For Karen Willis, it was like someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"We all fight a battle in some way," Panico-Willis said.

Three of her grandsons were diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, so children's hospitals have long had a place in her heart.

"All children need to be able to live and survive and outlast their parents and grandparents," Panico-Willis said.

On top of that, her daughter recently moved into a St. Jude Dream House in Ohio. So when she heard about Coachella Valley's first St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway, it was destiny. She knew she had to help.

"We're not, like we said, rich people but we can provide services and talents and so we were able to provide the installation of the pad that was generously donated by Shaw," Panico-Willis said.

Watch: Winners of the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway announced

Panico-Willis, co-owner of D & D Carpet in Rancho Mirage, tracked down the builders and offered to help put the carpet in the home, free of charge.

The kindness of people wanting to donate and give and contribute and it's what made all the difference in helping the Dream Home come together.

"We are donating the flooring for this house in the Coachella Valley and all the homes around the country that are being given away with all the proceeds from this going back to St. Jude to help the children," said Curtis Callaway of Shaw Floors.

"Thank you to everyone in the Coachella Valley who has come together to make this amazing home come to life and it's super exciting for us at St. Jude to see how the community has rallied around the cause and the mission of St. Jude which is finding cures and saving children," said Angela Northrup- ALSAC/ St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

A collection of efforts have built a big home and made an even bigger difference for those so small fighting such colossal battles.

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Community rallies together to help support children of St. Jude's - KESQ

Back in the summer of 2013, while collectors were scouring the annual art fair in Basel, Switzerland, for hot trends and up-and-coming talents, Mickalene Thomas was holed up a few blocks away in a space stuck in the 1970s.

The walls were faux-wood-paneled, the floors a combination of linoleum, wood, and carpeting, the ceiling faux copper. There was a bar with hanging lights, and furniture covered in clashing vintage fabrics. On display were paintings and photographs by Thomas and some of her artist friends, including Wangechi Mutu, Xaviera Simmons, Lorna Simpson, Duron Jackson, and Derrick Adams. There was music playing, toohits of the period by black women such as Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, and Diana Ross. Thomas called the installation Better Days.

I was reimagining a time in my childhood, thinking of leisure, black families, and black life.

It was but one of the immersive environments Thomas has become known forworks that have earned her a place in museums around the world and steadily increasing prices at auction. Better Days was inspired by parties her mother Sandra Bush, a former fashion model, threw with friends to raise funds for sickle cell anemia research. I was reimagining a particular time in my childhood, Thomas says. I was thinking of leisure, black families, and black life.

The installation was the talk of Art BaselSolange Knowles performed there, Simon de Pury DJd, and it became a refuge for a crowd usually resigned to conventional dealer dinners. And since it came fresh on the heels of a much praised exhibition of Thomass work at the Brooklyn Museum, Better Days helped cement the artist as a presence on the international art world stage.

Dana Scruggs

Six years later the excitement about Thomas has not diminished. As demand for her work keeps escalating, so do the number of her exhibitions, with shows over the last few years everywhere from Paris and Brussels to Houston, Aspen, and Baltimore. Her work is in the permanent collections of such institutions as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, and it has been snapped up by such major collectors as Mera and Don Rubell. Thomas is part of a wave of black female artists, including Amy Sherald and Simone Leigh, who are, after years of being sidelined, having a moment and being recognized by curators, scholars, and gallerists.

In October a painting by Thomas of Naomi Campbell, Naomi Looking Forward (2013), sold at Sothebys for nearly four times its estimate, fetching $700,000. Ian Alteveer, a curator of modern and contemporary art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, notes that Mickalenes work may be steeped in the history of painting and portraiture, yet there is an accessibility to everything she doesthe colors, the compositions, the glitter.

2008

Thomas creates this portrait of first lady Michelle Obama. Today it's in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

2012

A blockbuster Brooklyn Museum exhibition established Thomas as one of the leading artists of her generation.

2013

Solange Knowles performs at Better Days, an installation in Switzerland that makes Thomas the toast of the art world's jetset.

2018

Thomas is tapped by Dior to design a version of the Lady Dior handbag. The collaboration is so successful she creates a second bag (shown here, $16,000).

2019

Thomas's painting Naomi Looking Forward sells at a London auction for $700,000, a career record.

This month she will once again be the toast of Art Basel, this time in Florida, thanks to Better Nights, a project that takes Better Days and transforms it into a larger installation, one that will occupy several rooms at the Bass Museum of Art beginning December 1, during Art Basel Miami Beach, and running for nearly 10 months. Its something that had been percolating, Thomas says, since she began cleaning out her mothers house after her death in 2012. Better Nights was inspired by a Polaroid she found of her mother taken in a mirrored room in their New Jersey house. She is such a big part of my practice.

For officials at the Bass Museum, Better Nights is one of a series of artist commissions. When we work with artists, the first thing we ask them is, What is the dream you havent made happen, says Silvia Karman Cubi, the museums executive director and chief curator. What attracted Cubi and Leilani Lynch, a curator there, to Thomass work was the way she is able to create a special world. Its as if she wants us to step inside a painting, Lynch says

Born in Camden, New Jersey, in 1971, Thomas and her brother were raised as Buddhist vegetarians by their single mother. Creativity was encouraged, but Thomas didnt always want to be an artist.

In the early 1990s she moved to Portland, Oregon, in part to get away from her family as she came to terms with her sexuality. (Today Thomas identifies as queer; her partner is Racquel Chevremont, an art adviser and former model who collaborates with Thomas on special projects.) At Portland State University, Thomas started out studying prelaw and theater arts, but after spending time with artists she got back into making things.

