Brooklyn Love Exchange and FiberGraf opening, Wednesday, 11/2/11

A big, warm thanks to all of you who came to the opening of the Brooklyn Love Exchange and FiberGraf last Wednesday evening at Muriel Guepin Gallery, 47 Bergen Street, Brooklyn. It was lovely to see and meet some of the people who generously provided stories of Brooklyn love. Here are a few photographs from the opening. 


The exhibit is on view until Sunday, November 13th, so please stop by if you haven't seen it yet.

I hope it does...Sunset Park - Prospect Heights

How we met - Sunset Park

Invisible Pact - Vinegar Hill

Some humor from Crown Heights

"We giggle together" in Carroll Gardens

A sweet story of love via the online personals...The author of the text in this piece lives in Carroll Gardens. I thank her for visiting me at the Dumbo Arts Festival and sharing this story.

Williamsburg by way of Greenpoint and Brooklyn Heights

When this couple first met, one half lived in Brooklyn Heights and the other in Greenpoint. The G train was an early insignia of their love; they dreaded that train yet traveled on it regularly to get to know each other. They moved in after only 5 months, perhaps partly because of the commute. Now, years later, they are still very happy together.

Starrett City

When I was a kid, my parents would drive to the Bronx to visit my grandparents, and also to Long Island to go shopping. We always passed by Starrett City, a small inlet above Canarsie. It felt like the end of the world, and I wondered how I was going to find a love story from this area. Lucky for me, I met a man with a Starrett City story at the Dumbo Arts Festival!

Weird love spot in Sunset Park

Much of my dating life in New York has felt like a weird love spot. From what I've heard, the Sunset Park woman who quipped this very clever quote is now in a less ambiguous spot, which I hope leads to something more promising and satisfying.

Red Hook

I love this story. Lucky for me, I met this man and his wife this past weekend at the Dumbo Arts Festival, where he shared this with me.

Brooklyn Love Exchange preview at the Dumbo Arts Festival - what a blast!

Brooklyn Heights

Years after meeting, this couple IS married.

Bushwick between earthquakes and hurricanes

Congratulations to the happy couple on their engagement.

Fulton Park

Ever notice that cute man or woman on the subway and wonder what to say or do? In this story, the man and woman started a relationship after first spotting each other on the train. The text in my embroidery is slightly excerpted and edited from the original. One of my favorite stories so far, here is the complete version of the text:

"It was an auspicious Saturday. The MTA had passengers transferring between local and express train lines because of repairs. Once in Brooklyn, I was relieved to finally be en route home. Then, the conductor played the last trick. The train was skipping a few stops, including my destination. I had to walk down a few flights of stairs to board another train. As the next train came to a stop, a striking man would notice me wearing a yellow halter dress. “Beautiful,” he thought. I took a seat in a separate car, unaware of his interest. Peering into the window, I saw the same man that had observe me a few minutes prior. At our destination, we exited onto the platform at the same time. Similar to a screenplay and cliché as it may seem, we saw each other at the same time. It’s one of those moments when other people move in a slow blur. 'I’m going to love this man,' I thought. We slowly walked up the stairs, but our distance from each other was a few feet. I would frequently turn around to meet his intense stare. He’ll later joke with friends and family about his initial thoughts of me, 'Hold on, baby… I’m coming.' Once outside, he gently tapped my shoulder to politely say, 'Excuse me…' We walked through a park to talk about life. Then, he placed a right hand to his chest to say, 'My heart… you’re different… my heart feels warm.'

One of the first dinners I made for him was Butternut Squash Ravioli with Shrimp and Ginger Sauce. I remembered this dish, because he said shrimp was a favorite. As we continue to date, he occasionally says, '…I’m enjoying the process of us coming together.' It’s been two years since that auspicious Saturday afternoon. He warms my heart, too."

Brooklyn Love map

I've been working on a love map of Brooklyn, which includes snippets of stories I've collected. Some were emailed to me and some I surmised from talking to people at various Brooklyn bars. This is just a small portion of the map. I will be unveiling it at the Dumbo Arts Festival on September 24th and 25th - check back for more event details as those dates approach!

Cobble Hill

"My man cleared a forest to get to me."


