Alexis Georgacopoulos

The “Blow” bowls caught my attention with its colorful rope handles and hand blown bowls. Maybe with some hope and hinting these vessels will find a place on our dining table. Part of a set of three the bowls are designed and completed in 2008 by Alexis Georgacopoulos who currently lives in Lausanne. The noticeable tension between the hard and soft materials makes this project edgy and playful.

When you get some time I encourage you to visit his site. I’m also including an exhibition project for the Swiss Federal Design Awards at the mudac in Lausanne. The variety of work ranging from graphic design, photography, fashion, etc. is presented in a collection of wooden frames. The size of the wooden structures changes shapes depending on the subject matter.

Polderceramics by Atelier NL

2008 / Project Drawn from Clay—Noordoostpolder
The Dutch have a long history of reclamation of marshes and fenland resulting in 3000 polders nationwide. A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes which means that the land has no connection with outside water. The English have a saying “God created the world, but the Dutch created Holland”. The Noordoostpolder is the largest land area in the Netherlands and was made to create additional land for agriculture and of course to improve flood protection.

Atelier NL, the Eindhoven-based design studio of Lonny van Ryswyck and Nadine Sterk took up residence in the area to better study the social and agricultural perceptions within the region. The Drawn From Clay series captures these local distinctions as each piece is made from a specific plot of soil taken from various farms across the 285 miles square polder.

“We wanted to make tableware so that the vegetables prepared for dinner could be served from vessels made from the same soil the vegetables came out of,” explains Ryswyck on their site.

Each form was cast-molded at a consistent temperature in order to compare the differences between color and texture from the various soils. The designers cleverly devised a ratio system for determining the size of each piece and stamped each vessel with a geo-code reference to match the plot from where the soil came from.

The project is beautifully photographed by Paul Scala.

Lola Brooks / Photography by Tatsuro Nishimura

Late November I had the distinct pleasure to meet jeweler/artist Lola Brooks at a photoshoot for an article in the February/March issue of American Craft magazine (please check out Mimi Luse’s story on Brooks). American Craft can be found at Barnes and Noble and/or at the MAD bookstore.

A visiting assistant professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, Brooks is represented by Sienna Gallery in Lenox, MA, and her work is in the collection of both the Museum of Arts and Design and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Lola creates exquisite jewelry around the subject of romance and the tropes of love. She mixes up her material combining vintage jewelry such as the ivory roses with new gems and metals. Her compositions are layered with this spirit that there are never enough roses, bows and such in her pieces! The work shown here are brooches. However she does makes necklaces, rings etc. You can see more of Lola’s range on Sienna’s site not to mention other noteworthy jewelers.

The photographs are by the very talented Tatsuro Nishimura. I always enjoy collaborating with Tatsuro. It was a memorable afternoon.

Chris Mottalini

The Rock of the Month Club
The genesis for these pictures comes from photographer, Chris Mottalini, subscribing to a mineral club in which he started receiving monthly different rocks from around the world. On his site he says, “I photographed these rocks in various “natural” settings, occasionally introducing foreign elements (packaging materials, etc.) in order to highlight the constructed realism/manipulations of the photographs.”

These exotic minerals are transported from all parts of the globe (like India, Morocco Brazil, etc.) to a new photographic existence in a manipulated natural world.

I’m also a big fan of his “after you left, they took it apart (demolished paul rudolph homes)” series where he photographs a handful of homes by acclaimed architect Paul Rudolph days before they are demolished. The photographs capture the grace of these architectural gems even in the state of abandonment and neglect.

One of a Kind Show, NYC

A couple of weeks ago after eating a hearty brunch at Rose Water my husband, Mike, and I hopped on the subway to check out the handicraft at the “One of a Kind Show” located at Pier 94 ( 12th Ave and 55th street). We were hoping to pick up a few holiday gifts and we had a lot to choose from. The show included a wide range of makers working in ceramics, clothing, fashion accessories, fiber art, furniture, metal, jewelry, etc. Here are some of my favorites.

Pip-Squeak Chapeau makes you wish for a cold day with their lovely hand knitted collection from alpaca yarn. The fleece is soft and gentle and is incredibly warm. Alpaca’s are from llamas and have kept people warm and comfortable for centuries even on the coldest days. The biker mittens, part mitten /part glove, let’s you have the best of both worlds — warmth of a mitten plus the use of your thumb and pointing finger for getting your subway pass out, etc. The pieces are made in Brooklyn. They also make dresses, skirts, shirts from 100% natural yarns and fabrics such as linen, cotton, hemp, wool, silk and mohair.

The Cordwainer Shop have been making hand crafted beautiful shoes using the finest leather, free of synthetic materials and toxic glues since the 1930’s. The shoes are fully lined and hand sewn, making them lightweight, flexible and resole-able year after year. These shoots fit! Feet are carefully measured and made in your choice of leather and style. The family owned operation runs out of Deerfield, New Hampshire and offer workshops for those who would like to learn more about the making of shoes. “Cordwainer” means shoemaker and was coined by boot makers from Spain. What an appropriate name! Look for an article about the Cordwainer Shop in the Feb/March 2010 issue of American Craft magazine.

Sang Joon Park interest in pottery started as a young man living in Korea and became an apprentice to a master Korean potter, Na Woon Chae. “He told me in order to become a potter I must be able to make at least 30 identical bowls within the period of a single hour. Countless days full of failures ensued. Then suddenly one day Mr. Na announced I had become a potter. Since that day I have continued to make thousands of bowls and I dreamt of becoming a real artist” as stated on Park’s website. He later attended Pratt Institute for an MFA in ceramic sculpture. The random but yet calculated repetition of the bowls and use of simple colors makes his work sculptural.

David Nerwen uses a variety of complex hand stitching techniques with 100% tapestry wool yarn on canvas to create his abstract geometric compositions. “For the past 37 years I have designed and executed original hand stitched abstract and geometric tapestries on canvas. It has been a labor of love and very challenging to design in spite of the restrictive medium of fiber art” states Nerwen on his website.

Jean Pelle’s stunning Bubble Chandeliers are comprised of delicate clusters of handblown glass balls and clear globe bulbs held together by cables wrapped in cotton twine. Macrame and bubbles what more can one ask for? The chandeliers are a nice blend of nautical-hippy and modern design. The configurations come is a variety shapes and sizes and individually assembled by Pelle in her Brooklyn studio. Pelle studied architecture at UC Berkeley and Yale. In addition to her chandelier she applies her design skills by making diverse objects like candle holders and necklaces. Very nice indeed!