That was in 1994. The following year she came east and earned a bachelors degree in painting from the Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn. Two years later she received a masters in painting from the Yale School of Art and then moved to New York. It was definitely a different time, Thomas recalls. There wasnt the banter of social media; you didnt communicate through texting. There was a network of young artistsKehinde Wiley, Derrick Adams, Shinique Smithwho would hang out together, go to each others openings, and share resources and support.

Even before Yale, she says, she was experimenting with figurative work, particularly self-portraits, but it was a performance art class with professor Kellie Jones and a photography course in graduate school that were life-changing. That was when she started photographing her mother and herself and transforming the images into collages and paintings. Slowly she began getting noticed. In 2005 Klaus Biesenbach, then the director of MoMA PS1 in Queens, included Thomas in Greater New York, a high-profile survey of up-and-coming artists that takes place every five years.

Early on, even as an emerging artist, Mickalene was formally very accomplished, say Biesenbach, now the director of MOCA in L.A., who would go on to invite her to create work for the windows at MoMAs restaurant. She followed in a very determined, exploratory way her trajectory, establishing herself as one of the leading artists of her generation. Soon after the PS1 exhibition she had gallery shows that were back to back, she says.

These shows were largely filled with canvases of beautiful black womenfriends and lovers, women in images from once popular publications, sometimes even herselfthat combined painting, photography, collage, and drawing. They are saturated with color, and many have wildly patterned backgrounds or surfaces that glitter with rhinestones or crystals. Thomas makes videos, tooof her mother and other musesand she even designed a label for a wine bottle.

Back in 2008 she became the first artist to use Michelle Obama as a subject, creating a print of the first lady that is today in the collection of the Smithsonians National Portrait Gallery, in Washington, DC. These shows were the beginning of the career I have today, she says. In fact, she adds unapologetically, I still feel like a rising star.

Increasingly, people beyond the art world seem to agree. Today, in addition to having Thomass work hanging on your walls, its possible to wear her creationsshe is one of an exclusive group of artists such as Alex Israel, Jenny Holzer, Richard Prince, and Yayoi Kusama who have lent their talents to commercial pursuits with fashion brands.

'Mickalene is one of the few artists able to walk into the commercial world without being commercial.'

There are now Mickalene Thomasdesigned handbags and a jacket, thanks to a recent collaboration with Dior. Last year, when the fashion house asked her to design a version of the Lady Dior handbag, Thomas crafted an arresting, colorful creation using a variety of materials and techniques, from sequins and beads to embroidery. I enjoyed thinking about collage in a three-dimensional way, she says.

Mark Guiducci, the editor of the art magazine Garage, which commissioned a recent collaboration between Thomas and Swarovski, notes that she has the ability to work across platforms without losing any of what makes her projects special. Mickalene is one of the few artists, he says, who is able to walk into the commercial world without being commercial.

Pascal Le SegretainGetty Images

In fact, her first Dior bag was such a success she was asked to create a second one, which was inspired by Monets gardens at Giverny. To go with the second bag, Thomas designed a shimmering metallic skirt and an updated edition of the classic Dior Bar Jacket that features embroidery, beading, and crocheted fabric on the sleeves and the back.

Mickalene managed to offer a new take on these forms with her unique artistic expression using bold colors, different textures, and daring decorations that speak of a tradition that is different from Diors, says Maria Grazia Chiuri, Diors creative director. Chiuri says that inviting Thomas to work with Dior broadens the horizon of what it means to be feminine in a global and international world.

When I paid a visit to her Brooklyn studio recently, Thomas, looking casual in skinny black pants, sneakers, and a baseball cap, showed off a group of collages stacked on a table that had been commissioned for Swarovski and used the companys crystals. There is a kind of duality evident in everything Thomas does.

While her paintings and collages are eye-popping and bold and seemingly effortless, on closer inspection they have an unexpected seriousness. At the same time that shes delivering a message about the beauty and the empowerment of black women, her compositions reveal an intimate knowledge of art history, inspired by such masters as Manet, Matisse, Ingres, Courbet, and Romare Bearden. Shes very rigorous about her work, says Ian Alteveer, the Met curator. Its seductive while at the same time it is meant to reference the street, the city, fashion, and memory.

Sometimes her references are subtle; sometimes theyre amusingly obvious. Thomas once recreated Manets famous painting Djeuner sur lHerbe, replacing the two white men and the naked white woman with three glamorous African-American women. It was meant as a statement about the impact and empowerment of all women, she says. Even her use of rhinestones and crystals has a historical precedent. She uses them not simply as bling but rather as a 21st-century version of older techniques, such as the neo-impressionist painter Georges Seurats use of pointillism or the Pop artist Roy Lichtensteins Ben-Day dots, to create a delicate, often mosaic-like texture.

Thomas has recently begun using subjects taken from old publications; on a table in her studio is a bunch of Jet magazines. When I was growing up it was either this or Ebony, she says, flipping through old issues. On a trip to New Orleans she happened on some old Jet calendars that featured stunning seminude photographs of black beauties-of-the-month. Im not sure, but I believe they were given out to their top subscribersor perhaps male subscribers, she says. Most women dont know they ever existed. She has scanned some of her favorites and created her own collages. Im recontextualizing them and making them my own, she says.

Dana Scruggs

While it could be argued that Thomas is constantly juggling high and low culture, she is also grappling with how to make her work, and art in general, as accessible as possible to audiences that may never have visited a museum before. Her immersive environments are one way she is trying to accomplish this.

Better Nights, for instance, will be made up of a series of rooms, some faux-wood-paneled and others mirrored so viewers can see themselves and become part of the installation. This will be the first time when it is a complete immersive experience, with mirrors throughout the main performative space, Thomas says. She has been collecting vintage fabrics to upholster the furniture, which will be in classic shapes from the 1970s. And, as with Better Days, there will be a bar and plenty of space to participate in one of the programs or simply lounge around.

