QUEEN OF KLUDGE

Opening at Avenue 50 Studio/The Annex March 13 “A Prayer For Juarez, A Curse On The Killers”

Opening at Avenue 50 Studio/The Annex March 13: A Prayer For Juarez, A Curse On The KillersOpening Night Reception:  Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 7-10 pm March 13 through April 4, 2010   Participating artists: Alfonso AcevesLaura BlancoAngela Briggs Ismael de Anda Antonio EscalanteJudithe HernandezCindy SuriyaniVincentmayakovsky The Avenue 50 Studio is participating in A Prayer for Juarez a world-wide call to attention dedicated to uplift and raise awareness about violence against humanity around the world, beginning in Juárez. The main approach is to no longer come from a place of anger, hate or protest, but from a place of love and prayer towards this city and its people. Anyone is invited to come pray as they do for the sole purpose of casting a light on Juárez: the city and the women there. When police, guns, armies, militias, government and money have not made an impact in saving the lives of the residents in Juárez living amongst violence, hate towards women, and drug wars every day, A Prayer for Juárez acknowledges that the tragedies in Juárez are a spiritual battle, and it will make a stand to tackle this war with the biggest army we as humans have behind us....the power of love and prayer. As part of A Prayer for Juarez, a network of companion exhibits will take place in March.  Below is the update on places that will be part of this art protest dialogue. A Sculptural Installation, Albuquerque, NM Contact djgavel@gmail.com Honoring the Women of Juarez and the West Mesa Tlaxcala, TlaxcalaContact: Renata Luna E-mail: lumartica@yahoo.com Fort Worth, Texas Producing group: Sound CultureContact: Tammy M. Gomez Email: sound_culture@hotmail.comPhone: 817.924.9188 Juarez City No More FemicideAt the International Women's Day Rally at the Sydney Town HallSydney, Australia (March 13, 2010 from 10 am to 3 pmSydney Action for Juarez Concert Contact: Liliana E Correa Email: lilianaec_27@yahoo.com.au Priéres de femmes pour JuarezBiblioteque du mile-end,l'exposition dÌmages de femmesSaturday, March 20, 2010Montréal Longueuil, Québec, Canadadans le dadre de Contact: Claudia Cortés Email: claudiacortes1@hotmail.com A Prayer for JuarezCasa 0101-  Los Angeles, CaliforniaContact: Josefina Lopez & Victoria DelgadilloEmail: aprayerforjuarez@gmail.com  www.aprayerforjuarez.org FemicideMarch 12th -  April 10th  2010 - Opening March 12th 7:00 - 10:00pmContact: Mia Roman, curator (artbymamamia@yahoo.com)Abrazo Interno Gallery:  Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center107 Suffolk Street , New York , NY 10002 Citizan Divas:  Women, Art and Social JusticeA Panel in celebration of International Women's DayMOCA - Museum of Contemporary Art, Auditorium250 So. Grand Ave.Los Angeles, CA  90012Free of Charge, open to the publicOrganized by Nancy Buchanan, Christine Wertheim and students from CalArts ID 517This symposium focuses on social, geographical and conceptual arenas where the power of women to speak on behalf of themselves and their peers is strongly, radically asserted through works of art and activism.12.00-12.30 - Introduction by artist Andrea Bowers12.30- 2.30 - Lourdes Portillo will discuss the making of her film, Senorita Extraviada, Missing Young Woman, a documentary examining the mystery of the hundreds of young women murdered in Juarez, Mexico. For further information:   buchanan@calarts.edu, wertheim@calarts.edu Barcelona, EspañaContact: Susana García Medrano Email: susana@equidad.org.mx Buenos Aires, ArgentinaContact: Sandra Román Mexico City, DF Contact: Pilar Aranda Email: unaoracionporjuarez@gmail.com

