The Higher Foolishness

Q & A with Mixed Media-Combines Artist Tim Weldon

How did your work evolve into what we see today as Combines?
When I returned to painting after a fifteen year hiatus from the art world I started with these combination painting/assemblages of found objects. After a few years, I got away from that and focused primarily on mixed media paintings on canvas using vibrant colors, texture and poetry, which I have exhibited over the last 13 years nationally as well as, internationally in cities including NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, Chicago, Montreal, Mexico, Italy and France.

Over the years, I would experiment with many different surfaces such as plywood, burlap, collage, galvanized steel – which ultimately evolved into my current body of work which includes rescued objects, old toys and pieces of Americana. I now paint with the natural ingredients I find and put them together like puzzles over a period of time. When they feel like they need a visitor, I call on my old friend, “El” or “Whistle-Man” as I call him. He is the central figure of these creative wanderings and is a traveler or an adventurer that appears in these pages of a life-size journal. He is presented as the tenant in these Combines, always evolving. My themes include folklore, dance, music, theatre and multi-cultural expressions.


(Weldons Collage “Womb Stereo” was featured recently on hit TV show ‘Californication’)






You’re currently working on a museum installation with several other artists, can you elaborate on the experience and the show?

The “ Exquisite Garden” is a sophisticated amalgamation focused primarily on my friend,
Joe Brubaker and his sculptures. He and a cast of characters including myself, Jeff Hvid, Don Guthrie and a host of others got together to build a “Garden” out of junk. Jeff salvaged a good portion of the material that we used. He found the junk in the creeks of Marin County just so he could keep the area clean. The green movement or recycling materials is at the forefront of this multi-artist experience. We had no plan except that the area would be staged with three pieces of driftwood from the creeks that stood about twelve to fifteen feet high. We then built trees and many scenes within scenes from these found objects and created a garden that Joe’s sculptures were looking into as if they were born there. To me, the area looked more like an island or a shipwreck that left these forgotten items and their inhabitants left for a different life. Regardless of its personal appearance, the process in how this “Garden” came to be, is why we do art in the first place.

What are your plans for showing your work in the future?

After working on an installation of such large proportions and my experience with dance, and music, I’d like to incorporate real movement and sound along with these Combines to create video/theater-type backdrops. While this may take some time to evolve, I will continue to experiment with different surfaces and mediums in order to satisfy my thirst for adventure.

More on Tim Weldon’s art.

Weldons’ show “The Higher Foolishness” is currently on exhibition at Ink Studios~ Art Gallery in NoHo. Check http://www.inkit.com/site/Exhibits-Events.html
for events and show details.

Can Big Corporations Really Show They Care?

The answer: Yes, and No. Depends.

I spoke recently with a former employee of the Gap Corporate Headquarters about their art collection and it’s impact on employees. He said that he felt very inspired being around such creative expression and working for a company that valued sharing these works with their employees. He even sent a thank you note to CEO of the Gap expressing this, and ended up getting the gift of an artbook of one of the artists in the collection on his desk the following week with a note that said he was thankful for knowing the art was so inspirational.

The Gap’s collection is a 1,100-piece assortment of works by 185 contemporary artists with many fine pieces from Alexander Calder, Roy Lichtenstein, Chuck Close and Andy Warhol and could be worth nearly $1 billion. A portion of which is now on loan to SF Museum of Modern Art.

I also attended some meetings at the ‘GooglePlex; Google’s sprawling Corporate campus in Northern CA. This company is definitely not conventional – from the gourmet restaurants which serve up free food all day/night and full laundry and dry cleaning facilities to even being able to bring your pet to work! Wow.
In addition, they also have invested in installation art pieces all around the campus. There are some pix of the sculpture garden at one of the campus’ courtyard.


(note: We had to delete the portion about Wells Fargo Bank, for now, but stay tuned. We are not finished with that at all).

I hope the large corporations in the NoHo Arts District in Los Angeles take the lead from the Gap Corporate Headquarters and GooglePlex. Our theatres, galleries, dance complexes and other arts groups make NoHo a very attractive place to live and work. Maybe, our corporations should give a little back to our arts community which is bringing them financial success.

The Art of Fashion

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”
- coco chanel

Indie- Fever



A few postings ago I proclaimed, “Boutique is Back” – noting the increase in small businesses blooming on Weddington Street here in NoHo. These include a designer, hair salon/gallery, art gallery/event space, dance studio, martial arts and a spa – all small independents.

This past spring I attended Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Growth conference in which magazine editor-in-chief Amy Cosper re-enforced that now is a prime time for small business to start and prosper. Citing many successful companies who started during economic downturns, including UPS and Playboy. Differentiation, timing and market need.

According to Andrew Nachison, CEO of the media think tank iFOCOS, “ Small businesses are definitely going through a time of “high popularity”. It is part of a larger fundamental shift and dissatisfaction with government, big business and the media. My belief is that consumers, with much less disposable income and credit, are giving very careful consideration to where they do spend and will want to patronize the indies’ vs. conglomerates.

Indie-Style:

NoHo-based designer and style maven Harold Fedison has been interested in fashion for as long as he can remember. As a youth he became a formal student of design then fell into retail when he hit the ‘real-world’, managing a number of large national big box retail stores.

