red, white and blue

Just another alley view in downtown LA.

paddling around the marina

K.C. and I bought an inflatable Sea Eagle kayak recently for all our boating needs. These are some pictures from the inaugural voyage around Marina Del Rey. The highlight of the trip was when we watched a seal swallow an octopus and then cough and hack as it dealt with the tentacles.

My mom and stepdad are hoping to come up soon and have me take them around this little shopping area. Three words: salt water taffy.

I want to live on a houseboat. Maybe not this shabby example, but you get the idea.

This is probably some of the cheapest waterfront property in LA.

Another day at work

My perch 300+ feet above the port of Long Beach out on the end of a container loading crane. It was so beautiful up there. We watched a seal swim below (what a vantage point), and a little tug boat went by...

Through my viewfinder the crisscrossing angles reminded me of ancient structures. I manipulated the image below to take the cranes out of a modern context.

don't eat the cupcakes

"Chinese Lantern" graphite and watercolor on doily. 20x20" $150 on Beholder.

Artist Lisa Solomon painting on doilies is so smart. I wish I thought of it since I have a serious jones for doilies. They're both useful and frilly. 

This image depicts cupcakes decorated with poisonous flowers - lovely and deadly - another great combination.

In memorium - a David Foster Wallace footnote

David Foster Wallace, one of the writers who carried me through my college years and beyond, died on Friday. My stomach dropped today with my friend Emilie's email, "I just heard about David Foster Wallace. So sad, and I know he is a friend of yours..."

My stomach pitched and rolled as I immediately begin googling his name, and read one obituary after another...the same words over and over again...Suicide. Hanging. Talented writer. 

From the Associated Press: "Wallace, who wrote with an explosive, ironic, but deeply serious passion about subjects ranging from tennis and politics to mathematics and cruise ships, was found dead by his wife in his home Friday night..." For some reason, it's the word 'explosive' that really unhinged me, or maybe resonated. His work did both for me, so it's fitting either way.

When I was 24, I went to a reading David gave at Amherst College. When I got to the front of the signing line after the reading, my sweaty hands gripping a thick copy of "Infinite Jest", I told him my friend Adri was completely unbeatable at ping-pong, especially galling since she plays with one hand nonchalantly stuck into a pant pocket. I'd read enough of David's essays to know he loved table tennis and hoped that my offer would not be seen as creepy. I calmly asked if he'd like to play, my main goal being at that moment to not let him hear how loudly my heart was beating. To my surprise, he accepted, declining an invite from a group of professors to join a group of friends and me in the student rec center. I was in heaven - here was my intellectual hero hanging out with us, chatting, and in general having a good time - and only occasionally beating Adri. Turns out, David was a really phenomenal ping pong player. I don't remember if I told him in between games what "Infinite Jest" meant to me or not. It helped shape my sense of humor and affects to this day the tone and patter of my inner dialogue. I doubt I expressed that; how do you tell someone that they are the basis for the voice in your head? 

At the end of our umpteenth game of pong, I asked if I could have his address so we could stay in touch through letters. He was amused (I assume) and gave it to me. I could barely sleep that night I was so over the moon. 

David and I wrote back and forth for a few years afterwards, or I should say, I wrote long, rambling letters about me, and he responded with encouraging yet brief cards. This is what Emilie was alluding to in her email; calling us "friends" is a generous use of the word, but at the time, I considered him a confidant. He was my sounding board, and was a nice enough man to recognize that his opinion mattered to me. His cards were funny and sweet; one Christmas it was a moose with xmas lights strung through its antlers with news of his dog and family in Illinois.  I can imagine he was an excellent professor - he had an encouraging gentleness to him. 

After starting film school, we fell out of touch. Through the news, I kept up with his move to Pomona, and read his hysterical articles and essays in various publications, and then his darker and more difficult books, and thought about reconnecting with him but never did. Always too busy, wondering what my true motives were (to recapture my 20's? Hassle an inspiration of mine? Try and reconnect with my brazen self?), and so I talked myself out of it every time it popped into my head. 

