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three things we love
Clams Posillippo
photo courtesy of Serious Eats
Nothing reads more like summer for me than clams. One of my fondest memories growing up is clamming in Long Island Sound with my Dad and sister, jumping off a boat in the shallow waters of the Great Peconic Bay and discovering those hard golden lumps beneath our feet...
I never met a clam I didn't like--steamers, littlenecks, cherrystones--prepared every which way--on the half shell, over pasta, oreganato, clams casino, steamed clams dipped in broth and butter...But my favorite of all, and my mother made a delicious version of this, is clams posillippo. I would love to say this recipe is hers but sadly that slip of paper is lost to me. This Il Mulino Restaurant's recipe from Wainscott, Long Island, is the closest to how I remember her making it...although she did sautee some finely chopped celery along with the garlic at the beginning.
Aaron Schoenfelder
Stonybrook Botanical mixed media on canvas 60” x 46” $500
Crashing Blue, mixed media on canvas, 30” x 25” $450
Custom Rose Sale, mixed media on canvas, 60” x 43” $500
Shaw’s Boat, mixed media on canvas, 32” x 37” $375
From a long line of artists--beginning with his grandfather Mel Smilow of mid-century modern furniture fame to his art book designer Dad and graphic/product designer/entrepreneur mom, Aaron joins a long list of creative spirits in our family. He has definitely come into his own with his paintings and scultpures, and his art is blowing me away. I would like to share some of it with you here. In fact, he is having a very affordable art sale on Sunday, August 29th at his place at 396 Halsey Street, Apt. 3R, Brooklyn, NY 646-706-3077 from 10am-7pm. For those who are not in easy access of Brooklyn, you can see all his art online and purchase it by emailing him at aaronssny@gmail.com. Always great to support an emerging artist...
Leica Camera in 1930's Germany
Early Leica Camera
Ernst Leitz II
Some of you may be wondering why I focus a lot on the Holocaust. Aside from my particular background as a daughter of a victim of Nazi Germany (my mom was one of the lucky ones who got out at the last minute), I think that era shows a very clear picture of the heroes of the time—people who stood up to authority and refused to go along—people who did more than just sit and watch, even as they knew things were not right… Sadly, we are in the middle of such a time now and the more lessons we learn from history, the better chance we have of saving our democracy. It could go either way… German Ernst Leitz II, designer and manufacturer of Germany's most famous photographic product, the Leica Camera, was “known as “the photography industry's Schindler." After Hitler came to power in 1933, Leitz quietly began to establish what has become known among historians of the Holocaust as the Leica Freedom Train," a covert means of allowing Jews to leave Germany in the guise of Leitz employees being assigned overseas. Employees, retailers, family members, even friends of family members were "assigned" to Leitz sales offices in France, Britain, Hong Kong and the United States. The refugees were paid a stipend until they could find work. Out of this migration which was at its height in 1938 and 1939, came designers, repair technicians, salespeople, marketers and writers for the photographic press. delivering groups of refugees to New York every few weeks. The story of these heroic efforts of the Leitz’s was kept quiet, at the request of the family members until their death. You can read more about it with a hard to find book written by Frank Dabba Smith, entitled The Greatest Invention of the Leitz Family: The Leica Freedom Train."
painting of the week
This is another example of my new tool—I am able to superimpose one of my paintings on a client’s wall, taking the guesswork out of buying art. Try me. Just send a photo of your wall straight on (with the room around for context) and see how your space can be transformed and uplifted by the simple addition of a new painting…(no obligation if you just want to try it for fun).
artSHOP
Charity of the Week:
Stacey Abrams' FAIR FIGHT
Fair Fight Action is an organization founded in 2018 by Stacey Abrams to address voter suppression, especially in the states of Georgia and Texas. Please donate to save our democracy.
Another Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…
About The Author
New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow created the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.