See Saw

YEAH. LET'S GO SHOPPING

 

LETTERS FROM: LILY TOMLIN

Writing letters to people I admired became a kind of habit for me in my young, pre computer, pre-internet years. While I sometimes wrote to elected officials about pressing issues, mostly I was consumed with pop culture and the fuzzy boundaries of pop culture and fine art. Hmmm...guess I haven't changed much.

The great thing about writing letters to people, unlike sending emails, is that sometimes they write back. And you have a genuine piece of history in your hands. There's just nothing that exciting about saving a print out of an email, but a letter on someone's stationery: a thrill and an artifact.

In this  example, I didn't actually write to Lily Tomlin - she wrote me me in a response to a review I review I wrote in the New York City newspaper, The Village Voice.

Lily had been on the TV Show Laugh  In since 1969. I was a big fan of Lily and Laugh In. In 1973 I was writing  occasional free lance reviews for The Village Voice, and seized the opportunity to see her one woman show in NY at The Bitter End. I was smitten.

  

Review of Lily Tomlin at The Bitter End, February 1, 1973

"Last night I saw Lily Tomlin at The Bitter End. She was so wonderful that I haven't stopped thinking about her. Every so often she stands back, looks calmly at the audience, then move on. She's in perfect control. At one point she fell down on the floor and lay there for a few minutes saying nothing, just looking at us, then said, "I see you're all still in your seats.""Part of her beauty is that she's not afraid to make herself look ugly, to identify herself with the most grotesque characters: she's an an aging beauty expert, mouth falling down into her chin, who reveals her secret beauty regime; she's Ernestine, the pushy switchboard operator from Ma Bell who contorts her face and body...She's a a gum snapping 1950's teenager at a dance talking to her girlfriend waiting to ba asked to dance; she's an alcoholic ex-rubber addict whose habit grew from pencil erasers to doorstops and rubber mats; she's a woman waiting on line at a redemption center watching another woman try to return a used cookie jar. Her characters remind me of diane Arbus Photographs."

 
Lily Tomlin. The publicity picture she gave me at the show. "Nobody likes a pushy woman. Keep pushing! To Liza and Alix. Love from Lily." Alix is the singer Alix Dobkin, my partner at the time. Alix has recently published her memoir My Red Blood, which includes fascinating stories about singing in the folk clubs, including The Bitter End, in Greenwich Village in the sixties.

Seeing Lily in person, in the intimate club atmosphere of The Bitter End was exciting enough. The fact that she took the time to write to me was even better. And look how the piece of mail had to travel to find me:

  

click on a smaller image and it will enlarge

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"Dear Liza, did I ever write and tell you how amazed I was that you would mention Diane Arbus and me in the same paragraph? It was a comparison I was very happy about. And flattered. And I had been telling someone just that night before your piece came out how I felt I was doing something similar in my approach to whatever it was I was doing. And since you were the first and only person besides me to make that observation and I think is is a good and interesting one, I want to mention the use of it in a piece done on me in "The New York Times" and tell you that we are on a couple of the same wave lengths. Love, Lily"

So my advice is not that you should write reviews, although you might, but to take the time to write a real letter, on real paper to the people you admire. One, they will appreciate it. Two, you never know what you will get back.

Next time I will show you  letters I got back from Bea Arthur and from Lorenzo Music from the show, Rhoda, after I wrote to them.  And you know I'm kicking myself for never writing to Soupy Sales.

 
 

LETTERS FROM: ROBERT F. KENNEDY

Remember back in the day before the internet, before personal computers? Today we click a link and we've sent a letter to our congresspeople, signed a petition, joined a fan club. But then we wrote letters. At least, I did.

I used to write to my Senators about matters of policy. But mostly I wrote to my favorite authors, entertainers and TV shows. I also used to make phone calls before people worried about stalkers. That's how I got to be friends with Andy Warhol when I was in 11th grade, in 1966. But that's another story.

I have managed to hang on to several of the responses I got to my letters. Back in those pre internet days, it was rare to have copy machine so we relied on carbon paper. If I made carbons of the letters I don't have them.

Like many people of my generation, I was opposed to the War in Vietnam. I was, and am, opposed to war in general, but that was the conflict of the era and I wanted some answers. I was three weeks shy of sixteen years old and nearing the end of tenth grade when  I wrote a letter to my Senator, Robert F. Kennedy. Here is his hand typed and, I believe, hand signed reply:

 
Letter from Robert F.  Kennedy to Liza Cowan May 6th 1965.

Dear Miss Cowan,  

    Thank you for letting me know your views on Vietnam. I share your deep concern about our involvement there, and I have enclosed a statement which summarizes my views about it.

