Here is a sneak peak of what I'll be selling at this year's L.A. Zine Fest! It is my first year participating and I couldn't be happier. I have nervous knots…the anticipation, along with my tendency to be a complete perfectionist. I am kind of freaking out, friends! Oh, man…..Freaking Out!!!
I cannot wait to meet other artists/zine makers. On Sunday, February 16th, after checking out my booth (wink wink), I really recommend this panel discussion on turning your zine practice into full on publishing ventures. I wish I could go, but I'll be manning my booth. So many cool people will be discussing this topic-Esther Pearl Watson, & Kevin Staniec to name a couple.
I had the pleasure of submitting some polaroids to Kevin for this book. It's beautiful. Stefani's work is also featured. There was also a huge one night only polaroid exhibit at Bergamot Station about four years ago, that Kevin organized. Great guy.
So many cool things in the works. Can't wait to tell you all about them. It's all very humbling.
Felt so loved and happy, ringing in the new year with my friends. For a few years now, we've all been together and I hope we can keep that tradition alive. Last year, I had polaroids. This year, my cool cam checked out early (crossing my fingers that it was a bad batch of film and not my beloved camera). Gilda was kind enough to let me use her glamorous photos from the evening. Thanks, G! Check out that fancy back drop (shhhhh....red towel) !
Also, I want to give a shout out to my friend Tamika! Before this evening, it had been about four years since I've seen her. I cherish these moments. x
This past weekend, I embarked on a short journey up north to see old friends, and shoot some portraits for my series. It was a weekend filled with so much warmth, nostalgia, and RAIN....plenty of rain. My dear friend, Rio snapped the polaroid above. I couldn't get over that car sitting in between those hedges, with that house...unreal. Straight out of a William Eggleston world, or David Lynch's Blue Velvet. I could have taken hundreds of photos of the scene behind me (I ended up taking maybe five)....
In my last post, I mentioned something about my friend Brian having a birthday. Brian comes up with the best birthday themes. One year wizards, the next year, jock jams...
This year, artists and scientists gathered around Sync Space to compete in the ultimate battle. Who came out on top, you wonder?
A R T C O N Q U E R S A L L
sorry, science.
Though, without science, I wouldn't be able to take these polaroids that I have been so excited about.
Mother earth, a fetus, and a dinosaur smoking a cigarette. Our tribute to Tree of Life, clearly.
Now I have my very own John Baldessari! My girlfriends at ACO are beautiful and inspirational. This image was featured on the second to last post for their site. Check it out here. They are moving away from ACO, but don't fret, they already started a new blog with tons of awesome eye candy! Click here for details. I love you Gilda, and Stefani!
This was last Thursday, after the screening of Ralph Bakshi's Wizards. Bakshi is one of Jeaux's biggest influences, and this was to celebrate the film's 35th anniversary release (and Jeaux's birthday). There were so many people gathered around the now, 73 year old. Until dating a cartoonist, I had no idea the magnitude of Bakshi's influence. Jeaux introduced me to Fritz the Cat not too long ago. When Jeaux was a little boy, his mom rented Fritz not knowing that it was x-rated. He thought that the animals were just tickling each other.
We took these images in this crazy rubber/rope installation. It kind of looks like we are in some sort of golden space forest, or at a rave. Tried to find the artist's name on the lacma website, but no luck.
W O N D E R C O N
This was Jeaux's real birthday (St. Patrick's Day). We were in Anaheim, and so close to Disneyland. Such a tease to drive away from the happiest place on earth, but comic book conventions are fun, too. In the photo below, I was pretty cranky. It wasn't raining anymore, but we had been walking around a great deal and the crowds were starting to get to me. It was good to get some fresh air.
Trying not to look annoyed. Hey, look at the cosplayers behind us!
