Celtic Tiger

Having had many students participate in my writing process proved invaluable. My first YA novel, Celtic Tiger, is about Johnny O'Shea, a disenfranchised dropout from Queens, who, after losing his mother to a life of drugs and murder, finds connectedness with his great-uncle on the west coast of Ireland. It leads him to solve the mystery of his mother's death.

Though the novel is yet to be published, its had a healthy share of teen readers who generously offered insights into how they related to a character like Johnny O'Shea. Email me for the complete PDF if you would like to download it for free.

SCBWI Annual Conference

After a weekend at this year's Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators annual NYC winter conference, I am feeling the creative spirit in spades. Surrounded by 1,047 attendees who range from the aspiring to the accomplished, the conversation at the conference provides insights into the creative process and offers many opportunities to connect with other writers and illustrators. As always, conference organizer and children's book author Lin Oliver never fails to deliver an energetic and humorous opening speech, so I couldn't help but accost her for a photo op. In a lively key note speech, YA novelist Libba Bray, fresh off of winning the Michael Printz award, aptly encouraged attendees to open a whole conversation through their work.

Indeed, it was a weekend of conversation. In one of the breakout sessions, I had the good fortune to sit next to award-winning children's book author Jane Yolen and her daughter, author Heidi Yolen Stemple, where we chatted about a wide range of topics from the evolving book industry to road trips with children. Yolen's recent book The Scarecrow Dance not only features beautiful images, it is a meaningful message presented in well-crafted verse, which was coincidentally scribbled down by Yolen during an earlier writers' conference. Yolen and I discussed the role of the new media platforms like Twitter and Facebook as a means of creating the author's persona and generating interest in his or her work. During the session, Simon and Schuster's art director Laurent Linn provided a fascinating analysis of illustration, comparing traditional paintings against the visual narratives of picture books. For instance, did you know that illustrations for picture books 'read' from left to right? Makes perfect sense.

At lunch, author and poet Jacqueline Woodson gave a great reading of her Newberry Honor book Show Way, the poetic retelling of her family history from slavery to segregation to freedom marches, and ultimately to her own daughter's life. I had heard Woodson read before at the Ethnic Pen Poetry conference in Bayshore a couple of years ago, and it was a treat to hear her read again.

The SCBWI conference wrapped up today with two more key note speeches-- one by Jim Benton and the other by Jane Yolen. Benton chronicled his career from screening tee shirts to television, proving that a great illustration and a clever wit can bring an illustrious career. And to end with the inspiring speech by Yolen brought the conference full circle.

I could go on and on, but in the end, it's time for me to get back to my own creative process.

JD Salinger: 1919-2010

Few books are as easy to teach as The Catcher in the Rye. Even today, students relate immediately to narrator Holden Caulfield, an alienated teenager whose voice speaks simultaneously of lost innocence, rebellion, and vulnerability. It's worth another read if you haven't read it in a while, and proved to be incredibly influential to my own writing. Johnny O'Shea, the protagonist of my young adult mysteries Celtic Tiger, Celtic Knot, and Celtic Cross, at once references and mocks Caulfield. Despite the intimacy of Holden Caulfield's thoughts and characterization, few writers are as elusive as Salinger, whose mystique only increased with his desire for privacy, but in my mind, a writer who turns disenfrachised teenagers into readers has done the world a profound service.

Bayshore, NY

Placing a house on a site plan can be quite different than placing it on the actual property. This particular waterfront site plan in Bayshore shifted a bit once the demolition of the existing house took place. Armed with a ladder, the client walked the property and found the exact placement for his master suite balcony view-- a true hands-on approach.

Fred Tomaselli: Collage

It's time for another Whitney Biennial this year-- its 75th installment. Let the games begin! It's practically a sport in art history circles to predict the content of each show-- with guest curators picking a who's who of contemporary artists, it sets the tone for the art industry-- well at least for the next two years. I remember going through the 1987 biennial with art critic Donald Kuspit, who said it was the year of the 'neo'-- neo-classical, neo-conceptual, neo-ugly. Then there were the politically correct years, where everyone was busy being disenfranchised, followed by the conceptual years-- the chewed bubble gum sculptures, broken glass, barking dogs, naked folks, etc... I always walk away remembering one piece above all. Matthew Barney's photos, Tony Orsler's media sculptures, the light room installation, and this find from a few biennials ago, Fred Tomaselli. With a current show in Chelsea of embroideries, Tomaselli's work defies labels. His large scale collages of body parts, birds, flowers, and insects set in resin had a profound effect on me-- like a modern day Hieronymous Bosch. Keep your eyes open for news about this year's exhibition, which opens this February. Who knows whose work you'll discover?

