Tiny Iron Fists

Happy Lunar New Year!

Happy Year of the Snake! Wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

LA - Museums Free-For-All (01.26.13 - 01.27.13)

More information: http://www.museumsla.org/news.asp

An Unwanted Conversation

This morning, Lulu told me if she heard "thunder" in her school that she's supposed to play hide and seek and be very quiet in specific play areas. She also told me that some kids should tell the teachers about the thunder while others should sneak to "the kitchen" and "the library". If they are sleeping, they should wake up and move quickly.

I'm not upset that Lulu's school is thinking about her safety. But I'm incredibly bummed this conversation even ever had to happen. Lulu is 3.5 years old.

Related articles:

Talking to Other Parents About Guns

Talking with Kids About News

Gun Safety

Boy's and Guns: What's a Parent to Do?

 

LA - The Great Venice Toy Drive (12.08.12)

Mission 26: The Big Endeavour

I took off work on Friday, October 12th so I could take my daughter, a budding Princess Scientist to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour travel through LA's streets starting at Los Angeles International Airport, ending at the California Science Center in Exposition Park.

It was a surreal experience. Exhilarating. And full of wonder and dreams. Please, The Force, let me live long enough to enjoy more days like this one. The rest of what we witnessed in 146 photos:

As Seen By Lulu: Giant Robot "Biennale 3"

See what Lulu saw at Giant Robot's "Biennale 3" on view at the Japanese American National Museum from September 23, 2012 - January 20, 2012.

LA - Jamie Lee Curtis Book Event (09.15.12)

Jamie Lee Curtis
Saturday, September 15, 10:30 a.m.
Ages 3 & up

Join best-selling author and actress Jamie Lee Curtis for a reading and signing of her new book, My Brave Year of Firsts: Tries, Sighs, and High Fives. The tenth collaboration between Jamie Lee Curtis and illustrator Laura Cornell celebrates the everyday bravery of trying new things for the very first time. While our spunky heroine, Frankie, learns to ride a bike, tie her shoes, make new friends, love her first dog, borrow a book from the library, say when she's wrong, try yucky food and work with her dad, she also learns that trying new things is how she grows - and that being brave enough to do so is what growing up is all about.

CHILDREN'S BOOK WORLD
10580 1/2 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90064
(310) 559-BOOK

HOURS: MON-FRI 10-5:30 | SAT 10-5

Recipe: That's The Best Frosting I Ever Had

For our neighborhood's 12th annual block party, we made vanilla cupcakes with a vanilla icing. Low on time, I used a readymade cake mix for the cupcake and for the icing, whipped up this fantastic, easy, and delicious recipe:

That's the Best Frosting I Ever Had:

Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar

Instructions:

1. Bake your favorite cake and let it cool.

2. In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.

3. While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

4. Grab a spoon and taste this wonderful goodness. If there is any left after your taste test, spread it on a cooled cake.

The cupcakes were a hit at the party, disappearing soon after we put them out.

Photos by Lulu: Shepard Fairey's "Americana"

We attended Shepard Fairey's "Americana" opening at Perry Rubenstein gallery and Lulu took it upon herself to document the evening. I hope you enjoy her photos of the artwork, people, and environment.

For the most part, her photos still need a lot of work. But I feel she really did catch the vibe of the night.

Milestone: First Day of Preschool

First day of preschool. Say hello to the class clown!

Sesame Street: Kids Talk About Artwork

Daww. I love this wonderful Sesame Street video of kids explaining their artwork. Share this adorable clip with your little ones! And afterwards, I hope it inspires you to craft with your kid!

LA - Sunday Afternoons for Kids: All That Can Live on a Page (05.06.12)

Sunday Afternoons for Kids: All That Can Live on a Page

Recommended for ages 8–13

Comics, or something like them, have been around since people lived in caves and have been used to tell every kind of story. Learn how to translate your favorite genre to comics with Lee-Roy Lahey, a writer/illustrator of books and a storyboard artist for films.

SUNDAY AFTERNOONS FOR KIDS
The Hammer’s free collaborative workshops, presented with 826LA, are designed for groups of up to 20 students. Reservations are encouraged. Please visit workshops.826LA.org or call 310-305-8418.

ALL HAMMER PUBLIC PROGRAMS ARE FREE.

Parking is available under the museum for $3 for 3 hours.

Hammer Kids is made possible through the generosity of K.A.M.P. (Kids’ Art Museum Project) supporters and friends. K.A.M.P. is an annual family fundraiser.

