Occasional Oasis

Leaf Wrapped Fish

2011-12-10T23:23:00.001-05:00

How to cook fish in an open fire over coals using a wrapping of leaves to steam the meat while keeping it from burning...The leaves used are sour wood and tulip poplar. Inside we stuffed mint, lemon balm and a naturalized mint called Shiso (Japanese) or parilla. The leaves were tied in place using inner bark string from the tulip poplar tree. To help hold the leaves in place and to enhance the flavor we made toothpicks from sassafras wood which we pushed through the wrapped bundle. Finally the whole bundle was placed either directly on hot coals or on a soap stone griddle over the fire to cook. The results were fantastic - a meal steamed to perfection with hints of the leaves spices throughout. Open Fire Cooking of fish wrapped in leaves by Steven Bell

Will Beckers

2011-11-06T00:22:00.003-04:00

Land Art in the Forest - TV LIMBURG - Belgium - By Will Beckers

Re-Cover, by Land Art artist, Will Beckers at the Verbeke Foundation, Antwerp

Coffer

2011-09-10T15:22:00.001-04:00

John Coffer on THIS MUST BE THE PLACE - a series of short films that explore the idea of home; what makes them, how they represent us, why we need them.

Between City Streets

2011-08-31T11:12:00.003-04:00

Steve Brill leads over 100 curious eaters in search of wild foods growing between the streets of DC | Andre Szabo

The wild man has a new Wild Edibles app.

Recently in the New York Times: Enjoy Park Greenery, City Says, but Not as Salad

Climbing in Yosemite

2011-08-22T14:01:00.003-04:00

On Assignment for a National Geographic feature story Renan Ozturk, tells North Face athlete Jimmy Chin's story of modern day climbing in Yosemite

Kinfolk

2011-07-20T03:52:00.000-04:00

Kinfolk A guide for Small Gatherings. Kinfolk is a growing community of artists with a shared interest in small gatherings. We recognize that there is something about a table shared by friends, not just a wedding or once-a-year holiday extravaganza, that anchors our relationships and energizes us. We have come together to create Kinfolk as our collaborative way of advocating the natural approach to entertaining that we love.

Every element of Kinfolk – the features, photography, and general aesthetics – are consistent with the way we feel entertaining should be: simple, uncomplicated, and less contrived. Kinfolk is the marriage of our appreciation for art and design and our love for spending time with family and friends.

Ribboned Asparagus Salad

2011-07-20T03:37:00.000-04:00

Ribboned Asparagus Salad | Tiger in a Jar

Rainbow Gathering

2011-05-22T10:54:00.000-04:00

Rainbow Gatherings are temporary intentional communities, typically held in outdoor settings, and espousing and practicing ideals of peace, love, harmony, freedom and community, as a consciously expressed alternative to mainstream popular culture, consumerism, capitalism and mass media. | Benoit Paille

Somewhere to Disappear

2011-05-15T10:20:00.002-04:00

"It's not really about running away, it's about the desire to run away"

Somewhere to Disappear Laure Flammarion and Arnaud Uyttenhove, two young European filmmakers followed, the American photographer Alec Soth all over America during winter 2008, summer 2008 and spring 2009. Riding in the back of the artist's van, they drove more than 20 000 miles together going from one state to another, and from one season to another. The result is a 57 minutes movie about the photographer and his project, which was called 'How to disappear in America', about people who decided to withdraw themselves from society. The road trip offers a series of incredible meetings but it also tells the story of an introspective journey.

Rooms with a View

2011-05-15T03:26:00.003-04:00

"Everything at a distance turns into poetry: distant mountains, distant people, distant events: all become Romantic." Novalis, 1798

Rooms with a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century at the Met.

This exhibition focuses on a subject treasured by the Romantics: the view through an open window. German, French, Danish, and Russian artists first took up the theme in the second decade of the nineteenth century. Juxtaposing near and far, the window is a metaphor for unfulfilled longing. Painters distilled this feeling in pictures of hushed, spare rooms with contemplative figures; studios with artists at work; and open windows as the sole motif.