     The situation becomes more serious with each passing day, and I can assure you that I have been in close and constant contact with other Senators and with members of the Executive Branch regarding an effort to develop a strategy for peace in that troubled part of the word -- how we can end the fighting as soon as possible in a way which brings world stability and a lasting and honorable peace. This is a delicate and difficult task. 

     I hope I have not delayed unduly in replying to your thoughtful views. I valued having them and I hpe to hear from you again as the months pass.sincerely

Robert F. Kennedy

Kennedy died in March 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles

The War in Vietnam lasted until 1975.

LITTLE GLIMPSES INTO THE GALLERY TODAY

Here are some random shots of new and old things we have at PSAW today:

 
Just in from TMNK, Art Is My Weapon T-Shirts in a variety of sizes.

 
Very cool and fun French Script clipboards from Timeworks, Inc. Clock Company. I also carry the American Baseball one. @ $12.75 this will be a great holiday present.

 
Always popular, The Magnet Frame from Canetti. 5x7, these pure acrylic frames open and close like a dream, held by tiny powerful magnets. @ $28. Photos in the frames are by me, Liza Cowan, except the one of two old fashioned girls who are my grandmother Lena Straus Spiegel and her sister Hettie.

 
Random button and beads. The Lampwork beads are by Madelyn Erb, Mad Glass Beads.

 
Monopoly pieces.

 
The cozy new electric fireplace. On top: Tea cup print by Ginny Joyner, real teacup and teapot by Shinzi Katoh, fine art laminated mid 20th Century ads.

MERRITT CUTLER FOOD ILLUSTRATIONS

 

These illustrations from the Borden Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk Recipe  book, New Magic In The Kitchen, are too...sweet...to ignore.

 

The Borden Company, Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk. Gail Bordon patented his invention for making condensed milk in 1856 and his company was  first manufacturer of condensed milk. 

The illustrations for the recipe booklet are by Merritt Cutler. Published probably in the  1930's before 1938 when  Elsie the Cow became the spokesbovine for the Borden Company.

Here's what a 1960 ad for Strathmore Paper had to say about Merritt

"Merritt Cutler graduated from Pratt Institute into a noteworthy career as art director in leading advertising agencies. In 1942 he enlisted as a Captain in the Army Engineers Corps. He formed and directed the department at Ft. Belvoir which turned out the Camouflage Training Aids and Manuals."

I sure would love to see those!

"The free-lancing which Mr. Cutler has been doing since, includes two text books on scratch board techniques, book illustrations, advertisement and package design.

Ad for Strathmore Artist Paper, American Artist , April 1960

 

 

Rice Pudding, Merritt Cutler, p. 45 New Magic In The Kitchen

 
Lemon Pie, Merritt Cutler, p. 41, New Magic In The Kitchen

 
Hot Chocolate, Merrit Cutler, p. 28, New Magic In The Kitchen

 
Orange-Lemon Frosting. Merritt Cutler, p. 29 New Kitchen Magic

 
Cornmeal Muffins, Merritt Cutler, p. 12, New Magic In the Kitchen

All these images are in the Pine Street Art Works Ephemera Collections and are available at Pine Street Art Works as limited edition place mats by Flashbags.

photobooth as film strip

 

I almost never reprint posts from other websites but this one was too cool not to. And isn't it Harry Potter-esque the way the pictures move here in a sea of text?

This concoction is from a very cool website on vernacular photography:  SQUARE AMERICA  
Do hop over and check it out.

You know we have a huge passion for photobooth pictures here. A couple of years ago we had American Photobooth, a show by  Näkki Goranin.  Näkki's book sets the standard for the history of Photobooths, with hundreds of fascinating images and thoroughly researched text. So check that out too. 

One more from Square America:

I LOVE YOU SOUPY SALES

Soupy Sales is dead. Long live Soupy.

When I was in high school in the 1960's I'd rush home every day to watch Soupy Sales on TV. Although it was supposed to be a kid's show, he never failed to crack me up. This was a show that was oustide the box, or maybe completely inside the box, since Soupy and crew keep the viewer fully aware of all the shennanigans that were happening off camera in the studio.

Not since Kukla Fran and Ollie had any kids show been so dopey and so sophisticated at the same time. Too young to get these references? Think of Pee Wee Herman, live, in black and white, in a barely equipped studio, some rikkity hand made props and a  camera operator and a couple of co workers audibly egging him on. Then watch out for the pie in the face.

  

At school dances my bohemian friends and I would do Soupy's dance, The Mouse. In the hallway between classes  we'd do endless imitations of Soupy's mostly unseen puppet friends, White Fang and Black Tooth, who had to have been, Rut Roh,  the grandparents of Scooby Doo. I clipped articles on Soupy and put them in my journals, which were otherwise filled with fragments of poetry from Ferlinghetti or Ginsberg, or pictures of John Lennon.