'It's about inclusivitymaking everyday people feel comfortable coming through the door.'

Thomas hopes it will also be a place of contemplation, with books for visitors to read and artworks to take in, some by her and some by other artists. She is also working diligently with museum officials on the programming for the space; the performances will feature live music, poetry readings, and dance, along with educational offerings and local talentall conceived to attract Miamis diverse community.

Art is still very much about this elitist way of thinking and being, Thomas says, perched on a couch in her studio. As she brings up plans for Better Nights on a computer screen, she goes on: Im interested in breaking some of those barriers down to allow the opportunity for different demographics to engage with my work. Im asking the museum to step out of its comfort zone. Its about building bridges and stepping onto the other side.

Thomas says she plans to make periodic visits to Miami during the run of the show; while shes there she hopes to tap into the citys various communities. Its about connecting with people, she says. Weve gotten so far away from our roots, from the idea of museums being our cultural leaders, havens for the community, that its our mission to bring that back. Its about inclusivitymaking everyday people feel comfortable coming through the door.

In this story, hair by Nai'vasha at the Wall Group. Makeup by Amily Amick.

This story appears in the December 2019/January 2020 issue of Town & Country.SUBSCRIBE NOW

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The Rise and Rise of Mickalene Thomas - TownandCountrymag.com

Erin Papakostas 23Staff Writer Illustration by Richard Farell 22

On move-in day this past August, Cathleen Krabak 23 experienced the first repair to her dorm room. We noticed the black mold right when I moved in, so we told my hall counselor, and within ten minutes maintenance was there to fix it. They sterilized it, and cleaned the vent quickly so I could finish moving in.

Throughout the year, students accrue many damages, and Davidsons Physical Plant staff works around the clock to fix these damages and keep the campus running smoothly. Sharon Shipp, Superintendent of Building Services and Residence Halls, stated that the most frequent damages reported to her team are jammed toilet paper dispensers, holes in walls, or broken showerheads.

Kevin Anderson, Associate Director of Operations and Maintenance, stated, A lot of [our problems] are heat problems or air conditioner problems. We have two guys full time who go around and repair door locks. Anderson said his team often fixes broken blinds and glass or beer caps in garbage disposals. We have somebody on call 24/7, Anderson explained.

Sometimes, though, the damages are done on purpose. Anderson reported that two frequent acts of vandalism include exit signs ripped off and thermostats knocked off the walls of Patterson Court houses.

A few years back, some students were trying to tackle light posts. Each one of those is close to about $2,000 to be replaced, Anderson commented.

Shipp shared, This year, weve been having to do a lot of carpet cleaning, from either throwing up or urinating.

Laney Turnbull 23 was one of the unlucky few whose room in Cannon was victim to a stranger entering and urinating. The school handled it very well and was very helpful. Initially, I reported the issue to my RA and then to Campus Police. Following that, I was able to get a new chair from RLO without having to pay for it.

Anderson recounted some of the worst damages his team encountered over the years. A couple of years ago, in Little, [students] were throwing something down the hallway and broke a sprinkler head in the hallway. It activated and flooded the whole third floor. We had to move everyone out that night, Anderson shared.

He explained that after hour calls for repairs average about seven or eight calls a week. Shipp explained that calls after four p.m. are considered after hours, but a second shift with two employees work until 11:30 pm. Any call after that time goes to on-call personnel. On the weekends, Physical Plant gets four or five after hour calls.

Once, Shipp said, The [employee] on call lived in Concord, and he got a call that there was a spill in the stairwell. Somebody had spilled sugar. He had to come 45 minutes, sweep up the sugar, and go back 45 minutes. So some of the calls, we try to ask them if it can wait till the next day.

Walter Snipes, Director of Residence Life, explained that the normal wear and tear of a living space is not the responsibility of students to pay, but acts of vandalism are. For example, if a student puts a hole in the wall, for materials and labor, it might cost $200. The student then gets charged $200.

Leslie Urban, Director of Facilities Business and Property Management, commented, We have an existing contract with Residence Life that they pay us monthly that covers general upkeep and regular maintenance.

Snipes added, Depending on how egregious the damage may be, we may eat some of the costs. So in the past, there have been damages that have been $1,200, but a student came up and said, It was an accident. We will only charge $800 because we appreciated the student coming forward. The thing is we want you to learn, we want you to grow, and we want to work with you.

Thomas Baker 23 received help promptly after reporting an electrical problem in his dorm. Our automatic light switch started malfunctioning on a Saturday night and would not turn off. It was not a very fun night. We sent in an email Sundaymorning, and by Monday around ten, someone came and installed an old-fashioned light switch.

Students have a responsibility to report damages in a timely manner. We would prefer it, stated Shipp.

Before school lets out, Building Services and RLO does a walkthrough in the dorms.

There is some stuff that doesnt get seen until we find it at the end of the semester, Shipp commented. When you run across the issues that havent been reported, it just causes more work. A notification if somethings wrong is the best way to be.

Anderson described the work in the summer to prepare the living spaces for the students. In the summertime we do what we call our turnarounds. We go through making repairs: shower valves, shower heads, faucets on sinks. Every year well pick a building that its been ten years since we repainted and then well go in and do a full paint job. But every room is looked at and touched up, from normal wear and tear.

Barbara Benson, Director of Building Services, explained that her department often deals with reports of biohazard incidents such as vomit and urination. Her team is called when someone gets sick in a common space. The policy is, Benson said, if you do it in your own room, thats your problem.

