A hive of bus' and trailers, Side Street Projects (click here) exists within and beyond them. Their introductory quote on their website kinda says it best:

We teach artists how to roll up their sleeves and do things themselves with educational programs that encourage self-reliance and creative problem solving in a contemporary art context.

A great feature about them on KPCC:

Side Street Projects from KPCC on Vimeo.

Side Street hosts artist projects on site, they have a myriad of art classes for kids as a part of The Woodworking Bus & Trailer program, and a particularly artist-valuable podcast series called What Do Curators Want and an artist lecture series, called Shop Talk. They also have equipment to rent for artists on site for extremely reduced rates. I came in last year to scan some of my collages on their large scanner. A blessed resource it was, and a pleasant way to spend time, since everyone who has anything to do with the place seems to have to be interesting, humorous and easy to be around.

I also got a kick out of their description of where they're located:

Side Street Projects is temporarily located in a vacant lot in-between Church’s Fried Chicken & an abandoned victorian house that is slated for development. Our lot is 25,000 sq ft and has some wonderful features including a foundation of an old barbershop.

Emily, the Director, has given me the proverbial thumbs up for The Rock and Eagle Shop, and has committed to helping in one, some or many ways. She already has. My failing pen was scratching away as her suggestions re: funding and storefronts and alternative spaces flowed out of her. I have a lot to do now in following up on all that she advised, but feel better about everything due to our sit-down.

There may even be a bus in our future. That is something that could be explored, not without its own set of complexities, but a whole new set of charms as well.

As most of us in the LA art arena are aware, there is a very very very big rock set to travel to LACMA this year, and then to be levitated: "Levitated Mass," has garnered loads of attention for its load-ness and the mass of red tape that has blocked its passage. Its going to happen though I have a feeling. Michael Goven of LACMA has to get it here now, after spending so much money thus far to do so.

click here for an article from the LA Times about the coming of the rock

Here's what it says on the LACMA website:

Levitated Mass

Coming Soon

Levitated Mass by artist Michael Heizer is composed of a 456-foot-long slot carved into the earth, over which is placed a 340-ton monolithic granite boulder. As with other works by the artist, such as Double Negative (1969), the monumental negative form is key to the experience of the artwork. Heizer conceived of the artwork in 1968, but discovered an appropriate boulder, which is one component of the greater artwork, only decades later, in Riverside, California. At 340 tons, the boulder is one of the largest monoliths moved since ancient times. Taken whole, Levitated Mass speaks to the expanse of art history, from ancient traditions of creating artworks from monolithic stone, to modern forms of abstract geometries and cutting-edge feats of engineering.

Image: Michael Heizer, preliminary sketch for Levitated Mass, 2011, courtesy of the artist © Michael Heizer

click here for the website about Heizer's past works. He's no stranger to rocks

Some nice book ends! Enviable:

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and ya gotta love these knee pads on this guy:

click here for an artist who sculpts ambitiously sized bronze animals, primarily the Eagle

He has been sculpting the bald eagle since 1971 and is considered the foremost sculptor of this magnificent creature. His artistic and accurate renditions of the bald eagle are widely recognized as those best capturing the beauty and freedom of our nation's proud symbol. Throughout the year, Bald Eagles dive in the lake after fish and perch in the trees near his studio. Studying eagles in the wild, Curtis observes their courtship rituals, nesting habits, and drawing their catches from the waters of the lakes and rivers. His commanding portrayals of the powerful and symbolic eagle remain unequaled.

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I want this Eaglebearwolf!

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and this I can't live without:

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click here for an artist in Idaho, who used a metal cutting machine to construct this giant 17 foot eagle:

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Wouldn't it be nice to accompany your morning toast with these eagle egg cups:

February 15th

click here for the story

and here, my newest acquisition for the shop, a pair of (I will assume) loving eagles on a perch:

February 14th

Petroglyph of the Chandra orbiting observatory, Montana

Kevin and I went to the School of Visual Arts together in NY many moons ago. Its a thrill, and apropo to say the least, to have him agree to be a part of The Rock and Eagle Shop. Kevin has been (hard) working on a project of great patience and originality, traveling for over a year across the country carving images of technological advances and local imagery into massive rocks - taking symbols of mankind's progress and lifstyle and using man's oldest and most archival method of communication to communicate it. He's also liberated himself from a bogged down life in New York by getting commissions from people he meets during his travels, making custom petrogylphs for them that resonate their own lives/identity in large rock faces on their properties. To say his artwork is the kind that will keep on giving is an understatement.

