October 2009

Old Devices: New work

Old Devices

Ok, a quill pen is not really a device. It just seemed like a good post title. I made the quill and typewriter this weekend with india ink, gouache and micron pen to go with the red phone in the same materials. They’re on aged newsprint, so thin, bad quality and yet perfect at the same time.

They’re for my husband. He’s a book editor and he requested something for his office wall. I thought these seemed appropriate. He chose the Mamet quote for the typewriter. I may add the originals to my original art etsy sale soon.

Hope you all had a splendid weekend. We did. The weather in Brooklyn was so crisp and nice. We took a long walk from our neighborhood to the promenade enjoying the river and Brooklyn bridge view. Along the way we fantasized about what it would be like to live in one of the giant Brooklyn Heights brownstones with a yard and balcony. We love our cozy apartment but it’s fun to imagine living like someone else, somewhere else. Hope you have a great start to your week. XO.

FREE downloadable Halloween cards for you!

Batty for Candy

Halloween Candy Pattern
I’m making it a tradition to offer free downloadable Halloween cards, see the ones from last year and grab them if you like.

I have always adored Halloween. This year we won’t be dressing up or hitting the town as most likely we’ll be enjoying our brand new baby. He could be anywhere from a week old to a few days old by then. I’m excited to paint a moustache on him.

Go ahead and grab one of these or all to download and print or email to a pal. Have fun!

Famille Summerbelle Papercut map

Famillebelle papercut NYC map

If I bought every print I wanted and hung it, my walls would be dizzying. We do plan to move in a few months so that the baby can have his own room and so we’ll have more room for ourselves. I love this print, perhaps we need to pick one up for our new place?!! My husband and I were both born and raised in Manhattan. My family moved to the suburbs in my teen years but I still feel like a bred Manhattanite and now we’re so happy living in Brooklyn. It’s wonderful here!

I love that this map has our origin and even a snippit of where we are now. Plus it’s so beautiful and artisinal.

New York City Paper Cut Map by Famille Summerbelle

Geometric Love

Geometric Round-up

I love geometric designs. Here’s a little round-up I put together. I’m definitely getting the Lena Corwin cushions and I really want the geo planter to put some succulents in. (*unfortunately Freddy & Ma’s site is not search-able by artist so if you are interested in my geo clutch or plate you’ll have to browse for it. I have lots of other designs listed too):

  1. Dress (A Common Thread)
  2. Earrings (Kate Spade) + Earrings (Alexis Bittar)
  3. Necklace (Brevity)
  4. Clutch
  5. & Plate (my designs for Freddy & Ma)
  6. Planter (Mohawk General Store)
  7. Cushion (Lena Corwin)

Happy Tuesday by the way. It’s my hardest day of the week so I hope it goes by quickly!

Robert Frank: The Americans

Robert Frank at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

We had a really lovely weekend. Saturday we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and decided it would be fun to do an audio tour. Of course you can select which pieces you want to hear about so we chose some Japanese katanas, plus painters and sculptors: Modigliani, Picasso, Matisse, Boccioni, Balthus etc.

We especially enjoyed the special photography exhibit of Robert Frank’s fiftieth anniversary publication of The Americans, his influential suite of black-and-white photographs made on a cross-country road trip in 1955–56. The Americans became his seminal work, initially published in France in 1958 and later in America. “Although Frank’s depiction of American life was criticized when the book was released in the U.S. in 1959, it soon became recognized as a masterpiece of street photography.” The photographs were noted for their view of high and low parts of American society creating a complex portrait of the post-war period that was viewed as skeptical of contemporary values and evocative of  widespread loneliness.

Here I am looking out of the windows and the lush green park in the rain. 37 weeks pregnant:
37 weeks pregnant looking at Central Park from the Met

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