Thomas Houseago Exhibit at L & M Arts

All Together Now. What good timing for this great-named exhibit of Thomas Houseago's sculptures at L & M Arts Gallery on Venice Boulevard. That was the vibe of President Obama's State Of The Union speech last night, and would be great if it could be our vibe all the time. Fittingly, much of Houseago's work entails the human form, if through the eyes of a tribal chieftan or maybe even a little Picasso.


Houseago is a young, Los Angeles based artist, hailing from Leeds, England. The sculptures currently featured at L & M (January 22nd - March 5, 2011) are all brand new, and from the materials he uses (Tuf-Cal, hemp, iron rebar, bronze, redwood ...) to the images they become, you feel the past merging with the right now.

Mom and I took advantage of the gorgeous Venice day to take a stroll down the block and check it all out. Following are some of our favorites from the exhibit ...

Wood Totem, 2010

Tujunga Series (Moon and Pine), 2010

Study (Hands-Feet II) Waking, 2011


Bottle II, 2010


Dancer II, 2010

Moon Figure, 2010


Giant Mask (Cave), 2010


Cool stuff. A really wide variety of styles and feelings, figures and landscapes. Do check it out for yourselves, as it's pretty cool to have such world class art as your neighbor.

Meanwhile, at the beach, Larry Nelson was back at it this morning, creating his just as beautiful works, though it may be washing away even now as I type. After L & M, we decided to carry on with our golden afternoon amble, to the shore, to see what the sand wound up becoming today.


From the sparkly bikini'd bodybuilder lady being photographed nearby, to the surfers cruising up to behold this wonder, everyone at the beach got a dose of culture today as well.


I wonder if L & M would be into doing a very Venice exhibit of sand sculpture sometime? I loved the juxtaposition of today so much ... art just everywhere!

All together now!


Houseago: L & M Arts Gallery, 660 Venice Boulevard, Venice.

Nelson: The Venice Breakwater, Pacific Ocean, Venice.

Free Form Sand Sculpture

The sun came out today, as it always does eventually. The ocean and the sky were both so blindingly blue at the beach this morning, you just had to stop and soak it up for a minute. Coming off the beach, we saw a guy hard at work with a bunch of stuff, making a sand sculpture. I had to go ask about his deal.


Larry has been making sand sculptures for years, and made most of his tools himself. I asked what his current piece was going to be and he said, "A free form sand sculpture". Well, alright!

I asked how he goes about picking a spot, and he said, "I've tried sand from Palos Verdes to Malibu, and the very best sand is right here" (The Breakwater). Another cool thing about Venice, excellent. I was being pretty inquisitive, and Larry asked if I was from New York. I had never in my life been asked that before ... interesting.


I said he was kind of like a mandala maker, where you make something so so beautiful out of sand, and then it just blows away. PURE art, where the delight is in the making of it, which was clear by Larry's serene face. Like playing a song for yourself, alone in a room. Like landing a tough skateboard trick when no one is watching (or taping). Like writing poems that you'll never show anyone. It is for you, and your own expression.


Larry looked like he was gonna be there a while, and I didn't have all day, so I don't yet know what the finished product looked like, but it's almost beside the point. The point IS - find moments to do what you love, what makes you most happy, and do it for the purity of just doing it, not what might come of it. That is when you'll be most alive.



*Jenny Everhart took these sandy photos!

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I was thinking about this the rest of the day, so at sunset I cruised down to the beach to see what became of the Free Form Sand Sculpture. Ok, Dude is genius.


I wish I had thought to zoom in for more detail, as the delicate ripples in the sand were really breathtaking. So was the sunset ... and the way the admiring people were taking pictures (and leaving it alone) as they recognized its beauty. They kept a respectful distance from the piece like in a real art gallery,

But way, way better.