Stevie's Artisans Urban Folk Art

Festa, Family & Food

2012-01-09T13:34:00.000-08:00

Before I started Stevie's Artisans Urban Fok Art, I curated for and managed the gift shop at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. And before that, I spent 9 months in Italy as a Fulbright Scholar researching a project about folk art, cultural traditions, music and food.

Of course, I have tons of photos and lots to say about my project so I have begun doing presentations. My project, Festa, Family and Food, is a study of continuity, change and identity manifested in three saints' feasts celebrated both in Italy and in Italian-American communities in the US. The key themes of all three feasts are sacrifice and redemption, suffering, survival and communal rejoicing and celebration. The feasts honor three heroic and charasmatic figures (saints) who rescued their communities from destruction and ruin.

Women and their daughters make bread, crafted in myriad shapes and forms, as the principle element used to decorate the altars and banquet tables created to celebrate the feast of St.Joseph in Sicily and New Orleans. Papier-mache is the art form used to create ornately sculpted facades for the 85-foot towers - the giglio - carried on the shoulders of men through the streets of Nola and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The towers dance to music, all in honor of St Paulinus, who in the fifth century, rescued Nola's men from slavery at the hands of the Saracens. The Ceri is a race through the streets of Gubbio and Jessup, Pennsylvania of three Baroque wooden towers born on the shoulders of a nine-man team, to honor St Ubaldo who saved his town in the eleventh century from sack and ruin by the Vandals.

This past November 17, I gave a presentation - commentary and power point photo presentation at the Italian American Museum in New York's Little Italy. I'm going to be presenting at the Brooklyn Historical Society on March 29, 2012. That presentation will focus on the giglio celebration in Brooklyn with background information of the celebration in Nola, Italy. Danny Vecchiano, leader of the Vecchiano Festival Band and archivist of American tradtional giglio music will join me. I wrote an article about Danny - Born to Giglio - for "Voices" the New York Folklore Society magazine. I am hoping Danny - a superb trumpeter - plays giglio music for us.

Born to Giglio, a celebration of a Brooklyn Neighborhood, will be Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 7:00 PM at the Brooklyn Historical Society on Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights.

Naemeh's New Jewelry at Lily

2012-01-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

Naemeh Shirazi's newest lace jewelry is now at Lily on Court Street in Brooklyn. Lily is a wonderful boutique on Court Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The owner, Jennifer, sells beautiful dresses by Karina ( I own two and I love them both) and gorgeous leather bags, hip jewelry, stylish sportswear and super, warm socks. It is a fabulous shop and I am so happy Jennifer wants to try out Naemeh's new "Roses" earrings and necklaces.

Last summer Lily carried some silk screened skirts and a tunic by Ivette Urbaez. Jennifer thinks the skirts will go well again so maybe two of Stevie's Artisans will be available at Lily on Court Street.

Naemeh will do the earrings,necklaces and maybe some bracelets in spring colors, as well as her graphic red and black. Look for pink, kelly green, blue and yellow. And white!

Christmas Gifts from Stevie's Artisans

2011-12-31T12:39:00.000-08:00

My good friend Martha, who lives in England, bought some earrings from Stevie's Artisans Urban Folk Art for two friends who live in California. Bonnie received the silvery gray "Fleur de Lis" style and black "Double Asia."

Meg received "Big Red Rose" and green "Cut out Leaves" earrings.

All arrived in time for Christmas and all are sculpted from lace

by Naemeh Shirazi of Stevie's Artisans Urban Folk Art.

Lace Roses in Sarasota, Florida

2011-10-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

Last week I took a little break and visited some friends in Sarasota, Florida. Julie and her husband Vinnie are artists and designers who create museum installations through their company, Ciulla Designs. Julie makes gorgeous gold jewelry based on archaeological designs and Vinnie creates fantasy collages - bathing beauties riding manatees, water skiers pulled by NYC taxis under the Brooklyn Bridge, etc. Julie bought a couple of pairs of Naemeh Shirazi's lace earrings and suggested I visit and show some of the Stevie's Artisans' work at some Sarasota shops.

We get together whenever they are in NYC - usually dinner at Al di La Restaurant in Park Slope - but I have been longing to visit them and see the mid-century modernist home they live in. They bought and have been restoring Paul Rudolph's masterpiece, the Umbrella House. The house has an elegant glass jalousies facade with lots of built in cabinetry features inside. The "umbrella" is a trellised canopy system that shades and cools the house - remember, houses weren't as extensively air-conditioned in the 1950's and 1960's when this house was built.

I met with Liby (Elizabeth Rice) at her home furnishings gallery/shop - she loved Naemeh's silver vine leaves earrings & pendants and also really liked the Ivette Urbaez silk screened dress I was wearing (red tulip dress) I met with the manager of her apparel/accessories shop - Terra Nova and Cheryl Ralya seemed to like the lace jewelry more and agreed Ivette's tulip dress, fire escape tunic, and teal roses & thorns skirt would go well in the shop. How exciting for Naemeh and Ivette! I left jewelry samples with Julie to show to the buyer at the Ringling Museum gift shop. I think Naemeh's rose pendant and earrings would really compliment Mabel Ringling's "roses"

artwork/accessories collection.

So, what else did I do in Sarasota because I didn't go for all work and no play. Julie and Vinnie have a lovely pool in their back yard and we also swam in the Gulf - warm and a really cool green color - unlike the aqua blue of the Mediterranean or the Caribbean. Julie and I went looking for alligators at the Myakka River State Park - no gator sighting but lots of hero and oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. I sat in at a rehearsal of the Key Chorale, the community chorus Julie sings with. (For years, Julie and I sang togther and served on the board of the Brooklyn Philharmonia Chorus.) The Key Chorale are fabulous and they are performing terrific music - Britten's "Saint Nicholas Cantata."