Les Nymphéas

2011-04-25T12:19:00.000-04:00

Imagine, a circular room...covered with water, dotted with these plants to the very horizon, walls of a transparency alternately green and mauve, the calm and silence of the still waters reflecting the open blossoms. The tones are vague, deliciously nuanced, with a dreamlike delicacy.
—Claude Monet, 1898

Monet's Les Nymphéas by Smarthistory Videos

Eye of the Day

2011-03-19T00:02:00.002-04:00

A video poem by Mike Ladd. Filmed inside an old kampong house at Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia, in 2009. The video features five poems in traditional pantum form which are linked to the five Muslim prayer times of the day: dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and night. The Eye of the Day won equal first prize at the 2010 Poetronica awards for a multimedia poem.

Wild Man

2011-02-02T10:53:00.003-05:00

David Abram is an American philosopher, cultural ecologist, and performance artist, best known for his work bridging the philosophical tradition of phenomenology with environmental and ecological issues.

We are human only in contact and conviviality with what is not human. Only in reciprocity with what is Other do we begin to heal ourselves The Ecology of Magic David Abram

David Abram is the the author of Becoming Animal Read an Excerpt and The Spell of the Sensuous

The Charpoy

2011-01-27T22:54:00.001-05:00

The Charpoy: A light, portable, indoor, outdoor bed of Indian origin traditionally made from wood and jute twine.

“The beds in India are very light. A single man can carry one and every traveller should have his own bed, which his slave carries about on his head. The bed consists of four conical legs on which four staves are laid ; between they plait a sort of ribbon of silk or cotton. When you lie on it you need nothing else to render the bed sufficiently elastic.”-iii. 380. *Ibn Batuta. Voyages d’Ibn Batoutah, Texte Arabe, (Societe Asiatique). 4 vols. Paris, 1853-58.

Charpoys made in Malaysia

Man in a Blizzard

2010-12-31T03:35:00.000-05:00

Man in a Blizzard | Jamie Stuart

This film deserves to win the Academy Award for best live-action short subject says Roger Ebert

Home

2010-11-29T01:55:00.000-05:00

Home - the most important place in the world by Martin de Thurah for Ikea

Patterns of Fire

2010-11-25T12:44:00.002-05:00

Patterns of Fire via Studio life quartet

Acoustic Botany

2010-11-20T10:00:00.003-05:00

Genetically Engineered Sound Garden. The debate around Genetic Engineering is currently centered around vital issues such as food, healthcare and the environment. However, we have been shaping nature for thousands of years, not only to suit our needs, but our most irrational desires. Beautiful flowers, mind altering weeds and crabs shaped like human faces all thrive on these desires, giving them an evolutionary advantage. By presenting a fantastical acoustic garden, a controlled ecosystem of entertainment, I aim to explore our cultural and aesthetic relationship to nature, and to question its future in the age of Synthetic Biology. David Benque

Art of the Eco Mindshift

2010-10-16T22:36:00.003-04:00

Natalie Jeremijenko's unusual lab puts art to work, and addresses environmental woes by combining engineering know-how with public art and a team of volunteers. These real-life experiments include: Walking tadpoles, texting "fish," planting fire-hydrant gardens and more. TED

The Art of Sticks

2010-08-07T02:02:00.002-04:00

A look at the work of artist Patrick Dougherty, who uses found sticks, branches, and trees to construct huge sculptures.

For three weeks in August, artist Patrick Dougherty and a team of volunteers are constructing a monumental woven-wood sculpture in honor of Brooklyn Botanic Garden's centennial.

Whispering in the Leaves

2010-07-19T10:01:00.003-04:00

Chris Watson’s Whispering in the Leaves is an extraordinary sound installation, using recordings and natural history broadcast to transport us to the far-flung, dense rainforests of South and Central America. Throughout Kew Gardens’ Summer festival, the Palm House will be diffused with the dawn and dusk choruses of the myriad of creatures native to these lush tropical landscapes. Whispering in the leaves.

eel•water•rock•man

2010-07-04T10:55:00.003-04:00

eel•water•rock•man by Orion Magazine

Passage for Two

2010-04-16T12:45:00.002-04:00

Passage for Two” is the fourth movement in NY Export: Opus Jazz, featuring the choreography of Jerome Robbins and music by Robert Prince. This excerpt was shot in June 2007 before the opening of the new High Line park in New York City, when the former elevated railway was overgrown with wild weeds and grass. | PBS

New Zealand

2010-03-31T12:48:00.003-04:00

How the Landscape of New Zealand has influenced the work of David Trubridge.

