SpyGirl Shenanigans

Friday.
LOOK! 52 Bloggers on a SCARF!!!!!

Available here on Redbubble. [I get a small commission]

It's VERY VERY large!
It's a nice soft polyester (never thought I'd be saying those words when I was a 100% natural fiber gal in my youth). I haven't put it to a thorough static cling test yet, so far, not too terrible.

Saturday.
Dug out a relic:

Wore it like this:

Opted out of this outerwear:

You can call me Green Riding Hood

Made this plaid from a photo during a class demo:

Met up with Lani in Venice after class at the Charles Garabedian  retrospective at LA Louver.
(We both took classes with Chaz in the 70s at College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara).
Saw this:

Peter Voulkos, Anasazi (Stack S13), 2010, bronze, 75 1/4 x 36 x 38"

And this:

Venice Beach Sunset

Sunday.
I turned into a domestic dervish and made two batches of jam: Rose Petal and Seville Marmalade.

Rose Petal Jam recipe | Seville Orange Marmalade recipe

Mr Lou was not impressed.

I watched a little bit of the Grammys telecast and was able to catch (and sketch) Beyoncé's extravaganza.

Yowza.

Severo arrived home from his gig in Illinois and we were both hungry, so that was it for my Grammy viewing, though we got home in time to catch Adele receiving her fourth and fifth awards. Maybe I'll sketch her today [check my IG to see if I do] -- I decided to take a sick day from work. Too exhausted!

Linking with Patti's Visible Monday, Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike, Shelbee's On the Edge of the Week

#popforthepeople -- Roy Lichtenstein at the Skirball

Severo and I had a fortuitous alignment of schedules that enabled us to take advantage of Free Museum Day* to visit "Pop for the People: Roy Lichtenstein in L.A" at the Skirball Cultural Center.

We dressed appropriately. My BOOM! tunic caused a ruckus.

The show [up until 3/12/17] features a wide variety of work, from screenprints:

Roy Lichtenstein, Mao, Screenprint, 1971 plus Severo

to garments:

Roy Lichtenstein, Untitled  Shirt, Screenprint, 1979

Roy Lichtenstein, Spray Can Dress, 2011

to large-scale prints:

Our favorite was the interactive installation of Lichtenstein's 3D interpretation of Van Gough's Bedroom at Arles.

Roy Lichtenstein, Bedroom at Arles

The bed was comfy!

Very timely is another interactive piece featuring the Oval Office and speech bubble placards that viewers can photograph. [How did they know? The show opened on October 7, a month before Election Day].

Roy Lichtenstein, I Love Liberty, Screenprint, 1982

If you happen to find yourself on the west side Friday, February 24, there will be a free special event, Late-Night Lichtenstein, 5-10pm. With swag and music, and the parking is always free!

*Free Museum Day involved over 30 institutions in soCal. Here's a listing of normal free days in the LA region.

Linking up with Patti's Visible Monday, Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike, and Shelbee's On the Edge of the Week

Fashion Rainbow at TAG Gallery and Society6

You saw the 52 blogger portraits in my back yard.
Here they are hanging in the gallery!

(Sorry, not the best of photos)

Here's my compilation file of everyone:

(click on image to see larger)

See the rainbow?

I want to thank all my muses for your inspiring and colorful outfits!

Not only are the 52 bloggers hung at the gallery, the image above is available on all sorts of items at Society6.
Here's a new product that they print on, an 8 x 6" notebook:

Yes, I will get a small commission from Society6 if you purchase my stuff.

I'm quite pleased with the mug:

Cheers!

Linking up with Shelbee's #SpreadTheKindness linkup.
We could all use a little kindness right now, yes?

December Over-40 Blogger Meetup -- Only 4.5 months Away!

December 2-4, 2016 
Santa Monica, CA 
Big Over-40 Blogger Weekend! 

