i heart nyc

I was being so good, blogging every day or two. And then I went to New York. And it all went to hell in a handbasket. (What does that mean, anyway??)

There are not enough words to describe the amount of fun I had in this fabulous city, but I will try.

First of all, I stayed in Brooklyn with a friend. I had never been to Brooklyn before and, for some reason, I envisioned something small-ish and neighborhoody. Well, Brooklyn is full of neighborhoods, (amazing, culturally diverse neighborhoods) but it is anything but small. The population is actually over 3 times the size of Seattle. Crrrrazy.

While in this charming Borough, my friend/hostess, Sarah, showed me all her favorite hang outs- including Frankie's, (the BEST shaved fennel salad, eggplant crostini, and fresh pasta with hot italian sausage and browned sage butter), Mini Bar, (adorable space, good people, yummy drinks) the DUMBO neighborhood, (best view of Manhattan, great shops, and home of Jacques Torres Chocolate, which has the best frozen hot chocolate in the entire universe), and, of course, Coney Island.
Sarah and I had no interest in eating cotton candy or riding the ferris wheel. Rather, we went to Coney Island specifically for it's picture-taking opportunities. There are few things I like more than kitchy and slightly disturbing children's rides.

I had an insanely fun and debaucherous evening with some very cool people at a BBQ in Carroll Gardens, I completely over-shared about my (ahem) personal life, and suffered the consequences of drinking far too much wine the day after, (which was, of course, the day I had three photoshoots booked.)

I spent hours walking around Manhattan, discovered I have a worse sense of direction than I ever thought possible, and visited a whole lot of galleries. Highlights include: The Aperture Foundation, (what a treat), a new Chuck Close exhibit, an older exhibit by Nam June Paik, who I studied in art school, and work by some incredible artists with whom I was previously unfamiliar: Roxy Paine, Philipe Vasseur, and Albert Hadjiganev.

The funny thing is, and you'll probably notice this when you look at the photos below, I really didn't shoot much at all while I was in Manhattan. I think it's because I was focused on being present and IN the experience, rather than documenting it. And that, for me, was a really good thing.

Don't get me wrong- I am taking LOTS of photos on this trip, many of which have not and probably will not show up on this blog. I am working on a new body of work that I will be showing to galleries, so I am feeling a little bit private about that. Needless to say, this trip is providing an enormous amount of inspiration.

Before we move on to the photos, I want to say an enormous thank you to my lovely hostess, Sarah, for putting me up in her house and being a huge reason why this experience was so amazing. I adore you and am so glad we got to spend this time together.
And please kiss that daughter of yours for me, and tell her that I "miss my friend, Yael."

Hope you all enjoy the pics. :)