“Rivers of the World” Community Mural Fundraiser and Live Street Art Event

A fundraiser and live street art event is scheduled for Sunday, September 12 from 2:00 pm to 5:30 pm at Zakheim Conservation Studio, 3633 Eastham Drive, Culver City, CA. The goal is to raise awareness for the protection, restoration, and preservation of all Culver City murals.

Enjoy an afternoon of arts and entertainment. Meet renowned artists and celebrities including mural artist Art Mortimer and artist/actor Thom Bierdz of The Young & the Restless.

There will be a panel discussion with Shakuntala Zakheim, art conservation specialist; William Brutacao, famed attorney in the Kent Twitchell million-dollar Visual Artists Rights Act case; Lucy Blake-Elahi, public artist; and Ricardo Guerrero, Graffiti Lab Director. RAWartists.org, a non-profit national artist and environmental group, will be documenting the afternoon, making the stop on their national tour.

Community participation is important to show support for the future of public art and murals in Culver City.

“When I see public art in Culver City, I feel good about being part of a city that values art and thinks it should be available to everyone,” says Corinne Lightweaver, local artist and member of the Culver City Art Group. “I never noticed the Postcards from Ballona mural (on the bike path behind the Julian Dixon Library) when it was covered in graffiti. Now that I have had a role in restoring it, I visit it often and take action if I see graffiti or weeds blocking it.”

The Postcards from Ballona mural was successfully restored last year thanks to the efforts of the city contracting one of the original mural artists, Lori Escalera, and approximately 90 local volunteers. This spring Day to Night mural in Syd Kronenthal Park was also restored, lead by Escalera and the help of community volunteers. The Rivers of the World mural, also located on the bike path at Duquesne Avenue, is the latest in a series of community murals to be renovated. Since its completion in 2000, the mural has deteriorated due to wear, vandalism and graffiti. Its restoration is scheduled for November 12-14, 2010.

At the fundraiser you will also see live spray art by Timoi De Leon, Lesley Perdomo, and Jony "Broak" Tolentino. Renowned street chalk artists Lorelle Miller, Juliana Martinez, Lucas De La Torre, and Gustavo Lozano will demonstrate their skills. Live music will be provided by established performers Craig Small and the exotic Anna Homler.

Suggested donation is $25 per person or $75 for a family of four. Make your payment by September 1 and receive $25 credit on art auction items starting at $50. You can make your donation through Paypal at www.ballonacreek.org or send a check (payable to Ballona Creek Renaissance) to: BCR, PO Box 843, Culver City, CA 90232.

Questions or want to get involved? Email Lori Escalera: design.etc@cox.net

Sponsored in part by Ballona Creek Renaissance 501-c3, RAWartists.org, Laird Plastics, Sorrento Italian Market, Culver City Trader Joe's, Artesa Winery, and your neighborhood Sprouts Market.

To receive updates or RSVP on Facebook, search: "Save the Rivers of the World Community Mural"

Photos are available at: http://picasaweb.google.com/loriescalera/RiversOfTheWorldMural

Culver City Art Group Art Salon

Musée d'Orsay, miniature paintings, the Pastel Society of Southern California, Francis Bacon, Roman mosaics—these are just a sampling of the topics bandied around at the Culver City Art Group Art Salon held at my home on July 31. The snacks were just as eclectic ranging from homemade guacamole to organic grapes to cheese and crackers. Ten members of the art group attended which was the perfect number for good conversation.


I am looking forward to our next session!

For a photo gallery please click here.

Young Summers at POST in 3D

Young Summers introduced her first three-dimensional artwork at POST Gallery (1904 E 7TH Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90021) tonight. Young, a member of the Culver City Art Group, is the creator of some prize-winning collages. She invited members of CCAG to attend her exhibit.

I always like to see new and different art. The exhibit was a lot of fun, and that is what art should be in my opinion—fun.

Yes, it can be about serious subjects but to get the point across it needs to invite the viewer in and that can only be done by creating an enjoyable environment.

Personally, I always prefer innovative, creative, adventurous art… even if I don’t particularly care for it… to dreadfully boring, serious stuff. Art should be an adventure, not a known quantity.

Fortunately, no worries, as I always enjoy Young's art work.

(Photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Lessons Learned: Reflecting on the Theory and Practice of Mosaic Conservation

I have to admit when I read that the articles in this book were in English and French I thought that meant this would be like an English/French dictionary with translations into the respective languages. Not so, as some of the articles are in English and some are in French, period. If you can’t read French you are on your own which I find somewhat disappointing. Would it have been so hard to translate the French into English and vice versa? However, for someone like myself who only reads English and can just about order a cup of coffee in French, there is still enough of interest to justify ordering this informative collection of reports on the proceedings of the 2005 meeting of the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics.

I happen to love mosaics and am unashamedly passionate about the conservation of ancient mosaics, especially in the Hellenistic Greek and Roman Empire periods. From this book I learned a great deal about the different approaches to preservation and the problems inherent in those methods, the effects of tourism pro and con, the efforts to encourage appreciation for cultural heritage, the methods of scientific investigation—just to mention a few topics.

So if, like me, you salivate when you hear the word mosaics and want to learn more about the conservation and preservation of this wonderful art form from a professional point of view, I can highly recommend purchasing this record of the conference.
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Art in the Afternoon: Venice Art Forum

On Sunday a friend and I attended the exhibit “Studio Visions” with works by The Venice Art Forum Group at The Center for Art and Spirit in Venice, California. We were invited by our mutual friend, Barbara Golbin, who was showing four of her paintings.

 

Other artists in the exhibit included Ciya, Debra Gangale, Carole Garland, Linda Jacobson, Regine Legler, Melissa Reischman, and Jean Wolff. I know several of the artists and it is always interesting to see their new creations.

Linda, who created the group and was the host, converted the garage of her house into a well-thought-out art studio/gallery with natural light, work areas, and plenty of wall space to accommodate exhibits.

After viewing the paintings we enjoyed sitting out in the garden chatting with friends and admiring the bougainvillea.

Linda provided a nice spread of grapes, cheese, crackers, and wine. At 3:30 there was a drumming session with maracas for those of us who wanted to join in the noise-making.

This was a very pleasant, informal afternoon of art and socializing.

(photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Los Angeles Union Station - photo gallery

As promised, here are more photos of my trip to Los Angeles Union Station in downtown. This is a wonderful building to wander around soaking in all the different architectural and design elements indoors and outdoors.

Click here for a web gallery. This may transport you away from the blog, so you'll need to backspace to get back!

(photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Los Angeles Union Station

“The Last of the Great Railway Stations” was built in 1939, just in time to witness the demise of the train and the rise in popularity of air travel.

I first experienced the wonder of Union Station in the 1960s. As a child I wasn’t much interested in architecture or history—I was merely happy to be back in Los Angeles after spending a miserably cold winter in London. All I remember is walking out into the courtyard to be greeted by those oh-so-wonderful southern California palm trees.

As the decades rolled by I had the opportunity to visit Union Station for various reasons. In the seventies the place was a ghost town. I walked through the vacant spaces listening to my footsteps echoing in the emptiness. Hearing another human voice was startling.

In the eighties things took a slight turn for the better. I rode the train for the journey, not the destination, and apparently other travelers were doing the same thing. Union Station once more had the stirrings of life.

By the nineties Catellus had bought the property and was busy restoring the long-neglected buildings to their original glory. As the station had little use for many years, not much had been remodeled or destroyed. Today, all spruced up, visitors see the buildings pretty much as they were in the 1940s. The architecture incorporates many influences including Spanish Revival, Mission style, Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, Moorish—I like to call it Southern California eclectic!

The best part is that currently, with its role as the transportation hub of the area with the MetroLink and Red Line trains, MTA buses, and Amtrak all converging on the station, it is once again host to the hustle and bustle of humanity.

For sixteen years during the 1990s and into the new century I volunteered as an architectural docent with the Los Angeles Conservancy. One of my favorite tours was of Union Station, both the old station and the new transit center which opened in the early nineties. To me, the whole area is an art museum.

As an admitted decorative tile addict, I salivate over the Gladding, McBean & Co. tiles in the public areas such as the ticketing hall, entry area, and waiting rooms. I am also a marble lover so I am equally enamored of the gorgeous marble and travertine used all over the station. The painted ceilings are fabulous as well.

The Los Angeles Conservancy has two informative brochures on Union Station. These are supposedly written for children but I think they are equally useful for adults, as we are all kids at heart anyway.

http://www.laconservancy.org/kids/union_kids_outside.pdf

http://www.laconservancy.org/kids/union_kids_inside.pdf

If you live in LA or have the opportunity to visit, don’t miss out on discovering the Los Angeles Union Station.

(Stay tuned... more photos coming soon, just needed to get this posted!)
(Photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)