American Lifestyle Magazine.

Compliments of Timothy Shanahan AMERICAN LIFESTYLE
THE MAGAZINE CELEBRATING LIFE IN AMERICA
ISSUE 61
Timothy Shanahan
Chief Investment Strategist
Compass Capital Corp: (781) 535-6083 Ext: 305
Braintree
50 BRAINTREE HILL PARK STE 105
BRAINTREE, MA 02184
ISSUE 61 $5.95 US
CANADA/FOREIGN $6.95
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Front of Tear Out Card 1
Dear Bill and Judy,
In the adventure of life, don’t be afraid to blaze your own trail. This issue
of American Lifestyle magazine celebrates the innovators, the creators,
and the inventors. If you regularly compete for your neighborhood’s best
snow sculpture, ice connoisseur Brent Christensen can teach you a thing
or two. The ice castle hobbyist turned fun into a career, constructing
chilled masterpieces for the masses.
New York City-based designer Jarret Yoshida has no formal training in
design, but followed his happiness to a new career path. Yoshida credits
his success to people believing in him, giving him a chance, and letting
him prove himself. In “Purple and Posh,” he transforms a Gramercy
apartment with stunning artwork and signature pieces.
Artist and architect Christian Culver loved both painting and buildings.
Rather than choosing one, he combined the two into a new medium.
Using photographs of architecture he’s taken from all over the world,
he pastes them on top of vibrant pastels or oil paintings. The theme and
goal of his work is to invite the viewer to think, to analyze, to stop, and
to absorb.
As Robert Frost concluded, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took
the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” As always,
it is a pleasure to send you American Lifestyle magazine. Thank you for
your continued support through referrals and recommendations.
Timothy Shanahan
Timothy Shanahan
Timothy Shanahan
Chief Investment Strategist
Chief Investment Strategist
Compass Capital Corp: (781) 535-6083 Ext: 305
www.CompassCapital.co
Compass Capital Corp: (781) 535-6083 Ext: 305
www.CompassCapital.co
Braintree
50 BRAINTREE HILL PARK STE 105
BRAINTREE, MA 02184
Braintree
50 BRAINTREE HILL PARK STE 105
BRAINTREE, MA 02184
Back of Tear Out Card 1
CONTENTS
6
Dashing Through the Snow
DINNER SLEIGH RIDES IN FRISCO, COLORADO
Family-owned company Two Below Zero specializes in sleigh rides
through the woods that lead to a tucked-away diner in Frisco, Colorado.
10
To Your Health!
18
White House on the Hudson
24
Iced Magic
30
Purple and Posh
38
Meshing Art and Architecture
44
Operation Deaccession
GOOD-FOR-YOU RECIPES
It’s time to make healthy resolutions for your well-being. Take steps in the
right direction with recipes from Eat Well, Eat Happy by Charity Ferreira
(Weldon Owen, 2012).
THE ROOSEVELTS OF HYDE PARK
The Roosevelt National Historic Site in New York offers history buffs
and tourists a firsthand look into the homes of the
Roosevelts, including Val-Kill Cottage and Springwood.
THE CHILLED CASTLES OF BRENT CHRISTENSEN
Brent Christensen’s icy creations have evolved over the years from a hobby
for his children into masterpieces for the public.
SMALL SPACE DESIGN FROM JARRET YOSHIDA
New York City-based designer Jarret Yoshida gives a tiny space in
Gramercy plenty of Asian-inspired pop and personality.
THE LAYERS OF CHRISTIAN CULVER
Architecture and art meld together in Christian Culver’s paintings, which
combine dynamic shapes and colors with snapshots taken all over the world.
LIGHTENING THE LOAD IN THE AGE OF AMASSING
A Michigan couple figures out a way to unclutter two households worth of
stuff in a very creative way.
6
DINNER SLEIGH RIDES IN FRISCO, COLORADO
more smiles, less trials
AMERICAN LIFESTYLE
executive
chief executive officer: STEVEN ACREE
chief operating officer: steve husson
editorial
managing editor: Shelley Goldstein
associate editor: Robin Manrodt
creative
director: Joshua Stike
manager, production: Kristin Sweeney
manager, design: Alicia Mastrian
traffic coordinator: Pamela Lovell
production artists: Richard Boyer, Scott Higgins,
Brian Filone, Steven Hight, SHANA SMITH, margaret nealer
graphic designers: Rachel Hershey, stephen allen richards
print production specialist: Bryan Mathes
information technology
director: John supplee
lead software developer: jonathan campbell
technical lead: Joshua Freed
manager, system administration: clint alexander
system administrator: Dorian Preston
software developers: Thomas setliff, thaw Htaik, Bryan King, Aiden Mune-Ath
© Justyna Furmanczyk
customer service
director: scott ashworth
operations manager: Michael Graziola
team leader: Anthony Burrell, NATHAN HARTMAN
marketing advisors: Nicholas Porreca, Phoenix Falkenrath-Freed,
Nick McGowan, Peter Wetzel, Michael Campanile, Lisa Mays,
Timothy Bushnell, Joshua Kressler, Terence Hopson, Stephany Vance,
Charlene Campbell, Melissa Garvey
business development
manager: Dan Gallaway
coordinator, internship program: Kimberly Baker
business development assistant: James Bryson
business intelligence analyst: tyler allem
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fill the trail-weary up on pure nutritional goodness, leaving them with a skip in their steps instead of
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Something For All Your Adventures
sales & marketing
manager, presentation sales: Lee Stouch
manager, sales operations: jim lyons
senior account executive: Jeff Czerniakowski
training & development officer: Edward Zeto
account executives: Katrina Ettwein, dana mazzella, Ethan Acree,
LUKE ACREE, LUKE JOHNSON, nick bianco, john scheirer
administration: KARLIE MORIEN, Karen Patrick
accounting
manager: Edmund Deangelo
accounting assistant: Eric Hiryak
1 in 110 children will be born with a heart defect this year.
It is a lifelong journey and Mended Little Hearts
can help you navigate your way.
Get connected with other families who truly
understand this journey.
human resources
hr generalist: Kiel Parker
corporate recruiter: Carey Ballou
American Lifestyle magazine is published by ReminderMedia. For
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All is not quite quiet when the winter
night begins to descend upon the mountains
of Frisco, Colorado—although you would
never be able to tell by the looks of the location. With scenery so serene, it could inspire a Currier and Ives lithograph, this
area of Summit County feels calm and virtually undisturbed. Yet somewhere nestled
deep within the picturesque landscape lies
a remote destination where friends and
families alike are busy making memories as
they gather around for delicious meals and
live entertainment.
To discover this charming dinner party for
yourself, you must first exchange all modern
means of transportation for something a little
more old-fashioned: a turn-of-the-century
sleigh led by the charismatic characters at
Two Below Zero, a family-owned company
specializing in dinner sleigh rides since 1983.
Proprietor John Lampe and his team of outfitters whisk guests away on this charming
adventure from the Frisco Nordic Center
through various pine tree-covered trails to a
hidden-away diner in the woods, where hot,
homemade meals and an evening of family
fun await.
Focusing on quality, customer satisfaction,
and personal service, John Lampe has perfected the performance of dinner sleigh rides
since he took over the business back in October of 2007. “Ever since I got out of high
school, I always wanted to take on the challenge of running my own business. I would
wake up every morning and wonder what
that experience would be like,” recalls the entrepreneur, who had looked into a number of
different business opportunities throughout
the years with a friend before diving in to become one of the busiest sleigh ride companies
in the US. “I thought I would end up buying
a software company since I was in that line
of work at that time—until out of the blue,
my business partner sent an e-mail for this
small, family-run sleigh ride company. He
sent the idea more as a joke—with the subject line reading, ‘Do you want to become a
6
TRAVEL
mule whisperer?’—but after researching the
company, I saw there was great opportunity
to grow the business into avenues the current
owners weren’t pursuing. They had a good
foundation to work with—a good concept—
but we could really make this thing big! So we
bought the company and have since grown by
200 percent.”