An impression from petroglyph in Kenmare, ND

Peruse his website, click here, and support his endeavors. The impressions he makes from the carvings themselves are for sale and would be a meaningful record of this worthy project.

click here for a great article about his work.

If only I could afford to have him ship a 2 ton petroglyphed boulder to Eagle Rock for the shop, but we'll work something out.

Pickup petroglyph in the Sumatra Hills, Montana

February 12th

Mason Williams and I spoke the other day and he ran to get an article from the NY Times to read it to me over the phone. It was about outsider art called, "Creating Artworks without a Net," by Karen Rosenberg from the Jan. 28th Arts section reviewing the Outsider Art Fair that opened recently. A few choice sentences from the article:

Let's all agree that "outsider artist" is a term of convenience, encompassing the self-taught, the visionary, the geographically isolated, the mentally ill or developmentally disabled, and (in one memorable episode) Homor Simpson.

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The thread linking the fair's 36 booths is a personal compulsion to make art, without a rulebook, and with whatever materials happen to be at hand.

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At the Museum of Everything, and at the fair as a whole, enthusiasm for unorthodox creative expression meets disdain for the old-fashioned term that commonly describes it. As the Museum's website proclaims, "Death to outsider art! Long live the outsiders!"

Tin-foil animals by Dean Millien at the LAND Gallery's booth. (You know which animal I wish he'd make for me!)

I haven't ever thought of myself as an outsider artist, but the more I think about it, the more SOME of the above fits with the spirit of the projects I undertake. Most, but not all of what I do, fits outside of the gallery walls and have a structure that is not recognizable or definable, which I am fond of, obviously. And this project certainly has a bit of an obsessive compulsive atmospheric quality that many of the outsider artists possess. Henry Darger, Adolf Wölfli, Martín Ramírez, Bill Traylor, Joseph Yoakum, all have been a huge inspiration to me. I used to visit Howard Finster when he was still alive at his architectural and landscaped feat of god-animated imagination: his garden, house and and church in Georgia. He would preach to my boyfriend and I while moving great big piles of dirt, filling one hole and then digging another, that was only when he wasn't making mosaics, paintings, bottle effigies or tin structures, all magically erected without a rulebook to say the least.

It is also quite encouraging, and though I am not a confusion seeker, I still like the message of her focus, to read about Eugenia Joo's intent for the 2nd part of The New Museum's Triennial, called, The Ungovernables.

The show, The Ungovernables, stolidly denies any ability to define a generation’s artistic output. Curated by the museum’s own Eungie Joo, “The Ungovernables” embraces the shifting political currents that are the only stable hallmarks of our contemporary moment, showing work by artists and collectives who leave ideology behind and seek out confusion and hybridity.

~ArtInfo.com by Kyle Chayka, Tom Chen

February 10th

I've oft times asked too much of my friends with my all-encompassing projects, so this time I've purposely been working primarily on my own, but there's a time for asking here and there, and when it comes to editing, Kate Mayfield is a dream. She's helped with the press release, with ideas about how to get the website for free, and now she's even come up with a solidly clever plan for something to sell in the shop - so Rock n' Eagle Monday craft nights commence this week.

Kate surrounded by rocks and eagles and the glow of a needy press release

and my poor neglected dog, who has been surrounded by eagles and rocks all of a sudden. Must be confusing, but geez - he has it pretty good.

I would like to help her in return in whatever small ways I can, so, thought to give a shout out to her and her cohort, Gordon Bowen - they gave started their own business, which I'd like to rave about. Its called Metalcast Kits, a full casting studio and source for artist's projects, as well as for their already cast objects for sale, such as the kits for casting your own belt buckle, and new items in the works. My entire family has been ravenous for the buckles - such a great gift Click here for their website

February 6th

I was behind this truck yesterday. Its quite amusing to have this focus on two subjects for a span of time only to have those two things appear all of a sudden everywhere I look. It makes the whole project seem fated and more like a lifestyle than just a project.

