The 2017 Venice Art Walk - 38 Is Great!

The Venice Art Walk was held for the 38th time yesterday, once again to benefit the Venice Family Clinic. It was a stunningly gorgeous day out, much more Summer than Spring, and the whole town was bustling with artists and art lovers. I had to do an abbreviated version this year because an emergency with some friends meant that I had two little boys in tow with me, which very much affected how much I could get around to see ... but we did pretty great for antsy kids!

We kicked it off in the Kid Zone for the kids, which was outside in the parking lot of Gold's Gym. There was face painting, a sock panda (?), making art with clay, painting, and a super fun bubble situation set up in baby pools. Kids had a blast both trying to make giant bubbles, and chasing them around to break once they were airborne. Good times.

There were several artists doing live painting outside of the Google headquarters (and I still think the silent auction Art Walk headquarters should be back at Westminster School, not at a corporate tech company that has nothing to do with Venice), with the coolest being this woman who looked at you while painting your face without looking (the bad news is that I forgot my phone and notebook and everything trying to get the kids out of the house and all is based on my brother's photos and my memory, which isn't so hot today - sorry to any names I omit as a result). It was cool.

Cooler yet was Balloonski, a guy who makes the most impressive balloon animal things I've ever seen. My little friends stood there watching while he crafted a monkey (complete with eyeballs) climbing a palm tree, and a sword to do battle with.

They were stoked - and they were NOT the kids who knocked over a sculpture inside the silent auction with their balloon things, for the record. Thank God. Balloonski had a permanent balloon piece inside, that my buddies were extra happy to see.

I always want pretty much everything inside of the silent auction, and this year was no different, other than that I couldn't spend the time I usually do to check it all out.

As art often reflects the state of the world and current events, there was no shortage of political art, with excellent points being made. As Mark X Farina does here:

It is also Venice, so there will always be sea, surf, and skate art, like this classic shot from back in the day from Josh "Bagel" Klassman. Want it.

The Signature Artist this year was the wonderful Barbara Kruger, so the t-shirts and tote bags and everything for sale had her "How Can I Be A Better Person?" piece featured on them, and were omnipresent on all the volunteers and attendees. It poses perhaps the best question we should all be asking ourselves every day. How?

I didn't have my phone, so had to rely on my brother to take shots for me, and I kept losing him, so it is what it is. The boys and I went out to the sunny stage area outside to take a load off and try to find the rest of our party. We were entertained by the Rob Morrow Band (Yeah, the Rob Morrow from Northern Exposure), who turned out to be not bad as we enjoyed our spot in the shade.

There was an appropriate bench nearby, as we were certainly kept waiting ...

Also outside were the sculptures up for auction, including a super cool surfboard made up of little photographs. I wanted it.

Kids have to be fed, so we did that, and then headed over to say to John Mooney Glass, who will have his new kiln firing today, but not yesterday, so we went on over to say hi to Amy Kaps at her home studio. We enjoyed some bubbly (Me, not the kids) and saw all of her black and white photos from her live performances from all over, including recently Havana. I love Amy, and her true originality, so much.

Antsy kids kept us moving along, and as they had been in a music video for Sesame Street directed by Rohitash Rao, we went across the street to say hi to him and see all of his recent works. His studio was packed with Art Walkers, and we saw many familiar and fun faces. Rao gave me a Prince piece (LOVE IT! THANK YOU!), and showed my little friend Quinn how to make his first graffiti tag. I mean, they've got to start some time, right?

We didn't have the official map to see which and where all the open studios were, so as the boys were starting to trip, we called it a day for the art part, and embraced the sunny Sunday part, winding up in a pool the whole rest of the day. On the way to the car, we saw a guy showing his art on the street, Venice Style. I don't know if it's because I'm slightly obsessed, but I saw a lot of hummingbird art yesterday. Joy!