Captree Site Visit

Despite the winter weather, progress on the Captree project continues at a good clip.

Winter Concerts

This past week was full of music. Jackson rocked out at his winter concert and Olivia had a blast playing sax with jazz trumpet player and educator Jesse Neuman at his fundraising concert this Saturday at the Bowery Poetry Club.

Looking to volunteer in Equador to teach his second seminar in music to underprivledged children, Jesse created a fantastic afternoon in his efforts to raise money. With an impressive enemble of seasoned and successful musicians, Jesse brought his student crew of Olivia, Eve, Jordan, and Pauline to the stage. From solos to songstresses, everyone had a hand in making great music and making the dreams of children in Equador possible. If you'd like to support Jesse's program, please check out his site.

At the show I picked up the new CD by trombonist Ryan Keberle called Heavy Dreaming. I have loved Keberle's trombone since the night at Barbes in Brooklyn when my head was a mere inches away from his horn at that very petite venue. Although few jazz bands are led by the trombonist, this CD is a conversation in sound that might change that.

Westhampton's Dune Road

One of the most noteable waterfront addresses has to be Dune Road in Westhampton, NY. With the Atlantic on one side and the bay on the other, its connection to the landscape is breathtaking, but it's without the pretentions of some of the other Hamptons. Bouler Architecture designed this weekend residence with that relaxed air in mind.

1970

Home with Modernemama

As many of you already know, blogger Modernemama (and patron of the arts) graciously commissioned me to paint a portrait of her modern Andrew Geller home, and purchased companion paintings to round out the ensemble. Here they are, at home in her foyer, perfectly placed I might add.

Captree Site Visit

Framing moves forward on the final house of the three for the Captree compound. By far the more athletic of the three, this house was designed to capture the waterviews, using custom-made barrel vault beams to frame the main view to the bay. Seen here, the roofdeck offers a 360-degree panorama of Long Island's shoreline.

Two if By Sea

I'm not sure if these qualify as romantic fodder for the Valentine's Day show at Ripe Art Gallery or not, but these collages had a 'come with me' quality to them. The fish you may recognize from two entries ago, and the house is of course Potic. The first two landscapes are the Blasket Islands in County Kerry, Ireland, whereas the last one was initally inspired by Georgia O'Keefe, but evolved into Odelion Redon.

Elvis: An American Icon

Long before the celeb culture of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, there was Elvis. A boy from Mississippi, Elvis Presley, who would have turned 75 last week, remains forever etched in our minds as the quintessential American pop icon. With talent and good looks, Graceland's demi-god became a symbol of mid-century American prosperity, much like Coca-Cola and Campbell's soup cans. Ray Johnson was the first to make him the subject of a pop painting in 1956, well before Andy Warhol's silkscreened images in the 1960's. Johnson's image foretold the tragic hero Elvis would eventally become, entitling his collage, Oedipus Elvis. It amazes me that Johnson would have the insight paint this rising epic icon and the hubris which would eventually destroy him.
Warhol's depictions are far more straightforward-- his traditional photosilkscreens manufacturing images of Elvis in his studio aptly called The Factory. In this diptych, Elvis is taking aim at his viewer, and yet slowly fading out across the canvas.

More recently collage artist Louise Millmann shrank Elvis, reducing him to a postage stamp and a kiss.

On the homefront, our Canned Ham magnet, courtesy of Tom Judson, has had a recent makeover; it's been Elvis-ified.

Rebirth

Cherie at Ripe Art Gallery called for submissions to a Valentine's group show. Romantic, my work is not. True, I did paint the House of Love, a earthy dome with roots, but for this show, I was stumped. Two houses together? Cheesy. An object like a lock? Meh.

Focused all day on the destructive forces of nature, I stopped to look at these fantastic 19th C. German biology textbook images of fish and winged insects which James and I bought in the French Quarter in New Orleans many years back, and which now hang in our bedroom. I was calmed immediately. It reminded me of the beauty of life, the persistance of nature's renewal. It gave me home to look at these drawings, so I thought I'd share them. Englarge them to see the fine detail in the pen and ink. In looking at them, I knew I had to incorporate them into my image of love.

