The Lynn Curlee exhibit and Casts of the Ancient World at the Slater Museum at Norwich Free Academy. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints Pieces in the African gallery at the Slater Museum at Norwich Free Academy. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints The Lynn Curlee exhibit at the Slater Museum at Norwich Free Academy. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints Director Dayne Rugh talks about a piece in the Connecticut Artists of the 20th Century the Slater Museum at Norwich Free Academy. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints Some of the Norwich Masterpieces are seen in the Dr. Lewis and Mrs. Grace Sears Gallery at the Slater Museum at Norwich Free Academy. The Sears Gallery will be the new semi-permanent home of the museum's collection of 19th-century American paintings and sculptures. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints The Colors of Connecticut Artists exhibit at the Slater Museum at Norwich Free Academy. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints

For the past year and a half, Slater Museum on the Norwich Free Academy campus has been closed as its slate roof was being replaced.

The folks who work inside the Slater, though, werent idle during that time. When you walk in, you can see how the iconic museum has been rethought.

A new gallery is devoted to Norwich artist Ellis Ruley.

The Sears Gallery, which visitors see first, now houses the most historically significant works in the Slaters collection.

The museums famed cast gallery has been renamed; walls and pedestals have been painted different shades; and a number of the casts have been moved.

In general, the Slater team oversaw the reinstallation of the permanent exhibition galleries, with nine new exhibitions, along with some temporary shows.

Museum Director Dayne Rugh says it was a perfect time and opportunity to do all that when the Slater shut down in January 2022.

The Lynn Curlee exhibit and Casts of the Ancient World.

The Lynn Curlee exhibit and Casts of the Ancient World.

The last time the museum did this kind of extensive installation work was more than a decade ago when the adjacent atrium was built.

Thats a long time in the museum world to have something not change very much, so I wanted to look at the galleries again and go, Whats working? What isnt working? How can we display the same things, the same types of things but make it a totally new and fresh experience for people? At the end of the day, I really want people to come in here and feel like theyre entering a proper art museum, says Rugh, who became Slaters interim director in March 2021 and then permanent director that October.

He says the biggest challenge was that there were always 50 different things happening at the same time. With a few exceptions, everything we did in terms of either construction or restoration or the hanging of the pieces, we all did that ourselves.

A couple of examples of those few exceptions: They had to call in outside experts for light fixture installation and for putting up a new wall.

But the rest was done in-house. Rugh says, Its a testament to how talented our staff is here at NFA incredibly talented, incredibly versatile and just so cooperative throughout the whole process. Discussing the NFA facilities team in particular, he says, I cant stress enough how important they were to get all this done.

Rugh designed and wrote all of the new labels and panels. (He notes he only has so much money to use on exhibition services.) He decided how the artwork should now be arranged. But some of those new arrangements came about by accident. When the floor was being redone, the facilities folks moved one of the big ship models into a different room, and Rugh realized it looked perfect there, so thats where it has stayed.

People who have been to the Slater before will notice a variety of changes.

Theyre going to walk into spaces, and its going to feel so much more open These rooms are so big and theyre so grand and they are beautiful to look at I wanted people to be able walk into a room without running into another wall or an object or something, he says.

Rugh wanted them to be able to see to the other side of the room and to appreciate the architecture as well.

In the Sears Gallery, for instance, people can marvel at the intricate woodwork and the grand fireplace.

I really want people to be awed by the openness, by the architectural details because thats part of the museum, too. Its very hard to find a museum so well preserved as this one, where you can still see pretty much the entire original building unaltered, he says.

Sears Gallery

Museum Director Dayne Rugh discusses John Trumbull's 1820 painting of Yantic Falls, which is housed in the Sears Gallery.

Photo by Sarah Gordon/The Day

Museum Director Dayne Rugh discusses John Trumbull's 1820 painting of Yantic Falls, which is housed in the Sears Gallery.

