Leah – Page 124 – No Idle hands here

Israel

I made a quick trip to Israel for family matters. Yes it is a long way to go for such a short time, sometimes a quick trip is a good thing.

I did spend the weekend by the Sea of Galilee and am sharing some images.Early morning (jet lag will do that), fog on the lake (despite being called a sea, it is a rather small lake). I love it when I take a picture and it comes out this incredible.The only way you can see that the other shore isn’t that far away is the waves breaking.A few hours later, the fog has burned off and the sun is hot. That is the Golan Heights on the other side.A small tributary. In Israel, any body of water is precious.The Eucalyptus tree is native to Australia but was brought to Israel in the 1950s. I wish they had bought a Koala along, since that is the main use of the tree.They eat the leaves. Unfortunately the wood and the fruit of this tree is useless.We hiked up Mt. Meron, one of the highest peaks in the Upper Galilee.Looking down on the agricultural communities below.May is late in the season for wildflowers, this is the only area that they are still blooming.We shared the path with some local cows.The milk and cheese products from the area are wonderful, now I know why, free range cows.

More pictures to come.

Leah

Modernism in Palm Springs

Usually when I go to Palm Desert I’m with family and no one wants to go look at houses. This time I had a few hours to escape and see some of the famous 50s’-60s homes.Picked up my map at the old Tramway gas station, now the visitors center.

Simple materials, but a creative use of bricks and a soaring roof line.

I am a firm believer that when you educate and expose yourself to a style, be it art, music or architecture, you will come to appreciate it. It takes time, everything good in life does. I wouldn’t say Mid century modern architecture is my favorite, but the more I see, the more I appreciate. No better place than Palm Springs with it’s multitude of these homes still standing side by side. Also, something about the desert makes these sing.This is one of the few houses on the map that I was able to photograph. All these homes are private and many are now behind gates, I totally understand people not wanting strangers coming by and photographing their homes. Although, this map was put together by the Palm Springs Modern committee – so they must have gotten permission.Just driving the neighborhood, I encountered so many houses I just stopped the car and pulled out my camera.I’m wondering if the front gate was a later addition. It is a simpler design. I really like the very angular door next to the circular iron grate.Typical roof line and so appropriate for the desert. This allows a higher ceiling which means hot air is rising and it might make the interior just a little less oppressive. Notice the wall? I have overheard people complaining about ‘those tacky lattice walls’. Really? When Frank Lloyd Wright used a concrete block over and over people swooned. Modern architects took the design to the masses and that makes it tacky? To me it is one of the most effective parts of this style.The use of different materials, stone, gravel, iron work.Frank Sinatra’s original home in the desert. He later moved to a much larger complex. I was very lucky that the gate was open.Someone is refurbishing the house next door. Look at this incredible gate, original to the house, this I love! Of course this will make an incredible quilt, need to give this some serious thought.I do love gingerbread Victorian homes. I also love this simplicity.I think this is an old house with an incredible addition. It works so well. Federal rules for adding on to an historic building require that one doesn’t replicate the old. The idea is to have a definite change between old and new, while at the same time creating a cohesive unit. This is the perfect example.Cut outs in the roof that allow the ubiquitous palm trees to do their thing – grow really really tall.Impressive isn’t it? I never would have noticed the house otherwise.As I drove away I came by the Saguaro Palm hotel, it looks old, but I can’t find any information about it, so it may be new construction in the style of Midcentury.Admitting my sins, as I rounded the corner in the car I was just clicking away at my camera, it worked.Looking t the size of the hotel, I’m thinking the whole thing is modern, but what a great use of shapes and colors. Look online, the pool area is a riot of bright colors.

So now I am really inspired to go down and take a tour, to be able to get more explanations as well as get a closer view.

Leah

The Desert

This is what the desert looks like in it’s natural state.Add water from natural springs and this is what you get.Plant a viable crop, date palms and now you have a name – Palm Springs.These crazy trees don’t offer much shade, but in the desert, being in the shade makes all the difference in the world.
Gives you a few minutes to enjoy the rock formationsAnd see who finds this to be a perfect home.Add a little sugar water and the humming birds come out. This is an unusual one. Love the collar.Actually managed to capture him in flight. Yay! My camera skills are improving!The wings are a blur they move so fast.Dragonflies love the water too.As tall as palms gets, they aren’t really trees. Here is one chopped down and split open, it looks like a sponge, not a dense hardy tree trunk.Gnarled wood is always fascinating.