While sticking to a small, family-owned
structure, much like it has always been, John
has infused higher quality aspects to enhance
the venue. He transformed the outdoor dining room from a basic A-frame tent with
poles and a dirt floor to an upscale version
with wooden beams and an interior that
boasts a warm, lodge-like ambience. With the
updated venue came a gourmet, three-course
meal that matched the value. By adding a few
different types of sleigh rides and offering
multiple dinners a night instead of just one,
Two Below Zero is able to share the experience with a wider audience.
While patrons indulge in
the delicious scenery, the
drivers share a myriad of
stories—tales about their
personal lives as
cowboys living off the
land, their draft mules
and the mountains, or the
people who once called
this area home.
Dashing Through the Snow
DINNER SLEIGH RIDES IN FRISCO, COLORAD O
text: ELLIE LAWRENCE
photography: JEFF BERNHARD/EPIC PHOTOGRAPHY
Family-owned company Two Below Zero specializes in sleigh rides
through the woods that lead to a tucked-away diner in Frisco, Colorado.
“People enjoy themed dinners like this because it takes them out of their normal, dayto-day routine,” explains John, who actually
pursued a career in the food and beverage industry before turning to the corporate world
for a twelve-year stint. “Eating out, in general,
AL 7
takes you out of the mundane of eating at
home, but a themed dinner takes things to
another level. It is much more interactive—
like going to an amusement park where you
can lose yourself within this magical experience for a little bit of time.”
Of course, reaching the remote site is a memorable experience in itself. Groups of twelve
to twenty people pile into each sleigh, snuggling under blankets with their family and
friends to shield themselves from the elements. They embark on a twenty-minute ride
along the peninsula of Lake Dillon through
territory that’s about eight miles from Breckenridge (the area’s largest ski resort in terms
of number of skier visits per year). At 9,100
feet in elevation, the fairly flat path with subtle inclines offers spectacular mountain vistas
overlooking the snow-covered lake and Gore
Range in the distance. And if there happens to
be snow falling to the ground, it only enhances
the experience.
While patrons indulge in the delicious scenery, the drivers share a myriad of stories—
tales about their personal lives as cowboys
living off the land, their draft mules and the
mountains, or the people who once called
this area home. They might point out what
is commonly called the J Chute, where an
avalanche carved a J shape into the mountainside many years ago, or tell about the former Masontown that was demolished by an
avalanche while the entire town was headed
to downtown Frisco for a big holiday party.
“The drivers,” John describes, “almost become entertainers along the way.”
At the remote campsite, everyone dismounts
the sleighs and enters the heated tent to settle
at the tables while the drivers unhitch their
teams of mules, wash up, and become the
waiters for the night. To warm up the crowd
from the chilly trek, hot cocoa and chicken
cheese enchilada soup is served with a variety
of rolls. The main course includes both steak
and a marinated chicken breast (so that no
one has to choose between the two), served
8
Just when they thought they were
having a good time once they got
to the site—that the sleigh ride was
going to be the memorable aspect
of the night—they come in, see
the tent, and enjoy the food. They
presume it can’t get any better than
this. But the experience is
heightened even more once the
entertainment begins. We strive
to make the entire
experience memorable.
with a baked potato and vegetables. (Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available too.)
A scrumptious serving of apple pie concludes
the ensemble. Despite this destination being
truly in an isolated location (about a mile out
from the Frisco Nordic Center that’s only accessible by snowmobile or cross-country ski),
all of the food is cooked to perfection on-site.
After dinner, entertainer David Peel takes
the stage to perform a half-hour live music
show. From Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson
to Waylon Jennings and Neil Diamond, David generates high energy and excitement
through his incredible celebrity voice impersonations. “David Peel is an outstanding entertainer. You would think Johnny Cash and
Neil Diamond were out there,” notes John.
“This is David’s sixth season with us, and the
crowds really take to him. People start singing and waving their hands like they are at a
live concert.
night—they come in, see the tent, and enjoy
the food. They presume it can’t get any better than this. But the experience is heightened even more once the entertainment begins. We strive to make the entire experience
memorable for our guests.”
Unfortunately, the good time must eventually end. After the show, it is time to bundle
up and get back on the sleigh to head home.
Although the evening is over, John hopes
that the night’s experience remains as a lifetime memory: “I tell my staff that this might
be our eighty-fifth sleigh ride of the year, but
this could be a person’s only dinner sleigh
ride of their lifetime, so let’s make it special.
Our goal is to have people leave saying this
was the highlight of their vacation.”
AL :: www.dinnersleighrides.com
“I love being the fly on the wall, watching
people react to the entertainment and the
whole production,” John reflects. “Just when
they thought they were having a good time
once they got to the site—that the sleigh ride
was going to be the memorable aspect of the
AL 9
4 SERVINGS • SOURCE OF GOOD FATS • SOURCE OF FIBER
To Your Health!
FOOD
GO OD-FOR-YOU RECIPES
text: CHARITY FERREIRA
photography: KANA OKADA
It’s time to make healthy resolutions for your well-being. Take steps in the
right direction with recipes from Eat Well, Eat Happy by Charity Ferreira
(Weldon Owen, 2012).
salmon burgers
W I T H S H AV E D F E N N E L A N D O L I V E T A P E N A D E
ingredients:
11/4 pounds salmon fillet
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons dried bread crumbs
11/2 tablespoons olive oil
11⁄2 cups baby greens
1⁄2 cup thinly sliced fennel
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
4 crusty sandwich rolls
1/4 cup olive tapenade
olive tapenade:
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 small clove of garlic
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon orange zest, grated
Freshly ground pepper
10
cooking instructions:
1. Remove skin and bones from salmon, and cut into 1-inch pieces. In a food processor, pulse salmon with mayonnaise, mustard, shallot, tarragon, 1⁄4 teaspoon of salt, and 1⁄8 teaspoon of pepper until finely chopped. Stir in bread crumbs.
2. Divide mixture into quarters, and shape each portion into a patty.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick frying pan over
medium heat. Add salmon burgers, and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides and opaque in center, about 8 minutes total.
4. Combine greens and fennel in a bowl, and toss to coat with
remaining 1⁄2 tablespoon of olive oil and vinegar.
5. Spread bottom half of each roll with about 1 tablespoon of
tapenade. Top with a salmon burger, mound about 1⁄2 cup of greens mixture on top of burger, and top with other half of roll. Serve
at once.
Olive Tapenade
1. In a food processor, combine the olives and garlic,
and process until finely chopped. Add the oil, lemon
juice, orange zest, and a few grindings of pepper, and
puree until well blended.
AL 11
12–14 PANCAKES, 4 SERVINGS • CALCIUM-RICH • SOURCE OF FIBER
wild rice cakes
W I T H S M O K E D M O Z Z A R E L L A A N D P E CA N S
ingredients:
3⁄4 cup wild rice
3⁄4 cup long-grain brown rice
3 large eggs
1 cup shredded smoked mozzarella
or smoked Gouda
6 tablespoons fine dried bread crumbs
3⁄4 cup green onions, finely chopped,
plus more for garnish
3⁄4 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1⁄2 cup sour cream
cooking instructions:
1. In a small saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add rices, reduce heat to very low, and cover. Cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 45–50 minutes. Cool rice to room temperature.
2. In a bowl, beat eggs with a fork until blended. Add cooked rice, cheese, bread crumbs, 3⁄4 cup of green onions, pecans, 3⁄4 teaspoon of salt, and 1⁄4 teaspoon of pepper; mix until well blended.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. With wet hands, squeeze 1⁄4-cup portions of mixture into 3-inch rounds. Place in pan, 3 or 4 at a time, and cook, turning once, until browned and crisp on both sides, 4–6 minutes total. With a spatula, transfer to a plate, and keep warm in a 200°F oven. Repeat with remaining mixture, adding more oil to pan as needed.
4. Place 3 rice cakes on each serving plate. Top with a dollop of sour cream, and garnish with green onions. Serve at once.
