The Mosaic House

Cheri & Gonzalo, Front Patio of Mosaic House

This coming Sunday, 11/22, is the Fall Art Show at The Mosaic House. The artists and owners of this must-see house are Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran. Both are marvelous painters and sculptors. Cheri and Gonzalo have transformed their little Palms boulevard post-war tract house and studio into a whimisical mosaic extravaganza, inside and out.

Cheri and Gonzalo used to open up their studio every single Saturday to visitors. I suppose they wanted some privacy, so now it's only open for the art shows and by appointment.

I'm a big fan of California tile. I love Malibu Tile, Claycraft, Catalina, Batchelder, etc. Los Angeles architecture is rich in tile. I grew up with tile. I love the vivid images. A marvelous example of Malibu tile is the Adamson House. The Adamsons and Rindges owned and operated Malibu Potteries in the 1920's and 1930's. Their beach house is an exquisite example of the medium. I urge you to tour this magnificent home and see examples of classic California tilework.

Waaaaay on the other side of classic California-style tile is The Mosaic House. When you see Cheri's and Gonzalo's house from the street, you are amazed at the garden. Wait until you walk inside the house! Gonzalo has covered almost every inch of the place with tile and color, from the kitchen to the bathroom to the studio...it's a frenzy of color, shape and texture.

The stove in the kitchen is purple!

Cheri's Multiple Portraits of Gonzalo

In the huge studio are Cheri's and Gonzalo's painting and sculptures. Many items are very reasonably priced. However, there is no pressure to buy anything. Just go and experience this eye-candy.

"Skyline-2" by Gonzalo

They call him the 'Chagall' of Mexico

You can read about Cheri and Gonzalo here. Years ago, when I first visited The Mosaic House I asked Cheri how she met Gonzalo. It's a most romantic story. Cheri buys paint at Nova Color in east Culver City. Gonzalo has worked there for years and he always waited on Cheri when she came into the store. One day, Cheri and Gonzalo were in the back of the store, looking for a particular color that Cheri wanted. They started kissing. They've been together ever since! LOVE that story!!!!

One of Gonzalo's Shoe Sculptures

Cheri's 'Nude' Plate

Gonzalo & Cheri in the Studio

See you on Sunday at the Mosaic House, 1116 Palms Boulevard, Venice CA 90291(between Lincoln Blvd & Penmar Ave). All photos in this post are from Cheri's and Gonzalo's website.

Mosaic Madness

Entrance to The Mosaic Tile House

Talk about assault of the senses! Phew! The Mosaic Tile House in Venice has always been mind-blowing, ever-colorful and whimsical. HOWEVER, I hadn't been there in over a year and owners/artists Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran have covered even more surfaces in their amazing home & studio with colorful pottery! I was wearing this blue print jacket and I blended right in.

There was a very nice array of items for sale...low and high prices. You could purchase some original pottery for as little as $5. I bought an interesting mosaic-ed blue bottle by Gonzalo and a small dish with Cheri's signature red-head glaze. The studio is the one place where the walls and tables are white...no tile, except for the artwork displayed. It's kind of a relief from the rest of the house, I must say.

Cheri and Gonzalo both paint and sculpt. Cheri has painted numerous portraits of Gonzalo. In many of Gonzalo's paintings, you'll see a red-headed lady who looks suspiciously like Cheri. I really like their different styles of painting.....see their portraits, below.

Cheri's Version of Gonzalo and Artist

Gonzalo's Version of Cheri and Artist

One of my fave uses of tile is in their bathroom. Gonzalo added glasses, cubby holes and small shelves to the wall so they could house toothpaste, makeup items, brushes, etc. Very clever.

Above the sink in the Bathroom

The kitchen is another visual delight. There's no need for a table cloth, because the entire table is tiled. There's a skirt on the table tile too! Cheri has found colorful appliances to blend in with the kitchen. There's a pink and lilac stove, a lime-green coffee maker, a red microwave and they painted the ceiling fan spokes in rainbow colors.

Mosaic Table Cloth

Larry in the Patio of The Mosaic Tile House

Immersion

Kitchen Prep

Immersion is the word for our activities this past Sunday. The owner/artists of The Mosaic House in Venice, Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran invited us and a few of our friends to their home yesterday. Cheri visited Japan last year and was entertained by her friends. This year, a group of about 25 of people from Japan were on a language immersion tour of Los Angeles. We were invited to practice speaking English with the guests.

Gonzalo, Nancy and Guests

Ana and Friends

In the Studio

Larry and T.K.

Ana's Handknit Socks Match the Mosaic

In addition to speaking English and eating lunch, we all toured the amazing Mosaic House, which led to much English-speaking interaction. My friends, Joan, Ana, Nancy and T.K. joined us. It was a fun afternoon and we all learned alot. Joan learned the intricacies of origami.

Learning OrigamiOrigami Success!

Many thanks to our guests from Japan and for the gifts they gave us. Also, thanks to Cheri and Gonzalo for including us in this fun day!

T.K. @ Gonzalo's Tribute to Watts Towers

If you'd like to tour the Mosaic House, they are open on the second Saturday of every month. Call for a reservation (310) 399-1469.

To view some amazing historic mosaic tile work, check out the L.A. Conservancy's "Mosaic L.A." tour on Sunday, March 25th.

Calendar

Fashion Accessories

I won't even be able to attend ALL of the events happening this weekend! There are just too many temptations!

