Mr. Palisades: Wyn Jake Delano

This photo of Mr. and Miss Palisades was on the front page of the Palisades Post, accompanied by a long article about the competition. What grandmother wouldn't be proud!!

Kiwanis Fundraiser Success

Just returned from a week on the Carnival Conquest. It was a fundraiser for the Southeast Kiwanis group of Shreveport and what a fun group they were. We visited Montego Bay, Jamaica and Jeanne and Brent Reed joined us on the Island Dreamer, a sleek sailed catamaran, to snorkel off the Doctor's Cove reef and then visit Margaritaville; note the photo of the stilt dancer on the right.

Jeanne and Brent played with the stingrays on a Grand Cayman reef..I'll post the photo of her kissing s stingray when I get it. Michelle and John Davis w. Mary Ellen and Dave Foley swam at 7 mile beach...a lot safer choice!

At Cozumel, our tour group boarded the ferry to Playa del Carmen. We and the Reeds went to Xcaret, an ecological, cultural theme park w. underground rivers, wildlife, working artisans, etc. Becky and Ray Huff, the Foleys enjoyed their tour of Tulum; Mike and Sue Ferrell were delighted w. their ATV experience, the Davis' w. their island tour. Many friends and family accompanied the Kiwanis members...I thank them for their support.

Lyle Tuttle, Tattoo Star

Last Monday was a great evening at ARTSPACE. Lyle Tuttle, the superstar tattooist, formerly of Hollywood and San Francisco had delighted his huge Sunday afternoon audience, and brought his world perspective of Tatto as an Artform as well as well told tales of celebrities and tattoo history to a smaller but just as fascinated audience, not familiar with this body art, Mon. night. He talked about his traditional designs and how he learned the art, how he worked, and commented about the differences between his and some of the complicated, contemporary designs that are displayed in the Artspace photographs. The audience had many questions and each was answered honestly and thoughtfully and often included an interesting story. This show has been a great experience for me as an artist and as an introduction to a wonderful segment of our community.

Pacific Palisades Idol

Grandson Wyn last pm won the Pacific Palisades (CA)Chamber of Commerce competition for "Mr. Palisades". Their annual much publicized July 4 parade has a float featuring Miss America, and Wyn will be her partner....not bad for a 16 year old. He'll also be featured on the Palisades Post front page.

Yesterday must have been Wyn's WIN DAY as he became Prez of the school's Debate Society and learned he'd scored highest in the History AP exam. This grandma is just basking in the glow.

Paradise Inundated

I just finished reading The Gift of Rain by Eng, beautifully written, many layered fiction set in Penang before and during WW2. As daughter Bonnie and I chatted today about the torrential rains she and Jimmy have experienced since their mid-Feb. move to Panama, I thought about the fantastic Canal that works because of Panama's "gift of rain". Their household goods still haven't arrived though they were told by their NYC shipper it'd only be 2 weeks; they expect to be in temp housing for another month! But they've bought a boat and are starting a business as guides for fly fishermen. They're working on their new home too, tho' the rains limit their progress. Even in Eden it must have rained.

$12. per hour

Michael Graham is teaching a Drawing class at LSUS and needs models. He's paying $12. per hour; each session is about an hour and a half. I remember being a model for Don Alexander's class...fun to see how the students saw one's self. Do call Michael at LSUS if you're interested.
I hope the payment procedure has been simplified as I remember the powers that be wanting too much paper for the amount of money being paid.

The Economic Crisis

The inundation of terrible economic news via the local, national and international media has, as you can see from this detail of my latest painting, penetrated my creative life as well as my purse.

In this work, I've used several rubbings that I did some years ago at the McNeill Water Treatment facility. A number of ex-employees and afficionados of old machinery have been repairing and cleaning up this amazing plant and hope one day to have a "museum".

It just seems to me that in the past decade, too much of our country's creativity and innovation has gone into growing huge profits in the financial sector and into armaments, rather than into growing our country and people as a whole. But perhaps this crisis is a wake-up call for change in strategies and priorities; that we change from a me-centered society into one that considers others.

Web site designer Available

Do you need a website that's eye-catching, really works well? Please contact Jason Mackoviac at LSU-S. One of his students has completed a great site for a local artist and would like to design others for a reasonable fee.