June 17, 2013
Kenny Scharf's "Red Scary Guy" at the Highline
We hope everyone had a great Father's Day weekend and spent lots of time celebrating dad with lots of treats (and grilled delights, if we know our office dads). We're wrapping up the week that was with a few pics from late last week, including our Thursday afternoon art outing with the office, and looking ahead to all the fun thing we have coming up. Last Thursday afternoon saw us visiting the Standard Hotel to see Kenny Scharf's
Red Scary Guy with our crew of wonderful interns (see above). We particularly loved the jewel detail in the eye of the monster. Craving some Scharf for your own digs? We highly recommend his infectious
Space Happy (it's better than his Space Vomit, trust us). From there we headed up on the Highline and meandered deeper into Chelsea where we landed at
David Zwirner for the other half of the Jeff Koons Chelsea takeover entitled
"Gazing Ball". Koons' shiny metallic orbs take over the Zwirner space where they are less brash than the monumental Koons sculptures at Gagosian but utterly mesmerizing. We could have spent all day staring into the glossy depths
Jeff Koons' "Gazing Ball" at David Zwirner
Next up on Friday our Director of Content Grace attended the
Art from the Heart exhibition at the Bronx Museum of Art - a special exhibition organized by
Free Arts NYC showcasing the great student art projects made by Free Arts kids and volunteers around the city. Grace is proud to be a Weekly Mentor with Free Arts which pairs volunteers with kids in underserved communities for twelve-week sessions of art making; "it's my favorite night of the week" she says. For more information about Free Arts' great programing or to get involved, check out their
website.
"Art from the Heart" hosted by Free Arts NYC at the Bronx Museum
Plus we sat down with Yolande Whitcomb of the Art Dossier to talk about super cool initiative The Sketchbook Project.
Coming up this week: we've got a great newsletter planned with Interior Designer Allison Lind from
HomePolish, we talk hot summer reads and promoting literacy with the Director of
Books for Kids, we plan a Thursday art outing (to be revealed) and much MORE... (psst. don't forget to follow us on
instagram and
twitter too!)
June 7, 2013
Last night the LittleCollector team trekked over to Chelsea to check out some of the bold name shows of the summer exhibition season. We stopped by the
Jeff Koons exhibition at
Gagosian Gallery and
Yoshimoto Nara at
Pace, and these two titans of the art world have very different work on display, although both interestingly show a trend towards monumentality. At Pace we loved Nara's colossal bronze heads which acquired a zen-like quality with their size; we can imagine them residing in an outdoor sculpture garden. Although made out of bronze, the surface of the sculptures is highly textured and almost "fuzzy" and shows Nara's handprints and fingerprints as he worked the surface.
At Gagosian we were blown away by Koons' giant balloon sculptures which appeared even larger than usual, particularly the 3 red, yellow and blue animals in the cavernous back room. The scale, placement and environment almost made it feel like being at Dia: Beacon with their monumental Serra sculptures, and gave these ubiquitous pieces a dose of presence and gravitas. As for the canvases, we frankly found them to be unexciting and since we had to be seriously stealthy in order to get a pic, we only have the Hulk pushing a wheelbarrow of flowers to show you from the Gagosian show. That being said, don't miss either of these wonderful kid-friendly exhibitions. For more pics see our roundup on
facebook.
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photo by Ryan McKeever for Gagosian Gallery
June 6, 2013
While wandering the streets of SoHo today we were delighted to come up on the
Little Free Library, a wonderful project that has been popping up around the city where locals are encourage to "take a book, leave a book" and spread the love of reading. Sponsored by the Architectural League of New York and the PEN Foundation for writers, we love that this project is simple, easy to use and so utterly positive in its mission. Interested readers can also download and build their own Little Free Library in their communities using the easy instructions on the LF Library's
website. The Library that we visited on Prince Street is nestled in a bright courtyard underneath a leafy tree and visiting it is an absolute delight, not to mention that it featured some pretty great (and hefty reads). What book would you suggest that we leave? Leave your comments below and we'll pick the best to contribute.
