This is for parents in the greater L.A. area who are blessed with "Fridge Artists"

Are you a parent?  Do you live in the greater Los Angeles (L.A.) area?  Is your child or children a bona fide, "fridge" artist? (or if you know one, please feel free to share this with them)  Then this blog post is for you.

The author of this blog is also the Art in Los Angeles examiner for examiner.com.  As such when you think about it, I have a ton of leeway as to what I can write about since "art" includes so many things.

One thing for sure, it is a little tough to have art without artists.  

I created an article series, "10 Questions with artist _____".  In the series an artist answers 10 questions and has the art of their choice showcased in the article.  Click here for an example.

As I write this, I had the opportunity to attend a kids art workshop.  It got me to thinking about an idea, fridge art, I've had for a couple of years but never quite knew what to do about it.  

Light bulb!  Compile 10 questions (in all fairness, I borrowed a couple of the questions from the following online article) to ask a fridge artist.  To me, fridge artist has a ton of leeway as the only requirement is that the artist has at some point in time created art that was exhibited on a fridge door.  So, I am placing an age limit on this of under 18 years of age.  So parental permission will be needed.

Who knows what this type (being published in an online publication) of acknowledgement may mean for fostering future art confidence for your fridge artist. 

The Kool-Aid art portrayed in the photo above was colored in by my youngest son when he was 17.  It's had a revered space on my fridge ever since.

Almost ten years later, to the right is what he refers to as a "doodle" he did on Photoshop.  Apparently, certain artistic talents skip a generation.

According to my own parameters, this son technically would not qualify for this series of articles.  He is now over 18 years of age.  He does not live in the greater L.A. area.  Instead, he has agreed to allow me to use him as the prototype.  So, here goes:

10 questions with fridge artist Christopher Bjork 

1.  Christopher, what age would you say you first began creating art?    is swirling baby food around your high chair tray art?

2.  What’s your favorite color?  it depends on the situation, but I very much like dark green, like forest green.  Also, deep reds, like maroon.  Maroon is a good color. 

3.  Of the many different ways to create art, such as drawing, painting, sculpting, photography and the like, which is your favorite?  I can't choose a favorite, because I like to think of most things I do as artistic, from drawing to writing to something as silly as making a nice excel spreadsheet.  So pen and paper doodles (crude but fun and easy), Photoshop "paintings/drawings" (better quality but more time effort and concentration) and making videos (it's what I went to school for and have collaborated on a few professional...would love to do more).

4.  Is there some kind of art you haven’t tried yet that you’d like to?  Well, I would like to have access to making some art with clay, like pottery or sculptures.  I've tried it before.  Actually, I've tried many art forms already even graffiti (the building was abandoned, totally legit)

5.  Do you have a favorite food?  If so, what is it?  yes, breakfast

6.  Is there a food that if you never had to eat it again would thrill you?  I eat what I want

7.  If a genie would give you one wish, what would you wish for?  Sadly, I have thought about the answer to this question too long and hard to possibly fit it into an answer here.  Probably would take a whole different article or even a book.  Careful what you wish for.

8.  What is your favorite toy now or of your life so far?  It would be rude to show favoritism, they were my friends.  (short answer: legos)

9.  What do you think is beyond the stars?  what ever your imagination wants it to be

10.  What makes you laugh?  me

BONUS:  Is there anything else you’d like to express about you, your art or anything here?  If yes, what would that be?  the world needs more fridge art...and its artists

The End

So...if you would love to have your fridge artist be the subject of one of these articles, please consider this my personal invitation to you. (If you know someone who would enjoy this invitation, please feel free to share this with them.)

Please send the fridge artist's replies and a photo of their art to Lori Bjork at her email, lbjork9999@yahoo.com.

It would so be my pleasure to spotlight fridge artists of the greater LA area.

