Annual Lafayette Picnic 2011

It started out to be a rainy Saturday, the weather channel was calling for a 40% chance of rain most of the day, but just before the picnic started the sun came out and the tables were set. The turn out was great and the food spectacular.
Last year I had just purchased my unit and was up on a ladder not able to attend. I wasn't about to miss this one, the folks here are rather special, very kind, extremely diverse and most interesting. Many have lived here for years, there seems to be a new generation of younger folks moving in to raise their families.
It was a great day and lots of fun watching the kids playing in the mud left from the rain, and flood that happened a few weeks ago. Sure made one want to be young again, to be so free and playful.
Many thanks to those that worked so hard to put this annual event together and for all who showed up with the many delicious dishes and desserts.

Oh to be be young again, what fun!

The three main organizers, Bravo to a great picnic!

 Great Salmon Elaine!

 What a great smile Steve.

 Go on dad, take your shoes off and have some fun in the mud.....

                                                    

 the sweetest little one, five weeks old.

Until next year, another great day in Lafayette Park.

Palette Commander Artist Taurus Burns Paints Lafayette Park

Today was a special day because I received a painting from my dear friend Taurus Burns. A well known Detroit artist who primarily paints Detroit's many landscapes. As Taurus puts it, discovering Detroit's unique environment one painting at a time.....
At one of his last shows I had hoped to purchase a piece for my new home, I arrived a tad late only to find he had sold all of his forty paintings. So, I asked him to paint me something, I have a few of his pieces and knew anything he would paint for me I'd love.
Taurus and I go back a long way having gone to CCS together and shown our work on several occasions together. He decided to paint for me a small painting of Lafayette Park's beautiful green landscape. It's special to me in so many ways, I will find a special place for it.  The scale of his work is small(6"x4"x2"),but powerful. The light and texture of his stroke stands out and makes the paintings seem larger then they are:

 Please visit Taurus's website at http://www.paintdetroit.com/

 Thanks Taurus for this lovely little gem.......

The Downstairs Bathroom Finito!

After a long wait for the downstairs vanity, the bathroom is finished. In keeping with the rest of the house I kept the bathroom as as original as possible. I started by finding a toilet and luckily I found the original toilet in white on Ebay, a 1950's American Standard "4043" in mint condition. Just needed to purchase a rebuild kit and it's good as new. The original toilet was a salmon color as well the sink.


The sink I found on http://www.faucetdirect.com/ ,  A cast iron 20 x 18 Kohler, the original sink was cast iron, but 20 x 16.

I tried to save the original vanity, but the formica had been scratched, and faded in areas. I probably  have looked at every known laminate made, but couldn't find the exact pattern. I selected a 50's style boomerang pattern, and kept the doors with the original formica. It's hard to see in the photo but the blue boomerang shape is the same color as the rubber flooring. I like the two together. The handles were original.

the two formica's

I assemble idea boards which helps me when selecting colors and textures. Here's one the threshold, towel bar, rubber flooring and wall base tile.

 









The tear up:

1" x 3" tile floor

nasty!

base was 4 x 4 salmon tile

I had the holders powder coated aluminum

 

Finished bathroom:

 rebuilt fan, light fixture restored

I didn't take any freedom in redesigning either bathroom, for me it was just important to have a really crisp clean look. The space is relatively small, so I didn't want to disrupt that with bulky vanity's. I also really like the vanity, so I had one made to match the original. It took a few months but it's just as I had envisioned, any other might have crowded the space. It works for me, now I just have to finish the bathroom door and hang it.  Choosing rubber for flooring in the bathrooms is easy to clean and I don't have to worry about wear.

 All new plumbing. One of the problems with these units is the plumbing is all starting to go. Everything in this unit has been replace.

close up of the two formica's used

Fox 2 News ANDREA ISOM VISITS LAFAYETTE PARK

Ever Considered Moving to Detroit?