The day before I left I had lunch with Julie and friends from either the chorus and/or her rowing group - all terrifically interesting ladies in business, the arts, and some retired. Cheryl rows with Julie & Vinnie and Mary Chadsey creates amazing majolica pottery in her studio Mariooch. We are talking about her joining Stevie's Artisans Urban Folk Art.

Fashion on the Street

2011-10-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

A Chance Encounter

A couple of Sundays ago two friends (Sharon Fahlstrom & Vigdis Eriksen) and I were on our way to see an exhibition at the New Museum on the Bowery when I had one of those great chance moments. You might even call it a New York moment. I was half way down the stairs to the Borough Hall subway station when I saw a flash of one of Ivette Urbaez's silk screen designs going by. "She's wearing one of Ivette's dresses. I need a picture," I shouted to my friends.

Vigdis whipped out her camera while I ran down the street to stop the girl and beg her to pose for a photo. After I caught up with her, I blathered on about Stevie's Artisans - my company - I represent the artist who designed the dress she was wearing, etc.

Her look was very cool. She was wearing Ivette's racer back tunic/dress: gray cotton with a black abstract silk screen print of fire escapes. She had accessorized with a cotton scarf and she was wearing sneakers with electric green laces.

She was totally happy to let me take a few photos because she said she absolutely loved the dress, loved how well it fit and was amazed because she always had such a hard time buying dresses. She told me she also loves the shop where she made her purchase - Lily on Court Street in Brooklyn.

She was so gracious and I forgot to ask her name. So I thanked the mystery Ivette fan and then we all went on our ways. A very serendipitous chance encounter!

Time Passes

2011-05-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

A friend told me she is putting together her summer reading for her two week vacation in Maine in August and she just ordered my husband, Tony Scaduto's biography of Bob Dylan on Kindle. Tony published that book just before we started living together back in the early 70's. It was the first biography of Dylan and many still consider it the best. Full disclosure: I like Dylan, but have never been a huge fan and I've never been one to read non-fiction, least of all biographies. However, I loved Tony's book because it fully captured the music, the politics, and the feelings of the 60's era. For me, his book really evoked the emotional upheaval we all had just lived through and experienced - a fantastic accomplishment for a writer.

One of the iconic figures of that time, Suze Rotolo, died recently. She is remembered as the girlfriend on Bob Dylan's arm on the album cover of "Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" and although Tony was never able to talk to Suze when he was writing his book, many years later we became friends. Suze was a great beauty, a very principled person and a wonderful artist. She and her husband Enzo were warm and generous hosts - and we shared many delicious meals, good wine and stimulating conversations. As she requested, her memorial, held a couple of weeks ago, was a wonderful party with music, her favorite foods prepared by her son Luca and a gorgeous slide show of images put together by Enzo - a beautiful celebration.

On May 5 we went to a reading and book launch for Heywood Gould - author and screenwriter of Cocktail, Double Bang, Fort Apache the Bronx, etc. I haven't read his new book yet - The Serial Killer's Daughter - but I really loved the last one - Leading Lady. Lots of old friends - from Woody's NY Post days, his bar tending days and his TV and movie days - reminisced at the dinner afterward. They regaled each other with drinking stories and journalism tales: big stories covered and how they ended up at the NY Post in the first place. They had all started as copy boys and then worked their way through the ranks as police reporter and then feature writers. Invariably there was mention of friends & colleagues who have passed away: Vic Ziegel and a then last week, Leonard Katz.

Lenny Katz had been in rehab recovering from a fall that resulted in a broken hip. He and Tony talked weekly and Lenny was always upbeat and optimistic - a real fighter. What a shock that he succumbed to what turned out to be lots of complications. Tony and I saw him last October when we were in Florida for a family wedding. We had a rather forgettable lunch at a Chinese restaurant in a West Palm Beach mall but Lenny was funny and sharp and extended his usual gracious invitation for us to visit with him and his lovely wife, Marilyn. He and Tony sat on a bench outside the restaurant, smoking their cigarettes and chatting before we headed back to our hotel. Two tough old guys having their moment. It was sweet and now, a touching last memory of Leonard Katz, author of a biography of Frank Costello, journalist and terrific police reporter.

By the Sea Quilts

2011-04-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

For many Christmases and birthdays, I have been the lucky and proud recipient of quilts and wall hangings hand crafted by Teri Scaduto. One of her quilts drapes over my piano, another - a Frank Lloyd Wright cityscape hangs over my bed and my favorite - a view of Sciacca, Sicily - hangs in my kitchen. All are works of art.

Full disclosure) Teri is my step-daughter. I've known her since she was a very smart, very talented and very rebellious 14 year old. I have watched her blossom into a gorgeous woman who is still one of the smartest people I know. Teri is an amazing quilt maker. Her color sense and craftsmanship is superb. She is also a fabulous mom.

Teri and I share a love of swimming - she swims daily - and a few summers ago, we logged in a lot of pool and beach time together in Sicily. Below is her quilt Night Swim.

Teri began quilting 16 years ago, with a simple calico nine-patch for her new-born son. She quickly discovered that quilting is a fascinating mix of the practical and the creative. She remains intrigued by the interplay of light and shadow that can be achieved in fabrics, as well as the endless possibilities inherent in combining traditional quilt patterns with modern sensibilities. Her expertise on the long-arm machine allows her to add intricate thread work to enhance the finished pieces. Her quilts, which range from the traditional patterns to contemporary designs, have won top prizes in several juried quilt shows.

Teri Scaduto and her son Christopher live in Babylon, New York.
Her background includes careers as a caterer, writer, and editor. These days, as a professional long-arm quilter she uses an industrial sewing machine mounted on a 15-foot table to do the decorative stitching that holds together the three layers of her customers' quilts. When not in her quilting studio, creating her own designs or finishing her customers’ quilts, she spends her time in, on, or near the water.

