Streamlined Showerheads

Delta Faucet 75155 Water-Amplifying Showerhead in Chrome, courtesy of Monica Murphy.

Showerheads of the past (which continue to comprise the majority of showerheads currently in your home showers) generally spray five to six gallons of water per each minute you're sudsing up. Newer models generally halve that amount, to 2.5 gallons per minute. In our ongoing effort to use fewer resources and less energy in general, last year Better Farm  picked up an Evolve Showerhead for the new upstairs bathroom that not only uses less water, but also reduces its flow to a trickle when the water reaches 95 degrees. When you're done brushing your teeth or whatever other multi-tasking you do while waiting for the shower to heat up, you simply pull the cord next to the shower head and resume bathing.

For the other, older upstairs bathroom, we've been stuck with this rickety old thing:

Besides being fairly crusty, it's an older showerhead. That means it's not exactly eco-friendly. So when Monica Murphy offered us a low-flow Delta model  she'd used in her Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment, I couldn't refuse. This head costs $10 and only uses 1.6 gallons of water per minute (without sacrificing anything in performance, believeyoume). You'll score 36 percent in water savings over a standard showerhead, nice water pressure, and a clean conscience. Doesn't that sound nice?

The installation was ridiculously straightforward: Unscrew old showerhead, apply threading tape to the threaded pipe, screw on new showerhead.

For purchasing information, click here.

Guest Room Gets Gussied Up

This spare guest room had a bad case of the blahs, from uninspired details to drab walls to cobbed-together curtain rods. Finally getting to enjoy the afterglow of Better Farm's distinctly unglamorous first round of renovations (insulation, sheet rock and dry wall, dumpster hauls, rewiring, wood stove installation, etc.), I can at last begin the significantly more fun job of interior design.

While we've had great success with reappropriating certain items for updates around the Farm, this room was going to require a few new things—albeit with really good deals—namely:

• Full mattress and box spring set, $150 at Mattress Discount in Watertown
• Fresh coat of gorgeous green paint, $11.98 for Olympic eco-friendly paint at Lowe's 
• Fresh sheets, mattress protector, pillowcases, and blanket, $60 at Ollie's Bargain Outlet in Watertown
• Fancy new curtain rods, $25 at Lowe's

That put us well-within budget, with the whole overhaul running us less than $250. Here are a few more before shots:

And now, drum roll please...

Curtains and black-and-white print courtesy of Laura Caldwell; paper-cutting of Better Farm grass courtesy of Mira Elwell; vases courtesy of Laura Caldwell; lights left by previous tenant and stocked with eco-friendly, energy-efficient bulbs.

Cabinet reclaimed from dumpster; nest chair left by previous tenants.

Steamer trunk courtesy of Laura Caldwell; elephant art courtesy of Bob Bowser; nest chair left by previous tenants.

For information about lodging at Better Farm, click here .

Earth Day Cleanup Slated for April 16

Sign Up Now for Figure-Drawing Classes at Arts on the Square

Spring Renovations Underway

With the weather finally cooperating enough to allow Better Farmers to move about freely on the property, we've jumped headfirst into spring renovations.

From replacing a broken greenhouse door to (finally!) installing closet doors over what were tapestry-covered alcoves, from planting seeds (stay tuned for pics and garden maps!) to applying fresh coats of paint to long-neglected rooms, from chopping wood for next fall to new couches and chandeliers, the Farm is abuzz with activity.

Here are a few photos of what we've been up to:

Greenhouse gets a door transplant after winter winds break the old door in two. Door transplant performed by Mark Huyser. New door salvaged from the Riveredge Resort.

Barn goes from hay storage to art studio, courtesy of Mark Huyser, Colby Sutton, Joel Zimmer, Mike Brown, and consulting help from David Garlock, Michael Frenette, and Scott Mueller. Windows from Garlock Building Supplies & Design Center.

Basement morphs into darkroom one garbage haul at a time. First phase of cleanup courtesy of Erin Fulton, Mike Brown, Brian Purwin, and Nicole Caldwell.

Barn's first-floor windows get replaced with lovely, large improvements. Window framing and setting courtesy of Mark Huyser. Windows from Garlock Building Supplies & Design Center.

Human birdhouse gets the start of a back wall and a door frame, courtesy of Mark Huyser. Lumber from Redwood Lumber.

To get involved with these and other projects throughout the spring, summer, and fall, please contact us for more information on volunteering or internships.


Not pictured:
Bluebird houses cleaning and repair courtesy of Mike Brown
New couch courtesy of Laura Caldwell and Bryan Pivar
Greenhouse shelving courtesy of David Garlock
Chicken Mobile Stagecoach Tractor sprucing up and ongoing love & attention courtesy of Jennifer Elizabeth Crone
Guest bedroom renovation made possible through the generous donation of the Purwin family

The Process of a Portrait

By betterArts resident Jennifer Elizabeth Crone

In tenth grade, my then-boyfriend broke up with me a week before homecoming, right as the bell rang for me to go into art class. Seeing how upset I was, my teacher took me into her office and showed me a portrait she'd painted of her ex. Her advice? "Don't paint your boyfriends. Because then you break up, and you've gotta look at this guy." Ten years later I still remember that, but I painted Nicholas anyway, because I love him. And he would never break up with me right before homecoming.

To begin this piece, I applied vintage maps to a canvas, as well as a print-out of a ship I used as a source photo from a previous painting. I also incorporated some schematics I found while on a hike with Nick and his dad in Doodle Town, N.Y.

Next, I painted the canvas with beiges, whits, pinks, tans, and blues, allowing the maps and textures to shine.