Photo by Sarah Gordon/The Day

The Sears Gallery, located across from the entrance area, is the nicest looking room that we have, Rugh says, so he wanted it to house the museums non-cast crown jewels. They are pieces that are part of the permanent collection that really stand out. Theyve been on display before, and some are new additions, but this is a whole new way of experiencing these pieces.

He wanted to choose the most historically significant pieces that the Slater has. All but one of the paintings in the Sears Gallery were done by John Denison Crocker, who was born in Salem and moved to Norwich when he was a young man.

Rugh says that Crocker captured the natural beauty, the natural landscape of Norwich in more than one way, and through these images, you learn about Norwichs early history as well as how it transitioned from an agrarian community to an industrialized community. You can see the landscape, you can see the city as Crocker saw it. He employed, of course, artistic license in some places, but it really gives you a unique way of experiencing history through his eyes.

Crocker was entirely self-taught as an artist, and some of the paintings depict seminal moments in Norwichs history, like the battle of Sachem Plains in the early 1640s, with the Mohegan Sachem Uncas in pursuit of the Narragansett Sachem Miantonomo.

The Sears Gallery also features what Rugh says is probably the most historically significant painting the Slater owns: a painting of the Yantic Falls by John Trumbull. Its one of two scenes of the falls he created, with other one now in Yale Universitys collection. Trumbull, who was born in Lebanon, also painted massive scenes of the American Revolution that are in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.

The 1820 Crocker Yantic Falls painting that Slater owns was on display upstairs before. It was taken down to have some conservation work done, and it now has a new frame as well. It hasnt been on display since 2019.

And one of Slaters newest acquisitions is featured in the Sears Gallery: a sculpture by Bela Pratt, who attended Norwich Free Academy. He made three versions of The Bather, and the Slater now has the resin one. Pratts grandson, Nat Kennedy, donated the piece which hadnt left the family in more than 100 years to the Slater. (Pratt also designed Indian head gold coins for the U.S. government.)

Cast gallery

The museums renowned cast collection has been renamed Casts of the Ancient World.

The museums renowned cast collection has been renamed Casts of the Ancient World.

The Slaters cast gallery has been given a new name: Casts of the Ancient World.

I wanted to give this collection more definition, and the way to do that is give it a proper name, Rugh says.

Visitors are still greeted by the museums renowned cast collection when they step into the space, with the main area focused on Greek and Roman pieces.

The color scheme is now united throughout the gallery, with the pedestals painted a light peach called Peach Fuzz and the walls a gray-blue called Web Gray that makes the casts stand out more.

The biggest change, in the corridors on either side of the main gallery, is the aisles have been opened up. Eleven casts had been in the middle of the floor. They are now up against the wall; this way, they are better positioned and protected, and people can move more freely in the aisles.

Slater also added low-profile Q-cord stanchions in front of those casts, as an unobtrusive but effective way of indicating how close museumgoers should get.

New panels have been added to the cast area, explaining, for instance, how the casts were created and how they got to the Slater.

African gallery

The museums collection of masks and other three-

dimensional sculpture is highlighted in its African

gallery.

The museums collection of masks and other three-dimensional sculpture is highlighted in its African gallery.

In the Slaters African gallery, everything is rearranged, and the interpretation is a bit more streamlined and concise, Rugh says. The area highlights the Slaters collection of masks and other three-dimensional sculpture. Rugh says it all tells a story of how different civilizations of people on the same continent can create different works that mean something to them.

You can see so much symbolism and so many different designs that all have cultural meanings, he says.

This section boasts a brand-new cast, of Nefertiti. Its a copy of the original that is believed to have been created by Thutmose in 1345 BCE and is on view at the Neues Museum in Berlin. The cast was recently created for the Slater by Skylight Studios in Massachusetts.

There are ways we can add more casts to expose people to different masterpieces throughout history, Rugh says. This museum was designed to be a museum of replicas and duplicates. Later on, the plan to acquire and display original artwork was launched.