LA - "Monkey Business" Screening (05.06.11)

Family Flicks Film Series: Monkey Business

Recommended for ages 5+

The puns and gags fly fast and furious in this Marx Brothers film—the perfect introduction to their inimitable brand of anarchic verbal and physical comedy. Monkey Business features the boys as stowaways on a New York–bound ship who are pressed into the service of gangsters on board. (1931, Norman McLeod, 35mm, b/w, 77 min.)

FAMILY FLICKS FILMS SERIES
UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Hammer Museum have teamed up for a matinee screening series of new and classic family-friendly films from around the world.

Parking is available under the museum for $3 for 3 hours.

Family Flicks is co-presented with UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Family Flicks is made possible, in part, through the generosity of supporters and friends of the Hammer Museum’s Kids’ Art Museum Project (K.A.M.P.). Additional support is provided by the Westwood Neighborhood Council.

MOCA: Transmission LA. Do You Copy?!

MOCA: Transmission LA is pretty much the most amazing art exhibit accidentally created for children, ever.

LA - Ragamala Dance (04.28.12)

Ragamala Dance
April 28, 2012
W.M. KECK CHILDREN'S AMPHITHEATRE, WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
 
Ragamala Dance
Ragamala Dance performs Sacred Earth fusing two rich and ancient Indian visual art traditions - Warli mud paintings and Kolam rice flour drawings -- with Bharatanatyam, the classical dance of Southern India. The choreography invokes a deep connection to the Earth, celebrating the on-going, ever-renewing cycle of life.

"Caine's Arcade" by Nirvan Mullick

"Caine's Arcade" is wonderful short film about Caine Monroy, an imaginative nine-year-old boy who built a cardboard arcade inside his dad's used auto part store in East LA. Best of all, it's a working arcade! And he's about to get more customers than he knows what to do with. Caine is an inspiration to all budding entrepreneurs. His games are simple and fun and his joy for play is infectious.

I plan to visit Caine's Arcade in the next month and will report back shortly. I hope you enjoy viewing this film as much as I did. Big ups to Nirvan for discovering and documenting the arcade and congrats to Caine for bringing his community closer together.

Help Caine's Scholarship Fund: cainesarcade.com

Caine's Arcade Online:
facebook.com/cainesarcade
twitter.com/cainesarcade

Credits: Directed by Nirvan
twitter.com/nirvan

[THANK YOU, BoingBoing for sharing this gem!]

Cai Guo-Qiang's Mystery Circle: Explosion Event for MOCA, LA Recap

We secured front row seats shared by the press corps, for Cai Guo-Qiang's highly anticipated Mystery Circle: Explosion Event for The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Lulu waited patiently. I waited anxiously.

More about Mystery Circle from MOCA:

Mystery Circle, a site-specific work created for MOCA, will contain four stages of special pyrotechnics. At the moment of ignition, 40,000 firework rockets will form a string of crop circles and launch perpendicular to MOCA’s north wall, toward Temple Street, before falling onto the ground. Amidst a curtain of smoke, approximately 100 spinning pyrotechnic UFOs will sporadically appear from the parking lot grounds, while an imaginary alien-god figure on the left side of the wall is outlined from bottom to top by gunpowder fuses. When the burned fuses reach the “halo” of the figure, mini Titanium Salute rockets will shoot into the air followed by a grand finale. The rockets will create a burned imprint on the museum wall, leaving an outdoor drawing. While Cai’s signature explosion events, Project for Extraterrestrials, have been dedicated to creatures from outer space, his new project at MOCA will be the first time an imaginary alien figure actually appears.

Plenty of Angelenos showed up for the post-sunset fireworks show. 

After much anticipation, the time finally arrived! We experienced Guo-Qiang's site-specific work created for MOCA up close. Maybe too close. When the first humongous explosion ignited, everybody screamed because they were simultaneously scared and excited. People generally expect fireworks to explode in the air, vertically. At blast off, we experienced a wall of 40,000 firework rockets with full visual, auditory, and olfactory senses dialed up on overdrive. Not to mention the heatwave that followed. The spectacle lasted only a minute but it had the crowd chattering all night long. It was an amazing, amazing, amazing event to experience.

[I have a full unedited three minute video too.]

The imaginary alien figure appears on the smoldering firework wall.

