Week of July 3rd 2011: La Brea Tar Pits

As I was driving around LACMA looking for parking, I had passed the La Brea Tar Pits. Despite buildings and streets in the area being named "La Brea," I had never pieced together that the tar pits were in the middle of a busy part of Los Angeles. I figured that since I was in the area, it would be a good opportunity to check out the  prehistoric landmark.

Along the street is one of the bigger pits. This one has some large, fake, extinct creatures placed in it for decoration so I decided to snap a few photos of that and then continue exploring.

The actual tar pits themselves are part of a bigger museum that focuses on the fossils that have been found and pre-historic discoveries. I'm actually a huge science nerd and really wanted to check this out, but I knew I didn't have enough time to really do it justice. It will probably be fun to come back some time with my young niece and help teach her about science (and post about that new experience too).

Since I wasn't able to go into the actual museum itself, I decided to keep walking around and looking at the various tar pits that were scattered around the park. Yes, the tar pits are actually separated by lovely paths and gardens (that I later found out all house pre-historic plants) so it was really nice to take a leisurely stroll around the area (about as leisurely as a 100 degree day can be at least).

After walking around a bit, I found something especially interesting - there was a tar pit that was currently under excavation. The pit had a small viewing area for guests to look into and see what the site looks like while scientists are busy unearthing new fossils. It was really interesting to see the set up and wonder if they'd found anything interesting so far.

According to their website, the new site was found when LACMA decided to build a new parking garage. In the process, they found new fossils. Luckily, they were able to start the new excavations despite the construction.

I really loved that there were current excavations going on. It's a good reminder that museums aren't just collections of artifacts for people to look at, they are also places where current research is being done and discoveries are being made.

Plus, it never hurts remembering that Science is fun. 

Week of July 3rd 2011: Los Angeles County Museum of Art

After checking out the Tim Burton exhibit, I decided to look through the rest of the LA County Museum of Art or LACMA, as it's more commonly referred to.

LACMA is in a very interesting space. The museum is held over several different buildings and outdoor spaces, showing a real separation between themes. As a natural progression, I decided to go to the building right next to the Tim Burton exhibit. This was the home to the Contemporary wing. If you had asked me earlier that day, I would have told you that I hate modern and contemporary art. This exhibit changed my mind.

The Contemporary wing opened up to a huge, very noticeable piece - a giant balloon dog. Of course, it wasn't actually a balloon but I just thought the piece was so fun, I had to get a snapshot of it. At first glance, the room didn't seem to have anything else that was too spectacular. The same artist had a few other pieces, but these looked so much less impressive. One looked like an inflatable raft stuck between the rungs of a ladder. Another was a floatie that that had been pushed through a chain link fence. At first I thought this was really dumb too... until I started thinking that there was no way it should still be inflated. So I read the descriptions of the pieces and saw that they weren't floaties or inflatable rafts... they were actually created from metal and paint. They looked so realistic, and at that moment I had such a realization of how amazing this artist really was.

On the back wall of the room, there were also some giant works that looked like some photo/art collage mixes. Just like the "inflatable" pieces, I didn't think much of them... until I realized that there was no a single photograph - they were all painted. I'd never seen such a realistic looking painting before. I spent the rest of the time in the exhibit trying to figure out what was a photo and what was a painting. They were all paintings.

That room had a few other gems, some you may recognize from some little old artist that goes by Andy Warhol...


I hate to say this, but I was much less impressed by his pieces after seeing the hyper-realistic ones. They just made his seem simple in comparison.

The rest of the contemporary wing was fun, even if it was a little less memorable. It made me realize that contemporary art is all about showing you something ordinary in an extraordinary way. Maybe it portrays a feeling or sensation - just like the twisted bed reminded me of sleepless nights and my fits of insomnia. Maybe it was just showing a sense of humor - like the giant litter box.

Since the contemporary wing was so fun, I decided to go check out the modern art exhibits. There were some pieces that seemed very similar to the contemporary wing. This giant comb was still fitting of style of ordinary-in-an-extraordinary way.

But then I turned a corner and remembered why I dislike modern art so much...

I will never ever understand the artistic quality of a blank canvas. Ever. My theory with art is that if I feel like I can go home and make it rather quickly - it probably shouldn't be a in a museum.

I thought the blank canvas was bad... until I saw the piece that looked like a painting that was just wrapped up for shipping. For some reason, this one was even worse in my opinion. For all I know, it was wrapped up to be shipped out for another museum. I'm sure that a curator would have some explanation about the artistic merits of modern art, but I just find it all pretty unbelievable.

