Tuesday, November 17, 2015

The Blink of an Eye



Today's post is about something I have been thinking about so much lately. In light of recent world events that can seem so far away, and while we are praying for those in Paris and across the world, I am bringing this letter close to home.

In America we are coming upon the Season of Giving. While we celebrate with our loved ones, there is often an empty chair at the table. Someone we lost too soon in life, or an elderly relative who has passed on to the next world; hopefully one full of peace and love.




I want to ask you to start taking time. Time to say thank you, to pay a compliment, to be kind, to invite a lonely person to join your family dinner. Reach out to a friend you've lost touch with over the years. Gestures like this can make a difference stretching as far and wide as saving that person's life and giving them hope.

Recently I gave an India Hicks Benefit Event for the Birthday Party Project to help give special birthdays to children in a Safe Home or Shelter. This was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in some time! 

Coming up in two weeks will be an India Hicks Event to Benefit the World Aid Foundation with Elizabeth Alex ( one of our local celebrities and former newscaster.)



A friend recently said to me, after all we do not achieve success or greatness alone. Let us take time to choose a gift for those who have helped us in some way throughout the year. Your office assistant, best friend, babysitter, design staff, anyone who has been there for you. It is so simple really and has a long lasting effect to the recipient of your gratitude and thoughtfulness.

I can help you, please email me at artbykarenablog@gmail.com or go to my site www.indiahicks.com/rep/karenalbert. You will be rewarded a thousand fold in so many ways!



Thank you to my Family, Friends, and Followers who support The Arts
Please leave a comment as they make my day!

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xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
Love Tokens www.indiahicks.com/rep/karenalbert

Handbags Galore www.indiahicks.com/rep/karenalbert


Bath and Beauty Collection www.indiahicks.com/rep/karenalbert

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Fine Art Photographer Sandra Goroff


When I first noticed Sandra Goroff's  photography I was intrigued, first by its natural simplicity, then by the very complexity of the images, their light and shadow, the texture and shimmer how she can capture both ends of the spectrum in one work of art. 

Sandra refers to her work as being  "emphatic observation -- soulful in nature." I find this to be so very true.

One of her favorite quotes regarding her work is that it is "painterly and "unpretentious." 

Please enjoy our interview below.

l) Sandra, thank you so much for participating in this interview for our readers.
 When did you first become interested in photography?

I think I might have been creating art in a last life because I was framing images before I ever took my "eye" seriously or ever owned a camera. It is hard to pinpoint a moment or time when photography first became a passion -- I think it is something you are born with. Once it grabs a hold of you, it becomes an obsession. At some point along the way, you find out you cannot live without it -- it is a part of who you are.



Little Girl on Foggy Beach

2) Were you encouraged to pursue this path and did you have any mentors who urged you to go after your dream of Fine Art Photography?

My mother was a painter and people who knew me when I was young, say I must have taken after her, but my father was very artistic (though untrained) as well. He could build just about anything; he also had the most beautiful handwriting of any man I ever knew. While I did not come from a wealthy or privileged family, I was exposed to culture and the arts and my mother enthusiastically took me to ballet, to museums and to the symphony's children's concerts on Saturday afternoons. 




Tire Swing (Southern Maine)

3) I understand you come from a family of artists....

Yes, as I mentioned, my mother was a painter but did not recognize her ability until middle age. My sister is also a photographer -- though we have very different styles. My aunt was a sculptress and a poet and my grandmother sang. Though nothing was fancy or orchestrated per se, their love and appreciation for art -- and for music -- did influence and "open" me. My mother, in particular, appreciated my artistic and musical abilities and encouraged them. We often drew together, but in those early years, I was more the teacher than the student. My mother painted up til her death three years ago at 95; her greatest gift to me was her love of learning. She loved painting more than anything else and she was very open minded in art and all matters for her generation. That gave me a certain freedom for expression.



Flower Box (Bristol, Rhode Island)

4. As a publicist and having worked for publishers for many years....

I have promoted books, authors and artists for over thirty years. A wonderful, well known Cape Cod artist I once worked with told me that every artist has an ache -- for her, painting, satisfied hers. I feel that way about photography. As a person who has worked with the written word for many years, I find relief and real joy through photography -- being able to express myself through images vs. language. It is good not to have to talk sometimes. The photos somehow say things I cannot say with words.


