Wiser With Age

Tag: New York

  • NY artist says to make your life a masterpiece, listen to yourself

    NY artist says to make your life a masterpiece, listen to yourself


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Artist Carol Crawford (Photo/Carol Crawford)

    Carol Crawford, originally from Buffalo, NY, has been creating art ever since she can remember. She inherited her talent from her father – an artist and calligrapher.

    “I used to watch him work,†she says. “He did gorgeous lines. He handed me a bottle of India ink when I was seven and a sable brush. I never spilled anything.â€

    And that’s how it all began.

    Crawford has had a long art career consisting of documentary photography, filmmaking, printmaking, and theater set design. In 1995, she got a masters in interior design from Pratt Institute in NYC – where she has been teaching since 1999. Slightly before that, she also founded her own design firm, Carol Crawford Environments, which specializes in sustainable interior design. And on October 7, her latest exhibit, “Time Frames: Visual Metaphors for the Passage of Time†opens in New York.

    “All the work was done in 2014,†says Crawford about her latest exhibit which she completed while on medical leave from Pratt. “I had spinal surgery, and it took a long time to heal. I thought I would go out of my mind, so I decided to throw myself into studio work. I plunged in. It was an evolution from designs from my sketchbook.â€

    She says what she loves most about art is the ability to communicate and to invent.

    “What I like about it is telling stories,†says Crawford. “I’m looking always to break new ground. It’s mixed media, because I love to shift. I’ve used a lot of wood and plexiglass, and photography has always played a large part. I used to make a living as a documentary photographer – so the camera is an important tool.â€

    Whatever she has worked on throughout her life, she says, she has loved. And she also made sure to make time for everything that was important to her.

    “I’ve been teaching in universities and colleges from California to Maryland for the past 60 years…I love teaching very, very much, but I didn’t want to give up the idea of becoming a mother,†says the busy woman who now has four grown kids and five grandchildren. “…One of the things I had to fight for was to have children and a family – so it means a great deal.”

    Crawford says she wasn’t always so sure about what she wanted. One day her father asked her why she didn’t go to Pratt?

    “We were not rich,†she remembers. “I was always a scholarship student with a job. I thought, ‘How could I do that?’â€

    And then her mother asked her, “Wouldn’t you like to be a designer? You keep doing it for free?â€

    Crawford says she didn’t know how she could go back to school with four kids, and she recently realized it all happened. She had actually graduated from Pratt and is a designer and teacher.

    “Some of the best ideas I’ve ever had was using my brain with my feelings,†she says. “Some of the best artwork has come from that as well.â€

    If she had one piece of life advice that she would tell her younger self, it would be to be true to yourself, others and stick to your dream – even if you don’t know how you are going to make money.

    “If you haven’t already fallen in love with something…listen to yourself,†says Crawford. “If you are an honest observer to life around you, you’ll come up with something that is true to you. You will have success if you do that.â€

  • An iconic Colombian photographer finds new life in NYC at 92

    An iconic Colombian photographer finds new life in NYC at 92


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Nereo López in Queens, New York. (Courtesy Facebook)

    Nereo López isn’t a typical 92-year-old; he’s more like a typical young, starry-eyed artist who wakes up at noon and gets inspiration from everything around him. His small frame is overpowered by his bright blue eyes anxiously anticipating what is about to come next in his life. López has not only rediscovered his art, he has gotten a second chance at a successful career and fulfillment.

    The Cruz de Boyacá winning photographer — one of the highest honors in Colombia — who had traveled the world taking photos, giving nearly 20 exhibitions, and published more than 10 works, saw his career plummet 12 years ago.  The man who met Gabriel García Márquez and Pope Paul IV had his center, the Nereo Center of Teaching and Culture of Photography in Bogota, Colombia, shut down due to lack of funds. He says after the age of 40, in Colombia, it is very hard to find work because you’re considered too antiquated.

    López says he was having thoughts of ending his life when a friend called from New York. She heard the distress in his voice about not being able to find a job, and how he was feeling depressed, so she bought him a ticket to the city that never sleeps — arriving the next day — to see if he’d like it better. He says he didn’t just like it better, he found another reason to keep living.

    “As soon as I arrived, I ran to all the photo galleries,†says López, describing his eagerness like a kid in an amusement park.

    The title of his photo book published last year, called “Nereo López: Un Contador de Historias,†describes what he is precisely — a storyteller. He says there was a time he used to have 14 cameras of different sizes to tell his stories. Now, he just uses one to make his life simpler and lighter — a compact Canon G9.

    “Photography still fascinates me,†says the man who one day started observing the faces of people leaving the subway and started a series of photos of just that. “What I have learned is to see.â€

    The talented López wasn’t always a photographer. He lost both parents at age 11, and started working when he was a teenager in a movie theater in Colombia, where he was promoted to manager after 10 years.