Connecticut artists

The space behind the cast gallery had been used to exhibit Connecticut Artists of the 20th Century. Works by state artists in the Slaters permanent collection are still showcased in that area, but the focus is now slightly different: "The Colors of Connecticut Artists.

The theme now is how artists use color to create shape, to create abstraction, to create feeling even. Each piece in here does it differently from the next, Rugh says.

Upstairs

In the mezzanine of the Slater the upstairs space all the rooms have been redone, and the floors have been refinished.

Previously, several rooms on the mezzanine were collectively called the Norwich Galleries. Rugh changed that; he wanted each space to be distinct from the next.

Ellis Ruley

In one of those mezzanine galleries is something that Rugh calls one of his favorite sections that he has seen come to fruition. It is all about Norwich artist Ellis Ruley (1882-1959).

Its special to me because Ellis Ruley is a Norwich story, and nowhere else in the world can claim it. He was born and raised here, and as an African-American artist, he plays an incredibly important role in the history of Black communities and artists of color, he says.

This is now a new permanent collecting endeavor for the museum, to acquire more Ellis Ruley pieces, to display them, to interpret them, and to ultimately make Slater Museum the definitive home (for people) to come here and see these pieces, to be inspired by them, to be inspired by his story.

The Slater currently owns five paintings by Ruley, one of which is a recent acquisition. The works had been part of the Connecticut Artists of the 20th Century section but now have their own space.

Among the other items on display here: a photo of Ruley exhibiting his art in front of the Slater Museum in the early 1950s.

Smaller rotating exhibitions

The Slaters expansive downstairs Converse Gallery will still host rotating exhibitions, but Rugh wanted a space for smaller or medium-sized temporary shows. The first one in this area on the mezzanine is a 50th-anniversary retrospective of the work of Lynn Curlee. Curlee, who has lived in Norwich for several years, was a professional author and illustrator, and many pieces in the exhibition are illustrations featured in his books. He has written a number of childrens books that connect to mythology and ships.

Norwich made

One mezzanine room is still devoted to Norwich Made, but it is laid out a little differently than before and incorporates some new items to the collection. The section, which focuses on the material culture of Norwich, from the start of the 1600s to the 1800s, boasts a range of items made in the Rose City, from tall case clocks to furniture to the newest addition to the collection, a bicycle from the late 1890s.

Ships built in Norwich

NFA facilities staffers Jason Barrett, left, and Eric Moss work on the Tall Ships: Building a Work of Art exhibit.

NFA facilities staffers Jason Barrett, left, and Eric Moss work on the Tall Ships: Building a Work of Art exhibit.

A space in one corner of the mezzanine focuses on the USS Confederacy, a ship that was built in Norwich during the American Revolution.

Rugh says the exhibition expands on the theme of Norwichs maritime history by telling the story of the building of the USS Confederacy.

New features include a cradle for the Confederacy ship model made by master ship modeler Lester Palifka of the Mystic Seaport Ship Modelers.

And in the interest of commemorating the visit with a photo: Visitors can take pictures in a new section where they can pose with a ships wheel.

What: Slater Memorial Museum

Where: Norwich Free Academy campus, 108 Crescent St., Norwich

Reopens to the public: Monday

Hours: Opens Monday, with hours 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon., Wed.-Fri.; Sat. hours to be added soon.

Admission: $10 for age 13 and up; $8 for seniors over 62, military and non-NFA high school or college students with ID; free for NFA students and families, NFA faculty and staff, NFA alums, and kids 12 and younger

Contact: (860) 425-5563, slatermuseum.org

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After being closed for over a year, Slater Memorial Museum reopens ... - theday.com

SARTELL (WJON News) --Sartell residents should start seeing some park improvements in the coming months.

Parks Supervisor Tony Krueger says they have another elaborate list of improvements planned for several parks this summer.

He says one of their main projects is the renovation to the disc golf course at Northside Park.

Last fall we did a lot of cleanup of the woods, to open it up to layout new holes. Now we are at the stage of laying out the new fairways and adjusting the tee and pins. Shortly we will also receive our new baskets and work on getting those installed as well.