Sparkle

2010-02-22T12:21:00.004-05:00

Sparkle. South Street Seaport. Music Double Rondo by Steve Howe.

Stone River

2010-02-21T20:24:00.003-05:00

Stone River: The Passion of Jon Piasecki,A short profile of landscape artist and Orion contributor Jon Piasecki.Orion Magazine

Midwinter in Sweden

2010-01-15T11:48:00.003-05:00

Midwinter in Sweden by Henning S

Building with Whole Trees

2009-11-06T09:56:00.003-05:00

a whole, unmilled tree can support 50 percent more weight than the largest piece of lumber milled from the same tree

Building with Whole Trees | NYTimes

Parallel Lines

2009-09-23T17:24:00.002-04:00

parallel lines by ricfortune

Suddenly, Last Summer

2009-09-17T19:57:00.002-04:00

Suddenly, last summer by Leonardo Dalessandri

Birds on the Wires

2009-09-11T21:38:00.004-04:00

Birds on the Wires by Jarbas Agnelli

Winslow Homer’s Maine

2009-09-06T20:39:00.002-04:00

Winslow Homer’s Maine | NYTimes

In Search of WabiSabi

2009-09-04T16:11:00.003-04:00

The perfect antidote to the materialism of modern life ?

In Search of WabiSabi | Marcel Theroux

North Coast

2009-08-18T20:34:00.001-04:00

North Coast | Allister Reynolds

Get Back Outside

2009-08-02T10:00:00.003-04:00

A walk in the woods | Orion Magazine
A growing body of scientific evidence identifies strong correlations between experience in the natural world and children’s ability to learn, along with their physical and emotional health. Stress levels, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, cognitive functioning—and more—are positively affected by time spent in nature.

How to Lick a Slug | NYTimes
getting kids awed by nature is as important as getting them reading

Solitude

2009-07-28T01:27:00.003-04:00

Solitude by robin risser

Sea Sky Ocean

2009-07-26T15:24:00.004-04:00

Photographs: Sea Sky , Ocean, Video: Momenta by Judy Sternbach

Kuroshio Sea

2009-07-21T21:36:00.003-04:00

This was shot at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan | theradblog

Poet's Landscape

2009-07-06T15:45:00.002-04:00

Mary Oliver's Provincetown, A Poet's Landscape | NYTimes

This is not a poem about a dream,
though it could be. ...

The Land and Words of Mary Oliver, the Bard of Provincetown | NYTimes

Nature & Numbers

2009-06-27T22:33:00.003-04:00

nature and numbers by Bethany Lesko

Nostalgia

2009-06-14T21:30:00.003-04:00

Nostalgia (for things that never were) by Nilz

Ohio

2009-06-02T17:21:00.006-04:00

ohio by Obar

Bicycle Days

2009-05-28T02:34:00.004-04:00

Image by Giles landscape winner of RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2009 Gold Medal for 'The Fenland Alchemist Garden'

Bikes Outsold Cars at the Start of 2009 | Fast Company

Bicycle Films : Venice Beach by newsuperhero

Bicycle = good | clusterflock

New Moon

2009-05-23T14:50:00.002-04:00

new moon by xpectations

Sansula

2009-05-14T03:46:00.002-04:00

Sansula Dominik Eulberg musicvideo | dirk rauscher

Wave Field

2009-05-08T13:09:00.002-04:00

Maya Lin's 'Wave Field'| NYTimes

Urban Nature

2009-05-04T18:16:00.003-04:00

Urban Nature by Alex Horner

Wabi Sabi in Milan

2009-04-27T20:54:00.005-04:00

An Ancient Japanese Aesthetic, Revived in Milan | Fast Company

Sopheap Pich

2009-04-15T20:44:00.003-04:00

cambodian artist sopheap pich via designboom
'my main materials are rattan, bamboo, and metal wire – the stuff that is common and
cheap in cambodia. my tools are simple: razorblades, knives, axes, pliers, a blowtorch.
the manual labor allows me the time to contemplate on the forms and my relationship to it.this relationship between the viewer and the form is what matters most to me, and each pieces are open to interpretations by the viewer.' sopheap pich

