I had a very full and fun day today making a diorama at the Machine Project space in Echo Park (coincidentally next to the Fretted Frog where I take ukulele lessons). There's nothing like having people around working on their stuff and a clock ticking to stir ideas you never knew you might have. I came in with only a vague idea of doing something inspired by Murakami's Wind Up Bird Chronicle and walked out with a complete diorama, I'm amazed. Normally I would have probably dragged it over a few days. Artist Amy Jo Diaz and architect Casey Hughes were super helpful both with inspiring suggestions and hands on assistance. Thanks!

First post of the year! I’m not taking resolutions this time, except I need to either post more often or rethink my post strategy. It will probably be the later, soon as I get around to thinking about it! In the meantime, here’s my second collage on treehouses. It’s another tea house by Terunobu Fujimori, an unconventional Japanese architect whose work is playful and clever.

Read the rest of this post »

Not far from where I used to live in Venice is an eclectic antique store and gallery named Obsolete. What a great name for an antique store. But don't go looking for old pictures of sailboats or a fifties dish set, your grandmother would probably not recognized anything on display here. Seemingly from an undetermined era, the carefully curated collection of unique objects, art, and furnishings on display are so cool and offbeat I would say they lean more towards trendsetting than obsolete! The store also doubles as a gallery and regularly features equally unusual artists. Each new artist is always a pleasant discovery but the one showing this month really hit home for me, since I love miniature installations. The artist reception for Tom Haney's mechanical sculptures, Undaunted, was Saturday November 13. I went the next morning and had the chance to take several pictures while the store was quiet and the sculptures were resting after an undoubtedly busy opening night.

Read the rest of this post »

As far as small structures go, tree houses are my favorites. Walking in my neighborhood the other day I saw one up in a tree, and I suddenly remembered how much I liked them when I was a kid. My brother, sister and I would gather whatever pieces of wood we could find, nailed them against each other on four sides, put a cover on top, added a few pillows inside, and it became our sanctuary. Never mind that spiders would find it just as comfortable as we did.

Read the rest of this post »

Here's another ahem, not-so-weekly mini: a project I made last summer which I'm only now getting around to sharing, but speaking of crazy little characters made with wire, it felt to me like the perfect time to slip it in. These guys are not drinking coffee like the running man in my last post, but mixing their own drinks from self-serving pods, which I imagined would be the way to go if you were in a bar functioning like the internet.

Read the rest of this post »

What can you make with an old can and a couple wire hangers? Aaron Kramer will tell you, a kinetic sculpture! I like things that move, but typically my thoughts go to animation rather than moving mechanical parts. You would think the opposite, since in some distant past I managed to complete a degree in mechanical engineering. But somehow I was better at the math part of it, which is probably why I now write code instead of designing machines. So anyway, back to the sculpture. Aaron gave a workshop last Sunday on how to make a moving one that anyone can learn to put together.

Read the rest of this post »

Last week at the Renegade Craft Fair I met the artists from Sérigraphie Cinq Un Quatre, a Montreal studio that bears the name of its area code, 514. I was browsing through the pile of posters displayed in their booth when I overhead one of the artist, Jason Cantoro, saying he and his studio partner, Alice Jarry, were from Montreal.

Read the rest of this post »

Last weekend was the Renegade Craft Fair, for the second time in Los Angeles, but for me it was my first experience. It took place outside in a large park north of Chinatown, apparently known as "the cornfield". Events of all kinds easily go unnoticed in a large city like L.A., and I don't remember how I learned about this one, but I'm glad I went, it was quite a huge event with over 200 artists!

Read the rest of this post »

This is Where We Live by 4th Estate on Vimeo This short film is so beautiful I couldn't resist posting it here, even though it's been out for a while already. The other reason is that it resonates nicely with my current state of mind: enjoying the leisure activities of summer (at the expense of my blog). The music, warm tones, and fun little characters all contribute to the summery feeling of this unique miniature world made of books. To me it's a wink to those many summers of my childhood spent devouring as many stories as I could. A clever idea produced by Apt Studio and Asylum Films to celebrate the 4th Estate publishers' 25th anniversary. Check also the film's site for production stills and time-lapse videos.

This is Where We Live by 4th Estate on Vimeo

 

Today I went to my old neighborhood of Venice to walk along my favorite stretch of the beach, from Rose ave to the little bay of rocks where surfers ride the waves and skateboarders ride concrete in the park by the boardwalk. Much everything was the same: people smiling everywhere, walking along the water, getting buried in the sand or sitting quietly on the shore, kids playing in the waves.. but something was different.

Read the rest of this post »