I LOVE the Venice Art Walk, and I LOVE the Venice Family Clinic. In times like these, when health care for Americans is in such jeopardy (if you ever even had it), the VFC is more important than ever with all the good work that they do for the members of our Community that need it most. That art is the catalyst for making the good happen is so perfectly Venice that it practically makes me emotional, especially when even the artists are endangered in Venice these days. Events like the Venice Art Walk help to make it clear that Venice is and will remain about the art, and about its People.

I'm a little bummed that I didn't get around to everything I wanted to this year, but again, we need to be about helping each other, and asking ourselves how we can be better people ... and helping friends in need is the perfect place to start/continue.

Cheers to all involved for another wonderful Venice day of ART!

*Photos by Paul Gronner Photography (on his phone)

Venice Art Week Kicks Off With Venice Art Block - The Best

There are a lot of great days in Venice, but yesterday was particularly so. Venice ArtBlock kicked off what is being called "Venice Art Week", with the trifecta of Block, Crawl, and Walk all going down in the same week this year. I'm partial to the Block, because it's all local artists, all opening up their (still) local studios, it's all free to attend, and you see everyone in town. All of the Art events are wonderful, but the  Block is grassroots, and all about keeping Venice not only about the ART but about the COMMUNITY. Which is awesome.

The May grey cleared out by about noon, and it was the most perfect day imaginable to be out and about looking at art and partying with your neighbors. Our first stop was to see dear friend Amy Kaps, who had just won the award for Best Experimental Film at the Fine Arts Film Festival at Beyond Baroque the night before. Kaps is a local legend, and her performance art pieces are some of the bravest and most thought-provoking things you can see. We clinked a glass with Kaps and her darling mother, Joy, and talked about how creative lives can sure be hard, but the Universe really lets you know when you're on the right path, and it sustains you. Somehow. Thank Goodness.

From that lovely visit, we crossed the street to check out the studio - and margaritas - of Rohitash Rao, Alexandra Dillon, Marlene Elise, and Jack Herzog. This might have been my favorite stop of the day, for the great art and for the great conversation. Rao's art is some of the wittiest work around, always with some biting commentary about our society, and painted on found objects, anything from an old fence to a champagne bottle. We talked about art and life and Venice and I felt so lucky to be surrounded by so many like-minded creatives all day. It's extra inspiring to know that so many people really are doing their best to make their lives be about what they love.

I also think Rao is great for having recently done this piece. Of course.

Dillon's dreamy work was great to see, as I'd only really seen her jewelry before, so to know that she also has gorgeous paintings up her sleeves was a delight to discover.

We were all happy to see Rao's young intern not only show his art for the first time. but to make his first sale! That's another angle to this kind of day and people ... people actually WANT to help and support each other. I didn't hear a word of competition or really anything but mutual admiration all day long. That is SPECIAL.

Also special is just how great the people of our community are. Hugs and waves were exchanged everywhere we went, and many times I was threatened to be left behind because my conversations were all going so long at every stop. That's because they were so great! I don't think I engaged in hardly any small talk at all, each chat was in depth, and I'd go so far as to say soulful. I got chills, I got tears in my eyes, I laughed my head off ... everyone was just being REAL. How great, but also how rare these days. I floated off to the next yellow flag, aware that the clock was ticking and there was still much to see.

The Electric Lodge had Gary Palmer and his crew out making a chalk mandala that was beautiful, as well as a dance performance by Heather Rabun and Domonic Dean Breaux. I ran into Block organizers Francisco Letelier and Marybeth Fama there, which was funny because I was on my way to their space right then. I thanked them for all of their hard work, and we all just kind of smiled and beamed, because it really couldn't have been any better. Pedicabs and buses were shuttling people along to all the event locations, but we had the freedom of being on foot (or so I chose to look at it). You see more up close that way.

Cruising down 6th, we stopped in to say hi to Jules Muck. She was busy making t-shirts and giving them all away for free to anyone who wanted one. A little old lady from Moscow came by pushing her little dogs in a baby stroller, and left with new friends and a new outfit. You could tell her day was made. As was mine (I left with a shirt spelling "Disaster"!).

