PJ's Studio: January 2024

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Orchids 4

We had a few below freezing days in a row which took out most of the outside plants.

So if you want to see flowers you have to think inside.

And when I think inside, I think orchids.

There are nice collections at the local botanical gardens.

And even in some local stores – at least until they start to wither after a few days.

But as I mentioned in a previous blog,

I have a habit of killing orchids.

And I really hate when that happens.

So clearly a visit to someone else’s collection is in order.

And in the meantime, here are some from the archives…

Past orchid blogs…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2013/01/orchids.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2015/03/orchids-2.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/01/orchids-3.html

Ciao

Sunday, January 21, 2024

Central Park – Winter 2022 p3

NYC finally got some snow this week.

It had been 701 days since our last measurable snowfall, and that one was only ~ one inch so it was nothing to shout about.

The same thing happened this week – barely over an inch. So disappointing!

And our second round later in the week turned out to be merely flurries.

Not a lot of snowman potential there.

It’s too bad because it is clear that everyone is wishing for a fun snow day to go over to the park and play.

But, since it’s in the 20’s today, I thought that rather than freezing my butt off for mediocre photos I would post another set from our last really pretty snow in January 2022.

It was a beauty.

But I haven’t given up hope for this year yet. It is still January.

Too bad it’s due to go up to the 50’s next week.

Here are the previous photos from winter 2022…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2022/01/central-park-2022.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2022/02/central-park-2022-part-2.html

Cheers!

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Wooden Houses in Manhattan

In 1882, NYC outlawed the building of new wooden houses below 82^nd Street in Manhattan.

But a few survivors remain – 12 in all.

Four of those are on the Upper East Side, so I decided to go check them out.

Not surprisingly, most reside in the 90’s.

The prettiest one is located the furthest north at 128 East 93^rd Street. It was built in 1866 for artificial limb maker Henry W. Shaw. Apparently, the inside has been extensively renovated, but the outside remains intact.

These two are at 120 and 122 East 92^nd Street. They are situated between Park and Lexington Avenues and are built in the Italianate style.

This one at 160 East 92^nd Street was probably built by the same builder – Albro Howell. From 1914- 1942 it was owned by the social activists and founders of The New Republic – Dorothy Payne Whitney and her husband William Dickerman Straight. They used it to house their staff, as they themselves lived on 94^th and 5^th Avenue.

Located at 412 East 85^th, just off 1^st Avenue, this house is believed to be part of the original Archibald Gracie estate. It had fallen into disrepair until new owners who bought it in 1996 restored it.

In addition to those beauties on the UES, there are two buildings left in midtown east – 312 & 314 East 53^rd Street to be exact.

The houses in the 80’s and 90’s are for the most part surrounded by brownstones, so they are pretty much holding their own. But since these two reside in midtown they are dwarfed by the huge towers that surround them.

Six down, six to go.

Cheers!

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Embroidery: Guggenheim Butterfly

This is the first in a series of 12 embroideries featuring photos of NYC combined with flower photos and drawings of butterflies.

I combined the Guggenheim and cherry photos with the butterfly drawing on photoshop to create a digital collage. Then I printed the result on linen. After that, I added the embroidery.