THE HIDDEN ARTIST: ELLEN RUNDLE

CONNECTION TO NOHO:  Installed tile at the NOHO Park Aquatic Center and loves the thrift shops there

MEDIUMS: Ceramics and mixed media

WEBSITE: http://www.myfandangle.com/

I stumbled upon Ellen Rundle on my way out of the Canoga Park Art Walk the other week and was immediately drawn to two ceramic boxes in front of her jewelry display. Being a fan of  3-D art, I was taken by her ability to take what could've easily been a 2-D painting and give it depth—drawing the viewer into an altogether other dimension, albeit an 8x10 inch one. Needless to say, I bought one of her pieces. The focal point of mine was a Joshua tree tucked inside a small box on the side of what appeared to be the cliff side of a mountain centered in the desert. And like all art interpretations, it reminded me of my time in New Mexico and warmed my heart. 

Ellen's one of those surprises in life. To look at her rather conservative style on the outside, I never would have thought all this curiosity and self-expression would be on the inside. It turns out she is one of those left brain-right brain phenomenons; a woman who spent almost twenty-seven years in IT and as an art director/graphic designer, finally leaving her last position twelve years ago at the Getty to become a full-time fine art ceramicist. But as it turns out, clay has always been her first love. 

Her home is a gallery of sorts—hers and other favored artists' wall hangings and assemblages stretch all the way from the outside of her front door, through the house, and onto the patio. She is constantly creating in her studio (which consists of potters wheels, a glazing station, and a kiln) arts and crafts jewelry from years of bead collecting, abstract wall sculptures from recycled clay and glass, and all her ceramic wonders. 

Ellen explained to me how working at the potters wheel has always been a kind of meditation for her, bringing her into a place of sensitivity and sensuality—keeping her centered. And that's where she began her ceramicist journey, throwing pots at a studio on the westside during the early 80s and selling them to nurseries from the trunk of her car. In fact she still does that, but she's added so much more to her resume in the way of her slab artistry—tile installations to floors, fountains, and showers seen here on her more architectural website, www.ellenrundle.com and her most recent steam punk assemblages she created for a themed show at La Galeria Gitana in San Fernando, a gallery that tends to peak Ellen's interests in unexpected subject matters leaning toward the mystical to the macomb. 

It is a pleasure for me to own one Ellen's pieces and I encourage you to visit her work at  La Galeria Gitana's upcoming exhibit, Reflections of LIfe, running from July 18- September 18. 

Ellen is also available for any graphic design needs and you may visit that website at www.erundledesign.com. 

  

THE HIDDEN ARTIST: Alma Magaña

CONNECTION TO NOHO: Makeup Artist at the 800 Gallery for "Elements of Art and Fashion Show" 

MEDIUM: Cosmetic makeup and face & body paints

WEBSITE: www.RockStarFaceArt.com

We’ve all seen it at birthday parties, festivals, and school events––eccentric butterflies, cuddly kitty cats, and treacherous pirates­­––children’s faces metamorphosed by the wonderful art of face painting. It should actually be called the art of making joy because nobody does it more joyfully than Alma Magaña.

Alma’s that rare occurrence where everything about her and around her is somehow touched by creative energy. You’ll agree once you’ve read her resume and found she's held two fashion degrees, has designed anything from menswear to lingerie, studied cinema makeup, and patented cosmetic tools. But her real love––what feeds her soul––is the art of body painting.

Face and body painting has been a part of our history for a long time. Once used primarily in the theatre, it became more popular during the 1960s hippie movement when people painted themselves with symbols that showed allegiance to the movement and a protest against the war. It wasn’t until the 80s that face painting really took hold and became a way for kids to enjoy themselves––or for Alma to enjoy herself today.

I met Alma during my day job, which turned out to be her day job too as a film costumer. We did the usual––you know, the "I do this/you do that" chitchat. And then she blew me away with a photograph of her most recent face painting session. That’s when I found, to my utter amazement, that while this petite woman endures the demands of TV production––the long hours, multiple clothing changes, continuity, and actors’ insistent comfort requests––she simultaneously creates and plans her other life as face and body artist. And it all began, she said, with her interaction with kids and the reward she felt as she watched their expressions and little eyes grow big with the pure excitement of being transformed into a fantasy character. But the joy doesn’t stop there––not after you’ve seen what Alma’s art does for us big kids.

With Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) upon us on November 2, Alma has been creating face art that touches not only the recipients of her fine hand, but her soul as well. By transforming bodies and faces into whimsically painted skeletons, she memorializes the death of her own mother who lost her life way too early for both of them. Based in this wonderful Mexican tradition, death is a positive step forward into a higher level of consciousness. Painting one’s face and body into a skeleton is a chance to overcome the fear of death and to embrace the souls of the deceased. Alma only wishes that her mother were here today to see the beautiful work she does.

Courtesy of

 phatpuppyart.com

When asked how it makes her feel to do her art, Alma told me she's stimulated by the creative collaboration between the subject, the photographer, and herself. It never feels like work to her, but a creative outlet. She said "it's my element, my zone" and expresses all her art values while bringing happiness to all involved at the same time.  

As the world turns out negative events and challenges us daily, I'd say we could all use a little more happiness. Alma Magaña will be painting joy onto the faces of young and old at The 14^th Annual Día de los Muertos Festival in Canoga Park on Sunday, November 2 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Whether you're embracing a personal loss or just wanting to say "boo!" to it all, let Alma lovingly transform you! 

Follow Alma on Facebook or on Instagram @RockStarFaceArt.

THE HIDDEN ARTIST: Roger Dolin

MEDIUMS: Acrylic paint on everything
CONNECTION TO NOHO: Board Member and Director of Public Arts Initiative of The Museum of the San Fernando Museum
Website: http://www.muralenvironments.com/

I sat with Roger on his front porch in one of those stackable plastic chairs you buy at Home Depot. We overlooked his drought-parched lawn where the only green was a long straggly sunflower planted inside a paint bucket. The soft accent of climbing ivy clung to the wall behind us. Having met Roger on several occasions in the past, I knew he was a laid back sort of guy. But that late afternoon he seemed a little tired. And who wouldn’t be after working almost every day of the week for the last couple of months on a park project with a bunch of high school kids?

You see Roger is all about kids, artists, and community. He’s the roundup guy who brings together San Fernando Valley’s business owners and residents with public art. He started PAI (Public Art Initiative) after he hooked up with The Museum of the San Fernando Valley via Scott Sterling, an old school buddy and the museum’s current president. Since then Roger has coordinated several art related activities into community events in Northridge, Reseda, and Canoga Park as well as bid many mural and beautification projects around the valley including one for the Department of Transportation in North Hollywood. Roger’s most current project has he and his art colleague, Emily Goff, overseeing the design and installment of several hand painted tiled columns in Maryland Park, a once deserted lot in Glendale, with Daily High School sixteen and seventeen-year-old students. He couldn’t tell me enough about how pleased he is to work with these kids’ raw energy and vision; admitting he learns from them all the time.

While I was with him, I was able to get a quick mini tour of Roger’s art studio located in a guesthouse in back of his home. We maneuvered our way along a wall of wooden pallets being saved for a future art project and across an overgrowth of weeds and a low pile of broken concrete. In the middle of the yard lay materials for a shower room install; a mosaic of broken tiles; much like what he did to his kitchen counters inside his house. We then stepped into the place where his 2-D dreams are made. I’d been deceived by how small the building looked from the outside because inside he had built a long rectangular storage area in which the outside walls served as “practice” areas for his on-going mural projects. They’d been well painted over again and again, almost as if to look like large pieces of abstract art themselves. After seeing this, there was no doubt in my mind that this guy is damn serious about his public art. A great example of his work can be viewed on an exterior cement staircase on Figueroa (just south of the 134) in Eagle Rock where he painted his controversial Tai Chi mural. I have to admit I’d driven past it several times, never realizing I actually knew who did it! (Click here for more images)

Finally, I asked Roger about his personal art; work that seems to hover in the world of realism. I’ve often wondered why artists draw or paint themselves so I asked him about his self-portraits. Roger said, for the most part, it’s an exercise––like doodling. Choosing a subject such as him self makes it convenient to study someone without interruptions. For instance, he never has to worry about anybody’s “sitting” time limits or comfort levels.  And his finished portrait doesn’t come without surprises either––like discovering a set of scrunched worry lines between the brows of the very focused Roger Dolan, a man dedicated to bringing art and community together.

Footnote: You may keep an eye on Roger and the kid’s progress at Maryland Park by visiting his Facebook page. Also, The Museum of the San Fernando Valley gives walking tours of historic buildings in NOHO. Information about these can be found on the NOHO Arts District or The Museum of San Fernando Valley's websites.