art – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

Modernist Masterpiece

I had the pleasure of visiting this intriguing Donald Wexler designed house of steel with my friend Megan recently. This home has an interesting history of who designed it, who owns it and the exhibit now showing – BLAKEHAUS @ WEXLER.

Donald Allen Wexler (1926-2015) was an influential Mid-Century modern architect whose work is predominantly here in Palm Springs. He is known for having pioneered the use of steel in residential design. Some of the buildings he’s designed include the Palm Springs International Airport, Merrill Lynch Building, The Dinah Shore Residence and more.

In the desert, light is everything, and Wexler knew how to harness it.

“Light is not so much something that reveals, as it is itself the revelation.” —James Turrell

Whether inside or outside, you can see why this home was used as the backdrop for countless editorial and fashion shoots; it is owned by Jim Moore, former GQ creative director-at-large.

Palm Springs Life Magazine did a story on him. This next paragraph was taken from the magazine:

Ryan Reynolds, Kanye West, Tom Cruise, President Barrack Obama, and a big posse of other well-known fellas all took heed to Jim Moore’s impeccable fashion consult over the years. By all accounts, these famous gents all came out looking pretty dashing on the cover of GQ, the titanic men’s magazine where Moore has enjoyed a fabulous tenure as creative director for four decades.

Some gossipy history: Reading about the house in Architectural Digest, it was said that Moore had heard that the house once belonged to Billy Wilder. One day, an older neighbor getting her mail told him the truth: Wilder had lived there for only six months or so, and came seldom, but she’d once seen him in the driveway talking with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The magazine went on to say “At Moore’s house, even the ghosts have pedigree.”

“I’ve never really looked at Palm Springs as being anything but stylish. There’s something glamorous about Palm Springs. It’s the little town that has the style of the big city.’” — Jim Moore

The home is now temporarily occupied by Peter Blake and his wife Stephanie. They reside in Laguna Beach and own The PETER BLAKE GALLERY; also in Laguna Beach.

All the furniture and artwork you see here is from the gallery. Moore’s own furniture was moved out for this special exhibit.

Blake’s wife Stephanie is an artist and floral designer. This is her gorgeous flower arrangement.

The gallery’s program effectively merges the disciplines of Art, Architecture and Design.

This special exhibit of artwork and furniture collection from the gallery places an emphasis on important design from the 20^th century. The curated display traverses the decades from Bauhaus to Modern – as shown in these photos.

From the Gallery Website:

FOUNDED IN 1993, THE PETER BLAKE GALLERY IS THE LEADING EXHIBITOR OF WEST COAST MINIMALISM, WITH A FOCUS ON CALIFORNIA LIGHT AND SPACE AND HARD-EDGE PAINTING. KNOWN FOR ITS RIGOROUSLY CURATED SOLO AND GROUP EXHIBITIONS, THE GALLERY HAS EXHIBITED AND PLACED IMPORTANT WORKS BY ESTABLISHED AND MID-CAREER ARTISTS INCLUDING PETER ALEXANDER, LITA ALBUQUERQUE, LARRY BELL, MARY CORSE, RON COOPER, TONY DELAP, FRED EVERSLEY, JOE GOODE, MARCIA HAFIF, JAMES HAYWARD, SCOT HEYWOOD, JOHN MCCRACKEN, JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, JOHN M. MILLER, HELEN PASHGIAN, JAMES TURRELL AND DE WAIN VALENTINE.

Photos: d. king (photos of me taken by Megan Abbott).

If you go to this page you’ll see a more in-depth video of the home under “Current Exhibitions” and the gallery at large:

https://www.peterblakegallery.com

Art + Design

Really Tiny Houses

I love birds and always love coming across different kinds of bird houses.

Aside from looking pretty, they provide a nesting place for a variety of birds. More than 24 species of birds nest in birdhouses (provided they have ventilation and drainage holes), including songbirds, swallows and owls. Most of these birds nest in tree cavities, but when natural nesting areas remain scarce, birdhouses serve as a backup. They’re also an attractive outdoor home decoration on their own.

This taken at “**Market Market**” – handmade by Laura Temkin.

I recently came across some of the most beautiful and intricate birdhouses which are handmade by ceramicist/artist Laura Temkin. I went to her lovely indoor/outdoor home to have a look at her studio and all the exquisite (some more ornate) handmade birdhouses surrounding her home. I’m not sure that these photos here do them justice.