 
Here it is, still taped into my journal from 1965. Love In The Afternoon by David Newman and Robert Benton. New York Herald Tribune, January 24, 1965. Two years later Benton and Newman became famous for writing  the screenplay for Bonnie & Clyde, followed by What's Up Doc? Benton wrote Kramer vs. Kramer, Places In The Heart and many other iconic American films.

 
"He has a camera and a floor crew that laughs and hoo-haws loudly on the set. He makes cracks at them, trades reactions and jokes with them and lets the audience in on their existence to the point where their names (Frank, the sound man; Eli, the prop man ; Bob, the producer; Lennie, the floor manager) are as familiar as...well, as familiar as Pookie, White Fang and Black Tooth."

 
"The personal appearances have their varying rewards, too. People tend to hurl pies at Soupy when they see him, and a kid in Los Angeles once made the mistake of heaving a frozen pie before it defrosted. 'It caught me in the neck,' the victim recalls, 'and I dropped like a pile of bricks...One little kid ran up to me and said, 'Hey! How'd you get off the TV?' "

 
"...Frank Nastasi, the voice and soul of White Fang and the others, arrives at the office. Nastasi, a small, sturdy man with iron gray hair, ordinarily earns his living on the stage, having appeared on Broadway in Lorenzo, off Broadway in Cindy and in a number of Phoenix Theater productions. He now finds himself working puppets, waving a paw and delivering long speeches that go like this:" "Guggehh, bluahhh, luhhh-uhggghh, beahhhh!"

 
" 'You come in with Pookie and say you're gonna do Italian magic. Then you wave your and and say, 'Gina Lollabrigida! Gina Lollabrigida!' and I say, 'That's magic?' and you say, 'Have you ever seen Gina?.' Nastasi laughs so hard he almost cracks his head against the corner of the desk. The question of whether a five year old child will appreciate the reference to the voluptuous Italian movie star is never considered: Soupy knows that he has the child laughing at Pookie's funny magic get-up, and the gag is for Mommy's benefit."

I lost the last page. But hey, I hung onto the rest of it for 45 years.

 

Soupy Sales and his lion puppet Pookie.

Watch this all the way through. Every second is gold. Pookie bops his head along with Clark Terry playing Mumbles. He sneezes. Soupy smooches Pookie on the nose. Pookie:  "There's a draft in here, Bubbie...and I hope they don't get me."

Later, Soupy bops along with the Isley Brothers. Just his punim on camera, enjoying the music,  for over two minutes. How brilliantly simple is that?  I don't even know why I find it so hilariously funny, but I do.  Jazz, politics, blues, pratfalls, breaking the fourth wall,  all with a Jewish flavor packaged for kids. Wow.

The Archie gang even got to hang out with Soupy:

 

Billy Ingram and Kevin Butler wrote a great piece on Soupy at TV Party dot com, so you might as well hop on over and read it.

 
Soupy with Clyde Adler

Also read this one by Mark Evanier.

And check this out:  Blogger Don Brockway of Isn't Life Terrible  took a bunch of pictures when he visited the  Soupy set in 1965. He writes a great blog, too.

 
Soupy in the studio with Eli and Pooky. 1965. Photo by Don Brockway. Used by permission. (i.e. ask Brockway before you reuse this)

 
Soupy on the air. Frank Nastasi on the left. 1965. Photo Don Brockway, used by permission.

 

Tick Tock, time to think about holiday shopping

 
Tempus Fugit, pop out clock by Timeworks, Inc. Available at PSAW for $17.75

As I posted on my sandwich board today, "Tick tock, time to think about holiday shopping" Actually, as a retailer, I've been thinking about holiday shopping since mid summer. Truth be told, as a consumer I enjoy buying presents for my loved ones, but it's even more fun selling fabulous things to my customers. In this economy we're all being careful of what we spend, so I've worked at getting great stuff at reasonable prices. By reasonable, I try to mean under $50. Often under $25.

  
Pop Out Clocks from Timeworks, Inc. Seven different clocks available here.

These clocks are super cute and a brand new product from the Timeworks, Inc. Clock Company from Berkeley, CA.  They come in a reusable box and  assemble in a jiffy,  really.  I think they are made of melamine. The clock runs on a battery. Great little gift for under $20, easy to send, too.

