We are honored that a new exhibit showcasing dearantler’s work will be showing online and in-person by appointment at Avenue 50 Studio from April 17 through May 29. Elements of Existence explores our collective relationship with nature through the lens of the four classical elements -- water, earth, fire, air -- with each element represented on one of the four walls in Avenue 50 Studio's intimate Annex Room. In all, eighty-one paintings, watercolors, and prints offer an homage to nature's therapeutic beauty while also prompting us to examine our misuse of natural resources and our impact on flora, fauna, ecosystems, and our fellow humans in this, our only home. From finding wonder in nature to witnessing catastrophic extremes of rising sea levels and unprecedented wildfires, Elements of Existence offers an array of musings on our past, current, and possible future relationships to all that sustains us on planet Earth.
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The Troubles We Carry
In the latest dearantler show, we pay homage to nature's grandest cathedrals, its most heavenward sacred spaces: mountains. From the most inviting and verdant summits, to inhospitable thin-aired peaks far above timberline, mountains offer weary human souls a dose of the grandiose, a chance for renewal, a baptismal reconnection to our primeval roots of wandering lands high and low.
Read Moredearantler turns 3!
dearantler opened its virtual doors on December 15, 2013 and we're throwing a party (in real life, not virtual!) to celebrate 3 years of shenanigans and 10 art shows.
Come out and say hello, enjoy live music by holiday carolers and the Peanut Butter & Jellies,* go on a guided moonlight hike, sip a drink...and of course enjoy the artwork. Brand-new work and selections from all past shows will be on display, including work by the talented Diana Kohne. Check out the gallery and attic for a taste.
The event takes place at TreePeople's Coldwater Canyon Park, a beautiful refuge in the middle of LA. Extra points for anyone who can decode the symbols at the bottom of the poster (hint: each represents a past show title and a Hitchock film).
*The PB&Js are: Edith de Guzman, Laura Derby, Jessika Mitchell, Danny Carmichael and Rodney Rodriguez.
Strangers On A Trail
Another year passes and we find ourselves at summer's doorstep once more. California is fortunate to have year-round access to the outdoors -- but even in the land of never-ending exploration opportunities, summer affords special access to some of the most incredible places this state has on offer. Among these are the Sierra Nevada Mountains -- the Range of Light, as John Muir called it. At 400 miles long -- from Tehachapi Pass in Kern County, to Fredonyer Pass in Lassen County -- the Sierra is home to three national parks (Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon), 20 wilderness areas, and many other iconic features, including Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney.
Many consider the John Muir Trail to be the crown jewel of this spectacular mountain range. Even a well-traveled buck like me would be hard pressed to find a land to match its awe-inspiring magnificence. And so, with summer here once again, we pay homage to this stunning 220-mile ribbon of trail in the hopes of inspiring others to breathe its therapeutic air, see its exhilirating sites and feel its recuperative effects.
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The Horizon Vanishes
The Horizon Vanishes | A Journey Underwater signals the return of new work to the virtual gallery walls of dearantler. E+J both present new series exploring this topic, offering two varying styles and takes on the same theme. We invite you to leave the familiarity of terra firma, enter the depths of the ocean with us and explore a world not often seen.
What is it about this vast, cold, dark world that has lured writers, artists and explorers for thousands of years? Whether it's the biblical allegory of Jonah and the whale, Ahab's obsessive quest for Moby Dick, or the ancient mariner's lament "Water, water every where, nor any drop to drink," this is a theme that ties us through our collective ancestral roots. At once alluring and inhospitable, the sea reminds us of a time before humankind's predecessors crawled out of its embrace onto the primordial shore.
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To Catch Some Sleep
To Catch Some Sleep | Fairy Tales Reimagined brings two "firsts" to dearantler: the show brings screen printing to our gallery for the first time, and it's the first-ever collaboration between E+J to be shown at dearantler.
The artists split everything about To Catch Some Sleep down the middle: selecting which fairy tales would make the cut, designing the prints, cutting the stencils, blending the inks, and finally, printing. This differs from E+J's usual creative process, where they each run with their individual ideas and pursue them alone, occasionally checking in with each other for critique or to ask for assistance along the way. I enjoy seeing what those two come up with individually for each show, but I must say that this collaboration was great fun to watch. For days and days, the dearantler studio was filled with a rainbow of ink jars, ink-stained aprons and half-finished prints rotating endlessly between the printing table and the drying rack.
Read MoreArch Rock, a short walk from White Tank campground.
Hooves on the Ground: Joshua Tree National Park and High Desert Test Sites
After what seemed like a never-ending summer, which started in mid-May and lingered into November, autumn finally arrived in mid-November. In Southern California, this means that desert-exploration season is finally upon us.
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For the Birds
This month we shift our focus skyward, paying homage to our winged brethren. Our fine-feathered friends are the first to greet us with song in the morning, the first to warn us when a storm approaches, and the first to mark the changing of the seasons. Whether migratory or resident, raptor or forager, social or solitary, birds observe the cadences of life closely. It has been my experience that they have much to teach us.
That must be why birds figure so prominently in art and lore. After all, what would the night sky be without Cygnus the swan flying over the Northern Hemisphere? Can we imagine Edgar Allan Poe casting a weasel as the ever-present creature responding "Nevermore"? What would Sesame Street be without Big Bird?
We'll let you, our esteemed Jedheads, ponder these thought-provoking questions.
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Rare Window
I'm thrilled that Rare Window - Three Views Into Los Angeles is introducing dearantler's first guest artist, Diana Kohne, whose artistic style and name I really like. Why name, you ask? Jolly. Edith. Diana. JED. It's meant to be. Yes, I am a buck who appreciates a nod of acknowledgment every now and then.
Rare Window is a collection of disparate insights into one of the world's most alluring cities, an iconic destination that has been mythologized endlessly in film and literature, a metropolis with a climate so desirable that it thrives year-round day and night, a place where world-class beaches are a half-day's drive from the driest deserts and the tallest mountains. Los Angeles is also one of the most ethnically diverse places on the planet, a city where wealth and poverty are separated by a few short miles, where imagination and dreams are juxtaposed against life's realities.
Los Angeles is a tough nut to crack. Many have tried - Raymond Chandler, John Fante, Ed Ruscha, David Hockney and Paul Thomas Anderson to name a few - and many more will use their creativity to try to interpret what makes it tick. This month's show adds to this discourse in its own small way.
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Dial D for Drought
Dear Jedheads,
We’ve all heard the news. California is in a severe drought, the worst in recorded history and possibly in 500 years. As of the week of February 18th, 91 percent of the state was experiencing severe to exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. California’s “Golden State” moniker is gaining new meaning as hundreds of thousands of acres of cropland go fallow and our state’s role as the nation’s breadbasket is threatened.
Couldn’t we just pick up the phone and “dial D for drought” to alert government agencies to do something about it? In the face of a problem of such epic proportions, can individual action really amount to anything meaningful?
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