As Laura says, making art is her therapy. Certainly it is a way of expressing emotions. I asked her about the process and she replied below:

“Ironically, the process is so involved in the making that it lets me forget my worries in the real world.

you can see a lot of the detail in this photo.

I usually start with basic slab walls, cut by sight, perhaps a ruler nearby. I do this fairly carelessly because I am impatient, and because the pieces have more character when they are not perfect.

I’ve always thought that the clay itself where it bunched up or split apart is as beautiful and inspiring as anything I can create. It is the nature in the clay showing itself.

Taken at “**Market, Market**” – where Temkin sells some of her birdhouses.

I like to combine unexpected textures with jagged seams. I punch them with holes that will later be sewn back together. I cover them with barnacles or *sqrafitto so the underglazes will influence the final piece.

I always add glazes dark to light. First celadon dipped or painted, before painting other glazes in the same color palate of greens and blues.

Between the use of 3-4 glazes painted and overlapping the underglazes, the various textures break over an edge. The pieces are fairly controlled and yet clearly offer many opportunities for the glazes to interact, allowing for an appreciation of the materials itself.

*Sgraffito is a technique where potters can put a layer of or on a piece of pottery, let it dry, then use a pottery carving tool to scratch at it to show the base layer of color. Sgraffito derives from an Italian word meaning “to scratch.”

Who wants to be perfect? More interesting to be slightly less-so and have more character which is more important anyway. Like these birdhouses.

Sidenote: Laura’s husband Steve is also an artist. They’re a creatively interesting couple.

Photos: d. king

Where to buy:

https://www.shopmarketmarket.com/

entertainment

A NEW SPIN ON A TIMELESS COMEDY

Father Tartuffe: An Indigenous Misadventure is playing at the Arts Club Theatre in Vancouver until March 24th, 2024.

Every now and again I may invite a guest reviewer on this site. Today it is Paul LeMay who I’ve asked to give his take on “Father Tartuffe” from the opening night at the Arts Club Theatre.

The arts (theatre, poetry, music, painting, sculpture, literature, dance) done with skill and imagination, are an essential part of life.

Paul’s Review:

“Father Tartuffe: An Indigenous Misadventure“ is built around a play called Tartuffe, or the Impostor, originally written by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, who is better known as Molière. Molière, who lived during the reign of France’s King Louis XIV, is often described as France’s Shakespeare. However, unlike the Bard, Molière preferred comedic plays.

And comedy is the operant word here, which is important when one considers the times in which the play is being performed. I refer here to several world headline grabbing allegations made in recent years by certain First Nations spokespeople about the abuses and yes, possible crimes indigenous students allegedly suffered at the hands of unscrupulous clergy in Canada’s various denominational native residential schools. So, given the huge social controversy these stories sparked, what could possibly be considered comedic diving into that terrain?

And perhaps that’s the inescapable point worth mentioning here. Many of European settler ancestry might be inclined to believe this play might be all about pointing many accusatory fingers at the perpetrators of cultural genocide against first nations peoples, and the legacy of harm it unleashed in its wake. And who would want to squirm in their seats for two hours in some in unrelenting guilt fest? I have to admit, these were some of the thoughts that crossed my mind before attending the performance.

Well, I am here to tell you that’s not what indigenous playwright Herbie Barnes did. Rather, the play took a much more light-hearted aim at the immoral character of an exploitive Montreal priest by the name of Tartuffe, which was entirely in keeping with the original Molière play title. Tartuffe had been invited to live in the home of an extended first nations family, that was itself already in the process of trying to find out what it meant to be an “Indian” in 1967 Canada. Sure, in some respects one could argue that the Tartuffe character was a symbolic stand-in for the duplicitous white man who speaks with forked-tongue. But for many, that allusion might completely escape their immediate recognition.

Yet both the play, and its performers, did not disappoint. In fact, on both counts, both exceeded my original expectations; and it accomplished what it set out to accomplish, namely, to make people laugh. And laugh we did, even at jokes filled with all manner of culturally riské inuendo, that tastefully never quite crossed the line into taboo land. From my eyes, the play was part situation comedy, part farce, part inside jokes among native people, and together, the mix proved cathartic, if not, therapeutic.

And as the ancient Greeks knew long ago, this can help audience members (society’s members) both explore and release pent up guilts and/or mental tensions around almost any topic, in the hope they realize that we are all flawed individuals trying to make our way through life the best way we can…even screwing up on occasion despite our best of intentions. And this alchemy succeeds because such is the universal human condition. In this respect, this play and its performers, proved both healing and entertaining. What more can one ask of a play? In this regard, it was an evening well spent.

