An Art Renaissance Is Happening in San Fernando Valley?

It's been a while since I have posted. I have been consumed with some personal matters that, frankly, have dried up my creativity. I plan to write about those in the future once I have some perspective.

So I am living in Van Nuys. It is a far cry from the Palisades. When I come back and visit the Palisades, I come alive and feel younger. Within a few minutes of walking into town I run into as many as 3 people I know, and the lack of anonymity makes me happy. That is not life where I live.

I have a theory. Just as I came back to the Palisades to make peace with my past, now I have come back to the Valley to make peace with my present. And if I can make peace with the Valley, a place I admittedly have loathed, then I will be set free to live wherever I choose.

I am working on my finances so that one day I might be in the position to have a choice rather than always having to say that I can't live somewhere because I can't afford it. With good finances, there are more options. And I am set to have as many options as possible.

Sometimes I fantasize living in other countries and being multi-lingual. Who knows? Anything can happen. Just the other day Italy came to mind, but it could be anywhere so long as it resonates.

The one thing I do know is that I would like the luxury of retiring and settling down in a place I love where I can do community service. I saw many retirees living in the Palisades doing just that, and I envied them. But I must work hard and earn it, so there is much to do.

Yesterday I heard something that surprised me. My husband, a muralist by trade, told me that art opportunities are popping up all over the Valley like some kind of renaissance. He has checked this out with other artists, and it is the consensus that this is so.

For so long art opportunities did not exist here, and artists starved for the chance to do their art. Maybe this change is driven by the establishment of the Valley Performing Arts Center, and it is indeed an exciting phenomenon. And maybe, just maybe, this is the thing I need to make my peace with the Valley.

Wouldn't it be a weird thing if people from the Westside came in droves to the Valley for the cultural experience? So long Valley people have invaded the Westside to experience the cool summers. I just can't imagine this could ever happen, but stranger things have.

My husband too is contributing to this renaissance. Now that the mural ordinance has come through, opportunities to paint murals are coming, and if he has things his way, the Valley will be a tapestry of murals.

But it's not just that, the Little Free Library looks like it may take off here. I met a man in Reseda, a whirlwind of energy, who built one of the most lovely ones I have ever seen complete with personally constructed benches.

He advertises it on a Facebook page, and  printed bookmarks promoting his Little Free Library are lovingly placed in each book. He also promotes his library with a rubber stamp imprinted inside each book as well as a promotion sticker on the binder that way everyone knows where the book came from. He also has made t-shirts, one I own, and canvas bags and on and on.

He has such enthusiasm for the Little Free Library that it has become his mission to see that they are all over the Valley even if he has to build every one himself. And all of this comes from his own pocket though with his talent for marketing and all his skills, I can see a business in the making. And of course, this will provide even more work for artists who can decorate them.

I introduced him to a woman who heads a beautification organization, Northridge Sparkle, who is very enthusiastic, and I am sure more will show up there. Like me, he believes the power of the Little Free Library is their placement on residential streets for connecting to the street we live is so essential for a happy life and even more for the Valley, a massive grid with no center of town.

My husband has great plans to vitalize Van Nuys too, a place that needs it big time. He has a vision of making our house an art show piece the likes of the Watts Towers. I truly believe he can do it, but it could take a lot of time as the house currently is in disrepair. However, with all these artist friends he is making who believe in this vision, it might happen sooner than we think.

Prolific art has a way of transforming a community and inspiring creativity in its residents. Perhaps Van Nuys, now in many parts called Lake Balboa, one day will earn that name that implies a beautiful, scenic place.

Ultimately, the lesson for me is to love myself, for as the Buddha said, "Wherever you go, there you are." When you love yourself then every place you stand is sacred whether it is the Palisades, Van Nuys, or Italy--and then you are destined to be happy anywhere you land.