Photographer: Paulette Tavormina

When I first saw the photographs of Paulette Tavormina, I was gobsmacked. I could simply not believe that these lush, painterly still-life compositions were photos, not the masterpieces of Dutch and Spanish painters of the 1700's. As fine-art photography goes, Tavormina, who is represented by the Robert Klein Gallery in Boston, occupies a rarified place of artistic excellence, elevating the medium to a level of gorgeous execution not seen elsewhere.

She is responsible for those sumptuous images in the Sotheby's catalog (a contributor since 2007) that have bidders drooling over priceless works of art and collectible sculptures. She has also worked as a food stylist for several Hollywood productions, including The Perfect Storm, Nixon and The Phantom. Currently, she is helping some friends of ours (Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell of Beekman 1802 fame) photograph heirloom vegetables from their garden for their upcoming cookbook; Brent and Josh tell me the new cookbook will be their main winter project. How beautiful it will be to see such amazing photographic work in their first book!

In getting to know Paulette, I found her to be as generous and inquisitive as I imagined such an artist to be. Below are some examples of her incredible work, courtesy of the Robert Klein Gallery. To read more about her, including a great essay about her work by Wayne Andersen, and see more examples of her work, please visit her website.

Artichokes ©Paulette Tavormina courtesy Robert Klein Gallery

Lemons and Pomegranates ©Paulette Tavormina courtesy Robert Klein Gallery

Crab Apple ©Paulette Tavormina courtesy Robert Klein Gallery

Watermelon Radishes ©Paulette Tavormina courtesy Robert Klein Gallery

Strawberries ©Paulette Tavormina courtesy Robert Klein Gallery

This particular still-life of strawberries has an interesting story attached to it. Paulette explains:

For Strawberries, I spent day and night of the 4th of July weekend just setting it up. As soon as I had cut the leaves from the stems, they wilted and died, so I had to cut off lots of leaves as replacements. Because it was dead and as dry as a mummy, I had to steam the large insect to soften it so with tweezers I could separate the legs and the antennae that were stuck together. When I placed the lifelike insect in the composition, the strawberry above it came crashing down and broke off one of the antennae ... (that would have happened in nature, too, I suppose).

Insects often play a role in Paulette's compositions.

Walking the streets of New York City, I look for dead bugs to put in my pictures. Once I found a praying mantis that was intact, and the butterfly that’s in Peonies. I found a huge queen bumblebee that must have bumbled into a passing car, and on another day, I saw a grasshopper where for blocks around there was no grass to hop over. I was about to pick it up when I saw that it was plastic. On a recent trip to Nantucket, I found a horseshoe crab and other dead crabs. I put them in a box and took them back with me to Manhattan. I had to soak them in my bathtub with Clorox to get rid of the awful smell.

To illustrate just how painterly her compositions are, have a look at her photograph of oysters (below) and the Dutch still-life painting below it.

Oysters ©Paulette Tavormina courtesy Robert Klein Gallery

New Pies & Tarts Cover!

As I blogged last week, there is a new Pies and Tarts book in the works at Martha Stewart Living. The 352-page paperback book will be released on March, 22, 2011 and will join "Martha Stewart's Cookies" and "Martha Stewart's Cupcakes" in the Martha Stewart dessert-books category. It will be one to add to your library for sure!

From what I can gather, this is not a reprint of Martha's classic "Pies & Tarts" book from the early 1980s (an essential volume, by the way!) which she authored herself. It is a collection of 150 recipes gathered from the test kitchens at Martha Stewart Living. You can preorder the book here. Looking forward to it!

Everyday Food: September Issue

With fall just around the corner (hard to believe!) Everyday Food's September issue has some great recipes for the entire family as new routines beget a new season of work, school and social events.

A section on using tomatoes in fun and easy recipes yields this amazing looking tart that is featured on the cover.
Freezing summer's bounty is a surefire way to let the flavours of the season linger on well into autumn.

Delicious-looking cookies fill a feature called "Bake Sale" with its nod to school events, potlucks and birthday parties.
My favourite feature is this one: Muffin to It! The editors reinterpret the ubiquitous muffin tin and use it to make some very creative, very scrumptious-looking savory treats that will make dinner fun and simple.

Like Coming Home...

I've often wondered if it's weird that I get supremely excited about magazines. I've decided that it is, but I've also learned to embrace this almost manic celebration of the printed page. (Hey, there are far worse addictions!)

I had one of those excited moments when I popped out to my mailbox just now and saw Martha's face smiling at me through its small glass window. ("Hi, Andrew..." she seemed to whisper to me, followed by, "Let me out of here!") It was the September issue of Martha Stewart Living and I whipped out my key, flung open the mailbox door and dashed back inside to begin my editorial scouring ritual: what's new, who's new, what will I adore, what will I learn?

