Sandwaves

The Barber Shop

2 Good-byes

I went to my last Santa Monica Art show. It cost 8 dollars to park and 30 more for 2 people to get inside. I like to think myself progressive and open minded when it comes to art, artists and people in general. I love modern, experimental and performance art as well as all the previous masters, old and new. My home is filled with an array of eclectic pieces that I have both purchased and been gifted. So, upon arrival, when I was faced with a black canvas that looked very much like someone had chewed up Reynold’s wrap and spit it out onto the canvas… which I knew probably wasn’t the case, unless the artist had very good teeth indeed… I moved on with great anticipation.

I saw a really large bed mattress, painted entirely in high gloss baby blue, hanging from a wall with excess paint dripping under and below. I have an intense dislike for baby blue as it is…having had to endure my first home and it’s wall to wall baby blue carpet for a year because I could not afford to change it. To be faced with this was more than I could bare…even though I did marvel at the folks not smirking as they studied it… and I moved on.

I turned corner after corner, trying hard to hold my breath so I wouldn’t utter anything inappropriate….like “utter crap” or “Do they think us fools“. I listened to the “informed” and the “intellectuals“. I observed the scarfed, the hatted, the caped, the outright pompous and bejeweled. I saw phony after phonier trying to look the part of ” Artist” or “Artist Rep“and I won’t even go into what I saw in the ladies room as a woman prepared her “Costume“. I wasn’t even aware there was “A Look“…But what I didn’t see was alot of talent…real exciting new talent!

I watched the gallery owners and reps sitting in chairs, each assembled in their booths, all mindless of the people who had paid to see what was new. They sat madly clicking away on their Macs…God, I wished I’d had my 5D with me. There was so much material I was breathless.

Then I finally came upon something wonderful. It was new and fresh and fantastic. I stood looking at the canvas intensely. I watched out of the corner of my eye as I stood, waiting to be approached, the rep…sitting…doing nothing but holding her cell phone. After minutes, I walked over “to her“. I asked if she was the artist. “No” She told me…”she was the gallery owner” “The artist is_____”, then nothing more. I waited. I then asked about the medium and was given a short, specific answer…then nothing more. I waited. Then I asked if he was local…”No, German” was the reply. I waited. Nothing more. I looked at her and shook my head. I should have said “If you rep someone and you actually paid to get into this place, you probably should actually TALK about the work and the artist you are representing because I may be not be dressed as a Banker, or an Artist or a Movie Star ( I didn’t get the memo), but I may just be a future client“. But no, I shook my head and walked away. I felt a great dis-service towards the artist. I felt his talent deserved better…much better.

As I turned the corner, it was straight in front of me…the one “work of art” that finally made me lose it. It appeared to be a rather poor interpretation of Beethoven (or possibly Ben Franklin without glasses) sitting in a most unfortunate garden. I envisioned a brush being handled between toes (after I saw the artist). I can’t actually be sure because I couldn’t see the length of the toes but…I’m fairly certain…

I had to hold my hand over my face to cover up the loudest cackle…while quickly exiting…

While driving away from Santa Monica to head home, I passed a little old surf shop. I got out and shot this. I think the owner of the shop probably spray painted it himself, right on his own wall. I think it was the best piece I saw all day. It made me actual “feel” something. I connected with it instantly. I probably should have told him he had a definite future.

Friends and Allies

After dinner tonight I had my Husband stop the jeep and let me out in front of a small, local gallery in another Beach City up the road. He knew exactly what I was going to do before I said a thing. He is forever wise and protective in most things and warned me that they would be competitors and that they would not want to give out any information. I told him “I’ll just look around to get ideas”…

I know myself. I’m a woman that generally believes in the goodness of people. I go into things positively and, at times, I am disappointed to find I am wrong… but…I keep trying.

I went inside. I looked at the wonderful watercolors, oils, woodcuts and the most fabulous sculptures. Then I turned and was greeted by a warm smile. I asked him a few general questions and was answered in a pleasant manner. Then I looked him straight in the eye….and promptly spilled my guts.

I told him about my dream, talked of my floor plans, where the building was located and shared some of my ideas. He allowed me to picked his brain about insurance, openings, hours and how he selected his artists. He graciously showed me the art collections now being displayed and told me about his own 60/40 consignment pricing. Then he smiled as he proudly handed me a photograph of his main 6 artist’s. He explained that their art is rotated constantly and all are long time associates…and friends.

He showed me warmth, friendship and a intuitive understanding and he gave me a card and made me promise to come back when I was closer to opening up.

I took a chance and followed my heart. Now, I’ve made a new friend and ally. Touche’

Abstractx

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Solitude in Art

Works of Art are of an infinite solitariness… and nothing is less likely to bring us near to them than criticism. Only love can apprehend and hold them…and can be just towards them.
Rainier Maria Rilke : Poet, Novelist 1875 – 1926

Search engines

Ok, I’m beginning to take notice of how people find my blog…I watch the search engine info. On any given day, I see “Old trains”, “Route 66” or something to do with travel.