Our Glass - Fused Glass Art

2011-04-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

A year and a half ago my sister Anita proudly showed me the glass art she had crafted using the warm glass process, also known as fused glass. I had just started Stevie's Artisans and she and her partner, Mike Sweek, were happy to join my curated collection of artisans. I was excited to represent their work.

Then Anita was diagnosed with liver cancer. But, my sister was a fighter and she was optimistic about her chances. Anita and Mike and her daughter Alyssa kept making beautiful glass. Anita died September 1, 2010, in the loving care of her daughter Alyssa, her three sisters, Mike, her Aunt Bert, her best friend Thalia and Alyssa's boyfriend, Russell.

Our Glass and Anita's spirit and creativity continue in the work carried on by Alyssa Trudeau and Mike Sweek. Mike feels Alyssa's work is every bit as inspired as Anita's glass art. I agree. Alyssa's boyfriend Russell Borne - a graphic artist and photographer - has joined the group, contributing lots of creative fire and energy, plus he documents all the work. BTW, Russell also designed and constructed the Stevie's Artisans website - lots of family involvement in these enterprise. and endeavors.

Like Anita, Alyssa, Mike and Russell also share a love of and aim to capture the play of light on glass. In addition to coasters and plates, they especially like crafting sun catchers and mini landscapes created from mixtures of opaque, iridized and transparent colors. I am struck how they manage to impart warmth to a medium that by its nature is brittle and hard and in the fractured patterns of some of their work, they are creating glass art with an edgy vibe.

Last month I made a site visit to Portland, OR where Alyssa, Mike and Russell live and work. Russell and I worked pretty solidly for two days to finish the Stevie's Artisans website but there was definitely time to visit the Our Glass studio sited in Mike's garage. They showed me prototypes, works-in-progress and all the glass ready to go up for sale on the website. We kicked around lots of ideas over a bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir. It was a very productive week-end.

My Website

2011-04-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

Finally, My website is live!

You can go to www.steviesartisans.com to see what is available from the eclectic "gang of four" artisans who are Stevie's Artisans. The Home Page introduces the four artisans: Ivette Urbaez, Teri Scaduto, Our Glass
(Alyssa Trudeau, Mike Sweek & Russell Borne) and Naemeh Shirazi. Besides a short description of what they make, each artist has some images illustrating their work.

You can find the work by category i.e. silkscreen fashions, quilts, fused glass art and jewelry or you can go to the artisan's page. The artisan's page includes a bio and artist's statement and of course, all the work available for sale. The website was designed and constructed by Russell Borne and I think it is very user friendly. BTW, you can still find Stevie's Artisans on etsy.com/shop/steviesartisans

So, check it out and buy something from Stevie's Artisans. Or, please send a comment to tell us what you think. A sample of what you will find at Stevie's Artisans:

Sculpted Lace Earrings & Pendants by Naemeh Shirazi:

Fused Glass Art by Our Glass: plates, luminaria, candle holders & coasters.

Original hand printed silkscreen fashions
by Ivette Urbaez - flirty skirts, dresses, leggings, tunics & kid's clothes.

Hand crafted Quilts by Teri Scaduto:

Berlin

2011-03-07T05:48:00.000-08:00

In February I spent a fabulous week in Berlin. My friend Sharon Avery Fahlstrom curated an exhibition of her husband, Oyvind Fahlstrom's work at the Aurel Scheibler Gallery in the Mitte section of the former East Berlin. I arrived two days before the opening so I was able to help out a bit - I helped Aurel's assistant Rebecca attach wall labels while Sharon made the rounds of the gallery, dabbing touch-ups on the walls. One of my favorites - "The Garden" is in this show.

The show is beautiful and has generated glowing reviews in the Berlin & the Frankfurt press. The show comes down the end of April except for The Garden. That piece will be up until the third week of June. After the opening we all celebrated at a lovely dinner hosted by Aurel at a nearby restaurant, Sale e Tabachi. The menu was orechiette con broccoli rabe, grilled bronzino with a fennel/caper sauce and lemon sorbet in vodka for dessert. And of course, copious amounts of wine. (Sharon and I shared several memorable meals at Sale & Tabachi: calves' liver in a Marsala reduction & fried sage leaves, and for a late dinner - vitello tonato for me and a lovely seafood soup for Sharon.)

It was bitter cold but luckily my hotel was so well located I could walk down the Unter den Linden a couple of blocks to the Brandenburg Gate and then to Peter Eisenman's Holocaust Memorial - a sculptural land art piece that reminded me a little of the Cretto di Burri - Alberto Burri's memorial to the 1968 earthquake victims of Gibellina, Sicily. The next day I went to Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum - an architectural masterpiece. BTW, my son Michael Scaduto graduated from the Cooper Union School of Architecture. Eisenman was one of his teachers, Libeskind is a Cooper Union alumna and I also saw a house deigned by John Hejduk - former Dean of CU School of Architecture. Cooper Union is well represented in Berlin.

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, a friend brought me a small zip-lock bag filled with pieces of "wall" rubble. On the sidewalk outside the hotel I stayed at is a standing segment of the wall, beautifully graffiti decorated. Many of the streets are clearly marked with a cobblestone line, to mark where the wall separated East from West. Checkpoint Charlie still stands as a Cold War Era monument and you can have your photo taken with an actor portraying a U.S. or Soviet soldier - just like the "gladiators" posing outside the Colosseum in Rome. There is also the "Wall" museum - very much a home-made collection of cold war/wall memorabilia, art and personal mementos donated by Berliners. It's all slightly cheesy but absolutely heartfelt.

