News and Comments

Back again ! The first habitat Studio in New Paltz NY has already created some "chatter" and the local press with a humorous penchant likened them to latrines which has others chunnering .
I would say OUT HOUSE , but as I said to a few of you better to start with being likened to a toilet shed and end up being asked by the Town Board to help envision their Master Plan . Rather than have aspirations to want to help with the Master Plan and end up in the Toilet !! There were a few typos which ultimately were funny BUT CODA is COTA (FYI) and the small studios sit on wooden cribs NOT concrete slabs or slaps . The printed word is merely printed and NOT always FACT . We will be putting out a press release so keep your eyes posted if you're in and around New Paltz. AND remember this IS all part of the dialogue so if you have an opinion write to the New Paltz Times Editor ,.... it'd be great to heat, I mean hear from you !!

Other NEWS : we are checking out the site near Philly . Pa , next week at SCEE. Going to start building raised beds and planting small footprint gardens (also 6 by 6 ) . Working title is "DRAWN to and DRAWN from the Garden " . We're hoping to hook up with artists down there as gardens need sustained care and though we will be visiting, not that frequently come the Summer ,.....There will be a chance for those caretaking the garden to have use of a habitat studio which will be built in the center of the raised bed gardens. We'll post photos next week when we're back .

Mercer Street . We still have our INDOOR habitat studio at the ecoartspace project room at 53 Mercer St NYC third floor walk up ! Also many of the tiles we did and others at the VanBrunt Gallery Beacon NY , INDOORS this past winter, are displayed . See article in The Daily Green
by Brian Howard. We may have linked to it so check it out , scroll down & to your left ,.......

Thanks to all those people in Rhinebeck /Red Hook NY that responded not always to the question "What gives YOU Hope?" BUT also gave their valid opinion of the habitat studio located at Scenic Hudson's Poet's walk Park . (last field). Due to some peoples' view point WE will be moving it back from the panoramic view line so that the magnificent view of the majestic Catskill Mountains is NOT blighted by that "unsightly" structure ! SORRY to those of you who mistakenly arrive with the hopeful expectation that Scenic Hudson had met some of your needs and installed a wonderful latrine (with that royal majesty's spectactular view , talk about , the throne room !?) It IS a small studio which will be starting to be used by invited Artists and Writers very soon (whilst these cold days persist we can't expect those creative souls to suffer THAT much for their work?). So having completed the cycle of toilet humour I end on this note.

And I look forward to sharing new Views and News, and further rich Commentary on these Shed like things , coming to a neighbourhood like YOURS ? SOON ? Best SD.

Earth Day , Ecoartsapce presents Solar One Talk

Hi , for those of you tuning in I wanted to remind you that SOLAR ONE is giving a presentation on PV Panels , this Saturday APRIL 25th at 6.30 PM . WHERE ? At the ecoartspace project room at 53 Mercer St NYC (3rd Flr) .
Please don't miss Chris Neidl's presentation , very illuminating and inspiring !!

Further info on link with ecoartspace ,...... (to your right ...... ) scroll down .

Habitat Update

I thought it a good moment to refresh those that are following or just signing on as to what is happening with the Project. As you see we have just begun the first studio in New Paltz NY with Todd Sargood's Painting Class at SUNY NP . Despite cold temperatures and snow flurries the students engaged collectively in cladding the structure with the many tiles they had made in class from recycled ply wood . We'd set up a slide system on two sides so the tiles could be changed and alternated as the class wished. Very soon the students will get to have the experience of working in the 6 by 6 studio and entering into dialog with the numerous passers by on lower Main St.
Amy Lipton, of Ecoartspace was down in Philly this week visiting SCEE . The HFA project will be part of an exhibit titled "Edible Landscapes" which wonderfully has a whole garden element attached to it . A number of us will be travelling down there to start the gardens which are based on the 6 by 6 footprint of the studios (soon). See Amy's blog at ecoartspace for her comments,.....

STILL continiung at ecoartspace project room at 53 Mercer St NYC , 3rd floor OPEN Saturdays. The HFA Collective is still exhibiting work and a studio indoors . Take a LOOK .....
Meanwhile , the Habitat at Poet's Walk will be being relocated to a new site at the park , so stay
posted for new pictures. We'll be working very closely with Scenic Hudson in the times to come and hope to get one or two more studios in SH 's Parks this summer. Including the work from the show at Van Brunt Gallery , whilst we were working there INDOORS . We hope to get a studio built in the park at Mount Beacon which will use this material !!

Starting in June we have various other events , "Ecotones " the regional show at the Samuel Dorsky Museum at SUNY New Paltz , will be playing host to a habitat and will have an overiding ecological flavor to the work , so get the info ..."Call for Artists and Collaborators ".

HFA will also be starting work on studios down at the Solar One site on the East River @ 23rd St

We shall also be changing things up at SPIRE Studios , Beacon soon . We shall be reducing the site to having ONE studio there and will be "rematerializing" the others into the project as a whole . The material gets reused on "new" studios in the various projects mentioned above.

LASTLY , we have Odin Cathcart up in Vermont building a studio which will eventually be part of the Solar One project in NYC . Odin is working , along with Todd Sargood and myself on the HOW to Manual for your Habitat Studio. Which reminds me , Shedworking an english blog site just picked up on our project and put together a cool collection of material to peruse. (will link soon .....)

Stay well and keep in touch . SD

Habitat Makes Front Page in the New Paltz Times!

Read the article online.

Download the pdf.

Solar One at ecoartspace , April 25 th 2009

Just a quick note , Chris Neidl of Solar One will be doing a presentation at ecoartsapce on Saturday April 25th at 6.30 pm . Chris is a passionate advocate for the metropolitan area assuming a Solar prescence by installing PV panels on buildings where possible.How significant a
prescence these could be , please join us and him at 53 Mercer St , 3rd flr ......

Habitat for Artists begins in New Paltz NY

Habitat for Artists installs its' first small sustainable studio on Main St . New Paltz NY.

Thanks to Richard Gottlieb of "Rock and Snow" climbing store we are able to install our

first studio in the village of New Paltz. Todd Sargood , artist and a recent addition to the

HFA Collective initiated this first installation and had his SUNY Art Class contribute many

14 by 14 tiles to the exterior of the small structure .

There are to be a number of these small studios around the village and on campus for a 5

to 6 month period , including a habitat indoors at the Dorsky Museum in June 2009.

" We're hoping that the community of New Paltz gets behind this and finds ways to really

contribute to the project " says Draper , "We are dependent on them making a go of this

in a variety of ways ,..." The Village Board already put their stamp of approval on the project

recently , lets hope for further dialog with numerous interested residents as more small studios

get placed in the Village .