Art Archives - Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

Halloween Photos From NYC

November 5, 2015

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These are just a few photos I took on Halloween in NYC. My friend and I hung out over at Café Reggio on MacDougal Street rather than try to see the parade on Sixth Avenue. It was really crowded I am sure and this way I knew my foot was safe from getting stepped on since it is still recovering from surgery.

There were lots of costumes that revolved around normal everyday clothing. Most of those consisted of some sort of Day of the Dead makeup and hats. From where I was sitting I was at more of a profile angle so I didn’t take photos while I was seated – only of one couple that stood still for a bit to be photographed. It was a very good view of costumes from there.

One of my favorite costumes was a lady dressed in all vintage black and grey and she looked like a women who rose from the dead. That was a cool costume. We wanted to go into Washington Square Park but I forgot they close the park on Halloween after dark. Later on as we walked up to 14^th Street to get the train we ran into lots more people with costumes and that is when I could take a bunch of photos.

It was fun to be down in the Village again for Halloween. It is always crowded but except for 14^th street it wasn’t too hectic. Union Square was really fun though since there were a bunch of people there in their costumes that had probably just finished the parade and were hanging out posing for photos. I think Halloween is fun. It allows people a chance to be a bit wild and giddy. Even I wore costumes and had crazy makeup on. I don’t dress up every year but it was fun to do it since I hadn’t in a while.

I wore a loungewear pantsuit from the mid-1980’s. It was from J. Crew and I think it makes a good scarecrow outfit. I still had this stored at my mother’s a while back so when she moved I took it and I was surprised it still fits. I have lost some weight the last couple of years when I developed an allergy to gluten and gave it up.

I finished that dress I upcycled so I will try to get that post to you in the next few days. I hope you are enjoying fall as much as I am. I think it is just beautiful. I will be glad when it cools off a bit though. It is slightly strange that it keeps going up to seventy degrees over and over in October. I want some real fall weather before the winter comes!

Vintage Halloween Images from Flickr

October 23, 2015

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Halloween again! I found these few vintage photos I wanted to share on here. I am not sure what I am doing on Halloween this year. I was hoping to go to the Village and go to a coffee shop with a side street view of the costumes. In the past that has been the best way to actually view the costumes since I am vertically challenged about seeing the parade. Last year I spent a couple of hours perched on a metal police barrier trying to catch a view by being raised up. I still didn’t get as good a view as I had in the past on the side streets. So I think I will return to my old route. Plus with recovering from foot surgery I have to be very careful in crowds for a while, not to get stepped on! I am now at the point where I can walk around for a while and don’t need the cane finally. If you don’t live in New York City you might not know how crowded and nuts the NY Halloween parade can be. Often it is the case that even some subway stations get shut down due to the crowds.
I cannot think of Halloween without thinking of my daughter Emily as she was growing up and all the Halloween costumes, or even just costumes in general for shows or school functions. So I have posted one of her as a toddler in her adorable pumpkin dress our neighbor made her, and another two of her as a fish for a show. The fish costume was made by a friend’s mother. I still have the little pumpkin dress, in the event that I have a grandbaby someday who can wear it!
If I get to see some great costumes from the NYC Halloween parade I will of course post pictures of them later on. I am thinking I will be a scarecrow again since it is a relatively simple costume to put together. I always think scarecrows need hay though and it isn’t easy to find hay. I may have to be a city scarecrow and go without hay sticking out of my sleeves or socks.
I hope you enjoy these vintage Halloween images. The last picture is not a vintage picture; however it was the best picture I took of a costume a few years ago on Macdougal Street, just a block away from the parade. That lady had a seriously good Pinocchio outfit!
Well I hope you are enjoying the beginning of fall. I for one am thrilled that summer is biting the dust. The humidity in New York is rough on me. I do like all the outdoor activities that are easier to do in the summer in New York though. I miss the kayaking already! I do enjoy the change of seasons and the leaves in the street, the bundling up in sweaters, hot cider, all of those little things that follow suit once the air gets crisp and has a bite to it.

