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Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, June 24, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||
3 Mountain View News Saturday, June 24, 2017 Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side by Deanne Davis Walking Sierra Madre...The Social Side June 21, 2017 Deanne Davis “Wabi-sabi: a concept in traditional Japanese aesthetics constituting a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection... sometimes described as beauty that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.” Sat down with Lisa Agaran a couple of days ago over some iced tea at The Only Place In Town and caught up with what’s going on in her artistic life. We last talked to Lisa in November of 2015 when she was about to launch a show of her work at ArtCrush Studio in Altadena. The show was a huge success and Lisa is about as busy as a teaching artist can be. She says her art has evolved considerably and mentions the Wabi-sabi philosophy as a mainstay in her work and in her teaching. Talking about her classes and the folks who are signing up to get their feet wet in the world of art when they’ve been too scared to try it before makes Lisa’s eyes shine and her smile gets bigger an bigger. Lisa’s classes appeal mostly to adults who have sustained what Lisa calls “creative injury.” I suspect we’ve all had that happen, our tiny spark of art thoroughly put out by a large bucket of criticism dumped on us by a teacher or parent, and we figured that was that and never went in that direction again. Lisa was inspired by a teacher who encouraged her to specialize in creative nurture. I, too, was inspired by a teacher, Miss Hearn, who taught English at South Pasadena High School. She told me after reading my book review of The Grapes of Wrath that I had a real talent for writing and that I should pursue it. And, some years later, I did! Lisa attributes some of her teaching methods and attitudes to author Julia Cameron, whose book, The Artist’s Way, has helped millions of people around the world discover—and recover—their creativity. Lisa’s classes are for anybody and everybody who wants to see some transformation in their life in a patient, nonjudgmental atmosphere. Interestingly, she gets a lot of retired teachers who are looking to get past the self-criticism and self-judgment that many of us have acquired about ourselves. There’s no such thing as “I ruined it!” with Lisa. She’s very much of “let’s see what we can do” instead. Her therapist background has taught her to look for the good, not for what’s broken. Yep, forgiveness of ourselves. Specializing in mixed media work, Lisa hosted a retreat in Cambria last year, staying at Cambria Pines Lodge and holding classes in the old Cambria grammar school, which now rents out space to artists instead of teaching sentence structure to elementary school kids. Lisa and her group visited Moonstone Beach on a search for “found objects” like interesting stones, shells, driftwood, feathers... just about anything that appealed to the eye of that particular artist... to incorporate into their mixed media works of art. Each of these found objects has a story, a history. Mixed media, in case you didn’t know – and I didn’t – would be a work of art combining various traditionally distinct visual art media, for example, a work on canvas combining paint, ink, photographs, found objects – all materials that speak to the heart of the artist, who can then combine them in the manner that pleases their eye, heart and soul. Getting back to that Wabi- sabi philosophy we mentioned at the beginning, mixed media can be deeply satisfying, at the same time being imperfect. After all, there’s very little in our world that is perfect! Think non-symmetrical, rough, simple, austere with focus on natural objects. You know, I think I could DO this! Lisa teaches at a variety of places: Our own Creative Arts Group here in town; Glendale Community Education, the Neighborhood Unitarian Church. She’s planning another retreat for April of 2018 and really hopes to do three retreats per year. Here is Lisa’s workshop link so you can get in touch with her to choose a time and place to get your own feet artistically wet: TrueCreativityWithin.com Want to see some of Lisa’s beautiful work? Take a look at: http://artbylisaagaran.com/ A show of new work is planned for 2018 and we’ll be sure to let you know when and where. To quote Lisa, “The magic happens when we invite accidents and mistakes to occur!” My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis Blog: www.authordeanne.com “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter” is now available at Sunrise Books + Coffee at Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene – just down the road on Sierra Madre Blvd. Kindle readers, give yourself the gift of: A Treasure Map, A Drunken Owl, and 47 Rattler’s in a Bag It’s on Amazon.com on my book page. Follow me on Twitter, too: https://twitter.com/@ playwrightdd SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER During this time period, the Sierra Madre Police Department responded to approximately 406 day and night time calls for service. Monday, June 12 At about 2:42 a.m. a SMPD officer on patrol in the 200 block of S. Baldwin Ave. saw an unoccupied vehicle parked on the street. The DMV vehicle check showed that the vehicle was reported stolen from the City of Monrovia. Monrovia PD responded and advised the registered owner that the car was located. The owner responded and took possession of his vehicle. Case to Detectives Tuesday, June 13 Officers were dispatched at about 12:41 a.m., to the 300 block of W. Sierra Madre Bl. to assist an outside agency regarding a possible suicidal juvenile. Officers located the juvenile as she was speaking to a relative on the phone who was on the way to pick up the juvenile. So. Pasadena PD was notified that the missing person was located and reunited with a relative. 1:26 a.m. An anonymous party reported that someone was growing marijuana in their backyard. The reporting person stated that the suspect was loading the marijuana into a truck. Officers located the vehicle and stopped it for a CVC violation. The driver of the vehicle was driving on a suspended license and had an outstanding criminal warrant. An inventory of the vehicle revealed the suspect was in possession of over six hundred marijuana plants in various stages of growth, approximately 125 pounds of mature marijuana buds, and a large amount of U.S. currency. The driver was arrested and booked at the Pasadena Jail. Case referred to Detectives for further investigation 12:53 p.m., A victim came into the lobby to report someone had stolen his identity by using his social security number to apply for a job. The victim received the letter on 6/7/17. Case to Detectives Saturday, June 17 At about 7:51 p.m. an officer on patrol was dispatched to a call of a reckless driver traveling eastbound in the 600 block of W. Sierra Madre Bl. The officer located the vehicle parked in front of the police station. As the officer attempted to make contact with the driver, the vehicle sped off at a high rate of speed. SMPD officers initiated a pursuit as the vehicle sped through the eastern section of the city on Sierra Madre Bl. and into the city of Arcadia where they cancelled the pursuit. The suspect was then pursued by Monrovia PD into the city of Covina where he was located at the home of a relative, arrested and taken into the custody of Monrovia PD. Case pending Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com | ||||||||||||||||||||