NELAArt Second Saturday Gallery Night, March 14

Saturday, March 13, NELAart presents: SECOND SATURDAY GALLERY NIGHT WHEN: The Second Saturday of Every Month  7:00-10:00p.m.WHERE: Highland Park and surrounding neighborhoods. NELAart Second Saturday Gallery Night is a free self-guided tour of the galleries, non-profits and artist run project spaces located in Northeast Los Angeles (NELA). NELA has a tradition in the arts that dates back to the early 1900s. The tradition continues with new spaces opening regularly. NELA is now one of L.A.'s most exciting destinations to view contemporary art.  Individual gallery hours may vary: Avenue 50 Studios, 121 North Avenue 50 Cactus, 5434 Eagle Rock Boulevard Cafe de Leche, 5000 York Boulevard Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock, 2225 Colorado Boulevard Drkrm, 2121 San Fernando Road Future Studio, 5558 North Figueroa Street hi tree, 131 North Avenue 50 (behind Avenue 50 Studio) Jose Vera Fine Art, 2012 Colorado Boulevard Judson Studios, 200 South Avenue 66 Kristi Engle Gallery, 5002 York Boulevard Land of Odd Gallery, 4690 Eagle Rock Boulevard La tierra de la Cuebra, 240 South Avenue 57 MorYork Gallery, 4959 York Boulevard New Stone Age Mosiacs, 4532 1/2 Eagle Rock Boulevard Outpost for Contemporary Art, 1268 North Avenue 50 Sea and Space Explorations, 4755 York Boulevard She Rides the Lion, 133 North Avenue 50 Toros Pottery, 4962 Eagle Rock Boulevard 2 Tracks Art Studio, 135 North Avenue 50 (Next to Avenue 50 Studio) Verbre Studio and Gallery, 4540 Eagle Rock Boulevard  York Studios, 5029 York Boulevard   NELAart is based in Highland Park and consists of galleries and art organizations located in Northeast Los Angeles who are dedicated to increase the visibility of the thriving arts community in the area. Northeast Los Angeles has a long tradition in the arts. Many working artists now continue this tradition by making their homes and having their studios here. The neighborhood is also home to many galleries, alternative arts spaces and arts organizations. NELAart provides a resource to share information and ideas, and assist in promoting galleries and organizations. Please join us in celebrating the arts in Northeast Los Angeles.

Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society Public Meeting Tuesday March 9, 2010

Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society Public MeetingTuesday March 9, 20107:00pm Lost Eagle Rock Today Eagle Rock Plaza is "just part of the community". However, this was not always so.  Former resident Paul Ohannesian will present an illustrated talk about growing up in the 50's and early 60's in the neighborhood replaced by the Plaza at 7:00 on Tuesday, March 9 at the Center for the ArtsEagle Rock, 2225 Colorado Blvd. This public meeting of the Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society is free and open to all. Refreshments will be served. Drawing on family photo albums and home movies, Paul will describe life as seen by him at 5135 El Verano Avenue.  The talk will include photos of San Rafael Elementary School, which Paul and his brothers attended and which was demolished in 1960.    Images of the 1927 Eagle Rock High School buildings as well as some fascinating panoramic photos of the San Rafael hills before and during the construction of the freeway will also be shown. A graduate of Eagle Rock High School (1964), Paul studied architecture at the University of Southern California and has always had a strong interest in historic buildings and neighborhoods. Though he moved to Canada in 1970, in some ways Paul's heart will always be in Eagle Rock, of which he has manyfond memories. For more information about the Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society, click here

“The product of pure whimsy…”

Here in Northeast Los Angeles, we have amazing homes of every size, style and description; from small cottages built in the 1800s, to mid-century modern and newly built contemporary. In my quest to properly name the styles of homes in my neighborhood, I have been buying and reading architectural textbooks. One small volume I bought is titled "What Style Is It" and there are a couple sentences in the introduction that so perfectly describe the homes in Northeast Los Angeles, I just had to quote them here:   "Many buildings defy stylistic labels.  They may represent transitional periods when one style was slowly blending into another; they may exhibit the conscious combination of unrelated stylistic elements for a certain effect; or they may be the product of pure whimsy or eccentricity."   Pure Whimsy and Joyful Eccentricity abound in Northeast Los Angeles.  Enjoy!  

Opening at Avenue 50 Studio March 13 “Cuentos de Hadas” (Fairy Tales)