 

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Check out the clock faces. Click the small image and it will pop up!

 
notecards, portfolios, labels, sticky notes etc. at PSAW

I've been a stationery lover my whole life. Mostly I've collected postcards and notecards, but anything with pretty images and shapes will catch my eye. Now that our local paperie, Scribbles, has closed (alas) I'm trying to fill the void a tiny bit. Above are some sets with images by Wayne Thiebaud, Andy Warhol, Geninne D. Zlatkis. I also have Lotte Jansdotter and  Paul Frank as well as assorted classic botanical images.

 
Canetti Museum magnet frames and PSAW mini prints

Not new to PSAW but one of my favorites, the Canetti Museum Magnet Frame. At $28 these are a sensation and very popular with my customers.  Made of pure acrylic and tiny magnets by a small company in New York, (although manufactured in Thailand) these are the original  Magnet Frame. They inspired me to offer PSAW mini prints by PSAW artists, made to fit the frames. At $20 a pop, these are also a fun and charming gift.

 
glass pendant by Marc Kornbluh at PSAW. Aprox 2" diameter. $45

No two of these pendants by Marc Kornbluh are alike. Marc used to live in Burlington and his glass studio was one of my favorite places. Now he lives. in Nebraska, but I'm lucky enough to be able to sell his lamp-work jewelry. At $45, this is a gift that will be loved for generations.

 
Vintage cigarette tin. $16.

I've been collecting typewriter tins and cigarette tins, lovely for both their shapes and graphics. No two alike, only while stock lasts since buying them is a random operation. But I've got a bunch here now.

 
Sno Folk by AO! Glass

AO! Glass, whose retail shop is right here at PSAW (separate store - common roof) are in high production for their very popular little Sno Folk. Great, perfect holiday gifts, they can be a tabletop decoration, or hang from a tree or mantle. www.aoglass.com. Tove Ohlander also will custom etch the bowls and other pieces that she and her partner Rich Ahrentzen make.

There's more, but I'll leave that for another post. Just come on buy and check us out. Tick Tock.

 

 

Liquid cardboard

 

 
Liquid Cardboard by Cardboardesign at Pine Street Art Works.

I can't remember how I first heard about the NYC company Cardboardesign. Maybe it was on one of the home design blogs I frequent. I do know that when I placed my first order a few years ago I was one of the first, if not the first wholesale customer they had. Hooboy, not anymore.

Cardboardesign products were  featured at the Guggenheim Gala honoring Frank Gehry, at the American Museum of Natural History Climate Change Launch. They were featured on Big Ideas For A Small Planet on The Sundance Channel and on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Look for Cardboardesign products at some of the tonier retail venues around the country, including, of course, Pine Street Art Works.

  

Liquid Cardboard #8. Liza Cowan photo.

The various products made by Cardboardesign - furniture, toys, tableware - are all made of recycled and recyclable materials. Even the glue they use is eco friendly. Equally important, they are all design forward, sophisticated and fun. I'm featuring the Liquid Cardboard line, pieces that can be used to hold flowers, candy, candles, or just sit on the table to amuse your guests. They morph into all kinds of shapes and are endlessly fun to manipulate. I've even had a customer buy one to use as a bracelet.

 
Liquid Cardboard #6 used as a votive holder.

 
Mannequin pumping Liquid Cardboard #6. Liza Cowan photo

If you live near Burlington or are planning a visit, come on by and check out the coolest line of table top sculpture you'll see this season. If not, you can buy online direct from Cardboardesign

 
Liquid Cardboard #3.

Canadian Clouds

 
Clouds Over The Field, Canada. Liza Cowan photo

Driving home from Montreal yesterday afternoon just after a rain. The clouds were so pretty, the cornfields so autumnal, and the light so perfect, I had to stop and snap a few pics. South of Montreal, north of Vermont, on Rt.133.

 
Truck, Field, Clouds, Canada. Liza Cowan photo

 
Silos, Clouds, Canada. Photo Liza Cowan.

RANDOM PICS OF THE GALLERY TODAY

  

We write our sign daily. Then the rain washes it away. True ephemera.

It's been a slow week. I'm busy stocking up for the holidays, but meanwhile...ain't nobody shopping much. Rainy day, listening to Rufus Wainwright and the soundtrack of Wicked.  Here are some random shots from the day.

  

Pendants by Marc Kornbluh. TMNK paintings in the background.

  

Moleskine journals. Nakki Goranin's American Photobooth. Liza Leger painting.

  

Card wall. Cards by me, from my ephemera collections. Ever changing.

  

Vintage typewriter ribbon tins.

  

Shinzi Katoh in foreground. Then Flashbags, then cards. TMNK paintings on the wall.