Towards the end of my trip I met with one of the Stevies Artisans, Naemeh Shirazi who now lives and creates her sculpted lace jewelry in Berlin. We met at a hip coffee house - St Oberholtz in Rosenthaler Platz. (It is so easy to get around Berlin on public transport: the UBahn subway and the elevated SBahn and buses & trams.) Naemeh and I caught up over dinner - foccacia, pork schnitzel and creamy broccoli soup for Naemeh - and we exchanged 20 yards of lace and 2 bottles of dye I brought from NYC so she can make lots of beautiful lace earrings, many in new styles she has developed. She gave me a ton of new inventory which I've added to my website, which is now live - http://www.steviesartisans.com

On our last day Berlin we hit the art museums. Our whirlwind visit began with the Neues National - a Mies Van der Rohe building that houses a superb modern art collection: Kirchner, Dix, Klee, Picasso, etc. Then we headed for Museum island for the Pergamon to see the cobalt blue tiled Ishtar Gate, the colossal Market Gate of Miletus and the Pergamon Altar which is even more magnificent then the Elgin Marbles at the British Museum. We had a Turkish meal at the Pergamon Museum cafe - a splendid idea to serve a menu that is themed to the art collection. Then we went on to the Neues Museum to see the bust of Nefertiti and a lovely Egyptian art and sculpture collection.

We ended the day with a very quick tour of the Hamburger Bahnhoff led by the director, Udo Kittlemann (a friend of Sharon). The Hamburg Bahnhof, a former railway terminus is repurposed as the national contemporary art museum: Joseph Beuy's archive and art, Cy Twombly, Roy Lichtenstein, Warhol, etc.

Built in 1848, the Hamburger Bahnhof is the only surviving terminus in Berlin from the late neoclassical period and is one of the oldest station buildings in all of Germany. I loved the vaulted central gallery with its steel trusses - I know Sharon could imagine Falhlstrom's works installed in that space. Udo led us through an endless series of huge open galleries - spaces designed for really big works. Dusk was edging into night when we left and the building glowed with a Dan Flavin light installation. Magical!

I'd like to report that we ended our last day in Berlin with a fabulous meal, but instead we had an acceptable meal at Berlin's so called "best" restaurant. We should have gone back to Sale e Tabachi. I left the next morning - bitter cold but filled with brilliant sunshine - perfect for my bus ride to the airport to return home. I look forward to returning some spring to see the linden trees in full bloom on the Unter den Linden.

Naemeh Shirazi's Accessories for the Active Woman

2011-02-07T15:36:00.000-08:00

Serena and Venus Williams are among the most fashionable and glamorous athletes on the tennis courts. Michelle Wie rocks on the golf links and back in the 80's Flo Jo (Florence Griffith Joyner) sported one-legged leotards, fabulous manicures and lots of gold jewelry while she was setting U.S. and world records in track and field competitions.

Women athletes want a "look" that matches their strength and boldness. And, more and more, they are going for "glam" accessories that compliment their accomplishments - jewelry that says a bit more than the understated look of diamond stud earrings.

Naemeh Shirazi's sculpted lace earrings make a bold statement without getting in the way of the athlete's performance. Available in multiple styles and colors, her earrings are nearly weightless yet make a strong impact.

Naemeh, a Stevie's Artisan, produces her feather weight designs in striking silhouettes by sculpting yardage of durable, intricately designed lace. Similar to a sculptor working in stone, she deliberately removes excess lace from the selected yardage until the desired form emerges. The sculpted lace fragments are then paired with sterling silver findings to produce a seeming weightless, beautiful accessory that is perfect for an athletic woman.

Naemeh's recycled and repurposed wearable art: earrings and pendants fashioned from lace fragments, are perfect for today's active woman - at work, working out or going out.

Naemeh's accessories available at www.steviesartisans.com and
www.etsy.com/shop/steviesartisans

"In The Heights"

2011-01-23T15:32:00.000-08:00

Ivette Urbaez, silk screen fashion designer 0f Stevie's Artisans, was just featured in an article in Manhattan Times, an online newspaper that covers Upper Manhattan (Washington heights and Inwood.) The following excerpt is written by Gloria Pazmino, who did the interview in Ivette's apartment/atelier.

In an apartment-turned fashion workshop and studio on Thayer Street, Ivette Urbaez, a local designer, holds “fashion parties” in what appears to be a creative, private space that welcomes the imagination and color of anyone with an idea to share.

Think Tupperware, Mary Kay, or Pampered Chef soirees, except with clothes, accessories, a little background music and – yes – a little vino.

The one-bedroom apartment located in a pre-war walkup building in Inwood has the look of the ultimate artist studio. There are paint cans, brushes, blank and halfway worked on canvasses, drawings, and a camera. It’s all a coordinated mess of artistry. Combine that with the obligatory heat and hot water issues of an old building, and it makes for a nice bohemian, starving artist package.

It’s like a smaller version of the musical “RENT,” sans drugs and unpaid rent. A gargantuan silk screening machine sits in the middle of Urbaez’s living room. At the opposite end of the room, two sewing machines sit under one of the apartment’s windows. “I make everything; it starts out with a sketch, then the muslin pattern, to the part where I put it together myself,” says Urbaez.

Samples of Urbaez’s work line a clothing rack, and accessories are set up for the viewing and trying-on pleasure of her guests. Urbaez is a painter and photographer and her work adorns the walls of her apartment, almost mirroring the images printed on her designs.

Urbaez’s designs embrace the urban landscape of New York, by including industrial elements in her graphics and designs. The women’s fashions include screen printed tops, pants, and accessories that have city motifs such as fire escapes, subway escalators, and intertwined messes of cables and wires, creating interesting graphics.

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Urbaez comes from a long lineage of artisans and craftspeople where she picked up her love for design. She learned basic skills from a grandmother who taught her how to sew from an early age. After moving to the United States in 1992, she attended the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and studied surface design and accessories.

Urbaez is working towards establishing her brand and eventually selling her designs at small stores throughout the city. “I want to make women look good and make a living at it,” said Ivette.

In the works: Several of Ivette's spring designs will be sold at Lily, a boutique in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. A buyer for a shop in the Aspen, Colorado area is also interested in items from Ivette's spring line and Ivette is working on designs for a yoga wear line.