The rest of the museum had a lot of beautiful exhibits as well. I went through them a little quicker so I don't have specific comments or pictures for you. Honestly, the museum is huge so it was hard to take everything in. I definitely would love to make a few more trips back there and maybe even bring my sketchbook. It was one of the things I really wished I had on this trip, and sketching while in a museum is something I haven't done yet. I know it's really common for artists and students so I definitely would love to give it a try and see what I'll be inspired to come up with.

So what do you do when you're done looking at art? Well, you go check out some smelly tar pits of course! But - that's for next time.

Week of July 3rd 2011: Tim Burton Exhibit

Somehow in the course of 3 or so hours, I came up with enough material for 3 posts... this is the first.

Upon hearing that I was going to be spending a week in LA, Kevin emailed me a link about the Tim Burton exhibit that was taking place at the LA County Museum of Art. I'd heard about it already, but the email was a great reminder to see one of the coolest museum exhibits I've been to (probably rivaled only by the Walt Disney Family museum as the two had a similar format). I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures - it was a strict no photo zone. For those who know me in real life, I bought a few coffee table books from the exhibit and you're welcome to flip through them next time you visit. For those who don't know me, but love Tim Burton - the books can be purchased here and on Amazon (yes, they are two different books).

The exhibit was a collection of Tim Burton's sketches, sculptures, paintings, short films and movie props. It was incredible. You started the exhibit by walking through a giant clown mouth which leads you into a sort of preview room where you can see a few sculptures and sketches that prepare you for what is coming.

From there, the exhibit shows you his early life. They explain how his creative mind was always restless in Burbank and from a young age, entered (and won) drawing competitions until he was able to attend Cal Arts, but this is all stuff you can find on Wikipedia. The exhibit continued into a large room with a zig zag wall in the middle creating a multitude of surfaces. Each one was covered with paintings, sketches and cells of some of Burton's early works including Frankenweenie (which is now being made into a full motion picture) and Vincent (the story of a young boy who wanted to be like Vincent Price or Edgar Allen Poe).

The galleries then led into one of the most popular Tim Birton creations - yes, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Even before it got to that point, you could see that he had spent years dreaming up that world. There were so many sketches of grinning skulls, blue stiched women, striped snakes, and creepy clowns. The rooms that focused on the iconic movie showed more of the individual sulptures.

Last year, just before Halloween, I bought the movie on Blu-ray. I had figured it would have revealed some flaws in the clay sculptures that came from a time before computer animation was as big as it is now. However, it just showed how much detail went into each figurine. Seeing them in person, I can verify that they really are perfect. They are just so precise with so much thought going into every character, every scene.

The rest of the exhibit really focused on a lot of his movies and the artwork behind them. There were costumes from Batman (including the Catwoman suit, the first of two that I would see that month) and Edward Scissorhands, there were melted puppets from Willy Wonka, and just so many story board drawings. I think my favorite thing was a sketch from Sweeney Todd that even looked like Johnny Depp.

The whole exhibit was really inspiring. No, I don't plan on sitting in a dark room and sketching skeletons and clowns - but seeing a real artist who spent his life bringing his unique vision to life, reminds me that I love to create too and that I need to get back to that.

Week of July 3rd 2011: Griffith Park

Griffith Park is a staple of the Los Angeles area. Since L.A. isn't a condensed city like San Francisco, New York, etc. it doesn't really need that large, centralized park like the other large metropolitan areas do, but if it did - Griffith Park would be it. Like LA, the park is large and sprawling and you need a car to really get around it. However, it relates to the other parks by frankly, being much more than just a park. Griffith park is home to the LA Zoo, the Hollywood sign, Griffith Observatory, tons of trails, and many of L.A.'s dearly departed.

In my effort to get to know more of L.A., I stumbled upon some neat things to do in Griffith Park. While I'd been to the zoo, I hadn't really explored the rest of the area. I had originally been search Google for some tidal caves because that just seemed cool. Instead, I came across the Bronson Caves which, as it turns out, are the caves they used to film the Adam West Batman TV show. In other words, this was something I needed to check out.


After following the intricate directions, I found myself at the parking lot closest to the caves. Since the directions were a little difficult (not to mention I kept losing service), I was really hoping that I had found the right place. However, I got out of my car and noticed I was right next to a sign that said "Camp Hollywoodland." Here's a fun little piece of history - the Hollywood sign used to read "Hollywoodland." However, the original sign started seeing severe deterioration and when it was being restored, "land" was left off. Either way, seeing another sign with the original "Hollywoodland" title made me feel like I had found a bit of history.

I continued up the path to the spot of the Bronson Caves. Honestly, they weren't anything special. Just a little cave in a hill, not very deep at all. It is fun to witness some Hollywood magic though. The right angle and a few effects can make even some little caves into something much more. The directions I had found also mentioned that you could see the Hollywood sign on the way back down the path. True enough, you could. However, the angle was just bad enough that it was really difficult to get a good picture of it. That gave me a new challenge.