Also, I will let you know by email when the article is published.  Plus, I will send you a pdf version of the article that can be printed out and proudly posted on your fridge artist's fridge (or whatever else you may wish to do with it). 

Below are the questions without answers (feel free to cut and paste):

10 Questions with “fridge” artist __________

Name:
Age:

.  What age would you say you first began creating art?

2.  What’s your favorite color?

3.  Of the many different ways to create art, such as drawing, painting, sculpting, photography and the like, which is your favorite?

4.  Is there some kind of art you haven’t tried yet that you’d like to?

5.  Do you have a favorite food?  If so, what is it? 

6.  Is there a food that if you never had to eat it again would thrill you?

7.  If a genie would give you one wish, what would you wish for?

8.  What is your favorite toy now or of your life so far?

9.  What do you think is beyond the stars?

10.  What makes you laugh?

BONUS:  Is there anything else you’d like to express about you, your art or anything here?  If yes, what would that be? 

Thanks in advance.  

Here's to all the phenomenal fridge artists in the greater L.A. area. 

What?  You're still here.  (That's me channeling my inner end of the movie Ferris Buehler's Day Off homage.)  

Of the three ways I have shown off my son's art in this blog post, which one works for you the most?  The one not shown on the red fridge (gives you the biggest view of the actual art).  The one shown on the entire red fridge (gives you the smallest view of the actual art).  OR The one shown below (you see enough of the fridge to know it is a fridge, but the art is displayed larger than with it being shown on the entire fridge).

  

GR Works Sponsored Kids Art Workshop

Another hot Saturday in Los Angeles (LA) and what to do?

For all the attendees of the GR Works sponsored Kids Art Workshop at the Robert Reynolds Gallery located at the corner of 4th Street and South Spring Street it was a Saturday for art.

P.S. as an aside to this story, I wish to point out the look of pleasure on our instructor's face.  Love it!

Now normally this is something I would write about wearing my LA Art Examiner hat, but that hat limits me to writing in the third person as the professional journalist I can be.  This blog, my art blog, allows me the freedom to wax on from my first person interesting point of view about how phenomenal I thought this event was.

The workshop was advertised and invited those 8 - 18 to come and play.  I so wanted to attend.  I so was asking, "how cool would it be?"  And lo and behold, I was allowed to attend.

This event was a class act all the way.  Each person had access to their own artist drawing pencil, eraser, the big paper...the legal size, special paper for painting with water colors, paint brushes and professional grade watercolor paints.

Attendees were instructed in drawing and water color painting.  In hindsight, what made this event truly "off the charts" (and in a way something that would most likely be totally lost on a child) is that our teachers were veterans of the house of Disney.  

We were taught how to draw Mickey Mouse step by step by the animator, Glen Keane, who brought us Ariel, the Little Mermaid.  Glen is a 37-year Disney veteran.

We were taught how to draw Piglet by Bruce Smith, who is currently a director at DisneyToon Studios.

We were taught some basics of watercolor painting by Patrick Osborne, another Disney veteran, and Robert Reynolds, the gallery owner.

Plus, the art exhibited at the space from the First 10+ Art Show happening simultaneously would have been worth the trip alone. 

How much fun to spend an afternoon learning about and creating art?  It was my first time ever watercolor painting.  Apparently I am not too cool to be schooled. 

Using the instruction I received, I also came up with my own character, the cool girl.  If you look closely at her different renderings in the photo, you see I used the letter "C" and the letter "L" for her hair and the letter "O"...two of them...for the eyes.  Whatever...it tickled me.

It didn't really register until I was walking to the Metro Station to go home, how truly phenomenal of an opportunity this was to be in the midst of such veteran artists having them instruct me (and the other attendees) in drawing and painting.  This was not a case of "those who can't do, teach".  These talented beings could have chosen to be any number of other places this day.  Yet, here they were...teaching the kids.  Even if some of the kids happened to be in physical bodies of adults.

So, I hope all involved with making this event possible will consider this my formal thank you note.  Thank you.

