During November 2009 I went to New York for a five day residential with my college. The whole experience was fantastic. We visited some of the best art galleries and museums in the world, where I managed to see the work of some of my favourite artists including Vincent Van Gogh, Giacomo Balla and Monet. I fell in love with everything this city had to offer and was particularly impressed with the Manhattan sky-line and architecture. We stayed in the Manhattan Inn hostel which was very basic but clean and fairly central to most places.
Galleries and Museums
Museum of Arts and Design - Day 1
This was our first port of call to see the exhibition 'Slash: Paper Under The Knife'. 'This landmark exhibition highlights work by 45 international artists working in cut, torn, shredded, and burned paper. Works shown take the pulse on a traditional technique and material that has risen to prominence over the past few years. Works range from intricate cut panels to environmental installations. Special sections of the exhibition will focus on animation artists that modify books and transform them into sculptures'. (Museum of arts and design leaflet)
I thoroughly enjoyed the art works in Slash Paper Cut. There was so much intricacy and detail that must have painstaking hours to cut out, the artists must have lots of patience! I was completely drawn in and fascinated by how much beauty was being created by cutting paper. There was transparency, layers, energy and texure contained within many of the pieces, qualities that inspire my own work. Most of the colour was monotone. I particularly liked the a piece of work by Chris Kenny
Image found at http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3515/4026506205_0b31d04344_o.jpg It reminds me of a globe and I like the composition and soft colours. I also loved the art work by Rob Ryan. I am drawn to the silhouettes he created and the romantic feel it captures. 
Image found at http://danielhowells.net/Images/uploads/robryan.jpg
On the second floor of the museum the MADProjects Gallery was exhibiting designs by Nendo called Ghost Stories. 'Ghost Stories : New Designs from Nendo transforms the MADProjects Gallery on the Museum's second floor into a magical landscape of new designs that imbue chairs, vases, and lamps with whimsy and optical illusion'. I was fascinated by the chairs that looked like they were floating. 'The Fade-Out Chair is a simple rectangular chair made from clear acrylic and painted with trompe l'oeil wood grain over most of the structure in a pattern that fades away on the lower part of the legs to create the impression that the chairs are floating in space.'
Image and quotes found at http://collections.madmuseum.org/code/emuseum-asp?emu_action=advsearch&rawsearch=exhibitionid/,/is/,/504/,/true/,/false&profile=exhibitions The ghost exhibition was awesome and the curator had done a magnificent job creating the perfect ambience.
After the Design Museum we went to The Metropolitan Museum which is a stunning, old building. It is similar to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London only more spectacular. There were many art works to look at in here but I was especially drawn to the byzantine artefacts. I liked the patterns found upon their surfaces and the shapes found contained within various pieces of jewellery.
Image found at http://www.nyc-architecture.com/UES/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art.jpg. 
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Photos taken by myself
Day 2
The following day we travelled to Brooklyn to visit a wallpaper Studio called Flavor Paper. 'Flavor Paper produces unique vintage, contemporary, and custom handscreened wallcoverings that will add a burst of flavor to any room'.
Quote found at http://www.flavorleague.com/wallpaper/. It was one of the best experiences I have had within the design Industry as the studio was really cool and had only recently been built. We were first shown the show room by founder and owner Jon Sherman. Clients would come to see and choose their samples and lengths of wallpaper here. There were huge chrome rotating racks where the papers would be displayed and around the room were plush cream leather seats. It reminded me of the 1970's and James Bond movies! . I must say that Jon Sherman was an amazing guy and told us so much about Flavor Paper, the way they work, what kind of work they do etc. and he even showed us around his penthouse which was still being renovated at the top of the Flavor Paper building. His interior style was very much in tune with that of Flavor Paper i.e. energetic, bold, fun and quirky! We were then taken to the print room 
This was the largest print room I had ever seen consisting of a vacuum print table, screens and racks, wash down area, exposing area, paint mixing area and a space for CAD. This was a dream come true for me as my work is produced by hand using screens. It had been designed perfectly for screen printing having a contemporary feel to it. Everywhere was white, spacious and organised. There were even mirrors in the ceiling!
All the above photos were taken by myself. To see examples of Flavor Paper's wallpapers look at the following video from utube Video found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?V=9_g376LMeWs
After the studio visit we went for lunch at the best pizzeria in Brooklyn, Grimaldi's, recommended by Jon Sherman. If you ever get the chance to go you have to try the pizza here, it was scrumptious! It is family orientated and is located under the Brooklyn Bridge.
Day 3- MOMA - Museum of Modern Art
Wow, Moma was also an incredible experience. It is the largest gallery I have ever been in and houses many of the most famous art pieces from around the world.
The building is contemporary and spacious. I was instantly excited as I walked through the doors and was eager to view the various exhibitions.