February 28 to March 24:

To book:

https://artsclub.com/shows/2023-2024/father-tartuffe-an-indigenous-misadventure

STYLE

Slim Aarons: from bombs to bombshells

In 1970, a jet-set photographer by the name of Slim called up a socialite in Palm Springs and said “I want to come over and do a pool shot. Call some friends over.” Slim chance they’d realize then, that history was in the making.

I went to a Modernism Week talk recently at the Annenberg Theatre entitled “Wait Until You See: Slim Aarons x Palm Springs.” It was given by Shawn Waldron, author of the new book “Slim Aarons: The Essential Collection.” He also wrote Slim Aarons “Style.”

“Slim Aarons: The Essential Collection” is a colossal and luxurious hard cover book. One you want to leave on a coffee table or at least keep as part of your important books collection. Especially if you love fashion, style and all that goes along with it. The good life, with a capital “G.”

I always say, that aside from the home tours, parties and exhibits going on around Modernism Week; don’t overlook taking in one of the lectures. The informal talks are informative, interesting and significant to the story at hand. You find out a lot more than you already know.

Shawn Waldron stands by his latest book. At Grace Home Furnishings 02/23/24. Photo: d. king

For starters, I always thought that high society photographer Slim Aarons only took pretty lifestyle photos. However; we found out that he started off working as a photographer at West Point Military Academy and later as a combat photographer, following and documenting the horrors of World War II across Northern Africa and Europe.

After the war, Slim vowed to walk on the sunnier side of the street, opting to photograph girls not guns, bikinis instead of bombs. Good call.

With Nelda Linsk – now. Beautiful & elegant as ever.

Last night I went to a cocktail party and book signing at Grace Home Furnishings (Grace is named after the owners’ black lab). The ambience was very inviting at one of the most stylish modern retail and custom design studios I’ve been to. Founded in 2000 by designers Michael Ostrow and Roger Stoker; providing furniture, art, photography and more, including in-house personalized interior design services. I was talking with a woman who was extremely happy with the team who outfitted her home with “everything Grace.” Delicious canapes and cocktails were being passed around courtesy of Jake’s (a restaurant in the uptown design district).

Among the attendees were the two owners; Michael Ostrow and Roger Stoker, the author; Shawn Waldron, Designer Trina Turk, and Nelda Linsk; who of course was in the iconic Slim Aarons “Poolside Gossip” which the photographer shot in 1970 at the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs. The photograph has had many reproductions and has since become as much a symbol of modernism as its setting. You’ll see a print hanging in many homes here and there. Almost every store in Palm Springs too.

**Grace** on the floor by a “PoolSide Gossip” print on the wall at Grace Home Furnishings . Photo: taken from their website.

No doubt you’ve seen the photo. Two attractive women sit in lounge chairs beside a teal-blue pool, looking fabulous and moneyed. A third, all legs and carefree attitude, strides toward them with a drink in her hand. In the background is a modern glass-and-stone house and purplish mountains. The landscape is idyllic. The sunlight is hazy and golden. You would live inside the photo if you could. (this paragraph was taken from The New York Times).

That’s exactly what I was trying to do last night. ***Live inside the photo*** with my new friend (we were so busy gossiping and the conversation was so mesmerizing that I unfortunately forgot her name.)

In 1997, Mark Getty, the co-founder of Getty Images, visited Aarons in his home and bought Aarons’ entire archive. In 2017, filmmaker Fritz Mitchell released a documentary about Aarons, called Slim Aarons: The High Life.

Nelda Linsk was a longtime friend of Silm Aarons and owner of the Richard Neutra designed 1946 Kaufmann House. Nelda hosted the impromptu party where along with friends, Helen Dzo Dzo (Kaptur) and Lita Baron, she would become immortalized in the world-famous photo.

The 3,200-square-foot home was once owned by Barry Manilow and Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr.

Palm Springs’s commitment to its midcentury legacy and architectural flair has allowed it to remain a sought-after vacation home locale well into the 21st century.

Imagine having no idea how celebrated you’d become over the years by having a cocktail with friends at your home?

