Save Windward Farms, Celebrate Hama Sushi!

Hi there. I MISS you all. Life has been nuts, and really hard, battling to keep my mother in good care in Minnesota. I meant to post this on Monday, but in all the mayhem going on in my life, it's happening today.... have a great and safe weekend, please!


It's even harder to be away from Venice when so many of our favorite haunts are disappearing. Canal Club closed while I've been away, Surfside closed, Kifune closing, Baja Cantina closing ... but the heaviest hammer so far was the news that our neighborhood grocer would be closing ... Windward Farms had their rent increased 120%, making it impossible to stay open and be able to charge their customers their always reasonable prices on their great food.

Then, to rub salt in the very deep community wound, it was announced that Great White would be taking over the space, and they let everyone know with an open letter that was right up there with the audacity of Adidas' absurd claim that they were "Defining Venice". Great White thought that they created the vibrancy to the corner of Windward & Pacific, and they had caused locals to return to the area. What?! Uh, no. Hecho En Venice creator, Oscar Galan, had his first surf shop right where Great White now is, and I promise you that you don't get any more local than that.

Windward Farms has ALWAYS been for locals, and you knew you would always run into someone you knew while you were stopping in for some basics, or for an excellent smoothie, quesadilla, or chicken salad (my jams). You could zip in to grab a bottle of wine to enjoy with your meal up the street at Venice Cucina. You could go get that quart of milk or thing of flour you forgot for your recipe already underway at home (me more than once).

It was a true neighborhood institution, and everyone that came out to show their love and support for Windward Farms when they heard the news was right. Greed IS ruining Venice.

The outpouring of love - and total outrage - means that there has been a reprieve given, and Windward Farms is still open for business as of now. They are apparently renegotiating the lease, and obviously everyone hopes for the best. Especially me, who does not want to have missed out on one more smoothie! Venice needs Windward Farms, and that's that.

On a happier note (but sad for me), I also missed the 40th Anniversary party of Hama Sushi! FORTY YEARS of sushi in Venice, there in the Windward Circle in the shadow of the Venice sign, that was lit up in Hama colors for the occasion!

There was a block party with live music and cool cars and all the Venice friends and customers mingling over sushi and sake happily - realizing there are still some local institutions that are thriving and not going anywhere. Thank God.

Congratulations and love to Windward Farms for still being open, and for getting to know how very beloved you are! Congratulations to Hama Sushi, Esther Chaing, and all of the staff for the wonderful milestone of your 40th year in Venice!

WE LOVE YOU BOTH!!!! And I sure do miss you.

*Windward Farms photos by Ray Rae/Venice Beach Photos

*Hama photo one from John Vester, two from Todd Van Hoffman

The May Venice Art Crawl - Shredtastic!

The Spring (and Norwegian National Day! - I care) edition of the Venice Art Crawl was held last night, and was as excellent of an evening as it always is. I'm working on a show that gave me a late start to crawling, but I put on my race-walking shoes and got to see as much art as I possibly could. This time around the VAC was focused on our "Cultural Corridor", as I like to call it, of Venice Boulevard. I started at Beyond Baroque, but it looked like an AA meeting was happening (as it has been on VAC nights before), so I kept on trucking to the Venice Library to get a map. It was there that I found out it WAS a stop on the Crawl, and not an AA meeting at all. Oops. Well, good turnout, Beyond Baroque, I'm sorry I missed it!

The library art part was over by the time I got there, but I understand little kids were painting outside. Dang it, that would have been adorable.  Friends were texting that they were over at Hama Sushi, enjoying sake and the fantastic Venice photographs from Todd Van Hoffman.

It was jam packed inside Hama (sorry, waiters!), so the shindig soon expanded to outside, where The Jewpanese Brothers (Masao Miyashiro and Jeremy Parker) were ripping it up outside under the portable Venice sign that accompanies our various event parades. People were singing and dancing in the street in Windward Circle - exactly as they should be.

My friends wanted me to sit and have some sushi and sake, but I protested, as there was still so much ground to cover and art to see. A man sitting there said, "You're putting a lot of pressure on yourself. Part of the Art Crawl is to see your friends and neighbors and enjoy yourself. It's ok if you don't see everything." That was nice of him ... and I should have listened, because I ended the night starving with no kitchens still open - but I DID get to see a whole lot of art.

