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| This past Monday night was the New York Public Library's annual Library Lions dinner at the Schwarzman building of the New York Public Library. They honored Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Katherine Boo, Junot Diaz, Stephen Sondheim and Marilynne Robinson as this year's Library Lions. It is a beautiful dinner, short on speeches with a guestlist in the hundreds of some of the most prominently active people in the city, as well as some of the lions and lionesses of the literary community. |
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| Last Monday night, Creel and Gow, the very chic art and objets boutique on East 70th off Lex just two doors down from the Bunny Mellon townhouse, held a cocktail reception for Ardmore Ceramic Art and Cora Sheibani Jewelry. And they all came running (well, sort of). The Upper East Side glittered with guests mingling through the treasure trove of Creel and Gow. I know that sounds like a press release, but that’s how it felt. The proprietors, Gow, and Creel operate on an aesthetic that presents that. |
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| There were a lot of friends and friends of friends. The hosts Bettina Zilkha, Dennis Basso and Bob Colacello greeted their guests and everyone was just happy to be there. Everyone including Marisa Brown, Sharon Bush, Tiffany Dubin, Pierre Durand, Whitney Fairchild, Lisa Fine, Mark Gilbertson, Nina Griscom, Valesca Guerrand Hermes, Alex Hitz, Carlos Mota and Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia. Furthermore they were there to see what Messrs Gow and Creel have come up with.
Fee is a renowned South African ceramicist, and the Ardmore enterprise is her brainchild. Her perceptive mind and initiative led to the creation of a venue for some of the many unemployed people in her area to channel their innate artistic energy and share their vision by utilizing a culturally traditional medium, i.e. clay, and the earth of their land. Wherever Fee recognizes or senses talent, she invites the person into her fold, teaches and trains the candidate to find his/her own voice and fly with it whether he/she is a sculptor or a painter. This accounts for Ardmore's fascinating collaboration between sculptor and painter. The artists are given complete freedom in the choice of their subject matter and the way it is expressed. This leads to endless surprises and innovations. The entire team benefits from the diverse dynamics and ideas. Each work is one of a kind. It encompasses an artist's vision, emotion or humor expressed in an intrinsic African way. The works are unique because they are constantly evolving with the artist's mastery of the medium. Each piece captures a moment in time which defies duplication. In 2010, Fee was honored by the Woman’s Campaign International, a Philadelphia-based organization, in recognition of her contribution towards empowering woman. With this award she has joined previous celebrated honorees such as Hillary Clinton, Paul Farmer, and Joe Biden. In addition, Fee is very involved with HIV/AIDS education. Ardmore worked in conjunction with expert healthcare fieldworkers to educate the artists about prevention and provide medication to those affected by the virus. Ardmore’s 25th anniversary in 2010 was especially significant for Fee as it was the first year that there were no AIDS casualties at Ardmore. Cora Sheibani was born in 9 March 1980 to Christina and Bruno Bischofberger, a prominent art dealer in Switzerland. From an early age, she benefitted from an environment dedicated to modern and contemporary art and design. In January 2001, while studying at NYU, Cora decided that she wanted to design jewelry, and she started her first jewelry sketchbook. Interested in learning all facets of jewelry making, she studied lost wax casting and made her first piece of jewelry in the same year. In the summer of 2002 she completed a degree in gemology from the GIA in London. In December 2002, she launched her own jewelry label under the name Cora Sheibani, in London’s Mayfair. |
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| Cora continues to make single jewels while occasionally putting together a whole collection. In 2006, she published a book of her Valence collection, with text by Ettore Sottsass, (one of her early supporters and influences). The collection was a series of unique 18kt gold wire pieces. Since then she has made many other pieces using the same wire volume idea and incorporating gems. The Copper Mould Collection was launched in New York in 2008. These pieces are inspired by the shapes and graphics of baked goods and copper moulds. Cora Sheibani published a cookbook to accompany this collection. In September 2011, she launched a collection called Clouds with a Silver Lining. This collection, like the previous one, is heavily influence by shapes that are both abstract and those encountered daily. She used the unique quality of silver. That silver can become tarnished over time is usually considered a drawback, but this unique quality has been creatively incorporated into the design. The Cloud collection was first presented on dresses Cora Sheibani commissioned Edeline Lee to design especially for the occasion. |