Photos: d. king

Art & Culture

Yesterday at the House of Tomorrow

This is another home I’ve wanted to tour for years. This 1960 deemed Class 1 historic site designed by William Krisel, is where Elvis and Priscilla Presley spent their honeymoon. It’s also referred to as “the pleasure dome”and “the Alexander residence” – as it was the home of designer Robert Alexander, his wife Helene, and daughter Jill. They lived there from 1960 – 1965. Very sadly, both Robert and Helene passed away in a tragic plane crash. Jill went to live with her aunt in Los Angeles.

I’ve always had a thing for unique eye catching doors.

Leonard Alexander, great uncle of Jill’s, leased the house to Elvis and Priscilla Presley. They honeymooned here in 1967.

After that, the house passed multiple hands: from a reclusive wife of a rancher to another owner cited by the city for letting the pool turn into a mosquito swamp. It was then repossessed by a Boston bank in 1987. Leonard Lewis purchased the house from the bank and turned it into a sideshow.

Bringing us to the new owners who had the sensible mantra of “how would the Alexanders do it” and made some renovations like adding a private balcony, raising the kitchen to accommodate modern furnisings and a brand new ceiling in the master bedroom.

The 4,700 square foot home has four living spaces within four 12-sided polygons. The four 30-degree-angled dodecagons (In geometry, a dodecagon, or 12-gon, is any twelve-sided polygon) rest at the four points of two facing , 45-degree triangles. Inner triangles comprise hallways and rooms connecting four main spaces.

The shape of the pool mimics the roof – which creates an ascending orientation.

Doors can be drawn to close off sections of the house away from public gatherings.

Thank you Modernism for opening up this home for our self-guided tour. We’re very happy to have finally seen it.

Photos: d. king

Modernism tickets still available at:

https://modernismweek.com

Art & Culture

Modernism Week Featured Home Tour: Wexler ‘54

Here in the desert there is no shortage of gorgeous homes, but for Modernism week our focus is to celebrate and appreciate the preservation of midcentury architecture and design.

Today I got to tour the Wexler house, which interestingly enough, is a short walking distance from where I reside here in Palm Springs. While I always admired the outside of the house and wondered what lay behind the white walls, I had no idea of its importance of retaining the best of mid-century style and elegance. Now I know.

This is a Donald Allen Wexler (January 23, 1926 – June 26, 2015) designed home. Wexler was an influential Mid-Century modern architect whose work is predominantly in the Palm Springs area. He is known for having pioneered the use of steel in residential design.

H3K Home + Design worked with preservation consultant Susan Secoy Jenson (AIA – American Institute of Architects) to take this home back to its historic roots while keeping the original vision along with being able to support today’s lifestyle. No small feat.

Celebrating the home’s elongated flat roof with walls of glass, they delightfully blurred the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces, drawing the eye to the historic slump stone walls and wonderful pool area. The outside area exemplifies desert living and the mid-century modern experience.
This home is a model of thoughtful architectural preservation enlivened by the best in modern design. It received a well deserved historic designation in 2022.

Photos: d. king

Modernism is on until February 25^th. For tickets please visit:

https://modernismweek.com

Art & Culture

Modernism Madness: The Shag House

My first home tour for Modernism week 2024 was a home I wanted to visit for a long time;

which turned out to be a fully immersive experience which felt like climbing into a 3-D painting. One painted by the artist known as Shag (Josh Agle), who reimagined this mid-century modern, tiki-inspired privately owned home to fit with his original designs.

If you’ve ever visited Palm Springs, you more than likely stopped by the Shag store on Palm Canyon. It’s a must-see on the visitors list as it contains an array of well curated limited-edition merchandise, original paintings, and fine art prints that span over 30 years of Shag’s career. I feel like it was all condensed into one home.

For this home, Shag drew upon his architectural studies and the aesthetic of his artwork to reinvent this classic 1958 home.

Modernist fans will recognize the core of the house, where Shag has preserved much of the original layout including the familiar 3-bedroom, 2-bath floor plan, as well as the tongue and groove ceilings.

While the centre of the home’s layout remains the same, everything else has been updated, expanded, and transformed, for the current homeowner, Brandon McBurney; who enjoys hosting philanthropic events.

In collaboration with Brandon and John-Patrick Flynn of Brandtopia, the Shag team has created an entirely new exterior offering grand curb appeal.

The front entry has been expanded and the original breezeway has been converted into a swank party lounge. Beyond the lounge, the addition of a casita offers a quiet retreat with a unique vantage point of the pool’s and surrounding areas.

It’s amazing what people can create with a vision, a team, some cash and cachet. Bravo for a job well done!

