Kook House

Driving down California Avenue last night, heading home from work, I have to say, I kind of enjoyed this bit of graffiti. It let me know that someone out there feels exactly the same way I do.

Now, I'm not saying that I endorse vandalism, but in this case ... I think they were asking for it. This monstrosity is located at the corner of California and 7th Avenue, directly across from Oakwood Park. It's a bit "In your face", Have Nots.

To come in and build something like this, smack dab in what has long been one of the lowest income areas of Venice, is such a level of unawareness and disrespect for a community, it's really pretty mind boggling - and concrete and grey and lifeless. Wherever you choose to live, you need to be mindful of where you are, and what it was like before you.

The ideal would be that someone would come in that cares about the neighborhood and either restores what was there or builds something that fits in with the tradition of our bohemian beach community. Of course they don't have to ... you'd just think they'd WANT to. Because now you've already estranged yourself from your community, everyone (besides maybe people on your payroll) thinks you're douchebags before you even move in, and a big corner of Venice is (for now) the most obnoxious eyesore in town. Good job, Kook House.

*Addendum - as it's there, and not likely to be torn down to build bungalows for affordable housing, maybe brighten it up with a mural done by the kids at the park across the street or something ... something to show they're trying to fit into the community. Just a thought.

The Venice Art Block - Celebrating Our Home

Sunday was the latest edition of the Venice Art Block, and it was maybe the best yet. Art just everywhere, with friends and neighbors out enjoying it all in the sunshine. A perfect way to let a Sunday happen.

I lucked out with my first stop being just a half block away at my friend Harry Gunderson's house. His beautiful house was decked out with his gorgeous paintings, most of which featured nude women in repose ... all of which I wanted.

Gunderson's partner, Russell Cletta, is a landscape artist, so their house and yard is as lovely as the art inside. This is one of the great parts of the Art Block, being allowed into the spaces where our artists create, as the tag line goes, "See artists in their natural habitat."

From there it was a quick zip over to see the lovely Amy Kaps, freshly back from her trip to Havana, where she performed one of her wonderful unraveling pieces for our Cuban friends. Her home is a beautiful reflection of the special talent that Kaps is. Love her.

This was another packed Sunday for me, so I sped on over to the main hub of the event at 4th and Sunset. There is so much to see during these art events, that you really have to use your time wisely. For me that also meant some real cardio, as we had serious ground to cover. Sunset is a good place to start, as long as you don't get sucked into the vortex of Gjusta and all that chaos. Though everything looked great, we didn't have the luxury of the time that place takes just to place an order. Onward!

Gary Palmer was showing new works made with red wine as the paint.

It gave me a whole new angle on what to do when you spill red wine, and it's always good to see what Palmer is up to in his studio. And keep your ears open to hear about his upcoming street chalk art extravaganza that will be a part of this year's Abbot Kinney Festival.

Jim Budman has his very cool studio open to show the work of Dennis Miranda, in a show titled Naturaleza Muerta (that actually opens tonight at WNDO - 361 Vernon). There is a bit of a Day Of The Dead skull quality to his pieces, some that are recognizable depictions, like Uncle Sam, but most of haunting, The Scream type faces.

Miranda is obviously prolific, with works hanging from floor to ceiling, color bursting out all over. Really good stuff, and someone to pay closer attention to, for sure.

I went to check out the work of Kate Wolfgang Savage from a friend's tip, and climbing the stair up to her studio was well worth not skipping. Her landscapes and people in rustic, wooden frames were some of my favorite pieces of the day. I have my eye on one lazy river scene that has continued to haunt me since Sunday. I'll be going back there.

Eric Schwabel's studio was a real highlight, with people standing in line to get their photograph taken by Schwabel as you stood with an umbrella under an indoor rain storm. I have to say, I was conscious of the drought as the water beat down over my head, but there was a money jar to offset the water use (I told myself), and the pictures came out super cool.

Schwabel had a purple light on behind the subject. so when the shutter snapped, it created a very saturated aura of color surrounding the person with the umbrella. It was fun, I dug it, and was happy to be turned on to such a cool new (to me) talent.

All the galleries along Sunset were open, but time was limited so there was only time for a quick visit and a beer with William Attaway. It was great to see my friend Attaway, but I was extra saddened to hear that he too is going to be evicted. Attaway - whose mosaics and sculptures are prominently featured all over Venice - will have to be working out of Alhambra this fall. ALHAMBRA!