He was a brilliant and kind soul but given our short and relatively formal friendship, I miss what he represents about me as much as who he was: he was my 20's, when I was fearless, searching, and exuberantly young. 

I started to say something here about the desperation he must of felt, but it's obvious. The human mind is so damn powerful, and his was the smartest, most nervous,  knock-kneed, scrawny, stuttering in his excitement, spelling bee champ sort of mind. I'm struggling with how to sum this up, to say eloquently that I'm sad and angry and want to shake my fist and say, "Dammit, there were other options." That's the thing with suicide. There's no feedback and growth after the mistake. 

I'll miss knowing he's out there as I've imagined him these past few years: teaching in the desert, writing on the weekends, and, to blow off steam, playing ping-pong with students. 

Like a petulant child all I can think is: I don't want this to be the ending to his story. 

Mr. Hyde - Z Gallerie

Although most of the time I think Z Gallerie is to home decor what Spencer's Gifts is to bachelorette presents, there are items that catch my eye...

and now for the Mr. Hyde side of Z Gallerie, lighting edition. 

1.  Coco stick table lamp: $129. I like the unusual texture of this one; it's got a rough and modern pottery feel to it.

2. Casablanca lanterns: $29.95-$49.95. These would be great paired on a back porch with... 

3. Moroccan pillar holders: 5" $12.95, 7" $14.95.

4. Salt tealight holders: $7.95-$12.95. My brother and I each bought one of these. The soft warm light they put out is lovely. 

5. Capri table lamp: on sale for $149.99 

6. Colby table lamp: $199. I love how the base illuminates too.

Dr. Jeckyll - Z Gallerie

Momma always said if you don't have something nice to say, well, shut it. So I'm going to give a little jab at one of my favorite mall stores, and then praise. 

As I mentioned in my last post, a lobster wine bottle holder was the impetus for some pretty intense dreams last week (and a drawing). How'd I place myself in the way of creepy crustaceans? My brother, his girlfriend and I went to the Southcoast Plaza mall down in the OC to pick up something they wanted in Pottery Barn (safe and vanilla Pottery Barn) and they gleefully dragged me along on a visit to what is the Willy Wonka factory of houseware stores...

Z Gallerie.

I love me some Z Gallerie - hand-over-mouth moments abound, like with the golden lobster statue below. "I'd like to thank the Academy and my agent..."

My brother, a connoisseur of tacky goofball gifts, oohed and ahhed over this particular sculpture, wondering who he could give it to. His girlfriend, with the steely resolve of a SWAT hostage negotiator, talked him down.

This twig coffee table is like something out of The Dark Crystal. Can you imagine keeping this thing clean?! It frightens me.

I've witnessed this crystal ship chandelier in person. It's massive, 3 or 4 feet tall, and can be yours for $799.

Saying something snarky about this  gazelle side table is like shooting fish in a barrel, then clubbing them with the aforementioned twig table, pouring rubbing alcohol on their wounds, and...well, you get my gist. I won't do it.

As the lobster has shown us, where Z Gallerie really delivers the gasps of, "No, it can't be..." is with their tabletop doo-dads and accessories.

Behold: the goes-with-everything tiger rug (on sale!), fluffy, slightly disturbing owls, faux crocodile skull (buy the saber toothed tiger skull and you've got some bookends), and a large, shiny, barracuda. To go with your lobster statue, natch.

lobster creation myth

I'm convinced I had a dream about a lobster in a tower laying eggs that float out of its tank and populate the heavens with stars because of a trip to Z Gallery. My brother and I marveled over a wine bottle holder that was a golden lobster on its back (!!!) That tacky thing obviously made an impression. This is a work in progress...

