WORK/SHOP

So, this is happening next Saturday!

  Come hang out and get your holiday portrait taken by yours truly!  I am so excited and humbled to be on board with such a great group of women artists.   Below are some photographs I've collected for inspiration.  Hope to see you there!

M I D   C E N T U R Y   X M A S

Something like this, with the white tree and glass ornaments (sans nudity, of course).  RIP Bettie.

Everything in this photograph is ridiculously amazing!

your friend,

ava

The Sessions

  H E L L O !   I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving with lots of feasting!  I made a butternut squash risotto using this recipe.  So easy, just a little time consuming.  You will feel like you are in The Hamptons, with Ina Garten herself.  Well, one can dream right?  

  Speaking of dreaming big, Ben Lewin is the father of my friend, Alex, and he wrote and directed this film.  It is based on the autobiographical writings of journalist and poet, Mark O'Brien and is getting some buzz and great reviews.  I cannot wait to see it today!  Good job Alex and Ben!  xo

Ooga Booga

  One of my all time favorite stores, Ooga Booga, has a pop up shop in San Francisco that will be ending it's run in the next two weeks!  If you are in town, I suggest you head on over to grab some zines and some records.  November 30th is the last day.  The location is at the Kadist Art Foundation on the corner of 20th and Folsom.

  I first heard about Ooga Booga about six or seven years ago from an article in Nylon Magazine, about the owner, Wendy Yao.  HERE is an article from 2007, about Wendy, her amazing space, and what influenced her to start her business.  Some more recent articles from KCET here and here.  I am happy that I've gotten to meet Wendy and volunteer a couple of times at her shop.  Really glad that her store exists.

 R I O

Mike Kelley's Destroy All Monsters.  RIP

  The shop in San Francisco was great.  I loved the polka dots in the windows.  I happened to be wearing a polka dot dress that day, too.  It's such a happy design.  It felt nice to be the only ones in the store for a while.  We could just hang out and gaze at all the art and zines.  The plant, in the image below, gave me such fuzzy feelings.  Everything is a visual feast, from the potted plant, to the different colored books and zines laying on the wooden surface, to the beautifully woven rug underneath....M A G I C.

Underneath it reads:  Chris Johanson & Jo Jackson, Sic Alps/Awesome, Vistas print, $200

Fruits and Nuts by Laura Owens

your friend,

ava

Images © 2012 Ava Alamshah

Night at the Musee

  Thursday night, we got to check out Musee 16.  My friend, Gabi Mendoza, curated a little show there.  It was a great, intimate setting, with dimmed lighting, cushy chairs, and pizza!  I had two slices.  

Photo of a photo.  Gelatin silver print by Gabi Mendoza.

A photograph of one of my favorite places, Giant Rock.  Work by, Elizabeth DiGiovanni

  I loved these paintings by Elisa Saether.  Loved how she captured the "everyday" Los Angeles.  The markets and the hazy sunsets, and those telephone poles. Beautiful.

Collages by my friend, Marie Mingoia

   

 The shots I took below are from the gallery's permanent collection. 

Little dogs

They have the tiniest little butts

Me with the curator. Yay, Gabi!  There are palm trees coming out of my head.

your friend,

ava

© 2012 Ava Alamshah

The Chateau Marmont

  

  We had the pleasure of being invited to an art reception for Nancy Riegelman Picot, at the Chateau Marmont.  This is a place I have always been intrigued about and wanted to visit. It has that gorgeous classic architecture and an old Hollywood mystique, so it felt like a natural place to take photos.  The funny thing is that the staff didn't really let me take photos for privacy issues, being that it is swarming with the famous and infamous.  However, I could take plenty of photos in the two bedroom suite, where the reception was being held.  Fancy.

  Stefani is Nancy's assistant and introduced me to her a few years ago.  She came to support one of our group exhibitions with our art collective, From Here to There.  I remember being in awe of how high her platform shoes were.  Nancy has a great sense of style.  She was even interviewed for Nylon TV. 

 

  Nancy designed these tongues, and had them made from glass.  I love how they were placed on top of the bed, and how delicate they look under the lamp light. 

  Here I am admiring the pink tiles of this classic bathroom.  I could see myself living here (in my fantasy life). 

  I believe these are watercolors by Nancy.  The jewels look almost real from afar, and the frames themselves are a work of art with that subtle, golden sheen.  My favorite piece was the pink ribbon necklace on that bedside table.  I really enjoyed the context of the work, and it made me think about travel and what someone might bring to a hotel.  Jewelry is something I try not to forget, underwear is another.  The glass tongues touched on a sensual element of travel and leisure.  I love the intimacy of seeing work in a hotel versus being in a stark gallery.  It really worked for these pieces.

  Speaking of underwear...these are paintings by Michael Perelman, who was also a part of the exhibit.   I could not find enough information about him, but I really loved his realistic paintings and his use of light.  I've never seen white undies look more beautiful. 

  

  This woman looked very elegant and told me she used men's dress shirts to create her full length gown.  I loved that she made this herself.  That wreath!  I found out that she also has a blog.  Click on it here.  

  All and all, it was an inspiring evening filled with art, friends, and fancy times.  

your friend,

ava

All images © 2012 Ava Alamshah

 

Halloween Tour, 2012

  Remember when I wrote how I couldn't wait to tell you about our plans for actual Halloween (which fell on a Wednesday)?  Well, this is what we ended up doing!  Above, Jeaux is wearing his fancy diy Halloween tee.  This is before we went on our walk down Meridian, so we could see the old Myer's house.  Still looking ominous, even with the blue paint and red trimmings.

  The film's location is set in the fictitious Haddonfield, Illinois.  It was cool to find out that all the filming was done in the beautiful South Pasadena and Hollywood.  Nerding out!

 

  Below, are the stairs inside the Myer's house.  It's a chiropractic office now, and we weren't really suppose to go inside, but....

  The door creaked as I let myself in.  Gave me the chilly willies.  The building is a historical landmark, along with the hardware store, which use to be a hotel.  Jeaux also talks about our day here.

The hardware store, once an old hotel (now a restaurant)

A walk down Meridian Ave.  The trees are amazing there.  It doesn't feel like Los Angeles.

These tracks were right by the old Myer's house and the hardware store, in South Pasadena.

  I stopped to capture this rose.  Very American Beauty.

Vintage amber reminds me of fall.

  Finding the hedge was probably my favorite part of our adventure.  Who is that creep and why is he just standing there?

  The last three photos is where all this took place.  You can see why I am so scared!

  We are so fascinated by this low budget, independent film, and how everyone who made it were so young at the time, including John Carpenter.  After our tour, we ended up watching it twice.  The second time with commentary.  Happy Halloween!

your friend,


ava


© 2012 Ava Alamshah