There is a popular Venice t-shirt by Christopher Gallo around town that says, "Venice - Where Art Meets Crime". Gallo's dear friend Attaway has amended that to say, "Venice - Where Art Meets Eviction" - which in itself IS a crime. I'm even getting sick of myself talking about it, but we have to. We have to keep talking about it, and fighting it, or wonderful days like these are certainly numbered. There will be no more artists left to have Walks and Blocks and Crawls for, because they'll all be in fucking Alhambra or somewhere. Is that what you really want, landlords? You're the ones responsible for all of this mess, and we won't forget it.

Again, onward! Attaway has some gorgeous new works in progress, and it's always just fun to hang out and see all the locals coming through to pay their respects. Believe me, there is going to be one BIG Eviction Party when that dark day arrives (probably at the end of August). Ugh. But we were all happy together on this day, just living in the moment.

And then we were REALLY happy because we headed on over to the studio of Francisco Letelier, one of my favorite Venice artists, not only for his beautiful art, but also for his activism. When we rounded the corner of 6th to head into Letelier's space at Indiana Court, I saw what was my very favorite installation of the day.

Already Home is the project founded by Letelier that speaks to home, homelessness, community and what that means to all of us.

The alley is adorned with photos (reproduced from Charles Brittin, who photographed Venice in the 1950's and 60's), drawers with poems and thoughts engraved in them (from a set of drawers Letelier found in the alley), nests, little paper houses, tipis, anything that people thought represented home ... and the fragility and preciousness of that word and its meaning.

The installation is meant to be portable, public, and collective ... art for everyone. Home for everyone. Venice for everyone.

That is the idea behind the installation being mounted in the alley. While out of town money and insane greed (INSANE! This is VENICE - where none of these money people with ZERO vision ever wanted to live before, kicking out people who have lived, loved and created here for decades) are taking over our streets ... Letelier's idea is to take over the alleys. Venice has so many beautiful alleys, that no one really utilizes, and certainly don't beautify. With the welcome addition of Already Home, that's about to change.

Once inside Letelier's space, it is a haven of art and beauty. Kids were drawing their own art for the alley at a picnic table.

Leonardo Ibanez showed his masks, Mary Beth Fama displayed her work. An acoustic guitarist was regaling the visitors with lovely, flamenco kind of tunes, and enchanting doorways invited you to come in and take a look.

I know that I missed a lot of this Art Block, and I apologize to anyone I was unable to get to, but if I could only see one thing on that day, I'm so glad I saw the Already Home project. It's exactly what people need to see - and to contribute to - right now, especially here in Venice. OUR Home. To people (or more likely the corporations they work for) who would choose to raise rents to unlivable, unworkable, unattainable rates that threaten to turn our fair town into a white bread mall in the name of their sickening greed, I'd just say, too bad. We're already home. And we'll fight you for it.

Thank you to all involved in the absolutely great Art Block .... where the art is for everyone, and all are welcome.

Ed And Exene - L.A. Art At Bergamot Station

This past weekend was all about ART in all its many shapes and forms. It was also about parties, and a good one that combined both went down Saturday evening at Bergamot Station, where there were receptions for Ed Moses at the William Tuner Gallery, and Exene Cervenka at Sloan Projects.

It was a beautiful night, and the place was packed. The crowd outside Sloan Projects was decidedly more punk rock in appearance, fittingly for a show celebrating Cervenka, the front woman of the seminal L.A. band, X.

The Dust Of Sunlight showcases work in journals and collage from 1974 - 2015. I love journals, and I love collage, so this show was right up my alley. Cervenka herself was there, meeting fans and signing copies of her show book that contains many images of her collage work - and that I now own. Cool.

Her images are made up of sweet story book images mixed with her drawing and musings, cut-outs and ephemera gathered along the road during rock tours. I loved every piece, and the quote in the press release from Cervenka that says, "I didn't make the fucking reality on the planet ... but I can make art out of it." That's right. We all can.

We enjoyed some cocktails and a groovy band set up in the parking lot, loving the fact that we kept bumping into old school Venice people, all out in the name of art.

Over at William Turner, it was another packed house of folks squeezing in to see the latest work from Ed Moses. At 89, it was impressive to see both the sheer size and number of new pieces in the Now And Then show, but also what seems like a new direction for Moses.

The works were much darker and a bit vampiric to me, lots of blacks and whites and reds, shot through with jolts of neon color. Coming off his rose wallpaper pieces (always prominently displayed at our now sadly gone Hal's), this appears to be a brand new direction for the ever-evolving Moses.