Big Bambú

2009-04-11T23:39:00.003-04:00

Mike + Doug Starn: Big Bambú | Vernissage TV

Vegetal Chair

2009-04-07T02:15:00.003-04:00

Vegetal Chair by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

Finnhouette

2009-03-26T23:49:00.002-04:00

finnhouette by wes johnson

Drawn in the Sand

2009-03-17T14:29:00.004-04:00

Jim Denevan's Sand Drawings

Land Diaries

2009-03-12T16:13:00.004-04:00

I recently discovered the work of Brigiata on flickr which I find extraordinarily beautiful - the colors, choice of material, the collaging and mixing of actual organic material are quite gorgeous. Above are images from her photoset called Land Diaries which she describes as a series of diaries based on my memory of places I have been. See also her Sea Diaries.

Winter Scene

2009-03-08T14:21:00.002-04:00

Time Lapse of Winter Scene from mockmoon

Harmonium at Pond

2009-03-05T20:00:00.000-05:00

Harmonium at Pond from Mark McKnight

Mushroom Chair

2009-03-02T17:55:00.001-05:00

'mushrooms ate my furniture' by shinwei rhoda yen | designboom

Nature Tent

2009-02-27T20:54:00.002-05:00

NATURE TENT from Greta Lil

Japan's Amazing Rice Fields and Farms

2009-02-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

Satoyama: Japan's Amazing Rice Fields and Farms | treehugger

The mind needs nature

2009-01-26T20:41:00.002-05:00

How the city hurts your brain...And what you can do about it | Boston.com

Birds

2009-01-24T20:21:00.000-05:00

Birds a flickr set | John & Fish

Cold Geometry

2009-01-17T12:03:00.002-05:00

When there is snow and ice in the city, interesting images emerge as they add a pale blunt to the urban geometry simultaneously tracing its lines. Then there is the canvas it provides for shadows to now appear darker and crisper or soft and diffuse. Add people and automobiles to the mix and their tracks provide yet another element to the picture. On the left, somewhere near chinatown the circular bed and double shadow strangely remind me of a bowl and chopsticks. On the right, near my apartment, the tyre tracks of the park warden's vehicles add an expressionistic mark to counterpoint the soft shadows and the clean line of the wall.

Fall Meadow

2008-11-10T10:09:00.002-05:00

Sunday afternoon at Sheep Meadow in Central Park was a picture of reverie. The slanting light filtered through golden leaves and cast long, long shadows. The hushed crowd gazed idly, spoke softly, tapping at their laptops in quiet soltitude. Funny to compare this ebb to the last time I passed here when the tide was at a frenzied high.

Gourd Season

2008-10-15T11:40:00.002-04:00

It's gourd season in Manhattan and I don't mean it in the sense of a growing season. What I mean is gourds are now visually prevalent everywhere in the city. There's crates of them in the farmer's market and every deli and grocery store has them in boxes or stacked outside. These odd and vibrantly colored objects brighten up the city for the most part of October, an overture to the Halloween festivities up ahead.

The Future of Trees

2008-09-19T10:33:00.003-04:00

In April 2007, walking through Madison Square Park I saw this thought provoking scene of the installation of Roxy Paine's metal tree sculptures. I wondered then, is this the future of trees? That we will someday be required to build them? In December 2007 I saw them again and thought how beautiful they looked on a cold winter's day, their stainless steel limbs magnifying the dull winter light. Today I came across two random pieces of information about Air Trees and Plastic Trees and thought how uncanny that the Madison Square trees were a premonition of things to come.

Late Hot Color

2008-09-04T18:16:00.004-04:00

A noticeable new development in the farmers market this week - intense colors from bunches of summer flowers like these Bachelor Buttons. The Zinnias above looked the best contrasted against their dull metal containers. The hot color coincides with the cooler weather of the past week making way for a return to hotter weather. It seems a little odd to be shutting the windows and turning the air conditioning back on but I not complaining.

Plein Air

2008-08-29T21:03:00.004-04:00

An interesting contrast of similar but different activities in Central Park today. Both were capturing something in the park- on the right a pair of painters serenely painting on small canvases, the other a team of assistants buzzing around a photographer. You can't see but she's using some kind of large format camera.This was unusual, shoots are usually fashion shoots with models, didn't see any and the camera suggest that the were taking a landscape photo.