Benson shared a difficult problem her department sometimes encounters: doors pulled off their hinges. This issue is hard to fix because doing so also damages the frame.

Occasionally, we get some weird things, Benson commented. When students get stressed out, they start doing some things like stuffing the toilets with toilet paper. Benson said these reports only happen during exams and have tapered off the last few years.

Benson described another strange incident when Somebody decided to take a syrup bottle and pour the whole thing in the lounge carpet, and sugary things are really hard to get out.

First semester freshmen are great. Then they go home and see their old friends and share war stories. They come back and then we see rise in their behavior. You just have your good group and your bad group. I would say two thirds are good. But you have that one third in each class where trouble finds them.

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A Hole in the Wall; A Flooded Floor; A Toppled Lamppost - The Davidsonian

The fallout from Prince Andrews disastrous BBC Newsnight interview included several organizations cutting ties with him, the duke having to step down from his royal duties and being forced to vacate his office in Buckingham Palace.

Now, many are wondering if Andrew will need to leave his residence at Windsor Park since he is no longer representing the royal family. Heres the answer to that, plus how lavish the princes home really is and who else lives there with him.

Queen Elizabeth IIs son lives at Royal Lodge, which is located in Windsor Great Park. The residence the prince calls home belonged to the Queen Mother until her death in 2002. Two years later, Andrew moved in and had a number of renovations done to the property including the installation of a large indoor swimming pool.

Royal Lodge Windsor has 30-rooms and was where Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, hosted the wedding reception following their daughter Princess Eugenies wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018.

A few days later, the duchess posted a photo on Twitter which gave her followers a sneak peek into what the inside of Royal Lodge looks like. In the snap, Fergie can be seen standing in a hallway and behind her are framed photos hanging up above a small wooden dresser with cream carpets and green walls.

Prince Andrew does not live alone in the spacious royal residence. Ferguson reportedly lives there as well.

Despite divorcing more than two decades ago, the Duke and Duchess of York have maintained a close relationship and live together under the same roof. For this reason, many royal watchers thought that Fergie may have been the person who convinced the prince to do the BBC interview. However, Fergusons advisor, James Henderson, said that is not the case and Fergie had nothing to do with it. He pointed out that she wasnt even in the U.K. when the interview took place.

The Duchess was out of the country last week and the week before in Hong Kong, China, Saudi Arabia, and Venice and was not involved in this program which took place and was finalized last week whilst she was overseas, Henderson explained.

So the big question remains, will Andrew be forced to move out of Royal Lodge now that he is longer a working member of the royal family?

The answer is no.

The publication Hello! noted that the duke will retain the private home despite no longer carrying out public duties for the foreseeable future. Thats because it is not uncommon for non-working royals, which Andrew currently is, to live in an official royal residence.

Read more: Will Princess Beatrice Postpone Her Wedding Following Prince Andrews Disastrous TV Interview?

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Is Prince Andrew Being Forced To Move Out of His Royal Residence in Windsor Following His Latest Scandal? - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

MIAMI When Alan Ket was a teenager growing up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in the 1980s, he fell hard for the graffiti that still decorated New York City trains. Sometimes he was the one painting, but more often, he was a detective, figuring out the best locations to snap pictures of the art. On weekends, hed meet up with friends at a one-hour photo shop on Canal St. to trade negatives and prints of the graffiti photos theyd taken that week.

Preservation was the key. So many beautiful works of art were being destroyed every week, he said recently. It was horrifying.

At the time, he would cut school to spend afternoons at the studio of Henry Chalfant, who had been the crucial documentarian of 1970s train graffiti. Mr. Chalfant had largely stopped photographing trains, and he implored Mr. Ket and his friends to pick up the baton: He told us it was up to us to document our own movement.

Mr. Ket (born Alain Mariduea) took that mandate seriously, and built a life on it, culminating in the opening Thursday of the Museum of Graffiti, in the Wynwood section of Miami, the first institution devoted to telling the art forms history, as well as documenting its stylistic developments with a curators eye for detail.

We have to be our own authorities, Mr. Ket, who is the museums co-founder, said.

Some graffiti artists of the early era made the transition to galleries, others into commercial design. But for a vernacular art that has seeped widely into popular culture, graffiti especially as represented by the early pioneers has made few permanent inroads into established museums. Perhaps that owes to its oppositional nature, and perhaps to its evanescence.

Mr. Ket known simply as Ket has no patience for that argument. Is it key to the essence or is it a response to circumstance? he asked. I dont know. I think all the guys that painted wanted everything to last forever.

Forever is what he hopes to give them, by way of codifying and organizing the arts history, with a special emphasis on technique. Too often, graffiti is explained primarily through a sociopolitical lens, so the Museum of Graffitis inaugural exhibition, Style Masters: The Birth of the Graffiti Art Movement, focuses on first principles letters as artistic building blocks.

The very first wall is a history lesson on the development of letter-writing styles, accompanied by a photo array of train art from 1972-6 to demonstrate how rapidly the form was changing. (Since there was little documentation within the community, many of the photographs come from journalists who were assigned to capture the emerging art form.)

The rest of the 3,200-square-foot space offers a deeply condensed history of the form, from the early moments in which graffiti writers were applying their talents to canvases on display is the first painting Lady Pink ever did, from her personal collection up through the ways graffiti has been used on clothing, skateboards, album covers and more.

The graffiti aesthetic may be widespread now, but Mr. Kets read is that of a purist. He has a ferocious zeal to protect the legacy of the underrecognized pioneers, especially as street art which borrows some of graffitis immediacy with little of its charm or technique becomes more widely known and collected, destabilizing the marketplace and public perception.