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| In 2012 Cora Sheibani created the line inspired by Cacti forms. She made a book to accompany this collection in what has now become a series. This collection started off with large bracelets using ‘etoile’ settings in rings, as they resemble the spikes on cacti. This collection was largely made in Paris where Cora Sheibani now produces half her pieces. Cora Sheibani has had jewelry exhibitions in many places including London, Zurich, Paris and New York and is a Wallpaper2011 design award winner for best material. Located in the former stables of Grosvenor Atterbury’s townhouse, Creel and Gow is on the Northwest corner of Lexington Avenue and East 70th Street. For more information on the store, you may visit the site www.creelandgow.com, contact info@creelandgow.com or call (212) 327-4281. |
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| Youth America Grand Prix’s (YAGP) 2014 Gala Chairs Stephanie Foster,Heather Georges, and Kamie Lightburn held a cocktail reception and conversation on November 4, 2013 to announce their plans for the Youth America Grand Prix 2014 Gala. The reception was held at a private residence on Park Avenue. All three returning chairs of the 2013 YAGP Gala, introduced an additional chair to this year’s Gala, Christina Lyon, who lives in California. Christina has a wonderful understanding of dance and she is a former ABT dancer. |
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| The guests of honor were current ABT dancers Misty Copeland and Marcelo Gomes. Who spoke to the guests about how they came to dance, their biggest challenges, and their experiences with YAGP. The Fifteenth Anniversary YAGP Gala will be held on April 10, 2014 at Lincoln Center. It will be a very special evening featuring amazing performances by world class dancers, including the premier of a piece choreographed by Gemma Bond with an original score by Karen LeFrak and costumes by Ralph Rucci. In addition, Dancing with the Stars superstar and Emmy award-winning choreographer, Derek Hough has choreographed a ballroom piece for Misty Copeland. As always, the top students from the YAGP season will perform onstage alongside these dance superstars. |
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| Over 90 guests attend, they included: Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Adelson, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher D. Allen, Ms. Peter E. Bacanovic, Ms. Paige Betz, Matthew Bledsoe, Mrs. Barbara Brandt, Mr. Troy and Perry Brown, Ms. Alyson Cafiero, Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Carey, Ms. Misty Copeland, Mr. and Mrs. Steven Curley, Mr. John Dalsheim, Mr. Franco De Vita, Mr. David Dean, Ms. Linda Fell, Ms. Stephanie Foster, Ms. Sarah Frank, Mr. Tom Gates, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Georges, Mr. and Mrs. Justin Gibbons, Mr. Mark Gilbertson, Marcelo Gomes, Marjorie Reed Gordon, Dr. Penny Grant, Sheila and Jodi Grant, Ms. Diane Hipkins, Ms. Amy Hoadley, Ms. Judith M. Hoffman, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Hojlo, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Kempner, Ms. Karen Klopp, Ms. Ali Schley Landegger, Serena Lese, Mr. and Mrs. Laurent Levasseur, Ms. Joey Lico, Ms. Kamie Lightburn, Ms. Stephanie Loeffler, Mr. and Mrs. Ludwick, Mr. Jack Lynch, Ms. Paige Boller Malik, Ms. Kelly Mallon, Mr. and Mrs. Alberto Mariaca, Mr. William Georgis and Mr. Richard Marshall, Ms. Linda K. Morse, Ms. Kathleen Murtha, Mr. Ian Ng, Mr. Richard Osterweil, Ms. Elizabeth Papadopoulus, Mr. and Mrs. Brad Peck, Mr. Eoin Robinson, Mr. Cavin Royal III (ABT), Mr. and Mrs. Eric Rudin, Ms. Katie Ryser, Nancy Sambuco, Yolanda Santos, Mr. Larisa Saveliev, Mr. Scott Schlexer, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Shafiroff, Mr. John L. Sills, Esq., Kari and Carl Tiedemann, and Ms. Evelyn Tompkins. |
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| YAGP is the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition, awarding over $250,000 annually to leading dance schools worldwide. Since being founded in 1999 by two former Bolshoi Ballet dancers, Larissa and Gennadi Saveliev, YAGP has awarded over $2 million in scholarships to the leading dance schools worldwide. The competition is conducted annually throughout the U.S. and abroad (Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and Italy). YAGP is the internet of the dance world, a global network of opportunity connecting dancers, teachers, schools and companies all over the globe. Over 25,000 dancers worldwide have participated in YAGP’s international workshops, competitions, and audition classes. Over 300 YAGP alumni are now dancing with 50 companies around the world, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, among others. |
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Photographs by Patrick McMullan (Library Lions, Creel & Gow). |