Krueger says they hope to have the disc golf course operational by June.

The city also plans to make several improvements to a few neighborhood parks with the installation of new equipment and picnic shelters. Crews will also be buttoning up some things with the Tom Bearson Basketball courts and at Sauk River Regional Park.

Krueger saysanother big project scheduled this summer is theinstallation of the new inclusive playground at Lions Park.

We are going to wait to start any work at that park until we get the new playset. Then we will remove the old one, do the site prep, install the flooring andput the new playground equipmentin. Once we are ready it could be a three to four week installation.

Krueger says they are tentatively scheduled to begin work on the inclusive playground sometime in August.

As for the current playground set at Lions Park, Krueger says they will be moving that equipment to the community center to provide another amenity for users of that facility.

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Several Big Park Improvements Scheduled This Summer in Sartell - WJON News

HomeFrontService Company Also Long in Business of Sales and Repair

By Maria Scandale | on April 14, 2023

(Photo by Maria Scandale)

Waves are spectacular on the beach, not as a line of bulging carpet in the middle of a living room. Eds Carpet Re-Stretching/Mico Carpet deftly grasps the unsightly problem and returns the floor to a normal appearance.

Bulges developing in carpet are not rare in, for instance, two-piece modular homes.

When the homes come in, they put the two pieces together with seaming tape, said contractor Ed Mico of Eds Carpet Re-Stretching/Mico Carpet. If a bulge develops, sometimes a few years after an installation, his business can help. The carpet can be stretched in a proper direction and manner to secure a flat surface.

Another cause of carpet irregularity occurs if a home is not level. The carpet in that case, too, is addressed by Eds Carpet Re-Stretching.

Mico has been in business for 62 years, starting in Marlboro in 1971 and moving to Jackson 12 years ago. He has family in the Barnegat area and has done a lot of work on Long Beach Island.

Mico Carpet has been known for sales and installation of carpet and flooring for decades. The company also handles repair work to damaged wood floors and to vinyl flooring, and replaces floor boards where needed.

To prepare, customers clear the space, but do not have to try to move the heaviest furniture. Youve got to move the small stuff; we move the big stuff.

His company has had the same phone number since 1971: 732-591-9168. Call for more information on a specific issue.

Although scaled back in recent years, Mico Carpet has also done work for an extensive list of commercial clients. Naming a few, Mico listed Dupont in Sayreville, Hermans Sporting Goods and The Gap, as well as nine churches, numerous firehouses and first aid stations, and homes in the Holmdel and Colts Neck area along with those in Southern Ocean County. M.S.

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When Carpet Imitates Yoga, Restretching Is in Order - The SandPaper

WASHINGTON The Murphy house in Washington is well over a century old, a fact one might never guess at a glance thanks to a litany of renovations the familys made since moving in around 2008.

As of now, the homes list of renovations include a side room division, the installation of a porch, three bedroom remodels, two bathroom modernizations, a new patio and, most recently, a kitchen overhaul that tore out a wall and installed new pecan hardwood flooring, finished just in time for Thanksgiving.

Timmins Construction LLC handled many of those changes. Co-owner Bruce Timmins said a house of that age made the process labor-intensive.

Its more challenging because you never know what were going to run into, he said. We always find something that was built wrong or that we have to repair while were doing it youve got to kind of like doing it because its not like new construction, its not quick and clean.

Still, Timmins said it was rewarding to work on the home.

We really appreciated the Murphys letting us make the renovations to their house that we did, he said. Its taking something thats old and kind of worn out, and rather than just taking it down, throwing it away, we can revitalize it.

The Murphy family, for their part, said they were happy with the changes as well.

Despite the replacement and remaking of so many parts, Brian Murphy said it still felt like home.

Weve made it ours, we put our touch on it, he said. Its still that home that we liked originally, and wanted to live in. Weve just now customized it to what fits our family Weve raised our kids here, weve done homecomings here, weve done how many thanksgivings, how many birthdays.

