Art

Getting your Actors' Equity Card is one of the most important pieces of the mythos of becoming a professional actor. But sometimes gaining that precious piece of paper can lead to disenchantment. "I

Jessica Hecht and Judith Light descend the staircase to the lower lobby of the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in a fit of laughter. Looking as luminous in person as they do in Richard Greenberg's The Ass

If you are a reader of this site, you are probably familiar that I resigned last week and took a position in a new firm. In addition to the stress that came along with the decision to leave, came the stress associated with figuring out an exit strategy. And by “exit strategy” I mean “work myself into the ground to get as many things completed as possible before I leave….” … and I am exhausted. . . I have slowly been telling people that I’m leaving – don’t be too surprised when I tell you not everyone I know reads these posts. Most have taken it pretty well and, without too much deviation, most of those conversations have gone like this: . Bob: So, uhm, I need to let you know something Generic (but awesome) Person: That would be a change – Oooooo ZING! Seriously … what is it, sounds ominous. Bob: It is, but it isn’t. I resigned from my job last week. My last day here will be June 14th but I’ve offered to make myself available to continue answer questions beyond that point should the need arise. I’ll also be wrapping most of my work up for you during the next few weeks and making sure everybody knows where any bodies might be buried. Generic (but awesome) Person: Wow – that’s really great for you … kinda sucks for me. I’ll send you over a few [hundred thousand] things that you can hopefully deal with before you leave. Besides, if anything does come up after you leave, we’ll just blame you. [and scene] . I suppose I’m not surprised that people are burying me with things they want to make sure get my attention before I leave – it’s probably what I would do if our roles were reversed. Even though I officially gave notice a week ago, I knew this was coming for a while and I have been filling holes and trying to put everything that requires my attention on the front burner for a much longer period of time. Until my new employment deal was finalized, it wasn’t a sure thing. I’ve had enough jobs in my career and been around enough blocks to have seen what happens when someone mentally “moves on.” We all can guess what happens – they become worthless at best, and a virus to other members of the staff at worst. The architectural community isn’t so large that I can afford to be cavalier with how I go about doing my job. It’s also not the way I handle things – my reputation is really the most important thing I will leave with as I move into the next phase of my career and I will protect it with every tool and ability I have at my disposal. If you haven’t figured out the value of your reputation, or come to realize that how people see you will be how people treat you, I think I know how you should spend your weekend. There are 23 days left before I am officially no longer an employee at my current firm. 23 days …. that’s not a lot of time when you realize that how people regard you after you leave will be established during this time frame. If you don’t go about your business professionally, what you’ll hear a lot is: “If it’s wrong, Bob probably did it.” [except, you know, with your name instead of mine] . Cheers, P.S. That week after June 14th is the National AIA Convention in Denver – which I will be attending. If you are going to be there, make sure to let me know, maybe we can get something put together. . .

New York designer Bradley Ferrada presented an elongated chair with a faceted back at NYCxDESIGN this week. Perch combines its folded back with a gently sloping seat that extends outwards to form a leg rest, allowing for a variety of sitting positions. "You can face forward and socialise or put up a leg, get into a corner, focus in on a book, and disconnect from your immediate preoccupations," explains Bradley Ferrada. The chair is composed of bent tubular steel legs and a wooden frame, with foam padding upholstered in a felt-like fabric. Ferrada presented Perch at the Model Citizens exhibit as part of NYCxDESIGN this week. Other chairs we've recently featured on Dezeen include a pair of seats made completely out of rubber and a chair with a hammock-like back. See more chairs on Dezeen. The post Perch chair by Bradley Ferrada appeared first on Dezeen.

I am just now catching up on some of my favorite blogs. While I was tuned out, I missed the launch of a fundraiser created by my friend and fellow artist, Kathy Van Kleeck. Kathy is a beautiful and thoughtful spirit. When I was diagnosed with cancer, she was one of the first people to step up to the plate to help raise monies to help with my medical bills. I really can't voice just how appreciative I was for all the help and healing energies that were sent my way. The support was a blessing! I know from my personal experience with cancer and the current hospital culture that it is an EXPENSIVE ordeal. It's not just the medical bills themselves (which are exorbitant), but the time away from being able to work adds up too! Anyway, Kathy is helping again! This time she is helping her nephew who underwent treatment for a cancerous brain tumor. To reward donors in the fundraiser, she has developed medallions in both bronze and fine silver. A minimum donation of $10 can score one in bronze and $25 can land a silver one! While I don't know Richie personally, I was moved by his story and his positive outlook. I strongly encourage you to consider giving to this very worthwhile charity. For more information, CLICK HERE. Even if you can't give at this time, think about spreading the word. Maybe someone you know can help out and will love to add a piece by Kathy to their collection!