Off to Letelier's beautiful studio/yard, which was another location featuring a whole slew of artists (Letelier, Fama, Ruth Chase Boudreaux, Maude Tanswai, Martha Ramirez Oropeza, Ivo Vergara, Marianne Magne, Hagop Belian, Venice Arts Council, Andrea Bijou, Philip Folsom!!!). It was packed with a ton of friends to talk to, and also new ones to learn from. Like Leonardo Ibanez, who is from Peru and makes incredible masks from all recycled materials.

 He pointed out the everyday items that made up his creations, like wine corks and paper beads he makes himself, and also explained how he makes his pigments for his paintings from beets and egg yolk. It was pretty fascinating stuff, and I could have listened to him a lot longer ... but I could tell the sun was already altering its course.

We clinked a beer in the garden with friends in the sunshine and it was so nice. That's another great thing about ArtBlock, is everyone is in entertainment mode, and set up for a party at each stop. Like, we kind of had to pace ourselves if we were going to still be upright by the end of the day. There's also a lot of walking though, so it somewhat balances out. Cheers!

I chatted with Jason Hill about his Venice-centric work, and was happy to see people not only appreciating it, but hitting him up about buying it. As fun as the whole thing is, that really is the point - giving artists the awareness and the support to keep them here, creating and enhancing the entire town through their work. It seemed to be doing the trick. Everywhere we went.

There was also live music all day, with musicians setting up in the alleys, yards, parking lots and sidewalks along the way. The alley outside of Letelier's studio was particularly raucous, with passersby joining in on the sing-alongs with gusto. No one seemed self-conscious, no one seemed shy, it was just all fun. FUN.

Over on Vernon, we went through all the studios there, with excellent work behind each door. I was sad and disappointed there, however, because a big sign had been put up in the hallway saying it would be this location's last Art Block because the landlord wants to double the rent, in another example of greed failing to recognize the big picture. There were Sharpies attached for visitors to sign their displeasure and it will be rolled out on that person's desk soon. Hopefully they won't want to be remembered as the Bad Guy. Which they will be, should they really kick everyone out. ENOUGH!

This feeling carried over to Sunset, where I saw my friend, Bill Attaway, had set up his wares on the sidewalk outside of his old - now empty and unused - studio. Where he was kicked out of last year. It's just ridiculous. And maddening. But, MAN, was I happy to see him again, and know that he's still here creating, and that our Artists cannot and will not be stopped by someone else's greed. Ever. That alone is a triumph.

The Artiststore was packed with art enthusiasts, and it was cool to see not only Pamela Weir-Quiton's wonderful woodwork again, but also her fashion work, now being brought out and displayed.

This is couture style super creative stuff, and it was fun to see people trying things on and experimenting. You could physically see inspiration happening, as one would wear that orange jacket with their fabulous white skirt, etc ... and you heard the voices raise a notch with excitement. It was cool.

The Temple Of Mediclaytion was a crucial stop, not only because it was so great to see ceramic artist Patrick Johnston and his lady, Sam Savoia, again, but also because they were grilling up awesome burgers and dogs, and at this point in the day, that was extra appreciated. Thank you, TOC!!! It was also great to see the spark in someone's eye as they learned that they too could take pottery classes and it might be a whole new thing to love. Self discovery is one of the very best parts of art, right?

I made a quick hop inside Dustin Otterbach's rocket ship to say hi, and quick catch up with the dude that makes these real great metal bracelets, and also, you just have to jump in a rocket ship when you get the chance.

Bisco Smith and I slammed down some bones in his black and white studio, while Anderson Paak's exceptional Venice album played in the background. With frosty Tecates in hand, this stop was excellent - as is all of Smith's graffiti-influenced work.

Texts were coming in from all over town about where to head next, from rooftop jams to beautiful paintings I'd missed way over on the walk streets. The loudest music was coming from over on Hampton at John Mooney's Moonlight Glass Studio, so that's where we rolled to next. The Venice Street Legends were playing their bluesy tunes, the grill was fired up, and people were dancing in the streets (ok, the parking lots)! Tons of friends were here, so this really became a true party.

