START SPREADING THE NEWS! ONE DAY ONLY! CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK (POP-UP) and A VERY NEW YORK CHRISTMAS: REVIEW and GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
The winner is #21 g.g.
I got up late, sorry, and had to
moderate all entries so some
were past time but that was
my fault. g.g. just made it in
and I emailed her and she got
right back to me so I can get this
in the mail today.
Watch for my winners' post for
all the posts from last two days
in just a few minutes. Thanks to
all who entered!
CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK
A POP-UP BOOK
BY CHUCK FISHER

ABOUT THE BOOK:

This interactive pop-up book makes the perfect gift for those who love the holiday traditions that originated in New York - from lighting the tree in Rockefeller Center to watching the ball drop on New Year's Eve.CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK is a spectacular gift book featuring the world-famous holiday traditions of New York City presented in the three-dimensional art of a pop-up book. Its unique construction combines original art by Chuck Fischer with photography of famous New York City landmarks and past holiday celebrations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Soon after graduating with a BFA in Advertising Art from the University of Kansas, I moved to New York City to pursue a career in the creative arts. First I tried the acting biz. I had countless walk-on parts on the soap opera All My Children and what I thought would be my "big break" in the movies. I was chosen by Woody Allen for a speaking part in his movie, Stardust Memories, but I was a victim of the proverbial "lost on the cutting room floor". Time to re-evaluate my "acting career".

Fortunately, friends of mine working in the rarified world of high-end interior design, encouraged me to take on decorative painting projects. I was soon commissioned to design and paint murals in some of the finest residences in the world. One of the first things I learned working with America's top decorators, (Sister Parish and Albert Hadley in particular) and their clients, was the importance of a library full of illustrated books for reference and inspiration.

I started building my collection of illustrated books, (numbering in the hundreds today) and as Thomas Jefferson said, "I cannot live without books".

There isn't a design project of mine, from my china patterns for Lenox, to my wallpaper and fabric collections at Brunschwig and Fils and Schumacher that hasn't started with me looking at books.

Today, much of my creative energy is focused on creating unique pop-up books filled with my illustrations, photographs, historical facts and information. My first two pop-up books dealt with American architecture, but my new book, CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK is somewhat of a departure and a harbinger of new projects to come.

Each spread in my pop-up book offers something new and exciting through illustrated 3-D pop-ups that are representative of meticulous research and knowledge of historic art and design. In addition to using my own collection of books for research and inspiration, I spent a great deal of time at the library at the Cooper Hewitt Museum perusing their vast collection of illustrated pop-up books dating from the 13th century, and I have always had good luck finding unique images at the New York Public Library's Picture Collection.

The official websites of venues that I featured in the book were most helpful. www.metmuseum.org; www.nycballet.com; www.amnh.org; www.ndm.si.edu/; www.rockefellercenter.com; www.radiocity.com; and www.nybg.org

Chuck Fischer is a New York City artist whose paintings hang in some of the finest residences in the world. Many of his designs are in the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. He is the author of two previous pop-up books, The White House and Great American Houses and Gardens.

Visit Chuck in his virtual New York studio.

Some of Chuck's other work including ANGELS which I reviewed and gave away a little while ago include ANGELS seen here, as well as IN THE BEGINNING and AROUND THE WORLD.

REVIEW:

How does he do it? For those of you who experience ANGELS by Chuck Fisher a while ago, or are hoping to win it in the CHOOSE YOUR HOLIDAY Giveaway by December 19 on my blog, you have experienced the amazing and intricate work that goes into this piece of art. I find it hard to call it a book. Chuck Fisher spent endless hours researching each of the pictures you will see depicted in this book and that is so evident when you see the detail. I have seen pop-up books but not only is this interactive, but the pop-ups are phenomenal! If you enjoy Christmas or New York or just wonderful artwork, you will love this book. Fisher has taken the very best sights in New York City at Christmas time and recreated them three dimensionally in this book. He visits the Metropolitan Museum of Art, known for its amazing Angel Tree and of course takes you by some of the absolutely awesome store windows decked out for the holidays along Fifth Avenue. The tradition of The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center and the lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center are just some of what you will see in this amazing book. I have run out of adjectives so I guess the video can help close my review..or else you just might not believe such a thing could be true and COULD be yours!

