Tel Aviv’s Art Scene: Edgy, Political and Expanding

May 12th, 2012
An art fair has a special resonance: It's part of this city's Art Year marking the opening of a $50 million wing that has nearly doubled the exhibition space of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

Grandfather Clocks Automata

May 8th, 2012

Moving pieces including figurines or ships or other parts can make a grandfather clock truly magical.  The writer of this blog post is reminded of the amazing lock still in the Central Park Zoo, which every hour plays a wondrous chime and has different bronze animals rotate around the base of the clock.  As a child, I found that clock truly amazing, and now, I don’t want to say exactly how many years later, I still find that magical timepiece, perhaps best termed a tower clock with automata, a marvel to behold.

Over the last hundreds of years, makers of some of the finest timepieces have created works of art, with everything from grandfather clocks to wall clocks to mantel clocks to pocket watches which have moving parts and pieces.  Perhaps some of the most popular, not too surprisingly, have been erotic pocket watches, as they are generally termed.  If not familiar with them, one could guess what some of the main candidates for the moving pieces might be on those watches.  But that is not the focus of clock and watch history here.

Some wonder clocks will, for instance, have a ship that moves or rocks back and forth, sometimes but not always tied to the movement of the grandfather clock pendulum, and in that case generally moving in the opposite direction.  Some clocks have moving planets and some feature the Earth’s moon rotating.

Over many centuries, grandfather clocks and other amazing timepieces – giant, large and small – have featured moving animals, including dogs and cats with tails wagging and mouths opening or eyes moving or tongues coming in and out.  Clocks with skulls and animals, including owls, show eyes which may not only rotate back and forth, but may actually move to look at the time as it changes, using the eye movements as the clock’s time indicator.  Music boxes and nested bells are not unusual in some of the more elaborate clocks automata.

Even one alarm clock, which is pictured below, and was made in the 1940s, shows that “the early bird gets the worm”, a clever alarm clock theme, and has the bird bobbing back up and down every second as the worm moves up and down toward the birds mouth.

Rotating moonphase dials or moon dials on grandfather clocks are another wonderful form of what might be termed lower tech automata.  The dials make one complete rotation every 29 1/2 days, in keeping with the actual lunar cycle.  In ancient times, these moondial or moonphase grandfather clocks were used by farmers to help them to plan not only for the planting of crops, but also for the harvesting of the fruits of their labors.

Mid 1900s Automata Clock Alarm Time Early Bird Worm

Even though this clock shows a still shot, one can see from the time delay aspect of the photo that both the bird, especially its tail, and the worm, have moved in this very short period of time.

We think that clocks with automata have a great future.  We are especially excited about grandfather clocks and mantle clocks in this regard.  If grandfather clock shoppers, or those seeking mantel clocks, including corporate gift and promotional products, have any ideas for specific clocks with an automata component, we would love to hear from you about any and all of your wall clock, mantel clock, grandfather clocks, alarm clock, wristwatch, or any other specific type of suggestion or request.

Mother’s Day gift ideas: The perfect day in bed

May 5th, 2012

Unison vases Eva Solo tea bag Anthropologie pillowWhat does a busy Mom want most? We’re guessing more than a few votes would go toward a perfect day in bed — no work, no worries. We’re not saying you’re a headache, but … what mom wouldn’t love fresh flowers placed bedside in a novel vase? Or fine tea steeped in a clever gadget she can use for months to come? There is joy in the find that Mom might not buy for herself.

Stress-ease-comfort-pillowFor ideas, click through our finds for that indulgent days of rest and relaxation:

PHOTO GALLERY: Mom's perfect day in bed

One pick not in the gallery: The Stress Ease Comfort Reader Pillow, designed by Dr. James B. Maas, a retired Cornell professor and sleep expert, and produced by United Feather & Down. It provides lumbar support with fill that is 90% gel fiber and 10% Tencel Lyocell, plus separate hot and cold attachments and -- most important -- no ugly wrap-around arms, like the kind found on so many reading pillows. It's $49.99 from Bed Bath & Beyond.

MORE SHOPPING:

Inside Out Costa MesaA new Shop Central in Costa Mesa

The emerging scene in Highland Park

Uptown Design District in Palm Springs

Photos, clockwise from top left: Flat-packed vases. Credit: Unison. Dishwasher-safe stainless steel and silicone bag for loose-leaf tea. Credit: Eva Solo. Fleece Flounce pillow. Credit: Anthropologie. Stress Ease Comfort Reader Pillow. Credit: United Feather & Down.


