I'M BACK - exhausted but inspired

Phew - I'm back from New York - and so glad it is cooler here in the UK. Suffering temperatures of 95 - 97 degrees from 7.30 in the morning with no breath of breeze was exhausting, as was the amount of walking I did. I am not going to bore you with any of the 700+ photos I took. The highlights were:

a) a visit to Premiere Vision - a private preview for the fashion industry of the innovative fabrics and colours for couture designers for the Fall season 2011. This was brilliant although you can't take samples I was able (with permission) to take a couple of photos and collected lots of business cards and even a couple of sketches!


b)The Eco-Green exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Technology - it was good but no photography.


c) I visit to Mood - the fabric shop used by Project Runway (the TV show) - I brought back samples and photos of fabrics.


d) Lots of samples from the fabric shops


e) American Women: Fashioning a National Identity exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art - brilliant (but no photos allowed), and the rest of the museum - including the special Picasso exhibition and of course Monet's paintings - loads of photos of these!!


f) a visit to Brooklyn specifically to the Brooklyn Museum to see the other half of the American Women exhibition - American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection - here I did the most sketching in my book (see later) !!!!! YES ME SKETCHING!! and photography was allowed. Whilst in Brooklyn I also took photos of Manhattan from under the bridge! Also on view was an exhibition of Andy Warhol: The Last Decade


g) the American Folk Art Museum - to see 'Women Only: Folk art by Female Hands' - again interesting but the museum made me sick - I suffer from vertigo and the stairs etc made me feel very unwell, so I did not stay long.


h) The Guggenheim - Obviously! Although the current major exhibition 'Haunted' was not really my cup of tea - mostly rather weird photography and video media type stuff.


i) a long and rather humbling walk round the 9/11 memorial works. I was one of the few people who followed the special tour around 15 sites where various other memorials have been erected - not just the Ground Zero and Visitor Centre bits.


j) a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian - to see 'A Song for the Horse Nation' (about Indian Horse related arts) and 'Hide: skin as material and metaphor' - this was a bit creepy - although brilliant art works (made from skin) by Sonya Kelliher-Combs


k)Broadway Sidewalk Catwalk - this is an outside exhibition all the way up Broadway - where fashion designers have dressed mannequins (click here for more details)


l) finally several visits to Central Park and Chelsea Piers - just to sit (in the shade) people watch and view the sites!


My sketchbook/diary/journal/scrapbook is overflowing....... with fabric samples, sketches of exhibition items (!), (Jane if you are reading this) there are a couple of 'art' drawings done using my left (non dominant hand) with pastel, pen and pencil - not looking at the page !!! - this example is Manhattan from under the Brooklyn Bridge. and lots of brochures, leaflets and maps -A brilliant, exhausting, fantastic, inspiring trip! (but I am also glad to be home)