Unleash Your Creativity with Simon Doonan

Who doesn't love a good Spring gala? Better yet, who doesn't love a Spring gala where you get to don Tyvek jumpsuits over colorful clothing and create a masterpiece 4 easels down from the world-famous Simon Doonan?

Benefiting the educational non-profit Publicolor, Stir, Splatter + Roll will take place Tuesday 4/22 at 6pm at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School (122 Amsterdam Avenue, just behind Lincoln Center). All proceeds go towards Publicolor's mission to engage disconnected students in their education, while teaching them strong and transferable work habits so they are prepared to be productive in both college and career.

Stir, Splatter + Roll 2014 will be co-chaired by respected architect Gene Kohn and award-winning menswear designer Jeffrey Banks and emceed by Simon Doonan. The event will celebrate, among others, Michael Kaiser, President of the Kennedy Center + Founder of the DeVos Institute for Arts Management and long time supporter of Publicolor. Benjamin Moore, Publicolor’s corporate sponsor, has donated every single drop of paint used at Publicolor and Gary DeBode of Edison Properties.

The first half of the event will feature fun-filled party where guests paint alongside some of the city’s leading artists, designers and architects while sipping cocktails. The high-energy fete takes place in a Publicolored school and will draw dynamic New Yorkers and luminaries in the worlds of business, fashion, politics, design, education, and philanthropy (anyone for swapping watercolor tips with Bloomberg?). The second half will be a sit-down dinner and awards presentation. There will also be a silent auction of limited edition tote bags created by top designers.

To purchase tickets and see photos from last year's event, check out the event website. Look out for a full Awesome In New York recap after the event!

Update: Sadly Michael Kors will no longer be attending. Sad face.

Some Summer Creativity

I've always considered myself a fairly creative person, and is it just me or does it seem like we used to get much more encouragement to be creative when we were kids? With all the stress of life as an adult, I've been finding it's actually more beneficial now to get my creative juices flowing than it was when all I really wanted was to gossip with my friends on the playground while sipping Capri Sun.

Thankfully for all my awesome readers, I've taken the liberty of trying out a couple classes in the NYC area and here's what I have to report:

Painting and Wine Class: The Art Studio NY

(Purchased on Groupon for $35 plus $10 for the canvas)

After seeing countless friends spend a fun night trying to copy a painting while sipping wine, I thought this would be a good place to start, especially given the fact that I have never painted anything in my life (with the exception of my dining room walls and some finger painting way back when). My friend Rachel and I shopped our options and settled for a 3-hour class at The Art Studio NY on the Upper West Side. Our instructor, Jacob Premo, was wonderful and encouraging as he led us through step-by-step as to how we should conquer the painting. He was also very flexible--helping other students paint entirely different pictures and even providing neon pink paint and glitter to one student (I was very jealous of her final product). The wine was constantly flowing and between that and the relaxing actions of mixing paints and putting brush to canvas, I was a happy lady by the end of the night. I may not be the next Van Gogh, but now I can say I have an original piece of art hanging in my apartment. The studio offers ongoing art classes for all levels at very reasonable prices, including drawing classes that take place in both the Met and Central Park. For only $39 including all materials, you may very well find me there in the near future.

The original next to my finished work

Me and Rachel with our masterpieces

Adventure Photography: JP Teaches Photo

(Free on Zozi, bring your own camera)

I've owned a Canon Rebel DSLR (fancy camera speak for one of those large cameras that take really good pictures) for about 7 years now, and I'm sad to say that I still don't know completely how to use it. I usually leave it on auto, occasionally venturing to manual when I have something specific in mind. For the most part I've been happy with it, because it takes killer photos even on auto, but with an upcoming trip to Thailand/South Korea (it's okay, you can be jealous), I wanted to up my game. I came across JP Teaches Photo through the deals site Zozi a few weeks back. They were (and are still...GET ON THIS PEOPLE!) running a special where you get a free "adventure" just for signing up, and more free adventures for signing up your friends. I opted for the adventure photo class in Central Park as a way to brush up on my camera skills and have a wonderful evening in the process. Our group of 6 students and 2 instructors met on the west side of the park on a perfect Sunday evening. The impending rain gave way to beautiful sunshine which streaked in sideways as the sun sank toward the horizon. Paul, a professional photographer/lighting designer and self-described "bro," led us through various exercises designed to get us used to motion photography as well as techniques to help us with landscape and wildlife photography. JP, who's specialty is in helping people use their cameras, stood by to answer specific questions like "how can I make the background lighter/darker?" or "where is that button on my [insert pretty much any camera you can think of]?" The most awesome part of the entire class was when Cartman the skateboarding bulldog and his owner passed by just after we talked about stop motion photography. I was so happy I had my camera in hand, ready to go. The two hours flew by too quickly, but I learned so much, and only whet my appetite for learning more. I may or may not have also signed up for the beginner class in August :)

Dark Cave

Lamp Post

Cartman the Bulldog

With all that this city has to offer, who knows what I might try next! Feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments below and be sure to let us know if you try either of these classes. Happy creativity!