Sunday, January 28, 2007

Getty Villa in the Rain







Yesterday was the end of a nine-year wait for me to see one of my favorite places in the world, the Getty Villa in Malibu. When the Getty Center (see previous blog) opened that year, the Villa closed for renovations and expansion. I believe it was only supposed to be closed for about five years but the time was extended, due in part to litigation from the neighbors. But that is all history now and it was with much excitement, and some trepidation, that I drove up the irregularly (and bumpy) paved driveway with my friends BG and TL. My main interest was in viewing the exhibit "Stories in Stone: Conserving Mosaics from the National Museums of Tunisia." We started out with the "Getty Villa Architecture and Gardens Tour" just to get our bearings. This was definitely a worthwhile introduction. I was impressed with the way they handled the juxtaposition and integration of the old 1970s buildings with the new. TL mentioned the use of travertine that looked like it had been left over from the construction of the Getty Center, a nice touch. We decided to have lunch in the new cafe. I opted for the Villa Salad with chicken, nicely presented with crisp lettuce, a lemon dressing and pistachios, I would order it again. Leaving the cafe it looked like rain was imminent.

We headed for the Mosaics. I have been reading snippets of the books "Tunisian Mosaics, Treasures from Roman Africa" and "Stories in Stone, Conserving Mosaics of Roman Africa." But, of course, there is nothing like seeing artwork in person. Looking at floor mosaics shown on walls perpendicular to their intended position, has always been a problem for me. But given the exhibit space, laying that many mosaics out on the floor would take up too much room. So I have to get my head around what the intended view would have been versus the way I have to look at them in this context. The other troubling point is, of course, that there is no context! These mosaics were parts of buildings just as much as the walls and ceilings. It's like looking at a fireplace left standing when the rest of the house has burned down around it... you have no idea how it related to its surroundings. Nevertheless, there is some value in seeing the mosaics firsthand as if they are separate works of art, like an oil painting. Because I am not likely to be going to Tunisia any time soon, traveling around to all the museums and sites where these are usually housed, this was indeed a treat. I realized I really had learned a lot since starting the Archaeology Program at UCLA a couple of years ago, studying for classes, writing term papers and reading on my own. Being with the mosaics, I felt very much at home and I had an intense feeling that this is the way my life is headed.

Our next stop was "Molten Color: Glassmaking in Antiquity." Not only is the glasswork beautiful and interesting, but the video kiosks sprinkled throughout the exhibit with demonstrations of the making of the various kinds of glasswork enhanced the experience. By the time we wandered out into the open area, the rain had arrived. One of the nice touches at the Getty Villa (and Getty Center) is the provision of umbrella stations where you can pick up a brolly or drop it off going in and out of the buildings.

Of course, I had to stop off at the Museum Store to see if they had any interesting silk scarves, and wouldn't you know it, they had some with a mosaic design. Guess what I am wearing to work tomorrow!

(All photos on this blog copyright roslyn m wilkins and not to be used without permission.)

Friday, January 26, 2007

Revised date for the unveiling of Lori Escalera's tile mural

The Culver City Sister City Committee Cordially Invites you to attend
The Unveiling of Tile Murals Artworks of Culver City’s Four Sister Cities
Iksan City, Korea
Kaizuka, Japan
Uruapan, Mexico
Lethbridge, Canada

Saturday March 3rd, 2007
At Culver City Vets Memorial Complex
4117 Overland Avenue In the Rotunda Room
3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Refreshments
Tiles Artworks by Artist Lori Escalera

“Wings of Peace” painting by Artist Sue Li of the CCHS Academy of Visual and Performing Arts

Calligraphy Art presented to City of Culver by Japanese Dignitary - Tairiku Okada on display at the event

We hope to see you there!

Hand-Painted Ceramic Tiles.
Yes, that's the title of my new class at West Los Angeles College Extension. I've been painting tiles (and other bisque objets d'art) for about 14 years off and on. A former boyfriend was a potter and although the relationship was disastrous, he started me down a path that has had interesting consequences, way beyond painting tiles, so thank you M, if you should ever read this blog! (At left is a recently sold framed tile.)

I am really jazzed about this as I have not taught in a while. In the past I've done teaching gigs at the University of Southern California Pre-MBA Program (three summers) for foreign business students teaching basic computer skills (I also directed the program), a year at Glendale Community College teaching desktop publishing, and corporate training jobs too numerous to mention (but hey, I met Johnny Cochran in the middle of the OJ trial, seemingly a very gracious man despite his client). This is my first time as an "art" teacher, so it's very exciting.