Rapunzel - Esau Andrade      Mercedes Gertz and Esau Andrade reinterpret fairy tales with photographs by Elizabeth Beristain Opening Night Reception:  Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 7-10 pm The Avenue 50 Studio is proud to present "Cuentos de Hadas" (Fairy Tales), an exhibition of works by two contemporary Mexican artists.  Through a narrative language, Gertz and Andrade portray the female vs. male versions of fairy tales.  The exhibit opens with an artists' reception on Saturday evening, March 13, 2010 from 7 to 10 p.m. and closes on Sunday, April 4, 2010. Mercedes Gertz. Using humor and sensuality, Gertz's fairy tale series asks us to consider where women are in the 21st century.  Her heroines are unapologetic symbols of female confidence.  We sense in them a comfort with the body, with play and decoration.  They confidently own the sensual, and relish in being a woman in charge. These ... fairy or folk tales ... recur over and over through millennia in the guise of innocent stories telling us time and again that the docile, young body gets the prince, that the girl brave enough to venture into the woods-the space of men--meets her fate at the hands of the big bad wolf. Peter Pan lives forever as a boy, Wendy must grow up--it is her calling, her duty, her essential nature. -- Marlena Doktorczyk-Donohue, Art Critic, Essayist, Poet Esau Andrade.  Following in the footsteps of the Latin American surrealists, Esau Andrade twists reality, creating canvases bursting with color that are pop in nature.  He instills a childlike exuberance into his delightful paintings. Andrade comes from a folk art background, as both his mother Guadalupe Valencia and brother Raymundo Andrade are also artists.  He is mainly a self-taught painter, although attended La Escuela de Artes Plasticas de la Universidad de Guadalajara. Unlike the candy colored confections of his more stylized folk art paintings, these other works by Andrade place him firmly in the surrealist tradition shared by many Latin masters. He retains a naiveté and originality with quirky images that are both charming and serious, and also remain indebted to his rich culture for visual symbols that are vivid and intense.  -- Kathy Zimmerer, Artscene 11/2004 Elizabeth Beristain.  Elizabeth was born in Mexico City.  A graduate of the Escuela Activa de Fotografia and staff photographer for "El Reforma," one of the top national daily newspapers in Mexico, she moved to Los Angeles as a freelance photographer and later became Photography Editor for the cultural publication Latino Weekly Review.  A product of her Mexican mother's artistic sensitivity and her Portuguese father's decidedly more adventurous side, this subtle mixture of Old and the New World influences are germinal elements of Elizabeth's artistry. Additionally, in devising the art direction of her own work, a wider range of crucial creative features shine through, from the world of opera, painting, music, and cinema, in a vision where a unique sense of artistry never intrudes with a boundless appreciation of our common humanity.  Elizabeth has participated in various collective and solo shows, both in Mexico and Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband, cinematographer Gabriel Beristain ASC, BSC, and their two children Max and Victoria.  She is currently at work on her new series, entitled Crowned Nuns. March 13, 2010 through April 4, 2010 Avenue 50 Studio, Inc.131 North Avenue 50Los Angeles, CA  90042323/258-1435www.avenue50studio.com

Avenue 50 Studio: Closing Event for Here is My Heart: March 7

Artists and Friends:  Sunday, March 7, from 1-3 pm, the Avenue 50 Studio will hold a special closing event for our exhibits Body Language and Here is My Heart.   Our Heart fundraiser in the Annex Gallery has been very successful with many of the hearts already sold, but there are a few very special ones that still want to be adopted.  Please bring your friends to our closing event from 1 to 3 p.m. when the auction closes, take home a beautiful heart, and enjoy a last look at the art of our Body Language artists Judithe Hernandez, Jose Lozano, Louie Metz, Willie Middlebrook and Andres E. Montoya.  Light refreshments will be served Avenue 50 Studio, Inc.a 501(c)(3) non-profit art gallery131 North Avenue 50Highland Park, CA  90042 323-258-1435 http://www.avenue50studio.com

Sticky Pod Mini to mount a small camera on your dashboard

I am not a big fan of those real estate agent talking head videos featuring the agent rambling on about this or that topic while driving ..... But that said, I think this little device, the Sticky Pod Mini Dashboard/window Camera Mount, could have plenty of uses: Watch the video here:  http://www.stickypod.com/osc/product_info.php?products_id=55 I think I just might order the three pack in the next few days.

Save This Date: Spring Equinox Sound Bath Friday March 19

You are invited to resonate in a Spring Quinox Sound Bath, Friday, March 19, 7:00 - 9:00 PM Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock 2225 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90041   Join Jamie Bechtold and Mary Frances Spencer as they welcome the Vernal Equinox with an energizing Spring Concert of Planetary Gongs and Crystal Singing Bowls.  Sit back (or bring a blanket and lie down) in the Center's majestic main gallery and relax while being bathed the powerful vibrations of reverberating sound. RSVP recommended 323-226-1617 $10.00 suggested donatation For more informationL www.centerartseaglerock.org www.dancingspiral.com www.hennatouch.net

We {HEART} Entrepreneurs

We {HEART} Entrepreneurs Who's gonna pull us up out of the recession?  My money's on our street corner entrepreneurs.  God Bless this guy.  I hope he sells all the flowers and all the balloons and ends up with enough money to take his family out to a nice dinner.

Gardening