Ivette's portfolio/Look Book is now posted on YouTube. Check it out.

Ivette's New Line

2010-10-22T05:49:00.000-07:00

Stevie's Artisans Urban Folk Art is pleased to present Ivette Urbaez's Spring/Summer line. Her "Look Book" (portfolio) attached to this posting, is a beautiful presentation of both her silk screen art and her fashion designs. It's a glimpse into a collection that captures floral and geometric graphics, created for any type of surface design. It includes photos of hand printed garments - apparel creations made into functional, wearable art that put a twist and spin on the limitations of more traditional commercial prints.

Ivette pays homage to her home - NYC - by splashing fire escapes over dresses and t-shirts. She further incorporates the hard edge elements of the high-rise city and its underground transit with graphic prints. Another motif Ivette prints on hoodies, dresses and scarves is slithering, intertwined wires and cables. She softens the edginess in other prints with hot-hued roses and tulips, but the roses often have thorns.

Although most of the designs lean toward warm weather wear, the leggings and the two asymmetrical skirts can be worn year round. Ivette and I think this presentation is super and from the positive feedback we've received, lots of people agree.

The skirts, the leggings, the red dress and the multi-colored tulip dress will be offered for purchase on Ivette's page on the soon to be Stevie's Artisans web site. Two of my favorites that will also be available are the "cable" shirt and the "cut-out back " dresses. And I love the cap sleeve t-shirts. Until my site is up, Ivette Urbaez designs are available from the Stevie's Artisan shop on Etsy.

At the Hester Street Flea Market
this summer. Ivette and I noticed
all the babies being pushed by moms, avidly shopping for interesting items for themselves and their babies. So, we ordered a bunch of baby sized t-shirts and onsies and Ivette silk screened red & yellow tulips for the girls and lime and blue fire escapes for the boys. The t-shirts and onsies are cheerful and each has a unique, one of a kind print. They're available on Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/steviesartisans and eventually they will be available on my web site. They make great gifts.

So, what is Ivette designing next?

Ivette's creativity never rests. She is always sketching or figuring out what to do with odd pieces of fabric. A couple of LA stylists who saw some of her work this summer told us her work practically screams out: Yoga wear line. I've started to wear her leggings in my yoga classes. Ivette has designed lingerie sets and the camisoles could easily be adapted for yoga wear. Her cap-sleeved T-Shirts definitely work in a work-out, lending an urban kick to the Zen ambience. She and I are very excited about the possibilities.

Anita's Memorial Service

2010-10-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my sister Anita’s life on October 10, 2010 at a memorial service at her church in Oregon City, Oregon. Over 100 people – family, friends and associates gathered to share their memories in eulogies and many humorous anecdotes, that made clear the huge impact Anita had on their lives.

The following is her bio taken from the program and the obituary I wrote:

Anita Trudeau, 56, a fused glass artist, died of liver cancer September 1 at her home in Oregon City. She was surrounded by her loving family at her death. Born November 19, 1953 in River Rouge, Michigan, Anita grew up in New York City and Venice, California before making her home in the Portland area in 1989.

Anita earned her living as a realtor, tax preparer and for the past 13 years was an office administration and marketing assistant for WealthCounsel.

An ardent feminist, she was an active member of NOW for 10 years and served as president of its Clackamas County chapter for one year. She was a Camp Fire Girl leader for five years, emphasizing cultural and intellectual activities for her troop of young girls, which included her daughter Alyssa. Always socially and politically active (she held an elected position in The Peace and Freedom Party in the late 70’s – early 80’s) she strongly believed in community activism; in the immediacy of local involvement. Acting on her belief in the inherent worth of all people, Anita most recently served as an advocate and mentor for inmates at the Coffee Creek Facility for Women. Anita cared deeply for the women she worked with and was especially drawn to help those who had been forgotten or abandoned by their families.

A long-time, active member of the Atkinson Memorial Church in Oregon City, Anita said she was drawn to the Universalist Unitarian community because of its professed beliefs in equality and openness and its inclusiveness to all colors, races, creeds and sexual orientation. Her daughter Alyssa confirms, “She taught me tolerance and acceptance of all. She was always there for me, and also for her step-children and the children of friends. Mom always stepped up to the plate.”

A love of travel and streak of adventurism featured strongly in Anita’s life. During the late 1970’s she lived in San Miguel de Allende, a Mexican city noted for its artists’ community. In 1979 she went to Puerto Rico for the Pan American games. She coursed through the games on her roller skates, selling T-shirts with her original silk screened designs. In 1976 she took a cross country road trip with her boyfriend and 2 large dogs, a trip she considered one of the most memorable experiences of her life.

Anita loved Hawaii – she was always drawn to beaches and the ocean. She said one of her great pleasures was “to soak up the sun and feel the waves rolling over her body.” Besides loving the beaches of California, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, Anita longed to explore the Greek Islands, Italy and Cuba with her daughter, Alyssa.

A polymath, Anita explored and developed expertise in various fields from gardening (which included raising chickens and bee-keeping, long before they were popular activities) to the physical sciences, especially astronomy and physics. She was an accomplished artist who worked in the fabric arts: silk screen, knitting and quilting. She developed as a ceramicist working at the Sofia Center in Portland but felt her best work was her latest work in fused glass art.

Our Aunt Bert, who was at Anita's side during her passing, regretted she could not attend the memorial. This is her remembrance of Anita:

The first time I met Anita was at a family wedding. We were meeting for the first time because I am the missing aunt who was finally reunited after 58 years with Anita’s mother, my sister Maria. But that’s another story and this is about Anita.

At our first meeting I thought Anita was a little shy. She held herself tall with dignity and quiet reserve. The next time, I met Anita, January 2009, was a sad time. Anita's mother, my sister Maria, was dying and was in the care of family and Hospice. During that difficult time I saw how Anita worked with her sisters in caring for her mother and how she also helped put together the final arrangements for their mothers viewing, rosary and Mass. A “hands on person,” Anita laid out the art work for the program for the services. It was at this time that Anita was beginning to feel discomfort and pain, and a couple of months later she was diagnosed with cancer.

