CARPORT CANTINA; ARTIST ECHOES MEXICO IN SPOT CLOSE TO HOME.

Byline: Suzanne Sproul Staff Writer

In this garden of delights with its welcoming cantina, all is not what it seems.

Delightfully upbeat Mexican music fills the air, entertaining the cockroach on the bar, the lizard on the door, the green Gila monster hanging from the ceiling and the cat peacefully resting outside in his own nest of catnip.

Max the cat, it turns out, is the only living entity in the lot.

Hola, and welcome to Dan VanClapp's little corner of the world. You may want to squint or do a double take. Oh, just reach out and touch, for goodness sake.

You'll have to employ more than one of your senses here. VanClapp is a painter and sculptor who revels in creating his own environments. Give him other people's castoffs, some paint, some time and some space, and you'll never know what he'll come up with.

One of his ongoing works is his cantina, which sits where his 1939 Claremont house's old carport once did.

Delegated to storage space, it was transformed into a replica of a Mexican cantina when VanClapp got his hands on a huge wooden bar. He bought the counter top from a Mexican-import store when it went out of business. He then was faced with doing something with it.

It wouldn't fit in the house. The carport seemed perfect.

``I used the carport area for a studio first, but then I got a larger one. We used the area primarily for storage until (we bought) the bar, which came from Pueblo, Mexico. And then this happened,'' VanClapp said.

Thus began a two-year project, one that he has clearly enjoyed from the start. ``It's an art piece unto itself,'' he said with a large grin while sipping coffee.

The carport-turned-cantina has been transformed from a blase building into a lovely escape just steps away from the house's back door. VanClapp and his wife, Paula, enjoy having dinner there and unwinding in its inviting setting.

The creative journey for newcomers starts the minute you approach. Look carefully, and you may notice that the cantina's front ``brick wall'' actually is a painted canvas that with a flick of the hand can roll up under the awning. The fake brick work continues next door on the wall of VanClapp's neighbor's house.

Once you enter, you'll notice the intricate tile work on the floor, which upon closer inspection is really just a painted concrete slab. And the three patrons enjoying themselves in the distance are actually just pigments of VanClapp's imagination, if you will.

What is real, though, is an eclectic mix of everything from a 20-year-old liquor bottle containing two preserved lizards to a wonderful collection of hats, from dried herbs hanging from the ceiling to artwork that makes you feel as if you've just stepped into a beautiful region south of the border.

``Everything in here has a story. That's part of the charm,'' he said.

All the contents of the cantina are either from Mexico, were picked up at thrift stores, donated to him by friends, or made by VanClapp. All combine to add an Old World feel that beckons visitors to step in, relax and plan on staying for a long time.

The cantina also is a piece of the Mexico VanClapp loves. He heads there each summer with two of his dearest friends. The guys jump in a car and hit the road. They simply go to hang out. No timetables, no plans.

``My goal in life is to be bored, and I haven't been able to do that,'' VanClapp said with a laugh.

One look at the cantina, and you get the impression that will continue.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) Real objects - including Max, the cat - are interspersed with painted surfaces in what VanClapp calls ``an art piece unto itself.''

(2) Painter and sculptor Dan VanClapp's cantina, built in his carport, began with a huge bar that came from Pueblo, Mexico.

Tom Zasadzinski/Staff Photographer