others?

Music Video Break Day

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It's Victoria's Secret

If I were to buy one evening-out-dress to pack for vacation it would be

Victoria's Secrets Long-sleeve Multi-way Dress

All three photos that follow are of the same dress worn three different ways.

 Dress as is

adjust neck and sleeves as you like

One Shoulder Wearing

Slip into the dress with an arm through one sleeve.

At the neck opening, fold back the hem to the stitch line.

Wrap the loose sleeve around your waist; tuck and hide at back waist.

Blouse dress slightly.

Cowlneck

Step into the dress; let the sleeves hang loose.

Adjust the skirt to be shorter.

Drape the sleeves around your neck and tie in a bow or knot at the back.

Other Ways to Wear -

One-shoulder Drape

Criss-cross

Cross & Twist

Strapless Twist

Strapless Cinch

All for $79

click on title for details

Who Knew....

I love languages and despite being mistress to many I am master of none. It's OK, after studying various romance and Germanic languages you realize they are all connected and can make your way through a conversation, city of destination or directions for the next train or nearest restroom so when I found a card for Institut Ramon Llull, the Catalan Cultural Center, in New York I was intrigued. The Catalan language has an interesting history, at one time restricted to personal conversation and forbidden in print, it is now the official language of their government and public institutions.

Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lledia and Tarragona and it's official languages are Spanish, Catalan and Aranese. It's long and intriguing history includes being part of the Greek and Roman and Moorish empires. It is one of the Kingdom of Spain's 17 autonomoous communities; the administrative divisions that represent the country's historical nationalities and regions.

The New York extension of Institut Ramon Llull is located at One Rockefeller Center.

The institute offers insight into the Catalonian culture.

It's mission is to share Catalonia's arts and language!

click on title to go to the New York site for programs and events

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From September 29 through October 1

Institut Ramon Llull and CUNY present

the 7th Annual Prelude Festival - Spotlight: Catalonia

The festival will take place at the Martin E. Segal Theater Center, Graduate Center-CUNY, New York and will showcase the work of four contemporary Catalan playwrights: Àngels Aymar, Marta Buchaca, Sergi Belbel and Esteve Soler.

( for details http://web.gc.cuny.edu/mestc/)

(image not connected to this event)

(I am still looking for language class details for this coming spring!)

Music Video Break Day

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Inside the Black Bear

located at 469 16th Street in Brooklyn

BLACK BEAR VINTAGE & HANDMADE

is a small store filled with reasonably priced clothing and accessories

for women, men and home.

Owners Julia and Michelle are cordial, polite and helpful

They feature hand made clothing and items of interest  by local artists and craftsmen

And purchase clean, quality vintage clothing from locals

(click on title for contact details)

The inventory can change daily

Is reasonably priced

and despite being being varied

is coordinated for season and truly reflects the owners' electic interests and taste

If you can't find what you are looking for ask.

Julia and Michelle will keep an eye out for it and contact you when it arrives in store

So worth stopping in, browsing and buying

All Images © Simone Rene 2010

Fall's Here!!

All Images © Simone Rene 2010

Dancing with Dragons

All Images © Simone Rene 2010

Music Video Break Day

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Forget Soap On A Rope

Soap on a suction holder magnet is just plain cooler!

At $8 each you can buy one for the bathroom shower, one for the bathroom and kitchen sinks, and one to travel with.

click on title for more details

This Week's Art Openings

I am starting a new weekly habit of posting information on Art Show Openings throughout the boroughs.