On Venice Garden & Home Tour, old blends with new

May 2nd, 2012
Santiago-Ortiz-frontThe driveway has disappeared, and in its place is a verdant entry garden. Walk past the precast concrete block wall edged with succulents, and cross a diagonal stepping stone path toward a covered veranda. A series of thresholds -- some sheltered, some open to the sky -- draw you in. And only when you reach Santiago Ortiz and Mimi Wheeler's front door do you notice the sunken tropical garden -- a lush surprise. Santiago-Ortiz-hidden-foyerTheir garden-focused retreat will be among 30 properties open to the public Saturday for the annual Venice Garden & Home Tour, concentrated this year in neighborhoods east of Lincoln Boulevard and in the Gregory Ain Tract in Mar Vista. In 2007, when Ortiz and Wheeler first viewed a 1940s California ranch house in Venice, they were impressed by its generously sized lot with impressive stands of mature trees and shrubs. To Ortiz, a designer who was raised in Medellin and Bogota, Colombia, and educated in architecture and fine arts at Rhode Island School of Design, the 11,000-square-foot property on Appleton Way offered a chance to create a new residence large enough for a growing family and his home-based studio. Santiago-Ortiz-backyard The backyard, with its no-mow lawn and view of the muiracatiara-clad house. Nearly all of the existing garden was preserved through the renovation, which resulted in a contemporary two-story, L-shaped residence. A ficus hedge, a stand of bamboo and a row of redbud trees were saved so they still provide screening and privacy in the frontyard. Art Maltby of Venetian Paradise Landscapes installed additional landscaping. Santiago-Ortiz-block-wall"We completely omitted the idea of the car from the frontyard," said Ortiz, who served as owner-builder through his firm Ortiz Mexia Projects. "I like that our house is hiding behind the vegetation." (That's Ortiz at right, by the block wall.) Warm, organic finishes give the home a friendliness not always associated with contemporary architecture. The exterior is clad in a South American tropical hardwood called muiracatiara, which takes on a dark redwood hue when oiled. Rather than using steel columns and beams for the home's exposed framework, Ortiz specified glulams, the engineered structural lumber. The 8-by-8 columns and 4-by-16 beams are bolted together and exposed as a design detail, inside and out. Ortiz divided the home into two distinct wings. The dominant one -- 47 feet long -- spans the width of the property. The main living space functions as a great room, with cooking, dining and lounging areas delineated by overhead beams. A 12-foot-high ceiling helps to focus attention outside. "I paid particular attention to the volumes, an aesthetic that reminds me of the colonial architecture of Colombia's northern coast," he said. "High ceilings do a great favor to a person's psyche. They also bring more light into this space." Outdoors, a concrete patio is furnished to correspond with an adjacent interior room, doubling the living space when the sliding doors are opened. "Its other advantage is to serve as a 'light shelf,' which allows sunlight to strike the patio and reflect onto the ceiling and walls of the great room," Ortiz said. Santiago-Ortiz-guesthouseThe pool is flanked with the floral spires of Acanthus mollis; the garage/studio sits in the distance. When the family and guests are seated indoors, the framed view is of eucalyptus and citrus trees, lush palms, tree ferns and New Zealand flaxes, as well as a tufted no-mow lawn. What you don't see is the slender swimming pool, tucked at the edge of the patio. "We didn't want to look at a pool dominating the backyard," Ortiz said. "While the pool is present when we're on the patio, it's not at the top of the aesthetic. The garden is." Ortiz and Wheeler say that they designed the house as a place to raise their two young children and, later, to grow old. "The house looks like it has been settled here for a long time," Ortiz said. "And we're planning to be, too." SEE THE GARDEN

What: The Venice Garden & Home Tour is a self-guided walking tour with 30 stops. A feature of this year's route will be the Gregory Ain tract, an architecturally significant enclave of 52 modest one-story homes from 1947.

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday

Where: The starting point is 804 Broadway St., Venice

Tickets: $60 in advance, $70 day of tour. Proceeds benefit the Neighborhood Youth Assn.'s Las Doradas Children's Center

Information: (310) 821-1857, www.venicegardentour.org

-- Debra Prinzing For an easy way to follow our garden coverage, join our Facebook page for gardening in the West. We also maintain a separate page for L.A. design and home life. Santiago-Ortiz-bohemia-treeBlooms on a bauhinia tree. Santiago-Ortiz-traysTrays for growing herbs ring part of the house. Santiago-Ortiz-tropicalLush foliage by the garage and studio. Santiago-Ortiz-Geranium-MadAbundant flowers from the giant Geranium maderense. RELATED: The new Natural History Museum garden Growing foxglove, a hummingbird and bee favorite Coyote House, a showcase for water-wise gardening Photos: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times
Acanthus Mollis

Watch Industry Quarrels Over Swiss-Made Labels

April 28th, 2012
The Swiss watch industry wants to tighten requirements so that 80 percent of the value of the watch has to be made locally, rather than in countries like China.

Steal the Design Deals in Miami

April 16th, 2012
Two suburban strip malls are overflowing with choice midcentury finds. Here, a guide to getting the loot before the dealers do.

How Time Flies

April 15th, 2012
Number of leading watchmakers collaborate with automobile companies to create new line of watches inspired by the world's fastest and most luxurious cars. Photos

Furniture From Jason Wu

April 14th, 2012
Jason Wu debuts a line of tables, chairs and seating for Canvas.