Rustic Daydream

2008-08-24T13:13:00.009-04:00

I've no idea where the above photos came from, so am unable to properly credit them. All I know is that they are in one of my inspiration folders and I find myself regularly going back to take another look at them - so I am selfishly posting them here to find them more easily again. One reason I keep going back is because the topic of sheds and little houses keeps re emerging in the home/architecture/lifestyle sphere. Everytime I come across the subject I like to indulge in a little daydreaming of a little house of my own out in the sticks.

The image on the right is almost exactly how I would like it - a one bedroom or one room dwelling connected to a small studio. I love how it is realized here where the passageway is a covered deck area with table and chairs. Inside I'd like a wood burning stove and rustic everything, stone sink, rough hewn granite counters.

+ Books:Wabi Sabi House, Finnish Summer Houses, A Place of my Own, A Little House of my Own

A Tray of Plums

2008-07-20T00:23:00.008-04:00

Local fruit has arrived at the Union Square market. Berries and New Jersey peaches and then there was this tray of plums. Was it the realness of all the hues of ripeness from dense greens to sticky reds, the crumpled leaves, the bruises, the rusticity of the wooden tray they were in. This was no ordinary tray of plums. This was the embodiment of a life, of orchards ands seasons slipping away which as it comes perilously close to disappearing, we desperately want more than ever. I didn't buy any, I didn't want just a few, I wanted the whole tray

Down by the Water

2008-07-11T03:23:00.005-04:00

Down by the water things are blurred, abstracted, distorted. The images are from a variety of places Central Park, New York Botanical and Mamaroneck but they all share the same sense of being counterpointed, clear shapes against ripples and blurs, organic lines against rhythmic ones. Something happens when you get close to the water and it changes in an instant.

Desire Path

2008-07-01T16:10:00.003-04:00

There's something about this term 'desire path' that I find extremely attractive. I came across it a while ago- it describes a path that 'isn't designed but rather is worn casually away by people finding the shortest distance between two points.'. Its an interesting riff on the metaphor of path less trodden/travelled. Where once this might have been a choice between two similar paths, a desire path now represents something that is only accessible if you're on foot and might, not only get you there quickly but also more scenicly.

The beginnings of one pictured above is a scenic hypotenuse that takes you through a small grove of trees and along past the water, away from the heavily trafficked right angles of a busy four lane avenue and street.

Inside Out

2008-06-23T22:50:00.004-04:00

There's an art installation at Wave Hill where the walls are covered with images of a forest with real branches poking out of them. Its the window however that had me connecting this image to this moment in New York City where the temperatures are just about ok still to have your windows open. After an eternity of closed winter windows and for only a brief few weeks before they are shut again to keep the cool air conditioning in- we enjoy the pleasures of having the air and sunlight enter our private spaces without any boundaries. A pleasure that bears the price of being able to listen to every ambient sound out there. At certain times of the day however when its quiet, this season of open windows when inside and outside comingle, is another of summer's great pleasures.

Sweet

2008-06-14T02:28:00.003-04:00

The honey and honey related products people at the market brought their workers for a day trip into the city which was much appreciated by the gawking city folk and I'm sure good PR for the honey folk. I not sure if the bees were really getting the concept of a day off- they seemed awful busy. I don't think I've ever seen a queen bee live laying an egg. Sweet.

They also had a lot of pollen products presumably for allergy sufferers - now there's something that realy needs to be local.

C'mon People Now

2008-06-02T02:58:00.003-04:00

Can we all just get along? Apparently so. This was Sheep Meadow, Central Park on Memorial Day. Everybody was playing, talking, laughing - it felt like a page out of the sixties man except with bottled water, laptops and cell phones - a lot of them.

High Resolution
Soundtrack: The Youngbloods, Get Together.

Skeletal

2008-05-29T01:21:00.005-04:00

While the city grows increasingly flush with foliage, and the sidewalks sprout outdoor patios and all manner of containers overflowing with plants and flowers this stark image of the skeletal remains of a wall climber looked striking and strangely beautiful. Like an odd coral or the bleached bones of an unfortunate creature.

Manhattan Celtic

2008-05-25T21:14:00.003-04:00

I wonder what that is, I asked not expecting my friend to know the answer, but he did. Its the Irish Hunger Memorial he said. We went to take a look.

