Tag Archives: LA Art Schools

Looking Spacey

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Looking Spacey

Looking Spacey

Today’s graphic was swiped off of Facebook. Dan posted it. It shows part of the set for the Sci-Fi / Bollywood film that he is doing set design and development for at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. I must say that it is looking rather Ridley Scottish. I fully expect to see some giant bug pop out in the next frame.

Dan continues to fight LA credit card fraud. His problems elicited messages to home from the bank. Anne relayed this info to Dan, of which he was already aware. Getting Dan on the horn did elicit a few more observations. Dan seems a bit over awed at the USC film school vis-à-vis CalArts. I was reminded in Anne’s telling of Dan’s story, of a similar incident that happened here in Saint Louis, many years ago. I had taken the boys on some school or scouting outing to a large, modern, west county high school. Everything that Maplewood was not in that day. Dan was over awed by its edifice. Still, he did well in the competition. I expect that he will be able to bowl over USC too. It takes more than bricks and mortar to make a school, it takes talent too. At least he is getting paid to work in Pasadena.

Spaseship Console

Spaseship Console

Our other prodigal son, David, has been on the move too. Over Memorial Day weekend, he returned from a week’s long vacation in Costa Rica. His and his friend’s travel package put them in a different place every night, as they hopscotched from coast to coast and the mountains in between. He texted, when he first returned to the US in Atlanta, “making a beeline for some Macaw-Donalds.” He said that he had an awesome time and also took some incredible pictures. None of which we have seen here, hint, hint. For the time being though any parental hints will fall on deaf ears, because last Sunday, Dave left the country again. This time on business, he flew to Montreal for a conference.

Ode in Blood Red Carpet

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Premiere of Ode In Blood Red Carpet Extravaganza

Premiere of Ode In Blood Red Carpet Extravaganza

Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Orange County, CA, held the world premiere of its student film, Ode in Blood, last weekend. This group photo was dubbed part of the movie’s ‘red carpet’ extravaganza. I lifted it off of Dan’s Facebook feed. Dan, and his friends, Annie and Amanda are in the center of the group. Being a ‘red carpet’ premiere begs the question: Who wore it best?

Dan’s Latest LA News

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Anne at the Getty Art Museum

Anne at the Getty Art Museum

Last night, Anne was checking our home voicemail and found a message for Dan. It was from the bank, their credit card security department. Oh boy, I thought another scammed card to deal with. She called Dan, who was already well aware of the situation. Last Sunday, they had called him about some suspicious activity with his credit card. In the interim they had also clamped down on his debit card too. Dan worked with the bank and was eventually able to straighten things out. In the bank’s defense, LA really is a den of iniquity when it comes to fraud.

What precipitated this banking paranoia were some charges that Dan made when his car broke down. His thirteen year old Ford Focus is beginning to show its age. Opening the hood, he found coolant everywhere. One of his radiator hoses had busted wide open. He hoofed it nine blocks to the nearest gas station and bought a gallon of coolant. Returning to the car, he duct-taped the hose together and was able to nurse the car to the station. They fixed him up, but not without first raising the ire of the bank.

With crisis at least temporarily averted, there was time for some catching up. Dan has been busy. He has settled into his librarian job at Otis College of Art and Design. The school is gearing up for its annual fashion show and this is helping to keep Dan busy too. He will be covering for others, while they participate in the show and in the meantime he also runs preparatory errands for the show. He went to a Burbank costume supply house to fetch Kate Hudson’s costume, from the Rolling Stone magazine inspired movie, Almost Famous.

Next month, Dan will begin working on his second movie. This, like the first one is a student film. The difference is that this one will be made at USC, the most prestigious film school in town. He will be the set construction coordinator. The picture, VIMANA, will be a science fiction/Bollywood send-up. A 50’ by 50’ soundstage will be the movie set and will become transformed into an Indian Space Agency starship on a mission to the exo-planet Gliese. Here is a link to the movie’s already fully funded Kick Starter site. You’ll find a promotional video there, along with more background on this film.