Summer Porch with Red Chair (Wells Maine)

5) What inspires your art and what are some of your other interests/loves in life?

I am an empathic and an emotional person. I am drawn to images that are evocative in nature. I am a ruminator and an over-thinker, so it is interesting to even me -- that the scenes, people, things and places that spark my interest are quiet, and I am I told, soulful in nature. My first book of photography was called SOLITARY SOUL (Lorimer Press) for that reason. 

I am an art lover. I have many favorite artists, but have a special interest in Jackson Pollack and Edward Hopper: I adore Maine art. I love New England, the coast and in particular, Maine, where many of my photographs were taken.  I am also a design enthusiast, a collector (ephemera, art pottery, tin lithographs, old toys), an animal lover (I have two cats - Benjamin and Lucy and a schnoodle named Teddy, who we adopted just four months ago)and a scrabble fanatic. I play on line with people from around the world every morning.



Monhegan Laundry (Monhegan Island, Maine)
6. Please tell our readers about your book. ( I understand there are many comments from best-selling authors on Amazon regarding your book)

My book of photography SOLITARY SOUL was published by Lorimer Press in November of 2013. A reviewer called my work "painterly and unpretentious;" that was my favorite quote. I have another one in the works right now entitled, I'LL BE SEEING YOU and am in the process of looking for a publisher. www.sandragoroffphotography.com.



Skiff (Cape Porpoise, Maine)
7) Sandra, Do you have any upcoming exhibits;  where can our readers find and purchase your photographic works of art?

In addition to taking photos....I am focusing on my prints right now - -signed and matted and matted and framed which I sell online through www.sandragoroffphotography.com. I love working with designers and enjoy doing custom work which means you can order a really large print for a special wall or space. I can be reached at sgma@aol.com.

Red Stairs (New Bedford, MA)
8) Sandra, what words of advice to you have for the aspiring artist of any age?

Practice, practice, practice. Be observant. Be loving and see beauty everywhere. Don't be fixated on pretty or perfect. The most mundane objects possess a beauty all their own. And most, importantly, take your camera everywhere.


**Sandra is offering a 20% discount on her prints to anyone who mentions my site during the holiday season.**


Thank you to my Family, Friends and Followers who support The Arts

Please do leave a comment as they make my day and Sandra's (today is her Birthday!)

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xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena



Again, be sure to visit Sandra's website at www.sandragoroffphotography.com

Her book, Sandra Goroff Photographer, Solitary Soul is Available at independent bookstores and amazon.com
www.solitarysoul.net

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Artistic Design: Carrier and Company: Positively Chic Interiors



Jessie Carrier and Mara Miller first met during their senior year at the Fashion Institute of Technology. They both worked at several of the AD 100 interior design firms before starting their own company, Carrier and Company Interiors in 2005.

They are widely recognized and published for their unique style is exquisitely detailed and enticing.  Having two children of their own, they also make sure that a comfortable home with personalized space is a priority.






Please enjoy some of these gorgeous images from their newly released book Carrier and Company: Positively Chic Interiors  by Jessie Carrier and Mara Miller, with Judith Nasatir. The thoughtfully written Forward is by Anna Wintour, Editor in Chief of American Vogue and Artistic Director of Conde Nast.





This dynamic couple seems to have an innate sense of color and how it unifies the design of a room and especially of the importance of fine art and art objects.

















AD 100 has named Carrier and Company to their coveted list twice, and has stated with high regard:

" They have established a reputation for spicing the appropriate with the strikingly unusual" and again cited " the spirited, winning nature of this Manhattan couple, who in less than a decade have attracted the attention of media and fashion heavyweights." 





Add this design book to your library and enjoy the more than 200 color illustrations within the 248 pages. You will be so thrilled with this publication! Carrier and Compnay: Positively Chic Interiors is available at  Amazon or your local book seller.


Thank you to The Vendome Press for the publicity copy of this fine book.
Please do leave a message as it makes my day!
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xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena



The India Hicks Holiday Collection is now available and is a stunning addition to her finely crafted Lifestyle Collection.  There is something for everyone on your list, even you!  Shopping made so easy! Please visit my site at www.indiahicks.com/rep/karenalbert



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