12
AL 13
4–6 SERVINGS • SOURCE OF ANTIOXIDANTS • SOURCE OF MINERALS
gratin of winter root vegetables
W I T H th y me and n u tme g
ingredients:
3 slices artisan-style sourdough bread,
(about 1⁄2 inch thick)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1⁄3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3 pounds root vegetables (parsnips, sweet
potatoes, carrots, turnips, golden beets,
and rutabagas)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon thyme, minced fresh
or 1⁄4 teaspoon dried
1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
cooking instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Place bread slices on a baking sheet, and bake until crisp and dry, 20–25 minutes. Rub one side of each slice of warm bread with one of the garlic cloves. Let bread cool, and tear into chunks. Put in a food processor, in batches if necessary, and process until bread forms coarse crumbs. Transfer to a bowl, and mix with 1 tablespoon of oil and Parmesan. Set aside.
2. Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Mince remaining clove of garlic. Peel root vegetables, and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Heat
remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat. Add vegetables, 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt, a few
grindings of pepper, thyme, nutmeg, and minced garlic to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown, 4–6 minutes. Add 1⁄4 cup of water, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender when pierced, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, and, if desired, transfer vegetables to a casserole or baking dish for serving. Sprinkle evenly with bread crumb
mixture. Bake until top is golden brown, 10–12 minutes.
Serve at once.
14
AL 15
ABOUT 30 BONBONS, 8 SERVINGS • SOURCE OF ANTIOXIDANTS
chocolate-banana bonbons
W I T H toasted almonds
ingredients:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2⁄3 cup toasted almonds or pecans, chopped
2 bananas
cooking instructions:
1. In a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt chocolate, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove pan from heat, but leave bowl of chocolate on top of pan to keep warm.
2. Place nuts in a shallow bowl. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
3. Peel bananas, and cut into 1⁄2-inch rounds. Drop 1 banana slice at a time into chocolate, and turn to coat. Lift out with a fork, tapping fork gently on bowl edge to allow excess chocolate to drip back into bowl. Place banana slice on baking sheet, and sprinkle with nuts. Repeat to dip and coat remaining banana slices.
4. Freeze bonbons until chocolate is set, about 20 minutes, then
transfer to an airtight container, and store in the freezer for up to
1 week.
16
AL 17
HISTORY
experience the era of the early 1930s through the end of World War II
is to visit the lifelong home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States’ thirty-second
One of the best ways to
president (1933-1945) and the only one elected to four terms.
The past can be emotionally difficult
to revisit, especially when it’s a time of high
unemployment; millions of home foreclosures; a long, global war; and great income
disparities. Post-2007 America? No. 1933
America. Because of the similarities of that
era and the first decade of the twenty-first
century, historians have realized the resonance between the two time periods.
photo | National Park Service, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, W.D. Urbin
White House on the Hudson
T H E R O O S E V E L T S O F H Y D E PA R K
text: MARTHA STEGER
photography: AS NOTED
The Roosevelt National Historic Site in New York offers history
buffs and tourists a firsthand look into the homes of the
Roosevelts, including Val-Kill Cottage and Springwood.
One of the best ways to experience the era
of the early 1930s through the end of World
War II is to visit the lifelong home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States’ thirtysecond president (1933-1945) and the only
one elected to four terms. Seeing films and
documentaries—such as the very popular
public television series on FDR, First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt, and their family—helps
bring the past alive; but it is no substitute for
personally visiting their Hyde Park estate,
which breathes life into the historical figures.
The Roosevelt National Historic Site in New
York—a two-hour drive north of Manhattan—comprises several sites, including FDR’s
ancestral home, Springwood, and the FDR
Presidential Library and Museum; Eleanor
Roosevelt’s home, Val-Kill Cottage; and FDR’s
retreat, Top Cottage, which he designed in
1938 as a fully accessible retreat to accommodate his wheelchair. Nearby is Vanderbilt
Mansion National Historic Site, included on
the Roosevelt Ride ticket to help visitors explore the context of the Gilded Age’s social
and economic history.
New in 2013
This past summer saw the opening of a new,
18
self-guided, interactive, and accessible tour of
the Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum as a result of the $35 million renovation
over more than a three-year period—the first
renovation of the building since it opened to
the public in 1941.
on the characters of people who staffed the
home, such as Johnny, one of FDR’s Secret
Service agents; Robert, the butler; and Mary,
the cook. Val-Kill’s new program, “Cottage
Conversations,” is organized around themed
subjects of Eleanor’s life and scheduled with
tea and cookies served on the same china Eleanor used. “At Your Service,” staged at Vanderbilt Mansion, is an interactive, behindthe-scenes tour designed for visitors who’ve
already been through the mansion and want
to take on the role of a servant. All of the new
programs are free but require reservations
because of limited numbers on each tour.
New exhibits, installed with $6 million in private funds raised by the Roosevelt Institute,
tell the story of the Roosevelt presidency beginning in the depths of the Great Depression
and continuing through the New Deal years
and World War II with an emphasis on both
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s relationship
with the American people. Immersive audiovisual theaters and rarely seen artifacts bring
the story to a new generation.
Hyde Park
The FDR Presidential Library’s new museum
experience is more accessible to people with
disabilities and language barriers: State-ofthe-art exhibits depict FDR’s heroic struggle
to regain his strength and political career
after polio. Tactile exhibits enhance the visitor experience for children and visitors with
impaired vision. The library also includes a
bilingual audio tour using current and developing technologies to bring the story of the
Roosevelts to more diverse audiences. The
outstanding photographic exhibit, The Roosevelts: Public Figures, Private Lives, continues
through 2014 at the library.
The Roosevelt Ride, a free shuttle on a hybrid
bus (reservations required), takes visitors
from the Poughkeepsie Train Station (served
by Metro North Railroad from New York’s
Grand Central Station) to the four major historic sites mentioned above, which are part
of the National Park Service in the Hudson
River Valley. For driving visitors to any of
the area’s NPS sites, the free shuttle makes it
easy to access the four major sites in one full
day, as it makes loops to all sites; but visitors
should plan their day carefully because the
shuttle makes only one trip daily to Vanderbilt mansion and three trips to Val-Kill and
to Top Cottage.
Also new in 2013 have been pilot tour programs at three of the Hyde Park sites, which
ended in early October but resume in May
2014: Springwood features costumed interpreters, National Park Service guides who
once a month wear period dress and take
Begin at the Wallace Visitors Center, named
for FDR’s Secretary of Agriculture who went
on to become vice president in Roosevelt’s
third term as president. Here visitors see an
orientation video and can purchase tickets,
which should be reserved in advance. The
Gas-free Getaway for Visitors to
AL 19
photos | National Park Service, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, W.D. Urbin
photo | National Park Service, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, W.D. Urbin
room house are original to the home lends
a feeling of authenticity, making the history
feel less long ago and far away.
The main hall reflects the period June 1939
when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
of England (the first reigning British monarchs to visit the United States) crossed the
threshold to stay at the mansion. The Roosevelts formally entertained all guests in the
Dresden Room, though the family liked to
gather in the more casual Living Room/
Library. Here, too, Roosevelt pursued his
hobbies, poring over his stamp collection and
building ship models.
Upstairs are the Birth Room, with the bed in
which he was born; and his Boyhood Bedroom, later used by each of his sons in turn.
King George VI and Prime Minister Winston
Churchill, among other notables, stayed in
other rooms off the same hall. The bedroom
FDR used as president remains as it was during his last stay in March 1945, shortly before
his death. He loved this room partly because
of the beautiful view across the south lawn
and down the Hudson River.