The next stop was Surfside, where we were going to see the excellent photos from Ray Rae Goldman, but we got there and were told that he had cancelled due to an injury (hope you're ok, Ray!). There WAS, however, more super cool AR stuff from Cody Nowak and the app ReBlink, who had impressed us at the last Crawl. This time out, he truly blew minds. Classic style paintings hung on the wall, but when viewed through the Ipad (or the app on your phone), they came to life in striking and spectacular fashion. Like, WOW. Suzy Williams had never seen any AR, and I think her face below sums it up.

There were also paintings by Deborah Medina at Surfside that greeted you as you walked in, and that's what I love about the Crawl. So many Venice businesses open up to include art and art lovers, recognizing that ART is a major reason why Venice ever became Venice. They know that over at Small World Books (best book store on the West Side!), where they had the work of Alex Crist AND free guacamole! Win win.

Next door at The Sidewalk Café they were showing the watercolors of Elizabeth Covington and the photos of Dan Kacvinski, with live Japanese classical guitar music on the patio from Ashun that was simply lovely.

With no time to waste and the clock ticking, we sped down Speedway to North Venice Boulevard, where a collective of 10 women were showing their art and jewelry in an apartment so packed with friends and neighbors we could barely squeeze inside, even though there was wine. Leila Jean Levi, Michele Pelletier, Aly Farrow Wilkins, Mildred Rivera, Karen Gladstone, Joanne Silver, Susan Ryza, and Sage Ryza all showed their cool stuff, making friends and sales along the way. We could have stayed and chatted the rest of the night, but, again, time was of the essence.

Moving right along, we hit up James Beach to see work from Lori Petty, but were told that one was also cancelled. Ok, off to Canal Club across the street. Patrick Marston was showing his Venice inspired art in the front of the restaurant ...

... And Todd Goodman was showing his Venice inspired art in the back room. I pretty much wanted every piece, and was happy to see that Goodman was selling his colorful, beachy prints left and right (and I was happy they were prints, because otherwise he'd priced them far too low - get one!). From the pier to the sunsets, Venice is beautifully represented in his work (which was also the poster for this Crawl).

The most fun part of the Crawl is always running into the locals that you know and love. This happened non-stop last night, which was so heart-filling, but also slowed down the racing a bit ... maybe a good thing? A whole crew of us formed and headed over to Sunny Bak's pad, where there was a "Broken Heart Repair Shop" set up.

A nurse (Candy Frost) sat at a little table and listened intently to the lovelorn people lucky enough to snag a time slot, and offered prescriptions for their heart's recovery. Though deeply needed, I was not among those to get an appointment, and the guy that had just finished his own diagnosis had his lips sealed (though with a look of serenity on his face), so I can't really report as to what really went down. And my heart still needs fixing ... but I digress.

Onward! An evening stroll back up Venice Boulevard led us to the Wallspace pop-up happening in the yard at Sea You Are Free space on the corner of Venice and Abbot Kinney. It's always a good time there on the corner, and last night was no different. Wallspace represents several artists, and there were about 10 different ones showing there last night. I think my favorite of the bunch were the street signs repurposed with cooler words from Scott Froschauer ...with more uplifting messages than the typical "Stop" and "Yield" and "No Parking".

Once we realized there was only ten minutes left in most of the VAC stops, we sat down on a bench in the yard and finally took a breather. My friend's son, Declan, was with us much of the Crawl, and after spending the whole evening looking at art and meeting up with O.G. Venice folks, he said, "I'm so happy we live in Venice." This kid was born and raised here, so that made it even more special. He doesn't take if for granted, and every day feels fortunate to be brought up in such an original place that cares about our art and our community. I feel exactly the same way every day, but it's nice to hear it from a kid.

Now starving, we set out to find food only to find that almost every place on Abbot Kinney now closes their dang kitchens at 10:00 p.m. That is lame. Drinks were no problem (and there was even art at The Brig and Wabi Sabi, by Nicole Hoffman and Debbie Zeitman, respectively), but that's never a good idea on a completely empty stomach.

We did an entire lap around Venice - for real - and found that now back on Pacific,  even Mao's was closed! Where is an Art Crawler supposed to eat AND see all the art?! A real conundrum ... with the answer ending up being In and Out. Sigh. No real matter ... it was another fantastic event that we are lucky to have going down in our town. And now the annual Art WALK is this Sunday, so it truly is almost an embarrassment of artistic riches down here. Come see, won't you?

Hooray for the V.A.C.!!

The March Venice Art Crawl - Celebrating Art And Women

The March edition of the Venice Art Crawl was held last night, and people were out in force, despite the blustery chill (for Venice). My Mom had just arrived to town, so got to experience her first V.A.C., and as this time around it was all concentrated in one area - Windward - it made it that much easier for us to get around. We got to chatting though, and thus, got a late crawl start and had to hustle just as much as usual. But it was worth it, as usual.

