Kneeland Mercado

Thursday night, I was invited to attend the grand opening of Joanna William's beautiful store, Kneeland Mercado. It's by appointment only, and is an extension of her online venture. I've written a bit about Joanna before in my entry, Seattle Bound. She is a very warm & welcoming soul. She also has great taste in clothing & an amazing eye for treasures from around the world. There was a plethora of art books, incense (which for some reason I forgot to pick up and smell // people were raving about the sent, cardamom perhaps?), hand woven Moroccan rugs, the brightest Mexican blankets/dish ware, artist made ceramic jewelry, antique oil paintings from France...giant pompoms (!!!), eye candy all evening! She even managed to get a sitar player. And if my senses weren't worked enough, below is a photo of the most amazing martini I've ever had (infused with lemon & rose water // topped with dried flowers) and dates stuffed with goat cheese. Divine.

This book, Into the Orient, looks amazing. On my list of wants. There are photographs from 1950s Iran that I am very interested in seeing. My father was just a little boy when he lived in Abadan during that time. He left Iran before the revolution, and migrated to the states, eventually meeting my mother at the Glendale Galleria of all places. 

Joanna, surrounded by her treasures

all photographs ©Ava Alamshah

L U S T    W O R T H Y

your friend,

ava

F Y F

Remember that time I wrote a bit about upcoming plans & seeing My Bloody Valentine, & hanging with friends & enjoying life? Click here if you'd like to revisit. 

I've been back from my trip to the Pacific North West & decided that enough time has gone by since FYF & that I really need to get these photos out there. I had a great time, even though MBV was so loud, they eventually blew out the PA system. So after a mind blowing wall of sound that threw us all into a trance (for real), all of a sudden it would burn out & then...nothing. No sound at all, except the rustling of the crowd. But when everything worked, they were exceptional. Just beautiful. Complete love. I mean, how can you not feel when you hear this beauty? And this?! Uhhhhhh

During No Age (hopelessly devoted since 2006 / we grew up in the same suburb)

Samantha's Bush / Samantha's Tent (during Eleanor Friedberger) I like her. I remember when she was in The Fiery Furnaces with her brother... 

 The Holy Nail & Your Friend, Ava before The Breeders! I had so much fun with this woman. Sasha & I got our nails done together once. x

Ran into Sam during the No Age set! Samantha & I go way back when I was one of her teachers for the community arts partnership while I attended CalArts. She was 15, and I was in my early 20s. So proud of her that she is still photographing and getting her work out there. See her photographs here.

Sarah Rose, Brian, & the sun 

©Ava Alamshah

H I G H L I G H T S 

crystal antlers

beach house (so dreamy)

flag

mbv 

your friend,

ava

coming soon...

// somewhere in Oregon //

©Ava Alamshah

Seattle Bound

So, I embark on a journey through the pacific northwest come Tuesday. I've never thought about visiting Seattle, until Ari moved there and has since talked about how wonderful it is. I wish I had more plaid in my wardrobe. I'd like to channel Bridget Fonda in Singles. I loved her style, and I just saw that that film came out in 1992 (I was ten). Now it seems like a 90s parody, with it's capitalization of the grunge music scene, Mtv era...casting Pearl Jam, and Matt Dylan's hair...GAH...90s!  People tell me that I am going there at a really sweet time (80 degrees, slim chance of rain), so I won't need plaid, but I am bringing a fuzzy sweater.  

I'll be taking the Coastal Starlight all the way up. I believe it's about 32 hours on the train. I won't have wifi, but plenty of time to explore. I cannot wait to photograph the epic scenery. Bringing my twin lens in the photo below.

I've been packing here and there. I am the worst packer and always take way too much. I need to really scale it down and don't know how. I only want to bring two bags. One containing all my toiletries & clothes, and another containing my wardrobe. 

I already got rid of the white button down, maybe I should lose the shorts, too. Not leaving behind the fuzzy sweater, though! 

I still need to fit two novels. Hollywood Babylon / The Invention of Everything Else (given to me by Gilda). Speaking of Gilda...

©Joanna Williams

P O W E R /// T W I N S

I swear we didn't plan this, guys! It was great to see you, G! 

This was earlier in the afternoon at Casbah Cafe. Had the pleasure of meeting up with G, Joanna, & Stef for a girl's date. It was lovely to finally meet Joanna in person. Stef & Gilda did a great interview with her on A Collection Of, and ever since I've had a girl crush. Her company is inspiring & I've been following her blog off & on, but it wasn't until Claire Cottrell's BOOK CLUB (more on that magic later), where we finally met face to face. Thank you for the photo, Joanna! x 

+ That list of things to do in Portland! 

Check out Joanna's shop <3

Before I finish packing, I wanted to leave you with some things that inspire me here, at home, in Los Angeles. I'm really going to miss my plants. 