From the Visitors Center, a
short stroll leads to the Rose
Garden, where Eleanor and
Franklin are buried in a
simple, marble crypt. He
planted many of the estate’s
grounds’ species of trees,
eventually turning large
portions of the property
into an experimental
forestry station.
orientation takes you back to the beginning
of Springwood, the Roosevelt family estate,
in the 1640s. Generations of Roosevelts were
born and raised here. A map depicted in mosaic on the floor shows how expansive the
estate was at the time of FDR’s death in 1945:
spanning 1,520 acres, it stretched from the
Hudson River to Top Cottage, seven miles
long and one-quarter mile wide. Roosevelt
donated his home and thirty-three acres to
the American people in 1943, with the condition that his family be allowed to use it after
his death; the family relinquished its rights in
1945, and it is presently a 290-acre national
historic site.
Springwood
From the Visitors Center, a short stroll leads
20
to the Rose Garden, where Eleanor and
Franklin are buried in a simple, marble crypt.
He planted many of the estate’s grounds’ species of trees, eventually turning large portions of the property into an experimental
forestry station.
Scott Rector, Hyde Park’s NPS chief of interpretation, says, “We believe that some of the
seeds germinated here for his New Deal programs. For example, it’s not far-fetched to see
his love of forestry later grew into the New
Deal program known as the Civilian Conservation Corps.”
Touring the home is a time-travel experience,
especially if one can take a first-person tour.
The fact that all furnishings in the thirty-five-
Eleanor had an adjoining, small bedroom
used for a study, as she stayed with FDR
whenever he was at home. She never considered Springwood “home,” as it belonged to
her mother-in-law, who reluctantly approved
of the marriage and whose bedroom adjoined
hers. Clearly, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt—a
distant cousin of FDR and one who was educated in England after the early deaths of her
parents—was different from other New York
debutantes he had dated.
Touring the home is a
time-travel experience,
especially if one can take a
first-person tour. The fact
that all furnishings in the
thirty-five-room house are
original to the home lends
a feeling of authenticity,
making the history feel less
long ago and far away.
Eleanor’s Val-Kill
Just as the war-weary Franklin in 1944 longed
for home when he said, “All that is within
me cries out to go back to my home on the
Hudson River,” so the first lady demonstrated
love for her own retreat on the estate when
she said, “Val-Kill is where I used to find
myself and grow. At Val-Kill, I emerged as
an individual.”
AL 21
The only National Historic Site dedicated to
a first lady, Val-Kill (about two miles from
the mansion at Springwood) takes its name
from Dutch words for waterfall and stream.
A tour, complete with the sixteen-minute
film, Close to Home, takes approximately an
hour; but reservations are recommended, as
passageways in the modest house are narrow
and tour groups small.
Val-Kill volunteer Doris Mack knew and
talked with Eleanor Roosevelt; she’s a wealth
of information about—and aphorisms uttered by—the woman known as the “First
Lady of the World.” Quoting Mrs. Roosevelt,
she says, “A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into
hot water.”
Time Magazine listed her as the only first
lady to have a bounty ($25,000) placed on her
head by the Ku Klux Klan, making another of
her sayings quoted by Mack very appropriate:
“Courage is more exhilarating than fear, and
in the long run, it is easier. We do not have
to become heroes over night. Just a step at
a time.”
While she traveled around the world (40,000
miles in one year alone) as first lady and long
afterward in her efforts to make a difference
in people’s lives around the globe, Val-Kill remained her refuge. Mack adds levity to her
tours, telling how hard it was to keep cooks at
the Stone Cottage because “they could never
Roosevelt proved to be often in hot water in
terms of stepping into the controversies of
the day, but always remained very strong.
She ignored rules regarding segregation of
the races, inviting black friends to sit with
her at events they couldn’t otherwise attend;
and she wrote for black periodicals such as Jet
and Ebony.
count on a specific number for dinner. This
place was like a resort. Mrs. Roosevelt would
have friends over for canoeing or horseback
riding and end up inviting everyone to stay
for dinner.” Mack indicates the “five-leafer”
dining room table, whose leaves could be
quickly added to feed more guests.
She also points to the brick, outdoor barbecue, which came in handy for entertaining friends, as the Roosevelts loved picnics.
“Every Fourth of July, someone in the family read the Declaration of Independence,”
Mack adds.
After Val-Kill was completed in 1925, when
her children were grown, Eleanor and her
friends added a small furniture factory in
which they established Val-Kill Industries,
where local farmers produced early American furniture, pewter, and woven goods in
the off-season to supplement their income
and prevent them from having to migrate to
cities. Eleanor’s experience helped shape her
interest in New Deal efforts to create selfsupporting rural communities.
Among the many personal artifacts, papers,
and family heirlooms that remain here are
several examples of the furniture produced at
the Val-Kill factory. “Everything made at ValKill,” Mack says, “has ‘Val-Kill’ stamped on it.
photo | National Park Service, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, W.D. Urbin
exhilarating than fear, and in the long run, it is easier. We do
not have to become heroes over night. Just a step at a time.
Courage is more
“She met with the prime minister of France
here—and with JFK in 1960 on the day her
granddaughter died. The sleeping porch is
where she’d work for hours at night,” often
writing her popular six-days-a-week syndicated newspaper column, My Day, in which
she addressed major issues such as racism
from 1935 until the day she died (November
7, 1962).
UN Commission on Human Rights without
the leadership of its chair, Eleanor Roosevelt.
“We make our own history,” she said. A visit
to Val-Kill shows why Eleanor Roosevelt’s
heritage has continued to grow over more
than seventy years.
AL :: www.nps.gov/hofr
www.fdrlibrar y.marist.edu
www.historichydepark.org
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, had several
authors; but most observers believe the Declaration would not have been adopted by the
photos | National Park Service, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, W.D. Urbin
22
Martha Steger is a Midlothian, Virginia-based freelance
journalist who regularly covers the arts, historical sites,
authors, and travel destinations for a variety of print and
online publications.
photo | www.dutchesstourism.com
AL 23
SCULPTURE
I have never been one who enjoys
being outdoors during the winter season.
When Jack Frost and Old Man Winter encase
the town in sheets of ice and billowy snow,
consider it time for me to hibernate in front
of the fireplace with a book until the violets
are ready to bloom. However, when I first laid
eyes on photographs of Brent Christensen’s
ice castles, an acre’s worth of mesmerizingly
beautiful configurations made entirely out of
ice, I knew it was time to leave the confines
of home to embrace the beauty that winter
brings—because there was certainly something magical happening out there!
Iced Magic
THE CHILLED CASTLES OF BRENT CHRISTENSEN
text: ROBIN RYAN
photography: RYAN DAVIS
Brent Christensen’s icy creations have evolved over the years from a hobby
for his children into masterpieces for the public.
24
For years now, while some of us hunker
down until the storm of winter passes, Brent
Christensen relishes in the elements, experimenting with Mother Nature’s wonders as
he perfects the science of making ice castles.
Commanding freezing water into fantastic
formations with the help of tens of thousands
of meticulously placed icicles, he is able to
construct masterpieces of amazement made
entirely out of ice without any supporting
substructures. Columns of ice towering fifty
feet tall, jagged icicles jutting out before cascading down, archways leading to caverns
and tunnels—each year’s dramatic design is
more elaborate than the last. “You feel like
you’re in a glacier,” Brent describes. “Surrounded by this thick blue ice that is illuminated from within at night, it is this supernatural, out-of-this-world experience.”
As large scale as the ice castles are these days,
it is hard to believe they originated from simple snow sculptures that once dressed up the
yard of Brent’s house in the winter. “When
we moved from California to Utah in 2000,
I started playing around with snow, making
little igloos and snow forts, mostly as a way
to have fun and play with the kids,” recalls
Brent, who at the time was searching for new
outdoor winter activities for his children.
“One year, we had a neighbor down the street
put a sprinkler up on a pole and let it run.
Like a frozen fountain, it would create this
massive thing of ice, which was fascinating.
I thought we would do something like that.
So we made a little wood structure and put a
sprinkler on it. I ran a hose out of our basement for our water. We would throw things
in there like bicycles and whatever we had
in the yard—just to see everything getting
engulfed in the ice and how it changed the
overall formation.”
