A Trip to the Cove

My new camera, the Canon 7D which was just released in September, arrived last Friday so I really wanted to go out and take some pictures somewhere. I decided to head down to the tidepools at Abalone Cove. While not super low, the tide was going to be pretty low at 0.32 ft. on Saturday afternoon and I discovered that that is low enough.

It was beautiful and quiet. There were hardly any people at all—a few fishermen way out on the rocks, another couple taking photos like me, and one man painting. Because there was nobody to disturb them, some interesting shorebirds showed up including a Spotted Sandpiper. I haven't seen one of those in a long time, but they are unmistakable because of the way they bob up and down as they walk along. I took pictures of him, but I did not have my super telephoto lens with me so the photos are not great but are good enough for an ID.

As I was hiking back up the cliff, I looked up at the Wayfarers Chapel and noticed that the bell tower was completely encased in scaffolding. I hope it has not been damaged. The famous chapel, built by Lloyd Wright, is right next to the Portuguese Bend landslide area. Indeed, the chaple lost its original Visitors' Center in 1982 due to landslide damage. I couldn't find any mention of current problems on the web, but I did find this interesting piece of information:

In 1954 Wright designed the soaring Hallelujah Tower that goes down two stories into the soil and locks in solidly to anchor the sanctuary to the hillside. At night the tower with its lighted cross is visible for many miles out to sea. Sailors passing through the Catalina Channel call it God's candle. A chime of sixteen bells in the tower proclaims each quarter hour, peals forth at the end of wedding celebrations, and plays for special events and services.

Driving back on Palos Verdes Drive South, I did notice that a small slide had occurred along the road just beneath the structure.

Das RheinGOLD

I got a chance to see the dress rehearsal for Wagner's 1869 opera Das Rheingold last night. It is the first of the cycle of four operas that the L.A. Opera is putting on over the next two years, culminating with the complete cycle in May and June of 2010. It is a milestone for Los Angeles and for L.A. Opera that they have decided to take on this gargantuan task. It's a very expensive undertaking at a time when expenses are difficult to meet for everyone. But boy, is the topic ever timely!

The story of Das Rheingold concerns Wotan's foolish desire to build himself a MacMansion (Valhalla) and how he goes about paying for it. Sound familiar? He has promised his builders, two giants, that he will give them his sister-in-law Freia as payment. That may not be familiar, but many people have in a sense sold their family's future in order to have a nice home now. His wife, Fricka, is outraged, naturally, but Wotan assures her he never meant to make the payment anyway. That sounds familiar, too. I'm thinking of those adjustable rate mortgages that when ballooned left their holders without the ability to pay them. The excuse I heard many times was that people never intended to hold the original mortgage to term and expected the banks to re-finance at that point. In the opera, there is a lot of haggling with the builders, but the giants finally agree to accept the gold that was stolen from the Rheinmaidens in payment instead.

This would be a very good deal indeed in today's market with gold selling at over $1000 an ounce. The newspapers are calling this a "flight to safety." One wonders where people are putting this gold and how they intend to sell it once things stabilize again. As with today's bubble economies, the Nibelung dwarf who stole the gold, Alberich, has used it to seek out even more gold and has forced his fellow Nibelungens to do the dirty work of mining for him. One thing that he forges from the gold is the ring which is the object that ties all these operas together and from whence they get the collective name Der Ring des Nibelungen. Yes, there was a ring before Frodo. This ring will give the wearer untold powers, the power to win all the world's wealth. By the end of the opera, Alberich has put a curse on the ring that it will bring only misery and death to the wearer. 'Nuff said.

Putting on the Ring Cycle has become a rite of passage for opera companies and the cities that support them. People travel from all over the world to see the latest production. But it seems to me that the sets, costumes, and design of the production has overshadowed the music and the singing. This was certainly true of last night's performance. I think I got most of the symbolism behind the stage setting: heaven above where the gods reside, the earth in the middle, and the fire pits below. But I spent a lot of my time trying to figure out what those long ropes were supposed to signify, and the light sabers were laughable, like the one I bought my grandson at Disneyland. The opening was very effective with the solo horns and the stage covered with billowing black cloth to represent the river. But the costumes were clumsy and awkward and seemed just to get in the singers' way. And I wonder why none of the females in the cast were allowed to show their hair and instead wore ghastly white skull caps. They looked bald.