Also, what's too cool is that GR Works has it in the works that this Kids Art Workshop (my only suggestion, perhaps change it to PLAYshop) be a monthly event.  This big kid says, "Yes.  Please."  Maybe next time I'll actually bring a kid 8 - 18 with me.  I happen to know a hand full of phenomenal children.

Many of my friends at this point would be like, "YES, Lori!  And what else is possible?  What would be better than that?"

In true LA happenings, less than two blocks from the Metro station I was stopped.  I had to wait because there was a commercial filming.  They were right in the middle of a take.  A few seconds later, "BAM!  SPLAT!"  A grand piano was dropped from a crane and smashed to smithereens on the street.

It sort of tickled me.  Made me think of little boys (I had two of my own) and how much it was pleasurable for them to make stuff and then crush it.  There were a lot of pleased looks and high-fiving after the piano was smashed.  I mean really?  How does it get better than being a guy and getting paid to wreck stuff?

Of course, perhaps when they were a kid they probably didn't dare reply, "wreck stuff!" to the question, "What would you like to do when you grow up?"  

How cool!  I am always thrilled for everyone who is getting paid to do something they love.

Truth:  What would be better than that?

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Current Obsession

On August 22, 2012 I was walking north on Spring Street looking to see what I might see about the Eastern Clock Company and the Eastern Building (here is a link to the article I eventually wrote as my homage to this phenomenal architectural jewel at Ninth and Broadway in Los Angeles) and what was supposedly its first Los Angeles (LA) location at 556 S. Spring Street.

That is when I came upon the wall mural in the above photo.

As the writer of this blog, "Art 4 Art's Sake", it probably doesn't take too big of a leap to guess I love art and love to write about art.

Anyway, I was so sure this was a new piece since I hadn't noticed it on my August 9th trip to L.A. (which included walking this portion of South Spring Street), that searching for information about a new mural was one of the ways I began as I sought out information about this mural that I admired and appreciated.

The mural is about two years old now, give or take.  Not new!

However, since I had walked South Spring Street in a southernly direction, all that I noticed was the mural in the photo to the right (a JR creation).  

It is always interesting to me what may be "there" that isn't actually seen by me.

Upon a closer inspection of this mural/art piece, it was fairly clear that there are two distinct contributions and/or styles involved.  One portion of the mural seems to be very similar in style to the art in the above photo.  The other portion seems to have been almost carved out of some tree bark or something, while incorporating the bricks from the building the mural is affixed to as part of the art installation.

I was happy, then, when I photographed what appeared to be a signature or tag for this piece.  Please see the photo to the left.

Why?

I had assumed only one artist responsible for this art/mural only to find it was a collaboration.  This was a collaboration between someone who goes by "JR", born 22 February 1983, and another artist, "Vhils", born in 1987.

A little over two years ago (as I write this) from 9th of June, 2010 to 27th of June, 2010; a group show, Eurotrash at Lazarides Gallery, 320 North Beverly Drive,  LA, took place.  

According to a piece written May 30, 2010 in The Dirt Floor, "Portuguese artist, Vhils, (aka Alexandre Farto) from a photo by French artist, J.R." is responsible for this amazing art installation.

The artists did receive permission from the building owner to create/install this art at its current location, the south side of the building on the west side of South Spring Street.  To easily see it while walking South Spring Street, you need to be walking north on Spring Street.

While I am happy to know the artists received permission, I have a hard time imagining they could pull it off without receiving permission.

According to the April 28, 2011 Home Dsgn article, Street Artist Vhils Large-scale Portraits, "The artist creates striking multi-textural faces in decaying brick walls by meticulously chipping away at the wall’s weathered layers."  This explains the effect you see when you view this piece with your own eyes.

Doesn't appear that Vhils plans to create anything in the L.A. area anytime soon. 