Commanding freezing
water into fantastic
formations with the help
of tens of thousands
of meticulously placed
icicles, he is able to
construct masterpieces of
amazement made entirely
out of ice without any
supporting substructures.
His technique turned slightly more strategic
the following year, and the design double
AL 25
as grand. A wooden structure topped with
sprinklers that towered twenty feet tall, an attached slide that became a luge track, interior
rooms, and even an ice rink—Brent set out to
create a big urban playground. And by spraying the ice configuration with water in the
middle of the night, the changing formations
were ever evolving and beautifully organic in
nature. It wasn’t long before Brent was completely mesmerized by the medium’s allure.
Brent graduated from relying on a frame to
direct the ice sculpture’s shape and began
mastering the technique of manipulating the
freezing water without the use of a substructure. “It was probably 2010 when I actually
learned how to make the kind of ice structures that we currently make,” recalls Brent,
who grew tired of the mess a wooden substructure left behind. “When that last one
melted in the spring, it splintered, and there
was broken-up wood. It took a lot of work to
pick the mess up. I thought maybe next year,
I could make one without any infrastructure
in it.”
take shape. The beautiful configuration grew
taller than the house, and caught the attention of a couple news stations. Before long,
Brent was reveling in the possibility of bringing his ice castles to a commercial market.
and the colors of the ice. I had enjoyed this
thing for a couple years at home. This would
allow the public to come in and enjoy some
of the crazy stuff that goes on when you spray
water in freezing temperatures.”
“My goal for bringing the ice castles to the
masses was twofold,” explains Brent. “On one
hand, I was spending all my time with it, so I
honestly thought this would be a livelihood.
But the main benefit of moving it to a public location like a resort was a larger venue
would allow for more space to create. And
we could do it in a way that people can really connect with it, walk in and around the
formations, and get more involved and interactive. People can get up close and see the
intricacies of some of the icicle formations
It took several months of dedication and a lot
of rejections from local resorts before Brent
was able to find someone interested in having
an ice castle as an attraction at their property;
the Zermatt Resort in Midway, Utah, was the
backdrop for Brent’s debut public—and very
large—ice castle. Success in that venture solidified Brent’s quest to share his magical
creations with even more visitors. Every year
since, he sets out to find another location that
enables him to create bigger and better ice
castles. “Last year was more ambitious than
“
Word got out about the ice castle and the artist,
and car after car began driving by Christensen’s home to see this unique tower of ice
take shape. The beautiful configuration grew taller than the house, and caught
the attention of a couple news stations.
Brent began by buying blocks of ice and using chunks of snow to form his icy artwork.
Part way through the process, he discovered
that he could pull icicles off and fuse those
into formations with a water and snow mix,
before spraying the designed structure with
water at night to layer it in sheets of ice. Using icicles as a lattice allowed Brent to grow
the structure very tall very quickly while
offering him the ability to really direct the
orientation of the growth; horizontal icicles
offered the ability to join adjacent structures
together and increase the strength and stability immensely. “It became a much more pliable process,” describes Brent, who attributes
the discovery of this technique to curiosity
and experimentation. The end result yielded a large ice formation, which his children
dubbed “an ice castle.”
Word got out about the ice castle and the artist, and car after car began driving by Christensen’s home to see this unique tower of ice
26
AL 27
walking paths where you are surrounded by the ice structures to the
tunnels and passageways that actually take you underneath the ice, the team is busy changing up
From the open plazas and
the landscape to keep curiosity churning.
previous years. It was the first year that we
tried to do two different, separate events,
and that was because we had the employees
that allowed us to do that,” announces Brent.
“The first two years, we were in Midway. The
second year was in Silverthorne, Colorado,
and then last year was in Springboat Springs,
Colorado, and Mall of America in Minnesota. We like to bump it up a level each year to
make it more interactive and enjoyable.”
When you explore these recent ice castles, it
is hard to believe it is possible for Brent and
his team to make them any better than what
28
they are; their composition is dynamic and
spellbinding. From the open plazas and walking paths where you are surrounded by the
ice structures to the tunnels and passageways
that actually take you underneath the ice, the
team is busy changing up the landscape to
keep curiosity churning. And as long as the
weather stays cold, this icy wonderland will
continue to grow and change. “That part is
really intriguing. Even after doing it for a few
years, going out in the morning to see what
has happened overnight is impressive,” describes Brent, who reveals that they are constantly adding to the castles to some extent
from the time they start in mid December
until the weather turns warm in April.
One factor, however, will always remain constant: you will inevitably lose yourself into
your imagination while exploring the ice castles. “Experiencing the ice castles in person
is different from looking at them in pictures.
The Mall of America is a really good example
because here you are in Minneapolis in this
big metro area. And when you go into the ice
castles, it is like you stepped into a different,
arctic world,” explains Brent, who equates the
experience to going inside of a glacier. “Even
though it may be cold outside wherever you
are, you’ve stepped into an area that is very
different from anywhere you have been in
before (at least for most people). You are surrounded by the glassy sheen of icicles and
ice walls, and the colors are very blue during the day. As you’re walking through, you
can be looking back inside of a structure and
see some icicles that are taking very strange
formations. You will have these jagged icicles
that aren’t going straight down but instead
are going out at forty-five-degree angles before coming down and jutting out at another
forty-five-degree angle. Or you will have ice
that takes on bubble shapes on the surface, or
icicles that will come down in a sheet. It takes
you into a different realm.”
Since the pictures do not do justice, free
yourself of cabin fever and the winter blues
by exploring the castles firsthand before these
magical structures melt away.
AL :: www.icecastles.com
Photographs used in this article are reprinted with
permission from Ice Castles.
AL 29
DESIGN
my passion for design any more than I can tell you
why I like chocolate cake. But it has been an inherent quality since I can remember.
I don’t know what determines
What determined your passion for
design? Was there an incident or
moment you knew?
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Honestly, I have been interested in design
since I can remember. Growing up on the big
island of Hawaii, my family was very poor.
In the first grade, we went to my mother’s
friend’s house who had a pool—which was
very glamorous to me. They had used cinder blocks for a wall surrounding their pool.
I remember wondering why would they use
cinder block instead of lava block. Lava is so
much prettier! It is pretty genetic, I guess. I
don’t know what determines my passion for
design any more than I can tell you why I like
chocolate cake. But it has been an inherent
quality since I can remember.
H I DA
What is your background and
training in design?
I have been interested in design intellectually
since I was young. I would go to a lot of museums and walk-throughs, and I’ve studied
art as part of my degree in East Asian studies
and international relations. But I have no formal training in design whatsoever. I am very
lucky in that my inherent interest in design,
combined with frequent trips to a lot of museums, lent itself to me being in this field. I
had professionally been a fundraiser before
for the Smithsonian and Vice President Gore
and Senator Bradley. But this was always my
calling. I always wanted to be a designer.
AL 31
minutes—because you don’t want to be boring at cocktail parties, let alone not be involved in the world around you. And then I
get started with work.
Who do you admire in the design
world?
Billy Baldwin was a genius at the way he incorporated traditional furniture with really
great layouts that still feel modern today . . .
with palettes and textures that also feel modern today. I admire that a lot. He also worked
very well with his clientele which I think is
so important.
As for current designers, I am an admirer of
John Saladino’s style and taste. His ability to
integrate antiques and modern furniture is
pretty much without parallel. I admire the
intellectual approach to it and the aesthetic
approach to his work. It is fantastic. When I
look through his books or see his work, I find
myself being incredibly envious of his understanding of antiques, and how he really integrates them into furniture schemes in a way
that feels natural and not forced. It is something I aspire to in my own work.
What inspires you? (Colors?
Locations? Textiles?)
What pushed you to finally pursue
your passion as a profession?
My ex encouraged me to move to New York,
noting that I was not supposed to be in fundraising if design is what was going to make
me happy. So I left Washington, DC, to become a designer! And it worked out for me.
