| style art decor |
If you’re planning on visiting the Outer Cape this summer, there’s a new gallery you should definitely check out – Farm. Co-owned by hip NYC graphic designer Susie Nielsen, whom I had the pleasure of meeting when I popped in the other day, Farm brings cutting edge paintings, drawings, and installations to the Wellfleet art scene. The space is charming too. (And, yes, there was a glimpse of sunshine here.)
Walk around back for the view.
If you’re design-oriented in Boston, you know Abodeon, a home furnishings shop on Mass. Ave. in Cambridge. It’s filled with treasures, with a mid-century modern and of-the-moment bent, all mixed together. Owner Terri Anderson emailed me last week to say that they’ve finally (finally, finally) got their website up and running, and it’s even ecommerce enabled. Yay! (Not that I plan on buying anything; it’s convenient for sourcing stuff for articles. Really.) She says, “There’s still much more for me to photograph and add, but we’re happy with the initial look and feel.” Here’s a screen shot of the home page, and a sampling of supremely covetable stuff.
Eva Solo Knife Stand, $135
Nobuho Miya Birds, $98
Alvar Aalto Green Vase, $95
Loop Candelabra, $30
Cherner Chairs, $475/pair
Late 1950s to early 60s black walnut chairs with black vinyl pads designed in 1958 by Norman Cherner for Plycraft.
Massive Spring Coils, $285 each
Late 19th to early 20th century enormous steel spring coils with hand forged ends and a dark patina. Each stands 31″ high and weighs 40 lbs. Exceptional pieces of industrial sculpture.
Brass Glove Molds, $85 each
Early 20th century four-fingered glove molds in brass and copper (the skirt on the left glove is steel). In untouched, weathered condition. Graphic examples of American industrial history.
I’ve been on the Cape a week now, but other than a beach jaunt with the boys on Saturday, I’ve pretty much done nothing but work (and vacuum; not that that’s any fun). So while I wish I could show you the artistic highlights going on ’round these really artsy parts, no such luck. Instead, I’ve dug into my personal collection and came up with Connie Johnson, who does fun and fashiony collages. I discovered her at the “Small Works” show at the Copley Society of Art in December 2005. I checked out her blog, and though she hasn’t updated it since last September, I was able to learn a bit about her work and grab some other examples.
First, here’s the piece I purchased at CoSo, which pre-dates the pieces shown here. I keep it propped up on my bedroom bookshelf with my chicklit : )
“Wearable #13”
Johnson is self-taught, and makes many variations of whatever theme she’s focusing on. In 2003 she started doing monoprints with a vague idea of making skirts, which evolved into making collage figures with paper bag heads that she placed on the monoprints. Johnon works with found household papers such as sugar and flour bags, candy and pasta wrappers, torn scraps of wrapping paper, onion bags, and other trash, to create the outfits, complete with accessories. The backgrounds of many of these ladies are the short stories she wrote about them, which are posted in full on her blog.
Lady #3 “There Is No Prince Charming”
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Lady #6 “Bride”
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Lady #13
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Lady #14 “All Dressed Up and No Place To Go
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Lady #38
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“All Dressed Up and No Place To Go”
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This next set is from the group Johnson labels “The Ladies Part 2.” No paper bags over the heads of these dames, so some of them don’t have any faces. Many of them have much denser written backgrounds than the first group.
“Blending In”
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“The Pearls”
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“After He Left #2”
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In early 2007 (I think), Johnson created interesting collages using roses made out tar paper, along with pieces found on walk, like garlic stems, birch bark and hickory seed pods.
“Icons 2”
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The most recent work posted on the blog is a dress she found at a local clothing swap, that hung in her studio for a bit, before she transformed for a piece to submit for a show last fall at the Concord Art Association. As you can see, she’s incorporated tar paper rosesas well as mini artworks which she strung together as a necklace.
“Wedding Dress”
I wonder what she’s been up to lately. . .
I don’t know much about Martha’s Vineyard. I went for the first time last year, to see a house for a Globe magazine piece. I had a few hours to walk around Edgartown (got a cute Michael Stars ombré dress), so it was fun. Not long after, I went back for story for Cape Cod & Islands Home. This time it was in and out – I think I was on the island all of two hours. I ferried over again yesterday, for another piece for them. Again, a quickie, but I had two hours to kill in Oak Bluffs before my return crossing. After grabbing a sandwich and assessing the shops as tourist trap junk, I decided to wander. I happened upon this sign: The Martha’s Vineyard Campmeeting Association. Hmm. Looked like a little village; the houses were charming, all gingerbread cottages painted pretty colors, huddled together like, well, camp cabins. I took a ton of pictures (unfortunately it wasn’t sunny, so the colors don’t shine), and when I got home did some brief research.
According to the Martha’s Vineyard Campmeeting Association website, the enclave contains “the most perfectly preserved collection of Carpenter Gothic style architecture in the world.” How they came about is really quite interesting. The association is a non-profit religious organization that was established in 1835.
According to the MMVCA, from the first campmeeting in 1835 until 1859, ministers preached from a makeshift stand. In 1869, a huge tent was raised over Wesleyan Grove (a common area) to protect the congregation from the heat and rain. In 1879, the iron Tabernacle was built in Wesleyan Grove, which was restored and upgraded in 1999 by the architecture firm Durkee Brown.
Photo courtesy of Durkee Brown Architects
Thousands attended the services. They were housed in large tents knows as “society tents.” Conditions were cramped, with men and women sleeping dormitory-style on opposite sides of a central canvas divider. Over time, families began leasing small lots on which to pitch their own individual tents. In the 1860s and 1870s, the family tents were rapidly replaced with permanent wooden cottages. At one time there were about 500 cottages; today there are just over 300.
The cottages are privately owned; many have been passed down through generations. Some are pristine, others are a bit ramshackle, but all are adorable. There are usually some available for rent – see the current listings here. The Tabernacle hosts all sorts of events, and interdenominational worship services are held there on summer Sunday mornings.
Here are my photos of the cottages:
Last Saturday night my husband and I got a sitter and ventured out to a party at a friend’s in the South End. Having left the house in a hurry (why stick around when you’ve hired a sitter?) we found ourselves across town way too early. So we wandered about, and ran into friends in front of a community garden near Braddock Park (not sure of its name). They were with their nine year old daughter, Claire, who, at her mom’s urging, showed me “the vine.” Turns out Claire is the youngest member of the South End Knitters.
Having just Googled “South End Knitters,” I’ve now learned that this isn’t the first time the group has adorned mundane objects in the city. It seems, in addition to scarves, booties, and the like, soft graffiti is their thing. According to this article in the Boston Globe from January of this year, the South End knitters dressed a lamppost outside the Flour Bakery on Washington Street, where they often meet. The article goes on to expalin that their public fiber art was inspired by Knitta Please, a group of “guerilla knitters” that was founded in Houston by Magda Sayeg in 200.
Here are some more shots of the garland and the garden. I was armed only with my iphone, but the shots aren’t too bad. Happy weekend!