June 4, 2013
School is almost out, summer is almost here and soon tiny feet will be tapping with boredom to get out of the house. That's why we've teamed up with our friends at NYC's Children's Museum of the Arts to get their tips for creative & kid-friendly activities around the city. We asked the CMA's Jess Peterson about how CMA keeps kids active all summer long: "CMA is taking art outdoors this summer," she says, "hosting free weekly art workshops on Governors Island and Husdon River park. Design your own costumes, create your own sets and animate yourself on this historic landscape! Take advantage of our open studios and two new exhibitions, Inside Out/Outside In and Works in Progress. Stop in on Thursdays for special summer themed workshops hosted by our Teaching Artists" How can kids stay creative outside during the summer? "At CMA you can create your own sundials to take to the beach, create your own kites, and more!"
This week we've peppered our newsletter with suggestions for great summer programs for creative kids around NYC and beyond! See something that we missed? Email us at hello@littlecollector.com and share your favorite camp suggestions.
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NYC:
The Center for Architecture Foundation's
Summer @ the Center: For grades 3-12 these innovative week-long camps introduce kids to architecture and design with topics like Playground Design, My Dream House and The 21st Century Skyscraper. Selling out fast!
Museum of the Moving Image Summer Media Camp: Perfect for older children, kids 9+ get a hands-on learning experience with the Museum's master equipment in classes like Video Game Design, Movies 101 and Animation.
Summer Dance Camp at the Joffrey Ballet: for kids 3-6 who can't sit still, this innovate program explores 5 ballets in 5 weeks. Each week kids will go inside the story of a different ballet with a family performance every Friday.
Los Angeles:
Palos Verdes Art Center's
Art-rageous summer camp: This camp series for kids 5-7 and 8-11 has two sessions daily in which kids explore different themes like "Sky, Earth and Under the Sea," "Marvellous Mosaics" and "Animal Safari"
Art Rebel summer arts camp: This award-winning camp in Sherman Oaks covers everything from Graffiti to fashion and recycled art. We love the emphasis on alternative programing!
Boston:
KidsArts! Summer Camp: In addition to art making, kids at this camp will also enjoy swimming, field trips, performances and growing vetegables in the camp's community garden!
And of course there's the
Red Sox Summer Baseball Camp (enough said :)
Miami
IDEA@thebass summer art camp: For kids 4-12, the wide-ranging program at the Bass Museum of Art will expose kids to the museum's wonderful collection through sessions like "It Came from Space" and "Ancient Civilization Adventures."
Fairchild Garden's Junior Naturalist Summer Camp: We love this innovate camp that will teach kids all about horticulture and environmental stewardship along with nature-inspired arts and crafts.
San Francisco:
Time for Art - these mini-camp sessions in and around downtown San Francisco are only a week long and include a field trip in the morning, say to the De Young Museum, followed by a related art activity in the afternoon.
Rainbow Chefs Summer Camp: We like that these camps are for kids as young as 5, plus the theme of week 2 is Edible Art!
May 31, 2013
Happy Friday art lovers. The dog days of summer are almost upon us but that doesn't mean another kind of pup isn't almost gone! Yes, William Wegman's B is for Baker is selling out fast so get it now before it disappears!
BUY NOW!
8x10" - $40 unframed | $85 framed | edition of 250
11x14" - $125 unframed | $200 framed | edition of 150
20x24" - $250 unframed | $375 framed | edition of 50
Custom framing options include: white wood, black wood, natural maple and brushed aluminum.
Need help placing an order? Want to talk framing, delivery or how to hang your art?
We're here to help:
212-673-7575
May 29, 2013
Julie Heffernan's Study for Self-Portrait Holding a World is our spring-spiration image and we asked Julie some questions about her favorite color and what piece of art she would hang in her home above all; judging from her incredible attention to detail and the play of light and shadows in her work you may not be surprised! For more about Julie, who received her MFA from Yale, check out her full biography with Mark Moore Gallery.