LiZakka: Shinzi Katoh

LiZakka. That's me (Liza + Zakka) and my  fascination with Zakka:  from the Japanese 'zak-ka' 雑貨 or "many things." Zakka is a fashion and design phenomenon that has spread from Japan throughout Asia. The term refers to everything and anything that improves your home, life and outlook. Generally Zakka is cute, even kitch, with style references to Scandinavian and  French design.

Some day I will show you my Hello Kitty collection from the eighties, but now let's look at Shinzi Katoh, the newest product line at Pine Street Art Works.

Shinzi Katoh is a Japanese Zakka artist of worldwide acclaim. He is based in Aichi in the central region of Japan where he has his own gallery, shop and museum. Pine Street Art Works is now selling his products. Yay.

Can you just see these in your home? So come on by and check them out. 

Not many stores in the US carry Shinzi Katoh. I had to order them from Japan, which involved a lot of translating from Yen to dollars and complicated transactions re shipping. Luckily for me, the folks at Shinzi Katoh in Japan were able to negotiate in English. So, we'll see how my Vermont customers like them. If they are a hit, they will be a staple here.

NOBODY DOES ART HOP

TMNK-The Me Nobody Knows, hanging his show at PSAW, Sept. 11, 2009

Art Hop came and went. About 2 million 1,000 people passed through these doors on Friday and Saturday. We had a blast and everyone adored the work of NYC artist TMNK, The Me Nobody Knows.  He blew them away. As predicted. 

 

Nobody's window. The mannequins are wearing his T Shirts and bandanas.

I always have four personae at these events:  Sergei Diaghilev, the impressario; Dolley Madison, the hostess; Hazel, the maid; and Ron Gallella, the paparazzi. I'm good with the first three, horrible with the last. Hence, I have almost no photographic evidence that the event actually happened. You'll just have to take my word. Or send me your pictures.

 

Diane, the Rootstein mannequin, wearing Nobody's T Shirt. Photo Liza Cowan

NOBODY WILL BE HERE

Art Hop, Friday September 11th 5-10 in the evening and Saturday Sept 12, 10-5 daytime.

PSAW featured artist:TMNK-THE ME NOBODY KNOWS

 

TMNK Art Hop postcard. Art: TMNK, design Liza Cowan 2009

Art Hop is almost upon us. Art Hop is  one of the biggest- possibly THE biggest - outdoor/indoor art fair in New England. We expect around 20,000 visitors one weekend every September in our otherwise modest little neighborhood in the South End of Burlington, Vermont. Hosted and produced annually by the South End Arts And Business Association (SEABA) Art Hop is well worth the trip. Lots of art, a fashion show, music, outdoor sculpture and demonstrations make it a family worthy destination.

 

TMNK-The Me Nobody Knows: My Boombox Plays The Sound Of Music. Sold. Used by permission of the artist.

This year the New York City artist TMNK- The Me Nobody Knows, will be the solo artist at Pine Street Art Works. I've written a lot about TMNK this past year, so I will refer you to previous posts for more information about him.

NOBODY will be here in person with his art on Friday and Saturday. If you live within driving distance, I urge you not to miss this rare Vermont opportunity to meet Nobody and see his work. 

And  check out Nobody's blog as well.

See you next week!

MARY MORRIS STEINER LAWRENCE 1914-2009

A tweet from the Monroe gallery in Santa Fe alerted me to the sad fact that Mary Morris  Lawrence  died earlier this month. Here's a link to a story in The San Fransisco Chronicle:

"In 1937 she became the first female photojournalist hired by New York's Associated Press. She was photographer and Hollywood columnist for New York's progressive tabloid PM, shot photo stories for Look Magazine, and produced a variety of award-winning projects in a world-roving career. "I was good in the newspaper business," she said, "because I had this way of wanting to get the dope. I had an aggressive nature, a creative spirit." Her trail-blazing career is chronicled in books and periodicals, one describing "a 23-year-old wisp of a girl, with a thick mass of tousled brown hair and dancing blue eyes, Miss Mary Louise Morris ... daily faring forth with camera slung over her shoulder to cover every variety of news and feature story." SF Chronicle, Aug 23, 2009

Morrie, as her friends knew her, was my mom's chum from college. They went to Sarah Lawrence  where Mary, according to the article in the Chronicle "formed all my rebellious ideas." Morrie and Polly, my mom, remained good friends throughout the forties and fifties in New York city. Fans of this blog will remember that I've written about Morrie and mom before.

L to R: Max Lerner, Lou Cowan, Mary Morris Steiner, Polly Cowan, Ralph Steiner (biting my mom's shoulder,) photo set up by Mary or Ralph, shot by Edna Lerner.

