Sara gave me a bunch of these little glass vials that came with an order of essential oils for her diffuser. I looked at them, bewildered at what could possibly fit inside them. Then I started to think about how living spaces in New York City are so confined and restrictive—particularly green spaces. I then began to wonder if people around the world would like to share in the cramped, concrete existence that we call New York City living.
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(via Fast Company)
This Saturday, I finally got the chance to visit the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center construction site. The week of the attacks, all my friends and family expressed a desire to help with the rescue effort at Ground Zero. Because I lived in NYC at the time, I was lucky enough to be able to do something. Read more
In archiving old era404 projects, I just came across these twenty illustrations I created in 2003 for the Target Benchmarks Central Park event at Christie’s Auction House in the Rockefeller Center. The event was an auction to raise money for the Central Park Conservancy and produced/designed by Rand Burrus of Phoenix Event Productions. Each illustration was enlarged and reproduced on colossal 8′ x 8′ canvases to provide the backdrop for each of the benches being auctioned. In fact, after the bench auction was over, they began to auction off the illustrations too!
My last forays into illustrating for clients were for the Global Investment Literacy project and the Brooklyn Wine Company Sparkling White Wine Label. Target Benchmarks Central Park was a fun project and a chance to contribute artistically to a good cause. More information about the event can be found on the era404 website, here.
I’d debated putting this post up for a long time. In fact, for the last decade, I was convinced that it had no place in a personal blog. Any reference to those terrible events, commingled with announcements of my studio‘s successes and incessant ramblings about the decline of customer service, just seemed to be a flagrant rodomontade more than a eulogy. In light of the barrage of articles commemorating the ten-year anniversary of the tragedy, the shameful exposure of Vincent Forres and the 9/11 profiteers, and the revelation that I now have a 19% increased chance of developing cancer, I’d begun to re-evaluate this position.
This week, I shared my concern of cancer to a dear friend, a friend that I’ve known since 2003, and he was surprised to hear that I even volunteered. To someone with whom I share almost everything, it seemed equally surprising to me that I hadn’t mentioned it either. Maybe you should write something, he said. His suggestion was probably prompted by the concern for why I’ve remained silent for the last decade. And my understanding of this is ultimately what has lead to this post. Read more
New York’s famous City Hall subway station, one of the most gorgeous gems in the world of mass transit, has been closed for decades. Now it can be viewed again by in-the-know riders of the 6 train. Here’s how. Read more
