Artist Olivia Barr at the home of Kristy Davis: Bushwick Open Studios

Today I visited the Bushwick home of writer and editor Kristy Davis, whose apartment has been transformed into a magical space for mmm muse me, an installation of new and impressive work by artist Oliva Barr. When Kristy told me she was lending her apartment to her friend for Bushwick Open Studios this weekend, I envisioned her blocking off the back of the apartment so Olivia could exhibit in the front. But to my amazement, the entire railroad apartment is cleared of her furniture and belongings, and it didn't even occur to me until hours after I left, because I was so mesmerized by the show. 

In the above photo and in a few below are pink silk hankies laser-etched with her grandfather's cursive love letters to her grandmother. Sigh. I noticed one was dated 1937. Her grandfather wrote on very thin paper, front and back, so as part of the process, she photographed the back-lit letters "so that the words on the back collapse to the front." The hankies, suspended by thread, dance in the breeze. Underneath the hankies are glass plates she also etched; these feature her most cherished sext messages with an ex, entire conversations, etched photos, even, stacked in piles so that when you look down at them, you see the top message clearly plus layers of history underneath. From one line below: "looked at your toys yesterday." I should mention it was 90 degrees in Bushwick today, before I arrived at this show. Olivia has on hand a narrow light strip that illuminates one plate at a time, so you can read the entire stack more clearly, if you wish. In the photo below, she's lighting up a bottom plate. 

Two other incredible pieces are in a front room, and like these, they involve process, layers, the movement of light, and the passing of time. One is a small-scale interpretation of a plan for a large outdoor installation: three photos printed on transparent material, spliced horizontally, casting images on the wall where the sunlight filters through. The other is a glass plate printed with a photograph of a corner of her apartment. In this corner is a large piece of fabric (also exhibited, below) on which she traced over the course of a year the various shadows made by plants in the window. It's beautiful, and if you go visit, Olivia will give you a tour and a glass of white wine, and she will turn on large lamps and move them along floor over the work so you can see them transform. 

mmm muse me, which was featured in the Bushwick Daily, will be open to the public from 12-7 pm tomorrow (Sunday), and it's at 1054 Willoughby Avenue.

Sunday with Sarah Dohrmann

Recently on a Sunday I stopped by the Williamsburg home of my dear friend Sarah Dohrmann, a writer and also "my boss" at Teachers & Writers Collaborative, the org through which I teach creative writing in public schools, and which she leads as education director. I was in her neighborhood for lunch; she was at home in a vintage sweater and crazy-print housepants, the weekend usual. Here's Sarah, pictured above, presenting her beloved otter pillow, a recent gift from writer Nicole Callihan, who gave it to Sarah when Sarah fell inexplicably in love with it at first sight in Nicole's home. Cooing sounds not pictured.

Below, a Bedford-facing window with hem and hat; an assemblage above the desk; a perfect little lamp—like if the lamp was in a cartoon, it would have this shape. More captions below...

The paintings are by her friend, artist Andy Ness. I love the one of lungs. That's Sarah gesturing over a spread of his works (with otter pillow!), the result of a collaboration of his paintings and her writings. The gorgeous textile is a Moroccan Berber wedding cape that hangs on the wall next to her bed. A stack of books rests on the desk; crazy housepants and a rug handmade by her grandmother; a ribbon from a baby shower tied to the neck of a lamp (what's life without a little fire hazard?); a collage; the underside of a horned mask, a Puerto Rican vejigante, looking up.

Tea at Willa's

Last week I stopped by the Manhattan home of Willa Carroll and Andreas von Scheele. She's a poet and a friend of mine from grad school; he's a cinematographer. Walking through the front door, you're greeted by this beautiful blue beast. Hello. 

Below are some pics from a walk around the pad. (I need to upgrade my camera-on-the-go. These were taken with an old iPod Touch.) Trees screen views of the city and the charming red Roosevelt Island aerial tram; graphic white chairs at a dark table; a wall of the old building's wavy bricks; kitty beast; tea. 

