upcoming

Ever Green
A collaboration between The Portable Forest, Bianca D’Amico,
Nicole Antebi, and Amy Blount Lay
November 19th – December 18th, 2011
Opening:  Saturday, November 19th, 2011 8pm-10pm
The tree checkout period ends January 7th, 2012.

In response to an invitation from Monte Vista, The Portable Forest created The Portable Forest Tree Library, a free holiday tree checkout service of seventy-one one to seven foot tall evergreen trees from around the world. The Portable Forest invited Bianca D’Amico of terri planty, Nicole Antebi, and Amy Blount Lay to collaborate on an exhibition hosted by Monte Vista opening on November 19, 2011.
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The Portable Forest Tree Library


The Portable Forest Tree Library has available for checkout fifteen 1-2 foot, eight 2-3 foot, and five 5-7 holiday trees. Checkouts are available for two-week periods at a time from November 19th – January 7th.
The rest of the trees are stored at The Portable Forest Library Storage Facility in Highland Park for exchange and returns. Trees can also be returned directly to Monte Vista. Your tree and care form will be provided for free upon agreement to care and return it. If you try your best and it dies, just return the tree, pot, and saucer as is. You will not be charged.
How do I rent a living tree? Visit Monte Vista Projects during the opening, November 19, 8pm- 10pm, come during gallery hours: Sat & Sun 12-5 or call to arrange a pick-up or delivery. See the bottom of this document for locations and hours. We deliver.

The Portable Forest are potted trees that can travel for shows, events and happenings inside
and outside. Typically they are shown interacting with the space they are in or traveling metaphorically if not physically. They are located in Los Angeles, CA and have been traveling from 2008-2012. info@theportableforest.com
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Bianca D'Amico
make love plant a garden / exuse me, i planted /planting a party


A disco ball on its own is one sexy looking object, reflecting the sparkle of good times with magical glitz. Carved out and planted it now hosts an organic sculpture made by mother nature herself, the plant. Combined, you have a plant party that shares the responsibility to be cared for and reminded to shake that ass. Keep it simple and turned off in the day, allow the mirror to reflect light around the room and help your plant grow and when guests come for an evening of pleasure, turn that motor on, let her spin and dance the night away.
Bianca D'Amico, a California native, received her BFA in Painting / New Genres from Otis College of Art and Design in 2005 and her MFA in Art from the California Institute of the Arts in 2007. D'Amico's artwork and videos have been shown at such venues as Sea & Space Explorations, Telic Arts Exchange, Gallery of York University, Toronto, ON, Canada, Democracy Forum at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, The Egyptian Theater Film Forum, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery and Le Cinématographe, Nantes, France. She is also the owner and  founder of the terrarium and plantings design house Terri Planty.
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Nicole Antebi

Arboretum of Removal

 

A shadow Arboretum identifying The Portable Forest trees will be revealed as the trees are checked out and removed from the lending library throughout the exhibition. 

Nicole Antebi is a Los Angeles based artist and organizer, her work has been shown in galleries and film festivals internationally.  Mostly working in video, installation, and animation, she has recently developed a series of animated documentaries which draw connections between the language, strategies, and mythologies surrounding so many of California’s historical water wizards and megalomaniacs whose excessive visions led to calamitous ends.
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Amy Blount Lay

The Last Time I Tried To Be Human, It Almost Killed Me: Evergreen Rookery

“The Last Time I Tried To Be Human, It Almost Killed Me”, is a series of environmental cautionary tales framed by the North Sea Selkie myth.
Amy Blount Lay is a transplanted Chicagoan who has been living and working in Los Angeles since 1990. She received her BFA from University of Kansas in 1989 and her MFA from California Institute of the Arts in 1994.  From 1999-2003 she took a hiatus from regular exhibiting and devoted most of her free time to surfing recreationally and competitively up and down the California coast. It was during this time that she began developing a body of work exploring the complex entanglement of a terrestrial life bordering the marine world.
TREE PICK-UP and DROP-OFF LOCATIONS
Pick-Up, Drop Off, or Exchange
Monte Vista - Hours: Sat and Sun 12-5
5442 Monte Vista St
Los Angeles, CA 90042
Drop Off or Exchange only
The Portable Forest Tree Library Storage Facility - Hours: Wed & Friday 9am-9pm
5748 Aldama Street
LA, CA 90042
323-445-4015
call, text, or ring bell at the entrance

open studios

this sunday is the elephant art space open studios! (aka, where my studio resides). all the artist in residence will have their doors open with projects for viewing. and in our gallery we will have a show by artist dave shulman. and my fellow studio mate, the talented dainelle adair will be doing a performance around 7:30 ish.

to inspire me for the big day i decided to cruise and collect images of some of my favorite lady artists in their work spaces. i couldn't find any of laurie anderson's studio but insisted on posting this image of her in a sweet pair of shades as a potential fashion statement for the day....

its been too long, like so long, like wtf

but i promise. i am back. i got lots to use this space for. shall we begin with the idea of home? we shall. having trouble settling into the new space. cardboard boxes are still a common site. the motivation is there but the time is not. and when the time comes the money is not.

in the meantime i've cruised old photos and found these shots of my two feline cuties at the old place. look at all those books i still have to bring into the new home. slowly, surely, its happening...

i can't get enough of this

and these chairs too...

i want this chair...

hey folks

recently i went to the la folk fest, which lucky for me (and everyone there) it took place at the zorthian ranch, where two of my all time favorite friends live and make art. it was getting dark quickly by the time i got there, but i got a couple moody shots worth sharing. the night was magic. there is nothing like live music, interesting performers being doing their thing amongst beautiful piles of junk. highlights... kicking up dirt while square dancing with a ton of strangers, amanda joe williams, children out a late hours of the night dancing to good beats, friendly folks, good friends, feeling like you are all having a good time together...

home sweet home

i am looking to move. looking for a new pad. a home for my cats, the chickens and myself. my list of needs is not like most. where many folks prefer larger living quarters, i am willing to make some sacrifices in exchange for yard space. i want enough space to keep my coop, a compost pin, a couple plots of edibles and herbs and of course a space to hula hoop and entertain with a good meal. storage would be a perk. saftey is key. views would be a super bonus. i am a hill girl after all. i hate carpet, but might compromise for the right garden (think kilim rugs EVERYWHERE). windows and good light please. privacy. some character.
with all this being said, i am looking to pinterest to inspire me to live comfortably cozy yet stylish in a small space. what to do with all my treasures? i am thinking loft bed (aka bunk bed / cat jungle). hanging plants, textile collage, bohemian lady land headquarters. a place to rest, to breathe, to relax, to hide, to say hello to the new. i am looking forward to downsizing, featuring only favorites...

i love cats too. yup. this much.

shows to show

not long ago i saw florence and the machine with my sis and nicole at the magical greek theater. and before that i saw imogen heap with my sis at the same place. soon i will see lykke li. i love me some outdoor music action. plus i have a backlog of show shots. gots to show them off.