A metaphorical forest, that is.

The Brooklyn Love Exchange meets the Love Hangover

A friend from the neighborhood (Boerum Hill, that is), has been producing the Love Hangover in Brooklyn for quite some time. This paean to love is an annual musical event co-occuring in several cities. The Brooklyn installment has been in Gowanus for the past couple of years.


The text for this piece is taken from the most recent year's invitation:
The 12th annual Love Hangover
is only a week away
You still have time to fall in love
and break up
just in time to be soothed, vindicated or mocked
by your favorite musicians
singing duets of love
the happy kind, the sad kind, the mean, weird or mad kind
It's one more round around the heart
February 15th, what the day after brings.

Sheepshead Bay

A friend shared an awkward subway pick-up story with me. It sounded as though it started out dreamy and relatively innocent, and devolved into an incredibly uncomfortable exchange. In her slightly edited words:


"It was this really good looking blue eyed boy with curly hair. The Q train was running something funky. I think it was going up the N line and then back down the Q line. He sat next to me and started chatting me up, you know, the way a guy does when he's interested. he started with the weather. I gave him my number. When we got to Sheepshead Bay (my stop) he walked me off the train and gave me a hug, and had a gross raging hard on that he preceded to rub on my leg. I shoved him away and ran like hell. It was possibly the most disgusting moment of my life."

Coney Island, the place where dreams come true

"From the first, I was inspired by who he was.

We spoke about everything and it was amazing how much we had in common.

He picked me up in Coney Island for our first date. We walked down the boardwalk, road the Cyclone together, and played arcade games.

Today, we're married with two kids and we still love Coney Island, the place where dreams come true."

Prospect Heights - "It wasn't love at first sight."

He had my heart in his mouth

Several months ago, a friend and I met at a Bergen Street bar, and she told me about her first love. Her words really resonated with me; I have been that vulnerable, too, although not in quite some time. My friend currently lives in South Park Slope.


"The whole relationship, he had my heart in his mouth. I handed myself over completely."

Brooklyn is "that" girl...

"Brooklyn is that girl you can't decide if you should propose to or never speak to again."


These are the clever words of a friend who used to live in Brooklyn and now visits, staying in various people's apartments. Brooklyn at large...

So Happy, So Happy, So

I love this story. Thanks to a dear friend who emailed it to me. She now lives in New Zealand. This story began in Windsor Terrace.

Crown Heights Japanese maple tree

Carroll Gardens - the Beschert Taxi

Sunset Park-Fort Greene, "So Sleepy"

Tell Me What You Celebrate - Greenpoint-Park Slope (and the East Village)

This piece, "Tell Me What You Celebrate," starts with stand-up comedy and ends with "I run as fast as I can. You are the best for someone else."


A Greenpoint-Park Slope romance with a foray into the East Village.

Park Slope-Brooklyn Heights - Park Slope speaks

Thanks to the Park Slope-Brooklyn Heights couple for sharing their story with me about snowball fights, a blizzard, and an awkward yet promising first encounter. This is the woman's (Park Slope) memory of the night she met her boyfriend.

"Dissipated" — Ditmas - Bed Stuy

"As I was doing my laundry today, I found the nightie I wore on Christmas Eve. It still smelled like you, a mix of salty musk and sweet coconut. I inhaled until the scent dissipated."

Park Slope-Brooklyn Heights

This is the man's memory of his first date with his girlfriend. I can't wait to hear the woman's (Park Slope) side of the story!

Brooklyn, land that I love

As one of my friends so cogently put it, "Brooklyn: breaker of my heart."


As a lifelong Brooklynite who's been in and out of love, I am well versed in romance. I have been making artwork about my romantic encounters, dreams and disappointments for several years. You can check that out at my Were I So Besotted blog.


But this blog is not about me. It's about you and your stories of love in the borough of Brooklyn.  Through a new project I call "The Brooklyn Love Exchange," I am mapping romance in the borough. Collecting stories from friends and acquaintances, I will translate your words into embroideries, like the piece above. I will endeavor to put into each piece the same love, tenderness and intimacy conveyed through your stories.


The Brooklyn Love Exchange is sponsored in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs' Greater New York Arts Development Fund as administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council.