I hung with my bff, Erinn, there a moment, and thought that her perfect hat ribbon sort of summed up the day ... Love What You Do ... Do What You Love. Exactly. And everyone was doing it!!

By now the sun was setting and real parties were getting going. Maps in hand, we tried to squeeze in any more art that we could, but at the beach we were met by maybe the best display of the day ... Flags from around the world from every nation were stuck in the sand surrounding the Drum Circle. People were going off, drumming and dancing and yelling in celebration of what had truly been an exquisite day in Venice.

Along with the flags, just about every language could be heard talking and laughing along the way, and it was beautiful. Art and music and sunsets and color and dancing and smiles are all Universal. There were no barriers, just joy and community, and everyone having an equally great time ... right here in Venice, California on a sunny Sunday. And all was well, at least for the moment. Which is all we really have.

A heartfelt thank you to the wonderful Venice ArtBlock for an entire day of perfect moments!

Take A Class In Glass - With John Mooney

When I decided I wanted to tell stories about learning new things and cool classes you can take in and around Venice, one class led to another. When I spoke to Pamela Weir-Quiton about woodshop class, she connected me with John Mooney, who teaches classes in glass blowing right around the corner. And everyone needs to know how to blow glass, so off I went to meet with Mr. Mooney.

Mooney's "Hot Shop" (there is a lot of lingo in glass work),  "Cold Shop", Showroom, chill space, and your classroom are located all under one roof on Hampton Avenue, next to a body shop in a cool and still industrial feeling part of Venice. He's a groovy guy, with a surfer/scientist vibe, and a clear enthusiasm for working with glass that is infectious.

Mooney was born in California, and raised in Colorado until he went off to college at Pomona. He was always into art, but had a specific curiosity about glass blowing, and was on a wait list all four years of college to get into the glass blowing class offered at Pitzer College, where he finally got in, and was immediately addicted. Mooney figured he'd go to Seattle and get in with the glass studio movement up there, where Dale Chilhuly was blowing up the scene and taking it into their own studios versus working for a big glass place like Corning. It was art. "Glass is not a dying art, it's an exploding art, and it's pretty damn growing," explained Mooney when teaching me about this ancient ("They were blowing glass before Jesus!") art form.

After Seattle and a stint working as a fisherman in Alaska, Mooney came down to Venice where glass artist Richard Silver needed an assistant in his studio. Mooney jumped at that, and learned and worked for Silver for the next ten years, honing his craft. "You learn to blow glass by doing it. It's a skill. The more you blow, the better," says Mooney ... and better he became, until it was time for him to open his own studio. In Venice. Where he continues to create beautiful glass pieces for galleries and for commissions, and had now opened his doors to share his craft.

Mooney found his current space on Hampton in 1996, but it took him until 1999 to get the blazing furnace on, as there is much to build to have a glass studio, I soon learned. The furnace is on 24/7, and has currently been burning non-stop for four years! This is because is takes an entire week to heat up to the 2,100 or so degrees it needs to be to hold molten glass, and a full ten days to cool off. And time is money. This furnace is meant to last a lifetime ... or as long as Mooney can maintain having his cool studio in Venice before he too gets booted out for big, stupid condos (my speculation, not his), but so far, so good.

When faced with increasing rents, like all Venice artists, Mooney started thinking about how he could keep his furnace burning in Venice, and came up with classes. "Moonlight Glass" classes started in Mooney's studio in 2009, and he's been teaching them seven days a week ever since. Classes can be private for one or two people, you can come with small groups of four or five (any more and it gets tight in there, and this all takes time) for a birthday party or something, and have the best time, and also emerge with a new skill that you can use for a lifetime! Cool.

But it is not at all cool in the room where the furnace is, and where I learned about the "Glory Hole" (a place where the item you made goes in to begin being tempered. I think.) and the "Crucible" (the cauldron where the molten glass is kept), and where all the magic happens.