Some fundamental pieces remain from the original house, including a fireplace, much of the trim, and some bookshelves built into the wall.

Murphy said he had no plans to cease improvement efforts either, updating and upgrading the house one step at a time. Some items left on the list include a new fence, remodeling the remaining bedrooms, stair improvements and floorboard replacements.

The drive for changes is not born from distaste for the current house. Murphy said he was quite happy with its current state, in fact, but that improvements were always on the radar.

I want to be proud of what we have, and make it something I didnt as a child, he said. And I want my kids to have something they can be happy and be proud of. And I think keeping things looking nice is just something we should be responsible for, as citizens of our community.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com

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Washington houses renovations make it a home - Southeast Iowa Union

Update on Stegeman Coliseum from the University of Georgia and UGA Athletic AssociationExtensive structural reviews of the ceiling of the University of Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum have now been completed by several leading engineering firms, and a plan and timeline have been established for repairs of the facility.

The best news for student-athletes and spectators is that the repairs can be completed in time for the upcoming 2023-24 Georgia men's and women's basketball seasons to be played in the coliseum. UGA's gymnastics team will also compete in Stegeman for the 2024 season.

Only the Georgia volleyball team, whose season begins sooner, will have to relocate temporarily. Volleyball will compete in the Ramsey Arena of the Ramsey Center, its previous home from 1995 to 2017.

The most recent engineering report by Walter P. Moore and Associates, Inc.a peer review of work previously done by Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (WJE)affirms the structural integrity of Stegeman Coliseum. It agrees with WJE that thermal movementthe daily expansion and contraction of building materials that all buildings undergoand misalignment and tight precast joints from the original construction of the facility in 1964 are the primary contributors to recent incidents of concrete spalling (chipping).

Stegeman Coliseum has been closed since March 2, 2023, when a small piece of ceiling material was found on the floor. With safety being the top priority, the University of Georgia and the Athletic Association closed the facility immediately.

Over the last few weeks, crews have installed scaffolding throughout the facility to expedite work once the plan for repair was validated. Crews will now work to saw-cut relief joints at the precast corners of the roof and install a protective mesh to keep future spalling from reaching the coliseum floor.

In addition, a separate, "global" analysis of the roof, to include the structural impact of the north and south end curtain walls added in 2010 as well as the large, central scoreboard added in 2017, is now underway. This further review, to be completed over the summer, will determine whether these factors are also contributing to spalling.

"We are pleased with the solution that has been identified by these structural engineering firms, who are leaders in the coliseum industry," said Josh Brooks, J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics. "We are going to be able to reopen Stegeman Coliseum safely for our teams and fans this fall, and over the summer, we will begin the planning process for further ways to modernize the facility and substantially enhance the fan and student-athlete experience. I think folks are really going to be excited about all that we have in store."

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University of Georgia Athletics - Georgia Bulldogs

NEW YORK -- A toddler was rushed to the hospital after falling out of a sixth-story window in Manhattan on Sunday morning.

Police say a 3-year-old girl is fighting for her life after plunging from the building in Chelsea just before 11:30 a.m.

Crime scene tape went up quickly.

"That is horrible, a 3-year-old. It's sad. It's really sad," building resident Alexa Cruz said.

CBS2 also spoke to a man who said at first he noticed an object.

"I saw something falling. The minute I heard the thump when she hit the ground, I heard someone screaming and that's when I knew something had gone wrong and it was a person," the man said.

Chaos erupted as those outside realized that person was a little girl who fell six floors down.

"When I approached I noticed the victim was unconsciousness. She didn't seem she hit anything, any concrete or gate, or any pieces around. She landed straight on the grass," the man said.

NYCHA said window guards were installed in the apartment when the family moved in in January of this year, and according to the agency's records the window guards were present when work -- unrelated to the window -- was done a week ago. So now some are asking how the little girl managed to fall out.

"I think NYCHA should require more inspections on window guards because some of these windows don't have guards," Cruz said.

