WHERE ART IS BORN 45 ARTISTS INVITE VISITORS INTO THEIR HOME STUDIOS ON WEEKEND TOUR.Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer Susan Manders giggles whenever cars pass her house ... then slowly back up again. Never mind that she's got the only lavender-colored exterior in her upscale Sherman Oaks neighborhood. Those frequent drive-bys are all because of the totem goddess with the flowering hibiscus-topiary 'do that stands in her well-manicured garden. ``It's really just an air-conditioning duct that I painted and stuck in the ground, but I had nothing to do with the plant,'' offers Manders, whose many creations are integrated throughout her custom-remodeled home, a featured stop on next weekend's Valley Artists Studio Tour. Now in its fifth year, the map-guided event brings the public to the working and living spaces of 45 San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. fine artists. Manders has been making oil and acrylic paintings at her private studio and school, the Art Experience, in Studio City since 1978. She uses the house she shares with her husband to show works to clients. The harmony between art and architecture exists everywhere inside and outside Manders' stunning home gallery, where every room has a distinct personality. Glamorous partygoers straight out of the Golden Age of Hollywood accent the paintings in her art deco-inspired living room. An upside-down paper parasol acts as a lighting fixture in the eclectic study. Of mermaids and murals In the dining room, a whimsical mermaid cutout cut·out n. 1. Something cut out or intended to be cut out from something else. 2. Electricity A device that interrupts, bypasses, or disconnects a circuit or circuit element. 3. draws the eyes of guests toward the lavender-colored ceiling. Below is a rustic Mexican glass-top patio table, set with Manders' ceramic dinnerware. And in the backyard, next to the saline lap pool, a mural of female figures blankets a bamboo wall. Manders' paintings are archived in the Library of the National Museum of Women in the Arts The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C. is the only museum solely dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements in the visual, performing, and literary arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. in Washington, D.C. And in 2004, she became only the second female artist ever selected to create an image for the Olympic Games Olympic games, premier athletic meeting of ancient Greece, and, in modern times, series of international sports contests. The Olympics of Ancient Greece Although records cannot verify games earlier than 776 B.C. . Her work is also used extensively to help market Hewlett-Packard, which provides her with large-format printers so she can reproduce her work on canvas and archival paper in limited editions. This year, yet another special-edition painting of hers was included as part of the Prime-Time Emmy Awards gift bag. Manders' subject matter is almost always women, such as her moody bombshells of the 1920s to '40s in rooms full of well-dressed strangers. Yet, like the works of early-20th-century German expressionist ex·pres·sion·ism n. A movement in the arts during the early part of the 20th century that emphasized subjective expression of the artist's inner experiences. ex·pres painters, by whom her work appears heavily influenced, Manders' paintings can often capture the frenetic pace of city life and express a sort of isolation. Some of her work elicits a chuckle, as in the Walkman-wearing mermaid mosaic she created on the door that hides her home's hot-water heater, or the three girlfriends cruising in a hot-pink, top-down convertible. Charming Hobbit A microprocessor from AT&T that was used in a variety of portable devices. It is no longer made. 1. Hobbit - A Scheme to C compiler by Tanel Tammet <tammet@cs.chalmers.se>. house Humor is also evident in the work of Fritz Suter, an Austrian artist whose home is also featured on the tour. He paints in the front room of his 1928 Tudor-inspired home in Van Nuys. The structure, literally transplanted from its previous location in the Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills, an unofficial designation of part of the City of Los Angeles, California, are part of the eastern section of the low transverse range of the Santa Monica Mountains, which extends from the Los Feliz District and Hollywood, on the south side of the Valley, to , has a red round-top door, multipaned windows and a wrap-around roof like that of an English country cottage. It's located a few blocks away from the busy intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Sherman Way, although you'd never know it. In the backyard, green apples fall on a thick carpet of grass, and a bougainvillea bougainvillea or bougainvillaea (both: b  'gənvĭl`ēə) [for L. A. spills its fuchsia-hued flowers over a short chain-link fence. Suter moved to California from Widnau, Switzerland (west of the tiny landlocked country A landlocked country is commonly defined as one enclosed or nearly enclosed by land.