Architect Jon Frishman’s Laurel Canyon retreat

April 14th, 2012

Jon Frishman houseAnyone who has remodeled a kitchen or built an addition to a house knows that construction hardly ever passes like clockwork. It takes time — and in the case of a perfection-seeking architect whose dreams soared higher than his budget, lots and lots of time.

Jon Frishman living roomArchitect Jon Frishman needed just two weeks to design his house but 10 years to build it. For his methodical approach and patience, Frishman’s reward is a three-story, 1,500-square-foot house in Laurel Canyon that is loaded with custom features at an off-the-shelf cost.

PHOTO GALLERY: Jon Frishman's house

By planning meticulously, acting as his own general contractor and knocking out projects bit by bit, the architect said, his expenses were about $150 a square foot, about half the amount often spent to build similar homes today.

His series of low-cost solutions started with his interpretation of the Los Angeles building code, which required covered parking for two cars. Rather than devote space to a two-car garage he didn't need, Frishman designed a one-car garage and an adjacent garden courtyard, which, thanks to a sliding front door that the architect installed and a retractable fabric awning that he has planned, can double as a carport.

Key choices were made in something as simple as the shower drain — square instead of round, making it easier to cut and lay the tile around it. Instead of buying a traditional skylight, the architect used plain laminated glass. For a modern fireplace with a custom look, he bought a prefabricated hearth and had it clad in aluminum. The flue? It's actually an irrigation pipe.

A tankless water heater can be set to save energy when less hot water is needed, which helps to keep operating expenses low. The emphasis on managing costs did not come at the expense of personal passion. Frishman added finely tuned interior details that recall the levers, knobs and switches of classic sports cars. (“I think I'm a frustrated car designer,” he said.)

Unobtrusive air grilles in the house are akin to the side panel vents you might see in a luxury car or private jet. Kitchen cabinets have springs like the support struts for a car trunk, an aesthetic choice that also means smoother opening and closing of doors.

For the kitchen and bathrooms, Frishman installed domestically manufactured fixtures from Chicago Faucets.

“They are well-made and inexpensive,” he said, adding that bathroom faucet handles were positioned to the side of the counters, so one doesn't have to reach over the sink. “I like to take something very utilitarian and simple and use it in a different way.”

Recognizing that architecture, like other professions, has its ebb and flow, the man behind Frishman Architecture said he didn't mind that building his home took so long. “Persistence is all that I have. Failure is not an option.”

Jon Frishman kitchenIn the kitchen, the backsplash consists of drywall painted yellow and topped with a 1/16-inch piece of clear tempered glass, which is inexpensive, strong, easy to clean and heat resistant. Because modern designer faucets can run into four figures, Frishman bought industrial Chicago Faucet fixtures “in the $300 range”; in the kitchen, faucet knobs were placed near the front of the counter to eliminate the need to reach over the sink.

 

Jon Frishman skylightThe skylight is a simple piece of laminated, tempered glass. “It’s durable and fire resistant,” Frishman said. “You can walk on it, and it’s easy to clean with a squeegee and less expensive than a prefabricated plastic skylight.” Seen through the glass: the fireplace flue made from an irrigation pipe.

 

Jon Frishman house living roomA trellis system was Frishman’s alternative to large steel beams, which he feared would have encumbered the space and escalated costs. He collaborated with an engineer to develop the system of smaller supports that ultimately provided structural support at a lower price. Above the living room: A deck made of ipe wood outside the master bedroom.

 

Jon Frishman hatchTo make the most of the house's relatively small footprint, stairs to the office on the lowest floor are accessed through a hatch that, when closed, is walkable. 

 

Jon Frishman officeThe office walls have standard wood framing fitted with polycarbonate panels, inside and outside, which transmit light while still offering privacy and framing views. The polycarbonate provides less insulation than traditional walls, but radiant floor heating keeps the room comfortable in winter, and on the hottest days of summer Frishman has a shading device that covers the east-facing wall. “I have been looking for some type of bubble wrap to use an insulation,” he said, “but that is a work in progress.”

ALSO:

Simon Story house interior15-foot-wide Echo Park house

Organic modern house in Torrey Pines

Rammed earth house on Ensenada cliff

Refrigerator trailer turned into loft tower

Centre Street lofts: Modern apartment living

"Community" garden: At home with actor Jim Rash 

 

-- Jeffrey Head

Photo, top: Frishman built the carport door using aluminum tubes for the frame. He chose glass that is patterned for privacy, tempered for strength and only 1/16-inch thick to keep weight and cost down. The track is standard rolling door hardware. “I would guess you could get a garage door fabricator to make one up for $2,000,” he said.

Photo credits: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

 


Fine Vintage Watches Find Popularity as Alternate Investments

April 7th, 2012
The market for rare and finely made vintage timepieces is booming but, as with all collectibles, there are risks.