I can’t say that my training in design did not
come with a lot of help from people who became some of my first clients. People were
very helpful in getting me a job and introducing me to the right people. For that, I am
forever grateful. My first position was with
Thom Filicia, who hired me as an assistant
with the mindset that I was acting as a project manager for a client in Miami. My career
went from there.
previously renovated by another interior
designer, but the decor looked dated. In my
opinion, it had been done to look great from
an editorial standpoint (it had been featured
in Architectural Digest before) and not really
to stand the test of time. Patrick McCarthy
said, “I want you to leave where you are, and
I want to be your very first client.” And you
do not say no to the head of W! He is still
my client, and he continues to introduce me
to people. My career is the product of a lot
of great luck and people in New York being
exceptionally supportive. I always tell people
that I am the classic New York story of having
people believe in me, giving me a chance, and
letting me prove myself.
How do you stay organized and keep
What was your first design project?
track of multiple projects?
It was for the editor-in-chief and creative director of W Magazine. The house had been
When I started my own firm, I made a mistake. I had a lot of projects, and I didn’t have
32
the capacity professionally or staff-wise to
handle them. It has been a really long trek. I
think interior designers are inherently artistic, but you need to have the ability to manage projects as well. Being an interior designer is not just about creating beauty; it is about
creating beauty and making sure it fits within
certain parameters. To that end, we have a
Google doc spreadsheet that I share with my
interns, assistants, and myself which helps
me manage a lot of projects all at once—because you can’t keep everything in your head
and expect them to move forward in a professional fashion.
Do you have a morning routine?
Since I am vegetarian now and prediabetic,
I have to be very careful with what I eat. I
eat oatmeal with whatever fresh fruit is happening. Then I get my day started by reading the New York Times for ten to fifteen
I am inspired by the various places that I have
lived throughout my life—Tokyo, Hawaii,
Washington, and New York. These places inspire me every day, especially the particular
preferences for aesthetics that each city has.
Additionally, I visit Paris quite often, which
has been wonderful in terms of understanding that when we think about how we aspire
as Americans, so much of it comes from Paris
and France in general. That is really helpful
for me in terms of getting inspiration.
I think interior designers are
inherently artistic, but you need
to have the ability to manage
projects as well. Being an interior
designer is not just about
creating beauty; it is about
creating beauty and making sure
it fits within certain parameters.
Would you say then that Paris is the
most inspiring place that you’ve
traveled to?
Honestly, I am actually going to bring it back
home: New York is probably the most inspirational place I have ever lived in as far as my
own work is concerned. The diversity of culture here and the incredible amount of museums are amazing. Every day that I live here is
another experience for me to see life and ask
myself, what do I want to do?
AL 33
confident designer in terms of how I approach
my clients and how I approach my actual
design work.
The large, really visually
arresting one—the
charcoal above the sofa—
is by Josh Bricker. I met
him at an art show for
students. Even though
Josh was only a student,
I bought this piece for
my client. A month and
a half later, Josh told me
that the Guggenheim was
going to be showing
some of his work! I have
pretty good luck with
choosing art.
What are your hobbies/interests
outside of interior design?
What do you find fulfilling about
I am a member of the Contemporary Circle
(a more involved level of membership at PS1,
which is part of Museum of Modern Art here
in New York). We get to go to behind-thescenes tours of artists’ studios or curator-led
exhibits where the curator themselves will
walk us through. I do a lot of nonprofit work
as well. I am on two boards—one for battered
women and one to rescue animals—which
I spend a lot of my free time on. I guess it
is because I feel lucky, I want to reciprocate.
I don’t think of it as being a hobby or interest per se because I used to be a fundraiser.
It is just something that I have done for the
past twenty years now—being really involved
and raising money around issues that I find
of interest.
interior design?
My raison d’être is I get to make something
beautiful for my clients. I am really grateful
for that. I am so lucky to be able to wake up
excited about work almost every single day.
How many people can say that? I have the job
for me.
Most challenging or odd incident in
Tell us about your current musical
interests:
I listen to an Internet radio station called Air
France, which is really very nice. For specific
artists, I really like Florence and the Machine
and Cocteau Twins a lot. Those two certainly
come up right away. I do listen to Daft Punk
a lot too.
your career:
When I was working for someone else, I was
asked to do a kitchen renovation without any
plans. And because I had no background, I
thought this was normal! That was pretty
horrific and certainly the most challenging incident of my career by far. But in my
own personal career, the challenge has really
been embracing that I have talent at what I
do—which is going to sound like the most
arrogant answer, but I would rather just be
honest and not lie. I think because of the way
that I have fallen into my career (I have been
lucky; people have given me breaks), I have
never really felt that my success has been anything but a fluke. And now that I am learning to embrace the idea that I am supposed
to be an interior designer and that I am not
just lucky, I think I am actually able to take
more design risks. I am becoming a more
34
How did things transpire with the
client of this Gramercy project?
He was in Hong Kong and wanted to transform his apartment, which he was renting
out, into this beautiful hotel room/pied-àterre that he could live in, really enjoy, and
feel comfortable in.
Does the artwork have significance
to the client?
Emotionally or intellectually, I know he found
it all to be really beautiful. Some of the art
came from photographs the client took himself. When I noticed he was a really talented
photographer, I selected a few compositions
from his portfolio and had them printed by
someone who does a lot of art photography
and fashion photography printing here in
New York. I think it worked out beautifully.
AL 35
The large, really visually arresting one—the
charcoal above the sofa—is by Josh Bricker.
I met him at an art show for students. Even
though Josh was only a student, I bought this
piece for my client. A month and a half later,
Josh told me that the Guggenheim was going
to be showing some of his work! I have pretty
good luck with choosing art. I think understanding aesthetic trends, at least in furniture
and fashion, helps me understand aesthetic
trends in art as well.
How did you decide on a PALETTE?
The client was really interested in having
something that was influenced by Asia. So I
thought about my travels in Asia and having
lived there. I came up first with doing a teak
color—which was a little cliché, but he specifically wanted Bali. And I think purple looks
so good with brown—fresh. It is not something you see very often. So I went with that.
What was your client looking for in
terms of aesthetic and STYLE?
It is a small studio, so we needed to make sure
we used every single square inch possible.
There was a lot of space planning involved
to create storage that would hide things or
give them a place to live, if you will. Again,
he wanted to come up with something that
was influenced by Asia, so I set out to interpret the idea of Asian aesthetic preferences
into this space. As an Asian designer, I avoid
falling victim to literal interpretations of
Asian influences—or any cultural influences,
for that matter—because they are often too
cartoon-like and almost disrespectful. Instead, I try to capture the essence of the culture and translate that into the design plan.
Talk about the amazing coffee table:
I found it in a thrift store, and the minute
I saw it, I knew that it was for me! I put it
into our inventory and showed it to him, and
there we are. But I will tell you what is interesting: it is not for every client. I’d had the
table for five years and showed it to a lot of
clients who’ve all said no. As a designer, you
hope that your clients are able to trust you.
But sometimes they can’t. It is a bridge too
far, so you just move on. But I got lucky in
this situation, even though it took some convincing to get this client on board.
36
would be willing to have that much diversity
in terms of scale of pattern, in terms of texture, and in terms of material. But he did, and
I am very grateful because that makes all the
difference from going from being blah and
uneventful vanilla to really having the hot
fudge sundae with whipped cream and the
cherry on top.
It was very collaborative. I would be remiss
not to mention the fact that my kitchen designer really helped me work out things that I
would never be able to do on my own. There
is a corner in the kitchen where we actually
built pop-out drawers around a heat pipe,
which was genius. I am grateful that I work
with people who are so talented and willing
to give me their suggestions.
What was the theory behind the
AL :: www.jarretyoshida.com
curtains surrounding the bed in the
bedroom?
I would recommend to people hiring a designer to try and embrace risk once in a
while in an object because it is usually those
items that are going to make the space look
really interesting. You want contrast. You
want something unexpected. That is what
takes it from looking like you did everything
in Pottery Barn to making it look like it was
a curated, thoughtful space that was made
for you.