The SF Chronicle article omits the fact that Mary was married to Ralph Steiner,  iconic American photographer. Mary told me in a phone conversation last year that when she and Ralph were partners in their New York City photography studio, they split the shooting equally, but he got all the credit. They didn't really pay attention to who was shooting, who was setting up the shots, who was climbing the ladder. It was all in a day's work.  She didn't care. The paycheck came in and that was pretty much what mattered at the time. I don't think either one of them realized at the time how famous he would become and how relatively, but not completely, obscure she would become. So those Ralph Steiner photographs that are now highly collectible, the ones done in the NY studio might be by Mary.

 

Photo by Mary Morris Steiner (Mary Morris Lawrence, for google's sake) Polly Cowan and baby Liza Cowan circa 1950

Another obit, somewhat more substantial,  from The Oakland Tribune: "In his 1938 book, "Get That Picture!" cameraman A.J. Ezickson described her as a hard worker and a cunning "scout," gaining access with her small RolleiFlex camera to scenes her less enterprising colleagues (the same ones who made "sly jibes" about Morris Lawrence) were barred from by using her wits but never "feminine wiles."

Last year Mary and I discussed the possibility of her having a retrospective exhibit here at PSAW, but there were more technical difficulties than I could  overcome from 3,000 miles away. The 95 year old Morrie lived in San Francisco and had only original prints of her work, which she did not want to ship to Vermont. I'd have been happy with scans but we never worked out the logistics of having them made and printed. Alas.

Morrie only published one book in her lifetime, Bringing Up Puppies, A Child's Book of Dog Breeding And Care, written by Jane Whitbread Levin (another Sarah Lawrence chum)

Bringing Up Puppies, by Jane Whitbread Levin and Mary Morris Steiner (Lawrence)

So here 's to you Morrie, talented, brave and wise. You will be missed.

EXHIBITION: ALINE SMITHSON

Postcard for Smithson Exhibit. Photo, Aline Smithson, design PSAW

The Aline Smithson exhibit has been up for a couple of weeks and visitors are enjoying it immensely. Here's what they look like on the wall.

Aline Smithson photos on view at Pine Street Art Works.

And here are some of the pieces- all images copyright Aline Smithson, used by permission of the artist.

From the series, In Case Of Rain. Archival Jet Prints  from scanned negatives:

Secret Language. Aline Smithson.

Herman Hesse. Aline Smithson

Aline Smithson. Video Village

Aline Smithson, Dress Up.

Next from the series, Arrangement in Green and Black. Hand painted silver gelatin prints:

Aline Smithson. #3, Bather

 
Aline Smithson, #1, (cat)

Aline Smithson. #10, Last Supper


Aline Smithson, #5, Ballet



From the series, Toy Camera:


Aline Smithson, Venice, Once Remembered


Aline Smithson, Harmony


Aline Smithson, Unguarded Area


Aline Smithson, New York Skaters

and here's some cool press for Aline:

Aline Smithson Venice Once Remembered on the cover of Light Leaks


Aline Smithson, Arrangement in Green and Black, cover (and inside) of Silver Shotz.

GRANDMA IS MY PINUP GIRL

Visitors to the gallery often ask me if I still paint or take photographs. The answer, by and large, is "no." I don't have time to make art and run a gallery. It's not that I don't have a free minute here and there, but it is almost impossible for me to flip my frame of mind from business to art. That's particularly true for painting, which, for me, requires a lot of uninterrupted time with paintbrush in hand. If you paint, or write, or do any kind of creative work, you probably know what I mean.

What I still do, however, is graphic design. From greeting cards, to ads to postcards, I can do it all on the computer and somehow manage. It's fairly easy for me to move freely back and forth between design and retail management:  customers, ordering inventory, answering the phone, research, dusting, planning shows etc. It is a boon that I can save the work in progress and come back later and it's exactly how I left it. No drying time either.

Another great reason to make postcards : they are future collectible ephemera. So hang onto yours. And for goodness sakes, if I hand you one, don't fold it in front of me. Few things grate on my nerves as much as watching someone mangle my art.

So here are two of my latest. My postcard printers - I use Image Media and love them - were having a 25% sale, so I made a new general card, as well as the one for the August exhibit by Los Angeles photographer Aline Smithson.

 

Pine Street Art Works, Postcard. Design: Liza Cowan 2009

Here's my grandmother, Lena Spiegel, as my poster girl. Isn't she elegant? You've seen her before in this blog, and she's at it again - helping me out. No stranger to retail, her husband, my grandfather, Modie Spiegel, started Spiegels, yes, that one, the big mail order company. His portrait hangs over my desk and I try to absorb some retail moxy from him. I am the only person in my fairly large extended family who is in retail, so I like to think I get all of his attention.