    “It was World War II, and you couldn’t travel in a plane with a camera during that time,†says López, explaining how his photography career began. “A friend asked me to watch his camera while he went on a trip, and I started to practice with his camera.â€

    He says he learned on his own with a book and a correspondence course that he never finished, and he was always asking questions.

    “I started taking photos in a series — like a movie,†he says. Still today, he says he’s always thinking in series — perhaps because of the many years of films he’s seen in the movie theater where he worked. “I always have my photos in my head, and I figure out what series they will go in later.â€

    When he was 27, he quit his movie house job, and started working as a photojournalist at one of Colombia’s largest newspapers, El Espectador. That is when he says he started to travel all over Colombia and started his photo collection for the book, “Colombia: Que Lindo Eresâ€/â€Colombia: How Beautiful You Are.â€

    “The subjects I most gravitated towards were children,†says Lopez who also has a series called, “Niños Que No Rienâ€/“Children Who Don’t Laugh.†“Perhaps because I didn’t really have a real childhood.â€

    In 1957, he became a chief photographer of the photographer’s magazine, Cromos, in Colombia. He says he was a photojournalist for 15 years before he started his center of photography where he taught up to 100 students at a time.

    Since he’s been in New York City, he has not wasted any of his precious minutes. He’s been recognized by the New York City Council and has shown his work at the Queens Museum and El Museo del Barrio.

    “It hasn’t been easy, because I don’t speak English,†says López in his native Spanish.

    He says he’s happy to not have to develop photos the old-fashioned way anymore. He’s well-equipped in his new one-bedroom apartment, in a building for the elderly, with bare white walls lined with varied books, including “Macs for Dummies.†The centerpiece of his living room is a shiny new 27-inch Mac computer, complete with scanner and printer. He explains he loves his craft even more now with modern technology.

    “For me, paper is obsolete,†he exclaims, laughing.

    One of the highlights of his week is going to a senior center in Queens, NY. Even though he moved to a different neighborhood, he still goes on Tuesdays, because that’s the day the seniors dance after lunch.

    “To see these seniors dance and have fun is life,†he says, joking that no one is older than him. “They have a desire to live. I take photos demonstrating their desire to live.â€

    He says he would like to publish a book of these photos called â€La Primavera del Ocasoâ€/“The Spring of the Sunset,†but he’ll only do it if it can have that name. He also started making goals for himself again — to be featured in a large museum such as, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and to live in Spain and Paris one day.

    “When I came to New York, I said to my friend, ‘I came to New York too late,†says López, eager to start on a new project with some young artists he’s encountered. “My friend responded, ‘You never arrive too late to New York, you just came with less time,’ but I hope to live 100 years more…I haven’t arrived to where I wanted to arrive, but I’m on my way.â€

    López says when he came to the U.S. and obtained his residency, and citizenship five years ago, he saw a new horizon.

    “When one sees a horizon, one sees life,†says the photographer with never-ending vision. “Here is where I’ll stay.â€

    This article was originally published on NBCLatino.com on January 10, 2013. 

  • Long-time NY businessman and marketer gives back by teaching

    Long-time NY businessman and marketer gives back by teaching


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Myron Gould (Photo/Greyson Cage Stock)

    “When I was much younger, I wanted to be a chemical engineer, but as I got a little older, I guess my mind turned more towards business,†says Myron Gould, 68. “My father was a very big influence in that decision. He was a person who was in business…he was a role model in that regard…I would sit in the car and listen to him and listen to what was going on – it was interesting. He sold machine parts, adhesives, all material used by manufacturing firms.â€

    The born and raised New Yorker has worked four decades in the business and marketing arena. In addition to being the CEO of his own business advising firm, where he helps people build business plans, he is also starting a new consulting firm to teach companies to keep their employees engaged. Gould is also an adjunct professor of marketing and management at New York University.

    “It’s my 20th year at NYU,†says Gould. “I was sitting in a friend’s office – a recruiter who dealt with direct marketing people…He got a phone call, and he said to the person on the phone, I have somebody right here. [The person] asked if I’d be interested in teaching a class, and I never stopped.â€

    And Gould never stops working it seems. In addition to running his business, he says he recently created a new capstone at the University – an option to writing a thesis for students which involves writing up a business plan instead and learning about entrepreneurship.

    “I get a considerable amount of e-mails from clients, I grade papers, then I go through many projects that I’m working on,†explains Gould. “My classes are from 6 to 9 pm, and this coming term four times a week – it varies. I have dinner at 9:30 or 10:30, then work another four hours.â€

    He says he’s making an effort in getting more sleep, however.

    “I love what I do,†says Gould. “I feel like I’m helping people.â€

    When Gould was starting out his career in the mid-1960’s, he says marketing wasn’t even called “marketing,†but “distribution.†One of his favorite jobs was at Columbia Records in his early 30’s.

