Little artist

My mom and my daughter are a good team when it comes to making things. Often when I leave them for an hour or two, they delve into some art project which astounds me. My mom is an art teacher, (an amazing one), so I shouldn't be surprised, but still- I am delighted to witness my little girl take to each project with such focus and inspiration. She really looks and observes and admires art, and approaches her own art with similar respect and consideration. At the Gursky show at Gagosian the other day, she sat and watched a video about the intricate process of him creating one of his crazy composed images...all in German! There she was, with headphones next to strangers trying to understand what she was watching. Kind of hilarious. She then took in the show carefully, with wide eyes. That evening, she was sad to see me go out for the night. While I was gone, she and her Grandmother made a red-head and a dark haired little figurine-set out of cork, cloth and yarn..."mommy and me in bed". The next morning, the most adorable pillow I have ever seen. For someone who can't even sew a button, I treasure the genius of this pillow. I know all parents are proud of their little artists... they are all impressive. So I of course, want to share my pride about my little artist. I relish in watching her creative heart and mind at work. I am so curious where they will take her...

Funny face

A quick-fix easy post, as I have been busy busy, as well as hampered by annoying computer glitches. I couldn't resist these silly shots. The other day, my little girl sat on my lap for 45 minutes cracking herself up with silly faces and impersonations. And burps and farts too. Aw, yes, the skat humor funny bone must be hereditary, as it has clearly been passed on from mother to daughter. That's my girl! She was in rare form, and she had me cracking up too.

A Necessary Extravagance

Business cards are not totally necessary these days. However, I love a nice one. And, a letterpress business card is some kind of wonderful. I think they stand to make an important statement: that high quality is timeless and worthwhile and should be appreciated.

Aardvark Letterpress http://www.aardvarkletterpress.com is a gem of a place from a bygone era. It is a family owned business in operation for more than 40 years. Their approach to each job is unique and the craftsmanship is sublime. Brooks Ocon, the master printer and son of the owner, was kind enough to walk me through the intricate and beautiful process. I wanted something simple and classic. Something that felt good. I brought my previous quick-draw card in that I had designed. The idea wasn't horrible, but the paper was horrendous. I found myself purposefully 'forgetting' to bring any when I went out. Brooks helped me upgrade in every way.

I am very happy with the end result. Proud even.

My old cards were quickly donated to the art-project drawer for my daughter.

And now, when asked for my card, I am secretly beaming.

A Spoonful of Sugar

The hard rain came again. This time, with wreckage. Our palm trees shed their water logged beards, and all music equipment had to be rescued from the flooded studio and escorted safely inside the house. Into the dining room to be exact. We've been in this house for a while, but now that we own it, little things seem to be falling apart. A kitchen cabinet ripped clean off its hinges the other day! Let's just call it the "money pit" syndrome, as a somewhat snarky homage to the hilarious 1980s Tom Hanks and Shelley Long film. So, what I thought might be a lazy saturday with pjs and blueberry pancakes, turned into a mad dash for boots and work gloves and family teamwork. Yay. In the midst of it all, photographer and friend, Alex Hoerner, came by to photograph our daughter for a personal project he's working on. Cool guy that he is, Alex leant a helpful hand and the bulk of the mess was gone in no time. Still, my weekend mood was derailed. Fortunately, photographer and subject clicked and were all smiles. Despite the the damp and chilly location, Isabel was all set to splish splash barefoot in the street. With a cough and runny nose to boot. (shame on me, for art's sake). Soon enough, I was smiling too. Watching her listen and take direction to do something adults would normally tell her is not a good idea. Her expression was a little confused..what tha?? Well...OK! It was a funny scene that unwound the crank that was me. No doubt some good pictures were taken and we were home just in time for rain-water tea.

This is why you live in LA

If you have kids, LA is hands down, a great place to live. Year round, outdoor messy fun. After the rain, hike day at school becomes mud day! Cold, wet, squishy mud makes my daughter and her friends squeal with delight. Letters are drawn with sticks, angels appear in the dirt and songs are made up along the trail. It is pure joy to witness childhood memories being etched in- and that is exactly what this here lucky girl got to do on this January day. When a kid needs a good nail scrubbing and has a few fresh scrapes, usually this means they have a good story to tell. I look forward to each one.