After the outdoor exhibition, we toured Guo-Qiang's first west coast solo museum exhibition, "Sky Ladder". Upon seeing this crop circle piece, Lulu pointed excitedly and yelled, "The carpet is on the ceiling!" This made me laugh.

The rest of the evening was spent dreaming about the explosions in the sky.

Visit The Museum of Contemporary Art before July 30, 2012 to view Cai Guo-Qiang's "Sky Ladder".

LA - Andell Family Sundays—Recycle, Transform, Make Art (04.01.12)

Andell Family Sundays—Recycle, Transform, Make Art

Join us on Sundays for programs designed especially for families. Make art, look at art, and talk about art together in workshops and bilingual gallery tours. Most of all—have fun. Some artists see art in things other people throw away—in old car parts, for example. Join workshops where you, too, can transform used materials into playful, environmentally friendly works of art. We will have additional activities on Earth Day, April 22, including telling stories, making spoke cards, and more.

See Chris Burden's kinetic sculpture, Metropolis II in action every Sunday at the following times: 12:30–1:30 pm; 2:30–3:30 pm; 4:30–5:30 pm; 6:30–7:30 pm.

North Piazza | Free, with museum admission | 12:30–3:30 pm

Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Andell Family Sundays is supported by Andrew and Ellen Hauptman and the Hauptman Family Foundation.

Brooklyn - PowerHouse Kids Easter Party (04.01.12)

LA - Etel Leit Event (03.24.12)

Let's Read, Sing, & Sign with Etel Leit

Saturday, March 24
10:30 a.m
Ages 3 to 7 
 
This special program is filled with signing, singing, story-telling, rhymes, movement, games, puppet shows, bubbles and more! Not only will the kids have fun, but also adults will learn how to incorporate sign language into child's favorite books and songs.

Children's Book World | 10580 1/2 W. Pico Blvd | Los Angeles | CA | 90064

Fun at Gary's Fun House!

We visited Lulu's uncle, Gary Baseman's studio and home this beautiful Sunday to check out his nearly finished paintings for "Vicious", a show soon shipping to Milan, Italy. And Lulu enjoyed every minute of it. There was so much to look at (but not touch) and while temptation presented itself at every turn, Lulu did very well. There was great snacking, lots of laughs, lots to explore, and much to learn from Gary. We're looking forward to the next studio Funday!

Lulu wanted to wear a "mask" like all her play-friends.

Hugging herself with excitement.

Gary painted with a smile on his face, all afternoon.

Blackie came out to say, hi. Lulu was excited by his visit.

LA - Little Warrior Opening (12.10.12)

To Lulu: David Choe's Munko

Nearly everything art-related in Lulu's room is a gift from the amazing artists who surround us daily. I haven't been good about documenting everything she's received but was recently reminded of the many colorful people who've gifted Lulu presents when crazy art pal David Choe splashed headlines last week for the much speculated $200 million he may bank when Facebook IPO's. Upon hearing the news, I thought, "Good for David!!! I can't wait to see what incredible art he will make with his new found F-YOU money," and then remembered the Munko (his signature whale), Michelle picked up for Lulu awhile back [THANKS, again both of you]!

Get your own Munko Blind Box Figure at Giant Robot for $11.

All Your Dreams Belong to Us!

Lulu standing in front of a D*Face mural in the Meatpacking district.

Outfit: Hand-me-down Diesel jacket, Polarn O. Pyret dress, American Apparel shiny leggings, and adidas superstar 2 CMF shoes.

To Lulu: Paris Versus New York

A few weeks back, this wonderful link was circulating in conversational threads with my design-friendly posse: Paris versus New York: A Tally of Two Cities, hitting a welcomed nerve with our Francophile family. Lulu is half American, half French (although her bloodline is half Vietnamese, half Italian) and we tremendously enjoyed the visual comparisons of two of our favorite, often-visited, destinations.

Realizing we would be visiting Manhattan and staying at The Standard Hotel during Vahram Muratyan's book signing for 'Paris versus New York', we made plans to wait in line and grab a copy. While Lulu and I waited upstairs in our hotel room, my siblings and company patiently waited downstairs in a long snaking line with hordes of fans to celebrate what was once a blog, then exhibits at Colette in Paris and at The Standard New York, and eventually a book we now have in hand!

Before running out of copies, my sister Kaly was able to buy a copy for Lulu. And Vahram was kind enough to sign it to her. Thanks, Vahram, we love your book very much!

Outfit: DPAM top and skirt, hand-me-down leotard, and American Apparel kids shiny leggings.