Music that makes me do the Snoopy dance

Holly over at Decor8 posted some of the music she's been listening to lately - and she encouraged her readers to do the same. So here's my contribution:

John Mellencamp's new album "Life, Death, Love and Freedom" is my latest itunes purchase. The song "Mean" is a current fav of mine. You can listen to it free at last.fm.

Willie Nelson's new song "I'm Alive" - awesome, upbeat lyrics.

Cinematic Orchestra's album "Ma Fleur" is beautiful background music when I'm drawing. Like a lovely movie soundtrack for my life.

Check out Imogene Heap's live rendition of "Just for Now" on youtube. I'm wowed by her ability to create such a lush sound with just herself and a sampler. I best she's great live.

"Gypsy punks" Gogol Bordello has been on my radar since I saw the wonderful movie "Wristcutters: A Love Story" at Sundance a few years ago and fell in love with the soundtrack. Also, as someone with a soft spot for eastern europe, they're always on my ipod. My favorite Gogol Bordello songs are "Wanderlust King" and "Through the Roof n' Underground." Great running music! The youtube video of them performing "La Isla Bonita" with Madonna will put a grin on your face, promise. If you find the lead singer Eugene Hutz as captivating as I do, there is a great documentary called "The Pied Piper of Hutovina." Rent it and support quirky docs!

father's pottery

My dad has been a potter for longer than I've been alive, and I've been collecting his pottery for as long as I've been alive.  

Today I wanted to photograph some of his bowls and cups in a way that focused less on the shape of the pieces and focused more on the painterly quality of the glazes and surface texture. 

Above are a set of little sake cups.

Below are the interiors of two bowls.

Okay, I'll show you a piece in its totality. These little acorn pots are some of my favorites. They have such an unassuming and jolly character that I had to have two of them so they could keep one another company.  They'd look great with mid-century modern decor, don't you think?

Lichen and rust, metal and water, all sorts of imagery springs to mind when I look closely at his work. I feel like there is always something new to see.

I love lamp

Conservatory Lamp: glass, steel, fresh moss.

Donovan Designs, based in Southhampton, NY makes hand-crafted lamps. That's an understatement though; it's like saying Orson Welles made movies. From gorgeous steampunk-themed options to inverted pyramid chandeliers (okay, those are a little too much for my tastes), they've got all sorts of illuminated trickery up their sleeves. 

Air Stream table pendant lamp: polished steel, silver and cedar.

This lamp is my personal favorite, and, of course, is available only to the trade. I wish I was in the trade. Then I would own this lamp. Bonus: the dimmer is a cast silver turtle. My heart aches. File this under "If/When I Win The Lottery."

I can't believe it's not butter

I cracked open a new container of spreadable whatever this morning before work, and just had to take a picture, thinking it might be a nice image if manipulated a bit...

skiing is purty

No, I've never gone skiing before. But K.C. has. Maybe once or twice or a couple hundred times. So when Sport Chalet had boots and skis for a steal (I mean, really, $1000 marked down to $150?) I bought them for our winter trip up to Idaho. Besides the sale price, what really amazed me was the beauty of them. I've never looked closely at skiing gear before and just assumed it was all gaudy graphics and xxx-treme colors. Well, okay, purple and iridescent green is pretty extreme, but I love the combination, and skis that glimmer like tattooed salmon skin are just plain lovely.

Owl She Wrote

You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get from staying in touch with people since you were an awkward limbs-akimbo sort of person? Say, since your early 20's? Well, my friend Emilie has a blog and she's awesome and always has been.

A few facts about Emilie: she grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Vermont, she introduced me to cool bands back when I was barely knee high to an elephant's eye, and currently she's obsessed with accordions. 

Etsy finds

Paige Russel Designs combines clean lines and humor to create some seriously lovely pottery. Above is the Bad Beaver Vase, my personal favorite.

This soy sauce set and wool-covered tea set would make wonderful gifts for a special occasion, don't you think?