I have to keep reminding myself that this was a rehearsal after all, and that the company will not pull out all the stops until opening night on Saturday. But I think the $11m (out of a $32m budget) for the design and staging could have been better spent. Just like in our present world, things have become more important than the message.

Tumacácori

Tumacácori National Historical Park is located in Southern Arizona just north of Nogales and the Mexican border. It was originally a mission established by the Jesuits and later run by the Franciscans. I was inspired by the adobe ruins to try my hand at artful photography and so will just post the photos without further explanation except for the last photo which does require an explanation.















Taking a break from our tour of the ruins and birdwatching in the garden, we sat at a picnic table to have a snack. My grandson decided to give this ant one of his cashews (the cashews that I had roasted myself in coconut oil for two whole hours! But I digress.) The ant took off at such great speed with it that we were surprised and everyone requested that I take its picture. What is even more surprising now that I have had a closer look at the result is the fact that the ant was moving backwards (towards the upper left corner) not pulling, but dragging the nut along!

More Crèches

Julie asked for more photos of the crèches I saw on Saturday, so here they are. This top set of figures are actually puppets! And very large, too. They were created in the Slovak Republic.

This figure of Joseph on the left was carved from ivory in Alaska. I think I heard someone say that the ivory had petrified. I liked the colors of his robes and the imperfections in the ivory that give it texture. Click on the photos to see larger versions and enjoy all the details.

On the right, these tall elegant figures are from Venezuela.

The next photo on the left is a set that was made of felt. I do not know where it was made but that is a yurt behind the figures!

Likewise, I do not know where this happy group on the right came from. The faces on some of the figures were quite severe, so it was nice to see this smiling group.






Next on the left is a set that was made by Robin Teller of the Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico. It seems the entire Teller family are potters. On the right below is a set made in Tasmania.









I am going to finish this collection of photos with this colorfully painted crèche that was set inside a wooden box. I love the faces on the animals!

Crèche Fetish

What a busy weekend! On Saturday, Bart and Kathy invited me to go with them to an open house being hosted by a woman who collects nativity sets. She had them all on display throughout her house, including the bedroom and yes, the bathroom! There were nativity scenes on the walls in the hallway (like the Indian painting at the left), crèches filling the bookcase shelves in the kitchen, on top of the fireplace mantle as well as in front of the hearth, and spilling over the top of her baby grand piano onto the floor where there was a needlepoint rug displaying a nativity scene. The hostess was even wearing a necklace with the figures of Mary, Joseph, and the Christ Child strung on it.

She has been collecting these sets for years and from all over the world. Each set was labelled with the country of origin and sometimes the artist, or artists, who created them—Germany, the Slovak Republic, Mexico, the pueblo Indians of New Mexico, Tasmania, New Orleans, Russia, Kenya, Rwanda, and even an origami set from Japan. The origami set one was created in a box and when you want to store it away, you just fold up the lid of the box. No need to move anything!

The materials used were equally varied—wood, ivory, stone, paper, cork, beads, glass, and one unusual set that was carved wood blackened with coal dust and resin from West Virginia. It was very hard to get a good picture of that one. Some were very ornate like this set from Peru, and some were plain and simple like the one up top. Some were very old and some were contemporary. It was a photographer's paradise and I had a great time taking photos. The only hard part was choosing which ones to show on my blog!

Here are a few more. The colorful crèche on the left is created with thousands of beads glued to some base, wood I presume. It was created by the Huicitol Indians of Mexico. And I just fell in love with the expression of the faces of this polyform set made by Jovenia of New Mexico.

But my eyes really lit up when I saw the knitted set below that the hostess herself had made. Like the gnomes of last year, I just had to have the pattern. So did a lot of other people. She graciously dug out the pattern book and it turned out to be another UK booklet by Jean Greenhowe. If you want to get the pattern, you can order it from Annie's Attic in the US.

Silver and Silk

And now for something totally different... Silver and Silk is the name of a DVD documentary that Kathy and Bart lent me recently (the link is to the book, I can't find the DVD online). The documentary is about the marvelous textiles, embroidery, and silver jewelry crafted by the people of the Guizhou Province of China. Phila McDaniel, a friend of Kathy's, is the woman who went to Guizhou 27 times starting in 1984 to study the 17 different nationalities of people living there and brought back to this country examples of their wonderful artwork which were on display in an exhibit at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego until October 1st. But it is not to late to see examples from the exhibit as they are now part of the permanent Chinese collection at the museum.