That intense historical fanaticism a desire to regulate, to keep some kind of stability among the chaos, also to keep a standard of quality, he said is, in essence, no different from a formal curatorial approach. For this exhibition, there are no nods to Keith Haring or Jean-Michel Basquiat, widely known graffiti-adjacent artists who Mr. Ket believes are not part of the forms true history. He has even received pushback from PHASE 2, a 1970s pioneer, who believes graffiti is a derogatory word, Mr. Ket said.

Ket respects the disagreement, but moved forward anyhow. Im sorry that Im going to write about you and tell your story and talk about your historical relevancy and your value, he explained. I have a responsibility bigger than the individual artist.

Before moving to Miami two years ago, to manage a gallery connected to the Wynwood Walls, a mural park around the corner from the Museum of Graffiti, Mr. Ket had been a graffiti archivist and advocate in various forms. In the 1990s, he published and edited Stress, a hip-hop and graffiti magazine; he consulted for art exhibitions, and he wrote monographs on important artists.

For decades hed maintained a personal graffiti archive, and had begun to wonder whether it might be better served at an established institution. But what good is it if you give it to the Smithsonian and it sits in their warehouse for the next 40 years? Mr. Ket said. More people see it at my house. (Graffiti has appeared at the Smithsonian, but sparingly.)

Bringing the museum to fruition became a full-time preoccupation about a year and a half ago. He met his business partner, Allison Freidin, formerly a prosecutor with the state attorneys office, as she was doing legal advocacy for graffiti writers. She is his sole outside investor he holds the majority stake and quit her job to focus on the birth of the museum.

Ket is really being called on to tell the story properly. Im also being called on to make sure that were treated properly by everybody, Ms. Freidin said. Mr. Ket is well-connected among graffiti writers, and Ms. Freidin has extensive relationships in Miamis art and civic communities. The marriage of those two Rolodexes is what made this possible, she said.

One afternoon last month, the exhibition was about halfway installed, and Ms. Freidin had just returned from a meeting with the local review board, looking to address concerns about the museums sign. Wynwood comes with built-in tourist traffic, thanks to the Wynwood Walls, but it is not especially known for graffiti, at least not anymore.

In the mid-1980s, graffiti writers flocked to the area. Eventually, the more established art scene followed. They saved this part of town, Ms. Freidin said. But now, their work, sanctioned or otherwise, competes with corporate-commission murals, and the industrial spaces that gave way to art galleries are now ceding to clothing stores and luxury dessert spots.

Many local graffiti artists view Wynwood with skepticism, Mr. Ket said. They may also view his project as a kind of carpetbagging. To mitigate those concerns, there is a section of the museum given over to Miamis graffiti history. Weve invited everybody back, he said.

But Mr. Ket is also counting on the way the graffiti community looks after its own, something he experienced firsthand when in 2007, he was arrested and charged with 14 criminal counts, including trespass, criminal mischief and making graffiti. He eventually pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal mischief and paid $15,000 in fines and restitution. Shepard Fairey, Jose Parla, Futura and others donated art to sell to pay for his defense.

At the museum, he looked around at the people bringing the space to life and noted that the electrician and various maintenance workers are all graffiti writers. He likened it to El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem, founded in 1969 by Puerto Rican educators, artists, and community activists: I think of those guys and think, were doing that, we have to do it for ourselves. Hes also brought in a full-time curator, Carlos (Mare 139) Rodriguez, to focus on future exhibitions.

We want to try to keep adding value not just to history, but to living history, Mr. Rodriguez said. That part of this is the advocacy part, right? How do you create value for the art and the byproducts of this art, and also for the artists?

Given the museums focus on the founding generations, youre gonna learn about artists that have no fine art career, like zero, Mr. Ket said, noting that there might be a ripple effect. Its not my intention to affect the marketplace, but if thats the result, I welcome it.

The Museum of Graffiti just took on its first corporate sponsors: Levi's and Charlottes Web, a CBD company. Stein Paint Company, a local firm, has offered donations of materials for murals.

The museum will generate three revenue streams ticket fees, the gift shop, and a gallery that will feature new work from a rotating cast of artists who straddle graffiti and fine art. (The first one is Shoe Neils Meulman from Amsterdam, whos developed a style he calls calligraffiti.) There are also 13 new murals, on the museum exterior as well as on nearby walls.

Last month, the graffiti writer turned fine artist JonOne was painting one across the street from the museum, applying layers of pastel blobs to create a festive abstraction. Mr. Ket first encountered his work in 1986, when JonOne was painting train cars with brushes (in addition to aerosol) he was the king of the trains, Mr. Ket said.

JonOne John Perello still uses graffiti lettering as the foundation for his work, even as he pushes it toward increasingly abstract ends.

The museum, he said, had a personal meaning as great as its historical meaning: Were trying to make sense of all this madness, everything that went on. Were doing our own little therapy within ourselves.

Its like were repossessing our history and our culture, JonOne added. Finally giving it its just value.

The Museum of Graffiti opens Dec. 5 at 299 NW 25th Street, Miami; (786) 580-4678; museumofgraffiti.com.

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A Graffiti Museum Where the Writers Are in Charge - The New York Times

Technology group Wrtsil, and Silverstream Technologies announced the signing of a Licence and Co-operation Agreement for future sales and servicing of the Silverstream System.

As an authorized sales and service partner, Wrtsil intends to fully integrate Silverstreams air lubrication system within its propulsion solutions.

By offering the Silverstream System as an integral part of Wrtsils propulsion solution for newbuild vessels, compliance with the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) will be further improved. Under the agreement, the Silverstream System will also be available through Wrtsils sales channels for retrofit installations on existing vessels where Wrtsil is a primary solution provider. The integrated Silverstream System is expected to realize synergies in capital and operational savings across the propulsion chain by increasing fuel efficiency, and optimizing engine loading.