    “It was a great place,†he remembers. “Sometimes I debate whether I should have left or not. I was recruited for a consulting firm.â€

    Today, he thinks video is the way to go. He uses green screen technology to create videos to complement his teaching.

    “I have virtual sets,†says the high-tech professor, excitedly. “I can put myself into a green room…Like where a weather person delivers the weather. I create videos of some of my lessons and make them available for people…I can be doing my work while sipping piña coladas on a ship.â€

    What advice would he tell his younger self about life?

    “I would talk about getting enough information to make good decisions,†he says. “A lot of times we make decisions impatiently, but sometimes it’s better to slow down a little bit. There were times in my life where I could have made a better decision by not acting so quickly.â€

    He adds his biggest project currently is getting his grandson, who just turned 4, to have a good life.

    “What he does with his life is his choice, but I want him to be equipped to make those decisions,†says Gould.

  • Bronx Fathers Taking Action member on the importance of fatherhood

    Bronx Fathers Taking Action member on the importance of fatherhood


     

    A man with glasses and a hat smiling.
    Bronx Fathers Taking Action member John Fielder (Courtesy John Fielder)

    John Fielder, a born and raised New Yorker, has always been a savior of sorts for his community.

    Before turning 60, he was an emergency medical technician (EMT) for nearly two decades, and before that, a phlebotimist. Today, at 64, he serves on his district’s community education council as well as one of the 16 active Bronx Fathers Taking Action committee members.

    “I’m appointed by the borough president to oversee construction of schools, issues of building maintenance, curriculum, and parent involvement,†says Fielder about his role on the education council. “I also train parents to do what I do.â€

    Fielder explains the board is made of of 11 members, and there are 116 schools in the district, including elementary and middle schools. And through Bronx Fathers Taking Action, which was founded in March 2012, he provides resources and fosters relationships to reinforce fathers as positive role models for their kids.

    Although his seven children, three girls and four boys – ranging in age from 20 to 27 – are all grown up, playing an active role in the youth of his community is still crucial to him.

    A man with glasses and a hat smiling.
    John Fielder with four or his seven children.

    “My three youngest kids are foster kids, and we adopted them,†says Fielder about the family he shares with his wife, who is a school teacher. “That got me involved in special needs kids.â€

    He explains that two of his adopted children had slight learning disabilities because of the environment they came out of.

    “I was told the only thing they could get out of high school was a certificate, but I wanted them to have a real diploma,†says Fielder. “That’s what got me involved. I became president of the PTA [Parent Teacher Association] for three years. Then I became the president of the district’s education council.â€

    The more you’re involved, he says, the more you learn how the system works and how the system doesn’t work.

    “This is a business of educating our children, and it’s important we understand the system,†says Fielder. “One of my biggest issues now is we don’t have vocational schools left in the Bronx. Now [kids] have to pay to go to other schools and have a school loan bill that’s outrageous.â€

    Although Fielder also commits some of his free time to his church choir, he’s proud to say that Bronx Fathers Taking Action is one of his most important projects to date. In addition to holding monthly meetings, and reaching out to different churches, the group is partnering with a total of five middle schools and high schools in Manhattan and the Bronx to create mentoring programs.

    “Boys at that age, especially, need someone to look up to,†says Fielder. “We need to mentor them on financial aid, health benefits and financial literacy – the importance of budgeting, saving having bank accounts. What they see are guys with fancy rims and jewelry, but they’re living in the projects. What’s the value in that?â€

    Father’s Day weekend, he says, the group is holding a stickball event for older kids, and for the younger kids, a bicycle safety demonstration. In total, a couple of hundred youth and parents are expected to attend.

    “I want to get more fathers involved, because when you get more fathers involved, kids do better, because they have an example to follow,†he says. “Kids are not looking for a father with lots of money, just somebody who’s involved.â€

    To Fielder, fatherhood is one of the most important jobs there is, and it’s a job that never ends.

    “Fatherhood means mentoring, loving, training, becoming a good example, and having expectations for your children to do better than you,†he says.

    His advice for those younger than him:

    “Do what you have to, so you can do what you want to do. Be a leader and not a follower, and have high expectations for yourself.â€

  • First female Asian elected official on the East Coast continues to give back and speak up

    First female Asian elected official on the East Coast continues to give back and speak up

    Ellen Young in the Chambers being introduced by the Speaker as a freshman member, and the first Asian American woman in the legislature in January 2007. (Courtesy Ellen Young)
    Ellen Young in the Chambers being introduced by the Speaker as a freshman member, and the first Asian American woman in the legislature in January 2007. (Courtesy Ellen Young)

    Ellen Young is not one to stay still, or stay quiet.

    The 62-year-old volunteers as the first, and only, Asian member of the Grievance Committee for the Second, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Judicial Districts. As one of 15 committee members, she reviews complaints against attorneys from Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. She says she spends the rest of her time at the newly founded Golden Age Learning Center, which serves approximately 200 seniors.

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