Venice Lights Up For 4/20!

Venice woke up to a new addition to the Venice Sign this morning, with two weed leaves (created by metal artist Alberto Bevacqua and his son, Ara) adorning either side, in honor of 4/20, and the end of the ridiculous marijuana prohibition that this country has endured for ages. It's pretty much 4/20 every day in Venice, but it's still nice to acknowledge the day this year, especially now that it's legal (here).

And it should be. It's medicine. Plain and simple. I remember asking a friend if they ever thought they smoked too much weed, and they said, "No. It helps me not want to kill myself and everyone around me." While that's an extreme example, some days I sure get it. A person posted on Nextdoor this morning that they were "overly offended" by the new sign's leaves, and to that I would agree. You ARE overly offended, and probably shouldn't live in Venice either. It's really no big deal, and I'd much rather have kids see that than alcohol ads. No one does anything bad on marijuana (other than perhaps overeat with munchies), and we all know all the damage that alcohol has done historically. I've also never heard of alcohol ending children having seizures. Or shrinking tumors. Or bringing comfort to chemo patients. Etc. Etc. Etc. Please.

The sign probably looks much cooler lit up at night, but I'm not going to be down there tonight, and it's to celebrate today. I was heading back when I saw these two cheery guys strolling down the street in their "Best Buds" shirts, and they were SO excited when I told them to go take their picture under the sign with matching leaves. Cute.

We used to have a croquet tournament on this day every year in memory of our dearly beloved Sponto, but now people are all over the place and it's hard to set up, but the spirit remains, and today is sunny and beautiful and Friday, and time to cut loose with some extra good vibes. So, HAPPY 4/20 to one and all, and YOOOOOOOEEEEEEE SPONTO!!! This one's for you.

V Day Love From Venice, California!

Love is literally in the air, as the Venice Sign is lit up purple and red with a big heart, created by Venice artist, Alberto Bevacqua, with assistance from his son, Ara Bevacqua, who handles the dangerous stuff. It's a popular photo op on a regular day, but the heart is causing quite a stir  - and traffic!

My friends at Fiore Designs have been creating the most beautiful floral arrangements I've ever seen for Valentine's Day, so I thought that I'd share some of the beauty with everyone ...

... my only regret is that we do not yet have scratch and sniff internet. You would swoon.

I'd say I love white roses most, and then they come out with lilacs, and I think I love them the most. Then the gardenias come out and you nearly faint with their heady aroma, so they become your favorite. But then you see the rich reds and ravishing hot pinks, and you don't have favorites anymore. They're all the best.

Love is everywhere, whether between lovers, family, pets, nature, and our various passions, but most importantly, I hope that today you find it in your own heart, for yourself (I know how hard that can be on days like this, but you're the best!). Then go BE love. That's how you win.

Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone! Love, Me

The Venice Art Crawl - Summer Edition!

The always excellent Venice Art Crawl went down last night, and it could not have been a more lovely evening for it. The still almost full moon lit up the night, the air was warm and fragrant with blossoms, and music and laughter rang out all through the town. It was an absolutely gorgeous night. In every way.

I got back to the Westside later than planned, so had a lot of ground to cover in a short time. I took off down Abbot Kinney, dodging the dining crowd visitors, and stopped in to Tumbleweed & Dandelion first. This is one of my favorite old school shops on the Boulevard, and I'm so happy that they're still there. They had kind of an ice cream social going on the front patio, and it all felt very quaint and neighborly.

It was only about 8 pm, but many of the VAC stops on AKB were already closed down. They might want to consider staying open later on VAC days ... just saying. I saw some great pieces by Sophie Kipner being loaded into her car, as Current/Elliot was shut down for the night. Same for the Little Room Portraits, and a handful of others I'd earmarked on my map. Oh, well. C.A.V.E. was wide open, and full of art enthusiasts checking out the work of Jim Darling and L7m.

There was a lot of good stuff in there, but my favorite was "Midwest Storm" by Jim Darling (I may be biased, hailing from the Heartland). I loved the idea of framing the piece with an airplane window too. Very cool.

Rolling around the corner, I saw a crowd outside of the 310 Gallery, where they were showing work by Zach Touchon. His "Geometric Abstraction" paintings were excellent, as was the cold beer.

Cold beverages were also on offer at In Heroes We Trust, where the fun, old-timey Speakeasy truck was again slinging frosty slush drinks out their window. It's always a good time over there.

Inside IHWT they were showing the wonderful work of Hagop Belian. I love his mixed media pieces, and they all have an instantly iconic vibe about them. He's one of my favorite Venice artists, for sure. (A whole bunch of the dresses for sale were highly covetable and artistic too!)