February 5th

Here's my first posting with the website. Ajay, the editor, has been giving me advice as to how to get the word out.
Get Ready Eagle Rock, here comes the Rock and Eagle Shop! Posted on February 3, 2012 at 1:57 pm

Me at the Eagle Rock Farmer's market getting visual with the locals

And me with Sir Michael, one of the premier hubs of the Eagle Rock community. He's been gracious enough to help me brainstorm the location for the project.

The concept was born from a conversation between Mason Williams and Ed Ruscha in 1964. These lifelong friends who have the same appreciation for, and wit with and around words, amused themselves with this idea of having a shop in Eagle Rock that just sold Eagles and Rocks. I have, with their permission and enthusiasm, taken on the task of fully realizing this idea.

The variety of the interpretation of these two symbols will be extensive. On one side of the space will be the eagle ranging from The Eagles band records, eagle puzzles, photographs and story books on Eagle Chiefs, Eagle Snow globes, a carved eagle sling shot, etc. etc. On the other side of the shop will be rocks such as: pop rocks, hide-a-key rocks, pet rocks, macramed rocks, stars painted on rocks (rock stars), rock collections, and on and on. On the back wall, will be Eagles and rocks together, like an eagle sitting on rock, or an eagle painted on a rock, rock music about Eagles, etc.

Mixed within the presentations of these objects I've amassed via online and thrift store shopping, will be over 20 contemporary artists works relating to these two subjects: rocks and/or eagles. All works will be for sale, like a group show contained within a thrift store. I am looking for a storefront for 2 months so that this can come to life. I am calling out to the Eagle Rock community to sponsor this show/idea/project by loaning a storefront. I hope there's someone out there with an empty space that would be willing to let me and my team transform the space temporarily into this wonderland of eagles and rocks. I would make sure to leave the space in even better shape than I find it. I've been looking around the central part of the city and see so many spaces that would be perfect, that are boarded up, and ripe for this kind of thing to take place. Please get in touch with any and all ideas for free, or if free isn't possible, reduced rent, for a storefront available for mid-march for installation, to open on April 1 for a 2 month run: bettina@hubbyco.com.

February 4th

I wanted to announce that Melinda, who is an artist, poet, comedian and culturally tapped-in entrepreneur has agreed, to my great satisfaction, to be the shop's caretaker during the two month run. While I'll be on site quite a bit, there will be times I'll be out in the field taking care of other aspects of the project, so Melinda will be my collaborator in customer relations, rock and eagle research, sales and guest services. ;)

photo by mutual esteemed friend, George Porcari

February 3rd

Serendipity is too weak a word. I was awestruck, as if some kind of magic had happened. A sign that this is a good trajectory perhaps. Whatever it was, it was the opposite of bad.

And so was seeing the Women's Surrealism show at LACMA. Lots of rocks in that show. Here's a bad Iphone pic of a good painting here for instance by Kay Sage, called "Blue Wind":

February 1st

Now that I'm using my Rock and Eagle filter in looking at the world and to find those things in the world, I have stumbled upon the realization that people make money off of selling things of no value whatsoever, even things that have pieces missing or are broken. Now, for the Rock and Eagle Shop, some of these things are useful and desirable to me, more for poetic and or comedic value than nostalgia - certainly not for filling a niche on my nic-nac shelf, but the mind reels that scores of people across our land are packing these bits and bobs up in boxes and sending them to each other for cash. Makes me think I may be in the wrong business. Here's an article telling you how to get in on it. As I mentioned before though, most of my findings are heartfelt and come from sincere sources of creativity.

January 30th

On the crux of the weekend it was getting stuff done day.

I had lunch with Brooke Hodge, who heads the Publications Department at the Hammer Museum. She was a guest of the Get Hubbied wedding and an esteemed writer about that project for the New York Times T Magazine blog under her column called "Seeing Things" (click here for that article). I wanted to see what her thoughts were about this venture - I knew she'd be a great idea machine. Suffice it to say, I took a lot of notes and will follow her sage advice to the letter. She also turned me onto a great website called Dave's Down to Earth Rock Shop, click here for that world of fun.

Then I went to the Eagle Rock Farmer's market and met with this guy AJay who runs a website, Patch Eagle Rock, for local news, events and announcements. I thought it would be useful to meet him and just ask how to get the word out, and he ended up liking the project so much, he's going to write a story about it on the site to help me promote, as well as to find a space.