Today…I see “Psycho Norman Bates” and they actually came to this blog… go figure 😉

The High Definition game

A New View

I met my new landlord, Alex, Friday and signed a one year lease for Anuvue (pronounced A-NEW-VIEW) or a new way to see. I came prepared with altered photos to show him my ideas (the before and the after) and he agreed to every idea my brain could conjure up. Either I took him by surprise (he couldn’t get out of the booth we sat in) or he is, as my first impression told me, a very easy going guy. When I first walked in to meet him, I put on my best “adult face”…but when I saw that I towered over him by probably seven inches… How could I not grin my crooked grin? Anyway, I can never hide my “inner child” for long…so he met the real me…and we liked each other immediately.

It’s amazing to think that something I’ve been thinking about (for more than 15 years) is only a few months away from reality. A long time ago I read about a women named Mabel Dodge Luhan. She was a wealthy socialite who married an Indian Artist named Tony and together they started a gathering place for artists of their time period. Those people included Georgia O’Keeffe (the Painter), Ansel Adams (the Photographer) and DJ Lawrence (the Writer) just to name a few. This was in Taos, New Mexico in the 20’s and it was a place I went and saw for myself many, many years ago. I stayed in the same room as Ansel Adams and I used the bathroom in which DH Lawrence had tried out his Artistic talents…and painted the windows. I could definitely feel a certain spirit as I walked through the home and the many pathways. Old Mabel’s Adobe still stands the test of time and has been renovated and restored to it’s original majesty. Artists and Writers still gather there (from all over) for workshops and fellowship. After I read about her life, I began to dream of my own “Luhan West”…a place for people of like minds to gather. A place to share art, poetry, photography…whatever creative outlet they chose. A place to commune, show their work and hopefully sell some too. I’m starting out small (as I’m am not rich) but I have big dreams.

I met a woman recently from Turkey who owns a tiny little Gallery and makes the most inventive couture clothing. I won’t give away her secret just yet, as I plan to have her join in. She told me of her friend (a talented artist in her own right) and said this friend had recently taken some of her work to a Gallery in Los Angeles. She said she tried to give the owner her card and that the owner took the card between the tips of his thumb and pointer finger (as if to not soil his hand) and dropped it into the waste can…without word…right in front of her. I have a perfect vision of that and I ask myself…”what gives someone the right to squash another’s dreams” and my answer is always the same…”Absolutely nothing”! And that’s my opinion of what is currently out there because I have seen and heard this story over and over.

The current tenants of the future Anuvue Studio are two really nice guys. One did some really spectacular things to the interiors as far as flooring and moldings. He is moving on to consolidate 2 businesses into a larger area. The other is his longtime friend and his CPA (and now mine). I told him I didn’t know if I would ever make any money but at least I would find happiness (and maybe a tax write off) doing something I loved. He looked me straight in the eye and said…”Heather…the people that are not certain of success….are not counting on it to survive…but are fulfilling a lifetime dream with something they love and care about…are sometimes the most successful of all”. He made me smile at that…We will be a good match.

My own back yard

In my continuing saga to build an unusual reception type desk to fit the spirit of Anuvue, I set out exploring the internet. I don’t know about you, but I typically get side tracked away from exactly what I’m looking for… and end up trying to ship some strange, obscure thing from somewhere like a glacier off Greenland (or is that Iceland).

Anyway, my mind see’s this very cool desk, made from stainless steel, with some sort of pattern…and of course will probably end up costing not only the farm, but most likely 3 times anything I could have purchased ready made. But, as luck would have it, I found the perfect thing…in New York. Hey, at least I’ve worked my way to the US.

I have this friend who makes trade show booths and builds all the interiors of new stores for a rather large Surf Company… and, if I don’t stock him too much, he is always happy to help. I emailed him (much safer for him) and told him what I was looking for. I asked him if he knew anyone closer…say So Cal area…somewhere I could drive and pick up a sheet of this beautiful stuff, without bending or mangling it in the process. And, as is usually the case…he told me of a place, that embarrassing as this is to admit…is about 1/4 mile from the Printing Company I have worked at for these 20 LONG years. When I saw the old map Quest map…I burst out loud laughing!

I probably should have called these poor unsuspecting folks to warn them I was coming. They could have made themselves ready… or at least armed themselves with a metal trash can lid. Now picture a place that works for the Aircraft Industries and Automotive type people…and then picture a woman standing at two double glass doors…as they opened, shrieking with glee. I ran up and down the isles, caressing all the beautiful sheets of metals available…patterned, rolled, anodized, embossed, pierced…holy moses…my Mecca. One poor soul came up, perplexed to see a woman in leggings, sandals and a crazy skirt… I think he figured I was on my way to the mall and got it all wrong…and then…he asked the magic question…”Can I help you Miss” with up-extended eyebrows?

For the next half hour, he patiently answered every hairbrained question I could think of…”What’s this for?”…”How is that used”…”oh my God, what colors do you have”…”what size”…”how much” ? You get the idea.

He was a very nice man and will no doubt hide from me when I return to buy my ideal sheet metal. Upon my departure, I did ask how long the company had been there …He told me 20 years…