[1][2][3][4] As of 2007, there are 43 landlocked countries in the world. of Liechtenstein), two years ago with his wife, a native of Newport Beach Newport Beach, residential and resort city (1990 pop. 66,643), Orange co., S Calif., on Newport Bay and the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1906. It is a popular seaside resort and yachting center. Manufactures include electrical and medical equipment, computers, boats, and adhesives. who works in the fashion industry. Some of his grandchildren's pictures are interspersed in his home between his canvases -- a mixture of cubism cubism, art movement, primarily in painting, originating in Paris c.1907. Cubist Theory Cubism began as an intellectual revolt against the artistic expression of previous eras. , classic modernism and whimsical art -- that fill every wall and sometimes lean against furniture. But even in this cozy cottage, there is a distinct interplay between the d(hrt)cor and the art. A curled lampshade in one corner of the living room complements Suter's musical interpretation of a bass player, who comes to life using single lines and only a few colors. The long, pointed leaves of a houseplant houseplant Plant adapted for growing indoors, commonly a member of a species that flourishes naturally only in warm climates. Two factors contribute to the success of the huge number of species grown as houseplants: they must be easy to care for, and they must be able to tie the painter's happy recollection of Santa Fe Santa Fe, city, Argentina Santa Fe, city (1991 pop. 341,000), capital of Santa Fe prov., NE Argentina, a river port near the Paraná, with which it is connected by canal. to the dining room. But on a facing wall, the mood is pure outrage. Art and politics ``This is a little protest against the war,'' Suter says. He gestures to a collage of a grotesque politician all splattered splat·ter v. splat·tered, splat·ter·ing, splat·ters v.tr. To spatter (something), especially to soil with splashes of liquid. v.intr. and dripping in red. A cutout of a woman's sad face is to his left, with the words ``Happy Mothers Day.'' Behind the politician and blanketing the entire canvas, Suter has drawn 2,000 tiny crosses in black ink, one for each of the American soldiers killed in Iraq, because it was that milestone that inspired this work. ``I am not really a protest painter, but when I read about it, I thought, `I have to do something,' Sometimes you go off and say, `I have to make something abstract.' And since I am a painter, and I don't make sketches, oftentimes I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what will come out of my pictures.'' Suter's paintings have been collected in Europe and the U.S., and most recently exhibited in shows throughout Southern California. This will be the first time he has taken part in the Valley Artists Studio Tour. ``The idea of bringing the public to the artist is a super idea,'' he says. ``You don't just see landscapes, but you see abstract landscapes and sculptures and collages. You'll see.'' Sandra Barrera, (818) 713-3728 sandra.barrera(at)dailynews.com VALLEY ARTISTS STUDIO TOUR Where: In 45 artists' homes throughout the San Fernando Valley. When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 14 and 15. Tickets: $20 in advance; $25 on the weekend of the event (includes a detailed map of the tour, a description of each artist's work and a special-entry wristband wristband An identifying bracelet attached to a Pt's wrist at the time of admission to a health care facility, which may be the only identifier used during a person's stay in a hospital ). Call (818) 572-3150, or go to www.sfvartscouncil.com and click on the link to purchase tickets. CAPTION(S): 7 photos Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) WHERE INSPIRATION LIVES Valley tour opens doors to artists' home studios (2 -- 7 -- color) Van Nuys artist Fritz Suter, left, paints in his Tudor-style Van Nuys home, top, with its gabled roof and red door, center of page. Susan Manders, above left, creates art in her sunny Sherman Oaks home, where a totem goddess rests in her yard and the interior is decorated with an eclectic assortment of furnishings, including a glass-topped table and an unusual lighting fixture, opposite. Their home studios will be open during next weekend's tour. Photos by Gus Ruelas and David Sprague/Staff Photographers |
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