Friday night was the culmination of all that is good and right in the Connecticut art and design scene. The opening of The Center for Public Art and Design, directed by Margaret Bodell, was a smashing success with a great venue, good people, excellent music and stellar installations. What made it even better was the knowledge that this beautiful space is also the first of AIGA Connecticut’s satellite locations.

I recently rediscovered my local library. I can’t imagine why it escaped me the last 5 years, but it’s a wonderful environment in which to work.  My library was recently remodeled and now comes equip with sloping ceilings, exposed beams and floor to ceiling windows.  I have a favorite spot.  It’s tucked in back with a comfortable chair next to a window that receives sunshine all afternoon. It’s quiet, of course.  While working at the library, I find I can complete entire thoughts, work through solutions, plan, organize and get work done in a peaceful setting.  I’m incredibly productive there and I come home feeling happy and refreshed.  The library makes me feel like I’m hiding out.

I  recently had the pleasure of interviewing Chief Operating Officer, Jim Joseph, and Executive Director of Marketing, Publicity and Design, Ingar Forland, at Globe Pequot Press for an upcoming INK article.  GPP is the publisher for the imprint skirt! which recently released Karen Karbo’s The Gospel According to Coco Chanel – Life Lessons From the World’s Most Elegant Woman. There’s been plenty of brouhaha over Coco Chanel these days.  A recent revival of movies, books and buzz have paid homage to the great Chanel and so it was with a certain amount of glee that I obtained a copy of Karbo’s book.

Like the little black dress (invented by non-other than Chanel herself), Karbo’s little book is a pleasure to behold.  The diminutive book fits nicely into your bag for take along reading. The cover is smooth and luxurious.  Fashion illustrations by Chesley McLaren provide the eye candy.  But this book was not written as just another biography of the fashion designer.  This book provides a guide for the modern woman who wishes self sufficiency and empowerment the Chanel way.  With wit and humor, and even a bit of that same snarky Chanel attitude, Karbo’s text provides a series of checks and balances for women navigating life’s many turns.  I read it with greed.  I might even read it again.  Chapters listed as “On Style”, “On Surviving Passion”, “On Embracing the Moment”, “On Money”, and “On Living Life on Your Own Terms” while fun caused me periods of self reflection.  “How do I measure up?” I asked myself, “How can I be better?”  Karbo provided some answers.

Through the pages of The Gospel, we do learn snippets of Chanel’s life… her rags to riches background, the compulsive lying which created her mystique, and her success with and final rejection of love.  But the biography portion of Chanel’s life is not the focus here.  It’s the advice that makes it different and relevant. I especially recommend this book for my fellow ladies who are designers, artists, workaholics and creative entrepreneurs.  Those who enjoy humor and escapism reading with good dose of savoir faire will also not be disappointed.

The Gospel According to Coco Chanel – Life Lessons From the World’s Most Elegant Woman can be obtained from the Globe Pequot Press website and from Amazon, or Barnes and Noble.

Karen Karbo is also the author of How to Hepburn, Lessons of Living From the Great Kate.  Her writings can also be found in Vogue, Elle, Esquire, and Redbook. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

That is the question posited by artist and author, Ted Mikulski.  Yup he’s my cousin…but that’s beside the point.  When I first heard about Ted’s plan to publish an art book and learned it’s title, Art Is Dead, I thought “Ted, are you crazy? Of course art is not dead.”  But is it?

As a teacher of art appreciation at Tunxis Community College, Mikulski was surprised to learn that a shockingly low number of students could name their favorite contemporary artist.  When asked this question on the first day of class over the course of several semesters, Mikulski reports that only 2 or 3 of his students each semester could name their favorite LIVING artist.  Some students named their friends, some named Van Gogh.  Interestingly if asked the question”Who is your favorite band or musician?” the examples were plentiful.

The book is Mikulski’s response to “America’s lack of appreciation for art” and offers the opinions and thoughts of 16 contemporary artists, sculptors and photographers.  Accordingly to Mikulski, “I have found through my research that many artists are shocked that I could even consider art to be dead. The sad reality is that many artists are so steadfast in their own work and their own circle that it is difficult for them to see art on a macro scale. Sure artists will always be around, but are they revered? Are they appreciated? And more importantly, are they figureheads in society?”