Leah

Programatic architecture

The 1920s were an interesting time for architecture in Los Angeles. We had homes built to look like they came straight out of fairytales and we had businesses that were built to represent what was being sold there. Programatic Architecture, came about with the proliferation of cars, a small sign in the window was no longer good enough. One needed to be big, bright and brash so the faster moving traffic on street would stop. Most of these establishments were places that sold food or drink.Built at the tail end of this style, the Idle Hour Cafe on Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood. Built to look like a Whiskey barrel, the Idle Hour functioned as a cafe and bar for 30 years. By the 1970s it was bought and turned into a Flamenco Dinner theater. Notice that windows were added to the barrel as well as an outdoor patio. The owner lived in a small apartment upstairs. She stayed there after the restaurant closed. When she left preservationists jumped in and did all they could to save this icon.Thankfully, they succeeded. Renewed, refurbished and once again using it’s original name. Btw, 4822 Lankershim looks like it survived the years as well.The upstairs windows are gone, the barrel in intact again.The original door with it’s stained glass window and brass fittings.It is a little too dark inside for many photos. Here is the restored ceiling of the whiskey barrel along with another of the stained glass barrels. There are a number of them here. The walls have old time photos of this location and other programatic buildings.

There is more out in the back.A reproduction of the Bulldog Cafe, which used to stand on Washington Blvd. This room can be rented for private parties. Holds up to 15 people,otherwise if not occupied it is part of the general seating.I snuck around the back and lucked to find the back gate open. This gives you a better idea of the size of this pipe smoking bulldog.

I love seeing old buildings saved and put to use again, I like it better when it is right in my own neighborhood. Oh and the food and drinks were both great, I highly recommend a visit.

Leah

Stairway walk no.20

Sunset Junction loop, another Silverlake walk.As always, stunning views, the great Art Deco observatory in Griffith Park.As we start our walk, a Chinese theme greeted us.With more lanterns on the side of the house.Sometimes nature is in a Chinese lantern mood.

Then up 200 steep steps, huffing and puffing, until we arrive at the historic Canfiled-Moreno Estate. I knew nothing about this estate that sits on 4.5 acres right there in Silverlake. I”m sure the neighbors like the fact that no one is talking about selling or subdividing the property.One of the back gates. There wasn’t much to see, this property is behind tall walls, fences, it is really is hard to see.This is the view the neighbors have, you know me, can’t pass up a chance to photograph downtown.Everyone has a teepee in their side yard right?Or they decorate their houses with ghosts. I think the sign says something about visitors not being welcome, which explains the ghost.Another house not only has a beautiful painted gate, they also decided to paint their steps and part of the sidewalk to match.Other interesting color combinations on the homes. Yes, that is a sparkly gold garage door! I have no idea if the birds like these homes but they do add color to the garden.Second painted staircase in Silverlake, recently someone painted the Michealtorena stairs as well. This is a block long stretch of Mailman st, you can see it used to be a street, all that’s left is the two sidewalks and a succulent garden where the street should have been.Back on Sunset Blvd, the juxtaposition of the two cats, one a dive bar, the other supposedly not a cat at all but a little girl. Yeah right, she is called hello Kitty – that is a cat.

At this point I’ve done more than half of the walks in the book, may need to start repeating some soon, that is until Charles Fleming comes out with his new book that is just about walks in LA, staircases needn’t be involved.

Leah

Project bag

A friend is having a birthday, she loves my work. She is a quilter and crocheter, so a quilted bag that can hold a work project will make the perfect gift.

There are many patterns out there, but I decided to just wing it, make something from an idea in my head.Using some patriotic fabric, which I know she’ll like, I quilted the body of the bag, using soft and stable. I love that product.I wanted a band of pockets around the edge. I liked the idea of making them roomier by gathering the fabric. It needs to be flexible along the top edge, otherwise it defeats the purpose. I hit on the idea of using fold over elastic, a product I’m seeing a lot of lately.It works! Add some handles and we’re good to go.Don’t forget the label!Put buttons to good use.Voila! Looks like it can hold a project and tools with room to spare.

Leah

In praise of natural fibers

I’d say that close to all of my clothes are made of one natural fiber or another, sure there are blends, but there is a natural component. I also love color and cute prints.Can you blame me for buying this shirt a few years ago?The birds, the adorable lace trim on the collar!

This shirt is 100% polyester and I knew it when I bought it, but so what right? Turns out that unless they are heavily engineered (microfiber, underarmour tee shirts) polyester is an extremely uncomfortable fabric. Natural fibers will react to my body heat, polyester seems to react to the environment. So on a chilly day, although this shirt has long sleeves, it felt like I was wearing a refrigerator. The opposite happened on warm days, I was in a sweat box.