It's a strange space, authentically recreating an Irish landscape of cottage ruins but oddly, the detailed recreation seemed a little disneyesque. It grows on you though and I'm curious to see what else will grow there in the summer. There were bluebells and briar roses on that windy afternoon we came across it.

May Afternoon

2008-05-18T12:19:00.003-04:00

The weather has been somewhat patchy here in NYC with sunny days sandwiched between many gray rainy ones. Saturday however was a good one and although it was borderline temperatures for actually sunbathing, it didn't deter a lot of folk. In fact a lot of them did exactly that.

Baby Greens

2008-05-12T21:41:00.002-04:00

So young. So Fresh. So Expensive. Here's the incentive to expand my growing repertoire on my kitchen windowsill of just herbs. I'm definitly going to recycle some Ghetto Greenhouses and grow me some Baby Greens this summer and while I'm at it I might even try some potatoes in a bag of compost. Then I could make one of my favorite recipes- pasta with potatoes and Arugula from Alice's Vegetable book.

Another Wrap

2008-05-08T00:53:00.004-04:00

A deja vu moment at the market today. Almost exactly a year ago I took this picture at the market of alstroemeria wrapped in pastel tissue. This year its was these snapdragons- again the pastel shades of the tissue paper caught my eye and compelled to capture this spring image.

Wild Eggs

2008-05-06T10:41:00.002-04:00

The eggs on the left are Wild Turkey and the ones on the right are Pheasant. I didn't really want to carry eggs around so didn't buy any that day. Unfortunately I haven't seen them at the market since so can't tell you what they taste like. I'm intrigued though- I remember thinking those pheasant eggs looked really dense and the turkey eggs looked really fragile.

New York Tulip

2008-05-04T12:10:00.003-04:00

This guy made me laugh out loud. He belongs here for sure in New York City - he's got that me first, look at me I'm bloomin here New Yorker spotlight hogging gene. It's not going to last buddy, 15 more minutes and you'll be another one of us screaming for attention. Maybe I'm being a little harsh. Maybe us New Yorkers are more like these guys- an assorted bunch of 'interesting' types -moody goth black tulip lurking in the back, flamboyant purple tulip up front and skinny supermodel tulip swaying in the breeze.

Less Is More - Green

2008-04-28T03:00:00.006-04:00

If thats the case - why design another t shirt that potentially has negative consequences. Well at some point somebody needs new clothes - so given that that is the case, I'm going to make the more important point - here's why you should buy it from someone like me and not some large corp.

First there's the fact that you have a choice of a domestic made and organic garment on which to print this design on. Then - only when you choose to, will a shirt actually be printed. The printing process used is direct ink jet printing - no screens with excess inks to wash. The design puts all the textures into the graphic- there are no long washes or chemicals to break down the print. Those are the tangibles. As an ex insider of the the apparel industry I can tell you that the design process is also significantly less green. Lets take a look at how the process might work.

Process at large apparel company (fluorescent lit space, 3 man design team, 1 technical designer, 3 merchants, 3 sales,1 VP of Sales, 1 VP Merchandising, President of Division)
Day one: Designer comes up with design concept.Design is sketched and presented on concept boards to present at meeting with design Merchandisers. 3 hours
Day two: Design meeting- merchandisers love the idea and suggest maybe a couple more designs on Green theme. 5 hours spent designing 3 more t shirts.
Day three: President of division gets a call from a retailer saying fashion colors are not selling.Senior VP of merchandising tells design to scrap additional designs, keep the original one but add two more that have a more traditional color base- like red white and blue.
Day four: 2 more t shirts designed, design specifications are created for the print and print placement. Technical design teeam sends product manufacturing specs.
3 weeks later: Print strikeoffs are recieved. 1 print is ok'd, 2 prints need to be resubmitted. 2 hours spent checking colors and sending comments to overseas office.
4 weeks later- fit samples are recieved and fitted with production team and fit model.
6 weeks later- prototype samples are received, fitted, 1 is rejected.
12 weeks later 4 sets of 4 salesmen samples are recieved and presented in showroom for market week. Two designs are dropped and don't make it to the showroom. and Sales team work to sell the line to retail store buyers.
15 weeks later product is costed and redirected to another factory with a better price- new paperwork is submitted
Production samples are recieved and fitted, commented, lab dips approved, at least twice more times.
20 weeks later garment is shipped to retailer by boat.
24 weeks later garment is in store

Process at Occasional Oasis(1 staff working in daylight from window):
Day one: Designer comes up with concept. Creates design. Uploads design. Available in online store 2 hours later.

