Watts Towers Art Center, LA
Into our car and we drove to Watts (which was a surprisingly far to the southeast) to see the Watts Towers. (Incidentally, this was also accessible by the Los Angeles Metro system, even as far away as it was.)
Watts Towers Art Center, LA
This was primary election day (we voted absentee), and the center was one of the polling places.
Watts Towers Art Center, LA
Simon Rodia built a wandering Gaudi-like wall and multiple spires out of metal and concrete. He had no power tools, so he just cemented pieces together with cement. The spires are graceful, light, and arching, and are decorated with tiles and broken pottery and shells. A gorgeous work — now preserved in the middle of a quiet residential area of Watts.
Watts Towers, LA
Watts Towers, LA
Watts Towers, LA
Watts Towers, LA
Watts Towers, LA
Watts Towers, LA
Leonard, Kerstin, & Arthur at the Watts Towers
Watts Towers, LA
Watts Towers, LA
This was the wall and entrance to Simon Rodia's personal home (since fallen or burned down).
Watts Towers Art Center, LA
Then on to an industrial are near Watts where Farmer John (sausages and bacon) has their main factory. All around the factory (and also up the factory walls) Farmer John has painted a pig farm complete with hundreds of pigs and piglets and greased pig contests and ducks and chickens and dogs and cats. The main gate of the factory is painted to look like a barn gate. The sky in this giant-many-blocks-long mural is so realistic that the scene just merges into the blue real sky above. Super. We’re going to have to buy Farmer John bacon and send them a thank-you letter. We noticed also that they run a neighborhood distribution center. Sounds like good guys. There wasn’t a speck of graffiti on their wonderful mural — yet another testament to good neighborhood relations.
Farmer John meat packers, LA
Farmer John meat packers, LA
Farmer John meat packers, LA
Arthur Luehrmann and hog, Farmer John meat packers, LA
A bunch of pigs and piglets rest, Farmer John meat packers, LA
The incarcerated LA river
Leonard, Kerstin, & Arthur, Farmer John meat packers, LA
Arthur, Roger, Alexandra, Kerstin, Leonard, Redlands, CA
Alexandra & Roger Pierce
Arthur Luehrmann, Roger and Alexandra Pierce, Kerstin & Leonard Trawick On to the home of Roger and Alexandra Pierce in Redlands, California, and their little dog Kayley. We had a walk with them in the Redlands neighborhood, and nice vegetarian dinner, and then a special treat: Roger and Alexandra gave us an exhibition of their “Moving Voices,” poetry and music and movement. Alexandra is a professional composer and taught composition at the University of the Redlands until she retired a couple of years ago. The music she composed to go with one of the poems was really lovely. We stayed at their home that night, and they have said they would come up to the Bay Area and stay at ours someday.