Move Over, Andy Goldsworthy

I've always been fascinated by the work of artists like Andy Goldsworthy, Jim Denevan and also Christo, though his pieces are less naturalistic and more monumental. I came across the this spread on the work of French artist Sylvain Meyer which I find quite inspiring.

via Colossal and ruines humaine

Rainin' Spain

I'm seeing a lot of Spanish design these days that very much appeals to me, and there seems to be a growing number of good Spanish design blogs as well. One that I follow on a regular basis is Desde My Ventana, which always seems to have rich content. I found this interesting Spanish farmhouse on Interiors.

via Interiors

The Rebirth Of Cool

For most of my adult life, the city of Beirut, indeed much of Lebanon was a war torn, bomb pocked shadow of it's former, glamourous self. Beirut was, at one time the Monte Carlo of the eastern Mediterranean. The city and much of Lebanon has undergone a renaissance and has recaptured the zeitgeist of earlier times. Take a look at May Douak's breathtaking 19th century villa, photographed for Architectural Digest.

 via From The Right Bank

In Her Cups

Last weekend was Alumni Weekend at our kids' school. Not being alums ourselves, we ordinarily don't think much of it, but something in the weekly newsletter caught my wife's eye. There was going to be a talk by an alumnae, an artist, who'd somehow gotten onto Wendy's radar screen. We decided to head down to Germantown Friends last Saturday to hear Gwyneth Leech talk about her current project, a wonderful, whimsical and serendipitous collection of hand painted paper coffee cups. Until recently the ever-growing cup project was displayed in the prow of the Flatiron Building at the junction of Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street. She'd gotten a terrific write-up in the NY Times. Like many of the alums of GFS that I've known, (my mother and uncle among them) Gwyneth was warm, gracious and articulate as she fleshed out her CV for the audience, and gave us the background on her cup project and a fascinating church restoration in Scotland.

Gwyneth Leech in the 'prow' of the Flatiron Building

What I'm Listening To Now

Continuing the small world and Spanish theme from the previous post, if you haven't checked out the band 'I'm From Barcelona', actually a Swedish collective, your missing something sweet...

check out Treehouse by I'm From Barcelona

Iberian Stunner

The internet is really an extraordinary thing. It has made the world a very small place in a way no other technological advancement has before. I stumbled upon the absolutely amazing Russian design blog, Nicety which featured amazing homes and apartments from around the world. This beauty is from Spain.

Friday-Pizza Night; Oven Update

If you've been following the construction of our pizza oven featured in Hot To The Touch and 

Getting Warmer, I've got some progress photos to show you...

When The Ink Dries

I don't know about you, but I have mixed feeling about seeing a beautiful woman with tattoos. I guess they can be racy in a Stieg Larsson sort of way, or I'm really going to show my age now, in the way Harvey Keitel's Maori inspired tattoos in 'The Piano' caused such a stir among the fairer sex. But I came across a spread the other day that gave me pause. I think they're amazing, hopefully you'll agree.

What I'm Listening To Now

Here are couple of 'new to me' bands and singer songwriters that I'm very much enjoying...

Check out Beta Radio's Highlight On The Hill

And Neil Halstead's High Low And In Between

The Return Of The Honey Pie

Well, after nearly two weeks of batching it, the globe trotting wife is coming home today, amen to that! Although her career has taken her away from home periodically for all of the 24 years we've been together, it doesn't lessen the dull ache of her being gone or the joy of her return.