The crowd skewed older at the Moses show, with many of the artist's contemporaries in attendance, but right when I was thinking that, I caught a tiny little girl standing mesmerized in front of one of the big paintings. It is never too young to teach them to appreciate art.

The art was exciting, and so was the atmosphere. As the openings only went until 8 pm, we decided to carry on the party over at Wabi Sabi, which has now kind of become our default Hal's as one of the few places left on Abbot Kinney that you can get a stiff drink, and actually still see people that you know.

We weren't disappointed there, as one after another of the old friends we'd run into over at Bergamot were now showing up at Wabi Sabi, with none of us saying so to each other at the galleries! It was like group think of the very best kind. Drinks flowed as people mingled between their tables, and we all raised our glasses to art ... and to the Venice we love.

The Dust Of Sunlight is on now through July 4, 2015 at Sloan Projects.

Now and Then is on now through August 8, 2015 at William Turner Gallery.

Paddle The LA River!

When I was invited to go kayaking down the LA River last weekend, I jumped at the chance. I love some paddling, I love some nature, and I was super curious about what it's like in that river these days.

The Paddle The LA River season starts tomorrow, and runs through September 20th this year. The LA Conservation Corps runs the excursions down the river, and has been serving at risk youth and their communities since 1986. In 2009, the LA River Corps was formed to get city kids outside, helping with river cleanups, graffiti removal, and vegetation management in the river, all beyond necessary endeavors.

The kayak trips launch out of the Sepulveda Basin, and you meet up at Lake Balboa Park in Encino. We joined our group in a van that shuttles you to the launch site, where you get a little history and instruction before you set off up the river. I say up the river, because it's a round trip and you paddle down and back. The current is so gentle that this is not nearly as hard as people familiar with rivers might think.

We got all geared up with kayaks, paddles and helmets (not really necessary in my opinion, there are no rapids or anything, but I guess some people hit themselves in the head with paddles or the stray golf ball from nearby courses might bonk you in the head), and off we went.

I love to canoe (I'm from Minnesota), and rowing across the water in the sunshine and nature were a complete joy to me. It even felt like Minnesota in some parts, which came as quite a surprise being in the dead center of the LA River.

As it is the dead center of the LA River though, you do see some signs of the urban blight, which is another good side effect of this adventure. It brings awareness to the absolute need for people to start caring - and acting - more for their nature, for their water.

For each snowy egret we saw, there was a red balloon. For the thrill of seeing the giant blue heron, we also saw the depression of the grocery cart sticking up out of the water.

It seems that people have still not made the connection between littering and our water. Storm drains wash things into the river. The river washes things into the ocean. This doesn't happen when people dispose of things properly. Think about it. Stop it.

Since the plastic bag ban went into effect in Los Angeles in 2013, our guide, Antonio, told me that he thinks things have improved some 70% in the river. We still saw plenty, so I can only imagine what it used to be like. Ugh.

It's a round trip because it's an easy current, but also because there's only so much water. The drought has greatly affected the river, and thus, you can only go so far before you'd have to get out and portage your kayak for miles to the next stretch of water. The area where you go paddling is the soft bottomed part of the river, the part not buried in concrete, where things can grow.

The great and informative guides told us that contrary to popular belief, the river is actually pretty clean. "If it wasn't clean, you wouldn't see life." And we saw plenty of life ... fish, many birds, and even a trio of fisherman along one bank! They were quick to mention that it was for fun and relaxation and they wouldn't be dining on their catch of the day, but it was still cool to see.

One young lady in our party capsized her canoe in the deep section of the river when she got too close to some trees, and went completely under. When I talked to her afterward, she was laughing, and not glowing green with radioactivity, so I think things have really improved.

The trip took about an hour and a half, and I would love for it to have gone way longer. It was such a serene way to spend the afternoon, and being there in the river and seeing how humans have affected the ecology of this waterway, it really makes you both appreciate it and want to do something about it. You can't help it.

Summer is upon us, with all its opportunities for outdoor fun and adventure. Please consider an afternoon of paddling the LA River, for the exercise, the nature, the peace, and for the peace of mind that comes with knowing you're helping to improve our natural waterways and the lives of at-risk youth with every stroke.

Paddle The LA River runs June 5th - September 20, 2015.

Lake Balboa
6300 Balboa Boulevard
Encino, CA 91316
Register HERE!


