DAVID HOCKNEY 1937-2026, IN MEMORIAM

David Hockney Portraits at LACMA, 2018

I think I've found something that I could go on with forever, because people are fascinating, they're mysterious really." David Hockney

David Hockney, one of the 20th and 21st centuries great painters, passed away this week at the age of 88.  He will be greatly missed. He is one of the contemporary artists that I most admire. In his memory, I am reposting my article about his exhibit at LACMA in 2018. 

Entrance to the exhibit with photo of Hockney at work in his studio

If you haven't seen the David Hockney show at LACMA, 82 Portraits and 1 Still Life, I highly recommend it. I went to see it on Sunday. At age 80, David Hockney is still going strong. The portraits are stunning and the red walls of the gallery are a perfect foil for the green and blue background of the paintings.

Julie Green

As I walked around I noticed a woman leading a tour. Then I looked at her dress and realized she was Julie Green, one of the people in the portraits!

Architect Frank Gehry

There are portraits of his studio assistants, massage therapist, housekeeper and cook. Others depict Hockney’s siblings, the children and grandchildren of his friends, and art dealers and prominent cultural figures in Los Angeles. All of the paintings are labeled with the sitter's name and dates of sitting.
Organized by the Royal Academy in conjunction with LACMA, the exhibition opened in London in 2016, then traveled to Venice, Italy; Bilboa, Spain; and Melbourne, Australia. The only U.S. stop is L.A., the city where the portraits were painted and where most of his subjects live.

The 83 paintings line the walls of two large galleries.

The series began in 2013 after David Hockney moved to Los Angeles from his home and studio in rural England.

Each person came to Hockney’s studio for two or three days and sat in the same chair on a small platform while Hockney painted. All of the figures are full length and the canvas size is the same for each portrait. The backgrounds are simple–flat color and just a suggestion of shadow on the floor. What comes across in each painting is the distinct personality of the sitter.

The one still life was painted on a day when one of his subjects had to postpone her session. So Hockney set up a bench with pieces of fruit in the same spot in his studio and painted it instead.   


David Hockney: 82 Portraits and 1 Still-life

Los Angeles County Museum of Aart
April 15, 2018–July 29, 2018

Review in the LA Times by Barbara Isenberg

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: On the Shelf at LAPL

In the Social Science/Philosophy Department of LAPL with my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL.

A week ago I was at the Los Angeles Public Library in downtown Los Angeles and I went searching for my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota. I knew it was in the collection, but I wanted to see it for myself. After riding down three escalators from the main library floor to the Social Science/Philosophy Department, I found it shelved with other books about the history of settlement houses and the social settlement movement (360.61). 

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL is the thin blue book, 6th from the left.

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL, (360.61A752), was on the top shelf, a few books after several about Jane Addams, the founder of Hull House in Chicago. Down three shelves I found books about Lillian Wald, founder of Henry Street Settlement in New York City. It was a good thing that my husband Art was with me to pull my book off the shelf, because I could barely reach it. It was gratifying to hold it in my hand and know that anyone coming to the library to learn about settlement houses or about my childhood living in one, will be able to find my book. I hope they are tall!

PRESENTATION OF THE FOCAL AWARD for SIMONE written by Viet Thanh Nguyen, illustrated by Minnie Phan

FOCAL Award Presentation at the Los Angeles Public Library to Viet Thanh Nguyen and Minnie Phan

On Saturday, May 30th, friends, family, and members of FOCAL (Friends of Children and Libraries) gathered at the Mark Taper Auditorium of the LAPL Central Library for the annual FOCAL Award presentation, this year to Viet Thanh Nguyen (author) and Minnie Phan (illustrator) for their book Simone, a picture book about a young girl and her mother whose home is threatened by wildfire. 

In the tradition of the award, the author and the illustrator were presented with a puppet of the main character of the book. A third identical puppet will go on display in the children's room of the library, joining puppets from previous years. The puppets were created by Jesse Kingsley and Moira MacDonald.  

Jesse Kingsley and the three Simone puppets.

The program was introduced by Marilyn Robertson, FOCAL President. After a presentation by Viet and Minnie about how they came to write and illustrate. the essay contest winners were introduced by Sandy Schuckett. 

Sandy Schuckett, Chair of the Judging Panel for the student essays.

The three students read their excellent essays to the audience. They wrote about how they responded to the book, a favorite part or character, and why they would like to meet the author. Then there was a question and answer session with the audience, hosted by Dewi Reyes, Chair of Social Media. (See first photo.) Then we all enjoyed delicious Vietnamese sweets in the library patio.

I have been a member of FOCAL for many years. In order to be awarded the FOCAL book award, the book must be of the highest literary and artistic quality, and must have California content. I know how hard it is to choose a winner–I served on the committee for four years. This year’s choice is excellent and a fitting book to celebrate.

Note: In the past, the FOCAL award ceremony has been held in the fall. However, beginning with this year, the FOCAL Board has decided to hold the ceremony in the spring, giving teachers and students more time to read the book and for the students to write their essays.

WIGGLY WORMS AND NEWLY HATCHED CHICKS: A Visit with Mrs. Best’s Kindergarten Class

Over the last ten years I have written three books about Jennifer Best and her kindergarten students at Haynes School in Los Angeles, beginning with HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 which follows the process of incubating eggs and raising chicks after they hatch.