In Praise of Codes

Ever since Hammurabi's code, where a builder who builds a faulty building which consequently causes injury or death must thus suffer the same consequence, it is clear that architecture is serious business. Though some may rightly argue that codes today have become a legalistic and bureaucratic nightmare, we see all too painfully what happens when they aren't in place. Ideally, modern building codes should primarily address safe construction practice. In May of 2008, thousands of Chinese children died in an earthquake due to shoddy school construction. History repeats itself, even more so, with the destruction of Hati, seen in this aerial view from Google Earth. Earthquake zones require buildings to be flexible, to shift with the shifting ground, but the Hatian use of concrete block was anything but pliant. Without the ability to flex, the structures instead sheared and tumbled, leaving massive destruction and loss of lives. The lack of firm building codes in a country riddled with political turmoil and poverty is a recipe for disaster.

If you are looking for ways to contribute, the White House has links of interest, or consider making a donation to Doctors Without Borders, who are already on the ground trying to reach the wounded.

Tragedy

I apologize for my insensitivity about not posting this earlier, but my absolute media blackout literally left me in the dark on the tragedy in Hati. My sincerest prayers to the families suffering right now-- Modernemama's entry on Hati and the information she provides on her blog is better than anything I can add to the discussion. Please check it out.

Eco Cooking Tips

If I asked my friend Joanne about her eco-friendly cooking tips, she'd say that her nightly dinner of cereal is about eco friendly as it gets-- one bowl, one spoon, no cooking. Most of us, however, look for a bit more out of our dining experience.
Of course we all know that we should be composting and recycling in our kitchens, but I've been trying to think of other ways to make my kitchen, specifically my food prep, more efficient. Like most cooks, I do the 'leftover soup' throwing all my leftover vegetables into a pot, cooking it for a couple of hours, and hope for the best, but recently I read an article about boiling pasta, that most people use far more water than is required. As an experiment, I started filling my pot with less water, which not only used less water, but also required less energy to bring to a boil. And the pasta was fine. So I began experimenting. What if I used the water remaining from steaming vegetables-- which was full of vitamins and flavor? Good again. What if I steamed the vegetables while waiting for my pasta water to come to a boil? You see where this is going?
So tell me, does anyone want to share any unique tips for the eco-friendly kitchen? Bonus points on ideas about using stale Italian bread.

Post Modern Mediterranean

Bouler Architecture was asked to design an addition to a residence in Huntington, NY, transforming a standard colonial into a post modern Mediterranean villa. After looking through a few architectural history books, several elements prove to be essential to this archtypical style. By integrating the stepped facade and cupola as a central feature to the roofline, the house changes its character. The addition of tower on the end gives the clients the necessary space and balance, but prevents the home from appearing too symmetrical. The real key to the transformation, however, will be the choice of materials and finish.

Musicworks: Check it Out

Musicworks, jazz trumpet player Jesse Neuman's new educational project, is hosting a benefit this weekend at the Bowery Poetry Club to raise funds for a second volunteer seminar with Fundacion Brass Band del Ecuador, a school and community safe haven serving underprivileged students and families in Quito. The event on Saturday, January 23rd at 2:00 pm is open to adults and children, and features members of Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, Brooklyn Qawwali Party, Imogen Heap, Michael Bolton, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Ursa Minor, Bjork, Josh Ritter, and the Saturday Night Band.

Oh, and did I mention that our very own Olivia will be playing sax on a James Brown song, Cold Sweat?

Sunday Night

Sunday Afternoon

Sunday Morning

On Being Chic

The ever-dapper six year old Jackson asked James in all seriousness, "Daddy, do you want to help me pick out my clothes? You might learn how to be a better dresser."

Perhaps they should both tune into Copenhagen Cycle Chic, where images of impossibly fashionable euro cyclists are caught in the act of eco-friendly transportation. Not unlike Bill Cunningham's images for the Style section of the New York Times, these candid shots of stylish urbanites are more interesting trendspotting than the pages of Vogue. They inspired me want to break out some smart cycle-worthy togs and go for a spin in the snow.

But when I told James about this cool blog, he said, "Copenhagen Psycho Sheep?" Leave it to James to come up with an even more intriguing concept for a blog.