Chihuly's remarkable talent graces the desert fireplace of Donna and Cargill MacMillan. The light catches these graceful sea forms playfully throughout the day to create an ever interactive scape.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Dale and Leslie Chihuly In The Desert
Dale and Leslie preparing to leave Donna and Cargill MacMillans after a sweepingly brilliant tour de force. Dale's mother is being honored this day in the Desert with a fund raiser at the home of Phil and Geda Condit to benefit Women's Stroke Education and Research Fund at the Hope Heart Institute in Seattle. Dr's Jim and Sue Bianco have played a major role in this one.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Dwell Honors Steve Lowe
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Steven Lowe:
1947–2007
Text: Frances Anderton
Date: Feb 19, 2007
Every now and then, an individual comes along who makes a defining impact on a place and time. One of those was Steven Lowe, an ex-New Yorker who, in recent years, put a stamp on the dusty, down-at-heel town of Desert Hot Springs, with the creation of two unique landmarks: the Beat Hotel and the Lautner Motel. Steve Lowe died unexpectedly on January 20, of cardiac-related natural causes, leaving a void in the place of his engaging personality as well as concerns among many about the future of his two creations.
Lowe, born in Miami in 1947, was a former confidante of the beat writer William Burroughs. In 1999 he found the Desert Hot Springs Motel (aka Lautner Motel, designed by architect John Lautner in 1947). It was then being used as apartments, and he restored it to a liveable perfection, decking out each of the four stunning rooms in post-war furniture (Room 3 had Breuer chairs, for example; Room 2 was entirely furnished in acrylic furniture by Charles Hollis Jones).
Next he transformed the roadside Monte Carlo Hotel into an homage to the Beats—a hybrid of the original Beat Hotel in Paris by way of Burroughs’ residence in Tangiers, with bare white walls, old manual typewriters on desks, and walls lined with Beat relics: first edition books, photos of the Beat writers, artworks by Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs, and a life-size Mugwump from the movie, Naked Lunch, in the breakfast room.
At the time Lowe died, he was in the process of getting the Beat collection moved to Lawrence, Kansas, to be part of an official Burroughs collection.
Not only were the two hotels fantastically stylish and much loved by anyone interested in post-war architecture and culture, but Lowe was himself an attraction: an erudite and reflective person with a wicked wit who offered drinks to guests by the pool at the Beat Hotel and regaled them with stories of his unusual life: his childhood in a Mennonite family with a mortician father, his foray into writing for a pornographic publisher, his chance meeting with Burroughs that led to him becoming his close friend (maybe lover, it was never clear) and researcher on the book, Cities of the Red Night.
He was, says the architect Jennifer Siegal, now building in Desert Hot Springs, “one of the most charming, delightful, wickedly funny and thoughtful people I have ever known in my life. . . . I bought the property out there because of him. The 'Interzone' as Steve called it.” Lowe was also an avid guide to his two buildings, especially the Lautner Motel. “I met Steve right when he bought the Lautner Hotel and he was very generous about opening it to anyone to see,” says Anthony Merchell, an architectural historian and onetime manager of the Beat Hotel. “It was his mission to help keep alive Lautner’s memory.”
Now both properties are closed and no one is clear what will happen to them. According to Merchell, it is not clear if Steve Lowe left a will. Says Merchell, “He loved real estate contracts, but other than that he hated formal arrangements.” Now all those who knew him and enjoyed his hospitality are reeling from the shock of his sudden passing, as well as pondering what kind of future faces the Beat Hotel and the Lautner Motel without their maverick owner at the helm.
On March 15, 2007, Anne Waldman will give a poetry reading at the Palm Springs Art Museum dedicated to Steve Lowe; a memorial is pending.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Jamie Kabler and Donna MacMillan
The fabulous Mr. Jamie Kabler and the Divine Ms. M....Lead the lot of us round the treasures at Donna and Mac's home in The Vintage.
Donna and Cargill MacMillan's Art Collection
Donna and Cargill MacMillan were kind enough to open their wonderful collection to several of us preceding the event at the Condit's on Satuday evening. They have one of the major Chihuly collections in the world. Great fun was had by all as the vivacious, beautiful and extremely colorful Donna MacMillan lead the way through all of her treasures.
CHIHULY IN THE DESERT EVENT
March 3, 2007, a glorious night at Phil and Geda Condit's at The Reserve in Indian Wells, California. This night "Chihuly in the Desert" benefited the Viola A. Chihuly Women's Stroke Education and Research Fund. The best put on their finest and strutted out to raise some $275,000 for the leading cause of death in women before the age of 85.
Here Ruby catches Shari Applebaum among the phenomenal display of Chihulys arranged by Captain Billy and Team Chihuly at the Condit's as we witness the Rise of the Full Moon. Shari was on the steering committee with Ruby for this event.
Mary Van Cline and Ginny Ruffner
Mid February my Pals Mary Van Cline and Ginny Ruffner were in the Desert with Patricia Watkinson and Katherine Cardinal...Directors of Pilchuck. They were down for The Foundation Meeting for Pilchuck and to rub shoulders with Patrons that abound throughout the Desert. One night we checked in to Davey's Hideaway and had a rousing good time.
Friday, March 2, 2007
OK, You're Not Gonna Believe This One...
Yesterday was a big day at The Sands. This week Ruby has been hosting long time Buddies Joe "Mama" Cant and "Axe Gary" Wilson of Naples, Florida. They arrived with six years of back taxes in tow all in perfect order. Things are signed sealed and delivered.
That Monkey off Ruby's back and her Taurus near death Joe and Gary drove Ruby to Paradise VW and purchased her a Brand New 2007 VW Convertible as a Gift. Now you know why Ruby keeps pinching herself. These two have certainly raised the bar on friendship.
Thank you, Mammal and Gar. Luv, luv, luv.
xoxoRuby
Thursday, March 1, 2007
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