Debra Warlan, jeweler from Huntington, created her first memorable jewelry for her own wedding. She still has the cherished pieces in her collection.
Jewelry by Debra Warlan Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Many years of various artistic endeavors followed - a degree in illustration from Fashion Institute of Technology, degree in art education, teaching engagements, commercial textile, trim and ribbon design, toy design, painting on furniture, a recurring, annual project of painting stage sets for a summer art camp. She is very fond of the art of assemblage, three-dimensional compositions of varied media, and has a number of her own framed works in the studio.
Debra turned to jewelry at another momentous occasion - a beautiful necklace, designed for her daughter's prom and greatly admired by all, inspired Debra to focus more on her jewelry making.
Debra Warlan at work Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
In the last couple of years she experimented with various esthetic approaches and techniques until she developed her own, highly recognizable style. Debra's jewelry will usually have a brass chain, sparkling rhinestones and/or crystals, sometimes an element with a distinct green patina. She finds/buys older pieces or new items and 'antiques' them to a great effect. She frequently adds some nature related themes - birds, ferns, shells.
She starts with a central piece and then wires or links in additional matching elements. The effect is well balanced, meticulously executed and beautifully presented.
You will get a chance to see more of her jewelry and meet Debra in person at the Jewelry Extravaganza on December 3rd, 12 - 3 pm at Think Long Island First in Oyster Bay.
For more information about Debra visit her recently relaunched website DeeMaake.com.
If necessity is the mother of all inventions, an important family event may uncover an artist in you. About 10 years ago Jane Pearlson's daughter was getting married. To celebrate this momentous occasion the closest family members and friends were asked to contribute a square each with either a poem, memory, kind wishes, etc. Jane incorporated the squares into a chuppah, a canopy hanging over a couple during a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony. And thus a quilter was born.
Jane was only partially prepared for this discovery. There were no quilters in her family - her mother knitted angora sweaters, grandmother crocheted. Jane had acquired basic sewing skills in home economics classes, made some clothes for her daughter and herself, tried her hand at needlepoint, macramé, stone sculpture. After completing her first chuppah she delved into quilt making with a passion - she took classes, workshops, attended shows, joined art and craft guilds.
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Her quilts are non-traditional, have eclectic themes frequently inspired by nature, most are intended for wall hanging. Jane likes making pieces which expand her technique, explore patterns and color combinations. She gravitates toward earthy or bright tones and likes to combine remote colors. She uses a sewing machine both for piecing and for quilting; banding and appliqué - flowers, leaves, beads, are sewn by hand. Her stitching is decorative, sometimes done with multicolor or metallic threads. Jane uses mostly cotton, batiks are her favorite, but will also use silk or upholstery fabrics for texture if a piece calls for it. She currently experiments with 3 dimensional objects that can be attached to a quilt. Painting on fabric is another area beckoning her interests.
She particularly enjoys making custom quilts which display family history or family tree, immortalize a lost loved one, commemorate an important event - birth, graduation, wedding. Jane may include photos printed on fabric, cherished pieces of clothing - baby clothes, ties, shirts, or other significant items provided for that purpose by the customers.
Jane Pearlson's website Quilts of Distinction provides additional information about the artist and more photos of her work.
Be prepared to be enchanted when you walk into "the highest room of the tallest tower" of the Cold Spring Harbor Library, actually the library has only one two-story tower, but what a tower it is!
You enter the brightly lit room; it is circular, arranged like a child size amphitheater with the floor and three steps / seats softened with a carpet; its ceiling is white, the walls are covered by a colorful, evolving scene, gently broken by the rhythm of windows overlooking the harbor area. The simple geometry is so charming, the size so comfortable that you immediately feel captivated.
See the muralist Lilith Jones add new elements to the July landscape scene. The voice recording is not the best, but if you can hear well enough, you will find Lilith's comments invaluable.