Thats a whole lot less. Less is more Green.

Bread

2008-04-20T17:14:00.002-04:00

Twice now that I've been to the farmer's market, my eye has been drawn to two different stands that sell bread. The images seem to be really transportive- the rusticity of the one above could be from somewhere far, far away that I once visited. The faded sun bleached colors and patterns suggest a shop window in Greece or a market in an Italian square perhaps. And this image of seeds,whole grain loaves and warm yellows and browns- like a warm sunny day in a rustic kitchen.

Quick Change

2008-04-16T13:14:00.005-04:00

Afer the interminable sameness of cold winter days, Spring always seems to be in such a mad rush. Yesterday, walking around the city, there were flowers everywhere, people were in their t shirts as we went directly to a warm sunny day- whoa, easy. Change is good but why so quickly ? Slow down a little why don't you and let me enjoy what I've waited so patiently for.

Flower Surge

2008-04-10T01:35:00.003-04:00

Breaking News. Armies of flowers sighted at Union Square Market overwhelming innocent passerbys with a sudden jolt of color. Troops of Pansies and Violas, led the assault. Manhattanites leaving the scene seemed dramatically altered by what they have just witnessed. The surge is believed to be working.

A Requiem for Winter

2008-03-24T09:53:00.007-04:00

I filmed the clips for this on the vernal equinox- the first day of spring. It was around the edge of Mamaroneck harbor. Given that the subject is dried dead grasses, shrivelled leaves and the dry skeletons of last summer its fitting that it be a requiem for winter. The water seems symbolic of the life force of spring, regenerating and rehydrating a parched landscape full of dry dead stalks which we now bid a firm farwell.

Soundtrack: Ravel Jeux D'Eau
High Resolution

Earth is your Home

2008-03-08T18:29:00.003-05:00

A couple of years ago this article in the NYTimes about Paulette Cole in the NYTimes caught my eye. The idea that a company would factor in to their business plan environmental consciousness and social resonance was inspiring because it was being instituted by the owner of the company as a reflection of her own values. This wasn't a design or product trend that they were capitalizing on- this wasn't something that was being injected on the surface, this was happening at the root of this business' decision making. I have since made it a point to visit ABC Home and support them whenever I can- my most recent purchase a beautiful wool paisley shawl.

Recently I walked by their windows, something I always enjoy and their message continues to resonate. Coincidentally I noticed some press they've been recieving recently about their new initiative Home & Planet. Go support a company that continues to be principled about what they do- not forgetting that the taste level of everything in there is of an equally high standard.

Down by the Riverside

2008-02-25T21:18:00.006-05:00

I had something in mind when I went down to Riverside park on Sunday. I wanted to video some high contrast footage of trees and tree branches so that I could play with some effects I had in mind. When I got there, I was completely surprised to find the park filled with families with young children making good use of the recent snowfall. I ended up shooting some footage of them because they just looked so - happy.

I got home and still used the inky effect I had in mind and I like the result , it looks like a childhood memory of a Snow Day.

High Resolution

Soundtrack: Faust Arp by Radiohead

Flower District in February.

2008-02-13T21:59:00.008-05:00

More images from the Flower District on 28th st. I've put together some images that seem more urban- the monochrome colors of the catkins against the buildings, boxes of floral 'parts', stacked branches on the sidewalk.

Spring Deliveries

2008-02-02T23:48:00.000-05:00

They are toiling in the flower district of Manhattan to deliver Spring a little earlier to you. Brown paper packages pile up on the sidewalk and are hurried into shops. Here, in another shop who knows who long ago spring has already been there,waiting.

Brunch at the Park.

2008-01-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

I don't understand why this place 'doesnt get mobbed for brunch at the weekend although that's part of the reason I keep going back there, no waiting in line and a nice choice of table. In the depths of winter on a particularly cold day however the Park is plain uplifting. High ceilings in a space filled with natural light, open doors to an enclosed garden, giant clumps of bamboo growing into skylights and good food.

Winter Red

2008-01-22T22:46:00.000-05:00

Temperatures are down there right now so this scene in the East Village of warm reds and brick terracotta shades made me stop and take another look. I always love to see the shadows of trees or plants on buildings, it seems to charge them with a sort of living organic energy that breaks all the geometric man made shapes and lines. Here, even the different planes of branches, shadows, grafitti, red canopy seem intertwined.