This is Jeaux and Peter Mayhew, aka Chewbacca! Such a gentle giant. I really wish I would have captured his hands in the photo. They are gigantic! It was a sobering experience for me, meeting icons from my childhood. I almost cried when seeing Mr. Mayhew, an old man now. I remembered how much I loved Star Wars growing up. Also, he is sporting my favorite Star Wars film on his sweatshirt. We think alike, Peter and I.
the brothers janovsky
Seeing Wizards for a second time was well worth it for me. I appreciated it much, much more. Maybe because I got to see the original pen and ink backgrounds. They were so striking, with a lot of detail. There was so much texture and depth, and it was lovely seeing them restored. The scenes looked so crisp and brand new.
The C O L O R S were insane! After the screening, Bakshi spoke and Jeaux did an illustration.
LOOK! Signed by the amazing Ralph Bakshi!
After the q & a, I knew Jeaux would be nervous to meet the man. I decided to head over, without hesitation. Jeaux followed and to my surprise, Wondercon was quite the mellow experience compared to Lacma. Most of the fans had left and it was just us along with Bakshi's son's and grandkids. Bakshi is such a New Yorker in the best way. Really punchy and to the point. He is also fearless, which is a great quality. It was wonderful to see Jeaux so happy, like he had just met Santa Claus! A while back, Jeaux was interviewed about his idol here. He's done some lovely tribute drawings of Ralph that you can see here.
As for my experience talking to Ralph, I can say that we both really like polaroid film. I caught myself geeking out with Mr. Bakshi about my fuji instax, and we talked about how much we miss the square polaroids of yesteryear.
Ava: "The colors were amazing."
Ralph: "Yeah! They had that muted effect"
Ava: "Yeah, super saturated."
In my head the whole time: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Afterwards, glancing over at Jeaux, Bakshi shook my hand and said, "Take care of him."
And we were off, so high from that awesome experience.
The man, himself! Pure H A P P I N E S S
We ended the night with Bob's Big Boy. I had a chocolate malt. They make the best chocolate malts. xoxoxxx
Last Thursday morning, I did a terribly crazy thing and woke up at 4am. Why, you ask? Press play.
I made it to the Americana at Brand around 6 in the morning, wearing my favorite plaid trench and some comfortable oxfords. I was ready to dawn the long lines and hopefully snag that whimsical flower necklace (honestly, the only piece in the collection I was coveting).
When I reached Glendale, I anticipated lines around the building. As I drove past, no lines in front of the store. I parked and walked over. I perked up when I saw the window display. The shop girl was sprucing it up and glanced up at me with the most annoyed look on her face. Again, no lines. Odd and much too good to be true. I was going to walk around and do some window shopping, when at the corner of my eye, there it was....the line. Some people looked like they camped out, with sleeping bags, a mattress...a lot of people were still wearing pajamas. I walked passed and checked out my competition. I was glad to see that I wasn't that far behind (maybe 100 people in). I snapped some polaroids, C O M I N G S O O N, and made some friends.
Jennifer, and I didn't catch the other woman's name, but I do know that she works at the Atwater Village farmer's market and sells soap? ? As we got to the front of the line and could see people leaving with bags and bags full of stuff, we felt a little defeated. This lady came out wearing a leopard print coat and little dainty heels. Her man was with her, in sweats and a baseball cap, carrying all her goodies. The peanut gallery was in full effect at that moment, and my new friends made me laugh with the commentary. There was so much hype for this collection, as there should be, yet that just elevated everything to the worst level. When it was finally our time (around 9:30am), I was part of a group of 30 that was able to enter the store. They only gave us 15 minutes to shop, and I had forgotten what my game plan was. Well, frankly, I didn't really have a game plan. They also distract you with music, L O U D music. Then this guy on a megaphone tells people when their time is up.
"Only 5 seconds remaining ! ! !"
So much pressure.
My worst nightmares came true when I saw that there were no accessories in sight. Just one necklace, similar to the one I wanted, on display. The display area was off limits. What a tease.
When I finally got to enter the section, women started to push their way through, and by that point I felt so unmotivated to grab anything. It was a madhouse of cat fights, and grabby hands, and size 0s, and unlined parkas, with nothing left for me. I had a chance to grab one of the tee shirts, but when I saw it up close, I felt underwhelmed.
"meh" became my reaction for that morning. I don't know if any collection is worth this kind of agony. I know that I need to spend at least two hours in a store, and that excludes trying things on (add 20 minutes, maybe).