June Lang

Betty Grabel 1935-1940

Brenda McNeilly’s Art Deco collection

Emily when she was a toddler

Wall Streamers and “Handy Dandy Notebooks” From Granny Chic

October 12, 2015

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The handy dandy notebooks recipe comes from the Granny Chic book by Dottie Angel and Ted & Agnes. The idea is partially a way to reuse unused bits of paper or recycle old envelopes. So the first thing you need to collect is the stacks of paper you wish to reuse. When I am working at accounting jobs there are often unused pieces of paper, so I had a stack of unused pieces that I recycled. For fabric I used some old pieces of Liberty fabric that was pretty much swatches for upholstery or thicker household fabrics.

They do not have a recipe for streamers in the book. However, there are a bunch of pictures of them in the book itself. Plus in Dottie Angel’s Flickr photo albums there are enough pretty streamers draped across walls to make you want to create your own.

If you have basic sewing ability it is easy enough to figure out the streamers. If you are a real novice at sewing I can give you a few hints. You need a long piece of ribbon to hang your little bits of fabric scraps on after you have cut them into the shapes you desire. After that I found it easiest to sew a small zigzag hem on the little bits of fabric. Then attach them to your ribbon where you want them, with another zigzag stitch across, and remember to leave the edges open for space to hang the streamers.

If you get carried away or wish to make more elaborate streamers you may want to check out this video:https:/watch?v=er43ZIKEh64. I also attached it to my DIY recycling videos page. Aya’s project is much more intense, but if you really want to get into streamers, since they are colorful and pretty then this is another route.

These two are small projects that don’t take a lot of time. They could also make nice gifts to send to people over the holidays. The little streamers are nice since they can quickly cheer up a bland-looking dorm room where someone has just moved in.

I haven’t gotten to more projects from this book just yet, other than the “quirky & jolly string,” which I made heart-shaped strings from, and the “perfectly peach half pinny” aprons, which are made of vintage fabrics, pillowcases and linens. Both of the links to those posts are attached to the bottom of this post. I also bought Simplicity’s Dottie Angel pattern 1080A in two sizes so before too long I can make dresses for my daughter and myself from Tif Fussell’s pattern. Tif Fussell is the creator of Dottie Angel. Both Tif and Rachelle Blondel, who are the authors of Granny Chic, previously had blogs. Rachelle now has another blog, Dock & Nettle. If you wish to see Tif’s previous blog posts from her blog they are at http://dottieangel.blogspot.com/.

Rachel Blondel’s current blog is at http://www.dockandnettle.com/.

If you wish to see her previous blog posts from “tales of ted & agnes,” they are at http://talesoftedandagnes.blogspot.com/.

I hope you enjoyed this post and are enjoying the beginning of fall. I have attached a small gallery again of pictures from the Granny Chic book.

The Artistry of Melanie Steinway

September 27, 2015

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I first found out about Melanie Steinway’s art through Emily Owens, my daughter. Melanie grew up in Boulder, Colorado, where it is an everyday experience to see animals roaming about, since the town itself is at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Melanie obviously developed a love for animals and nature. Her art is an expression of that love.

Melanie graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2012, with a BFA in Illustration. Much of her art is done with woodburning (pyrography) and mixed media. The animals she draws vary from deer to African wild dogs, hyenas, foxes, fish, whales, and rams. It is a total variety and I like how she exaggerates horns on the animals, sometimes draping leaves on the horns, and often the pieces have a mystical sense of fantasy intertwined. She gets the wood for the pyrography from sawmills, or she gets scraps from furniture makers.

Melanie also does pyrography on instruments. I have posted two pictures of guitars she has done. “Stag Twins” is her first acoustic guitar, a Fender, which she has had since she was sixteen. “Deer Skull” is an old acoustic guitar owned by a friend’s father. Fender also sends some guitars to Melanie for woodburning, so you may be able to find her work where Fender guitars are sold.

Currently Melanie lives in Denver, Colorado, and works as a tattoo artist at Urban Element Tattoo. She is often commissioned to do private designs for tattoos. She also plays music in her indie rock band Tyto Alba. Even the name of the band comes from nature. Tyto Alba is the scientific name for barn owls. (1)This is a link to her band’s music: http://tytoalbamusic.com/.

All the photos of Melanie’s art here link to her website. There she has links to her Facebook page, Instagram, Tumblr, and Etsy shop. If you live in the Denver area you may be able to hire her for commissioned work.

I hope you enjoyed this brief exploration of Melanie’s work.