In your first class, "You're gonna learn the basics, and you're gonna go home with something cool," says Mooney, which means you're gonna make a bubble like paperweight and a glass to drink out of. How cool to make something glass for someone you love and tell them you blew it from sand lava into the glass they're drinking out of! Real cool. "It's kind of like a meditation too when you're blowing glass. You have to be absolutely present and have your mind on only this," explained Mooney while showing me his technique, and we can all use more of that.

It's obvious that you need to be fully engaged, as you're working with actual lava, basically, and also whatever you're making can break in a second if you're not paying attention. As intense as that is, it's also really fun. "I've gotta have fun when I'm teaching you," Mooney laughed, "so it's fun."

We talked about our Venice, and the changes taking place, as you have to. "It's sad that tech companies are making it unaffordable to live at the beach ... when they wake up and realize what they moved to Venice for is gone, then they'll regret it. Art studios aren't meant be replaced with overpriced restaurants, but I have some optimism that they're trying to embrace the locals," said Mooney about what all has been going on. We're both hoping for this particular glass bubble to burst. "There's nothing high tech here," cracked Mooney as we looked around at the same tools that have been used in this craft since pretty much time began.

"I love what Venice has to offer ... the beach, the free nature of the People that have always lived here, meeting people living here at the edge of a Metropolis, the colors, the variety ... I love everything about Venice," Mooney said with a smile that you can only have if you live here. And know.

Carrying on about Venice, Mooney pointed out this source of pride: "Abbot Kinney loved Venice, Italy, and that's the best glass blowing in the world. I'm here in Venice, California doing this 100 years later. I get to share and learn now from my students, and we all improve each others' skills." I think Mr. Kinney would fully dig that. Keeping his dream alive!

"It's an intimate experience blowing glass with people ... it takes all of your attention, you have to be fully committed and focused, so it's pretty Zen," Mooney told me about the classes, comparing it to yoga, meditation, or a really good lunch. "You're working with your hands, making something out of nothing but sand and heat (and tongs and pigment and all that, but you get it)."

What a cool afternoon, and what a cool opportunity for everyone to learn something brand new. You can get or give the gift of glass! (Yes, gift certificates are available). I'm excited for you.

Moonlight Glass
#310-399-0999
Johnmooneyglass.com

The May Art Block - A Walk Of Art

If you were in Venice last weekend, you got to see our town at its best. There was the Garden Tour, there was my Mom in town, and there was the Art Block. I love the Art Block. It's real. It's legit. It's the art of Venice, up close and actually personal.

Personal in that it was like a Venice family reunion, bumping into people you knew at every turn, a stark contrast to the upcoming Art Walk ... which is still cool, but now corporate and a whole lot more sterile. Not so at the Art Block - by and for the artists of Venice. Someone's mom might have made a spread of home cooking. You might smell weed smoke as neighbors share a puff in the sunshine. Artists are relaxed in their own environments, easy and open to chat with studio visitors, crack a beer (or wine) and share their work and lives with art enthusiasts who are genuinely interested. That is just the best.

Mom and I and my friend Deb covered a lot of ground. Since the last one, the Art Block has really caught on, and now spreads from the headquarters area at 3rd and Sunset to Lincoln and the Boardwalk. Artists have come together to support and promote each others' works in a true grassroots and awesome event that is not only free monetarily, but artistically and sociologically, in true Venice fashion. I was inspired and proud all day long.

Everything was walkable if you really meant it (and we did), but there were buses and pedicabs if your energy waned at all. Ours did not, and we got around. And STILL didn't manage to see it all!

There was a a cool mobile home gallery (the Gypsy Trails Mobile Gallery) parked in the street, with skateboard art and 3D sandcastle paintings.

I always enjoy the studios centered around the Art Block headquarters (where you get the maps and the most concentration of spaces) on Sunset Avenue. There you get to see the great  drawings and wooden works by the Weir-Quitons ...

You are reminded at the end of a hallway to never EVER conform. Right, Venice?