The room, in an impressive, new library building, designed by Beatty, Harvey & Associates, was designated as a story time room. The library director, Helen M. Crosson, wanted a mural in there. She commissioned the muralist, Lilith Jones of Huntington, who, with a long list of nature depicting murals in her portfolio, was a perfect choice.
The library, built on the state land, included a nature center. It was befitting that the mural should include the types of ecosystems surrounding the library. Tons of research went into identifying the topography, soil, moisture level, native plants and animals to be rendered in the mural. When it is completed it will present images of 250 species of local plants and animals.
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
The mural is arranged to depict the scenes beyond the walls at the changing seasons: woodland with May bloomers, then an imaginary backyard scene with a humid June forest on the left changing into a drier, sandy hill with early July plants; freshwater pond with a mid summer picnic scene follows and extends into another, late August, panel with collected samples. The mural dips in the last panel to include underwater plants and animals, the friendly-looking seal, known to visit the area in October, steals the scene.
When children enter the room, they start exploring the room by running along the round wall. This is exactly the effect the creators have envisioned, the mural is made to be touched. Lilith used durable and safe paints and will coat the walls with a protective layer after the mural is completed to ensure it stays that way for a long time.
Maybe it would not be so bad being a princess locked up in this enchanted tower (perhaps with an access to the stacks and computers). If one were to kiss a frog to turn it into a prince, Lilith would probably know the right specie :).
Lilith's knowledge, talent and charisma are so great, that it's a miracle she is able to paint at all. Children come every few minutes, a lot of them know her from her art classes (she very seriously and with full conviction calls them artists). Adults drop in and chat with her. There is a constant string of admirers, myself included. I have been there five times within the last week or so.
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Lilith created murals in various other public and civic places - at the Harborfields Library in Greenlawn, at the Friends Academy in Locust Valley, at the Nature Conservancy in Cold Spring Harbor, or in the kids section of the Book Review in Huntington. She has also painted private rooms in houses of the nature loving folks - it could be an atrium, sun porch, kid's room. Some clients when moving asked Lilith to paint again at the new location. In a few instances she even painted an equivalent of a mural on canvas so that it can be easily relocated. She will recommends images for a particular location to better accommodate the architecture and the size of a room, type of wall, or light in the room changing at different times of day.
Lilith was raised in Locust Valley. Since her childhood she was interested in drawing and in nature. She applied to an art school, transferred to Stony Brook to study biology. The anatomy drawing class brought her back to art. She had studied painting with Stephen Rettegi, Hungarian-American oil painter, for about a year and a half. She immersed herself in the world of great art by reviewing one art book after another in search for interesting ways of the artistic expression. Now she herself teaches painting in the Huntington School of Fine Arts in the high school portfolio program.
Lilith has a deep appreciation for nature, she spent a lot of time around it throughout her life. She not only lived with it but also followed her interest with a diligent study and continuous consultations with naturalists. She was known to erase an object from a mural when it was found out of its environment, for instance, a May flower which was depicted blooming in late August.
She found nature based murals to be a perfect medium for her where she can combine both her passions - art and nature. The collaborative effort involved in creating a mural appeals to her, as well.
Photo by
Ewa Rumprecht
She paints her murals in two different styles, with form depicted by patches of color, like the mural in Cold Spring Harbor Library, or with a form outlined in purple, black or brown, the latter producing lighter images. The selection of technique will depend on the theme, the feeling of the space, and, obviously, the budget.
Themes might be, as she calls them, whimsical and present imaginary figures, usually animals doing imaginary things, like elephants, mice and monkeys reading books in the Harborfields Library murals. Themes might be based on nature and then will be presented true to originals, like the mural at the Cold Spring Harbor Library.
All murals share the same challenges - a proportion of space or perspective and focus at different vantage points. Lilith solves the problems with a pragmatic approach which leaves the viewer not overpowered by the size or location of the murals but charmed by their welcoming and harmonious presence.
