I Heart Frozen Yoghurt

I am proud to say that I have visited all 5 boroughs (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island) of New York City over the past month, which is something of a rarity for probably quite a lot of people, especially given that Staten Island is accessible via car, express bus or ferry - but not subway.

In my experience, most Manhattanites baulk at the idea of travelling into the other four boroughs. I seem to hear more from those of us who live in the "outer boroughs" (how Manhattancentric) about visiting the other four - most of which aren't more than an hour away by subway, which is only an extra 20 minutes or so than if you live in Manhattan. (Boring fact: I used to live in the East Village and my commute would take 35 minutes to get to 33rd and 10th; but commuting twice that distance from Park Slope to Columbus Circle takes 45 minutes.)

I am definitely guilty of not exploring the city more. Visiting The Cloisters has been on my To Do list for a while now, and I have two friends who practically live across the street... And yet I have every incentive because every time I do travel to a less familiar part of town I always chance upon something either interesting or delicious!

For example, yesterday I went to visit a foodie friend of mine and her sweet eight-week old baby in the Bronx. It took less than an hour from Brooklyn on the D train to get to 161st Street, home to the magnificent new Yankees stadium which looks like a giant two-storey minimalist Colosseum. I know nothing about baseball, but near the stadium and right outside one of the subway entrances is Juice Factory, which serves this really great frozen yoghurt blended with fruit.

Now, I've heard that frozen yoghurt is lower in fat than ice cream, but as someone who will always pick the high fat version over the 'lite' version of something I've always been suspicious of ice cream alternatives. I'm not militant about it but I like my food to be as unprocessed and additive- and chemical-free as possible. (Why have revoltingly bland Tasti-D-Lite when you can have Ciao Bella gelato?)

Anyway, I trust my foodie Bronx-living friend, who, it is worth mentioning at this point, had just treated me to a picnic of scallops with chimichurri sauce, beef tournados stuffed with mushrooms and spinach, a tomato-free salad (bless her, she's never forgotten that I am allergic) and a side of spicy corn: when she said she wanted to treat herself to something low fat and delicious, I believed her that such a thing *actually* existed and, salivating in anticipation, off we skipped to the Juice Factory.

We were greeted by Tony who chatted aimiably with us about the various fruity options and toppings (his personal favourite is Captain Crunch cereal). We plumped for a simple blend of raspberries, whose pleasing tartness contrasted with the sweetness of the yogurt. It is a fabulous concoction!

L-R: Fro yo menu; My raspberry frozen yoghurt sans one bite; Tony

Metal Leaf Art

Here is a photograph of my first (imitation) gold leaf canvas (measuring 30" x 40") which hangs in my living room.

I love the warmth and the glow of the earthy red and gold colours and how they bounce off the surrounding walls - some of my friends have asked me to create something similar for them too, and they could tell you that silver also looks terrific against a royal blue, and copper is charming against a viridian green.

Metal leaf is extremely delicate, many times thinner than alumin(i)um foil and easily torn with a fingertip. Its fragility is captured in how it lies on the canvas, and these irregularites offer visual interest. It's kind of shabby chic with a Moroccan twist.

Bouquet Pendants

I've been making smaller versions of my Wire Lace necklaces, in the form of pendants for flaurena™.

These floral-inspired pendants look like little upside-down bunches of flowers or topiary trees, hence the name 'Bouquet'.

Each handmade pendant is lovingly wrought from gold fill or sterling silver wire (your choice) and suspended on a matching chain which is finished with a simple spring ring clasp.

Update: these designs were featured in an Etsy Treasury entitled Dramatic Beauty, curated by BySaraLynn

Interview with artist Neilah Meyers

Neilah Meyers is a Los Angeles-based artist whom I interviewed for Tokion magazine in February 2009. Below is the article I wrote, but you can also see how it appeared in Tokion's March 2009 issue by opening this PDF.

