Summer Camp L.A.

A work of art is above all

an adventure of the mind.

~Eugene Ionesco

My 17 year old niece Rachel came to stay with me, two weeks ago today. She was attending a 2 week art camp for high school students at U.C.L.A. Her focus was photography. She had some very long days there, including field trips and the daily roundtrip drive to the campus in Westwood.

One of her field trips was to The Getty Center. I had always wanted to take her to The Getty, so I went ahead and met up with her there. She spent most of the time with her class and taking photos for an assignment but we still managed to walk around for a bit together in the main garden designed by Robert Erwin. It was a gorgeous day! (I also made it to the cafeteria for my favorite taco salad!)

We strolled around some of my favorite little shopping and restaurant areas like Larchmont Village and walked through my neighborhood to get coffees and dessert. We also watched movies. I brought out two movies I love that she'd never seen, Cinema Paradiso and Three Kings and she had me watch Up, (which was great!)

A fun little excursion was our photo expedition on Melrose Ave. Rachel took the photo below (you can see her reflection!) and it became part of her series for the final gallery show the last day of her camp. The title of her series became Too Much Rock for One Tanning Salon. She cracks me up.

Photo by Rachel Herring

Another night we drove up and down Hollywood Blvd. so she could take pictures. I don't think I have ever seen so many tourists on the Walk of Fame in my life. I took the photo below out the window, while parked in a loading zone, as Rachel was running around trying to photograph "Michael Jackson" in front of the Chinese Theater. Darth Vadar and Charlie Chaplin were there as well!

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, by the way, is where the first Academy Awards was held in 1929 and is said to be haunted by deceased movie stars Marilyn Monroe (who lived there for two years) and Montgomery Clift who stayed during the filming of From Here to Eternity.

She ran out of film and I handed her my "point and shoot!"

Every production of an artist should be the expression

of an adventure of his soul.

~W. Somerset Maugham

We laughed at the two signs juxtaposed ...

"Final Destination ... Crazy Girls"

We also had fun cooking dinner together. This was one of our Italian nights ...

Our pasta dinner, complete with Italian music ...

Another dinner included sauteed zucchini flowers ..

Our bok choy with garlic and fresh ginger stir fry night!

(so good with a bit of sesame oil, onions and soy sauce!)

And then last Friday, after two weeks of photographing and printing, the kids all had a show of their work. It was in a large space on the U.C.L.A. campus and included the painting, drawing, sculpture and photography camps.

Of course, there was one person's work who really stood out and I am not just saying that because she's my niece! Her teachers even said what a great eye she has and how great her work is. Anyway, you can take a look for yourselves. These were taken with a film camera and her prints were then photographed with a digital camera. I wish you could see her beautiful prints in person!

Feel free to double click on the photos to get a better view!

"Too Much Rock for One Tanning Salon"

Photos by Rachel Herring

(Yes, the guy in the photo below is actually reading Catcher in the Rye at the Getty. Too perfect.)

From the Getty ...

Photo by Rachel Herring

Melrose graffiti

by Rachel Herring

Hollywood Blvd ...

by Rachel Herring

Photo by Rachel Herring

And my favorite ...

(can you see "Michael Jackson's" glittery socks?!)

Photo by Rachel Herring

I am so proud of her! It was so much fun. We are already making plans and trying to figure out when she can come back!

And yes, she has a blog. ;)

Art flourishes where there is a sense of adventure.

~Alfred North Whitehead

Hope you all had a bit of adventure in the last two weeks!

Blessings and light!