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose.

2008-01-18T12:59:00.001-05:00

If only. On my way to meet a friend for lunch in Williamsburg the other day I stopped to ponder the dried shrivelled blooms of this rose. Its bare thorny stems almost the identical shade of color of the equally grim chain link fence that supported it, stark against a cold clear winter sky. The only reason I did, is because I had stopped in my tracks in the exact same spot this past summer to admire this. A wish sprang into my head, too early I know, for this other, very different rose to return soon.

Cape Moon

2007-12-17T16:27:00.001-05:00

Back in September when I was in Provincetown, there was an almost full moon almost every night I was there- not quite full until the very last night. Which drove me a little nuts wondering when I should film it. Would it be a clear night when it was full so that I could capture it? As it turned out, it was. I had actually biked out to Herring Cove beach to photograph the sunset when I noticed on my return journey a huge pink moon rising up above the grass beyond the beach car park. I went to see what it looked like on the town beach- beautiful, conjuring up the colors of an impressionist painitng. I then strung it up on a necklace of colored lights and framed it under Capt Jack's Wharf. Finally I raced over to the beach just outside town where it was high and majestic, the pool of light it cast an even match for the car lights on the road to Truro beside it.

Full Size
Soundtrack : Neil Young's Harvest Moon.

Blue Pumpkin

2007-10-31T22:10:00.000-04:00

I've never seen these before- Blue Pumpkins. They actually looked like Celadon Pottery. Gorgeous. There were of course the regular pumpkins at the market - one of which I bought to make my carving and then there were these strange crazy variegated ones called Turks Heads, and then the usual assorted squashes.

Harbor Reflections

2007-09-29T18:41:00.001-04:00

Did you see the sunset? My friend asked shortly after I arrived- yes I did, it peaked as our ferry was entering the harbor. Walking along the pier I was mesmerized by the amount of undulating color that was a combination of shadows, reflections, the color of water and the brilliant hues of a spectacular sunset. But it was disappearing quickly and I had luggage and didn't feel like getting my camera out.

I returned diligently for the next few nights, video camera in hand eager to recapture what I saw. No such luck. The first night -dull but with some interesting black water ripples. The next night I mistimed it, it was dark by the time I arrived and the water was choppy. The third night- something completely different. Nothing like the first night- but much softer, the light was pink and dreamy and the reflections much more interesting on the other side of the pier. My attention was completely drawn to the hypnotic rippling mix of pastel light, reflected old painted boats and dark twisting shadows. It wasn't what I was expecting but it was equally beautiful.

Full Size
Soundtrack: Chopin, Etude In C Minor, Op. 10 No. 12

Apples and Pears

2007-09-25T13:24:00.000-04:00

I grew up with fruit trees in the yard. Our fruit supply further supplemented by the bounty of friends', family and neighbours' yards. How far away now that seems until I come across fruit at the market that still has leaves attached to it. Here an assorted bunch of russet apples, a hybrid pear and apple and a couple of different Asian pears from local farmers at the Provincetown farmers' market create an autum still life set against the rich wood tones of my vacation studio's kitchen counter.

Autumn Beach

2007-09-24T14:02:00.001-04:00

On my bike ride to Truro from Provincetown, I rode past this beach and thought the sun was too high and bright to film-everything might look too bleached out. On my return I stopped to take another look and noticed that the dark silhouettes of the people enjoyin the beach might make it interesting and indeed they do I think. They give a sense of scale of this huge beach with its dramatic visual stripes of color and texture. Who would think this was a was fall day?

Full Size
Soundtrack : Elliot Fisk; Baletto

Berries

2007-09-16T01:41:00.000-04:00

This stand caught my eye today at the farmers market- the berries looked almost mysterious in the shadows, sealed in their containers. I was very tempted by the jams that were also on display right next to them but its hard to beat Trader Joe's reduced sugar Organic Raspberry preserves that is a staple in my kitchen.

Boaters

2007-09-11T22:31:00.001-04:00

A pair of boaters share an idyllic moment on the Lake in Central park. They are not the only couple on the lake which has a strangely bright green cast from the algae floating on the surface.