South Beach Goodies

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Leslie Sigal Javorek | Leave a comment

Posted by: Leslie Sigal Javorek • Date: Fri, Aug 21, 2009 7:54 am

The South Beach community in Miami Beach, Florida is in many ways a fantasy world of it’s own. It is much well-known for it’s richness in historical Art Deco architecture as it is renown for it’s fabulous restaurants, high-energy night life, as it is celebrated for it’s luxurious ocean-front hotels and beaches populated with the wealthy, the famous, and the beautiful. The area first developed as a winter-resort destination spot when millionaires such as Harvey Firestone,J.C. Penney, Harvey Stutz, Albert Champion, Frank Seiberling, and Rockwell LaGorce built their mansions between 1920-1929 on the three-mile stretch of Collins Avenue know as “Millionaire’s Row”. Fascination with Art Deco struck the area with a vengeance in the 1930’s and the area continued to flourish and it’s population explode through the 1940’s and ’50’s. But after Fidel Castro came to power over Cuba (less than 200 miles from Miami) in 1959 and permitted the Soviet Union to position missiles aimed at the United States in 1962, a decided chill set over South Florida and the former hotspots fell out of favor and began to rapidly decay out of neglect and social upheaval.

At the end of the 1970’s, South Beach was declared a Historic Landmark, a designation intended to protect the Art Deco character of the neighborhood by setting strict architectural guidelines for any renovations or new construction. The influx of of over 140,000 refugees from Cuba as a result of the Mariel boatlift enriched the community through these new residents who brought with them a multitude of artistic talents, dedicated work ethics, loving families, and strong determination to achieve the American Dream.

Over the last 30 years, Movies and Television shows filmed in and about the area such as “Scarface”, “Miami Vice”, “CSI Miami” and, of course, the evening news following live the bizarre murder and hunt for the killer of fashion designer Gianni Versace in front of his South Beach mansion, exposed both the glamorous as well as the seedy side of of South Beach life and added to the new interest and myths.

It is the spirit of the area, the people, the landscape, sunshine and fun that served as inspiration for my “South Beach Icons” series. Enjoy!

Free Icons of the Day

The following images are either full or reduced size previews. Simply right-click (or control-click) on the preview to save the image(s) of your choice to your desktop. (Unless otherwise noted, downloads are 512px X 512px in .png format). As always, usage of any of the images offered in the “Free Clip-Art / Icons of the Day” section are free for your personal use, subject to the limitations of my Creative Commons Non-Commercial – Attribution – No Derivatives – Share Alike- 3.0 license. (See sidebar for Terms of Use) For commercial or any other use, please contact me for directly.

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Series to be continued…

Versatility of Man-Made Materials in Art Deco

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Leslie Sigal Javorek | Leave a comment

Posted by: Leslie Sigal Javorek • Date: Sat., Aug 8, 2009 6:03 pm

A big part of what drove Art Deco was the plethora of new Industrial materials such as aluminum, bakelite and plastics, which found themselves in favor for such non-industrial applications as dishes, hair brushes, clocks, and even ladies’ evening purses. These new materials were extremely durable, easy to work with and form into exotic shapes and lead to new discoveries for working with pigments as the plastics in particular could take on strong, vibrant colors that did not easily fade.

Free Icons of the Day

The following images are either full or reduced size previews. Simply right-click (or control-click) on the preview to save the image(s) of your choice to your desktop. (Unless otherwise noted, downloads are 512px X 512px in .png format). As always, usage of any of the images offered in the “Free Clip-Art / Icons of the Day” section are free for your personal use, subject to the limitations of my Creative Commons Non-Commercial – Attribution – No Derivatives – Share Alike- 3.0 license. (See sidebar for Terms of Use) For commercial or any other use, please contact me for directly.

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Wise Words to Whet the Visual Appetite

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Leslie Sigal Javorek | Leave a comment

Posted by: Leslie Sigal Javorek • Date: Tues. Aug. 4, 2009 10:35pm

The clever turn of a word that makes one smile to themself and think “I knew that!” or which causes a bit of a blank look upon their face as they mull over a simple statement that they recognize as a very profound observation, seems to stick in your mind and reappear (as if by magic!) when you need to hear or share it most. It’s like when you open a bible (or a book of poetry) to a random page which always seems – somehow – to be the exact page you needed to read at that moment. Below are some of my favorite quotes spoken or written by iconic figures who stood in the forefront of their fields during the height of the Art Deco period (1920’s through the 1930’s). Perhaps one of these gems will hit the spot for you.

“If only we’d stop trying to be happy, we could have a pretty good time.” – – Edith Wharton (author).

“One can never consent to creep, when one feels the impulse to soar.” – – Helen Keller (author, diplomat, inspirational speaker).

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – – Albert Einstein (scientist).

“”All men dream, but not equally – Those who dream at night, by the dusty recesses of their minds, awake to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of day are dangerous men, that they may act their dreams with open eyes to make them possible.” – – Thomas E. Lawrence (a.k.a. “Lawrence of Arabia”).

“Hell, there are no rules here — we’re trying to accomplish something.” – – Thomas A. Edison (inventor).

“Judge — A law student who marks his own examination-papers. Lawyer — One who protects us against robbers by taking away the temptation.” – and “Equality before the law is probably forever inattainable. It is a noble ideal, but it can never be realized, for what men value in this world is not rights but privileges.” – – H. L. Mencken (author).

“Every man has a right to his opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.” – – Bernard Mannes Baruch (author).

“We have art so that we shall not die of reality.” – – Freidrich Nietzsche (philospher, author).

“Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it.” – – W. Somerset Maugham (author)

Free Icons of the Day

The following images are either full or reduced size previews. Simply right-click (or control-click) on the preview to save the image(s) of your choice to your desktop. (Unless otherwise noted, downloads are 512px X 512px in .png format). As always, usage of any of the images offered in the “Free Clip-Art / Icons of the Day” section are free for your personal use, subject to the limitations of my Creative Commons Non-Commercial – Attribution – No Derivatives – Share Alike- 3.0 license. (See sidebar for Terms of Use) For commercial or any other use, please contact me for directly.

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