This year's September issue is close to being revolutionary. (It's not revolutionary entirely because I simply can't bring myself to be that dramatic, despite my leanings.) It's definitely improved, certainly engaging and absolutely beautiful in every respect. I love it. So far, this is the leading contender for my pick as Best Issue of the Year.

There are numerous design changes that serve to build upon the clean-and-lean approach developed several years ago by the MSLO editors, but it stops short of being sparse and icy. There is warmth in the layout of the pages and a gathering of ideas that speaks to the collector.

Below is a selection of some of the contents in the September issue I know you'll be excited to read, with a few highlights of the new design.

As mentioned in a previous post, the September issue has been renamed the Home issue, which had been previously designated the Decorating issue. Martha is on the cover with her good friend and colleague, Kevin Sharkey, who reveals his stunning Manhattan apartment.Look at the Contents pages! I love how they are designed to look like bulletin boards, with notes, photographs and ephemera pinned to the fabric-covered cork. I hope this style continues! In her column, Martha takes us up to Skylands where we see some of the giant faux-bois pieces that were custom made for her by renowned faux-bois furniture maker Carlos Cortés of San Antonio, Texas. This large, impactful font is used several times throughout the magazine in headings, including a special workbook at the back of the magazine. Another new addition are these little 'buttons' that mark an item as a favorite. In cooking columns, they are used to denote the amount of time a recipe will take to prepare. Cute idea!

Since the focus of the issue is Home and decorating, a few of the editors at MSL reveal their dwellings and some of the new projects they are working on at home. Above, Editorial Director Gael Towey and her husband embarked on sorting through their hundreds of photographs and works of art to select which ones to frame. The results are stunning!

One of the main features in the well of the magazine is a look inside Martha's kitchen drawers and cupboards. I love the collection of images above that demonstrate her organizing strategies, from cutlery to dish cloths, a first-aid drawer (complete with Jadeite catch-alls) to napkins and cake-decorating tools. A story on icing? Temptation is cruel! Once you've drooled over the lush close-up photographs by Pal Allan and read through some of the rich ingredients in the recipes, there will be no going back. Decorating editor Kevin Sharkey sits contentedly in his Manhattan apartment, which he reveals for the first time. It is a glorious, light-filled space that is modern but warm.Kevin threw a housewarming party and there are two pages of collages featuring photographs from the event that are really fun.An article on a beautiful, rustic, shingle-covered home in Seal Harbor, Maine, will have you taking stock of everything you love in life and finding a way to incorporate those elements into your home.

An article on sedums - one of fall's best offerings in the garden - is beautifullly photographed by Craig Cutler

Martha in "Dog Fancy" Magazine

Watch the newsstands later this month for the 40th anniversary issue of Dog Fancy magazine, which features a cover with Martha Stewart and her dogs, Sharkey, Genghis Khan and Francesca. For this special issue, the editors chose Martha for the cover (the first time a human being has ever been featured on the cover!) since she embodies the spirit of the consummate pet owner. Inside the magazine, in a feature interview, Martha discusses her new pet line at PetSmart, the benefits of pet adoption and animal rescue (Martha has adopted numerous pets over the years) as well as some of her most treasured pet memories. The issue hits newsstands on August 24th.

Holiday Craft Preview

With Martha's Halloween and fall craft items already hitting the shelves at Michael's and other craft retailers around North America, it's easy to get those anxious palpitations of excitement thinking about the holiday craft items to follow. Well, thanks to CraftCritique.com, we can get a bit of a sneak-peek at the line. The online craft zine was invited to a recent fair hosted by EK Success (the brand that manufactures Martha's craft lines) and there was little dispute over which booth was most popular! Below are photos of some of the new holiday craft line. There are plenty of new punches (including some very large, heavy-duty ones!) more beautiful boxes for cookie and baking gifts, Christmas stationery and a new scoring board, which comes with a bone folder. To see more of the line, click here.

The scoring board also comes with an envelope-making template, which is very handy.

Happy Birthday, Martha!

It may be difficult to believe, but Martha Stewart turns 69 today! She has the energy and looks of a woman 20 years her junior and is showing no signs of slowing down. Martha is spending time on Long Island, New York, this week, taking part in various activities. I certainly hope she has a marvelous birthday today, filled with Good Things and Martha Moments! Happy Birthday!

This is a photo of Martha that appeared in a 1995 issue of People magazine. Martha is shown with her two black Chows, Max and Zsu-Zsu, and one of her Himalayan cats in the backyard at Turkey Hill.