I wish I could show you pictures from the documentary because the fiber artwork is stunning. The few pictures that the Mingei have put up on the web do not do justice to them. Incredibly, the amazing gowns, collars, skirts, bibs, and headpieces are crafted for the ordinary citizen to wear and not just for royalty. Each baby is given a cap at birth and at age one, they are given a new hat. When they enter school, they get a scholar's cap. Baby carriers display the best needlework of the women.

They do not marry within their own village, so festivals are held between villages so that the young people may meet. It is at these festivals that the fantastic silver headdresses are worn by the girls (usually made by their fathers) along with their own hand crafted skirts, etc. In one clan, the Small-flower Miao, girls embroider collars to give the boys they wish to marry. A boy may get several collars but he will return all but the one from the girl of his choice. A girl will start at age 7 to embroider and create her wedding dress. She will marry 7 years later. Her excellence in needlecraft is a sign of her diligence, creativity, and even beauty.

The names of the various clans will sometimes describe the particular type of garment that clan specializes in as in the Long-skirt Miao, and the Short-skirt Miao. The Folded-silk Miao fold silk into triangles to appliqué them on to costumes. The 100-bird Miao drop silk worms onto a board and let them crawl in all directions to make silk felt. Long Horn Miao men wear horns on their heads all day every day. The women specialize in pleated skirts and will wear several layers of skirts. The more pleats, the better, and the more skirts, the better. There are also the Small-flower Miao mentioned above and the Moon Mountain Miao.

Since they have no written language, the people tell stories with their needlework. Dragons are very popular in their designs. Paper cuts are used as templates. The pattern is drawn on paper and embroidered over. The Dong nationality makes Brown Shiny Cloth using indigo dyed silk that is rubbed with a hide soaked in pig's blood which makes the fabric tough (and brown). It is then polished with egg whites.

Guizhou, China was only accessible by a footpath until the 1980s and the recent industrialization of China has not changed the way of life for these people very much—yet. You can see more photos of their artwork at this site. Photos of the people of Guizhou and nearby provinces at work on their textiles are shown here.

Le Cirque

swirls of blue and yellow... Le Grand Chapiteau... "Mesdames et Messieurs!"... Corteo... no barker to announce the acts, just a choreographed flow from one act to the next... a funeral cortege... a touch of the Phantom, organ music, chandeliers... angels, lots of angels, floating angels (what better way to get props to someone on a highwire?)... adult children jumping on trampoline beds with brass headboards and footboards... pillow fights... rings and circles everywhere, tossed, swung, juggled... belly-dancing with hoola hoops on a highwire... walking a tightrope upside down... human-powered horses... chickens raining from the sky, swept up into a hole in the middle of the stage (a clever way to clean the stage after a fake snowfall)... a midget floating out over the audience from six huge helium-filled balloons... audience participation to push her back to the stage... a concerto for violin and glass harmonica... whistling Mozart and Verdi... very, very strong men swinging 100-plus pound women... clowns playing golf with a human head for a ball... a cast that comes from Russia, the US, the Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Japan, Belarus, Romania, France, Armenia, Bulgaria, Moldavia, Argentina, Poland, Australia, and Canada... music that is sometimes jazz, sometimes Italian, sometimes Spanish, sometimes Scottish, but always very French...

ticket price $50 (with discount)... parking at the Inglewood Forum $22!!!!...

More Getty

After a hectic week including lots of freeway driving on the 4th in order to play a concert in Burbank, I need to finish off my Getty story. The photography exhibit of the works of P.H. Emerson, The Old Order and the New, was outstanding. Emerson (from the same family that produced Ralph Waldo) was a very colorful character. He was born in Cuba but spent most of his life in England. He qualified as a doctor of medicine but turned to photography when photography was still a very new enterprise. He argued with his colleague, H.P. Robinson over whether or not photographs should be in sharp focus. Emerson preferred what he called differential focus, where most of the picture is blurred which gives his photographs a impressionistic look. (There are even water lilies and haystacks.) Then in 1890, he suddenly renounced photography as an art form saying it was just a mechanical exercise. Looking at his impressive photos shows you that this is far from being the case.