The collaboration agreement will enable current and future Silverstream customers to access Wrtsils global service network for the maintenance of their Silverstream System installations. Wrtsils network of service centers, workshops, and service professionals is the most extensive in the maritime industry, with 4500 field service professionals located in 70 countries around the world.

The agreement means that more ship owners will have easy access to Silverstreams proven air lubrication technology. The system has been proven to reduce fuel burn and associated emissions by 5 to 10%, depending on vessel type.

Noah Silberschmidt, CEO, Silverstream Technologies, said: With the global sulphur cap almost upon us and decarbonization targets on the horizon, the commercial case for proven clean technology has never been stronger. Now is the time for ship owners to take action to reduce their operational costs and their impact on the environment, and todays agreement will help unlock the power of air lubrication technology for more vessels across our sector.

The Silverstream System creates a carpet of microbubbles that coat the entire flat bottom of the vessel. This carpet reduces frictional resistance between the hull and the water, dramatically reducing fuel consumption and related emissions. The technology works in all maritime conditions, is not weather dependent, and does not constrain or negatively impact the normal operational profile of the vessel.

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Wrtsil and Silverstream to Collaborate - MarineLink

Diamond Princess is one of the vessels to have been fitted with Silverstreams air lubrication system (Image: Princess Cruises)

Technology group Wrtsil is to fully integrate Silverstream Technologies air lubrication system into its propulsion solutions for passenger ships and other vessels.

The partnership will accelerate the deployment of the system, which creates savings across the propulsion chain by increasing fuel efficiency and optimising engine loading. The system operates by creating a carpet of microbubbles that coats the entire flat bottom of the vessel. This carpet reduces frictional resistance between the hull and the water, reducing fuel burn by 5-10%, depending on vessel type.

Cruise ships that have already made use of the technology include Princess Cruises Diamond Princess and Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Joy.

At Wrtsil, we are committed to fully supporting our customers as they strive to reduce operating costs and improve the environmental sustainability impact of their operations, said Lars Anderson, director of propulsion at Wrtsil Marine. Todays agreement enables us to facilitate the building of better vessels that meet tomorrows challenges today, and Silverstream are the ideal partners to help us realise this goal.

The agreement will give Silverstream customers access to Wrtsils global service network for the maintenance of their installations. The network employs 4,500 service professionals located in 70 countries around the world.

Todays agreement with Wrtsil reinforces our position as the shipping industrys leading clean technology manufacturer, said Noah Silberschmidt, CEO of Silverstream Technologies. With the global sulphur cap almost upon us and decarbonisation targets on the horizon, the commercial case for proven clean technology has never been stronger. Now is the time for shipowners to take action to reduce their operational costs and their impact on the environment, and todays agreement will help unlock the power of air lubrication technology for more vessels across our sector.

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Wrtsil to use lubrication system from Silverstream Technologies - Cruise and Ferry

Holidays are centered on traditions and the history of a familys home plays a role. The Gill-Wampler residence in Southeast Portland is an architectural gem that receives extra sparkle in December.

Set back from the street and surrounded by greenery, the jewelry box-like structure seems small. But, like a precious stone, the details are dramatic: Shutters are a series of chevrons painted in various shades of orange and red, and a decorative, fluted chimney pokes through the slightly flared, slate roof, which rests on exterior brick walls like a crown.

Open the diamond-paneled front door and youll see vertical mahogany beams that dress up the lath-and-plaster walls and a fireplace mantel displaying heirlooms and homemade decorations.

Youll also be embraced by orchestrated light, either streaming through expansive windows or emanating from a dozen vintage lamps, of various shapes and styles. During the holidays, star-shaped bulbs and tiny strings of twinkle lights add extra illumination.

Owner Rosalie Wampler gestures to the rich mahogany paneling, which was installed when the house was new in 1932.

A home with a lot of unpainted wood can seem dark, says Wampler, who lives here with her husband, Michael Gill, and their sons, Lee, 7, and Raleigh, 3.

Preparing for the holidays are Michael Gill and Rosalie Wampler with their sons, Lee, 7, and Raleigh, 3. Portrait by Adrian Klein Photography

Each year, Wampler and Gill rearrange the sofa, tables and Stickley-like Craftsman chairs in the living room to make room for the Christmas tree. Sometimes, the tree fronts windows that rise to the 11-foot-tall ceiling. Last year, visitors participating in a fundraising holiday home tour saw the tree in the middle of the large room.

Another tradition: The family makes colorful ornaments by drying slices of grapefruits, limes and oranges, then looping a candy cane-striped string through each one to hang on a branch.

Other decorations are also crafted at home. Bottle brushes dipped in food coloring or dye become miniature Christmas trees and empty toilet paper rolls, stacked into a tree shape, are dressed with tiny homemade ornaments and golden garlands.

Wampler says she doesnt spend money on store-bought decor unless its super sentimental. Besides, she adds, We all love crafts."

As for gifts, they will assemble necessity kits for people in need and exchange white elephant presents with their big, extended family.

Winter is a reflective time for Wampler. Trees have shed leaves, its a slow growing season and theres the long nighttime darkness, she says.

She counters the cold weather and black skies by decorating inside with a mix of natural cedar branches and mossy twigs, nostalgic items like thick blankets, smile-producing kitsch Christmas ornaments and lots of lights.

Dried slices of grapefruits, limes and oranges with a candy cane-striped string dangle from Christmas tree branches. Beth Nakamura/Staff

A collection of wooden fairy-tale characters dangle from a key rack over a lighted vintage Champale sparkling beer sign and an Advent calendar is propped up on a dish cupboard underneath an antique kitchen light fixture.

