Silk

A fire damaged an artificial tree and silk plant manufacturer in the Oakland Ridge Industrial Center Friday afternoon.The 40-minute blaze, which began at 2:38 p.m. and required 40 firefighters to extinguish, apparently began near a kiln used by Botanica Limited to dry the silk plants, said Lt. Michael Gearhart, a fire and rescue spokesman.The six people inside the Red Branch Road office escaped without injury, Lieutenant Gearhart said. Nearby offices were not affected, and a damage estimate was not immediately available.

When Columbia artist Susan Levi-Goerlich sees someone studying one of her embroidered silk garden scenes, nose within an inch of the brilliantly hued threads, she knows the inevitable question will come soon enough:"You did this with a sewing machine?!"Yes, the artist creates her distinctive brand of fiber artwork with a 25-year-old Sears Kenmore sewing machine, which sits on a large, neat table in Levi-Goerlich's spacious basement studio.A graduate of George Washington University's law school, Levi-Goerlich, 40, has been working with embroidery and hand-painted silks since 1986.

It's pal time. Within one month, two of America's most illustrious living novelists have published buddy books. In April came Saul Bellow's "Ravelstein," a celebratory obituary of a brilliant scholar, based on the late Allan Bloom. It was narrated by a fictional novelist whose consciousness is often inseparable from Bellow's own. Now comes "The Human Stain" by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin, 361 pages, $26), the elegiac odyssey of a brilliant scholar who resembles Anatole Broyard, the late New York Times book critic.

Sculptors Ilan Averbuch, Jene Highstein, Ulrich Ruckriem and Wade Saunders may not be cut from the same mold, but their group show at the C. Grimaldis Gallery is still a harmonious gathering. There is a shared respect in their work for stone and wood that have been shaped without losing all sense of rough natural origins.Ulrich Ruckriem, for instance, likes to use dolomite and slate. His untitled column and floor piece are carefully crafted sculptures in which his penchant for geometrical order is expressed through sectioned blocks that leave no doubt as to who is in charge here: the sculptor, not his material.

Can't figure out what to get Dad for Father's Day? Fuggetaboutit. If he's a fan of HBO's mob drama The Sopranos, we have the gift for you. We're talking Italian silk ties here, a new line of bright brilliant neckwear in geometric patterns that pretty much sum up the world of Tony Soprano, minus the whacking. The ties, by Zanzara International, come in both a Sopranos line, with a "classy, updated traditional look," and a "Bada Bing!" line, with "bolder patterns and colors," according to a press release.

My stepsister and I are fighting once again. Together we are co-chairing a holiday gala for the foundation our father started. The theme is "elegance."When we discussed what we would wear, I told her I wanted something with color. She said this proves I know nothing about elegance, because black and elegance are synonymous.I told her I believe people wear black because it is safe, easy and slimming. I need help because I would rather go to the gala naked than look like a clone. What outfit would I choose to prove her wrong?

Bea'Marie Bradley is an operations manager for a computer company. To keep to a trim size 5, she competes in area triathlons and runs miles daily with husband, Joe. How would you describe your taste in clothing?I'm casually conservative, but I do have my moments. I love silk and bright colors. When I decide to sew it's to make something unique in fabric I won't see on anyone else.What's the newest thing in your closet?A pair of black pants and a bright purple cropped jacket I got at a red dot sale.

Scientists plan test of Antarctic lake for fizz, marine life The water in a giant submerged South Pole lake might be as fizzy as a shaken can of soda, according to recent research. Samples taken from Lake Vostok, which is beneath 2 1/2 miles of ice, revealed that the water contained high levels of dissolved oxygen and nitrogen. Because the water is so unstable, drilling through the ice might be dangerous for researchers and could contaminate the lake itself. "We need to consider the implications of the supercharged water very carefully before we enter this lake," said geologist Peter Doran, one of the researchers.

As a young woman growing up in Baltimore during the 1930s and 1940s, Rita A. Gamberdella sat in darkened movie theaters, dreaming of designing clothes for Hollywood's legendary stars.Instead, she designed haute couture bridal gowns for family and friends and turned it into a full-time business.Mrs. Gamberdella, a longtime Towson resident, died Wednesday of cancer at St. Joseph Medical Center. She was 74.After years of working in a basement sewing room at home, she and her daughter, Mary Gamberdella, opened Gamberdella Inc. in 1978.

Three cheers for old school glamour. The lush fabrics, the classic tailoring. The jewels, the makeup, the hair! When celebrities find a way to bring back old Hollywood, and make it their own, it reminds us why we love to star-gaze in the first place. On the red carpet of last week's Academy Awards, actors and actresses combined style and beauty and grace, each in his or her own way. Elegance and romance ruled the night, but there were other trends that emerged. "The mermaid hemline was very in," said celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch, "very fitted all the way down and then flared out."