The Westside Wisemen were playing live music on the sidewalk in front of Hama Sushi, welcoming us to the proceedings from blocks away, and adding to the festive vibe in the streets. I think my favorite piece of the night was also on the sidewalk in front of Hama, this great beachy work by Sergio Padilla. Want it. 

I looked for Tonan's art stop, but didn't see it, so we zipped up to Surfside, as I'd been told that was the headquarters to get maps. The streets were full of art revelers, and a good time was being had by all. The art in the house was really great, as we were greeted right inside the door by the work of Ryan Patrick McGuire of Ink and Lumber. Real coolly framed photos and designs, the best one featuring Kurt Cobain. Dug it.

My homie Ray Rae was showcasing his gorgeous Venice photography there also, and holding down the information fort. Everyone should have a piece by Ray Rae.

Upstairs at Surfside there was a trip-out interactive hologram experience put on by Cody Nowak, an "AEC Disruptor". Mom got to put on the headset and check out little characters popping up around the room, like monkeys and unicorns and ballerinas floating around in space. This stuff is going to change the entire world of entertainment before we know it, and the art world is already feeling it.

I charged through Larry's to see the work of Molly Wiggins, David Downs, and Aisha Singleton, as well as the always great video installations of Olly Bell. People were digging it.

There was a special edition of Artists & Fleas going down in the parking lot of Great White, complete with a big VAC projection for good measure. DJ music added to the fun, and folks were grooving.

I had to race over to the Erwin Hotel in the middle of it all to see some of the wonderful women artists of Venice being honored for their work. As we're on Venice Standard Time, it didn't start on time, so I ran out to see more art while the got it ready. I'm glad I did, because Noah Gottlieb was showing his work on the sidewalk in front of the Bank Of Venice, and it was great. Like Realist meets Fantasy stuff ... from a local cat. Check him out.

Back at the Erwin, a bunch of us squeezed into a tiny room, where Mike Bonin, George Francisco, and Sunny Bak gave plaques and certificates to the eight women artists of Venice being celebrated appropriately in International Women's Month. Judy Baca, Joelle Dumas, Emily Winters, and Meryl Lebowitz were there to accept their awards and be applauded, while Jules Muck, Jean Edelstein, Christina Angelina, and Lucy Walker were no-shows.

It was great and touching to toast these trailblazers, as women who have helped to shape the Venice art scene ... some for decades, some bursting out more recently. Treasures all.

The ceremony took a while, so I wound up missing a bunch of art, but that's how it goes. I hit up Gotta Have It, whose crowd was spilling out on to the sidewalks as a live band tore it up inside the packed and awesome vintage store.

In a mad dash to see as much as I could, I race-walked down the street to Solé Bicycles, where they had already packed up, but I hopped into the truck of Flewnt to check out his cool Venice-centric work. I had missed the music and the gumbo, but it was still cool.

I took off back toward Windward to see what else I could see that was still happening, and that's when I heard a gun shot and saw people running. Again in front of Surfside. WHAT is going on?! ENOUGH with the guns, People. So sick of it, and what a damper on what had been a wonderful night of celebrating Venice art. Geez. The interesting thing was that it didn't seem like people were all that phased. One dude got shot in the arm, and then people kept on partying under the shadow of the "O'Venice" sign, lit up green for St. Patrick's Day.

And that's a good thing. We can't let the terrorists win - and that's exactly what gun-toting hotheads are. Sorry to any artists I didn't get to see, but ceremonies and shootings sometimes prohibit getting around to everything. I hope everyone has an excellent weekend, stays safe, and continues to create and appreciate art. It's what makes Venice go around. THANKS once again to the great organizers of the V.A.C. for another fantastic time - guns and all. Love you.

The Summer Venice Art Crawl - Venice At Its Best

The Summer edition of the Venice Art Crawl was held last night all over town, and it was the best. I think I loved it even more than normal because I've been staying in Inglewood this week, feeling very removed from my home in Venice. I came back for the VAC, and my heart was full with all the Community love, excellent art, and the ocean breeze that we tend to take for granted when we're near it all of the time. It is a Heavenly gift, as was last night.