Talk about the textiles in the
living room:
The purple, fringed throw is herringbone
cashmere. I know this will sound ridiculous,
but if you can afford it, get a cashmere throw!
It is so soft! The sofa is Belgium linen. The
beautiful fabric for the pillows is from Cowtan
and Tout, and added great textural contrast
to the linen to keep things from looking too
boring. It has this wonderful contrast of feeling modern and art deco-inspired, but at the
same time, it’s not really tied to any one era. I
think that is very important—to not make it
look like it comes from one period. This is the
most expensive thing my clients will ever buy
short of the house itself. I like making sure
that whatever we end up doing doesn’t date,
so that ten years, it will still look pretty.
I’ve been to Morocco, and at that time, I just
got back from Turkey. I was inspired by the
idea of the harem, but again, not being literal
with the idea. I wanted to be able to close off
the bed from the rest of the apartment so that
it didn’t look like the client was trying to seduce people whenever he had company over.
I thought this would be a way of getting privacy in the room—not only for people when
they come in the room but also for when my
client went into bed. He could close it and be
in this womb, if you will. It’s a respite from
living in New York, living in the city, and
having a high demand job. You close the
curtains, you turn on the calming lights, and
there you are in your own little space.
What were the challenges of this
particular space? And how did you
overcome them?
I was glad that the client let me be really
imaginative with the textiles. Not every client
The space is really small. I think fitting in
as much as we did took a lot of hard work.
AL 37
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Which came first—the artist or
the architect?
My surroundings created the urge to create.
Creating things led to being an artist first,
and as I matured, the desire to influence the
environment that you and I inhabit led to my
professional architectural career. I believe art
and architecture go hand in hand—one cannot exist without the other. Art is inspirationally derived and manifests itself from beginning to end in a fluid manner. Architecture is
inspirationally driven as well, but the initial
creative spark has to transform itself into a
precise and technical product.
38
AL 39
How do the photographs guide the
painting’s colors and structure?
How did you become an architect?
What guided that career path?
We moved back to the United States when I
entered eighth grade. Since I loved drawing,
I took a drafting class. I couldn’t get enough
of the class since it also appealed to my need
for precision—working with mechanical
pencils, odd looking triangles, T squares, and
compasses was amazing. I only had this one
class, but it carried with me throughout high
school. As college preparation came along, I
took some exams that were supposed to tell
me where I would excel—all of them indicated architecture.
How do you decide what
photographs to pair with a painting?
My paintings originally always started with
color as the inspiration. I would then simply choose photographs of places I had been
that would fit well with the color scheme.
Very spontaneous. This then evolved into
something more meaningful when I began assigning themes to each piece. For instance, I created a series titled Atlanta. One
piece is all about various snapshots of Atlanta’s highways; I included historical photographs all the way through photographs of
present conditions.
Color was and is still the first step for me.
Photographs do, however, influence the
structure of a painting. Much like the constraints in architecture, an image inherently
is biased toward a certain shape once you
mold and crop it. This creates a shape you
then have to deal with—a square or rectangle.
The shapes and sizes of the images influence
placement, proximity, and ultimately the size
and shapes of the bands of color in my pieces.
I try to make a two-dimensional painting become three-dimensional by overlaying fields
of color. The photographs contribute to the
three dimensions, I hope, by layering on very
fine line work and linking the photographs
together. A line from one photo might travel
underneath a field and reemerge on top of
another to meet up with a photograph, implying a connection to it. What the connection is, is up to the viewer.
Favorite memory of a city:
In Kyoto, Japan, I remember waking up before the rest of the world and walking to
a historic temple atop a small mountain. I
started from a quiet, empty plaza lined with
blooming cherry blossoms which led to a
narrow, winding path through a bamboo
forest. I then arrived at a staircase that was
lined with rotating, wooden wishing urns.
The fog did not allow me to see the top, but
as I climbed the stairs and approached the
temple, I heard an ever so faint chant. As I
got closer and closer, the chanting became
louder and louder, and I soon realized there
was a predawn monk chanting session going
on. The rhythmic drum beat and singing was
a once in a lifetime experience.
What do you look for when
Do you think your architecture
composing a shot?
background inspires you to make art
Most of my images are of architectural details, so naturally I focus on the details. But
they also need to have interesting colors that
complement what I am doing in the art piece
as a whole. I’m not a professional photographer by any means, but I try to compose my
shots simply by using my intuition, architectural background, and artistic sense.
from a more aesthetic standpoint
rather than an emotional one?
All of my work, art or architecture, evolves
from an emotional response to something.
The aesthetic portion comes later as the effort
evolves into making something look pleasing
or conform to a set of standards. I cannot see
myself starting with an aesthetic goal without
having the emotional aspect as its generator;
it would be like cooking a great dinner without starting with the craving that informs
what type of dinner it is going to be.
What are your favorite cities
for photographing?
I would say that my favorite cities are located
in very dramatic landscape settings. For instance, Kitzbühel, Austria, a tiny town nestled
in the Austrian Alps, has a new detail around
40
every corner. Tokyo, Japan, is another favorite simply because of the diversity between
old and new. I love Decatur, Georgia, where I
live, for its town square and walkability. Chicago and New York, of course, also rank in
the top ten.
Much like the
constraints in
architecture, an image
inherently is biased
toward a certain shape
once you mold and
crop it. This
creates a shape you
then have to deal
with—a square or
rectangle. The shapes
and sizes of the
images influence
placement,
proximity, and
ultimately the size and
shapes of the bands of
color in my pieces.
What is the breakdown in terms of
how much time you spend being an
architect versus a painter?
I am a full-time, ten-hours-a-day architect
with Cooper Carry, a mid-size firm in downtown Atlanta. My art has taken a backseat to
my day job, so it’s currently only about three
hours a week depending upon the number of
pieces I currently have under commission.
During busy times, my art time easily increases to ten to twelve hours a week.
AL 41
Alps region of Europe—my favorite place.
The firm of Herzog and de Meuron doesn’t
seem to have one distinct style, and is always
searching for various solutions to a particular
problem. My favorite artists are from the Impressionist era due mostly to the colors they
used and the landscapes they created. Monet,
for instance, tried to capture a moment in
time much like a photograph, but his use
of color and technique made his work even
more special.
What has been the response to
your work?
Do you create a lot of commissioned
work?
During my premarriage stage of life, I was
creating pieces left and right purely on inspiration (noncommissioned work), and before
I knew it, I had forty or fifty pieces in my inventory. I frequently displayed my work in
various galleries, and it was the way I got my
work out and made sales. As I married, and
my art time shrank, it evolved into doing almost exclusively commission work.
Most people are intrigued at the layering in
my work and how it almost appears threedimensional. Others inquire about why one
photograph has a line that is linked with another photograph. My response most often is
to ask them to come up with their own impression. Others don’t see or analyze things
as much, and they just comment on the
color combinations.
What has surprised you about
the response?
I am often surprised at the varying degrees
of engagement people have. This theme arches over into a much broader theme—how
people engage with the spaces around them.
Some people only concentrate on specific aspects like color, for instance, and the detail is
void. Others try to get up close and look at
each photograph in great detail, while others
like to stand back and absorb the piece as a
whole. My work is meant to be seen on many
different scales. I’m always surprised and interested in how people interpret and view my
work. It’s an indicator, I imagine, of how they
view their surroundings.
When you’re not being AN artist OR
ARCHITECT, what are you doing in
your free time?
The stresses and deadlines that come up during the week day immediately become void
when my wife comes home with our three-
year-old son. As they say, having a child
changes everything; that’s no lie! I thoroughly
enjoy being a father. My outlets are art and
our small day trips around town on the weekends. As he becomes older, we hope to instill
the same desire to travel and the curiosity to
see the world that goes with it.
What is your art saying? (or what do
you want it to say?)