I next saw Anita at her mother's memorial, held on Memorial Day weekend in May 2009. Anita was ill but she worked with her niece Kimberly and her sisters Stevie, Joie and Zoralie to prepare food, flowers and a lovely service for family, friends and many of Maria's clients from her tax service business who attended. Even in her illness, Anita exuded warmth and serenity.

And the last time I saw Anita and Alyssa, was Anita's last week. That was when I truly came to realize the person Anita was. I discovered and came to know her through the many people who visited Anita to say goodbye. Some were wonderful friends and many were associates who had participated with Anita in charitable, services to others. I learned about Anita's love and respect for all humanity, nature, animals and most of all, her family.

In her last week Anita was surrounded by friends who cherished her, by family she loved and who in turn loved her beyond measure, and by her sweet adored daughter, Alyssa. It is my belief, that Alyssa is truly Anita's greatest legacy. When I found my sister and her daughters my family grew and I had more love in my life. But with that love came some heartache too. I am blessed to have known Anita for as long as I did. I love you Anita and always will. Until later, your Aunt Bert

I'm sorry I didn't say these following words at the memorial but I wanted to add that I'm the person Anita visited on her cross country trip with the boyfriend and the two large dogs. She just showed up at my house in Connecticut and it turned out to be a really great visit.

A few years ago Anita and I discussed Asian art - she loved it and I just didn't get it. When she was dying and we were talking about this and that, I told her about an exhibition of a Japanese artist - a potter and silk screen artist - whose work just knocked me out. It was so beautiful. Anita smiled and sweetly reminded me, "See, I told you."

Anita knew a lot and she was extremely accomplished as an artist and as a business woman. I am so excited about her fused glass art. I feel her collaborator, Mike must find a way to channel her ideas and presence and continue making beautiful glass.

A jazz musician, Timothy Marquand said, "When a BIG PERSONALITY, a BIG SOUL dies, it leaves a huge empty space and you have to fill that empty space with beautiful things..."

Anita leaves a really huge space so let's keep looking for beauty.

Lots of beauty.

Tribute to Anita

2010-10-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

I lost my sister Anita Trudeau on September 1. Anita had been battling cancer for over a year and at the beginning of August we thought she would have another treatment that we hoped would perhaps, buy her another year. But her liver cancer had progressed too far and she could not tolerate nor be helped by another radiation treatment.

At the end of August her daughter Alyssa, my sisters Joie and Zoralie and I, nieces and nephews and many of Anita's friends gathered to say goodbye and ease her through her final passage. Her last days were wonderous and at times filled with hilarity as well as sadness. Her beloved JD cooked scrambled eggs for her - the first eggs his chicken Rocky had laid. Her beloved Mike shared with her a last taste of a wonderful micro-brewery IPA. Joie, Zoralie and I cooked like crazy and filled her home with the aromas of meals she loved, and she nibbled here and there to savor our gifts to her. One gorgeous day she took a last walk through her garden and the next night we carried her out to watch the stars from her back porch. She even attended one last service with her fellow Unitarians. She knew she was going to be the subject of the sermon and she wanted to hear what her minister was going to say. Who could blame her?

Anita died in her home surrounded by family and friends she loved and who now miss her terribly. The next day Alyssa, my sister Joie and her daughter, Kimberly and I picnicked on Mt Tabor Park, overlooking Portland. We drank a bottle of Oregon pinot noir, shared wonderful memories and I took notes for the obituary I would write for the local newspaper. It was a sunny, crisp end-of-summer day which Anita would have loved. The only thing she would have loved more would have been a day at the beach.

Update on Stevie's Artisans

2010-10-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been away for such a long time. Lots to catch up on.

To recap from my last posting: I left selling in a "brick & mortar" store format and unfortunately, the Hot Saturday idea just didn't pan out either. During the past summer I experimented selling through various, other retail options and outlets: street fairs, flea markets and shopping parties. In June, I set up a table at a neighborhood street fair - the Smith Street Fun Fair. The crowds were huge, the day was broiling hot and I had a fair amount of sales and lots of positive feedback. (The above image is of baby t-shirts and onsies printed with Ivette's screen art.)

I spent a couple of Sundays selling at the Hester Street Flea Market on New York's Lower East Side, although the financial return wasn't as good as for the Smith Street Fair. Ivette and I also had a couple of "shopping parties" at my home. Friends and acquaintances gathered in my living room for wine, cheese & crackers and shopping on a couple of Sunday afternoons. I mean, what's better than wine and shopping?

We'll definitely do a shopping party right after Thanksgiving. Maybe wine and pie instead of cheese & crackers.

As for online sales - Etsy has been okay, not great, just okay. For those who have noticed, I confirm that my own website has been a disaster. Completely MIA. I hired someone to design my site - paid him - he put up a rather incomplete presentation, then he took it down and disappeared. Yikes! Thankfully, my son was able to put up a temporary page so I'd have some credibility.

Good news - finalmente! Russell Borne, my niece Alyssa's boyfriend, is a graphic artist and web designer and he is going to build a site for Stevie's Artisans. It will have a store front (goodbye Etsy) and it will be fabulous. Russell is amazingly talented.

So, coming soon! The Stevie's Artisans website where you will see and be able to buy the work of Ivette Urbaez (screen art fashions), Teri Scaduto (quilts), Anita Trudeau & Mike Sweek (fused glass), Elizabeth Ortiz (mobiles and jewelry), Diana Pucci (jewelry) and Naemeh Shirazi (cameo collection, shown above).

Hot Saturday

2010-04-18T05:04:00.000-07:00

Hot Saturday at Linger Cafe and Lounge presents fashions by Ivette Urbaez

(photos of dresses by Ivette above and details of Hot Saturday below.)