You can find photos of the collection and the extended commercial by Sofia Coppola here. Also on ebay, most likely.
I hope everyone had a happy and safe celebration. I was elated when my good friend, Stefani, invited me to her annual New Years Eve soiree. This particular gathering was really special for me, for it has been a really long time since I have seen my art school friends. One of my resolutions is to make more art, and I feel inspired already. It helps when you have creative minds around you. Speaking of creative minds and feeling inspired, I suggest you take a peak at A Collection Of. This blog is run by Stefani and our friend, Gilda. These ladies are super women. They make jewelry, take breathtaking images, cook interesting dishes, D A N C E to awesome music, and they always manage to look put together in the process. Also, their blog features some really rad interviews with all kinds of movers and shakers. They are sweethearts. Thanks ladies!
Alex made this beautiful meringue pie!
My boyfriend and Britt hovering over the treats. D E L I C I O U S
Serge being a model as usual.
Awkward prom photo of the evening courtesy of Alex. Aren't we cute? Jeaux always makes this face.
You did it! Japanese puzzle completed by my man and my pal, Alex Lewin. They are even flashing the peace symbol like little giddy school girls.
Retro image by our very own hostess, Stefani. The gold balloon is just the perfect touch!
These last two images by the lovely Gilda. I'm definitely channeling a 60s vibe here.
I had the pleasure of hanging out with my friend, Ema Tunermann, from Ema and Her Lady Parts last Tuesday evening. We met up around 4pm and managed to catch the "golden hour", which always makes photos look really ethereal, like images from a Terrence Malick film. I know my shots will never be as epic, but I'm just happy to have had an awesome girl's day.
Someone's gate in Echo Park
Lately, I've been really into 30s & 40s fashion. This is my interpretation of a 40s look without being too costume-y. I mention it in my post called, "Inspiring 40s Fashion". These are those h&m palazzo pants I scored after a hunt for my size. They didn't have them at the Glendale store, so the next day I drove over to Pasadena. I was on a mission, and sometimes you just have to go that extra mile to get what you want. ;-)
Hello, golden hour flowers & check out the beautiful bougainvillea down below! I would love to be surrounded by these plants every day. Before I spotted the bougainvillea, we had a scrumptious late lunch at Masa. If you haven't checked out Masa, I suggest you head on over. I am no food blogger, but this little place in Echo Park has the most amazing bread pudding that you will gladly put into your hungry mouth. I decided not to take a polaroid of this delicacy, for it would not have done it justice. Too beautiful & much too tasty, made with three different kinds of croissant, drizzled with a bit of chocolate and caramel sauce & a little sprinkling of powdered sugar. Ema & I shared one because of it's decadence. I believe it has been the only dessert that has made me giggle with great joy. Anyway, there's your review. Oh, by the way, they are known for their authentic Chicago Pizza! I've been to Chicago & they aren't kidding.
On into the night, we decided to check out our friend & coworker's band, Arms That Work. Go Tyler, go! Is that a dinosaur riding a bicycle?
There is a similar shot I took for Ema's performance at Pehrspace. Old habits die hard.
Salvation at the Silverlake Lounge.
Gold nail polish for a golden day. Good night everybody!
The very regal Madonnas (Check out the accordion to her right! I would love to find out more about their life story.)
I wonder if Jane Mansfield ever stayed here? She would have loved these pink booths as much as I did.
Flower Power (this is on the way to the hotel pool)
*Jeaux*
Sprinkle on some pink sugar & Voila! (I wasn't that impressed with the cake to be honest. It was really hyped up & then when we finally ate it after breakfast, I thought "meh..it's just a vanilla cake with really sugary frosting". I think I'm just more of a chocolate girl. It certainly looks magical, but my polaroid does not do it justice. Here's a better view from Jeaux's camera.
"Hey is for Horses, but better for Cows"
MOOOOOooooooo! (I wanted to get closer, but Jeaux was frightened for my life!)
Mellow Yellow
If you look closely, that's a lil sea lion peaking out from the ripples!