The photos in the exhibit were from 1885 to 1895 and came from his published works, Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads, 1886, Idyls of the Norfolk Broads, 1887, Pictures from Life in Field and Fen, 1887, Pictures of East Anglian Life, 1888, The Compleat Angler, 1888, Wild Life on a Tidal Water, 1890, Old English Lagoons, 1893, and Marsh Leaves, 1895. As you can see from the titles, he was fascinated with wetlands and with the "peasants" that lived and worked around them. He thought of himself as an anthropologist of sorts, preserving a way of life in photos that was quickly giving way to progress. His photos of fishermen, haymakers, farmers, etc., were of interest to me because I expect my ancestors in Newfoundland looked pretty much the same as these East Anglians. A lot of the photos were shot in Norwich which is where another one of my ancestors was supposed to be from. But my favorite photos were the landscapes. These look very modern, almost minimalist, like Japanese or Chinese brush paintings.

No photography was allowed inside this exhibit so I can't show you any pictures of his photos. Anyway, they probably would not do them justice since the photos in the accompanying book I bought do not do them justice. You have to see the originals. Unfortunately, the exhibit closes this Sunday.

More Museums!

Yesterday I accompanied Kathy, her husband Bart, and niece Lynn, to the "new Getty," i.e., the Getty Center. A few weeks ago, I was at the "old Getty" a.k.a the Getty Villa. The old and new labels were given to them by the locals simply to signify which one was here first and which one came later. When the new center was built, (completed in 1997) it created quite a stir because of the chosen site which overlooks the 405 Freeway in the Santa Monica mountains and dominates the area. The main "campus" buildings were designed by Richard Meier and Michael Palladino in the Modernist style but using classical materials such as travertine. Charles S. Rhyne a Professor Emeritus of Art History at Reed College in Portland, OR, has created a wonderful website with photos from just about every angle of the entire complex which I invite you to peruse. Now that the Center has been here for a few years, the locals are still not sure if they like it. It is just too big for the site. It actually is in the foothills and the immense white buildings look like they might crush the poor hills with their weight. However, it does provide us amateur photographers with lots of opportunities for picture taking.

Inside, there is plenty to see and even though we spent the entire day there, we did not see half of it. Right in the main Entrance Hall was a massive exhibit by Tim Hawkinson called Überorgan. I love Hawkinson's fanciful works which frequently include music as does this one.

The musical score for Überorgan consists of a 250-foot-long scroll. Black dots and dashes encode the notes of traditional hymns, pop songs, and improvisational tunes. The notes are deciphered by light-sensitive switches in its player and scrambled to create an endless variety of compositions.

We heard the hourly performance several times, but I was never able to make out the tune. It sounds like whales or some other large animals (moose?) singing to each other. The photo on the right shows the huge, two-storey piano-roll mechanism that governs the sounds to be heard. You can hear an example of the sounds the work makes at the website link above.

After a garden tour, during which we never got to the famous Central Garden designed by Robert Irwin, we had lunch in the cafe. Then the four of us split up into two groups to view the special exhibits that most interested each of us. Bart and I headed for the West Pavilion to see Defining Modernity: European Drawings, 1800-1900. I love the intimacy of drawings and the feeling of freedom they give. The artist uses simple tools and is not constrained to get things perfect. You can get a better idea of what the artist was thinking with drawings.

As it happens, today's LA Times had an article about this exhibit and the difficulty the staff had in finding just the right matting and frame for each drawing. They wanted the frames, mats, and even the wall colors to enhance the drawings while not being noticed. For this viewer, it didn't work because I always look at the frames and matting the experts choose. In fact, the very first thing I thought to myself when I walked up to the first drawing was how nicely it was matted. I know how difficult it is to pick just the right combination of mat and frame for my own photos which adorn all the walls of my house and also my son and daughter's homes. There is one seascape I took in San Pedro that we all three have and each of us framed it differently and it is amazing the effect the mat and frame can have not to mention the wall color and where the picture is hung, how high or low, etc. I like to look up closely at the artwork and then stand back, in the middle of the room if possible, to get the effect of how the pieces are all hung. Sometimes, the presentation is as artful as the works themselves.