Thursday nights start the chain of openings and if you plan it right you can usually thread your way through at least 2 or 3 parties in an evening.
Sometimes I skip the openings and make my way to the galleries on the first Sunday morning after the party when the crowds are thin.
This week's openings are -

Agora Gallery

( http://www.agora-gallery.com/ )

Masters of the Imagination:

The Latin American Fine Art Exhibition

Exhibition Dates: 9/10/2010 - 10/1/2010

Opening Reception - Thursday, September 16, 2010, 6 -8 PM

About Little Secrets 18 by André Netto

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Art In General

(http://www.artingeneral.org/)

Luis Jacob: Without Persons

Exhibition Dates: 9/16/2010 - 11/13/2010

Opening Reception - Thursday, September 16, 2010, 6 -8 PM

Luis Jacob

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Brooklyn Hostorical Society

( http://www.brooklynhistory.org/default/index.html )

Painting Brooklyn Stories of Immigration & Survival

Exhibition Dates: 9/17/2010 - 2/27/2011

Opening Reception - Thursday, September 16, 2010, 5:30 -7:30 PM

Artist -Nina Talbot

Music Video Break Day

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Tuesday's Mental Musings

As an observer I often step back and watch how we, people, interact. How we choose to claim out courage, show our strengths and claim our power and I have to admit that in most cases it involves topping someone or proving someone wrong.

Movie of the Moment

In Preparation of Baking Season

I have been drooling over this marked pastry board for a while now.

It's double sided, one side is marked for rolling out all manner of pastry dough and the other for everyday cutting but regardless of which side you use it's designed to allow for secure positioning against a table top or counter.

for more details click on title.

Music Video Break Day

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I Am Sewwwww

making myself a dress like this for the fall.

If you're not versed in the art of the needle click on the title for an up close look at Cache's Scarlet Cheetah dress.

Just Hanging Around

The more I look at these the more these fruit jackets seduce me into believing I want them. The appropriate fruit gets zipped all safe and snuggly inside and then the little package is clipped to a bag or back pack.

A set of three is just $27.95

click on title for more details

September 11, 2010

Today on the anniversary of a tragedy that affected many people, a tragedy that occurred close to home yet made home worldwide, I stayed silent. I did not speak a word. I lit a candle and remembered those I knew personally, those I loved personally and those who touched me in the aftermath of the destruction. I thought of those who went to work that day not knowing it would be their last and those who were left behind because it was. I thought of those who made it home and carry with them the bits and pieces that fell from the sky. I thought of those who were part of the destruction and wondered if on the moments of impact if they saw the inhumanity and cruelty of their actions and I wondered who mourned them.

I sent up a prayer for us all.

It’s 2010. We have yet to complete the task of finding the man who orchestrated it all, yet many, many lives have been changed and lost. Both sides have killed in the name of freedom and in the belief we are protecting ourselves from the evil of each other. We have yet to close the hole in the ground and more importantly the holes in ourselves yet we have wasted breath, time and resources arguing and debating about doing the right thing, holding the right beliefs and the right ways to coerce others into seeing and believing that our choices and actions are just and correct. And still there are those of us on both sides who mourn people that can never be replaced, that have become memories to share with family and friends and strangers who will listen.

As an individual I cannot grasp the scope of the true destruction or the true progress that has been made since the day I, and thousands of others, watched from office windows, television sets and street corners as the world changed. But I can say that this is a day I do not want to remember despite never wanting to forget and remembering it in silence is the best I can do in order to avoid celebrating something that should never be a celebratory event.

© Simone Rene 2010

Music Video Break Day

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Classic Le Smoking style

Maybe I am listening to Jonelle Monae too much these days but I am sooooooo wanting to vamp it up in a classic YSL woman's tuxedo. I own one, a tuxedo that is. I benefited from the donation of some extremely short man.

I, of course, want to be more Catherine Deneuve circa 1970s than Jonelle Monae but coming within the scope of either of these ladies' style would be a coup

Soft Shoe...

I think I may be lusting after Seychelles "Bismuth" Bootie, above.

I have a black pair of booties so similar to these that you couldn't even tell they were a different brand and season, but this tan color is too perfect for Fall 2010.

Available at Nordstrom

Music Video Break Day

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The Cornucopia of Ikea

Aren't these stuffed goodies cute enough to..eeeeeeeeeer..display

$7.99 at Ikea