Jolanta and I visited luthier Scott MacDonald, owner of the S.B. MacDonald Custom Instruments in Huntington.
Scott builds fewer than a dozen new guitars a year, but when he does, he creates a new being. The new instrument is more than just a bunch of precisely cut wood or metal pieces masterfully glued together, it becomes a reflection and a part of the owner.
Scott attempts to find out as much as possible about the player's musical preferences, the shape, strength and size of the musician's hand, his or her technique and the energy level. This allows him to craft an instrument that performs beautifully in the hands of its owner. It does not hurt, either, that the instrument looks stunning, from its shape to its color and decoration. These are also a reflection of the owner's personality.
The finished product is a result of hard labor and a long dialog between Scott and the musician. It may take up to 24 months between the initial contact and the time the ecstatic owner leaves the shop with a guitar under his arm.
We have asked to have a "portrait in guitar", as I called it, painted of one of us. Since I had a background in music, we have worked on a hypothetical guitar for me. I fancied a strong, rich blues sound and some red accents. We have settled on a black electric guitar with a mother ladybug on the body and baby ladybugs walking all over the neck.
Scott built his first banjo in a college dorm. Some years later he returned to lutherie by first putting together a guitar from a kit, then by trying his hand on building an instrument from scratch. His father still owns this memento. Scott now runs a successful studio where in addition to creating custom ones he repairs all types of fretted instruments - guitars, banjos, ukuleles, mandolins, even lutes. The list of his clients is extensive, with about half of them local.
His instruments have a crisp, full and warm sound. You can find some recordings plus photos of the instruments on Scott's very informative website www.customguitars.com. His Scott's Guitar Blog is a must for a professional.
Mark Randall, a quiet man with a wide array of interests, does not heavily advertise; his business comes mostly via recommendations of his clients.
Mark's expertise and passion are gilding and restoration of gilded objects - antique frames of varied provenience, furniture, trims, and moldings. If you fancy a dome with high quality gold ornaments Mark is your man!
Mark's studio is located at 183 East New York Avenue, Huntington, NY 11743; visits are by appointment only, 631.423.6346.
He has been at this location for the last 15 years, ever since he completed his gilding courses at Sepp Leaf Products followed by an apprenticeship with the master gilder Peter Stetler in Flushing. After learning the techniques of oil and water gilding, it took Mark 3 years to train his eye to see and to understand how a piece should be handled to assure proper, least invasive, and possibly reversible restoration.
My visit at his workshop was both enjoyable and instructive. It was very interesting to learn about various application methods, clays and glues, differences in color tone between 18 and higher karat gold.
Mark showed me a thin gold leaf, so thin it disintegrated on touch, which he would apply to a prep'ed surface with a brush called gilder's tip. Surface could then be further processed, for instance, it could be burnished with agate tool to desired lustre.
There are tons of interesting things to discover on Long Island. Local newspapers advertise events, park visits, museums, etc.
I have my favorite spots on the island and am on a constant lookout for new ones. Word of mouth is, as always, the best, but if that fails, I refer to a couple of publications.
"Short Nature Walks" by Rodney & Priscilla Albright published by The Globe Pequot Press, contains inviting, short and sweet descriptions of various towns, former estates, parks and preserves, beaches, marshes and bogs, whatever they are.
"Hiking Long Island" by Lee McAllister published by New York - New Jersey Trail Conference, lists established trails. This is a serious hiking guide, taking great care to cover all important information. Admittedly I have only attempted shorter hikes listed there, but they were not disappointing.
If the weather is an issue you may want to pick up "Where to Go & What to Do on Long Island" guide, which lists many historical places, museums and other attractions, greater and smaller, a lot of them indoor. This book is out of print.
Obviously, you can get these and other books from Amazon, but why not try a local bookstore. There are still some around. Since we are on a subject of favorites, my favorite is Book Review in Huntington, a very active bookstore with many famous authors holding book signings there.