My fave event, the L.A. Eyeworks annual eyeglass frame sale is this weekend. Check out Mimi Pond's darling cartoon detailing what goes on at the sale. It truly is a community of four-eyes....my favorite people. Larry and I try to go every year. I have a drawer-full of glasses to prove this fact. You can read about my past experiences here.

The Brewery is having it's fall Art Walk this weekend...always entertaining!

Kitchen at the Mosaic House, Venice, CA

The Mosaic House is also having an art sale this Sunday. Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran sell the most faboo artwork. It's really worth visiting their home and studio...the mosaics, inside and out, are inspiring.

Giant Robot is having a 15th anniversary group show and sale at the Japanese American National Museum, downtown LA.

Three Apples is an exhibition event celebrating Hello Kitty's 35th anniversary at Royal/T café / shop / art space, 8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City.

I'll be at Fairview Knitters on Saturday afternoon, in-between running back and forth to L.A. Eyeworks to scam new glasses!

Larry's been photographing all of the buildings on the Mod-Com's tour, "The Sixties turn 50", coming up Sunday, November 8th. Another building has been added, and it's a stand-out! The tour takes place in the Westchester, LAX area, a cornucopia of faboo 60's architecture! I can't wait for this one...it's really going to be fun!

LAX Theme Building

Also, next Thursday, October 28th, is the West Hollywood Stitch 'n Bitch annual Halloween Party at the Original Farmers Market. We call it the Stitch 'n Witch! Here are the details: Thursday, October 29, 7-9 pm at the Original Farmer’s Market, 3rd & Fairfax in the dining room upstairs from Kip’s Toyland.

We all bring yummy snacks!

The annual costume contest will feature VAMPIRES! Vamps are all the rage, so we will have a best vampire costume category. The other two categories are: Best Use of Yarn, and Most Creative Costume. There will be prizes! This is always a great night for us SnBer’s who love to get creative! So if you are new, come on out if you have been AWOL, come on back if you are in the neighborhood. Maybe bring some treats to share and most definitely bring your creative spirit. It’s Halloween! Here are some pix of our past parties. I hope you can attend!

Knit Success & Weekend Plans

Last night at the WeHo SnB, Joan brought her completed brown sweater. Joan is a new knitter. Her previous projects included two spa cloths and a pair of wristwarmers. She picked up crochet last year and really got into it, completing a scarf, a hat and maybe a few other small items. After seeing this year's fashion magazines, using chunky, bulky yarn for the latest sweaters, Joan decided that she wanted to learn to knit. We picked out some Wool-Ease® Chunky yarn in a beautiful, warm brown color, size 13 needles and started to knit! I modified a pattern that Joan found in a book and followed the lines of sweater in her wardrobe that she really liked. Joan is a knitting savant. She picked it up very quickly and within a month, her sweater was completed. Congratulations, Joan on your fashionable, oversized sweater!

There are lots of things to do this weekend. Larry and I will be attending a few estate sales on the westside early on Saturday morning, then I'll see if he'll swing by Compatto Yarn Salon with me for their fall sale! Compatto (2112 Wilshire Blvd., SM, parking in back) has a really wonderful selection of unusual yarns like Bamboo, Tencel, Yak and more.

On Saturday night, Copro-Nason Gallery at Bergamot Station also in Santa Monica is having an art opening and Halloween party. Can you just imagine the type of costumes that all of those wild low-brow artists will be wearing?

On Sunday, The Mosaic House (1116 Palms Blvd., Venice CA 90291, between Lincoln Blvd & Penmar Ave) is holding it's Fall (pre-Christmas) show of artwork and functional, whimsical pottery, 12 - 5 pm. The artwork and pottery by owners, Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran are truly worth seeing. Of course, it goes without saying that The Mosaic House is a folk-art landmark in Los Angeles. We've visted often and we always see something new with each viewing.

Close-Up, The Mosaic House Patio

See you on the Westside this weekend!

Get Your Tickets - Mosaic Tour

Got Extra Pan Tops? Add them to your Garden Mosaic Wall!

Coming up, Sunday, March 21, 10-4, the L.A. Conservancy along with partners the J. Paul Getty Musuem, are sponsoring a day-long, self-driving tour showcasing Los Angeles' mosaic legacy. You can get tickets by contacting The Conservancy.

Highlights of the upcoming Mosaic L.A. tour include: The Towers of Simon Rodia, Watts Towers, an L.A. icon and folk mosaic built by one man over thirty years using everyday objects; St. John's Episcopal Church, site of a Byzantine-inspired ecclesiastical mosaic designed by the artisans of the historic Judson Studios; Murals in downtown Los Angeles by Joseph Young, including a 36 foot panel depicting Los Angeles' architectural history; one of the extraordinary mosaic facades by Millard Sheets on a former Home Saviings and Loan building in Hollywood; and The Birth of Liberty mosaic at Forest Law Memorial Park, the largest historical mosaic in the United States! At each stop there will be docents discussing this amazing artwork.

Mosaic House Patio

To kick-off this tour, there was a Cornerstone Member event this past Sunday at my favorite Mosaic House in Venice. Since I suggested that the LAC utilize this folk art treasure in Venice for the upcoming tour, Larry and I were invited to this exclusive event! Laa Dee Dah!!!

Studio, Ready For Visitors
Salsa Dancing in the Studio
Ellen - Mosaic House Bathroom

I just love hearing everyone's comments as they tour Cheri's and Gonzalo's house and studio!

L.A. Conservancy Guest in the Kitchen

Photographer, Larry Underhill with Owner/Artist, Cheri Pann