Watts Towers

First, I cannot believe I neglected to post for over a month. New Years resolution...at least one post per week..

That being said, today I took an adventure with some friends to Watts where you can find these towers hiding out amidst one story houses and old workers' bungalows. The story of Simon Rodia is intriguing to say the least. After divorcing his wife and setting out to "do something big", he spent the next 34 years building this elaborate world of towers (which are remarkably structural...) and adorned with hundreds of thousands of tiles and found pieces of glass and ceramic. After 34 years he moved to Oakland and gave the property to his neighbor. Eventually two men bought it for $20 and worked to restore and protect it. Insane.

So, seeing this brings forth the question of whether the need for creative expression in some people leads to isolation and self indulgence....or can you have it all? But then maybe it takes people like Simon to sacrifice their life to the making of gems like this one.

palos verdes 11.7.10

These colors and perspectives can only begin to describe the scene Sunday afternoon at Bluff Cove in Palos Verdes... a super low tide uncovered thousands of creatures creeping around the rocks. The hike lit up by constantly changing light from the approaching sunset - you can even see the colors starting to change in the panoramic I snapped on my phone. Surfers paddling in as the last sunlit wave rolls into the cove. Dogs running around off leash - in particular one adorable floppy-eared (a must) dobe. I have to bring a sketchbook here next time. And a beverage. 

...the pink and blue clouds may require 3D glasses, no?

Pano - Santa Monica/Venice are wayyyy off to the right on the horizon, the cove is to the left, and see if you can find the hiker...ok it's not that hard actually.

-L

guess who

The beginnings of a small portrait - I kind of don't want to finish it... More to come.

-LK

DC

Aerospace Museum / meeting FDR / Smithsonian Hirshhorn Art Museum / sculpture at the Hirshhorn / WWII Memorial.

DC was very different from what I remembered it to be like. The weather was amazing, and walking the mall, museums, monuments and downtown felt like being in Europe in the summer time. I didn't realize that buildings aren't allowed to exceed the height of the capital, giving the city a very Parisian-like feel. At the same time though, everything down to the subway entrances has a massive, monument-like quality that seems appropriate for a nation's capital, but is a funny out-of-scale type of feeling when walking around the city. It's similar to how you feel driving through the mountains - aware of how small you really are.

We spent some time at the WWII Monument, which I really enjoyed - one I don't remember from my days as a young tourist.. The Lincoln Memorial is definitely still my favorite. We were also lucky enough to tour the West Wing with our own private insider ;) Sunday we ventured over to the Eastern Market, which felt like a completely different city. I'll be back!

Oh, and best meal: Bistro du Coin in Dupont Circle

Breakform Does A Bar

We completed this project a couple of months ago, but I just got around to posting this video of the process. A couple months went into the planning of this: logistics of fitting the equipment behind the bar, field measuring, laser-cutting and labeling each steel tile, detailing the footrest, bar top, backlighting, etc etc etc. It was fun to project manage, and a very intense week of nonstop fabrication, day and night. Needless to say, every time I blew my nose at the end of the day (well, is 2:00 am is the end of the day? beginning of the morning?) it was black. Nothing like metal work in an air-tight bar at night.

The video spans only a few days. Near the end you can see the construction lights go red for the soft opening, and then the bar in its final state at the very end (Tom's Shoes private party with celebrity guests Charlize Theron, Heather Graham and Jessica Alba..omg!).

Cheers!

Lately...

Rainbows, sunsets, Bill Murray, purple paint.. October is feeling productive. Dark purples seem to be a theme lately. I'm investigating with this striped painting series - feeling out a surrealist/graphic/landscape that I'm figuring out how to translate...

In other news, I'm glad to be feeling a somewhat fall-ish weather out here. It has by no means been brutally hot this summer by the ocean, but there is something I love about the fall and winter that makes you want to get home at the end of the day and hammer out some creative work. (And I may also have loved wearing my rain gear for the first time out here..even IF it was only a mist..) 

...More Lakes

Moving to the ocean....makes you travel hours to get to lakes?

My trip to Oregon took me to Buck Lake in the Mt Hood National Forest. The conditions were pretty much perfect:
       Other people encountered: 0
       Salamanders encountered: 3
       Bears encountered: 0
       Water clarity: 100%
       Flotation devices: 3

 *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Last weekend KT and I took an impromptu day-trip to Big Bear Lake. More of a tourist town than I had anticipated (perhaps jaded by the preserved nature that was Oregon the week before...). The mountain driving turned out to be the more enjoyable part of the trip for me, as I got to test out my manual skills on the terrain in a new vehicle!

And, in an effort to get back to the REAL purpose of this blog (keeping you up to date with any and all creations Le Kamp) this last photo hints at another project I am in the early stages of... enjoy!

-L