Years later he was catapulted into following his passion for design and starting his own business after experiencing the successive loss of some very close friends.
Which had him re-evaluating what was really important in his own life.

Today, I speak with Mr. Fedison while sitting in his design studio on Weddington St. where he creates, produces and sells his garments all under one roof. Sewing machines of all varieties and functions fill the back room of the studio, which overflows with bolts of beautiful fabrics, trims and embellishments. The aesthetic of the boutique is very tasteful and ingeniously neat.




Looks inside Fedison’s storefront boutique














The Art Behind The Style –

Each one of Harold Fedison Designs begin with many sketches, some in pencil, pen, combined with acrylic paint pens. The sketches themselves are pieces of art and show the thought process behind the design of a line.

We discuss how fashion has notoriously been a pretentious field and how the craft of design has largely been lost. His look is one of timeless elegance. Not frivolous skimpy fashion garments but real style additions to a wardrobe that leave much to the imagination. Some of his styles even venture off into a bit of what I call ‘boho-chic’- the perfect attire for the creative woman - a bit of NoHo’s eclectic soul.

As a style designer, Fedison feels his clients want to wear something that reflects their individuality. Emphasizing that authenticity opposed to attitude rules the matter of the day. While the fabrics and styles exude taste and class - the designs are very approachable- practical and affordable.


Upcoming Fashion Show:
Harold Fedison will present a number of ‘looks’ from his resort-collection 2010 on Sept 12th in NoHo. You may end inquiries to: haroldfedison@aol.com



Storefront of Harold Fedison’s Boutique

Winter always turns to Spring

If you are doing any Spring Cleaning and you are in the Los Angeles area please consider helping a young foster girl feel like a Princess for her Prom by donating dressy items you no longer wear to
Dressy Drive: Items Needed include
-Women evening wear – gowns, dresses, etc
- Accessories – shoes, purses, jewelry, slips, wraps
(All sizes needed. Please make sure dresses are clean and on hangers)

Donations will be distributed April 19th at PROM PREP 101, which is
hosted by North Hollywood Department of Children and Family
Services.
Tax deductible donated items may be dropped off at either location below:

Lovette Panthier, SCSW
Resource Coordinator
panthl-at- dcfs.lacounty.gov
(818) 717-4686
(213) 471-6298- cell
20151 Nordhoff St., Chatsworth, CA 91311

Ink Studios
11135 Weddington Street (@ Lankershim)
Loft #220
North Hollywood, CA 91601
415 425 5683- c
info-at-inkit.com
*please specify if you would like Ink Studios to collect you receipt
for your tax deductible donation(s).

_____________________________________________________________

While rummaging about I happen to come across a birthday card from my dear flatmate Rod (bkr) - given to me some years ago at probably on of the most amazing birthday parties had (hosted at the home of Marc Canter on Potrero Hill).

As inspiring today as it was when Whitman wrote it:

(I discovered that you can buy these cards on amazon)

Upcoming Events

(photo: Kendall Whelpton)

March 1st
Open Studio, 1-5pm
Artist Reception, 5-8pm

(photo courtesy: Mitchell Glotzer)

Featuring "Man-I-Fest"

Lifesize mosaic mannequin from artist Sofia Harrison
other artists work showing:
Bren Bataclan
(Of the Smile Project)
Lynn Bridget
(Mandala Art)
Robyn Holmes
(Abstract Assemblage)
Scott Kildall
(Interactive Video Installations)
Alison Hart
(spoken word)

Open Studio Dates/Events

Sunday March 15th, 1-5pm, Followed by Messengers Screening

Thursday March 19th, 6-8pm, Artisan Wine Tasting

Sunday April 5th, 1-5pm, Artist Reception, 5-8pm

ink Studios
NoHo Arts District
11135 Weddington Street
220
North Hollywood, CA 91601
info-at-inkit-dot-com
Artists

(photo: Kendall Whelpton)


(photo: Kendall Whelpton)

Riding on the Metro

Not only a great song by Berlin - who recently performed a free show live in LA - but also a great alternative to transport to driving.

The Metro in LA is gaining riders daily as the gas prices increase, more people discover how painless it is to take the Metro. Many people do not even realize there is an underground system in LA, this goes to LAX as well. More people should get up on this system. We caught Metro from NoHo Arts District to Hollywood Bowl, door to door service $2.50pp and hassle free.

San Franciscos metro BART, is a well-oiled machine by now- Bay Area folk are more accustom to taking public transportation than southern counterparts.

Vintage Boutique Surprise

I stumbled upon this total GEM recently in NOHO arts district of LA. Great great great.

I was on a mission that day- in search of a very specific item - a 1970's style blue windbreaker with snaps- something I owned a while back, lost and it had appeared so prominently in my dream that I set out on a mission to find it again. Didn't find it, but found so many wonderful distinctive things for myself -dresses, shoes, vintage bags and now one of my fav necklaces.

Usually, I don't find that many things I like under one roof, I stayed there much longer And what a lovely group of women that run this special boutique, called Kathy's.
Men and women's clothes, hats, jewelry, suits, shoes and more.