January 2006 Archives
When does doing a thousand and one things at once not get the job done? When you have a ton of work to do.
i just realized that in the 2000 sq ft of vast open studio space, there's no place to walk! We're drenched in work here. Luckily my visitors are always so good about it. And honestly i have no time to clean up between appointments.
If you want to contact us, the best way is to email us: [email removed] The voice mail system here is almost always full. And we don't return calls on the weekends.
Also, everyone requesting to visit the SoHo showroom- David will be there this Sunday as well.
Is anyone exhibiting at the Outsider Art Fair? Let me know and I'll stop by your booth tomorrow!
this morning i rushed over to pick ian up for our bargain tuesday facials. ian lives in a studio in gramercy park but is convinced its a one bedroom apt ever since he realized that the mattress fits into the closet.
however after a late night out at radio city music hall to see the new chinese play he was just not budging. And i had a lunch date and an agent vibrating in my pants and no time to spare.
the only plausible excuse i could offer him was how lately people have been gossiping about his pores getting increasingly larger. Needless to say he darted out of the place.
Check out my new eBay store of posters, apparel and interesting finds i bought on my journeys overseas. Nothing is up yet (since i last checked) but i'm told that the store will begin stocking today.
And the best part: all of the merchandise sold there will benefit the charity listed in the auction. Happy Bidding!
It's been a rather productive past 3 days. Expect new artwork in the "VIP Lounge" by mid-week. They'll go live to the rest of the world in the "Online Catalogue" upon the ok from our attorney on copyrights.
After my release from captivity in the studio on Friday evening, we headed out to a get together of a friend's. As soon as we got to her neighborhood in the village, you could see the displacement of people everywhere. There was literally an overflow of party-goers that necessitated congregating onto the sidewalks. But this chick lives in a posh brownstone (Hilary Swank's abode is right around the corner) and i was determined to squeeze myself in. Because heaven-forbid we should have to pay for our own absinthe at the bistro down the street.
Saturday night headed uptown to see the African Music Symposium at the Miller Theater with renowned composer Eldabho. He performed "Coma Dance"-amazing how he can still move his fingers that way. i'm a third his age and can barely hold a paint brush for that long. But the title drew me in since i've been performing the same dance for the past few weeks.
It's an exceptionally loud morning in the area. Have a super, duper day!
Just stepped in to let everyone know im still alive. And will be in the studio working all weekend.
There were crowds of people in my studio the past week. Luckily none of the residents in the building complained. In the city you can literally live in the same place for 10 years and never have to speak to your neighbors. The film crew were terrific and even hired people to clean the place when they were done. It was a great experience considering im making a push into the industry with the new company.
Yesterday i received over 70 emails from collectors after a newsletter was sent out regarding auctions coming to an end this May. I have responded to most of them already. Thank you to everyone who has made my work one of the most valuable on the eBay site.
VIP Loungers: new artwork has been listed in the "Collector's Specials" section. There are 6 new paintings not yet listed for sale to the public and the offers will expire in the next few days.
For everyone else, especially those of us who are blog and/or commenting deficient, an interesting read:
Lifehacker's Guide to Weblog Commenting
I don't allow commenting here only because my guestbook is so saturated with entries from ruthless advertisers. And its not even seen by the public! Could just imagine what this blog would look like if it was open.
Now, must get back to work.
El Sophia is a film friendly environment :)
If you were planning on stopping by please make note that a production company will be filming in my studio Jan. 16, 17 & 18. Instead we will open the following Sunday for your convenience. Deliveries will go out as scheduled from Wooster St.
Have a great weekend everyone!
This morning my agent called to ask if i have any work ready. My response was an emphatic "NO". With weather like this how can anyone stay indoors? So now im punished and must stay in my studio in total solitude until i have something to show. Help me.
Dont get me wrong I work every single day. But with my layering technique it takes a while to complete. And simultaneously working on several important projects.
Works in progress have been listed in the lounge for his and VIP Loungers viewing pleasures:
http://www.elsophia.com/lounge/
Also, check out the auctions of original studies. David lists new artworks daily:
http://www.elsophia.com/studio/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=auc
Eclectic cafe the Bourgeois Pig- love this tiny place. Was there last night, it just opened on Macdougal. The red lights will put you in a trance. The best part? Sit until the pig (their words) gets tired and throws you out.