The overarching theme and goal of my work
is for the viewer to be engaged—to see, to
think, to analyze, to stop, and to absorb. Today we see art and architecture of the past as
nobody saw it before; we perceive it in a different way. All of us see hundreds of images
every day in the cities in which we live. In
no other form of society in history has there
been such a concentration of images—such a
density of visual messages. One may remember or forget these messages, but briefly one
takes them in, and for a moment, they stimulate the imagination by way of either memory
or expectation. The image belongs to the moment. They never speak of the present, but
often refer to the past and always speak of the
future. We are so accustomed to being addressed by these images that we rarely notice
their total impact.
My attempt is to engage the viewer on two
levels: first on a large scale, and secondly on
a small scale. The large scale investigates the
relationships of colors, fields, and the viewers’ sense of place. The small scale focuses
upon very detailed, fragmented, yet linked
instances or discoveries that as a whole create a relationship that becomes unique to
each viewer.
AL :: www.absolutearts.com/cculver
the moment. They never speak of the present, but often
refer to the past and always speak of the future.
The image belongs to
How do you affix the photographs to
the painting?
Affixing my photographs is a multi-stage
process and greatly depends upon which medium I am using—pastel or oil. In both scenarios, I use my high quality photographic
printer, and print the image out onto an archival paper. The image then gets mounted
to a thicker, more rigid paper. I use archival
acid-free glue that is fluid enough to soak
through the pastel and onto the paper. I then
have to press the image for a few minutes to
ensure it remains perfectly flat and that nothing ends up curling back up.
Artists and architects you admire:
I have a few favorite architects: Peter
Zumthor, a Swiss architect, creates buildings
that are infused with their landscape in the
42
AL 43
Operation Deaccession
L I G H T E N I N G T H E L OA D I N T H E AG E OF A M AS SI N G
text: BARBARA BLOOM
photography: BARBARA BLOOM
A Michigan couple figures out a way to unclutter two households
worth of stuff in a very creative way.
“When a museum has art or artifacts
it wants to get rid of, it deaccessions
them,” explained Barbara. “I thought
we could try something similar and
invite our friends to a private,
invitation-only sale.”
When
Eli
and
Barbara
bought
LIFESTYLE
a
house together, both had been living on their
own and had entire households of stuff. Eli,
on the heels of a divorce, had things boxed in
his basement that he hadn’t enjoyed for more
than a decade. He had also moved his mother
from Florida to California and in the process
became caretaker to many of the things she
was ready to leave behind or unable to take
with her. Barbara had moved back to Michigan from California and still hadn’t sifted
through all her things. While the couple’s
ranch home has a spacious basement, the
idea of hanging on to so much stuff began
to gnaw at them. “What if we want to move
again? How are we going to deal with all of
this?” asked Barbara.
The couple had held a garage sale that was not
a great success. “We had really nice things,
and people were saying, ‘I’ll give you twentyfive cents for that.’ It wasn’t fun,” remembers
Eli. They then spoke with friends about putting items on an online auction, a process
that ultimately seemed too time-consuming
to them. Barbara started wondering whether
they could have an estate sale—which suggested better-than-garage-sale items—without actually dying or moving. The idea of
again opening their home to strangers was
not met with enthusiasm, so local advertising was ruled out. Then Barbara, who used
to work at the Norton Simon Museum, came
up with the idea of the “deaccession event.”
“When a museum has art or artifacts it wants
to get rid of, it deaccessions them,” explained
Barbara. “I thought we could try something
similar and invite our friends to a private,
invitation-only sale.” The more the couple
talked about the idea, the more sense it made.
44
AL 45
Free-to-a-good-home items were displayed on a large
butcher block table in the basement.
They set a date, and five weeks before the
event, sent a save-the-date e-mail to about
forty-five friends. The e-mail, excerpted below, also set the tone for the event:
We have too much stuff and don’t need quite so much.
When the two of us got together, we had two
complete households. While most of the things you see
in our home play nicely together, there is much you do
not see and we do not use. We thought this one-time,
invitation-only deaccession (get rid of stuff) event for
our friends would be fun. Items will be sorted into
three categories—free to a good home, bargains, and
treasures—and will be functional, decorative,
collectible, and/or interesting.
information. Barbara made small shelf-talker
cards that gave tidbits on provenance, pricing (competitive/comparable), and identified
artists and mediums on artworks. Not wanting to mark some items too high or too low,
the couple simply wrote, “Make an offer.” No
reasonable offer would be refused.
Less than a week before the event, a second
e-mail went out. It served as a reminder and
answered some FAQs the couple devised to
underscore the point that the items for sale
would be significantly better than those typically found in garage sales:
The couple then started the process of deciding what, exactly, they would part with. The
garage alone housed three pieces of blond,
mid-century furniture, four red retro dinette
chairs, and a never-used contemporary computer table they thought could work as a portable bar. In the basement, there were posters
from Barbara’s time at the museum, a Turkish
tea service Eli got in a Middle East bazaar, a
puppy crate and dog accessories, a boxed fondue set, a vintage Japanese silk kimono, and
much, much more.
Barbara and Eli sorted and priced the items
among the free, bargain, and treasure categories. It occurred to them that unusual or
pedigree items might benefit from additional
46
At the same time, the couple began to collect
shopping bags, save newspapers, and finish
pricing and sorting the items.
Free-to-a-good-home items were displayed
on a large butcher block table in the basement. Bargains were displayed in the foyer
and kitchen; treasures were in the family
room. Snacks and refreshments were in the
living room, which was left undisturbed
so people could mingle and relax if they
wanted to.
The Sale
1. What kind of stuff will there be?
Ceramics, art, furniture, lamps, posters, gadgets, electronics accessories, shelving, housewares, and more.
Early feedback and next steps
Almost immediately, friends began to respond. Comments ranged from, “What a
great idea,” and, “How sweet and generous,”
to, “Let us know if it’s a success, and we’ll do
one too,” and, “I’m bringing a moving truck!”
Setting up
2. Is this really good stuff?
Yes! Think of this as a private, mini estate
sale, not a garage sale.
3. Why not a garage sale?
We aren’t comfortable around strangers, and
the stuff is too nice for a garage sale. Besides,
if you become the new owner of our stuff, we
can enjoy it when we visit you.
4. What sort of prices should we expect?
Referring back to the original categories: (1)
free to a good home, (2) bargains, and (3)
treasures. Items are priced appropriately and
in a wide range within the latter two categories. (The free stuff really is free.)
The e-mail concluded with a section called
Name Dropping, listing brands and manufacturers ranging from Heywood-Wakefield,
Knoll, and Michael Graves to Aynsley, Crate
and Barrel, and Russel Wright.
A few people trickled in and snapped up a
couple of things early on, but the onslaught
came an hour into the event. Cars started
filling the circular driveway; coats began to
pile up in the guest room; and friends were
milling about, asking questions, making
themselves comfortable. It was a party with
a purpose!
It was interesting to see what went and what
was left behind: A young musician fell in love
with a $300 pastel that had once graced the
cover of The Village Voice; a poker buddy was
excited about a funky floor lamp, while his
wife went straight for the stained glass cello
and miniature model cello for her granddaughter’s upcoming birthday; and a college roommate couldn’t pass up a whimsical,
oversized pasta dish. On the flip side, one
couple just couldn’t bring themselves to take
home the pair of free serving bowls.
After the last group of shoppers left, the
couple took stock. The takeaway? “Friends
got great deals, it was great fun, we cleaned
some stuff out, and even came away with a
little cash,” said Eli. Not a bad way to spend
an afternoon. AL
AL 47
Front of Tear Out Card 2
Timothy Shanahan
Chief Investment Strategist
Compass Capital Corp: (781) 535-6083 Ext: 305
www.CompassCapital.co
Braintree
50 BRAINTREE HILL PARK STE 105
BRAINTREE, MA 02184
Back of Tear Out Card 2
Timothy Shanahan
Braintree
50 BRAINTREE HILL PARK STE 105
BRAINTREE, MA 02184
Presorted Standard
U.S. Postage
PAID
Mechanicsburg, PA
Permit No. 478