CBS2 did not see a guard on the window. NYCHA released the following statement:

"This is an active NYPD investigation. NYCHA is also conducting an internal investigation of this unfortunate incident and will work with the family to ensure they are connected to the services they need. Based on an immediate review of our records, window guards were installed on all windows when the family moved into the apartment in January 2023. Less than one week ago, on Wednesday, April 12, property management staff entered the apartment to complete repairs unrelated to window guards, and performed a NYCHA 5 Alive inspection, which includes an inspection for window guards. Our records indicate that window guards were present on all windows throughout the apartment at that time. There are no open repair work orders on record for the windows, window guards, or air conditioners at the residence."

As for the little girl, she was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where she is recovering. She's in critical-but-stable condition.

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NYPD: 3-year-old girl falls from 6th floor window in Manhattan - CBS News

On View

The four power dealers have unveiled a single flagship home in an Upper East Side Beaux Arts-style townhouse.

LGDR, the powerhouse gallery jointly formed by dealers Dominique Lvy, Brett Gorvy, Amalia Dayan, and Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn in late 2021, has thrown open the doors of a stunning new flagship gallery on East 64th street.

The sprawling six-floor Beaux-Arts-style townhouse was built in the early 1930s and in addition to being one of the oldest gallery buildings in New York, was also the longtime headquarters of the Wildenstein art dealing dynasty.

The inaugural show, Rear View, is sure to make a splash. It includes dozens of artworks spanning two floors by a dynamic mix of blue-chip artists ranging from established masters such as Rene Magritte and Francis Bacon, to later stars such as Eric Fischl, Barkley Hendricks, and Yoko Ono, to contemporary stars including Urs Fischer, Jenna Gribbon, Jenny Saville, and Issy Wood. All of the works explore representation of the human figure as seen from behind, including no shortage of depictions of buttocks.

Installation view of Rear View at LGDR with work by Jenny Saville Juncture (1994) (top) and Domenico Gnoli Back View (1968) (bottom). Photo: Jason Schmidt. Courtesy LGDR.

Author Dieter Roelstraete, who wrote an essay about the show for an accompanying zine, opened his remarks at the preview on April 17 by acknowledging the often humorous nature of the exhibition. And in his essay, he wrote: Backs and behinds: it is cause for some mirth that leafing through the checklist for Rear View made me realize that in all my long years of looking at and thinking about [Caspar David] Friedrichs Rckenfiguren, I had never seriously considered these pictures of people seen from the back to be pictures of backsides as well.

Another author, Alison Gingeras, also contributed an essay appropriately titled Bad Asses. It swings from an in-depth look at Felix Vallotons seminal tude de fesses (c. 1884), chosen as the feature image for the show, to butt-related jokes made by Chris Rock (Show your ass! he urged anyone seeking attention) in his recent stand-up comedy Netflix show, to Kim Kardashians famous moneymaker.

Installation view of Rear View at LGDR, with Urs Fischer, Divine Interventions (2023). Photo: Jason Schmidt. Courtesy LGDR.

The show also features a so-called pendant presentation in a single room, titled Full Frontal that features more explicit front-facing works by artists including Miriam Cahn, Gribbon, and Hendricks. As the idiom of the title suggests, debates around moral propriety and censorship in art and popular culture often ascribe a confrontational value to front-facing nudes, according to a statement accompanying the show.

All four founding partners were on hand to inaugurate the show, with Lvy seeming to address many of mission questions that have swirled around the partnership since it was first announced in late 2021.

Noting that they have been flooded with questions and rumors on what the partnership is about, she said they were previously a bit homeless, running separate gallery spaces including Lvy Gorvys former home at 909 Madison. Theres also the massive uptown space overhauled by Rohatyn for Salon 94 Design and opened in spring 2021, which just debuted LGDRs much-buzzed-about show of Marilyn Minters work.

Ren Magritte, Sans famille (1958). Photo by Andreas Zimmermann. Image courtesy of LGDR.