Stevie's Artisans Blog has been MIA for a couple of months. So to catch up - I left the retail store I had been selling from because I'm not sure it was the right showcase for most of the artisans. Then again the economy hasn't been so conducive to lots of buying activity. So, I have been concentrating on building an ecommerce web site which is slowly coming to fruitition. It should be up soon, very soon - I hope.

And, once the web site storefront is up I will have a retail outlet for the artisans I have been working with: Ivette Urbaez, Lis Ortiz, Naemeh Shirazi, Diana Pucci, Aaron Lazansky, et al.
In the meantime...

I recently began working with an incredible Haitian designer who creates very classy and well constructed dresses from recycled umbrellas. Catherine Charlot deconstructs her umbrellas and then constructs the "pieces" into beautifully fashioned cocktail dresses that are fully lined and have intricate overstitching worked into the design. Catherine also works with lots of young designers instructing them in business concepts, promotion and marketing as well as seamstress skills.

This dynamic lady and I have teamed up to promote and introduce the work of emerging artists and designers in fun get-together/networking events that include music and good food. We are calling the events Hot Saturday and we are working with a smart and talented lady, Jessica Pichardo, to produce these events at her cafe: Linger Cafe & Lounge on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. The plan is to schedule the events on a monthly basis. In some cases we'll schedule a trunk sale for the Friday after the Saturday event.

Hot Saturday at Linger Cafe & Lounge kicks off Saturday, April 24 from 7-10 pm with a fashion show presentation of Dominican artist and designer Ivette Urbaez's silk screened fashions. Ivette brands her apparel with her distinctive themes and motifs: Bold Roses, Thorns & Roses and Fire Escapes - edgy, urban and Hot!

The Linger Cafe & Lounge menu will offer Empanadas, Ropa Vieja & Moros y Cristianos (rice and black beans) More taste of Latin culture is provided by the wine and beer selections, including Sangria and the Dominican Republic's own Presidente beer. The "Flavor" continues with Salsa, Merengue and other Caribbean beats. Dancing encouraged.

A raffle will be held to benefit the Collective Hands Foundation: aid to arts education. Donated raffle items include an Ivette Urbaez tote bag, a Kate Designs embroidered bag and a fashion item by Catherine Charlot.

Upcoming Hot Saturday events:

May: Multi-cultural eats and wearable art by Stevie's Artisans: Ortiz, Pucci, Ahn and Shirazi
June: Kompa, good food & upcycling your look with Haitian designer Catherine Charlot and work by father/daughter artists Arturo and Ellen Carranza
July: Hip Hop Culture: Street Art, Break Dancing, Stand-up and Spoken Word

Details in future blogs and eblasts.

See you next Saturday at Linger Cafe & Lounge, 533 Atlantic Avenue, (bet 3rd & 4th Ave.)
steviesartisans@gmail.com
enfo@chfoundation.org

2010-02-07T08:31:00.000-08:00

my art...is all about simplicity, serenity and balance. i love shapes, especially lines and curves and the moods they create. my chosen medium is metal...because it flows.

Elizabeth Ortiz

Artists create because they have to. I do believe that. If they have no money to buy materials they use found objects or whatever is at hand. Recycled and repurposed art is nothing new - artsts have recycled forever. One of the most striking works I remember from an exhibition of Cuban artist, Quisqueya Henriquez were photos made very early in her career. She arranged seaweed found at the beach into hexagonal patterns and then created hauntingly beautiful images. A found object - beach flotsam become geometric abstractions.

Elizabeth Ortiz created a mobile - "13 Sticks" - from pieces of wood salvaged from a friend's boat. Another mobile - "Sunday Funnies" - is made from fragments of newspaper comics and "Poetry in Motion" is recycled postcard messages suspended from a copper swirl.

Artists will also carve out work space - that "room" of one's own - wherever. Artist and jewelry maker Lis Ortiz has set up a temporary workshop within a shop. Several months ago she stepped in to manage a neighborhood liquor store for a friend incapacitated by a stroke. So Lis has been running the store and making her jewelry in studio space she has set up near the store's front window. She hammers her silver and copper and incorporates lovely stones to create her "mobile" earrings.

Lis has recently begun collaborating with another artist - Arturo Carranza, who creates exquisite miniature abstract paintings in acrylics. (Arturo, who will be featured in another posting, also paints portraits on found objects that include pebbles, rocks, rubber balls, newel posts and even horseshoe crabs washed up at Orchard Beach in the Bronx.) Arturo is artfully cutting up his mini paintings into even smaller pieces which Lis then wraps with wire and fashions into earrings - truly works of wearable art. They have real presence even though they are incredibly light.

The "mobile" earrings, like Lis' mobiles have fluidity and movement - a line curving in space and the glittering stones suspended from the silver wires, move with a toss of the head. Some designs are bold; others quite delicate and all about balance.

Check out more images of Elizabeth's work on my website: www.steviesartisans.com

Maria Socorro Valines

2010-01-31T19:39:00.000-08:00

I've been MIA for a while - a litttle traveling plus I was down with a stomach virus. I started out in Los Angeles, planning to show Ivette's designs to some stylists and to a friend who would help me develop promotion and marketing ideas. But some "bug" laid me low for three days and made me cancel all my appointments in LA.

So, on to Portland for a visit with my sister Anita, who with her boyfriend Mike, works with fused glass. Stevie's Artisans will soon include their candle sconces, sun catchers, coaster sets and jewelry - images soon to be posted. Then Anita, her daughter Alyssa, Mike and I drove up to Washington State to meet up with sisters Joie and Zoralie who are potters - two more soon-to-be additions to Stevie's Artisans.

