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!

Maureen Cotter At Beyond Baroque - A Night Of Stories From Venice's Deviant Diva

I finally got the chance to see Venice legend Maureen Cotter's one woman show at Beyond Baroque on Saturday night, and now I know why it's such an eagerly anticipated event each year. This was Cotter's 12th Annual show, and the "Deviant Diva" was in fine form for her dozenth solo gig.

I was told to arrive early to enjoy the pre-party in the backyard of Beyond Baroque, and by the time I got there the party was in full swing. Packed with Venetians, all clearly thrilled to be there, especially me. Everyone told me - after expressing disbelief that this was my first Mo Show - that I was in for a treat. Past tales have been told about Cotter's time as a prison guard, a marijuana advocate, an out and proud lesbian, and a longtime member of the Venice Community.  This night's program was to feature stories from her childhood in Massachusetts ... where it all began.

Everyone was in fine spirits, as they enjoyed the spirits being poured by Head Bartender (and Cotter BFF), Karen Rosenhoover, and her excellent staff of Barrettes. People were PARTYING - all the better to laugh along once the show began. All the seats were reserved, and the spillover audience members enjoyed the show out back, where the party continued.

There was food, along with the drink, and it all had the vibe of a big family picnic. After catching up with all the friends in the crowd (this is a very OG event, with several attendees having lived in Venice for decades), it was time to file inside and be regaled with adventures from the life of one of our town's most interesting characters.

Suzy Williams, Brad Kay, Sam Clay, and Eric Ahlberg entertained the crowd with a song about "Maureen Cotter" to kick things off, and remained side-stage throughout the program to interject sound effects and musical asides to give it all those extra flourishes.

Cotter is a first-rate raconteuse, and her ribald, unflinching memories held the room transfixed - and in stitches - from the first word to the last. When Cotter was introduced (after we were instructed that we could indeed drink in the auditorium), the applause was so thunderous that Cotter said, "Don't make me cry, thank you all so much for coming to my 12th show at Beyond Baroque!" - and it was on. "My life is based on a true story ...", Cotter began, and took us back to 1943 Lawrence, MA, where she was born at - no coincidence - at 4:20 a.m. Seriously.  "I believe in pre-destination", adding that being born at that time and being held by Nurse Betty With The Big Breasts in hospital were the factors that set her off in her life as a "Stoner Lesbian". Also, her time stuck behind bars in her crib directly led to her time working in prisons - of course.

Slides accentuated the stories to fine comic effect, as when Cotter told the story about being obsessed with Santa - and then seeing the photo of her finally meeting the Man. Classic. As were the recollections of being chased by the 19 redheaded Scott kids that lived in the neighborhood and terrorized everyone. Every town has their bully kids, but these ones took the cake, probably because there were so many of them! Cotter and her brother, Jackie, were friends and companions as kids, and he got her to go along with a lot of his capers, like the one that got them into their first big trouble.

Third grade was time to start smoking cigarettes, according to Jackie, and he got young Mo to join him on a trip to Bill's Market, where their Mother had a credit account. They acted very casual, telling Bill that it was fine with their Mom to get a carton of smokes and a gallon of chocolate ice cream. This would absolutely CEMENT their status as being cool with the other kids! The ruse was a success, and Jackie and Mo set out to round up all the other kids who wanted to be bad - "And you all know who you are!"

They all met up under the school bleachers, and each new kid that arrived got a pack of cigarettes and a spoon for ice cream. Cotter had a cig in each hand, feeling the new glow of cool and praise being showered on them by the other kids. Until the Fire Department came to investigate all the smoke coming from under the bleachers. Buzz kill. Their Mother made real sure that Cotter and brother Jackie got a job picking "fucking tomatoes" until they had all the money paid back to Bill's Market. "And that began my career as a liar and a thief."

There was a brief intermission to get refills and laugh some more outside, before returning to our seats to hear about Cotter's idea for an app that helps one find the G Spot, "Because men hate asking for directions ... I'd call it Pokemyspotmanandgo". The cheers of approval most likely reinforced this as a good business idea for Cotter. "That's why I love tonight, you're laughing with me, not at me! Right?" Cotter was most certainly correct there.

That Cotter was entertaining a whole big crows with the stories and adventures of her very interesting life is in and of itself a big deal for a young girl who was told that she could be a secretary, a wife, or a nun. That is, until a little girl she knew asked her, "Didn't you tell them that you were too gay for those choices?" Out of the mouths of babes ...

After the aforementioned (and hilarious) story about her friendship with Santa, it was over already, leaving everyone wanting more. Cotter closed by saying, "Be good to others, what's wrong with that?" Exactly nothing is wrong with that, and we all sang along to "Do You Believe In Magic?" as we filed out to continue the party out back.

Suzy Williams and The Nicknamers played for us, as the beer and wine continued to flow. All of us just felt lucky to be there, I think, on a night that celebrated the life and times of one of our most fascinating elder stateswomen, Maureen Cotter.

We had the run of the joint until midnight, so people sang and danced under the stars until the fun was all gone. As people said their reluctant goodbyes, it was actually fine, because the spirit of Venice is alive and well. And we knew that we'd be doing it again next year.

Thank you to Maureen Cotter for sharing your extraordinary life with us all, and to everyone who helps her to make it happen each year. You're all Venice treasures.

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!

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