1. Where are you from? Peoria, Illinois!
2. What excites you about making art for kids? They are so honest; they know what's good and what's not good and cannot be swayed by such ephemeral things as the latest theory or fad.
3. What is your favorite color? Green
4. If you could have only one piece of art in your home, what would it be? Vermeer's Woman Holding a Balance.
May 29, 2013
This week we're taking our spring-spiration from Julie Heffernan's Study for Self-Portrait Holding a World. We love the soft pinks and taupes in Julie's painting for how they suggest spring blossoms and the awakening of the forest flora and fauna, but we also love the complexity of this master painter's craft: no Disney forests here. "Throughout the years my work has been a continuous attempt to see more deeply inside to those myriad selves that accumulate over time" says Julie. Above we use Julie's piece in our inspiration board for setting the perfect summer table, building an unexpected summer salad and making a fun-filled craft. Does art inspire your summer decorating, crafting or cooking? Tell us in the comments!
1. MAKE: Green Salad with Edible Flowers from Martha Stewart. Nasturtiums aren't the only edible flower. Unsprayed rose petals and even violas (small pansies) as in the recipe above can be combined into a show-stopping summer salad. Dress with some flower infused vinegar and your summer feast awaits. Kids will also have a blast snacking on the delicate blossoms.
2. DECORATE: The Mod Collective dinnerware. These porcelain plates and cups from Australia provide the perfect pop of summer color. And white the color palette is provided by garden blossoms, the pieces themselves are actually designed using a 3D printer before being thrown in hand-colored porcelain. Available in the US here from Gretel Home.
3. CRAFT: Egg Carton Bouquet. Remember asking your mum not to throw out the egg carton so that you could bring it to school for craft time? Well, they're back! These simple cardboard cartons may not be sophisticated but they are easy to find, easy to use and they provide a great texture. Plus they're easy to handle for younger children. Just add some tempera paint to each cut-out egg cup, punch a hole in the bottom for a pipe-cleaner and you have a table ready bouquet that will last all summer long.
May 29, 2013
A big thank you to Lisa Ellsworth of the
Palo Alto Arts Center for leading our kids tour of Art Pad SF. Lisa's enthusiasm and arts knowledge made for a great tour and kids were really engaged with the work - including getting up close and personal with a some pieces! If you're on the west coast, the Palo Alto Arts Center has a great selection of programing for kids including a
Mobile Makerspace that will be popping up around the city (developed in conjunction with the Palo Alto City Library). The Arts Center also has a wonderful
Children's Community Gallery that showcases work from local students. If you're in the area be sure to check it out!
May 22, 2013
The long weekend is ahead (finally!) and what better way to spend it than with family getting outside and enjoying the start of summer? Whether you're packing up the family car for a roadtrip or hunkering down for a staycation, we're sharing all the things that are inspring us as we head towards Memorial day.
1. WEAR: On the High Seas onesie from Fetching Pretty will have your little one ready for a high seas adventure, or simply paddling around poolside.
2. MAKE: Striped Ice Pops by Martha Stewart. Ok, so these aren't exactly car trip appropriate, but we love that these ice pops are a little messy and imperfect. Plus the recipe is easy enough that the whole family can get their sticky fingers involved.
3. DO: Go for a hike! The American Hiking Society has tons of great resources for where to hike, canoe and camp across the country. Plus they offer kids activities including a coloring contest!
4. DREAM: This tender landscape painting entitled Georgia's Dream by Stephen Hannock will inspire sweet dreams after a long day outdoors. Available in 3 sizes and 4 framing options.
5. READ: Green by Laura Vacarro Seeger. This book for young readers is a beautiful introduction to all the many shades of green that exist in nature.
May 21, 2013