*Photos by Paul Gronner Photography

From Firefly To Burro - An Abbot Kinney Pioneer Expands

I finally got to sit down and hang out with my dear friend Erinn Berkson last night and do some long overdue catching up. You probably haven't seen much of her either, because the woman has been simply swamped. In one of the very few Abbot Kinney mom and pop success stories, Berkson has taken her beloved Venice shop Firefly and transformed it into a mini-Empire called Burro, and expanded from her flagship space on Abbot Kinney to include outposts in both Malibu and Westlake Village. In like six months. Wow!

Asked why she changed the name when it was already so well established, Berkson said that when it wasn't clear if she'd be able to stay on Abbot Kinney with its skyrocketing rents, she had to think about what she would do next. It was sink or swim time, and she chose not only to swim, but to soar. The name Firefly never really resonated with her, but she has always loved donkeys. They are - like her - extra hard working animals, and a symbol of the Old Californ-i-a pioneering style - also very much like Berkson, a fifth generation native Californian, and one of the first shops to make Abbot Kinney "cool" in the first place.

When the opportunity arose to open in a beautiful part of Westlake Village ("Seriously, going there is like a work vacation" - E.B.), she took the shot. Construction delays happened, as they do, and in the meantime a space became available in the Malibu Country Mart. So, Hello, Malibu!

Berkson took the fixtures and stuff for Westlake Village and put it in Malibu, where they opened right before last Christmas on December 10th. Also right before last Christmas, the very day after Berkson got a storage space on Venice Boulevard to store all the merchandise for the new stores, the Public Storage facility caught on fire. Most of the merchandise was destroyed, just as the Malibu store was about to open.

Her attitude about it is amazing, as she considered her loss nothing compared to the priceless art and treasures that other people had stored there. But it was a huge drag, and the last thing she needed, with the stress of three stores going she was already dealing with. NOW I totally got why I hadn't been whooping it up with my friend, Erinn in a while. Geez Louise.

It's all good now though, in fact, more than good. All four (including the precious Baby Burro, also on Abbot Kinney) stores are open and thriving, and whenever Berkson can get away from doing inventory and ordering the thousands of beautifully curated gems you can find in her Burro stores, she cruises around to check on them, and catch up with her longtime diehard customers, often with her darling daughter, Mia (now 5!) in tow. The Westlake Village location is the first store that Berkson fully curated and planned in advance ("Abbot Kinney still has furniture in it from my old house!"), and she says it's a dream come true. I cannot wait to visit when I next go over the hill.

"Venice is my home. I live here. I love it here," explained Berkson about all of this. I'm glad we're explaining it too, because she told me that one Venice customer, not knowing who Berkson was, said right to her face, "Yeah, the owner totally sold out." Not true. At all. In fact, she's made the very best of the situation here, and along with pioneers like The Green House, Principessa, Venice Vintage, Enda King, and Ananda, they are not only standing their ground successfully, but branching out and getting bigger. This makes my heart swell, and I'm so proud of all of them for being bastions of calm and community within the influx of corporate chains that are challenging the unique sense of place that Venice has always been known and loved for. They're just not having it, and I love them for it.

And I love Erinn. I'm so proud of her for all of this, you can't imagine. I remember the days of sitting out back of the original Firefly space next door, making margaritas, writing up sales on garage sale pads ... Burro has come so far, it's truly amazing. I'm just thrilled for my dear, dear friends, and proud that so many more people are now getting to know her wonderful taste and sense of fun. Awesome.

"Venice means all these 70's artists that were living here, and still influence and shape me. They're still here, they're still working and swearing and acting like the innovators they were, and still are. People moving here now are moving here for that, whether they know it or not, and they need to have some VISION. Wealth does not mean you have to tear down bungalows." Yeah.  Berkson went on to say, "But Venice through my eyes might be different now for someone new that's 25 ..." And perhaps that's part of the hipster mentality. We'll continue to support our truly LOCAL businesses that continue to strive to make Venice different and special (and are happy to share that same magic now with Malibu and Westlake!).

Please support your original pioneers of Abbot Kinney so people will continue to know what cool truly is. Go Erinn!!!

Burro Venice/Baby Burro
1409 Abbot Kinney/1405 Abbot Kinney
310-450-6288

Burro Malibu
23410 Civic Center Way
310-456-3700

Burro Westlake Village
Westlake Plaza, Suite 960 South
805-379-9980

Burrogoods.com


*Photos courtesy Erinn Berkson.