After the chicks grow up, the chickens live in an enclosure at the school.

Every year I visit Mrs. Best's class (now in Room 4) to share my books and learn what the students are doing. My visit this year was timed to be on hatching day for the chicks. When I arrived, I saw three of the chicks hopping around in the incubator. Two eggs had yet to hatch. The children were watching the chicks directly in the incubator, or could see them enlarged on the screen in the front of the room which was projecting the image via YouTube. Technology is amazing!

I began my presentation by asking the children how they knew that chickens are bird. The answer: they have feathers and lay eggs. Then I showed them my ostrich egg and measured their wingspans.

My next books with Mrs. Best were BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM6 and PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6. The students had just finished raising painted lady butterflies and released them in the school garden. 

We talked about how worms are good for the garden and then I read WIGGLE AND WAGGLE while Mrs. Best acted out the story with my Wiggle and Waggle sock puppets. Then the students each had a chance to see worms up close, hold them, and inspect them with a magnifying glass. Afterward they drew pictures and wrote about what they saw.

Red worms are good for recycling nutrients in the soil..

In the year that I wrote PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 the students had a very successful vegetable garden. This year they also planted vegetables in a planter box outside. Unfortunately, hungry bunnies have invaded the school yard and ate all the vegetables except for a very large tomato plant and a pumpkin vine.

Jennifer Best and the giant tomato plant and pumpkin vine.

I had a fun afternoon in Mrs. Best’s classroom and enjoyed seeing all the projects displayed on the classroom walls. Before I left I gave each student a copy of my folding book WHO HAS MORE? WHO HAS FEWER? 

On one side of each page they can count the eggs of seven different kinds of birds. On the other they can count the baby birds just hatched from their eggs—just like the chicks they saw hatch in the incubator in Mrs. Best’s class. The students are lucky to have such a wonderful teacher as Mrs. Best who provides them with so many hands-on science opportunities.

Chick and eggshell inside incubator.

MY ART ON DISPLAY AT THE UCLA EMERITI/RETIREES ARTS AND CRAFTS EXHIBIT

On Tuesday, May 19th, I was one of 23 artists exhibiting at the annual Silvia Winstein UCLA Emeriti/Retirees Arts and Crafts Exhibit at the UCLA University Club in Los Angeles, California. I showed prints of my cut-paper book illustrations. Many thanks to Chair Kay Deeney and all the people who make the event happen. This year's featured artists were Shirley Ho, calligraphist, and Craig Schoenbaum, photographer.

The tradition of the show began many years ago when Sylvia, the young widow of UCLA Chemistry Professor Saul Winstein, had a tea for some friends and displayed several paintings. Artistic emeriti friends and spouses were so enthusiastic that Sylvia organized and supported what has become a very special yearly celebration. 

The event is  jointly presented by the UCLA Emeriti Association, the UCLA Emeriti/Retirees Relations Center, and the UCLA Retirees Association. 

READING WIGGLE AND WAGGLE: “BOOKS AND BAGELS” at Apricot Lane Farms, Moorpark, CA

Signing books at Apricot Lane Farms "Books and Bagels" event.

I spent last Saturday morning at Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, California, sharing my books at an event for children and parents called “Books and Bagels”. While seated on blankets on a grassy lawn and munching on breakfast, they listened to me talk about being an author and about my books. 

We were in the midst of a thriving organic farm, so it was fitting for me to share my Room 6 books, HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6, BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6 and PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 and also WIGGLE AND WAGGLE. At the end of the program I signed copies of WIGGLE AND WAGGLE and PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6, which were for sale in the Garden Shop.

Note: Directions for making stick puppets, singing the Wiggle and Waggle song, and other wormy activities are downloadable HERE.

I thank Liz Davis, Tours and Events Manager, for inviting me to share my books at Books and Bagels and who coordinated all the details of my visit. It was a pleasure to read my books and I was pleased that so many people bought them afterward. I also thank Kristen Nordstrom, who put on my Wiggle and Waggle sock puppets and acted out the story as I read aloud. She also was a great help handing out materials at the end of the program. (Everyone took home supplies to make their own Wiggle and Waggle stick puppets.) Kristen is a teacher at the school on the Apricot Lane Farms campus. She is also a children’s book author and shared her book Mimic Makers at a previous Books and Bagels program.

Kristen Nordstrom with my Wiggle and Waggle puppets.

The Books and Bagels program is a great way to celebrate books and reading and for families to discover the amazing plants and animals of Apricot Lane Farms. You can go to their website to find out more about it and how to visit.

Entrance to the Garden Area of Apricot Lane Farms

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL Now Available at the LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY

I was delighted to discover that my memoir, SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota, is now available at the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL). It is on the shelf in the Social Science/Philosophy Department of the Central Branch (call number 360.61A752.) If you don’t want to go downtown to check out the book, you can put it on hold and have it delivered to your local branch.

Although I grew up in Minnesota, I have lived most of my adult life in California and the LAPL is my home library.  I am pleased that they have approved the book for their collection. It took two plus years! Most of my 170 books for children are already on the shelves. Now, readers who know my children’s books will be able to find out what my life was like as a child.

Los Angeles Public Library

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL is already on the shelves of the Hennepin County Libraries in Minnesota and many other libraries across the country. You can check to see if it is in a library near where you live.