I got back in my car and drove to a spot with some service and looked up better places to see the sign. It seemed like the best spot was up by Griffith Observatory so off I went. Apparently, the observatory is a popular spot on a nice summer day because it was rather difficult to park, but eventually I found a spot and got my Hollywood sign picture (the one at the beginning of the post. It still wasn't great, but it seemed like it was the best I was going to do this time.

The trip gave me some new ideas for new things though. I definitely want to take a hike up the real sign (as close as is legal - don't worry, I'm not planning on breaking any laws) and to actually go into the observatory  (even though I got this lovely picture of the outside of it).

On my way back down the hill, I came across some other famous movie landscapes. I didn't get to snap a picture since I was driving, but maybe I'll let you find that one on your own... or you can click the link if the curiosity is too much for you.

I can't wait to go back and conquer my other new ideas, as well as looking into other famous movie locations that I can explore.

Week of July 3rd 2011: Ocean Jet Skiing

Jet skiing is probably my favorite thing that I don't do nearly as much as I wish I did. I can count on one hand each time that I've gone and each memory is so vivid. I've always wanted to live somewhere where owning a jet ski was practical and it's always been a short term goal for me. Since I can' justify the jet ski yet, I was at least able to come close to the feeling and get a scooter. While riding through the streets has similar thrills, pavement and traffic just don't compare to feeling of waves splashing on you as you zip through the water.

While in Santa Barbara, I was so close to the beach that I knew I would regret it if I didn't find some time to kayak (another love of mine) or jet ski. However, this was supposed to be a bit more of a budget trip and I wasn't sure if I wanted to drop the heavy price tag for jet skiing yet kayaking by myself didn't seem too fun either.

After getting a little lost in the Santa Barbara hills, I finally found my way to the beach and at the risk of being too late to the family 4th of July barbecue, I pulled into the first parking spot I saw. I pulled up Google Maps and looked up exactly where this jet ski place was and by sheer coincidence, I'd parked about 100 yards away from it. I'm superstitious enough to know that I had to do this. While I was still concerned about the cost, I knew I had to bite the bullet. Looking back, I know that there is no way that small savings would have made me as happy as jet skiing did.

It's funny how easy it is to rent something like a jet ski. Pay some money, sign your life away, hand over proof that you know how to drive something and you're off!

Riding a Jet ski is just so much fun. If you haven't tried it, I highly suggest it. My ride in Santa Barbara was so amazing. There were tons of seals sitting on the buoys and I even saw a few dolphins jumping in the water. I didn't have a waterproof camera at the time and I am really kicking myself for not thinking to buy one before. I will definitely try to get some photos next time.

Week of July 3rd 2011: Rattlesnake Canyon

I really love hiking, but it's a little ridiculous how infrequently I do it. My parents house was located behind a huge park and I basically grew up going on hikes, climbing trees, and discovering new paths literally in my back yard. I always want to go on hikes but it is one of the few things that I won't do alone (I've read enough articles about young women disappearing in the woods) so when my cousin posted pictures on Facebook of a beautiful hike in the Santa Barbara woods - I asked if she would take me on that hike when I visited.

My cousin, Alexah, loves the outdoors. Last summer when I went to visit, it was the summer before her senior year in high school and she was about to go on a fellowship in Yellowstone. She was also on track (and did) to graduate a semester early. She's pretty much amazing so I was pretty confident that she was going to lead us on a great hike.

We drove through the winding Santa Barbara hills until we finally arrived at the place where we could enter the hike. As we were following a stream, Alexah suggested just walking barefoot. At first my mind jumped at every terrible possibility - leeches, slipping, stepping on a pointy rock - and then I thought, "She's clearly done this before and you used to this when you were her age too. When did you get so... worried?" so I took off my shoes and joined her.

The hike was amazing. It wasn't the normal trail path that I do occasionally here in San Francisco, but one where you had to step over stones, fallen branchs, walk through the creek and climb over rocks. This is the kind of thing that I used to do when I was Alexah's age and younger and I missed it so badly. We eventually got to a point where there was a short waterfall and a pool of water. Alexah climbed up the rocks and jumped into the water and I knew I couldn't let her show me up so I soon followed. We continued our hike through the hills until we found a second waterfall / pool area. Alexah continued to jump into the water but this pool was a lot colder and a little shallower so I decided just to watch this time.

I loved this hike so much. It was nice to do something carefree but also a little more complicated than just following a trail - anyone can do that. I also got to spend some time with my little cousin in almost total solitude (we only saw two other people the whole time). I will definitely drag her out for another hike next time I'm in Santa Barbara for a weekend.