My favourite art pieces were Monet's water Lillies, Giacomo Balla - , and Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night. I was amazed by the enormous size of the water lilly canvases. Some were vast and took my breath away. They were displayed in a room on their own adding to their impact. I was drawn into the beautiful colours that merged together and his excellent use of brushstrokes.
Image found at www.nytimes.com/.../_11/arts/design/11monet.html
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Photos taken by myself.
Also the painting , Swifts: Paths of Movement + Dynamic Sequences by artist Giacomo Balla captured my attention because of the movement and rythym created in it.
Photo taken by myself. 'Balla, one of the founding members of Futurism,spent much of his career studying the dynamics of movement and speed. The subject of this painting is the flight of swifts; black wings whir before a window. Inspired by photographic studies of animal locomotion such as those by French physiologist Étienne-Jules Marey, Balla created an image of motion pushed close to abstraction. The wings each represent a different position in a trajectory of motion, and the bird’s body is rendered as a diagrammatic line. Here Balla looks to science to establish a new, modern language for painting.' Quote found at http://www.moma.org/collection.images/resized/183/w500h420/CRI_151183.jpg
I also came across the painting 'Starry Night' by Vincent Van Gogh. I had wanted to see this for such a long time and when I finally managed to view it I was not disappointed. It was magical and intriguing and will continue to inspire me.
Image found at http://christineparkdesign.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/vangogh-starry_night_ballance1.jpg.
Day 4 - Design Direction Studio
Image found at www.designdirection.net. Another studio visit had been arranged for us at Design Direction, 246 5th Avenue, Suite 210. This studio was completely different from Flavor Paper as all their designs are done digitally and are very commercial. The studio was also much smaller than Flavor Paper and seemed more like office space.
We were shown some of the work created by the studio. They design for gift-wrap, greeting cards, original prints for textiles, apparel and home furnishing. They used to produce fashion print designs but no longer do so. Sonia Sarin, director, told us that the state of the economy had affected the business and therefore they no longer employ as many staff. They do however keep many freelance designers on their books.
The visit was helpful for understanding more about designing for the card industry and Sonia said we could always email her and show her our work if we wanted to.
Other places visited throughout the residential include Central Park, Soho and Greenwich Village.
Central Park
Central Park was very impressive, better and a lot bigger than I had expected. The outline of the buildings surrounding the park could be seen contrasting against the colourful trees.
Photos taken by myself
We visited the John Lennon memorial just as it was getting dusk which added to the tranquil atmosphere. Rose petals were scattered accross it which was quite moving.
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Soho
The shop windows in Soho were beautifully dressed and the shopping was good. I was really impressed by the Vera Wang boutique. Her dresses were stunning.
I came across a stationers called 'Kate's Paperie' located at 72 Spring Street. The vast range of papers and cards etc were amazing and I would recommend a visit. The hand crafted gift wrap was exceptional. There was a wedding section which looked impressive and I noticed some of Tord Boontje work hanging from the ceiling like lace, whose work I am inspired by for its ornamental qualities.
Photo taken by myself
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village is buzzing with trendy bars and restaurants, a great place for people watching. We had a night out here and started off in a cool bar that had Charlie Chaplin films projected on the wall. The food was tasty and quite reasonable. I ate chicken wings with celery and blue cheese dressing, typically American. We were able to chalk on the slate topped tables if we wanted.
From here we went on to the Cafe Wah Club which was fantastic.
Image found at http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Cafe_Wha%3F_Entrance_2005-0404.... The following is a quote from a Cafe Wha? flyer telling us a little bit about its history, 'Since the 1950s the Cafe Wha? has been a favourite hot spot cornered in the heart of Greenwich Village. The 60s was an impressionable and revolutionary era. Artists of the time frequented the Cafe Wha? as it was known to be a sanctuary for talent; Allen Ginsberg regularly sipped his cocktails here. The Cafe Wha? was the original stomping ground for prodigies Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. Bruce Springsteen, Peter, Paul & Mary, Kool and the Gang, as well as comedians, Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby also began their road to stardom on this historic stage. The Cafe Wha? encompassed the Beat Generation and continues to hold tight to its spirit, entertaining all walks of life. Today, the Cafe Wha? showcases amazing talent with the three greatest house bands in New York City.' The music and bands were excellent catering to most tastes. 
Image found at http://cafewha.com/the-bands/brazooka. The atmosphere was really buzzing and lively. I must mention the collaged walls in the ladies toilets, made up of pictures of pop stars from all era's, it was quirky and effective and looked good. My colleagues and I sat in a booth together. There was no need to go to the bar as a waitress was allocated to each booth who did this for you. The prices were'nt too bad considering the entertainment and service we were getting and would definitely recommend it for a night out. A great night was had by all!