Lvy said it was important to the four of them to create a home and further to choose a space that has history, as the 64th Street building does, noting that it was originally built as a gallery in 1932. Moving forward, following the Minter exhibition, all LGDR projects will be hosted at this new space, while Rohatyn will run her separate projects at Salon 94 Design.

Of the new exhibition, Lvy said it reflects the togetherness of what we can do when we want to, adding that exhibition-making is their passion. In terms of deciding on which works to include, she said, its not about liking or not liking. Its a conversation about what does it stir in terms of emotion and critical thinking.

Installation view of Rear View at LGDR. Aristide Malliol, Flore drape (avec guirlande de fleurs) (1911) and Fernando Botero The Bathroom (1989). Photo Jason Schmidt. Courtesy LGDR.

In addition to exhibition-making, she also re-emphasized some of the initial activities that LGDR had highlighted around the time of its formation, including offering strategic services to collectors, artists, institutions, philanthropic organizations, and private companies, including family offices.

Rear View is on view at LGDR, 19 East 64th Street, New York, through June 1.

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LGDR Inaugurates Its Stunning New Headquarters With Rear View, a Cheeky Show FeaturingYou Guessed ItLots of Derrires - artnet News

If we've learned anything from the last few years of adapting to and living with disruption on a global scale, it's the importance of flexibility. That means welcoming new ideas when it comes to how we parent, how we educate our children, how we design our homes, how we dress and shop, and of course, how we work. If nothing else, the pandemic taught us that some of us could indeed ditch the commute (and the associated carbon emissions) to work just as productively from home.

This emerging hybrid work model has inspired many designers to come up with intriguing home office ideaslike this prefabricated work pod made out of wood or this futuristic home office alternative. Most are relatively compact, but they still take up precious space in your backyard. So what to do if you want to install a prefab home office but only have a limited amount of space?

That's where the even more compact IWI might come in. Created by Ecuadorian architects Juan Ruiz and Amelia Tapia, the IWI is a patented, multipurpose unit that can actually unfold to provide extra space when needed and then easily refold back into a smaller footprint when it's no longer in use.

JAG Studio

Constructed with CNC-milled wood, metal struts, and sturdy canvas fabric, the IWI consists of two modules. The thickness of the modules is enough to hold shelving, a kitchenette, and a number of flat-pack furnishings, including a nesting table, chairs, and floor panels. It's all closed off with glass doors, which allow for plenty of natural light to penetrate into the space.

JAG Studio

As one can see here, when the modules are pulled apart, the unit faintly resembles a giant accordion measuring 96 square feet (9 square meters) when it's fully deployed.

JAG Studio

As the designers explain, the IWI is a blank slate where any number of activities could take place:

Inside, all the furniture and amenities have been compressed into the rear module, freeing up the rest of the space for whatever one might be doing at the moment.

JAG Studio

The shelves have been configured to fit a variety of items, including office-sized appliances like a printer.

JAG Studio

We like how even the chairs and table have been designed to fit into the shelves, so that they can be tucked away out of sight if even more space is needed. The wooden components of the IWI were fabricated using a CNC (computer numerical controlled) milling machine because the technology helps to increase accuracy, reduces material wastage, and promotes the IWI's "universality, mass production, and easy assembly and disassembly."

JAG Studio

The kitchenette has a reconfigurable peg board for hanging items within easy reach. The floor is also smartly designed, as it can hinge up to make it smaller for storing away.

We can see the nesting table in action here: when more workspace is needed, all one has to do is to pull out the other section to create more table surface.

JAG Studio

Even with the doors closed, there is still plenty of light coming in, and the glass allows for a great view for this original IWI that has been placed on a rooftop somewhere in the city of Quito.

JAG Studio

From above, we can imagine how much space the IWI can save when it's fully retracted.

JAG Studio

The architects say that the IWI comes with electrical and plumbing hookups, though it can also be used in an off-grid installation.

The pieces are prefabricated within the space of two weeks. The IWI is then shipped to the site, and can be assembled in two days. With a price tag of $7,950 the IWI is one of the cheaper prefab multipurpose units we've seen thus far, and you can find out more or order it here.

