Reflecting on a Great Summer

I can hardly believe it, but today is the first day of September. Kids will be going back to school on Tuesday and the regular routines will begin again. I may have said so here before, but I don't generally count myself among the many millions who consider summer to be the best time of year. I tend to prefer the autumn and winter months: those seasons match my taste in clothing, my taste in food and my temperament. However, the summer of 2012 has proven to be one of the most enjoyable in the history of my life. I somehow didn't mind the hot, sticky weather. I threw caution to the warm wind and decided to take a lot of time off this summer, venturing back to my hometown for weeks at a time. There were lazy days at the cottage and active days in the city, weddings, anniversaries, parties and gatherings that were truly memorable and fun. There were roller coaster rides and cotton candy, quiet dinners at quiet bistros and boistrous rounds of drinks on sunny patios. Although it seems counter-intuitive for me to say so, I will really miss this summer. Below are some photographic highlights of the summer that was in the life of Andrew Ritchie.

 

 

New Work by Paulette Tavormina

When Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell of Beekman 1802 fame introduced me to the incredible photography of Paulette Tavormina, I knew I was hooked. The dark, brooding still-life photographs she creates are filled with moody vibrance. I can hardly take my eyes off them. Paulette, who lives and works in New York City, is a regular contributor to the Sotheby's catalog and shows her work internationally through the Robert Klein Gallery. To many of us, she is best known as the photographer for Brent and Josh's cookbook, which was released last year: The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook. I have blogged about Paulette before and she and I have kept in touch since we first collaborated on a post for Martha Moments last year.

 

With summer winding down, I wanted to showcase some of Paulette's most recent pieces, work that is overflowing with vitality and summertime exuberance: a series on flowers and goldfish called simply Flowers, Fish and Fantasies. Paulette is deeply inspired by the Dutch still-life paintings of the seventeenth century and the painterly quality of her photographs reflects that passion. Paulette explained to me how this series of images was born:

 

"I was at Sotheby's viewing the Old Master painting exhibition and fell in love with a large painting of flowers and a fish bowl and thought..oh I have to create that. So, I set off to create a still life with live fancy tail goldfish which was a major undertaking. After creating the first one, my gallery (Robert Klein Gallery) told me that it would be a good idea to create a series and hence..my five images of Flowers, Fish and Fantasies series came about. I am still working on creating more images for the series."

 

One exciting note for Martha Stewart Living readers: Paulette's work is featured in a special travel Martha Stewart Weddings issue in a feature called "Other Worldly Bouquets" which comes out on the 27th of September. I can't wait to see it! I urge you to visit Paulette's website for more of her gorgeous imagery. You can read her bio and find out more about her exhibitions.

 

Below are images of the five photographs in the Flowers, Fish and Fantasies series so far, which were recently shown at Art Southampton and will be exhibited at Paris Photo this November.

Flowers and Fish IV After G.V.S. © Paulette Tavormina "I picked these flowers in Montauk."

Flowers and Fish III After G.V.S. © Paulette Tavormina  "While I was filming this one, a tiny inch worm crawled into view! So, I snapped its journey across the peony stem."

Flowers and Fish II After G.V.S. © Paulette Tavormina

Flowers and Fish I After G.V.S. © Paulette Tavormina

 Flowers and Butterfly © Paulette Tavormina

Celebrating a Ruby Anniversary

Recently, I traveled back to my hometown to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of my aunt and uncle. It was a very emotional and spirited occasion. My Aunt Sharron loves to entertain and she invited 30 people (family, friends and neighbours) to help her celebrate this milestone with my Uncle Rick and their girls, Cari and Jessica. Because it is summer and because Sharron and Rick are avid barbecue enthusiasts, they decided to have the event in their beautiful backyard and to serve succulent beef-tenderloin steaks, perfectly grilled, along with assorted salads and baked potatoes with toppings. (Everything was so delicious!)

What made the event even more special were the decorating details, all of which were planned and executed by Sharron, my mother and their mutual friend Judy. Since 40th anniversary celebrations are traditionally celebrated using a ruby theme (according to Victorian dogma) red was the colour of choice. Everyone was asked to wear red and there were red details seen throughout the yard in the form of streamers, centerpieces and balloons - even the fondant icing on their gorgeous cake was a deep crimson. Below are some of my photos from that afternoon.

Black and silver were the accent colours for the evening. My mother made paper flowers using these instructions from MarthaStewart.com, a craft that was featured in the April, 2004, issue of Martha Stewart Living.

After the meal, my aunt and uncle listened to toasts and speeches on the deck. Everyone was so touched by the words of love and support for these two lovely people.

Halloween Handbook Back On Newsstands

Fans who have been hoping for a new Martha Stewart Halloween special issue (and I've heard from quite a lot of you!) may be disappointed to learn that there will not be a new Halloween issue out this year. However, if you missed the 2010 offering, you will have the chance to buy it again. Martha Stewart Living has re-issued the Halloween Handbook, a compilation of the best Halloween ideas from Martha Stewart Living. You can find it (again) on newsstands now.

Martha Expanding Online Video Catalog

A Martha Moments reader recently contacted me to let me know that he had been enjoying an ever-growing array of Martha Stewart videos at Marthastewart.com. It seems the online editors are expanding the video content on the site, with television segments from the Martha Stewart Living television program and The Martha Stewart Show. For an example, Click here to sample the multitude of Christmas video segments available. You can refine your searches by content type (video, photo galleries, articles, etc.) by subject or by publication or show. (I'm hoping to see some segments from Martha Bakes uploaded soon!)

Halloween Craft Sneak Peek - and Sale!

From diabolical decorations to treacherous treats, everything Halloween from the Martha Stewart Crafts line is brewing at 20%-off - no coupons or codes required. Below is a sneak peek of some of this year's Halloween products from Martha Stewart Crafts. I always pick up a few things each season. Treat bags are among my favourites; no other brand provides such elegant and sinister designs. Click here to see more of the Halloween products and start shopping!