So, this is going into the goodwill pile and I don’t care how cute or cheap, impulse buys cannot include polyester shirts or dresses.

Oh, Serger is back from repairs! This may have some polyester in it, it’s one of those Michael Levine Loft knits. I love the color and it has the feel of cotton.Combined with a cute knit I found at JoAnn’s I have myself an adorable outfit.I found an easy tutorial on You Tube (no I didn’t bookmark it) for a pencil skirt.Really, I should stick to buying fabric, I get double the enjoyment, cute clothes as well as the pleasure of creating somethingNow if only it would get a little warmer, as I age, I’m one of those who feels the cold more, so mid 70’s finds me in long sleeves. But no worries, in a few days I’ll be wearing this cute outfit.

Leah

Wonders in the Valley

The San Fernando valley gets a bad rap. It’s all just sprawl and one strip mall after another. It’s a blight and should be ignored.

Except it isn’t, like anywhere else on earth, spend some time, scratch the surface and be surprised.A hidden lake?A large serene expanse of water? Ok, I admit, the camera has distorted the perspective, this is not as large as it look. If you look closely at the upper lefthand corner you will see some of the office buildings on Ventura blvd with the lovely homes of Encino hills beyond them.We are standing in Woodley Park, on the other side of the berm is the 405 freeway. One of the busiest in the nation.We are in the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve, this is one of the sections of the LA River that the Army corps of engineers left in it’s natural state. They built a large dam to hold back the flooding waters of the river in periods of torrential rains. Last time this happened was in the 1990’s. Today there is a large park, golf course and even a lake – Balboa Lake. My guess is that when this draught ends, it will be used again. People tend to forget history, Southern California has a cycle of draught and then torrential rains.

One reason the is so much water here now is the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. 25 million gallons of sewage water are recycled here every day. Although all water is recycled, people are very squeamish about returning this water directly to our taps – even though it is probably cleaner than what is actually there. So most of this water is used for other purposes, Lake Balboa, irrigation and to release back to the river. If you ever see purple irrigation pipes on city golf course or along the freeway – they are using this reclaimed water. So the myth that all California can do is just waste water is just that, a myth. Sure we need to do more, but it’s just sensationalist hype to pretend that all we do is waste.I’m not good at identifying birds, although I do know that the local birding society spends time here. I think this is a cormorant or an egret, what is cool is that I spotted the nest.Ducks are plentiful here, better here than in peoples swimming pools.Goose and turtle. I think this turtle is one of those carnival turtles that came home in a plastic bag. After a while he was thrown out into a body of water, and guess what these turtles thrive even if they aren’t native.We saw a few of these, which means the coyotes are around as well.Park rangers on horses, great way to patrol the area.Since it’s spring, there are flowers, once again, not native, but well worth having by the lake.I think I have this rose bush in my garden.And finally, the kind of graffiti I am beginning to hate. There is a walkway under Burbank Blvd that leads to the southern section of this reserve. Why is it that people feel they can take the loudest brashest cans of paint to everything??? These days so many building owners are hiring people to paint wild murals on the sides of their buildings. Kudos to them, but this is public land and I have no doubt this is not condoned. Oh well urban blight, it is everywhere.

Leah

Sew Together Bag again!

Did I mention that I met Michele from Sewdemented at Quiltcon? Well I did, had lunch with her, what a lovely lady. Here I am making yet another one of her wonderful Sew Together Bags.

I love making them and people love receiveing them. This one is for my son in law Yoch, he is busy making quilts for so many people and I know he will put this bag to good use.You probably know by now that green is his favorite color, must be the Irish in him.Instead of some kind of patchwork on the exterior, I’m practicing my walking foot quilting.Love the result.The interior is where all the happy brightness is happening. Every time I make one of these there is a small improvement. This time it’s the tabs at the ends of the zippers, spiced things up by using a red print.The bag is taking shape, with a pin cushion and a needle pad. When making these for non sewers, I omit that step.I am getting better at including my label in my projects.Another personalized touch, an interesting bead as the zipper pull.Quiet, sedate, masculaine bag.Until you open it up and it just pops with vibrant colors!

One doesn’t give a gift unwrapped. Recently I found this book:I knowThe Japanese art of wrapping items in cloth. I know, this could almost qualify for ‘I nailed it!’. Here’s the deal, quilting cotton doesn’t drape like a soft silk. Also, the colors, yellow and green, the colors of the Oregon ducks (and yes, I bought this fabric in Oregon). Yoch is from there, so he can relate very well. This serves not only as a gift wrapping but as more fabric for his stash. Don’t worry, I still have some of my own leftover.