A Very New York Christmas

By Michael Storrings

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The experience of New York City at Christmas time has enthralled residents and visitors alike since Clement C. Moore wroteThe Night Before Christmas in his house in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in 1823, inspiring tributes to the city in words and images. In A Very New York Christmas, Michael Storrings captures the magical landscape and excitement of the holiday season in dozens of watercolors, which since 2003 have been turned into bestselling Christmas ornaments. Sold in major retail venues across the country, his limited edition ornaments have a worldwide fan base and sell out performances in such stores as Saks, Bloomingdale's, and Bergdorf Goodman. This year a special ornament will be produced to coordinate with the book.

Portraying both famous traditions like Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Angel Tree to less well-known ones like the Christmas lights in Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights, the Boys Choir of Harlem, and the Holiday Train show at The New York Botanical Garden, A Very New York Christmas crisscrosses Manhattan and the four outer boroughs to bring us a Christmas for all New Yorkers--whether residents or just fans.

Including a delightful foreword from Cynthia Nixon (Miranda from Sex and the City) this jewel-like book combines festive quotations from literature and popular culture with Storrings’s charming watercolors of forty cherished New York holiday scenes making this a perfect gift and yuletide keepsake.

Michael Storrings:

When I moved to New York City, I found magic on a scale I had never anticipated: the twinkly lights from my childhood I now see running the length of Park Avenue; the little villages under my mother's tree now take the form of elaborate cityscapes and fantasies reflected in store windows. I've also made new memories: shopping with friends on Fifth Avenue, enjoying Christmas Eve afternoon tea at the Pierre, watching sidewalk Santas and Christmas carolers, ice skating at Rockefeller Center, taking in the smell of chestnuts roasting on street corners—to me, these are the essence of a very New York Christmas.

Celebrity testimonials

Cynthia Nixon:

Michael Storrings's wonderful watercolors evoke so much of the enchantment of Christmas in the city that I felt as a child.

Regis Philbin:

Nobody celebrates Christmas like New Yorkers. And no town gets all dressed up like New York at Christmastime. It's a feast for the eyes. It's happiness and good cheer on every corner and Michael Storrings has captured it all for you in this book.

The Honorable David N. Dinkins:

This remarkable book gives visitors and residents alike the chance to take home with them the many wonders of the holiday season in New York. Michael Storrings shows us New York City at its glittering best.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

MICHAEL STORRINGS is an award-winning designer, illustrator, and art director working in New York City. For the past three years, Michael has been designing city-themed Christmas tree ornaments in collaboration with Landmark Creations, a California-based manufacturer and distributor. He is currently the executive art director at St. Martin's Press. To view moer of Michael's work, visit him at www.storrings.com. CYNTHIA NIXON, a native New Yorker, is a Tony- and Emmy-award-winning actress who is best known for her portrayal of lawyer Miranda Hobbes in the blockbuster HBO comedy Sex and the City and Sex and the City: The Movie. Ms. Nixon and her partner and their two children live in New York and are frequent holiday season visitors to many of the sites depicted in A Very New York Christmas.

Photograph by Herman Estevez

SAMPLES OF STORRINGS WORK/REACTION:

I am very happy to have been able to afford to get a copy of this book to giveaway. Alas, that is about all I can afford from this amazing artist. I had hoped to buy a New York ornament until I saw the prices. But don't let it stop you. Visit Michael Storrings' website to see even more examples than these and it will give you an even better idea of what a charming book this is. You may even want to order something. So whether you are from New York originally (like me), live there now, or just always wanted to visit, this is a lovely book of artwork to honor this wonderful city while showing off the remarkable talents of Michael Storrings!

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Anna and the people
at Hachette Book Group, I have a
copy of CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK...
AND, I donated a book I bought of
A VERY NEW YORK CHRISTMAS
so one reader will get both books!

RULES:

--SORRY but U.S. Residents Only
--No P. O. Boxes, Please
--Your email addresss must be in your comment

HOW TO ENTER:

Very close to the holiday and this will
go quickly. ....so all you need to do is
enter and leave your email...perhaps
give a shout out to the blog world
about your holiday plans but otherwise,
just the email and a smile :D

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE IN BY
9 AM, EST, DECEMBER 19
YES, that is NINE in the morning!
IN ORDER FOR ME TO BE ABLE
TO GET THIS SENT OUT HOPEFULLY
IN TIME...I SHALL TRY! BUT
NO PROMISES ON MY PART.


GOOD LUCK!!!!