The Lardner Report – Page 22 – Unleash your creative superpowers!

Drive-By Art Shows! Yes, It’s A Thing

May 29, 2020 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) “Stay Strong 2020” by Joan Wulf, Los Angeles. Featured in the new drive-by “De-Fence Art Show” at the Santa Monica Airport.

Artists find new ways of getting more eyes on their work. Call it Covid Creative.

An artist’s default position typically lands on the fresh and new. It’s what defines him/her as an artist. They think differently, and they act differently. Even corporate America has decided creativity is “more important” than integrity or discipline among the world’s top CEOs.* So it’s no surprise that artists have discovered fresh ways of showing their art — while keeping us “Covid safe.”

Last weekend, what started in New York made its way to the east side of LA. This weekend, expect to see streets west of Western (see map here) lined with assorted artwork — by 120 different artists. According to Drive-by-Art (the guys who started the trend on Long Island) the in-car experience creates “a sense of needed solidarity” within the artistic communities. There will be dayside and nighttime showings.

You may know some of the participating artists — established Los Angeles favorites like Lita Albuquerque and Kenny Scharf — who will show alongside some of LA’s best emerging artists. For more info, visit the Drive-By website: called, Drive-by-Art.

(Pic #2) Featured on KCRW: Painter Eric Dever installed his artwork outside in South Fork, Long Island. Image courtesy of Drive-by-Art.

(Pic #3) “Behind, under, around” Installation for Durden and Ray by Brenna Ivanhoe and Nancy Ivanhoe. Mixed media. Image provided by Durden and Ray.

Through June 20th — a sort of “scavenger hunt” map of a citywide art exhibition around L.A. sponsored by Durden and Ray art collective. The exhibit features nearly 100 artists who have installed public artwork from Santa Monica to the east side, from the valley to Long Beach. Alleyways, front yards, to chain link fences. (Pic #3) (See map here.)

And starting tomorrow, you have a month to check out the art around the Santa Monica Airport. (Pic #1) It’s an exhibition called “De-Fence Art” — “an outdoor exhibition in the time of isolation.” 12 noon to sunset. Masks and social distancing required. Address: 3026 Airport Drive, Santa Monica, CA 90405.

The impact on participating artists is deep. Many have been apprehensive about the post Covid art market, and rightly so. So the opportunity to share new work and connect with art-lovers in person provides a sense of hope. What’s more, says artist Sean Noyce, “this simply helps us and our community realign our spirits.”

* IBM Creativity study here.

Isolation = Artistic Opportunity

March 31, 2020 by Lonnie Lardner

I parked myself in the middle of our overgrown garden and just started sketching.

Get creative and watch your life bloom.

What a week. Separation from friends and family. Work halted. Eateries closed. Theaters dark. Gyms shuttered. And worse — no accessible Godiva Chocolate.

Kidding aside, I’ve heard from friends — especially those who live alone — that this kind of quarantine is threatening their mental health and sense of social inclusion. In short: many are anxious, panicked, lonely and sad. Science backs this up, as the second week of Coronavirus challenges our bodies and our brains. The CDC says extended isolation can lead to stress, insomnia, depression and even hallucination.

One solution? Make art.

Take 10 minutes. Grab a pencil, your kids’ crayons, or a felt tip marker. Smash a cardboard box, and make it your canvas. The supplies don’t matter. The exercise is about relieving you — even for a few minutes — of the fear that exacerbates our anxiety.

Try making marks, slopping paint, or ripping paper. See if you don’t feel a sense of joy — even accomplishment — in the middle of a tense day.

Sit yourself down in your garden — or if inside, in front of a window — and spot something that speaks to you in some way. See it, put it down on paper, and leave your self-criticism somewhere else. It’s not about the product — it’s about the process. If you totally let go— and just create — you just might find this to be an inspiring daily exercise.

For me, the beauty is truly being in the moment. When we stop, sit, and just draw — we get to make something from nothing. By doing that, we birth an idea and see it emerge from a blank page. Whether we keep the end product or not is irrelevant. It’s making it that matters.

How does creative expression reduce stress? Experts say typically artistic work requires focus, and this prevents us from being preoccupied with our uncertainty. In this way, creativity acts much in the same way as meditation.

To express an artistic vision you don’t need special supplies, you don’t need training, you don’t even need skill. You really only need two things: the desire, and the time. A global pandemic just handed you the time.
.

Art In The Alley

January 31, 2020 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) Unexpected treasure in a valley alley. Discarded wood and laminate.

They are those almost-accidental spaces between buildings — invisibly supporting the rest of the urban landscape. Backstreet alleys. Not quite streets, but still a means of passage. Often hotspots for crime, and more often than not, packed with heaps of trash and debris.

(Pic #2) Am I the only one who stopped to shoot this?

But if you take the time to look, you just might discover backstreets and alleys provide extraordinary opportunities for found art. I stumbled upon the funky warped wooden “sculpture” as I exited the back door of my favorite deli in Woodland Hills. (Pics #1 + #2, above)

I got lost in the backstreets of London, and snapped a quick shot of this garbage can and its discarded adornments. (Pic #3, below)

And my photographer friend Stephanie Sydney nabbed this exquisite image of a store window in a back alley on La Brea in West Hollywood. (Pic #4, below) It’s one of my favorites, and it now hangs in larger-than-life size in the halls of Fortune 500 companies in New York.

It’s always worth stopping for the shot.