New York is home of the overachiever workaholic. That's a fact. So any chance I can get to just sit and chat I do. So here I am speaking to this person (who had an accent but everyone in the city has one- real or fake). And we go off into conversation that I guess he may have been a little sensitive to. OK all I said was that one of my friends moved South to relax a bit but couldn't last a month and came back. I just traveled around the country and found each place I visited special in its own right. Every city we entered Abe would say "let's move here."
Didn't mean to upset the good people of North Carolina. But we made amends and they'll be visiting my studio this weekend.
Didn't get to all my emails yesterday. Promise to get through them today.
The weather was wonderful so headed out to an early dinner with Ian, another artist friend and his wife, a model who doesn't eat past 6pm anyway- if you call pushing raw veggies around in your plate as eating. No one actually witnessed any food touch her lips.
Afterwards, Ian and I decided not to let a night like this go wasted and began walking aimlessly, no camera in tow and less 2 people who swore the gawker stalker was around them somewhere and went home. But alas our night soon ended as well. Finally having to stop when we reached the continental Manhattan Bridge brothels.
And fetched a cab, amazingly, just as quick as our manicured fingers could hail it down.
My new spot to be seen is on Rivington St in the Lower East Side. I needed to rub off a dinner with hedge fund manager types with a little excessive downtown. And there is no better place than here.
The area is home to locations that break all zoning laws and drive the residents -who rent property here to actually sleep- insane.
But my night was hampered a bit. See, I was being followed around by the cameras of Ian Schneider and it's really embarrassing walking up to a place and pointing a camera in the faces of the people that monitor the entrance. His new pet project is doing a documentary on artists who've "made it" in NY and I was his game for the weekend. So we were escorted to a room behind the VIP room (yup, didn't think there was anything after those either) and we definitely didn't think we'd make it back out again. Such a dope.
Lesson learned. Drop the ostentatious behavior and pick up the 21-hole boots prior to hitting the scene in Lower Manhattan.
If I didn't have the sunroof in my studio, I would die because I have no windows.
There is so much noise outside that I crank up the speakers to dilute the world outside. So someone must have called in and complained to the offices of Leona Helmsley. And anyone who leases from her knows the property manager Richard. He doesn't sugar coat anything and seems to have a bare 220 volt wire up his derriere. So he came to ask, politely, to keep it down. Most likely only because he knows Abe. Well, at least they didn't send the cops to do it.
Speaking of bad karma... Contrary to some of the rumors that are floating around town about my attendance at the Guggenheim Museum on Dec. 19, they are simply fabricated. A certain somebody can't seem to get anyone to notice their work so has decided to use me for their publicity stunt- a ballyhoo of sorts. The fact is that none of it is true and hopefully everyone who knows me will squash these rumors.
Anyway, new projects taken on are the Valentines Day displays for Abes store windows. That's correct, the entire chain of department stores are being designed by yours truly. I'll post pics when I'm done.
What happened to Teany? I usually have them deliver when in SoHo and now they've shut down.
Well, here we are once again its a new year. And it could not be lovelier.
I had not realized how beautiful my neighbors here were until just recently as I helped a couple of elderly people decorate their homes for the holidays. See I live in a pristine area just across the Hudson River. And here, the crowd is somewhat refined; living a bi-polar life of the bustle through the city and the retreat in the suburbs.
The year has just barely begun and already Im so exhausted. Its been a hectic couple of weeks comprised of small get-togethers, rowdy parties and other more balanced social events. Hitting the scene has proven hard work, esp. keeping it all in order.
But the remainder of this year promises so much more- a very important commission already lined up (press release due out soon), total of 6 art exhibitions in 4 different countries, taking a writing course at NYU, and most excitingly, this summer volunteering in an inner city school teaching an art class.
Other plans on the agenda include taking our film productions company internationally, designing some attire for the fashion industry and I was invited by several friends to tour various areas of the world that were devastated last year by natural disasters and war. Most likely will be taking a few up on their offers.
Stay tuned. Hope everyone has a fabulous 2006!