The family get-together of four Trudeau sisters, various brothers-in-law and many nieces and one nephew took place to commemorate the first anniversary of our mother's death. We marked the date by cooking a dinner that celebrated her's and our culture. My mother, Maria Socorro Valines, was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico and came to New York with her mother and three brothers in 1936. She was six years and spoke no English. Although she was born a US citizen, she came to America by way of New York Harbor, sailing pass the Statue of Liberty and thus sharing the experience of so many European immigrants before her.

My mother eventually became totally bilingual and was completely American but she knew and remembered discrimination growing up a little Puerto Rican girl in NYC and later from my father's mid-West American family. Her beginnings were harrowing - my grandmother brought her children to New York to escape an abusive husband who beat her in the presence of her children. Mom was amazingly accomplished following the "American success model." She educated herself, worked hard and built an income tax business that served clients in her home state, California, and then eventually from all over the US. Her business began with and continued to serve Mexican-Americans and Mexican immigrants, many of whom she helped become American citizens. She never forgot her roots.

So we cooked a huge Puerto Rican feast. I made chicken fricasee (chicken stewed in a tomato sauce seasoned with onions, garlic, bay leaves, oregano and green olives.) I also cooked arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas). And all of us rolled dough and filled pastelillos (little pies) to be fried by another sister. Pastelillos are the Puerto Rican version of empanadas. Anita and her daughter made flan and Joie made a pineapple upside down cake - my mother's favorite and a dessert we always make for any and all family gatherings. As one of our family friends once commented, "If it's a Trudeau gathering, there will be pineapple upside down cake." We toasted mom and ate well. We told lots of stories and it seemed a very good way to mark this first anniversary of her passing.

Ivette Urbaez, Silkscreen Artist & Apparel Designer

2010-01-21T14:35:00.000-08:00

An important aspect of my relationship with the artisans I represent and work with has been product development. Sometimes it's a matter of fine-tuning and refining an an artistic idea and sometimes it's a question of suggesting better quality control. I've been working pretty closely on style development with Ivette Urbaez, who produces distinctive silkscreen designs on women's and men's apparel.

Born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Ivette hails from a family of artists and craftspeople. Her "screens" have a Latin flavor with her own unique twist. Her major themes include bold red roses printed on black or silver roses on navy or for an edgier look, black on black. Another rose motif she uses is steel gray roses with thorns. It's "Carmen" taken to a whole other level.

Ivette embraces NYC and pays homage to her urban home by splashing fire escapes over dresses and t-shirts. In this high rise city she also prints subway escalator scenes on shirts and tunics. Another motif she prints on hoodies, dresses and scarves is an intertwined mess of cables - Ivette's work definitely epitomizes Urban Folk Art.

I'm attempting to chase the January Blues with a special sale of her apparel Saturday, January 23 from 2:00 to 6:00 pm at Gumbo, a shop in downtown Brooklyn. The address is 493 Atlantic Avenue, bet. Nevins and Third Avenue. Ivette will be on hand to introduce her new and very hot lingerie - lacy tap pants and camisoles - perfect for Valentine's Day gifts.

Check out her web site at http://www.ivetteurbaez.com/ There's also images on my site http://www.steviesartisans.com/

More about how Stevie's Artisans started

2010-01-20T12:15:00.000-08:00

I work with such unique artists. I found my Bronx-based artists through the Bronx Council on the Arts. In 2007 I was hired to manage and buy for the Bronx Museum gift shop on a budget that was miniscule by any standards. I seem to remember I was told to start with $5000 for the first year and maybe it would increase going forward. I bought some graffiti books because the Bronx is the birthplace of Hip Hop and graffiti and the Bronx Museum is a museum of contemporary art. That was a no-brainer. I added feminist art books for a feminist art show - essentially trying to build a stock of books that complimented the exhibitions.

Then I turned to the Artisans' Initiative of the Bronx Council on the Arts to obtain gift items for the shop. I met several artists at a monthly craft fair at Hostos College and invited them to place their work at the museum shop on a consignment basis. For other gift items, I reached out to four women graffiti artists who had installed a mural for a feminist exhibition at the museum. They turned me on to women graffiti artists in Japan, Germany and Toronto and I began to carry their work (bags, t-shirts, sticker art, posters, etc.) at the museum shop.

I never intended that the Bronx Museum gift shop would excusively carry Bronx artists and soon the shop included artisans from all over NYC. All the work at the museum shop was diverse and eclectic and that diversity continues in the Stevie's Artisans collection which I started this past October when I left the museum and its shop closed. My one rule of thumb in creating the collection was not to have any of the artists competing with each other. The three jewelry designers I carry work in entirely different mediums and create pieces uniquely their own. However, collaborative efforts are now beginning among Stevie's Artisans: a painter is working with a jewelry maker and a fashion designer is advising a soft sculpture pillow maker. This is good. Thus far the painter/silversmith collaboration has yielded earrings that are mini abstract paintings with sculptural elements - truly wearable art.

Who and What is Stevie's Artisans

2010-01-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

I created Stevie's Artisans as a curated collection of museum quality hand crafts and wearable art made by graffiti and fine artists. Stevie's Artisans is actually a continuation and extension of a retail relationship with several Bronx-based artists begun when I was manager/buyer of the gift shop of the Bronx Museum of the Arts. After I was laid off (another causalty of the tanked economy) I expanded the group of artisans I was working with and resumed this retail relationship on my newly created web site: http://www.steviesartisans.com/

I now represent a group of fifteen artists with an eclectic collection of goods that includes hand-hammered silver jewelry, mobiles crafted from found objects, graffiti-painted model subway cars, art for children with a distinctly urban point-of-view, hand-made soaps and candles and hand painted silk-screened apparel.

I plan to introduce the incredibly talented artisans of Stevie's Artisans, show their work and talk about how my interest in folk art snowballed and evolved into my interest in what I think of as urban folk art.

Stevie's Artisans is a brand of hand-crafted, artisanal goods that I call "Urban Folk Art." My artisans create from a hip, urban perspective. The statement is often bold and "edgy" and it is always created with artistry and fine craftsmanship.