By ANDREA ISOM
WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com

DETROIT (WJBK) - We've all heard people talk about wanting to make Detroit a better place.
Well, some people say enough talk already.  It's time to put up or shut up.
As FOX 2's Andrea Isom explains in her video report, they're saying bye-bye to the suburbs and hello to the big city.

Andrea Isom was good enough to come to Lafayette Park and speak to some of the residents about our experience living in the city, and in our case Lafayette Park. We all had fun with the interview and want to thank Andrea for her time and interest. Please take a minute to check out the video. Thanks to all who participated in this segment, and a special thanks to Andrea!

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/detroit/ever-considered-moving-to-detroit-20110614-wpms

Stairs, Finally Stained, Oiled and Installed! At Last

Not an easy task stripping, sanding and reinstalling the stairs. This was a major chore to refinish the staircase, but I'm happy to have done it (now). When I first looked at this unit the staircase could have sold me alone. It took me a long time to do, but luckily I was able to take the planks to CCS and sand them. I had originally tried to sand them on the riser, but realized, I needed to do it right or not at all. So, I removed the planks and got to work.
Here's how the stairs looked prior to me sanding:

The baby bumpers were removed, I didn't fill the screw holes in case I ever decide to reinstall them. I find the staircase to be much more sculptural now without them. The risers were painted white, and the railing was black. I went back and forth about what color to paint, I ended up choosing black.

I worked for about a month striping away, at least it seemed that long.
Once the railing and risers were stripped and painted, I wrapped the planks with paper to protect them from all the other work I was doing. I wanted to wait until I was done with the major work to stain them. I used a pecan stain, it was the closest match to the original stain. Then used three coats of urethane to seal them.

The stairs installed and complete, I'm very happy with the final result.

Hanging Art, Blinds and Doors..Upstairs

Well it finally seems like I'm settling into my new home. I'm far from being done but at least the upstairs is near complete. The switches still need to be replaced I've purchased the two button switch type to replace the toggle style, the switch plates need to be installed, one more door to hang, all in all just about there.
I scrubbed and bleached the vertical blinds, rehung, not a fun task nor quick one.  But I must say they don't look too bad.. I don't mind them for now, I kind of like them.
 When my brother Frank came to help me we spoke a lot about how to handle art and the placement of art. We were talking one day and he said "do you know what would look good in the upstairs hallway, and I replied the butcher block",  he was thinking the very same thing. Here's a picture of how that was used, it sits in the upstairs hall.

Another suggestion Frank gave me was to display art on a platform. I have so much sculpture (mostly mine) and nothing to really place it on. I had two 48" x 17.5" x 2.5" platforms made to sit on the floor.
Platforms were made by A.K.Services Alan Kaniarz 
313-972-1010 Russel Industrial

Here's a new piece I bought from a colleague, friend and neighbor (who lives in Lafayette Park) one of my favorite Detroit artist, designer Andy Kem, the lamp is bent plywood. He designed in 3D lazer cuts and then assembles. 

The space here lends itself to experiment and play with the way I'm treating art and furniture. I'm really thinking about the use of space and how the piece becomes a part of the space. Like Mies arranged things as compositions in space. Not hugging the walls, obscuring architecture. I'm trying to consider each piece in space and not to clutter too much.
The painting is one of mine,  I'm rethinking the way I'm even hanging art....It doesn't have to be conventional. 

Here's another piece I purchased at Andy's opening at ReView gallery this past weekend (runs through June 11th) Interlocker images of Andy's work:
http://www.reviewcontemporary.com/
This is the table I bought, he collaborated with another Detroit favorite and friend artist Dennis Hayes.

I was looking for a low profile table for my study to sit between two chairs. I love the room with it's view and also because of the shadows the trees cast. When I saw this table I knew it was the one. 

Seems only right to place my twig bronze sculpture in the same room on the floor.

 Doors hung in master bedroom.

 Bathroom door and linen closet hung.















 I think the blinds are fine for now.