Saturday, March 25, 2017

Celebrating the Puppet Master: The 3rd Annual Bob Baker Day

"The 3rd Annual Bob Baker Day No. 1" 2017


It was a pleasure to attend the 3rd annual celebration of Puppet Master Bob Baker in front of his Marionette theater last month. His 50+ years of entertaining children of all ages with his amazing hand crafted marionettes continues to delight and capture the imaginations of those who watch them perform. The celebration saw many marionettes wandering around interacting with the crowd as well as street performances, games and a very intuitive fortune teller!

I had the honor to meet Mr. Baker several times before he passed away in 2014 and blogged about his many, many wonderful anecdotes and stories he shared of Hollywood and puppetry throughout his career in "Bob Baker and His Magical Marionettes" and got a peep into his puppet warehouse in "Bob Baker: The Making of His Magical Marionettes". 

I spoke with Theater Director Alex Evans during the celebration and was happy to hear that their continued existence, which had been hanging in the balance since their lease was up, was going to endure. I was thrilled to find out this Historical-Cultural Landmark #958 was going to be integrated in a new development complex. 

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater will be moving into a new building in their adjacent parking lot starting at the end of 2017 and will retain its original facade, preserving many of the theaters original decorations, and of course continue to feature the thousands of hand made marionettes in future performances. Their upcoming presentation of "LA OlĂ©", a which has not been staged for 25 years, returns April 1st. Be sure to grab your tickets here!

The celebration of someone so creative and passionate about the art of puppetry, who has brought so much magic into the lives of so many surely deserves to be celebrated. I'm heartened to know that his legacy will live on at the new location and that future generations will be able to experience the very magic puppet plays can only provide.

Julie Green
March 25, 2017

"The 3rd Annual Bob Baker Day No. 4" 2017

"The 3rd Annual Bob Baker Day No. 14" 2017

"The 3rd Annual Bob Baker Day No. 15" 2017

"The 3rd Annual Bob Baker Day No. 16" 2017





Saturday, March 18, 2017

TRUMP-IT



"TRUMP-IT" 2017


I've hit saturation level and it's coming out of me in a very cathartic way. Day after day there is something that The Donald and his minions stir up, insinuate, display or pontificate about that is truly unbelievable. His every word makes me cringe. He should be selling used cars in Atlantic City not running the United States of America! My mind cannot wrap around the fact that he is in fact the leader of our country. It doesn't compute...

The Donald's unpresidential behavior creates a very uneasy contrast with reality. I grapple with the fact that this baboon is running the country and very well could possibly run it right into the ground. I'm usullly not a pessimist but it's gets harder each day to fathom how we as a country will survive 4 years of his ineffectual and harmful decisions.

Yet I soldier on each day creating a new image to express and expel my frustrations and utter amazement at the situation we find our selves in. I've signed up to be a volunteer at Meals on Wheels during my lunch hour break as a way to make a difference in someone else's life. And I continue to be inspired to create images that capture what I see unfolding before my eyes.

I'm sure every artist that has seen the red flags waiving as their country began to spiral into chaos was driven to express those feelings in the only way they new how. I just hope that we as a people can rise up together to stop this greedy and heartless man before he really does some irreparable harm to our country and the world.

We all must play a part,

Julie Green
March 18, 2017

"FOLLOW THE MONEY" 2017

"BEWARE" 2017


"THE EYES OF MARCH" 2017
"MAKING AMERICA SICK" 2017

Saturday, March 11, 2017

THIN LIPS SINK SHIPS

"THIN LIPS SINK SHIPS - THE DONALD" 2017

Last week I was hit by a lighting bolt of inspiration during the middle of the night. For three hours straight images of The Donald flowed into my subconscious. I saw repetitive text scrawled across his face much like words on a chalkboard. The visuals were coming so fast no sooner would I write the ideas down, another batch of five images would bubble up waiting for me to sketch out and jot down in my notebook.

In the morning I was tired but I was also determined to turn this waterfall of images into reality. "Thin Lips Sink Ships" are the 1st of 25 inspirations I was give during the night. My subconscious was obviously trying to work out my feelings about the political climate we find ourselves in today and had hit saturation level.

This is new territory for me. I always subtly imbue my work with social commentary but this is blatant and bold. I am grateful to have tapped into my emergency valve to release the anger and frustrations I have with these men who are dangerously pushing this great country back 50 years to a time when only old white men had a say in how the country was shaped.

Here's the first batch.

Julie Green
March 11, 2017

"THIN LIPS SINK SHIPS - PENCE" 2017

"THIN LIPS SINK SHIPS - RYAN" 2017

"THIN LIPS SINK SHIPS - COMEY" 2017

"THIN LIPS SINK SHIPS - SESSIONS" 2017

"THIN LIPS SINK SHIPS - SPICER" 2017

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Detritus in Water and Sand

"Big Sur No.1" from The Detritus Series

Here are a few new portraits of nature for my Detrius Series. These forms crafted from the ocean to the desert were set in plaster against a light absorbing flat black duvateen. The contrast elevated these stunning structures to artistic forms that I feel help highlight their natural structures.

In Big Sur I found Sea Oak with their pod shaped "air bladders" curled into a natural form. The salt that remained clung to the seaweed echoed the sand covered shapes I found out in Twentynine Palms. Grasses and fallen redwood fronds rounded out the natural flora I found to and from the sea.

The more extreme environment found out in the low desert of Twentynine Palms was reflected in the gnarled and spiky sticks and yucca bark I chose to photograph. Twisted and sharp, these pieces looked like they had been dried from the inside out creating exaggerated natural patterns and forms that were in high contrast to the smooth plaster I dipped them in.

I'm happy with the results and look forward to future walks where I collect specimens to photograph for this lovely series of portraits.

Julie Green
March 4, 2017

"Big Sur No.2" from The Detritus Series

"Big Sur No.3" from The Detritus Series

"Twentynine Palms No.1" from The Detritus Series

"Twentynine Palms No.2" from The Detritus Series

"Twentynine Palms No.3" from The Detritus Series