But it is Lena who claims attention for her own foxy self in her feathered hat and varnished nails. The text next to her, in case you can't read it on the screen, says "I'm Lena Spiegel. My granddaughter owns the store. So shop already."

 

Aline Smithson, Arrangement in Green and Black #3, postcard for Pine Street Art Works 2009

Aline Smithson's amazing photograph does the heavy lifting in this postcard. Her show is going to be fantastic. Four photos each from three series - can't wait. Come by in August if you are around.

NEEDLE BOOKS FROM J. MEGAN MAYS

J. Megan Mays is one of my favorite customers at Pine Street Art Works. She gets what I'm doing -  and shares my passion for ephemera. Last week she brought in a disc of scans from her collection of vintage needle books so I could share them with you. Yay Megan, thanks so much for spreading the love of mid century needle book graphics.

The first three are just graphically stunning and simple. They are unusual for the genre because they do not feature people. I've never seen another one like this homage to sewing accessories.

 

Needle book. Collection of J. Megan Mays. Made in USA.

 

Needle book -Ideal Laundry. Collection of J. Megan Mays

Woolworth Needle Book - Collection of J. Megan Mays. Made in Western Germany.

Typical for needle books is the travel theme because a needle and thread can be so handy on a journey. Railway, airplane, ships, even rockets are common themes for travel in needle land. This family seems on a mythical trip through the Alps.

The Silvertown, needle case. Collection of J. Megan Mays

Here is the same family in a different, probably earlier guise. You often see the same graphic worked and reworked by different artists and factories.

 

Maple Brand Needle Book. Collection of J. Megan Mays

This family of four is traveling by air. Or maybe they are welcoming Daddy home after an arduous journey by propeller plane. Gone are the days when we dressed up to travel.

Reliance Needle Book. Collection of J. Megan Mays. Made in Japan.

This couple is off to the stars on their own private rocket.

 

Atomic Gold Eye Needle Book. Collection of J. Megan Mays. Made in Japan.

Meanwhile, back home, we revisit the theme of women and children sewing. Or, in this case, Mom is sewing and the kids are fighting.

 

My Own needle book, Collection of J. Megan Mays. Made in Japan

And here we are back to one of the endless variations of a group of women sewing and embroidering.

 

Lovely Lady Needle Book, Collection of J. Megan Mays. Made in Japan

So, thanks to Megan for letting me use her collection and I hope you enjoyed it.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN VINTAGE POSTCARDS

This summer marks the 400th Anniversary of Samuel Champlain discovering  invading the body of water known by the Abenaki as Biawbagok - the waters in between, and by the Iroquois as Caniadari Guarunti, the door to the country. The hoopla over the quadricentennial of Lake Champlain now begins.

Ephemera fans can rejoice not in Native American images but in a bounty of European-American images produced over the last hundred or so years. Here are but a few I've collected:

 

Postcard. Steamboat Vermont. copyright 1909. PSAW ephemera collections

 

Postcard back.

"This is a picture of the first Steamboat on Lake Champlain. (and the second in the World) It was built and launched at Burlington Vermont, in 1808, just 200 years after Champlain had entered its waters in a birch bark canoe.

The owners and builders were two brothers, John and James Winans; it was called the "Vermont;" and it was 120 feet long, 20 feet beam, 167 tons measurement; with an engine of 20 horse power, and commanded by Capt. John Winans"

 

Postcard. Steamer Ticonderoga.  Ephemera Collections PSAW.

The Ticonderoga is now at the Shelburne Museum, Shelburne VT.

"Built in Shelburne in 1906, it operated as a day boat on Lake Champlain serving ports along the New York and Vermont shores until 1953. In 1955, the Ticonderoga was moved two miles overland from the lake to Shelburne Museum in a remarkable engineering effort that stands as one of the great feats of maritime preservation."

 

Rock Point, Lake Champlain. Postcard. PSAW ephemera collections

Lake Champlain from Red Rocks. Postcard PSAW ephemera collections.

Red Rocks is about a mile from Pine Street Art Works. 

 

Wells, Richardson & Co, Diamond Dyes Trade card. PSAW ephemera collections

Wells, Richardson & Co was a huge business in Burlington during the late 1800's up to the 1930's. I've always imagined that this image takes place at Red Rocks. See the Lake in the background?

HAPPY JUNETEENTH

From Wikipedia:

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. State of Texas in 1865. Celebrated on June 19, the term is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, and is recognized as a state holiday in 31 of the United States.

The holiday originated in Galveston, Texas; for more than a century, the state of Texas was the primary home of Juneteenth celebrations. However, one small community in Arkansas (Wilmar) boasts that its celebration, called “June Dinner” has been consistently observed and celebrated, except for one year, since approximately 1870.[citation needed] Since 1980, Juneteenth has been an official state holiday in Texas. It is considered a “partial staffing holiday” meaning that state offices do not close but some employees will be using a floating holiday to take the day off.