With time a-ticking, I raced back down AKB to see what was happening at Ecole Claire Fontaine. The garden of the darling pre-school was transformed into a twinkling hideaway, filled with art, music, and children enjoying all of the above. Here I especially enjoyed the work of Jen Lavita, full of ocean landscapes and mermaids.

On to the multi-artist venue at Venice Metal Worx. Alberto Bevacqua, Jon Grauman, MB Boissonnault, and Kate Wolfgang Savage all showed work from photography to metal work in their new venue (most having been relocated from the studios over on Sunset and Vernon (due to rent jackups).

It's a great, cavernous space, with the feeling of an auto garage inside ... albeit a beautiful and artistic garage. I loved a metal piece that listed all the coolest bands A-Z, and would highly suggest you mark this stop on the VAC's next installment. Really cool and diverse stuff.

Though I had friends waiting on me over on Windward, I made a quick detour to Park Place, and I'm SO glad I did. The walk street was full of art revelers, and acoustic tunes from Christopher Hawley lured you down the sidewalk.

The whole block seemed to be participating, with one front yard after the next full of friends enjoying the night. It felt like a lovely, eccentric fairytale of a community, and each stop was hosted by warm and welcoming Venetians (Nice to meet you, Daffodil!). Dustin Otterbach showed his metal pieces (and his airplane capsule parked on Speedway), Jill Kraft showed her photographs, and art was everywhere.

I stopped to look at a cool Jimi painting (who did this?!), and noticed a stack of flyers for Venice legend Maureen Cotter's upcoming August one woman show at Beyond Baroque (August 20th!). I've known Mo for almost 20 years now, but had not yet been to her (newish) Park Place pad, so it was a completely pleasant surprise to find a house full of dear, longtime friends. We shot the breeze and shared tight, true hugs before I had to hightail it off to Windward.

I really wanted to make it to the Old Glory Barber Shop in time to see the photography of Josh "Bagel" Klassman, and was nervous that they too might have already shut down, as I'd spent a good chunk of my time currency on Park Place. I need not have worried, as when I rounded the circle of Windward, I was met with a bumping PARTY inside and out.

All the Venice O.G.'s were there celebrating their friend's work that captured what was billed as "Remembering The Good Years", featuring awesome shots of golden years of skating, surfing, and friendship here in Venice. One photo was better than the next, and all were highly covetable for any true Venice collection to be complete.

At this point I gave up on trying to see everything on the Crawl (and most weren't happening by this time anyway), so we just got down and hung with the Old Glory Crew (which was better than fine by me). We wound up the night enjoying amazing pizza and some byob wine at Venice Cucina in the Circle, under the starry skies of another wonderful night in Venice.

Thanks and Congratulations to the VAC, all the artists, and our entire Community for putting this on, and for being there for each other. It's something special. See you in September for the Fall Crawl!

*And on a personal note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY today to my wonderful, beloved Mom, Marilyn Gronner!

I

The October Venice ArtBlock - Artists In Their Natural Habitat

I dig the Venice ArtBlock. It's free. It's for everyone. It's what Venice is all about. The October session was Sunday, another perfectly Indian Summer day, exactly made for strolling about town and snooping around the studios where our local artists work, and in some cases, live.

For this edition, I sadly had very little time, as I was all over the place last weekend, so I had to have a solid game plan. As it's always hard to see everything, no matter how leisurely your day is, I tried to hit up things I didn't see the last time around.

I began with a visit to my dear friend Amy Kaps over on Electric Avenue. She is a true artist, both in her projects and by how she lives her life. Her mission statement of sorts reads, "An interdisciplinary artist with a predilection for the abstract and surrealistic emphasizing the human form and condition."

That's right. She recently did a performance art piece where she was bound up in neon green streamer-like fabric that unraveled as she traversed Chung King Road in Chinatown, where she wound up back at the gallery nude. Kaps has courage.

She has a whole black and white stripe piece that she does, and has also created some gorgeous art clothing that you would love to wear, but they're just so precious they have to be hung on display. We had a lovely time (another day of sipping champagne!) chatting and just discussing art. What a treat.

Onward to the Lantern House on Milwood, owned by another dear, Scott Mayer.

His gorgeous home is famous for all the lanterns hung in his trees, but it's even cooler to enter the gardens and bungalows that make up his compound, with all the millions of beautiful and interesting things to look at.

Mayer has a lot of his own art and collections of curios to look at, but on this Sunday he also hosted the artists Aurelia Dumont, Leonardo Ibanez and Jens Lucking.

All were displayed in and around Mayer's house and gardens, and you really almost couldn't handle how great it all was.

On we went up California, where we stopped in to see and meet Emily Van Horn and Mardi De Veuve (another day of Veuve!) Alexis in her great, airy studio. The art was excellent, and they also served some delicious cucumbery spa water that was most welcome by that stage of the bike ride (thank you!).