I gave it to Yoch right before he left on a trip. Of course he loves it, and it will get a lot of use both on his trip and when he gets home.

Leah

But is it Art?

Yeah, I had my rant about contemporary art. I should probably explain what bothers me so much about it. Bates Motel on Sunset in Silverlake, everything whitewashed, even the trees.

Once upon a time, art was a well respected profession. People would apprentice in an artist studio, learn the tricks of the trade from a master. As their skills increased many would move on, open their own studios and try and get clients of their own. The patron would have to be someone with a lot of money – like the Church, or wealthy businessmen, at some point government got in on the gig – especially when they saw how well art works as a propaganda tool.This old derelict motel is the Sunset Pacific, but being on the corner of Bates street and being very creepy looking, it became known as the Bates Motel – once it was no longer accepting paying guests. (Vagrants used it of course)

By the late 19th c. the hierarchy of studios and approved art institutions started breaking down. Think Impressionism or Van Gough, the outsiders wanted in! Government became even more powerful, think Nazi Germany and their art propaganda. Their classification of unsanctioned art as Degenerate Art did more for expat German artists than any positive publicity ever could.Keeping everyone out of the property meant a chain link fence and some pretty vicious looking razor wire.

Suddenly the art world was blown wide open, and the term art was applied to anything, if you called what you created, Art, this is was wrong and judgmental to deny your claim. Of course there still have to be powerful forces making a lot of money out of all this vast creative output. Enter Art schools – where learning technique is meaningless, but learning jargon, pseudo-phylosophies and making sure that what you create has a message – preferably an angry anti society one – became a must in this new industry. All this must be supported by snooty galleries, curators and museums who are horrified by the notion that art could edify or even just be pretty. Not all beauty is art, sometimes interesting shapes and textures are just that, something that make it worth your while to stop and look, just because.

We’ve seen a glut of lawyers desperately trying to ways to make a living in a very crowded field. The same has happened with artists, although more so. The art schools are churning out more ‘artists’ every year, only a few can come back to make money off teaching the next years crop of students. So many go out, find a cheap place to ‘create’ and within a few years disappear, since bills must be paid. Others are successful, they get exhibitions, they sell their commissions to cities and businesses who want to appear hip and in the know. And of course there is are all those people who have disposable income and the best way to show their success is to create an art collection. Preferably one that doesn’t cost too much money, so supporting some young unknown does two things. Makes you more than just a philistine, you are now part of the literati elite, and you are supporting ART!.Everything gets covered by this lime wash, even the palm trees. We are told that this will do them no harm and it will gradually wear off. Who told us? The artist, not an arborist who actually knows about trees.

So 20 years this site has been sitting empty, now it is owned by a developer who will tear it down and build a large apartment complex on the site. Silverlake is one of the hippest and now expensive neighborhoods in LA.And if in the process of creating ‘art’ your work spills over and obscures a city owned street sign, oh well, maybe the city should be ‘proud’ to be included.Can I just say that it warms my heart to see that stubborn weeds managed to avoid the lime wash.Spraying everything white has a way of highlighting the shapes and textures. Not to mention that against a bright blue LA sky, it all looks marvelous.

Of course the neighbors are upset, they don’t want a big apartment complex. Really what they should be asking for is a new modern hotel. One thing Silverlake doesn’t have is any hotels. Sure that is a great boon to the AirBnB industry, but they could survive very well even with a large hotel on Sunset Blvd. Look at downtown, every week a new project is starting for either more apartments or hotels.

I’m probably giving the impression that I don’t like what was done here. Wrong! I actually love it, I think it’s a great use of the space until it gets torn down. What I don’t like is calling this art. Come up with a new term. We are all conditioned to think that if it’s art then it is elevated and important. There is a lot of creativity and beauty in the world that just is, because we as humans have the need to be creative.I have a love hate relationship with graffiti, I’m really torn. I happen to really like this – and since it is anonymous I guess we can’t call it art. It is ‘defacing’ public property, but I admit, I like it. This lamp pole is right next to the big white installation, and both is their way are pleasing to me.

As to the artist, go google him yourself, next weekend he will be at the site and there will be a grand opening of this project.

And so now you know in a nutshell, why I won’t call myself an artist. I’m simply not one. I’m a very creative crafter, I love making beautiful things to share with people in my life.

I’m not expecting the literati to ever consider crafts worthy of their attention unless the word art is attached. That is fine by me, in my world I get a lot of accolades for the work I do and thats’ the way I like it.

Leah