I went looking for ideas for polymer clay wedding crafts and it turns out I didn’t have to go far – Patricia Kimle has a whole series of good stuff on Sculpey.com: The cake featured above A pretty votive Decorative place card holders …

NAIRI SAFARYAN Stepping OutHolly, Ebony11”h x 2”w x 2”d For more information, please visit www.woodsymphony.com Stay Connected!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoodSymphonyPinterest: http://pinterest.com/woodsymphonyTwitter: http://twitter.com/woodsymphony

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While designer Liz Diller made her politico-architectural case for The Hirshhorn Bubble in her 2012 TED talk, the Museum's own justification for the project has been unclear and uncompelling. Explanations center on making the Hirshhorn "an agent for cultural diplomacy." In February director Richard Koshalek told Kriston Capps, "This institution should be the leader in terms of setting arts and cultural dialogue. Cultural policy is set in Washington, D.C." This is debatable enough, as both mission and content. The programming that's always discussed, though, a "Center for Creative Dialogue," involves conferences and discussions created by the Council on Foreign Relations and outside staff, not the Hirshhorn itself, or even the Smithsonian. Critics of the Bubble vision like Tyler Green note this disconnect, and that the Museum doesn't need a bubble to host such policy-flavored forums and events; they could do it right now, in the existing auditorium. And in fact, they did just that last Fall, where a capacity crowd watched TV journalist Judy Woodruff moderate a panel on "Art and Social Change" during to the Ai Weiwei exhibition. No, The Bubble is a thing apart, apparently, from the programming that would inhabit it. Its absurdist form on this symbolic site, and the transgressive gesture towards Gordon Bunshaft's concrete donut, are meant to be self-justifying. Capps calls it "a public art stunt," and the Washington Post suggests it could "break DC from stagnation." It's starchitecture as spectacle and a catalyst for attention and, eventually, one hopes, the holy grail of Washington existence: relevance. Meanwhile, it's amazing that until Capps' reconsideration of the project last winter in the City Paper, there was no mention of what would be, for lack of a better term, the business model: The Bubble would be a for-hire event space. Koshalek swears the Inflatable will engage the Hirshhorn's curators, too. When the Bubble is inflated, part of its programming will correspond with whatever's lining the gallery walls of the museum. The rest of the timeshare will go to whichever universities, think tanks, and corporations rent it out--a money-making proposition for the Hirshhorn which could lead to exclusive uses not quite in keeping with Diller's civic scheme. (And certainly not with the museum's artistic mission.) "Four weeks, five weeks, maybe six weeks will be programmed by the Hirshhorn--having to do with exhibitions. How technology is driving culture. How we're going to connect to the larger world. That's the purpose," he says. However, "universities could use the space, lease the space, just like universities lease an auditorium for inauguration." And now the focus on think tanks and universities starts to make sense. The Bubble is supposed to turn the Hirshhorn into an iconic venue which cultural, political, and academic institutions will rent for their own DC-based events. This would dovetail, or subsume, an event space plan the Museum has already been implementing. It didn't register at the time, but when I read Kriston's piece, I remembered hearing from someone affiliated with the museum that moving the bookstore from the lobby to the basement would greatly improve the prospects for renting the lobby for evening events. [Remember that one of Koshalek's earliest ideas was to justify using restricted funds for the bookstore move by commissioning and "acquiring" a permanent retail installation by Doug Aitken. Eventually the gig went to Barbara Kruger.] So if The Bubble were actually a moneymaking investment for the Hirshhorn, why is it so hard to fund? Wouldn't it be easy enough to convince the board to "invest" in this iconic, sustainable scheme? What's a museum rent for these days, anyway? Or at least a 14,000-sf courtyard space, plus a 3,000sf glass lobby, on the Mall? Looking at comps in the DC gala/event space market, I'd guess the Hirshhorn could ask for $12-15,000/gig, plus a few thousand more for direct

Hi everyone! It's Thrifty Thursday today!! I have a little trick with a glue gun to replace rubber feet on the bottom of something...let me show you in pictures.I have a small table top ironing board next to my machine. It was my mom's and it's old...PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ MORE OF THIS POST!! »