Open Studio 2014

An Afternoon Social
with Hats, Beads & Art
First, let me say, my Open Studio, "Hat Shop in a Box," was, IMO, a resounding success. So many of my old friends, new friends and family attended, that it really was a 2-day afternoon social.

The door bell kept dinging, the prosecco help flowing and the hugs kept hugging. And the beads and hats were flying off the shelves.

I am wearing a Laurence Kazar sequined blouse

newly purchased from Rosemary Wettenhall's

Greenwich Village shop, Madame Matovu.

My beads are called "Forget-Me-Not."

Hair by Wing of Sassoon, 18th Street, NYC

The Hat Shop in a Box

 I displayed my beads on the table covered

by an orange, silk scarf. My inspiration board was

illuminated by our pink, floor lamp,

a Jielde from France.
Below: closeups from the Inspiration Board.

 I gave the beads flower names such as
Gladiola, Hyacinth and Snapdragon.

 Collages which use my photos

taken in Pennsylvania coal country.

I also created little tableaus with some of my

doll accessories and furniture.

 I made the orange-velvet boater

for my bridal course at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

My teacher said it was "perfect work."

 Julliette cap with vintage feathers and

pansies, also made at FIT.

A series of my small drawings.

Hats and more drawings on the orange table.

Another drawing on a bookcase shelf.

One must have a mirror for trying on.

Our red table looks like it could have come from Design Within Reach. Not so. This table was rescued from an industrial waste heap. I spied it one day when we were at the Saint Nicholas Coal Breaker in Pennsylvania. It was sitting forlornly in a pool of black mud. We took it home, and had it sand blasted and painted red. It's quite happy now, in our kitchen.

 Jean, one half of the Idiosyncratic Fashionistas, models
her purchase which I call Nuit et Jour.
I made this hat with Jean in mind.
I used buttons from my mother-in-law's button box,
which I inherited.
I think that Jean has renamed the hat, "Orca."

 Val, the other half of The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas,
wearing "Orca," and sporting her
squid earrings, caught off the
shore of Montauk, fresh that
morning.

 Val looking soigne.

 My niece, Sarah Wedge, trying on Val's jacket
to complement the "Dahlia" beads.

 Sarah's choice: "Hollyhock."

 Sarah and her husband, Damon.

 My nephew, Jack, with Sarah and Damon.
Damon looks like he is wearing a puffy yarmulke.

Samira, mon professeur de français a 
l'Alliance Française.
Samira purchased "Snapdragon."
Très jolie!

 Richard with neighbor, Rosemarie,
wearing a Stephen Burrows dress,
and my beads from last season,
"The Chuckles Necklace."

 We met Paula some time ago at Morandi,
a restaurant in the Village where she is a server.
She also studies acting and makes hats.

 Paula made this charming hat with a seaweed motif.

The Yodas...

 Yoichiro Yoda, shows Richard his catalog from
his recent show at the Mitaka City Gallery of Art in Tokyo.
Yoi studied with Richard at Tyler.

"As soon as I started my freshman year at Tyler, I felt that I was finally on the right track. In my sophomore year, I met a professor named Richard Cramer, whom I felt I could put my confidence in his way of thinking about art. One day, one of the other professors questioned me about the perspective that I used in my painting, saying that it looked wrong. Then Prof. Richard Cramer talked back to the other professor, "Are you talking about the old fashioned (stale) perspective from the Renaissance era?" After that, I was very happy making paintings in my own way."

Yoichiro Yoda, "Dramas of Memory," catalog for show, 2012 

"Dear Stephanie" by Yoichiro Yoda
2012 oil on canvas 30 x 40 in.

 My brother, David, and Junko and Toshi Yoda,
Yoi's parents.
Both Junko and Toshi are wonderful artists.

 I digress.
Junko and Toshi had a joint show at the MC Gallery in NYC.
Here is Richard with Junko's
Flight Maps works.

Looking down into one of Junko's works.
It's a globe showing the earth with the flight map of a plane
from New York to Tokyo, as seen on an airliner's video screen.

Junko and Toshi before a galaxy of Toshi's paintings,
which he has done over the course of 10 years.

Debra Rapoport wearing

one of her fantastic hats made from Viva paper towels.

Shara, my friend Cindy's daughter-in-law,
regarding Debra's hat.

Elka trying a hat.

 The Great Pink Hat Try-On
Batting first, Cindy,
my Elmira college friend.

 Batting second, Julie.

 And batting third, and winner
of the MCP award,
"Most Cutest Player,"
Sienna.

Joyce.
Flawless beauty.

The chic Maryann.
No one does black, leather, bows and satin better.
She is wearing a necklace of her own design.

My friend, Cindy Perry Tavernise, brought me this diminutive
Mexican hat shop in a box. 


À Bientôt!