We popped in to see Trek Kelly's 100 Instagram photos in and around Venice, each one so gorgeous that you'd be hard pressed to choose a favorite.

But I bet you could. It was also nice to just shoot the breeze with folks you haven't seen around in a bit, and know that you were seeing each other because of art. Because of Venice.

You wouldn't dream of Art Blocking with out a stop by Attaway's studio ...

It was even better this time because both my Mom and Attaway's artist Mother were there to share it with, in a pre-Mother's Day artistic extravaganza. Extra special.

The weather Gods smiled on the event as well, and bright sunshine and warm ocean breezes kept the spirits high all day.

In among the art and people was a gentle reminder that artists also need to make a living, in addition to making your day. Support your local artists PLEASE!!!

After the fun at the Attaway, Bevacqua, Savage and Risk compound,  we strolled over to "The Distillery" at 361 Vernon.

I caught up with my friend Gary Palmer at his studio there, and heard his thoughts on creating a local/international festival for street chalk art. The super cool kind that looks like it's 3D and blows your mind. Stay tuned for that, because it will be stupendous, based on what Palmer showed me.

One treasure of a room opened up into the next, and surprises were in store at every turn. No matter what your artistic taste, there truly was something for everyone.

It's always a treat to peek in on Jim Budman's studio, a fun house of eclecticism and serious art melted together like a really good trip.

In Budman's space, you don't even know where to let your eyes settle and focus, there's so much going on. All of it interesting and fun.

The art fluctuates between silly and serious, with baby doll heads arrayed in a case across from a piece with the former World Trade Center towers reflected in a wine glass just days before they fell.

There was a fun, throwback, interactive time  where we got to throw down some old-school spin art, and I just remembered that I forgot to retrieve my own spin from the clothesline where it dried. Dang. Trust me, it was purple and orange freshness.

A real highlight was over on 6th and Indiana Court at the space of Francisco Letelier and friends. Letelier's work is so beautiful and thought-provoking, it gives you that feeling of relief that PHEW, there are some people like this still working in our world. Really.

Visitors enjoyed the leafy courtyard, made friends, and talked about what a great day it was, all over town. It truly was.

I loved it all and soaked it all in, especially the warmth of the people that I ran into that I already love, or the ones that I just met that made me happy they are here too.

There was even Art Block merch available this time around, with a t-shirt designed by Letelier that any art or Venice lover would be stoked to sport.

Here's my Mom, talking art and being darling, just like everyone around her ...

Family, friends, art, sunshine ... as I said before, it was a day for Venice showing off, a day that made it way too easy to explain why we love it here.

The art was not contained within studio walls either. It spilled out into the streets and alleys at every turn ...

I recently saw a bumper sticker on a car parked on my street that said, "I brake to watch artists create." Which is exactly what we did to see what would emerge on this woman's canvas ...

We cruised over to Hampton Drive to see the stunning glass work by John Mooney ...

 .... And carried on to Melissa Herrington's bright studio home ...

And then headed over to Jules Muck's spot to see both her finished works ...

... And her art happening right in front of your face as she pulled silk screens on to t-shirts as extra-cool keepsakes of the day.

From there we headed down Abbot Kinney, and though I was already going to stop in to my friend Kwaku Alston's place ... the sign out front made it imperative. Hilarious.

My dear friend and neighbor Harry Gunderson was showing his stunning work at his house, open and filled with friends and new admirers alike. It's cool to have things like this where just walking down the regular street, you spy the yellow Art Block flag and know that more goodness is in store. It's a little like the Amazing Race of art ...

As we left the Gunderson/Cletta pad, we saw the cones for bike parking out front of their house. If you didn't somehow know you were in Venice before, there was no question now.

After dragging Mom around all day, and with two birthday parties still to go, we wrapped up our walkabout of art, with plenty left unseen for the future. The Art Block is pure Venice. PURE. You should stop at nothing to be there - and delighted - by the next one. I'll look forward to bumping into you ... in the name of art ... under the sign of Venice.