Drink-n-Draw Overdrive is a Time Out NY "Perfect Weekend" Pick

Thanks Time Out NY for the Drink-n-Draw Overdrive Critic's pick!

Oh, 3rd Ward. You're so cool, and that makes us want to hate you but…yeah, you're too damn cool. This weekly event calls on drawers, sketchers and scribblers to show up and make use of ten different (human!) models, and to drink booze at the same time. The progression of drawings from the beginning to the end just has to be amazing. Read the full listing here.

Click for more details on our special beer on tap, the poses, and the limited-time deal that will let you into all DnDs for FREE.

P.S. We're not too cool...really! We just want people to have a good time.

Just in Time for Valentine's Day // Make a Love Connection at 3rd Ward

a connection at Drink-n-DrawIt's sort of an unspoken selling point, but it's close to Valentine's Day, so we're just going to just say it. 3rd Ward is a great place to pick up dates!

Says Refinery29, in their "Dating in NYC" article:

Don't worry, we're not telling you to go back to school (although we love us a good MBA student), but enrolling in a class or two might not be too bad for your romance resume. We have a heart-on for 3rd Ward, an "incubator for innovation" in Brooklyn that offers everything from lost wax casting lessons to a flash fiction workshop and literally almost anything in between (window farming anyone?). And even if you don't get someone's digits, at least you'll learn something.

Meet a mate, date, or friend at one of our classes or events.

Plus, for 7 more ways to find dates in NYC, read Refinery29's full article here.

Make a Chinese New Year Pop-up Card!

"Happy New Year"Goodbye Tiger, hello Rabbit. Celebrate the Chinese New Year with this easy-to-make pop-up card designed by Pop-Up Paper Workshop Instructor, Colette Fu.

Download the card part here, the rabbit part here, and start on your own 3-D creation. 

Want to share your project? Email us a picture of your card to membermade@3rdward.com.

Plus, learn more about Colette's amazing Fulbright Scholarship-funded pop-up project, profiled in the New York Times here.

Carrie & Zach // Vacationing on the California Riviera that Never Was

Carrie and Zach's spontaneity led them to Slab City. The people and the scenery made them stay. Our two Open Call winners were taken in by others leading a wandering life: hippies, convicts and artists. They heard amazing stories, made amazing friends, and for the first time in their photographic collaboration, decided to allow others to take part in a photograph...just a little preview of what's to come.

SUBJECT TO CHANGE // In a shifting cultural landscape, what matters?

SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Opening Reception: Friday, February 11, 6-10 pm

On View: February 11-March 18, 2011

287 Spring St., Ground Fl., New York, NY

SUBJECT TO CHANGE investigates the mercurial nature of contemporary life. Frenzied technological advancement, population growth, and unprecedented globalization have placed us in a state of constant flux. The effects--on our aesthetics, our aspirations, and our collective desires--are too often lost to the casual eye. These artists, working in media ranging from print to sculpture to video, offer a highly personal commentary on the truth and texture of what we are losing and gaining in a world co-defined by what is now, and what is next. 

Featuring works by Daniel Arnold, Morgan Blair, Rob Corradetti, Anthony Cudahy, Jessica Findley, Jesse Hlebo, David Horvitz, James Moore, and Kate O'Connor. 

For more information and to RSVP, click here.



The Results are in...the 1st Global Co-Working Study

3rd Ward was recently identified as a key player in the international co-working movement by DeskMag, an international magazine that studies today's "new breed of independent workers". Read the report here.

We like co-working for many reasons -- it's economical, sustainable, conducive to collaboration. It's adapts to our interdisplinary, multimedia world. Co-working favors the superstars of today's workplace -- not the 9-5ers or the people who simply keep the boat afloat -- but the dynamos who create a world that's not encumbered by assembly-line thinking, but rather is bursting with creation and possibility.

People from over 24 countries took part in the study. Here are some interesting takeaways from the United States data. 

-- Seventy-five percent of coworkers have completed at least a Bachelors degree. This is a much higher level of education than the general U.S. population (27%), or even U.S. small business owners (50%).

-- Coworking facilities are filled with locals. Over 30% of coworkers either walk or bike to their coworking facility, and less than half (44%) drive.

-- Almost all U.S. coworkers agree that their coworking experience has been positive. Ninety-one percent of coworkers are either very satisfied (57%) or satisfied (34%) with their overall experience.

Carrie & Zach // From Salvation Mountain to Slab City

Carrie and Zach have reached the California Badlands, only to uncover a veritable treasure box of strange and unimaginable sights in Niland's fantastical, post-apocalyptic landscapes. 

All the way in the arid flats east of San Diego, they've explored everything from Salvation Mountain--a colorful gem in the monochromatic mountains, painted with bright biblical messages and imagery by Leonard Knight--to Slab City, an RV oasis filled with a welcoming coterie of drifters, artists and squatters.

Make sure to check out Carrie and Zach's accompanying video postcard. Now as fluorescent grasshoppers hopping by the side of the road (see the Best Western sign glowing in the background?), they seem to have taken a turn toward sci-fi....

Double Feature! Two NYC art shows featuring 3rd Ward Instructor David Pettibone

by David Pettibone // on Exhibit at Premonition3rd Ward’s oil painting instructor, David Pettibone, is featured in two must-see group exhibitions this month. Meet the artist at the opening reception of Premonition this Thursday, February 3rd at the Dacia Gallery, and check out the Prince George Art Show ( a Time Out New York critic’s pick) through February 26th!