As my clock was ticking, I sped over to the nucleus of the ArtBlock over on Vernon and Sunset Avenues. I've been to those studios many times, but there's always something new, and always good friends and great art to see.

I checked out the music at Attaway's studio, where it's always the most fun during Art Block.

They had a grill going right out on the sidewalk, giving it all that neighborhood bbq feeling, and there was art everywhere you looked.

I walked through the mobile Gypsy Trails Gallery, whose concept I love, and they always have cool works on display, this time by Hayley Colston.

I stopped in at the Alberto and Ara Bevacqua studio, where I also got to see our friend, Ellwood Risk, showing off his extra-cool pieces. He even gave me a poster, that I love.

I ran through The Distillery Building on Vernon and saw some great stuff ...

... especially from MB Boissonnault, Rachel Bujalski, Taylor Barnes, Cari Lee and the always awesome to visit studio of Jim Budman, but was in such a mad rush that I didn't really get to get to know it or discuss it with anyone ... as we were about to go make some art of our own!

That's again, what it's all about. Thank goodness we live in such a supportive artistic community, where inspiration and encouragement is yours every single day.

You merely have to open your eyes. The opening of your heart and mind will soon follow. Go!

The Venice Artblock - Excellent and Free!

The very first Venice Artblock was held on Sunday, and it was fantastic. And FREE! After many of our local artists were denied participation in the official Venice Art Walk this past Spring, they took it upon themselves to create - in a very Venice-spirited way, a little anarchist, take the power back style - their own event, free and open to the public, without any lines, wrist bands, or corporate headquarters ... just art, art and more art! In these times, that's both highly commendable, and historical.

It was done just as legit (if not more) as the Art Walk, with a great map, balloons and signs to signify where the stops were, and even a shuttle to get you around if you forgot your bike (always the best way to cover the most ground at these type of events). It was very spread out, from the beach to almost Lincoln, and from Venice Blvd. to Rose. The area around Vernon and Sunset was kind of the hub, with the most concentrated number of studios to hit.

It's so great to go around, and get to see inside the studios of artists that you may just know socially, or have heard of, and then get to peek inside their work space and understand how they operate. What a treat to have them share so much of not just their art, but themselves.

It was a party atmosphere at the studio of William Attaway, with Argentinian barbeque being grilled up, and music thumping. Attaway has a new series of paintings going that feel very bright and tropical, and it's always fun to see his sculptural works in progress.



Alberto Bevacqua's photographs are always haunting and provocative, and stood in stark contrast to the wooden circus animals of Pamela Weir-Quiton down the street. There is certainly something for everyone to admire in Venice.

Gary Palmer had his studio open and shared some stories about his recent excursion to participate in a big sidewalk chalk drawing event in Atlantic City. If you saw his Abbot Kinney in chalk at the Street Fair, you know Palmer is a master of this craft. His oil paintings are collected all over the world, and it's cool to see where it all begins. Very cool.

I always love to see what they have going on at the Curio Studio, one of my favorites in town.  

361 Vernon, where Palmer's studio is, also had a whole slew of studios open, from video installations to ceramics and everything in between. There is so much going on all the time, that you don't have any idea about, which may explain why so many people feel that Venice truly IS a creative vortex.

With SO much going on, it was difficult to hit all the points on the map, especially when you get held up chatting and catching up with other art lovers enjoying such a remarkable day. I stopped by to see what performance artist  and awesome lady Amy Kaps had going on, and she showed off her works while performing hostess duties all decked out in black, white and hot pink. She is a Venice treasure, for sure.

Across the street on Electric, Rohitash Rao was showing his paintings done mostly on garbage. Faces and phrases painted on empty coffee cups or other flotsam, all comic with an edge. Good stuff, good hang too.

I got a late start so it was already almost 5 (closing time) when I got over to SPARC. The talented and erudite Kay Brown showed some of us how her gorgeous wood block printing, and how the printing process is done. Her floral print reminded me of Attaway's flowers at the first stop. Full Circle.

SPARC always has wonderful things to look at, and the murals surrounded by the old bars of the town jail that the building once was lend even more power to the images you're seeing. SPARC is a hallowed institution and if you live in or care about Venice, it really warrants your time to explore and know about.

Every person I ran into along the way raved about how excellent this event was, and how wonderful that it was free and open to absolutely anyone, not just those who can cough up the steep admission price of the official Art Walk. It somehow felt more REAL too ... like art for art's sake, not necessarily profit, though work was being sold, and perhaps as importantly, being seen, learned and known about. The community was out in force, great conversations were being had, and every artist I encountered was beaming with the success of the day ... and the FUN!

Artblock was in fact SO cool, that I have to imagine they're already plotting the next one. And you should be there. It's the REAL deal. Thank you to all the artists involved, for inviting us all into your creative spaces, and for being there in the first place. Venice needs you!!! Sincerely, Thanks.