OK, so I haven't said very much about this, nor have I updated the page with the email signup.
Bad hostess, SpyGirl, bad.
I HAVE been contemplating it, never fear.
Twelve of you have even signed up for the email list! Thank you ladies!

Connie, Jean, Patti,
Suzanne, Melanie, Pao,
Senora, and [didn't sign up but hope they are still interested] Glenda, Heather

Yes, I AM able to count. Seven of the twelve have already been SpyGirled.
Lisa, Rena, Jodie, Autumn, SJ -- you're next (if you wish).

The meetup coincides with my exhibition of Fashion Sketches titled Fashion Rainbow to be held at TAG Gallery, Santa Monica, November 22-December 17.

I've been busy working procrastinating on it and am slowly filling in my rainbow grid:

[click on image to see bigger]

Many slots yet to fill!

Meetup Event Ideas

Friday, Dec 2
Daytime could be adventure time, with groups going to various shopping meccas, guided by local experts (Heather and Glenda hopefully).
7-8pm I'm thinking of having a special private VIP reception for my collectors and muses.
YOU are the muses (and some are collectors too. I thank you)!
8:30 Dinner somewhere in Santa Monica.

Saturday, Dec 3
AM, meet for breakfast? (I might have to teach 9-noon).
Daytime, more touring?
5-8pm is the Artists' Reception that is open to the public. I'll have to be there, you can find your own trouble!
8:30 Dinner somewhere in Santa Monica. It's really sad to go home solo after a reception. Let's eat!

Sunday, Dec 4
10am-? Perhaps a continental breakfast and garment swap at the gallery?

Lodging
I suggest staying in Santa Monica.
There is a new Metro train that is 2 stops away from the gallery.
(Severo and I just rode it to downtown LA last night and it was fine -- dare I say, fun.)
Pao found some sweet air/lodging deals on Expedia and I'll send out the details in the first newsletter, sometime this week.

Transportation
I suggest a taxi, Uber, or Lyft to get from LAX to the hotel.
If you rent a car, use the major rental agencies (Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, etc). Be advised that a parking fee will probably be added to your hotel bill. Free street parking in Santa Monica is nearly impossible to find. SM Parking Enforcement is super vigilant, you don't want a parking ticket.
For shopping expeditions, Uber, Lyft, or public transportation (will take longer) are the best options.
Parking is difficult (or expensive) everywhere.

Feeling interested? Excited?
Please join the A list! Adding yourself to the list increases the odds of a SpyGirl portrait!

Subscribe to the 40+ Blogger Meet-Up mailing list

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See you in December?

Chris Francis at the A + D Museum

Chris Francis, my favorite shoe artist, has some very unusual footwear on exhibit at the A + D Museum in downtown LA.

Chris Francis, Cages In the Sky

Inspired by Brutalist architecture, he challenged himself to create impossible shoes.

Chris Francis, Hard Cuts and St. Vincent's Default

Chris Francis, Tower Blocks

Chris Francis, Hardscape

Chris Francis, Invisibleism

I sketched these while Chris was explaining his design process during a curatorial walk-through last month.

The installation is part of the group exhibition Come In! DTLA, up until 6/23/16.
The A + D Museum is located in the Arts District, 900 E. 4th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013 (enter on Colyton).

China: Through the Looking Glass at The Met, Part 1 -- The People's Republic

The fantastic exhibition "China Through the Looking Glass" at The Metropolitan Museum in NYC closes on September 7th. I saw it when I was in New York a couple of weeks ago and have been trying to work out how to present my findings. It's a very impressive array of fashion, art, and Chinese artifacts, scattered through multiple levels and galleries of the museum, including the Egyptian Galleries, the Chinese Galleries, and the Anna Wintour Costume Center. It is a multi-media extravaganza with garments (couture, costumes, and antique Chinese), thematically related art pieces from the Met's vast collection, and movie clips curated by director Wong Kar Wei.

