Calligraphy homework

I'm taking another calligraphy class at UCLA Extension with the fabulous Carrie Imai.  This time we're learning Roman Capitals.  They look deceptively easy, but of course they take a lot of control and concentration to get them right!  Here are some of my homework projects from the last few weeks.

As a bonus, I've included a beautiful view out of my classroom window at sunset - Westwood basking in an amazing rosy light.

Elbert Hubbard

William Morris

J.J. Camden

Edgar Allan Poe

Robert Frost

Westwood at sunset

Another Garden Conservancy tour - in Los Feliz

Yesterday was the second SoCal Garden Conservancy garden tour - this time in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles.  Los Feliz is in the foothills near Griffith Park, so lots of steep, narrow, and twisty streets.  Although there are lots of beautiful houses in the neighborhood, I admit I don't think I could live there and have to do that kind of driving every day (and the parking is terrible too!).  But I had a fun time visiting them for a day.

There were 6 homes on the tour; everything from an historic 1922 Lloyd Wright concrete and wood moderne and a 1930s Paul Williams Mediterranean Revival mansion (which had a major recent renovation to both the house and the landscaping which must have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars!) to more modest bungalows and Spanish revivals.  I went on the tour in the morning and then volunteered at one of the gardens for the afternoon.  Both the owner and the landscape designer were there answering my and the visitors' questions, which made it much more interesting.  It's the garden near the end of this post with the swimming pool and waterfall wall.

You'll notice that the weather was much different this weekend - last week it was sunny and in the 80's F; this weekend it was 20 degrees cooler, windy and threatening rain all day.

Hope you enjoy these garden views.

Spring means home and garden tours

Balmy spring is here - hopefully it won't morph into summer too soon.  All the gardens are bursting with flowers and greenery; the roses are especially beautiful.

April is the start of home and garden tour season.  The last Sunday of April holds two annual tours in Pasadena - the Bungalow Heaven Historical District's home tour and the Garden Conservancy's Pasadena Open Day garden tour.  Luckily, I'm very organized and I'm able to do both in one day! Home tour in the morning, garden tour in the afternoon.

The home tour is a walking tour - all the open homes are within walking distance of each other.  I like to see how home owners are able to renovate and restore their charming cottages and bungalows.  The garden tour requires driving between sites.  Since these homes' goal is not necessarily restoration, they tend to be geared more for luxury and easy outdoor living - and they're usually pretty amazing!

Here are some photos from both tours - flowers and details, houses and people.  Enjoy.