turning a new page (corny)

I have been super busy destroying my apartment and trying to find it's hidden Feng Sui. It has been a real effort on my part to avoid the computer and my endless hours of googling and posting and searching.

In the past few days I have tossed bags and bags of unused fabrics, trims, big eyed paintings, clothes, strange dolls, and other random riff raff into a donation pile. I have also parted with shelves, chairs, tables and old doors. I am going to start this year off right if it kills me.
I have lived in this old 1930's building since 1999, and have acquired a lot of "precious" things. Unfortunately when you don't move from place to place, your stone starts to gather a little moss. In my case the stone is wedged in and in need of a home makeover emergency. I promise to document the progress here. Sure, you folks have witnessed countless attempts on my part to creatively organize, but the truth is you have to part ways with a lot more stuff.

Most important things in my life: my books. I could do without most of the knick knacks and clothes, but I love staring at my packed book shelves. Neatly categorized by subjects, WOMEN ARTISTS, CRAFTS/MACRAME, MUSIC etc...This Christmas my dear friend Fran gave me some cool Rizzolli art books one on the BEAUTY in art and the other on the UGLY subject matter portrayed in art. I also got two great books from my friend Adam. He got me this great one on TRENCH COATS which documents all of the great style icons who have rocked the trench. He also gave me this book called THE BEAUTIFUL FALL: Fashion, Genius, and Glorious Excess in 1970's Paris. I can't wait to get the scoop on YSL and Karl Lagerfeld!
Just listen to the back cover summary:

"In the 1970's, Paris fashion exploded like a champagne bottle left out in the sun. Amid sequins and longing, celebrities and aspirants flocked to the heart of chic, and Paris became a hothouse of revelry, intrigue, and searing ambition. At the center of it all were Fashion's most beloved luminaries-Yves Saint Laurent, the reclusive enfant terrible, and Karl Lagerfeld, the flamboyant freelancer with a talent for reinvention-and they divided Paris into two fabulous halves. Their enduring rivalry is chronicled in this dazzling expose of an era of social ambitions, shared obsessions and the mesmerizing quest for beauty."

My favorite new coffee table book came into my hands from Cynthia. She surprised me with an AMAZING book titled FANTASY WORLDS. The book is like a mind melt brain explosion of outsider and folk genius places documented from a dream. My fav. NIKI de ST. Phalle is featured twice in the book as it depicts spaces that are created by wild artists with whimsical ways.

She bought herself a Xmas gift/book titled Sublime Spaces and Visionary Worlds. I of course had to find it on amazon minutes later for myself. IT's a breathtaking book with 416 pages of colorful goodness that is described online as such:

"This colorful and inspiring book features the work of twenty-two vernacular artists whose locales, personal histories, and reasons for art-making vary widely but who all share a powerful connection to the home as art. Featured projects range from art environments that remain intact, such as Simon Rodia's Watts Towers in California, to sites lost over the years such as Emery Blagdon's six hundred elaborate "Healing Machines," made of copper, aluminum, tinfoil, magnets, ribbons, farm-machinery parts, painted light bulbs, beads, coffee-can lids, and more.
Sublime Spaces and Visionary Worlds is the first book to explore these spectacularly offbeat spaces in detail. From "Original Rhinestone Cowboy" Loy Bowlin's wall-to-wall glitter-and-foil living room to the concrete bestiary of "witch of Fox Point" Mary Nohl, each artist and project is described in detail through a wealth of visuals and text. The need to personalize our surroundings is a defining human characteristic. For some this need becomes a compulsion to transform their personal surroundings into works of art. "

Other books you may consider adding to your own shelves:

1. If you love couture details and lush museum quality photos of dresses dating back to the 20's...the massive LANVIN coffee table book is worth the weight. The book features the designs of Jeanne Lanvin and also mentions how the new creative director Alber Elbaz is attempting to preserve this fashion house.

2. If you admire children's books and the people who illustrate them- check out PLAY PEN

3. This one will make VIV salivate: Silent Movies: The Birth of Film to the Triumph of Movie Culture
Peter Kobel
"Lavishly illustrated by the Library of Congress's extensive collection of posters, paper prints, film stills and other memorabilia, most of which has never been in print, SILENT MOVIES will take its place as the defining work on this most important and fascinating aspect of American culture."

4. I bought Mr. P this book for night time reading: The Year of Living Biblically. A funny book about one man's quest to live the ultimate biblical life. To follow every single rule in the Bible – as literally as possible. obey the famous ones:
The Ten Commandments
Love thy neighbor
Be fruitful and multiply

But also, the hundreds of oft-ignored ones.

Do not wear clothes of mixed fibers.
Do not shave your beard
Stone adulterers

the author described his reason why...
"Why? Well, I grew up in a very secular home (I’m officially Jewish but I’m Jewish in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant). "