It's funny ... I've been getting looks all week in Inglewood like I might be a nasty gentrifier, and I just want to yell to everyone that I swear I'm not! I get it! I got booted from my home! One Love! It's pretty cool over here, but I just want to get back to what I know ... so I did. I began my evening at Hama Sushi, where I snagged a VAC map, and checked out the bright colors of Todd Goodman's work being shown outside on the sidewalk in the golden hour light. I especially dug the Jimi.

I stopped into Surfside to see who was there, and saw the excellent work by Mark Satterlee (who I saw up the road at a restaurant in Inglewood a few nights before! He also got priced out of Venice and relocated to the 'Wood), featuring a great piece of Larry Bell. It was still pretty early, so I headed out into the evening sunshine.  

The sunset is always a work of art unto itself, and I took the opportunity to stroll down the Boardwalk and soak up all of what I've been missing this week (I know it's just been a week. Still.). Bikers were heading to the Santa Monica Pier in droves to check out Eric Burdon (The Animals), but I needed to see my Venice people.

I got to see plenty of them at the very fun Park Place Block Party ... so many, in fact, that this stop wound up hogging a lot of my Crawl time. I didn't get to see as much of the art as I usually do, but the faces that I saw more than made up for it. There was art and fun in pretty much every yard along Park Place, all with refreshments and good vibes for all. I was very impressed by the stunning photography of Tanya Rogers, that felt as if you were inside of the photos, they were so vivid.

Steve Cheng was set up with a table of his whimsical art, and little characters that could be used as key chains or necklaces or whatever you feel like, and were adorable.

There was a whole bunch of ceramics up and down the block, all very great, especially the pottery by Kris Hansen being shown outside of Maureen Cotter's house. Mo was there being her usual gracious hostess self, and plugging her upcoming one woman show at Beyond Baroque (August 19th) that no one should ever miss.

Live music was provided by Apryll Aileen in a front yard set-up, and it created a groovy atmosphere.

 I spent the majority of my evening in her yard, telling my tales of late, and being buoyed up by the friends I have made in our Community over the last two decades. I'm consistently overwhelmed by the greatness and generosity of the real people of Venice. You're all something else and I love you forever! Thank you!

I knew the clock was ticking, and that I still had a lot of ground to cover, so as hard as it was to leave the now packed and bumping Park Place, it had to be done.

I met up with some crew back at Surfside for some libations, and to check out the "Eat Your Art Out" interactive art experience put on by Queen Dakota Rayfield. People could sit and make up their own art pieces, and I wish I'd had more time to sit and create. How fun!

I had to crack the whip as I had that missing out feeling, so then we all traipsed over to Paper, Scissors, Rock for the music and the blast that we had at the last Art Crawl.

We blew it and missed the tunes - bummer - but still got to dip inside and see the art real quick. Josh Bagel Klassman had his awesome pieces of Venice history on display, and I once again made a note of which ones I need when I once again have walls to decorate. His stuff is top shelf (like the Calavera tequila he'd just been gifted by Jim Robb!).

The party raged on in the parking lot, so we didn't have to feel like we missed out on too much. The whole night was a big Neptune Reunion (it's just been a month, but hey! Needed.) and all of myself and King Jeremy's royal subjects were still in the mood to party, thankfully. Love you all!

We zoomed by the Canal Club to see what we could see, and were impressed by the incredible watercolors by Louisa McHugh. You need to see them in person, but wow. A real talent.

As a writer, I also very much liked the typewriter pieces on display from Krista Nassi. Hooray for words!

My fellow Queen, Miss Jessica, was my co-Crawler, and a more stunning art aficionado you'd be hard pressed to find. We needed to get a move on to go hear her husband, Johan, get down with The Gumbo Brothers back at Surfside, so off we raced down Speedway.

A quick pit stop at C.A.V.E. Gallery was not to be, as we missed them by minutes. Kid Acne's great work was on the walls, so we sneaked a peek through the window, and will be back.

The good times were rolling hard by the time we rolled back up to Surfside (getting to be our new headquarters already!), with the Gumbos in full swinging mode. Dancing, dining, drinking, and getting down was all under way, and I looked around and felt home once again. After soaking this all up for as long as I could I had to get back to Inglewood to avoid being a lame house guest. But I didn't want to.

I had a blast with all my Venice homies, and as I rode back across the 405, I was reinvigorated. I know where I belong, and who my people are. The Venice Art Crawl is truly Venice at its best, celebrating what we're all about. Showing off, really. This is the thing you want to bring people to in order to help them get what real Venice means. Art. Music. Creativity. Fun. The Real Deal.

Oh, I love you, Venice. But you knew that.

*See you at the Afterburn Art Crawl September 21st!