Photos: d. king

Modernism is on from February 15-25, 2024

For Modernism Tickets:

https://modernismweek.com/

Art & Culture

Perez Art District

Here in the desert there’s always a flurry of fun activity taking place. If I haven’t been on here lately it’s exactly for that reason.

My friend Candy and I, trying to be part of Shelley Heffler’s art installation. We, and the art, are **complex pieces** **of work**.

Got swept off my feet by five guys at a house party. It’s not art, but it is creative skill and imagination.

If it’s not a fashion, music or art event, it’s a new venue, restaurant or book signing. My sister was also here visiting and making contacts. So I’m just catching up. Listen; I’m certainly not complaining about being able to attend these outings; I’m just winding down before the next surge.

After going back to “Wally’s Desert Turtle” (yes; that’s the name of a popular restaurant in Rancho Mirage) for a Friday fashion luncheon, a few of our group of women decided to check out the Perez Art District. It was a first visit for some of these full time residents.

L-R: Mini, Tammy, Kathy, Debbie, Libby, Candy. You can consider the food here a work of art and taste.

I’ve driven by Perez Rd. countless times but had no idea that just around the corner (and a bit) from this Industrial area with offices and car dealerships, lies over 40 art studios and galleries.

On the fourth Friday of every month from 4-7 pm, Desert Open Studios on Perez holds an Art Walk where you can see artists practicing in their workspaces. Walk around, visit the studios and learn about their processes, and buy art directly. There really is something for everyone. Plus, it’s dog friendly (always a plus.)

I enjoyed meeting several local artists along with friends Candy and Libby. We didn’t get to visit every gallery, but there are more Fridays coming up to explore the rest. We loved exploring the studios.

One artist who stood out for us was Shelley Heffler.

Her contemporary art studio contains sustainable art. Shelley is deeply committed to raising awareness about the environment through her unique art form –which is collecting discarded advertising banners and turning them into captivating works of art that can withstand all weather. Through meticulous hand cutting techniques, she fractures the initial image and repurposes it into beautiful weavings, collages, or three-dimensional sculptures that bear little or no resemblance to the original.

When she’s done they turn into complex abstract pieces with unique color schemes. Her hope is that her pieces not only provoke dialogue but also inspire action. Commissions are welcome. Each new project is an opportunity to further explore the intersection of art and environmental consciousness.

68845 Perez Road, Building H, Studio 14, Cathedral City, CA 92234

https://www.shelleyheffler.com:

Photos: d. king

Art & Culture

Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”

AKA: DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE

Had the pleasure of attending the season opener of “THE MAGIC FLUTE”at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Saturday night with my friend Rosa.

Opera is a rare art form that inspires and exhilarates all of the senses, and more often than not; procures life-long aficionados, also referred to as fanatics. Rosa is one of those, whereas I used to be more familiar with Broadway-type shows and musicals.

Kirsten MacKinnon and Owen McCausland – **Emily Cooper Photography**

Opera is trying to make sense of the nonsense. No good opera plot can be sensible because no one sings when they get stabbed or bitten by a dragon. It’s just an imaginative fairy tale set to music with romance (usually a damsel in distress and some bad or misunderstood guy), dancing, tragedy, comedy, special effects and a little supernatural. If they throw a king or queen and a crazy bird man into the mix; all the more magical.

There were bits and pieces of all of that in the Magic Flute. If you’re not already aware; this is considered a timeless classic; one of the greatest operas ever written. It concerns the search for truth and reason (I never did get the reason though), love and enlightenment. It follows the adventures of Prince Tamino and this silly bird-catcher called Papageno on their quest to rescue Pamina – daughter of the Queen of the Night.

Audrey Luna as The Queen of the Night with Kirsten MacKinnon – **Emily Cooper Photography**

Prince Tamino plays the Magic Flute and discovers it has the power to calm the most savage of beasts. Tamino and Pamina finally meet and pledge to endure the trials of initiation into the Temple of Wisdom together; trials that have their basis in the Freemasonry movement of the 18th century, of which Mozart was a member – a sneaky way of putting that in there without even realizing it. I knew there was some trial because they kept referring to it, but didn’t understand why, or where it was going to take place. Anyway, freemasonry is one of the oldest fraternal organizations in the world. More on that later…as I try not to go too off topic.

There’s lots going on in this 3 hour opera, including some monsters and 3 damsels that keep showing up out of nowhere. However, I must give special mention to the costumes and set design which were breathtaking. It is a fantasy after all I keep reminding myself.

And let’s remember that Mozart wrote it over 230 years ago.