Though the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued on September 22, 1862, with an effective date of January 1, 1863, it had minimal immediate effect on most slaves’ day-to-day lives, particularly in Texas, which was almost entirely under Confederate control. Texas was the most resistant state to the Emancipation Proclamation, as the entire state was heavily poor and reliant on slave labor. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its slaves. Legend has it while standing on the balcony of Galveston’s Ashton Villa, Granger read the contents of “General Order No. 3”:

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

That day has since become known as Juneteenth, a name derived from a portmanteau of the words June and nineteenth.

Former slaves in Galveston rejoiced in the streets with jubilant celebrations. Juneteenth celebrations began in Texas the following year.Across many parts of Texas, freed people pooled their funds to purchase land specifically for their communities’ increasingly large Juneteenth gatherings — including Houston’s Emancipation Park, Mexia’s Booker T. Washington Park, and Emancipation Park in Austin.Juneteenth celebrations include a wide range of festivities, such as parades, street fairs, cookouts, or park parties and include such things as music and dancing or even contests of physical strength and intellect. Baseball and other popular American games may also be played.

 

The Emancipation Proclamation:1863. The Granger Collection.

From Juneteenth.com:

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19^th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.

Today Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. It is a day, a week, and in some areas a month marked with celebrations, guest speakers, picnics and family gatherings. It is a time for reflection and rejoicing. It is a time for assessment, self-improvement and for planning the future. Its growing popularity signifies a level of maturity and dignity in America long over due. In cities across the country, people of all races, nationalities and religions are joining hands to truthfully acknowledge a period in our history that shaped and continues to influence our society today. Sensitized to the conditions and experiences of others, only then can we make significant and lasting improvements in our society. 

64 CIRCUS

I took this photo in Greenport, NY in 2000. A misty early morning at the circus. For some reason, I feel like posting it today.

 

Circus. Greenport, NY. 2000. Photo by Liza Cowan.

INTERVIEW WITH LIZA AT THE BLOG "EPHEMERA"

 Ephemera is one of my favorite blogs. The impressario (host/blogster)  Marty Weil interviewed me recently and the post went up today. Check it out, and keep it bookmarked because there's always something fascinating going on there for all of you ephemera lovers. 

Here's a snippet:

"One of the ways I use ephemera differently than many people is that I work a lot with details. I love to see what happens when a small portion of the item is isolated and enlarged, so you will often see details on my blog and in the reprints. My photography is often about small abstracted details of larger objects, so it's not a big stretch to see how I come to love the abstracted details of printed images. "

W. David Powell

One of my favorite artists, W. David Powell, is now showing at Pine Street Art Works. David and I share a love of vernacular images, scientific and advertising ephemera, and new ways to look at and incorporate cultural detritus in new art.

 

W. David Powell, Hail To The Hybrid, used by permission of the artist.

 

W. David Powell. Machine For Manufacturing Beauty. Used by permission of the artist

Most of the pieces in the show "were constructed in Photoshop from diverse source materials that range from Anton Mesmer's noteboooks, Maxwell's electrical diagrams to phrenological, physiological and geological texts. Numerous other books as well as images from contemporary medical imagers technology provide further material for creating combinations that invite new interpretation and analysis. The use of digital montage has become my primary medium for art making, though I sometimes use old cut-and-paste methodology along with traditional drawing and painting tools. The beauty of the digital medium for me is that it can become just another tool in my art kit. It does not necessarily replace traditional media, it just augments them." W. David Powell.

 

W. David Powell, Broadcasting Democracy. Used by permission of the artist.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

 JELLO, the Birthday Party. Rose O'Neill.

 Just thought you'd like to know.

PSAW ON DESIGN*SPONGE

Paige Russell, maker of the wonderful vessels we have for sale at Pine Street Art Works, is doing a guest blog at Design*Sponge this week.  Today she wrote about Burlington VT shops and artists, and featured some stores in Burlington's South End, including us!

Design*Sponge is one of the top design blogs in the country, and it's really rather thrilling to be mentioned on it. And it originates in Brooklyn, my former home. Yay Brooklyn.

Paige used to work next door at The Lamp Shop, and had a studio further down Pine Street, but, alas, she moved back to Canada.

Paige Russel Vessels. Photo Liza Cowan.

So hats off to Paige for writing about our little city (especially the South End, which is often treated like the Siberia of Burlington,) and to Design*Sponge for having the good taste to invite Paige to guest blog.

Check out Paige's blog, it's always worth a read.