Vivacious Los Angeles artist Neilah Meyers has never been intimidated by scale: the first piece of art she ever sold was Ginger, a 6 x 4 feet charcoal sketch of a sprawling Great Dane puppy. That was ten years ago; since then Meyers has continued to create big and now works on life-sized sketches, sometimes even adding extra paper around a work so she can continue her sweeping lines. Meyers, who studied the Philosophy of the Sublime at NYU, likes to draw girls, animals and skulls, experimenting with different angles, texture and especially color, and throwing bursts of spray paint or acrylic into the mix. Born to an artist mother, she was introduced to the endless choices of art materials at an early age, but charcoal remains her preferred medium. "For some reason, working small has always felt too precious to me," she says. "Charcoal's nature is bold and strong. For me, to have a sense of tempo, it doesn't feel natural on a smaller scale." Meyers is also a paper aficionado, and binds her own sketchbooks in preparation for her art; their existence alone becomes a part of a work in progress. She has her eye on the goal, but the creation process is just as rewarding: "Whether it's a human or an animal, I always start with one eye. It just makes it real: when you have a connection to whatever this piece is about, everything else falls into place." It's true that her subjects' faces anchor a subtle, intense life in the work, but it is their often blurred bodies which capture the movement. This intrigue of motion is perhaps another reason she loves charcoal, which Meyers confesses she gets all over herself. "Sometimes I come home and find I have a Cro-Magnon shadow on my forehead, because no one has said `Hey! You have something there!"' she says, laughing. How sublime.

Interview with artist Lily Ludlow

Lily Ludlow is a New York-based artist whom I interviewed for Tokion magazine in October 2008. Below is the article I wrote, but you can also see how it appeared in Tokion's Winter 2008 issue by opening this PDF.

There's so much penis art in Manhattan right now," observes artist Lily Ludlow, explaining her impulse to create art that is humorous, yet "a little twisted without being perverted or feminist." Her latest collection of paintings, showing in December at Canada Gallery (alongside a short film she shot with filmmaker Allen Cordell, featuring Chloë Sevigny) blends the erotic with the tongue-in-cheek, or what she calls, "sex comedy." An example is Victorian Jump-rope, which portrays two painted ladies, their voluptuous bodies tangled up in beads and bosoms, their blow-up-doll faces startled by the viewer's sudden appearance. Ludlow's confident pencil and ink strokes belie the hand of a shy perfectionist who struggles to not erase anything that isn't absolutely real. Eyes, for Ludlow, are the most important element in a face: "When I look at the eyes and get that feeling that it's true, then it's really true," she explains. Some eyes are drawn over each other multiple times, lending the impression that the figures are scanning your face as you study theirs, suggesting that you cannot be a voyeur if your gaze is returned. Perhaps this is a deflection of intimacy, the reaction of someone private who feels bared and over-exposed? "It's sort of wrestling with loving to do something, and then feeling that too much is out there," she says. This inner struggle extends to her hand-sewn clothing line, Somnus, customized with the same ink as her paintings, which, she explains, are "wearable, but they're more like a sculpture. It's up to the person who [buys] them what they do with them." It's a simple shrug from an artist whose curiosity trumps any insecurity: "When you put a line on someone, the way that it moves on the person, that looks really beautiful to me. And I want to keep up with that."

PAPER magazine / Sophia Eugene

Here's another review I wrote for PAPER magazine in September 2006. Sophia Eugene is a boutique in the West Village.

Sophia Eugene
If you saw the recent photos of Paris Hilton's arrest where she's wearing a red belt over a white top, then you are already familiar with Sophia Eugene. The label is the brainchild of Christopher Crawford, who wanted to create a new line of clothing appealing to a slightly younger and cooler gal. A chance meeting in the street led to an iced tea with co-founder and designer LaShunda Hamner: The end result is this little jewel-box of a store in the West Village, which stocks mod-inspired clothing in a mostly neutral palette. I fell in love with the Celine dress in gold-painted lamé with bluebell-shaped sleeves ($298) and the Stella jacket, a cross between a bolero jacket and short cape, in a cream teddy-bear fur ($398). Also worth mentioning is the Sienna dress, a '60s space-age number in a crinkled almost-looks-like-snakeskin gold ($298). If you look closely enough, you will also find cameo rings and other costume jewelry treasures hanging on the wall, as well as That Belt ($77) in white, gold and assorted prints.