Premonition // The Dacia Gallery
53 Stanton Street, New York, NY
Opening Night, February 3rd, 2011, 6-10pm
Through March 6th
A Group Exhibition featuring the work of seven vibrant painters communicating through oil, watercolor, and collage. The show was curated by internationally renowned bronze-sculpture artist Natalie Tyler, and Marco Beria, a painter, curator and owner of the OJO Gallery. More Info here: http://www.daciagallery.com/

Prince George Art Show // Prince George Gallery
15 E 27th Street New York, NY
Through February 26th
Curated by New School psychologist Ilana Simons, the Prince George Art Show presents the work of ten uniquely dynamic contemporary artists experimenting with portraiture. Highlights include new work by Tim Okamura, whose paintings have been shown in London’s National Portrait Gallery, and Michael Alan, who founded the famous Draw-a-Thon and Living Installation series. More Info here: http://artlog.com/events/62871-prince-george-art-show

DAVID PETTIBONE is a New York-based oil painter who explores the human condition through the portrayal of the contemporary figure. He was the recipient of The New York Academy of Art Fellowship, The Walter Erlebacher Award for Outstanding Work in Anatomy, and The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant. His work has been exhibited at the Slade Research Centre in London, the Palazzetto Cenci in Rome, as well as in New York and nationally. Learn more about David’s work at: www.davidpettibone.com and his 3rd Ward intro to oil painting class here. 

Poetry Series // Inspired by the Human Figure

artwork by Michael MarsicanoYou don't have to be a visual artist to come to Drink-n-Draw. Perfect example -- here's MFA Candidate Austin Allen's ode to the mystery and beauty of the human form. His poem, Dr. Kätzchen’s Entanglement, captures one man's tortuous emotions shifting from the bodily to the sublime and back again. 

(And remember, regular Drink-n-Draw is cancelled for this Wednesday to prepare for Drink-n-Draw Overdrive on Friday. RSVPs are required. Get on the list here)

Dr. Kätzchen’s Entanglement
 
A fluid state,
as it was her prerogative to be,
 
a certain
classical uncertainty
 
wearing, on drumming fingers, orbital rings,
taking a smoke break outside space and time—
 
to measure her to miss her;
even to attempt
 
(even the instruments shrug, Je ne sais quoi)—
 
reposeful in flux
and fluxsome in repose

(surprisingly buxom under sharp black clothes)—
 
nor was she, at the borderline, detained
by the gendarme of her own reflexive Frenchness,
but slipped between the Pyrenees
as through guitar strings
and into the Spanish tense
where the noon is long
and the siesta’s dream contains all times at once
—became the mood, the flesh,
the very substance of the subjuntivo,
which every gentleman hopes toward…in the mesh
of nontranslation, meanwhile, I remained
 
both coming and going.
Schrödinger’s affair.
 
I miss her. That is
neither here nor there.

Austin Allen is an MFA candidate in poetry in the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars program. He lives in Baltimore.

Epicuriosity Recipe: Pork Belly for Your Noodle Bowl

The Completed & Highly Photogenic Noodle BowlLast week, 3rd Ward students thawed out in a never-before-been-offered Noodle Bowl Workshop, taught by professional chef, Orianne Cosentino. The class syllabus/menu included the musts of a proper noodle bowl: dashi, soba and ramen noodles, shiitake mushrooms, marinated seaweed, egg omelet and the piece de resistance, pork belly!

Essentially a non-cured and non-smoked version of bacon, pork belly is popular on restaurant menus all over the country, but is easier to make in the your home than you might think. There are essenThe Seasoned Pork Bellytially 3 steps: spice rubbing, braising, and slicing/serving. The components of the spice rub are open to interpretation and can easily incorporate your favorite flavors. This particular spice mixture seamlessly compliments the braising liquid used in step 2.

Cook the spice-marinated pork belly low and slow in the braise for up to 3 hours, and use the remaining liquid for a sauce. For the final stage, simply cut the pork belly (this is easier when it’s cold) and reheat in a skillet until crisp and brown.Cooked & Sliced & Ready to be Placed in a Your Bowl or Mouth

Learn more about more 3^rd Ward cooking classes taught by Orianne and other food professionals on our Epicuriousity page. Plus, keep-to-date on all of Orianne’s culinary exploits on her blog, http://upchefcreek.com/.

Official recipe follows:

BRAISED AND SEARED PORK BELLY

(serves about 8)

1 piece pork belly (about 3 pounds)

SPICE RUB

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon coriander seed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon

BRAISING LIQUID

5 cloves of garlic

3 slices of ginger

4 whole star anise

1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

1 tablespoon sugar

2 dried red chilies

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

water for braising liquid

• Grind together the black peppercorns and coriander seed. Mix with cinnamon, salt and sugar. Rub all over the pork. Place in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate overnight.

• Next day: Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

• Remove belly from bag, knock off most of the rub, leaving a light coating. Place in a baking dish, fat side up. Add garlic, ginger, star anise, peppercorns, sugar, chilies, vinegar, soy and enough water so that the liquid comes half-way up the sides of the belly. Cover dish tightly with foil. Place in oven and braise for 2.5 - 3 hours.

• Remove pan from oven and let belly cool in braising liquid. Alternatively, chill the whole thing overnight.

• Remove belly from liquid and cut into desired portions. Remove solidified fat that has risen to the top and strain braising liquid into a saucepan and reduce until thickened.

• Heat a skillet, place belly slices in a single layer and sear until brown and crispy. Turn and sear other side until heated through. Spoon thickened sauce over belly and serve, or place in a bowl with soup and noodles. 

Enjoy!