To be continued...

Looping

When I was in Arizona for Memorial Day weekend, I taught my grandson and daughter-in-law how to make the looping wire sculptures like Ruth Asawa. I had gathered all the materials I would need and brought them with me. The dowels were the easy part. Home Depot has 4-foot long dowels of various diameters and will cut them to whatever lengths you want. The wire was more of a problem. Home Depot had wire that was much thinner and much thicker than the 22-gauge that we used in the demonstration by Asawa's daughter Aiko Cuneo. Amazon.com has wire of all sizes and composition, but there wasn't time to place an order with them. (It'a amazing what you can find on Amazon!) I finally found some galvanized 22-gauge wire at JoAnn Fabrics and that is what we used.

My grandson really enjoyed working on his project and decided to create something of his own when he finished the basic bowl. He decided it was really a bird's nest and formed a bird out of wire to sit in it. My daughter-in-law turned her bowl into a candle holder. I was curious to try Asawa's technique of flaring the wire out and then skipping a row to see what would happen. My finished project serves no purpose whatsoever, but it was fun doing it!

Curves of Steel

I seem to be on a museum kick. While in Arizona last weekend, we decided to go to the Phoenix Art Museum to spend an afternoon in an air-conditioned atmosphere. What else do you do when it is 104 degrees outside? When we got there we found that a lot of other Arizonans had the same idea. Plus there was a special exhibit going on called Curves of Steel showing some very classy cars mostly from the 1930s that was attracting people's attention. Photographing the cars was not allowed so you'll have to go to the website to see these stunning cars. The exhibit ends tomorrow so if you live in the Phoenix area, I recom-mend that you check it out.

Along with the cars, was a display of the high fashion dresses that went with the era and with driving one of these autos. Photos were allowed in this area, so I took a few. Seeing these dresses and especially the gloves reminded me that I have inherited some high-fashion designs myself from my husband's aunt. I have them stored away and don't know if I will ever wear them.

The museum has undergone some expansion since I was there last in 2004. I hardly recognized the place. A new wing has been added that houses a lot of contemporary art. For me, this was the most fun part of the museum. Photos were allowed and the quirky artwork inspired me to try my hand at quirky photography. As usual in museums, no flash is allowed or the use of a tripod, not to mention the fact that there were people everywhere, but this just increases the challenge. I'm not sure the results are all that noteworthy, but it was fun.

This is a work by Cornelia Parker called Mass (Colder Darker Matter). It was done in 1997. (A similar and earlier work, Cold Dark Matter, hangs in the Tate Gallery, London.) My shot only shows the central portion of this work. It actually fills an entire room and consists of pieces of charcoal suspended from the ceiling by invisible thread to form a cube shape with the center being dense and full and the outer edges more sparse. The charcoal is actually the charred remains of a Texas church that was struck by lightning. The title suggests the cold, dark matter which fills the universe and also a spiritual gathering as well as the solids and voids that are the basis of the sculpture.

Another room-size sculpture was the favorite attraction of a lot of the young people in attend-ance. In fact, we were directed to this room as a "don't miss it" exhibit by the museum guard who struck up a conversation with us as we waited in line to buy our tickets. It certainly did appeal to my young grandson and I found it fascinating, too! You walk into a dark room lined with black mirrors. Hanging from the ceiling are tiny lights suspended by that invisible thread again (like nylon fishing tackle). The lights change from full color to white only and from low to high intensity. As you walk through (you can't see where you are going, you can't even find the exit!), you set the lights swirling and with all the mirrors you feel you are in a swarm of fireflies. The work is by Yayoi Kusama and is called You Who are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies. Ms. Kusama has done other works on the subject of fireflies. This one is dated 2005, a very recent work. My photo does not do it justice at all. I wasn't sure I would get anything when I took the picture. It was a very long exposure and there was nothing for me to lean against for support. Kusama is definitely an artist whose work I would like to explore further.

Two More Exhibits

The Asawa exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown LA was amazing. Ruth Asawa has managed to capture light and airy shapes in looping wire that hang from the ceiling. They are beautiful to look at and leave you wondering just how she did it.