January 27th

I was introduced to Mason's humor by Ed Ruscha and have since become a fan (amongst throngs of fans) of all his creative endeavors. Click here for his website and peruse to your heart's content. There is a wealth of material and accomplishment, and it is indeed a pleasure to be in conversation with him regarding eagles, rocks and beyond. Alongside all the musical feats, poetic triumphs and and comic scores, the art piece he did photographically replicating a full-sized Greyhound bus has given me a special shiver or two:
click here and scroll down.

Yesterday I sent him some pictures of eggs with eagles painted on them, since he wondered if an 'Eggle' already existed. I even bought a rock with an egg painted upon it, so all in my current world is in a word associative fervor.

Today I got a poetic and eye-opening article in the mail from him about the real story behind Plymouth Rock, called The Pilgrims And the Rock, by Francis Russell (who has such a enviable vocabulary) - click here to read it. It's myth making at its finest. My favorite most seemingly obvious misconception of the whole event is that the Pilgrim's vessel (and they weren't calling themselves that - at the time they were the self-named 'Saints') would have seen a huge looming boat-threatening rock as they approached land from sea, and said, "Hey everybody, there's a huge rock, let's land on that!" No, that's not what happened. They landed ashore away from any rocks. This from the article:

"That granite egg laid by the glacier was the most conspicuous object on the flat, curved shoreline, a seamark for any helmsman...it is hard to imagine the helmsman on that bleak, brawing December day taking the rist of battering his craft against it when the wide sheltering inlet of a brook lay only a hundred yards or so beyond."

The rock that was named the Plymouth Rock was actually bestowed its symbolism to commemorate the landing of our ancestors much much later in 1774, not 1620. Russell ends the article it by saying,

"I feel a homely affection for that familiar, battered granite lump..."

On a tangent, but still related to this collab., a few days back in my first parcel from Mason, I got his album called, MUSIC, with the cover art by Ruscha, that includes upon it a rather infectious song about an eagle named J. Edgar Swoop; Swoop makes such a dandy-like mess of being an eagle, or an embarrassment as a national symbol since he dressed sloppily and had no fervor towards flying or swooping, and he gets replaced as our patriotic bird by none other than a poodle. Mason is going to rerecord the song and made a CD for me to sell in the shop. I would include the lyrics here, but its just too good to hear rather that to read, so I'll wait till I get the recording. I sent him a bunch of Rock and Eagle Shop swag, and a fire hydrant t-shirt and poster. Ying and Yang, ya know.

January 26th

I'm having more fun than should be allowed. It may be a no no to admit, but this new art project, from an older idea via Mason Williams and Ed Ruscha, has me in consistent grins and stitches, which by some medical claims will make me live longer, though I don't think I need to worry about that as my grandmother is turning 105 this year. The statement on the Eagle Rock, Rock and Eagle Shop section of this website describes the whole business quite sufficiently, but I will digress, and this is where I'll do that.

Eagle Rock, The Rock and Eagle Shop is by no means a joke, but it is funny, and I hope will infect others as it has me. Beyond wanting to connect and please the community of Eagle Rock, I have been blessed through this self imposed mission, to have the time to take a close look at the online community of sellers, crafters and doers out there making stuff, and putting it up for sale. I feel a people-lovin feeling as I learn how many of them in the US (and beyond) are doing creative things, let alone that they are eagle and/or rock related things. There are so many people working from home, advertising, sometimes quite poetically, sometimes insanely, the wares they have to offer. Now I know why there are so many people in line at the post office. They are mailing trinkets and do-dads, buckles, beads, used clothing, puzzles and parts of toys, tools, eagle figurines and paintings on rocks to strangers everywhere. Now some of them are selling crap, but even that is charming (to me), because other people are buying it; Mason gave me the perfect word to describe them for the press release: entremanureal.

I still have to wrap up the wedding project's catalog, and am working on a book of collages which will be published by Iceplant press this year. And, there's the catalog for this new adventure, which I am bent over nightly, refining and aligning. So, the haus of Hubby is again in full steam ahead motion. There's the sound of a rock fountain bubbling in the background as I type. The wall behind me is radically hung with my current muses - all shapes and sizes and expressions of rocks and eagles. All I need to do now is find a space to house this venture. I am meeting with Ajay of the Patch Eagle Rock organization on Friday, which may prove useful in this endeavor - or at least to help get the word out to the community.

January 25th