Since 2010 when JR collaborated with Vhils for the piece I am featuring in this blog post, JR has completed a new art installation in L.A. 

To finish this blog post, I thank both JR and Vhils for the thought provoking piece you did together on the building wall of South Spring Street between 6th and 7th.  Thank you.

4th & Cherry

4th & Cherry.  Sort of has a nice ring to it, don't you think?  Or almost sounds like it could be something you would hear a ref shout at the end of an NFL football play, even though I know they wouldn't.  For the purposes of this blog post, 4th & Cherry is an intersection in Long Beach*, California that includes an art installation that delighted me.

 The photo to the left is just a portion of the installation.  You know sort of an up close and personal view.  I admire the way the artist created these pieces with a rusting patina.  To me it complements the dirt that may be characterized as the canvas for this art installation.  In the photo below you will note there is a number of these included in this installation.  They serve double duty (I wrote "duty"...get it?  ha ha) as sculpture and bike racks.  Together they are able to accommodate 34 bicycles.

 

The artist, Tom Walker, repurposed a 1957 Edsel station wagon with the number 4 where one of the head lights would be and the cherry symbol on the other.  The triangle looking area at the top of the hood is actually a flower box.  What you can't see from the photo is the benches that were fabricated onto the other side of the back area of the vehicle that has been spread out in the v-shape.  The benches are a nice place to sit and wait, if I do say so myself.

What is oh-so-wonderful should you choose to check this art installation out for your self is that it is located upon real estate on this corner that also includes a very inexpensive-to-park-there, parking lot.  As I write this, parking is only fifty cents an hour with a three hour max. 

I discovered this area when I was there to meet someone at the "We Be Well" facility located next to the parking lot.  Since I arrived quite early (I never know for sure how long it will take to get somewhere, especially if it is my virgin voyage to the destination), I had the chance to walk around a little.  What a lovely opportunity to make like the art paparazzi I be.

I also had time, sort of, for a little nosh at Lola's, shown in the photo above and located next to the building "We Be Well" occupies.  Lola's is a Mexican restaurant with sidewalk patio seating visible in the photo, a lovely outdoor patio area in the back and Day of the Dead art displayed throughout.  The food was enjoyable.  I also appreciated their cooperation about my need to speed eat. 

Across the street is a movie theater, Art, that looked like a place I would enjoy seeing a movie.  I loved seeing that they still show "Rocky Horror Picture Show" there.  I had my first "Rocky Horror" theater experience in 1987**.  Amazing that there are still places keeping this tradition alive.

What do you think...a little art, a little Mexican nosh and a movie?  Sounds pretty good to me.  As I watched while waiting, I noticed it must sound pretty good to a number of couples in the area too.  I don't think I have ever seen so many happy looking, hand-holding couples in such a short period of time as I did sitting on the bench of the 1957 Edsel Station Wagon.

When I crossed to the other side of 4th Street to get a closer look of the Art theater, I came upon the guitar shaped, metal bike racks in the photo above.  I also came upon the street art in the photo below.  Although, I am going to go out on a leash*** here and assume that this street art is sanctioned by the City of Long Beach...so not illegal unlike the other street art I wrote about in a previous blog post.

  

Lastly (but not leastly****) as it is art, I include the photo below of the mural on the side of the building "We Be Well" inhabits.

*One might contemplate why one might include art in Long Beach in a blog about art in Los Angeles (L.A.).  I mean couldn't Long Beach have it's own "art 4 art's sake" blog?  Couldn't most big cities?  So, I concede that L.A. is not Long Beach and vice-versa.  From the get-go, I loosely defined this blog as including the greater L.A. area.  According to Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, the greater L.A. area includes Long Beach.  AND you know if it is online, it must be true, yes?

**C'mon, I know you are doing the math.

***Just exercising a little blog post artistic license.

****See *** above. 

 end of posting fine print:  all photos are copyright 2012 Lori J. Bjork, lbjork9999@yahoo.com