I have a penchant for old, Wampler says, who grew up in Portland. The idea of an old-time Christmas sounds wonderful to me.

What were Christmas celebrations like in the 1930s when this house was new?

Many of todays traditions began during the pivotal decade in which the Great Depression ended and World War II started: The image of Santa Claus in a red suit came from a Coca-Cola advertising campaign; Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first appeared as a promotion for Montgomery Ward department stores and children were taught to think of others by leaving cookies and milk out for Santa and carrots for his reindeers.

More than the refined aesthetics of this residence are remarkable. The single-story home was designed by Herman Brookman, one of Portlands most influential architects, and it was radically modern for its time.

The minimalist approach still stands out among larger European-inspired, Period Revival and Craftsman houses in the neighborhood.

Brookman, an expert in elite residential architecture and landscaping, was living in New York City when he moved to Portland in 1923 to design a 63-acre estate south of downtown Portland for M. Lloyd Frank of the Meier & Frank department stores. The brick Fir Acres manor, aligned on its axis with Mount Hood, is now the centerpiece of the Lewis & Clark College campus.

With a rising reputation, Brookman was commissioned to plan the 1927 Mediterranean-style Harry A. Green residence, also known as the Bitar Mansion, in Laurelhurst , which cost $6 million in todays dollars.

Throughout his 50-year-career, Brookman designed landmark buildings, mansions and cottages, as well as contributing to the Neo-Byzantine, 1928 Temple Beth Israel in Northwest Portland.

Val Ballestrem of the Architectural Heritage Center wrote that Brookmans work has long been recognized as much for its artistry as for its design quality.

From Art Deco to modern, English to Moorish, regardless of the size or budget, Brookmans signature style materialized: Recessed entrances, leaded-glass windows with colored jewels and precision ornamental ironwork, often by metal artist Oscar B. Bach of New York, whose work appears in the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building.

Architect Herman Bookman designed the 1932 house to be modern for its time. Photo by Beth Nakamura/Staff

Brookmans breakthrough modernist style, as seen in the Gill-Wampler residence, influenced architect John Yeon, who trained in Brookmans office, and others who perfected the Pacific Northwest modern style, which employs native wood, rough brick and glass to achieve elegance.

As important, Brookmans highly livable modern homes prefigured the post-World War II ranch-style dwellings that dominated the 1950s and 1960s, according to historians who successfully campaigned to elevate the architects buildings onto the National Register of Historic Places.

In the early 1930s, Brookman accepted an ambitious commission: To establish high-end, modern homes in a new tract east of the Willamette River.

The goal to build 21 houses was derailed as the Depression lingered, yet three of Brookmans plans were completed in 1932 and remain, lined up on one street, with newer structures since erected in between.

One of the plans became Brookmans personal residence, another was a model home and the third is the Gill-Wampler house.

The three modern homes were praised in print in 1934 by Architecture Magazine and The Oregonian for their attractive design and the way they complemented the landscape.

The Gill-Wampler residence was first occupied by Thomas Greene, Jr., his wife, Dorothy, and their son, Thomas III. In 2012, Gill and Wampler became the second owners of the 87-year-old house.

They bought the property sight unseen.

Although they were grateful so much of the original materials had survived, the property wasnt pristine. When they walked inside for the first time, they found rooms packed with unwanted items, even though no one had lived there for three years.

Some of the custom wood-pane windows needed to be replaced, but fortunately the oak floors had been protected under layers of carpet.

The kitchen still has original counters made of old-growth Douglas fir and peach cabinetry with dovetail drawers and glass knobs. Photo by Beth Nakamura/Staff

The kitchen still has original counters made of old-growth Douglas fir and peach cabinetry with dovetail drawers and glass knobs. When Wampler starts the project to repair the wooden apron board, she believes Pratt & Larson could hand make pieces to match the existing turquoise subway tiles.

Its funny how modern this old house is, says Wampler, even the way the subway tile is laid out. It has aged well.

She has sentimental items on display in the kitchen: Vintage wood canisters sit on top of her grandfathers lazy Susan and an antique porcelain Kaffee hand-crank coffee grinder is mounted on a wall.

Having an authentic old kitchen was something I sought my entire life, says Wampler, who manages and restores Portland apartments built in the same era as her house.

The bathroom has original pink hexagon tile and an elongated diamond-shaped window. The stained glass was removed long ago, and a new vanity and light fixtures were installed in the 1950s.

In the master bedroom is a matching headboard, footboard, gentlemans chest and nightstand set made of birdseye maple in the 1930s that the Greenes left behind.

An old clock has also long been a part of the house. Wampler repaired it and it now sits on the living rooms mahogany mantel underneath a century-old photograph of Mount Hood she found at a Goodwill store.

A framed portrait of the houses architect, Herman Brookman, is displayed in the dining room. Photo by Beth Nakamura/Staff

A framed portrait of architect Brookman rests on a sideboard in the dining room, against a horn speaker from a crank record player that her brother, Sam Wampler, salvaged and repurposed.

Her mother, Joclyn Wampler, owns the Montana Antique Mall in Missoula, so not only does Rosalie Wampler know style eras well, she can shop second-hand stores and estate sales to find authentic pieces.

Especially during the holidays, she says she hopes to evoke a feeling far away from the present time. Maybe our Christmas decorating is to create one big distraction and a vacation from everyday life, she says.

Its a time, when she and her husband talk about loved ones who have passed away and Christmases when they were young. We take stock of the world around us, she says.

Another tradition: On Sundays, they take their sons to a place where they can appreciate the natural world. There, she says, they are together and can "reset our standards of kindness.

-- Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.

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Historic Southeast Portland gem of a house sparkles with holiday decorations - oregonlive.com

When Yvonne Lawley wrote her research proposal for a study of cover crops, she was specific about the wording of the title: Testing the cover crop hypothesis across Prairie Canada.

Its the word hypothesis that grabs you. What could be theoretical about cover crops? Some farmers have been using them for decades to help build soil, reduce erosion, graze animals and more. The practice is common in Ontario and Quebec, as well as in the Northern Great Plains region of the U.S. Whats not to know?

Well, when it comes to the Canadian Prairies, quite a bit, says Lawley, an assistant professor in the department of plant science at the University of Manitoba. Our prairie environment is much more variable and more prone to extremes compared to other areas where cover crops are regularly used.

Lawley says the thinking behind cover crops on the Prairies has shifted since the time they were considered only for green fallow. The reasons why we might want to add cover crops are very diverse soil health, reducing erosion, extending grazing, reducing inputs so there is now a very diverse range of goals.

And thats why I put the word hypothesis in there because farmers are hearing about cover crops everywhere, but here in this environment, we dont have a lot of data to show how they actually work. So with funding from Western Grains Research Foundation, Lawley is leading a team of scientists and graduate students for a new five-year project that aims to find some answers.

To generate this data, Lawley has set up a large-plot crop rotation experiment at four sites across the Prairies (Carman, Man.; Lethbridge, Alta.; Saskatoon and Redvers in Saskatchewan) representing a range of soil types and moisture conditions.

There are two main treatments at each site a four-year annual crop rotation that includes cover crops and the same rotation without cover crops. Third and fourth treatments will act as checks and reflect typical farming practice a two-year short wheat-canola rotation and a four-year planting of alfalfa or alfalfa-grass mix).

For the first two treatments, cash and cover crops were chosen to reflect regional practices, with wheat and canola at every site, plus a second cereal crop and a legume suited to each location (soybeans in Manitoba and pea in Alberta and Saskatchewan, for example). Cover crops include legumes (like clover), brassicas (such as radish) and grasses (fall rye, for example). All sites will use direct seeding and minimum till, although the Saskatoon site includes one high-disturbance crop (potatoes) for comparison.

In some ways its very simple were comparing two rotations, one with and one without cover crops, Lawley says. Whats not so simple is that the rotations are fully phased at each site. This means that all crops will be present in all years of the study, thereby removing weather as a factor in the results.

Lawley and her team believe this work will help to definitively show if cover crops can be reliably grown on the Prairies in the first place and if so, their effect on subsequent crops in terms of yield, nutrient availability, input costs, pest control and soil health. Were going to be doing an economic analysis and look at the impact on crop production and the soil, she says. Whats the benefit of that living root? Were going to try to put some numbers to that.

The experiment also offers a golden opportunity to study the effect of cover crops on nitrogen cycling. Nitrogen needs to be available in the soil when the crops need to use it, and researchers want to know if cover crops help or hinder that process.

The study will also look at the effect of cover crops on greenhouse gas emissions. We want to know if storing nitrogen in cover crop biomass living or dead impacts nitrogen loss in the early spring, which is when most N2O emissions are generated, Lawley says.

In some ways, we already know we can do this, Lawley says, explaining that early adopters of cover crops have shown it can work on their farms. But others are still wondering if its worth their time to grow cover crops, so were doing this work for them, and also to produce information for agronomists, who get asked questions about cover crops all the time, and need local research to refer to.

The team has just wrapped up its second field season, so its an exciting time for the data crunchers. In the first year we got baseline samples, says Lawley. Were at the point now where grad students are coming on board to do the intensive sampling and getting all our measurements.

And farmers dont have to wait until 2022 to find out what Lawley and her team are learning along the way check out #PrairieCoverCrops. Social media is a real enabler of cover crops and soil health information for farmers, Lawley says. Its key for knowledge transfer and for researchers to know what questions farmers are asking. People with good ideas could be so isolated before social media its been a game-changer.

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Finding the value of cover crops for Western Canada - Country Guide

The Census Bureau reported that residential construction spending fell 0.9% to $508.2 billion in October from Septembers $512.6 billion.

New single-family housing construction rose 1.6% from September to $279 million but is down 3.1% year-over-year from October 2018s $288 million.

Single-family spending has been increasing month-over-month from June 2019 when residential spending was $264 million.

The National Association of Home Builders reported last month the average single-family lot price reached a new high in 2018, with half of the lots selling at or above $49,500.

Data shows the biggest rise in lot values was in the West South Central division, where median-lot values more than doubled since the housing boom years.

Lot values, however, adjusted for inflation have not reached housing-boom peaks. Lots sold for more than $43,000 during those years, which is over $53,000 when converted in 2018 money.

The West South Central Divisionmade up of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisianahistorically has had the lowest lot values in the nation. The NAHB states that lot values began rising in 2013 and reached the national average by 2015.

According to the NAHB, as of 2018 lot values in the division sell for more than $62,000, which is $25 above the national average. Lot values were outpacing prices during the housing boom when lots were under $30,000.

New England had the most expensive lots in the nation, with half of all sold single-family homes had lot values higher than $140,000.

New England is known for strict local zoning regulations that often require very low densities. Therefore, it is not surprising that typical single-family spec homes started in New England are built on some of the largest and most expensive lots in the nation, said the NAHB.

Black Knight revealed last month that home-price appreciation had its largest single-month increase in two years in September, rising 0.2% to 3.95% for the monththe highest its been since March when home-price growth was in a 16-month slow trend.

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Residential Construction Spending Dips to $508B - The MReport