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The IWI Is a Multipurpose Pod That Unfolds Like an Accordion - Treehugger

Following a public outcry, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles has temporarily halted reductions in prison sentences for violent criminals.

The board halted the commutations after embattled chairman Carleton J. Giles of Milford was ousted by Gov. Ned Lamont and replaced by a new chairwoman,Jennifer Zaccagnini.

Giles and two other board members had sparked a public outcry when 71 prisoners had their sentences reduced last year, including 44 convicted of murder.

The issue came to a head recently when Lamont allowed Giles to remain on the board, and the state Senate approved him for a new, four-year term by a 21-14 vote with two Democrats breaking with their party and voting against Giles.

On Thursday, Republicans hailed the halt in commutations.

This is a positive step, said Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly of Stratford. The people deserve a government that works for them a government that makes sure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is protected.

They deserve accountability. It took press conferences for us to get the word out that in this situation, the people of Connecticuts voices were not being heard., he said.

Kelly described Giles as an unelected bureaucrat who made the moves without the knowledge of many legislators. Democrats, however, said that Giles had been operating under state law because the legislature had granted authority to the parole board to set its own rules and regulations.

Amidst the controversy, Lamont intervened to install the new chairwoman and called for a bipartisan meeting with all sides to discuss the next steps because he lacks the power to make unilateral changes under the law.

That meeting was held Wednesday with Republican and Democratic leaders of the judiciary committee, along with representatives of corrections, victims services, parole board and governors staff, among others.

Lamonts chief spokesman, Adam Joseph, said the meeting was the start of a collaborative process in which the leadership of the board committed itself to working with leadership of the legislatures Judiciary Committee to consider revisions to its policies, including input from all stakeholders.

State Sen. Heather Somers, a Groton Republican who has been outspoken on the issue, said, We continue to push for an open and transparent process where every victim, lawmaker, prosecutor and defense attorney has input on how this commutations policy should be revised. We need to decide collectively what that policy is what is fair, what is just, and what is right.

On the Senate floor recently, Democrats defended Giles as they voted in favor of him remaining on the board.

Majority leader Bob Duff, a Norwalk Democrat, said, I believe that Carleton Giles is a good man with a good heart. He added that the parole board is not a rubber stamp.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, a New Haven Democrat who is the highest-ranking senator, said there has been a rethinking, a reexamination of sentencing in recent years as some prisoners received long sentences in the 1990s and are still in prison now.

The issue is not over. Giles must still be approved by the state House of Representatives, which could vote as early as April 27 as both chambers of the legislature need to approve the parole board nominees.

Jessica Hill / Associated Press

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com

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Controversial commutations halted by CT parole board after outcry ... - Hartford Courant

Take a trip through the decades at Fashion Show Mall's new{}traveling art experience, which will be open throughout the month of May. (Photo: Fashion Show Las Vegas)

The first-of-its-kind traveling art experience is coming to Las Vegas and promises to bring nostalgia along with it.

Fashion Show Las Vegas is set to welcome its first traveling art experience,Selfie Studio: The Decades, startingMonday, May 1.

The installation is set to kick off the year oftraveling art installations, with the experience available for a limited time throughTuesday, May 30.

Throughout the month, mall guests will be able to enjoyeight pop-up containers filled with photo-worthy backdrops themed from recent decades. From the 50s to the future, shoppers will have the opportunity to capture photos with interactive backdrops and fun themes, including:

MORE ON NEWS 3 |Viral Snoopy t-shirt seen on Tik-Tok causing increase in blood donations

Fashion Show Mall is also slated to host a launch event onSaturday, May 6, where guests can enjoylive entertainment transporting them through the decades from noon to 4 pm while taking their perfect selfies.

The selfie studio will be located at theGreat Hall inside Fashion Mall and is free for all guests.

For more information, click here.

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First traveling art experience coming to Fashion Show Mall - News3LV