An architectural tour of the Living Room in Cold Spring, New York

Welcome to the Living Room, a space on Main Street in Cold Spring designed for events, performances, retreats, and wild dance parties. Popular Homebodies subjects Philip Nobel and Nathalie Jonas run the operation and live upstairs, as you've seen. Here are pics of the event and the space, designed by architects* Philip and Thomas de Monchaux, along with Nathalie. 

Check out the dance floor, above. Remember Fortbodies? Philip has a thing for slatted wood—it's perfect for sexy nighttime filtered light. The dance floor is at the rear of the ground-floor space. The independent structure, as seen above, reflected in the mirror, is called "the box," and it houses a few rooms. Philip notes in an email to me that the "obsessively sound-proofed" box is floating on an acoustically-isolating foam pad. And then he gets heavily architectural, so here, per Philip:

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The box is clad in OSB, also known as "oriented strand board." Also known as god's perfect sheet material. The walls around the dance floor are an integrated lighting, heating, acoustic, electrical-supply and storage solution, realized in god's other most perfect material, and his cheapest, the 1" x 2" and 1"x 3" pine furring strip. Me and TdM build that motherfucker.

Re acoustics: that's also the inspiration for the big prow shape that comes out of the back of the box. We're really proud of the way the room sounds. Every single musician that has played here has complimented the acoustics. It's amazing. We tested it as we went along by clapping once in the middle of the room and listening to the "decay" and then adding/deleting where the "slats" would be. The mirror is tiled from off-the-shelf home depot cheapos. The floor is maple and sprung; it floats on a few thousand rubber pucks under the sub flooring.

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Below, DJ Matthew H. Dearborn, and a walk through the space, with Philip showing me the ventilation inside the box; a light installation inside one of the box's rooms by notable local artist Jaanika Peerna (her huband, author David Rothenberg, also DJ'd the party); the entrance lounge; and sexy people having fun:

*"architects" or "architectural designers" or "architecturally educated people who teach/taught at esteemed schools of architecture" or "unlicensed" or/i.e./etc. 

News in the New York Times

Happy Thanksgiving! I have a newsy blurb in the New York Times "Home" section today. It's on the opening of Germantown Variety, a charming store in Upstate New York. It sells mainly American-made goods, and it has an online hardware store with 40,000 items. Go visit! 

My story in Country Living

I have a new story in Country Living about a renovated 1840s house upstate in Athens, New York. There's also a carriage barn (above), which the residents completely overhauled to serve as their arts studio. 

I haven't seen the feature in print, but here's the online slideshow version. I actually went upstate to report this piece, too, so I can attest that while the photography is beautiful (and art directed by my talented friend Jami Supsic), the place is even more charming in person.

Friends, prayers, and optimism

Please say prayers for my friend Kevyn Lloyd Aiken, who fell ill a week ago and has been in critical condition since. We're trying to stay positive, and I think he is, too. After all, this is the guy whose Optimism Party I wrote about back in 2009. (I'm not sure who took this photo of him, but I love it.)

I'll be back next week with photos of the Living Room, as I promised last week. Distractions. 

Vodka & ice

Next week, I'll post photos of The Living Room, the events space on Main Street that Philip and Nathalie operate. They live upstairs.

Here's a picture I took of the hallway during a dance party at The Living Room. Dark wood, white light. I was running upstairs for vodka and ice.

Kitchen, coffee, and the contributor

Coffee in the kitchen. I was drinking out of a mug that had printing around the lip: "Da Da Da Da." Weird, I thought, for a baby/DaDa design. Then I noticed the serifs on the letters, and I recognized the logo—not DA, but AD, as in Architectural Digest. I guess AD gave them out years ago to contributors, including writer Philip Nobel. This one is a "limited edition" Tiffany & Co. number, made in Japan. 

Philip pointed out that the pretty hourglass Chemex coffee maker is curiously sold at both high prices and low. I bought one soon after—at the low price.