a los angeles jaunt

i could tell you about my mini LA ramen tour. a bowl at tatsu, a bowl at silverlake ramen. about the friends i have down there who are so much more than genuine. who all do amazing things and think deeply and lovingly. i often wonder why i deserve such people in my life [bonus being i got to see a friend pregnant. which makes me giggle every time. we bonded over feeling like an alien was growing inside us].

i could tell you about the perfect weather. the smog tinged blue hazed sky. 80 degrees. a perfect palm tree sunset as i drove from the east to the west side.

i could tell you about the kidney shaped pedestal with too many legs at rebecca bollinger's show. i told walter he should keep it and make all of us artists respond to it's quirky intervention for awhile. 

i could tell you about my sew la class. how one 8 year old joined us and killed it. she was so good. how it was full of people in the film/magazine business who had really interesting stories. how sew la is so beautifully curated and a perfect place to drool over fabric. how the staff and owner there are so super duper kind and make me feel so welcome.

i could tell you about proof bakery [i've been before, but this time sampled a bunch of things. that candied kumquat tart in the middle was beyond amazing and mom if i could have brought you home a chocolate croissant you would have been in heaven]. i think proof just might be keeping butter producers in business. but who has time to care about that while eating it. i could also tell you about the gelato - where we sampled too many flavors [what a kind server we had] before settling on perfect authentic plastic cup and shovel spoons of goodness [coconut and salted caramel for me].

i could also tell you about french general, where ribbons and beads and ephemera of all shapes and sizes sparkle and tempt and wait for you to transform them.... oh.my.god. or individual medley  - another impeccably curated store. i could have scooped up one of everything and where the shop owner's mother was working for the day while they were on vacation and was so kind [and told funny stories].

but i definitely need to tell you about the museum of jurassic technology. dimly lit hallways leading to diorama treasures. things to peer at and take in with all your senses. delightful collections of odd, decrepit, miniature, historical bits of wonder and enchantment. there's a tea room - at the top - equipped with free tea from a samovar and a russian dog. from there you can escape to a solarium rooftop garden that is at once transporting and feels transported from another world. a world where tame doves coo, where water trickles as beautiful red breasted finches groom one another. it's a dream there. one long dream. in this dream i found an insanely small astronaut figurine for the little [who has lately been pretending to be one], and potentially the thematic course for my next series of art [it's ruminating. i bought a book.... perhaps perhaps i should be so lucky]. 

i need to also tell you about the turrell show. but i think that needs to be another post. indeed. i am so grateful for my quick escape - i feel tired, but in that recharged, soul full of good kind of way. in the adult oh i didn't have to make dinners or get yogurt at 7am or turn on sponge bob kind of way that makes me miss the little so much and allows me to eat up her gigantic smile upon coming home. 

and i must also show you this. last time i stayed with my friends i drew their dogs on their kitchen chalkboard. apparently i started a tradition. and this time their cat wanted in on the action.