The classes are Saturday mornings 9-12, March 3 and 10. For some strange reason unbeknownst to me, the website still has the Fall 2006 classes listed. So check back in February at http://www.wlac.edu/westside/index.htm. Or in the hardcopy catalog I'm on page 9.

(All photos and designs on this blog copyright roslyn m wilkins and not to be used without permission.)

Saturday, January 20, 2007




These are two tiles I painted for the Ballona Network Art Auction last year. I was extremely happy to be able to contribute my artwork to such a good cause.

What is the Ballona Network? It’s an affiliation of people and organizations that support a Regional Greenway and Urban Wildlife Corridor stretching from the LA River to USC, the Aqua Line from USC to Culver City, Ballona Creek, the Baldwin Hills, and the Ballona Wetlands and Uplands to Santa Monica Bay. Many officials, ordinary citizens, and environmental organizations have written letters supporting our Greenway Vision of creating a continuous Urban Wildlife Corridor within the Ballona Watershed. Approximately 90% of the land needed to do this has been, or is in the process of being acquired. To accomplish our goal we must speak with one voice for the acquisition, improvement, and/or restoration of the remaining parcels either through purchase, conservation easements or right-of-ways. We must also support the use of natural methods of restoring our water quality and supply and opportunities to clean street and urban runoff throughout the watershed rather than sending the urban pollutants to the sea.




Getty Center on a clear, crisp day.
Today I visited the Getty Center with several members of the Culver City Art Group. It was a beautiful day with clear views all around... Westwood/UCLA, downtown LA, the ocean... aaahhh. The Getty sits on a hilltop in Bel Air off the 405 Freeway and Sepulveda Blvd. We had lunch (chipotle chicken, mashed yams... oh heaven... and mixed squash) first. Four of us split a cabernet from Australia (Alice White). Pretty good. As usual I forgot to take photos of the group! The first photo is of the cactus garden in the forefront, Bel Air to the left, Westwood/UCLA in the middle and downtown LA in the background to the left. The second photo is inside the Getty showing the travertine wall and the reflective pool. It was very crowded today. Fortunately, a friend who works there invited me to go to the Icons from Sinai on a Friday night when there were very few people and I was able to move around easily in the peace and quiet. I love the Getty Center even when I am not interested in seeing the galleries. It's a wonderful place to hang out. Oh, I found a "Matisse" scarf which I purchased. Here is a sample of it:

Sunday, January 14, 2007

My latest (January 2007) tile acquisition. As I love mosaics I thought this tile would give me the double whammy of tiles and mosaics. Of course the mosaic design is painted on the tile. Minton Tile Works, Stoke on Trent, England. Circa 1880-1890.
Culver City Sister City Committee Cordially Invites you to attend The Unveiling of Tile Murals of Culver City’s four Sister Cities:
Iksan City, Korea
Kaizuka, Japan
Uruapan, Mexico
Lethbridge, Canada

Saturday February 24th At Culver City Vets Memorial Complex
4117 Overland Avenue In the Rotunda Room
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Tiles designed and painted by Artist Lori Escalera (member and founder of Culver City Art Group)
“Wings of Peace” Painting
by Artist Sue Li of the Culver City High School Arts Academy and other works of Art presented to the City of Culver City by Japanese Dignitary Mr. Tairiku Okada
will also be on display at the event
We hope to see you there!
I revamped my blog today. The previous name was "Finding It" and it was really not focused on anything in particular. I deleted all the irrelevant posts and from now on the intention is to focus on creativity, but mostly art and as a finer point, tiles and mosaics. But occasionally I will deviate with posting a photo or something related to "un-ceramic" art, maybe even a movie review if that strikes my fancy. It is a beautiful, if unusually chilly, day here in Culver City and for now, I must go for a walk to make the most of the sunshine. But I will be back later to upload some new posts to catch up with everything happening lately.

Saturday, January 6, I visited the California Heritage Museum in Santa Monica, CA. Although this is just a short drive from my house, I have been procrastinating for years! Currently they are showing "D&M Tile, Hispano-Moresque Tile" -- California Tile - Focus Series, June 10, 2006 - May 20, 2007. After seeing this display I was really mad at myself for not making the effort to see their previous tile exhibits (especially Batcheldor). I own the two-book set published by this museum, "California Tile, The Golden Era 1910-1940." Beautiful and informative, discussing all the ceramic tile factories up and down the state during that period. The tile shown here is from the Hispano Moresque chapter. Their website which is continually and woefully out of date, is at http://www.californiaheritagemuseum.org/. I arrived around opening time and pretty much had the docent to myself. She was extremely friendly and informative. Apparently the first Saturday of every June they have a tile sale. Dealers come from all over and hundreds of people show up for this event on the lawn. I'll see you there!