PAPER magazine / Armoire

I wrote this review for PAPER magazine in August 2006. Armoire is a clothing boutique in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Armoire

Even if I were taken back to Armoire blindfolded, I'd know where I was just by touching the clothes: Owner Melissa Ray has quite a knack for sniffing out fabrics with textural interest. Upon entering, I immediately fell in love with a coat by Mint, whose cream wool imitated the look and feel of raw silk. Ray has an eye for up-and-coming designers and also a talent for choosing clothes that suit her loyal Williamsburg customers. A knee-length, plum-colored Wyeth dress conjured up all the fun of the roaring 1920s (how did she know that I've secretly been longing to be a flapper?). Slinky dresses, fine knits and all the store's great denim would look great with a pair of Jacqueline Schnabel boots (Ray's favorites are the two-inch-heeled, slouchy green-suede ones) and the Mercer clutch from Hayden Harnett in soft mustard-yellow leather with brass hardware. Taking pride of place is the eponymous armoire, a handsome antique Ray picked up on Bedford Avenue, bursting with treasures such as corduroy sweaters, floral baby-doll dresses from Cassguy, tailored sweatshirts from Mike & Chris and ultrasoft cotton T's and lacy dresses from Woo. Ray's hope was that Armoire would have the feel of "everyone's big closet." Indeed, stepping in is like finding yourself in an older -- and much cooler -- sister's walk-in wardrobe: your style, but way better.

PAPER magazine / K&M

This is a review that I wrote for PAPER magazine back in May 2006. Sadly, K&M bar has since closed, but it was a cheerful shabby-chic spot in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

K&M
There once was a pierogi place called Krystyna and Margaret, which was itself probably once a 1920s Williamsburg barbershop. Now it's a bar named K&M (a nod to the former owners) with an aluminum ceiling rusty from decades of boiling pierogi. Six months, two tetanus shots and sixteen stitches later, K&M has emerged as a muted 1950s local rock 'n' roll hangout, complete with retro bar stools and an antique red exit sign above the door. Andrea, the bartender, bubbles with enthusiasm for K&M and its emerging clientele, which so far is a cross section of local artists, curious dogs and the usual evening beer swillers. With 10 countries represented in the beer selection, this place specializes in the stuff- -whether you're looking for a domestic brew, something more exotic (Lindeman's Framboise, Belgium, $10) or a downright quaint draught (Greene King Abbot Ale, U.K., $5)- -although there's a full bar, too. DJs spin Monday through Wednesday and pop hits are banned, but anything else goes, except regarding the decor: A warning on a favorite postcard, "No fuckheads of any type", is probably directed at the thieves who stole one of the chairs.

PAPER magazine / Clandestino

This is a review that I wrote for PAPER magazine back in April 2006. Clandestino is a French wine bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Clandestino
Fresh-faced Parisian Laure Travers says her intention with the two-month old Clandestino was not to open a French joint but a neighborhood hangout. Despite her intentions, she's succeeded at both, and we're all the luckier for it. The minimalist shabby-chic bar is nestled among other Euro-New York institutions like Les Enfants Terribles and the Swedish Good World Bar & Grill. Clandestino has a downtempo vibe -- a combination of the best of downtown New York (exposed brick and full bar) and Paris (muted nicotine-colored walls, brass handrails and a short but varied French wine list). If you're feeling peckish, you can snack on a deliciously simple combination of poilâne -- a rustic whole-wheat bread that Travers has FedExed in from Paris -- and French cheeses and pâté. Wash it down with a good selection of draft beers, imported or otherwise: Hoegaarden, Guinness, Bass, Pilsner Urquell, Red Hook, Sixpoint Sweet Action Ale ($5-$6) or a cocktail ($6-$11). Travers has lived in the area for 10 years and is pleased that Clandestino draws a local crowd as well as new faces. It's evident from the decor and the menus that she's passionate about what she does. "It's kind of like organizing a little party every day," she says.