Dan also had some news about his first film, Ode to Blood. He worked on this project earlier this year. Dodge College of Film and Media Arts is extremely happy with the way this movie turned out and plans on entering this film in the Academy Award’s short live-action category. Normally, these movies are entered in a student film category.

In addition to all of these activities, Dan continues to work through his backlog of furniture commissions and continues scouting for more customers. Recently, Dan was contacted by a curator from the Torrance Art Museum. They asked for a meeting. Maybe they want to sponsor a show? Torrance is a small museum in southwest LA that specializes in modern and contemporary art.

Storytelling and Symbolism

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Pink Cabin Sunset

Pink Cabin Sunset

We got a Facebook notification from Dan this afternoon; he was about to be interviewed live on an Internet radio show/podcast called Ask Andrew Anything, This show appears on GYST [Getting Your Sh*t Together] Radio. This call-in talk radio show is the creation of the host, Andrew Thompson. Dan’s episode is called Storytelling and Symbolism. If you follow this link, you’ll find a recording of the show, photos of some of Dan’s artwork, links to some of the things that they talked about and the following synopsis:

Originally from Saint Louis, Ohio [Missouri] but currently living in Los Angeles, Axe uses model building techniques to create sculptures that become allegories for stories without providing context or explanation. Absurd narratives are developed through obsessive and calculated crafting with each process carefully considered and chosen for its historic and symbolic significance as much as its technical qualities.

This episode of Ask Andrew Anything runs an hour. The first half of the show was broadcasted live, while the second half was only available via podcast. The above link will stream both halves. We listened to most of it live, went for a bike ride and then listened to the second half after we returned home. Those of us who know Dan will not be surprised at his loquaciousness. It was interesting to hear about all of the thought that goes into his art. We enjoyed the show and you should check it out too. Here is a link to Dan’s website, where you can see more of his artwork and under the blog tab are entries on some of the topics that were discussed, like Kowloon, the walled city and the ballistic missile test.

Left Coast News

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Mask In Progress
Finished Mask on Set
Mask Being Carved
New Dining Table – Another View
New Dining Table – Side View
New Dining Table – Top View


Dan sent us an update on his doings this week. The film that he was working on wrapped up about two weeks ago. In addition to set building he also carved a wooden African mask that played a larger symbolic role in the film then he at first realized, “no pressure”. Photos show it in various stages of the carving process and then finally finished on the set. The film was about a Japanese man who wanted to commit Hari-Kari and then asks an African immigrant man, who he has taken under his wing to help him. I’m guessing that the shot pictured is of the shrouded body of the Japanese man, with the African facemask on his chest.

Additionally, he had two job interviews for a position as a library assistant working for at a downtown art school. He hasn’t gotten it yet though, so keep your fingers crossed. The other big news is that he finished the most recent dining table and it came out well. See for yourself. Dan has also landed a couple of more commissions, one for a kitchen island and another for a pair of desks.

Da News, the LA Edition

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Dan has been texting us photos of his construction project. All of the wallboard is up now. There is still mudding, painting and doors to do, then it should be done. He plans on getting the doors from one of Habitat’s ReStore outlets. After he texted us the pictures, he sent us the following text:

I just landed a commission to build
a coffee table, a dining table and a matching bench!

Sometimes texting does not have the bandwidth necessary for meaningful communication, so I called Dan. I caught him waking back from lunch with Annie. They went their separate ways and I got to speak with Dan.

A friend’s mother, an investment banker commissioned the work. She just closed on a LA property that to her is an investment property. She lives out-of-town and will only use it while visiting LA. Dan got upfront money for materials. He plans on finishing this project by the end of November. Afterword, Dan has a gallery lined up to sell future product. The gallery will take a 40% cut, but also plans to jack up the price by 44%. So, Dan will actually realize a ~4% net raise.

With all of this going on, he is also helping his classmate and friend, Amanda. She also graduated last May from CalArts, in theatrical costume design. That’s right folks, Dan is cutting and sewing. He also plans on helping with costume design. By Dan’s estimation, Amanda is the most successful of all of his classmates. She recently participated in a movie project staring Natalie Portman and that hunky guy from the Twilight series, Taylor Lautner.