One is lead to the portal tucked away amidst the Egyptian Galleries (Gallery #132, very hard to find).
This first section references the era of The People's Republic of China.

Inspired by Mao left to right:

Vivienne Tam, Dress, spring/summer 1995, Polychrome printed nylon mesh

Any Warhol, [12 versions] Mao, Acrylic and silkscreen on canvas, each 12 x 10", 1973 [?]

Vivienne Tam, "Mao Suit", spring/summer 1995, silk jacquard

Unidentified Artist (Chinese, active 1960s), retouched by Chen Shilin, Chairman Mao, Gelatin silver print, 12 x 9.75", 1964

My blurry photos don't do these garments justice --
at that point I didn't realize the "no photography" edict was not being enforced.

Vivienne Westwood, Ensemble, spring/summer 2012, cotton poplin

John Galliano for Dior, Ensemble, spring/summer 1999

 Jacket: silk shantung with red piping and gold metallic frogging, Skirt: silk jacquard

After this gallery, one is then lead to the lower level Anna Wintour Costume Center.
Once there, I pulled out my sketchbook, to help examine garment silhouette and construction.

I took photos as well, though I have found that sketching really helps one focus on what one is observing when it comes to garments. I guess it's the great training that I had at Otis, where Jack Handford, our History of Fashion instructor, insisted that we sketch during his slide presentations.

Tomorrow, I'll feature the Quipao Inspired section of the exhibition, both with my sketches and photos.

Note: I relied on the exhibition catalogue China: Through the Looking Glass and The Met's website for information, especially the details on the art and garments. Selected Images from the catalogue can be viewed on The Met's Pinterest board.

SpyGirl Visits a Shoemaker at CAFAM

Chris Francis, shoe designer, has set up his atelier inside the Craft and Folk Art Museum.
From the outside, it looks intriguing:

The metallic texture on the platforms is made up of thumbtacks! 

(photo by Ruth) 

Inside it's a fascinating jumble of shoemaking materials, tools, and antique machinery:

Sadly, Chris was on a lunch break during Ruth's and my visit.
We shall return! 

The museum has devoted its second floor to an exhibition of Chris's shoe designs. They are functional pieces of art:

"Untitled" by Chris Francis. On display at Craft and Folk Art Museum. | Photo: Courtesy of the museum.

If you love shoes and are in LA, go visit!
The exhibition and residency run through September 6, 2015.

See more images and read more here.

52 Pick-me-up: United Nations

PURCHASED/ 

My effort this week is entitled "Multicultural Mashup with Hippie Skirts"

I have a lot of long flowy Indian skirts that I can't stop myself from purchasing whenever I rendezvous in Artesia (AKA Little India) with my friend Deborah. It's all Deborah's fault! I've decided that they overwhelm me and work better if they're hiked up and worn as dresses. Also, I can't wear long skirts at work because I'll trip on the stairs in and roll my chair on them.

I decided to experiment mixing the skirt-dresses with tops from different countries [for the prompt] through the filter of selfies to see what worked. Looking at a photograph often works better for me than the mirror.

First I tried an African fish tunic combo:

has potential

Next was a Mayan top (not sure whether from Mexico or Guatemala):

no. too much fabric and side seams wonky

I really like the fabric on the skirt, but cutting slits at the sides for armholes and placing the waist at my neck doesn't work. I wore it like this for work last Tuesday:

I look like a giant baby. Or a Cabbage Patch Kid. Nooooooo!

I settled on my favorite combo of Mayan top/ Indian patchwork skirt-dress:

It was 90º in Claremont at the "All U Can Eat" show. (20º hotter than at home).
This outfit was comfortable.
And
I sold 2 out of 3 pieces! (You can see them here). Yay me! I then bought two paintings to take back to my lair.
Here I am with Anne Seltzer. I bought her piece, she bought mine.

Linking up with Patti's last Visible Monday for the summer.

Can you create an international cocktail from your closet?
Link and tell!