...and the details that make my apartment feel like home

all images ©Ava Alamshah (image of Gilda & I, ©Joanna Williams)

Also, that book from Gilda, I had no idea what it was about until I just read the synopsis on Wikipedia. 

"a fictionalized account of the last days in the life of Nikola Tesla, the Serbian-American electrical engineer."

Um...I CANNOT WAIT TO READ THIS

Speaking of Tesla, I leave you with Drunk History. Watch it, it's hilarious AND infuriating. You'll see. 

Also, you're welcome. 

When I write next, I'll be in Seattle! Until then...

your friend,

ava

Beth

©Ava Alamshah

The last time I shot some serious portraits of Bethany, we were both still in college. The image she is holding up has to be about ten years old. I can't believe it myself. Time has gone by, and suddenly we are in our 30s. We met in high school, and I remember seeing her from a distance and totally girl crushing.

She use to wear creepers and had this little pixie haircut with baby bangs, and I thought she was SO COOL and I wanted her to be my friend really, really badly. Well, as it turns out, my wish came true. One day, I saw her hanging out by the steps with Mateo (they had a class together), and we started chatting about our mutual love/lust for David Bowie & Michael J. Fox films. 

We have been friends ever since. 

Beth and I have gone through a lot together. First loves/crushes, first loss...

our first cars, with after school trips to hollywood blvd. & shopping on melrose because only cool kids go to melrose, right? We thought we were being "alternative". For Beth's 18th birthday, I smoked my first clove cigarette wrong, and we had dinner at Ed Debevic's. Remember that place?! 

To see more of Beth, click here.

your friend,

ava

Oh, Bethany...

C O M I N G    S O O N

©Ava Alamshah

www.withyoutoday.com

disposable

E C H O   P A R K   R I S I N G

I tried out a disposable camera for the first time in years (I honestly can't remember the last time I used one). Here are the results! The purest in me loves the nostalgic, dreamy quality. The graininess just adds to these photos of crooner, Gabriel Hart. I work with Gabe, and he is in a few bands. His band, Jail Weddings (best band name ever!), capped off Echo Park Rising three weekends ago. I'm glad I was finally able to see him perform. I was starting to feel guilty, always mentioning that I was going to check out a show, and always, always flaking. 

I ended up going to this show on the night of my Mom's birthday. She showed up to my place earlier, and we had brunch at Cliff's Edge, followed with pedal boating at the lake.  I am a tourist in my own city. I realize that I've blogged about the lake several times now. It's all I can talk about. It has given me peace of mind, and I've fallen in love with Los Angeles again. 

Mommy & Me being tourists! I love you, Mom.

life vests are so hawt right now

©Ava Alamshah

Recently, I was told that the city dyes the water blue. I was kind of bummed to hear it, but it certainly looks extra sparkly! And check out that r a i n b o w !!
 

your friend,

ava

Allan Sekula

Goodbye, Allan 

Rio and I use to joke about how much of an art star you were. We would wait and wait for you to show up to class. Sometimes we gave up, but most of the time, we'd stay knowing that it would be worth it. I was always intimidated by you, and in shock that you are not around to challenge me. Challenge the way I think about photography. I will always remember what you said before my thesis (the smallest detail would have made a difference). Back then, I was afraid, but I will do things differently now. 

allan, rio & the san pedro harbor (2003?)

source

More on Allan's passing here.

Dixie

Dixie working on an airplane, during WWII

picture source

Teasing photographer, and former silent film star, Harold Lloyd. Lloyd also photographed the real Monroe & Bettie Page!

Photos of young Dixie I found randomly on google. Mostly tumblr...

The Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque, Dixie Evans, died this month on August 3rd. I found out a week ago. She was 86 years old. 

I had the pleasure of meeting her in 2004/2005 while I was a student at CalArts. Her ranch in Helendale, CA was one of the first stops during an epic road trip that would lead my classmates and I to The Spiral Jetty. I will never forget Andrew Freeman's "Into the Field". Those excursions into vast desert lands were pure magic. Youthful, fiery magic. 

I shot this image of her in 2005.  I titled it, To Dixie, with luv, xx Ava. Soon after, she would leave her ranch home and head out to Vegas.  Her Miss Exotic World Ranch was a time capsule in the desert sun. 

Rest in Peace

 More about her passing here.

your friend,

ava

Movable Magazine

Very happy that my work has been featured in this month's issue of Movable Magazine. It's the E S C A P E  issue! The word escape resonated with me at the time I was living at home, with family, and felt that my life had become so out of place. I had lost a sense of control, only to realize, I had let that happen on my own. It was a choice. To wallow in uncertainty, or to gain a sense of awareness, and to stop being so damned afraid of life. I still have a long way to go, but I embrace the learning process.

Ps: Friends! I've shown this work before. Remember?! 

Here....and here. 

All of this positivity motivates me to shoot more film. I'm crawling out of my funk, and slowly making the best of things, and soon there will be adventures. This month and next are full of exciting times x a trillion bagillion! Until then....

your friend,

ava