For the pose, I used a source image that I took of Nick in December. I did a few preliminary sketches to get familiar with the shape, then drew a very simple line-drawing on the canvas to start.

Then I painted Nick, an hours-long act performed without breaking or taking photos:

I made the pillow behind him blow (in reality a dull tan), and left some of the maps showing through.
I added texture and light to the hair, added some aqua in behind his head and shoulders, and blending it all in. And the finished product:

"Swimming", oil and mixed media on canvas

Originally published at Jennifer Elizabeth Crone's blog, Sugarheart. To learn more about betterArts' residency program and to apply, click here.

Business Stamps are the New Black

Better Farm stamp on School of Visual Arts postcard, photograph by Chana Lesser

You know the drill: Americans use too many resources. More specifically, we've got less than 5 percent of the world's population but use 30 percent of the world's paper. More than 40 percent of wood pulp is used for paper production. Printing and writing paper adds up to about half of all United States paper production.

So, you do your part. You recycle wherever possible. You consider the environment before printing e-mails, driving directions, recipes, or what-have-yous.

But one papery surface seems unshakeable: that of the business card.

It's convenient, it's good networking, it's practical. Carrying a stash of business cards is classier than programming your work phone into people's cells, makes you seem more put-together than that guy scribbling his contact info onto cocktail napkins, and gives an aura of respectability to any professional person.

Patrick Bateman gets hot and bothered by Bryce's classy business card in American Psycho.

So how to achieve all this without doing something destructive to Mother Dearest? You could look into soy-based inks and recycled paper for your business cards, or take it another step further by creating business stamps. These can be printed on anything—from thick paper stock to mimic real business cards (recycled, of course); or cool gift wrap salvaged from your last birthday party, brown paper bags you'd otherwise throw in the recycling bin, or colorful pages from discarded magazines or postcards. Don't forget skin, walls, envelopes, fabric... The proverbial sky is the limit.

We did our fair share of Internet research on the subject, and found a nice self-inking Modico brand stamp at overnightprintscom. Wanting to keep the design universal for all needs, the Better Farm and betterArts stamps simply bear their respective logos, websites, and phone numbers. Check out the many faces a single stamp can have:

Syracuse Film Fest Hits Watertown

A portion of the Syracuse International Film Festival will be screened at 7 p.m. Friday, April 29, in the Sturz Theater at Jefferson Community College (JCC) with three free films to be shown as part of "Best of the Fest."

The screenings, "Tree" (animated short), "My City, Pizza" (short documentary), and "Protektor" (narrative feature) are made possible in collaboration between the Film Committee of the North Country Arts Council, Channel 7, and JCC.

betterArts Resident Jennifer Elizabeth Crone's Paper Art Project

The paper art project is a small scale-installation by Jennifer Elizabeth Crone that will hang from the ceiling. So far, Jennifer has died and dried (almost) all the paper with a homemade acrylic-and-water dye and started 3 of the 5 garland-like sculptures. Here are some preliminary photographs:

 For more information about betterArts' residency program and to apply, click here.

In the betterArts Studio

All photography by Nicholas Aquino-Roithmayr. Originally published on artist-in-residence Jennifer Elizabeth Crone's blog. To learn more about betterArts residencies and to apply, please visit the betterArts website.

Red Cross Art Show Features Two betterArts Residents

The American Red Cross of Northern New York held its Sixth Annual Art Show and Sale March 4 at Trinity Church in Watertown, N.Y.

Presenting at the show were betterArts' own artist residents Jennifer Elizabeth Crone and Mike Brown. Artists whose pieces were purchased donated 20, 50, 75, or 100 percent of proceeds to the American Red Cross. Dollars raised help support the Red Cross as it continues assisting families in need in all of Northern New York. Check out the event pics featuring some of our own!

Mike Brown and his self-portrait

Jennifer Elizabeth Crone and her piece, "Look Closer"

All photos by Jennifer Elizabeth Crone. For more information about betterArts' residency program, click here.

'Flowers Grow Out of My Grave': New work by betterArts resident Jennifer Elizabeth Crone

Oil on Canvas with distressed photographs, texts, and other things, by Jennifer Elizabeth Crone

Here's what Jennifer had to say about her latest completed work:

This painting took an extremely long time, perhaps the longest stretch of time I've ever worked on anything. I started it about a year ago with a thought I had while riding a train to New Jersey and looking at the naked trees through the fog. After painstakingly, and time consumingly, painting each tree in harrowing detail (which was already the 3rd layer, mind you), I of course put an egg made of text all over the bulk of the trees. At one point this painting was looking quite neon and graphic, if you can imagine. And here is the final work, a forest grown over a forgotten promise, winter covered with the inkling of spring.

For more information about betterArts residencies and to apply, click here.

Inspiration Station: Origami house

After a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck central China last May (killing 69,000 people, injuring hundreds of thousands and leaving millions homeless), the government is planning an extensive reconstruction project that includes building more than 1.5 million temporary homes designed to last two or three years.

Urban Re:Vision hosted a contest to answer this need; one particularly cool submission for which was designed by Ming Tang, whose central feature was to develop a temporary shelter for homeless people that exhibits characteristics of  umbrellas and folded fans. The structures can be arranged into various contexts and dwelling requirements. The self-reconstructive "origami" structures can produce potentially infinite scenarios. Composed of paper fibers, water, and cement, the buildings can be used for a variety of construction applications. The lightweight paper house can be pre-assembled in the factory, folded into a small package, and loaded into a truck for transportation. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

See the full submission here

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