“THE MAGIC FLUTE” was the last opera Mozart composed. It premiered on September 30^th, 1791 – roughly three months before he died at the age of 35. Mozart is perhaps the greatest composer in history. In his short creative lifetime he wrote more than 600 works, he redefined the symphony, composed some of the greatest operas ever written and lifted chamber music to new heights of artistic achievement. That’s some resume!

SECRET SOCIETY: Both Mozart and the opera’s librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder, were devoted Freemasons, a fraternity famous for secret rites and rituals, at a time when the Masonic order was frowned upon by the authorities and mistrusted by the public. Its meetings were mysterious to outsiders and the order was believed to be connected to the principles of the Enlightenment, so established political leaders were a little nervous about it. The emperor of Austria even restricted the number of Masonic lodges allowed to operate in the country.

So, while Mozart’s drama fell into the general category of “magic opera” — works based on folk tales, with plenty of stunts, scene changes and spectacular stage effects — it was also a political statement in disguise, filled with veiled Masonic symbolism, including an homage to a Masonic initiation ceremony in Act II balancing four elements (earth, air, water, fire) in perfect harmony of the universe.

“The happy medium – truth in all things – is no longer either known or valued; to gain applause, one must write things so inane that they might be played on barrel-organs, or so unintelligible that no rational being can comprehend them, though on that very account, they are likely to please” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

You don’t say…

Now until October 29^th. For tickets:

https://www.vancouveropera.ca/whats-on/magic-flute/

Header Photo: The Magic Flute full stage – Emily Cooper Photography

Art, Architecture, Culture

Thrills, Chills & Cocktails

Always a winning combination don’t you think?

Such was our evening last night at the opening of “THE SHINE.”

Presented by “THE BEAUMONT STUDIOS ARTS SOCIETY“ which aims to advance the public’s knowledge and interest in the Vancouver art scene through participation in events and artistic exhibitions.

“THE SHINE” is described as a Stephen King themed burlesque and cocktail bonanza. I cannot say for sure which part I found most intriguing as it was all so well put together.

It was my first time at the studios so I had nothing to compare it to, and no expectations – which turned out to be a big surprise in a gorey meets glam kind of way. Lots of twists and turns (literally) in a pre-Halloween scary celebration of some of the “King of Horrors” most iconic figures from “THE SHINING,” “CARRIE,” and “MISERY” – three of my personal favourite creepy movies of all time.

The evening started with a lineup outside the studios before being let in. My first thought was this might turn out to be a bit of a let down. But thankfully it turned out to be the opposite.

Once inside, we were greeted by the infamous Annie Wilkes character from “MISERY” (played by Kathy Bates in the movie) handing out two drink tickets while the novelist character of Paul Sheldon (played by James Caan in the movie) is typing away frantically at an old fashioned type writer. Do you remember this line from the movie –“God came to me last night and told me your purpose for being here. I am going to help you write a new book” – because Wilkes didn’t like the ending of his latest book. Still gives me the creeps.

Then we were led into the first themed room (of three) to get our first cocktail served up by a clown who dropped a bit of blood on top for colour. And it went on from there. A little burlesque, another cocktail served up by Lloyd, the iconic bartender from “THE SHINING,” the eerie twins from the Overlook Hotel did a twisty-turned cirque-like performance, Jack Torrence (the Jack Nicholson character) makes a vaudevillian and villainous appearance, and finally; the prom scene from “CARRIE” including that bloody pail.
Don’t want to give too much away because this extravaganza is on until October 27^th. If you reside in or around Vancouver you should really try to get a ticket for something unique, refreshing, campy and utterly spellbinding. The talented group really outdid themselves. Fab, Fun, Entertainment.

A Bit About the Beaumont:

This place exists to inspire and engage artists, designers, and creative small business owners with space, events and opportunities to work together, play together, share, learn, create and produce art and artistic projects and engage with the community around it. It is a place for the public to engage with art, learn from our artist community and appreciate creativity for what it brings to our lives.

The Beaumont was established in 2004 by artist Jude Kusnierz, as an open and supportive environment for a wide variety of creative professionals. Being a full-time professional artist for over a decade, Jude’s goal was to create a unique environment where artists, like herself, could work in a beautiful, safe, reasonably priced, positive and upbeat environment, a place that would offer opportunity for growth, mentoring and cross-pollination of ideas and business.

Photos: d. king

Tickets for upcoming events:

https://thebeaumontstudios.com/