To answer that question, her daughter Aiko Cuneo gave a one-hour demonstration on Sunday afternoon. About 40 people were given the opportunity to make their very own little cup-shape sculpture out of copper wire. The technique is not really crocheting because you don't use a hook, but it is very similar. But even after the demonstration and the hands-on experience of doing it ourselves, we were still left wondering how she did it. Her shapes are much more intricate and weave in and around themselves. Some flare out like ruffles on a petticoat.

On display also were some of her drawings and paintings. Even in other mediums, she was drawn to creating flowing, curving shapes that emerge from small details like dots, blobs, or short lines. A short video showed her home filled with hanging sculptures and face masks, another of her mediums. And she did all this while raising six children! I plan to have fun with my older grandson next week looping away!

Across the courtyard from the JANM is the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA site which is currently showing the exhibition, Wack! Art and the Feminist Revolution. I wandered over there after getting my fill of Asawa's artwork. This is a very different exhibition—big and sprawling, and covering many different aspects of the women's movement from the late 60s to the early 80s, and includes many videos. It would require several visits to see the whole thing. Fortunately, some of the works and some of the artists were familiar to me, I had read about them or seen them before. It is an international collection and it was interesting to see what feminists in other countries were doing.

No photography was allowed so I invite you to explore the website for an idea of what was in the exhibit. Warning! There is a lot of adult material here. This exhibit caught my emotions much more than the Asawa works did although they tended to be more in-your-face, making a statement rather than trying to uplift. Some made me laugh, and some brought tears to my eyes. And some brought back memories... Did we really blame our mothers that much? It was sad, too, in a way, because it seemed like women were still afraid to confront the world and spent a lot of time looking inward for the answers to things.

I'll just mention a few of the works that stood out for me. The first was the Mlle. Bourgeoise Noire gown made of white gloves by Lorraine O'Grady. I have a white glove story to tell, but not right now. The needlework arts were represented by several pieces but my favorite was Crocheted Environment by Faith Wilding. (Click on Selected Visual Works and then on Womb Room. This is a re-creation that looks essentially the same as Crocheted Environment.) Senga Mengudi created a very interesting work with pantyhose and sand. The works of Alice Neel stood out because they were more mainstream. My favorite was Linda Nochlin and Daisy on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. And last but not least was a section devoted to the works of Judy Chicago, including Pasadena Lifesaver Red #5. Ms. Chicago is probably most famous for her work The Dinner Party.

An Afternoon at the Villa

Yesterday was spent at the villa—The Getty Villa in Malibu, that is. My friend Joan and I passed the time on a lovely afternoon browsing through J. Paul Getty's collection of Greek and Roman antiquities which are housed in a re-created first century Roman country house, the Villa dei Papiri, just off Pacific Coast Highway. I had been there before, but many years ago, and had not revisited the museum since it had been closed for renovations in 1997.

On display in the museum are lots of statues, vessels and vases, plates and bowls, jewelry and coins, dating from 6,500 B.C. to about 400 A.D. (The Getty uses B.C. and A.D. in all of their literature.) The building itself and the gardens were interesting to look at and wander through. I was afraid they would not allow cameras inside, but there was no problem with people taking pictures but I turned the flash off for all of these anyway.

Many of the statures were of gods and goddesses so we had a chance to brush up on our knowledge of ancient stories and myths. One whole room was devoted to the Trojan War.

The photo above is a closeup of the draped gown of a seated Zeus. The marble statue had been underwater for many years and if you look closely you can see two mollusk shells embedded in the folds of the gown.

This poor fellow on the right has been doomed for all eternity to try to remove an arrow from his back. It doesn't help that his hand no longer has an arm connected to it.

You might think that these last two sculptures were created by Picasso or some other contemporary artist but in reality they are very ancient. The one on the left is a Cycladic figure of marble dating from 2,700 to 2,300 B.C. The Cyclades are a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea. The fertility goddess on the right was made in Cyprus of limestone and dates from 3,000 to 2,500 B.C. For some reason I was especially drawn to this group of works, maybe because of the simplicity of the lines, or maybe because of the great age of the pieces.

Sunday I will be joining Grace for a demonstration of Ruth Asawa's work at the Japanese American National Museum. Ms. Asawa created sculptures from wire and we plan to attend a demonstration by her daughter who will show us how she did it. As Joan said, we are very lucky here in LA to have so many first rate museums.