Out of the Closet

Evonne Kane and longtime BB volunteer Kate Weiss at last year's sale

Evonne Kane's Boutique Benefit is a grass-roots, y'all-come, everybody-roll-up-your-sleeves event with some of the most gorgeous wardrobe gems you will find at what they use to call a "rummage sale." There was no lowly rummaging here, except by the owners of some of the pricier boutiques in town (Fetneh Blake, Hillary, lala, Katharine Story, Anastasia, Aris, Laguna Supply, 11th Moon, to name a few), including those that were too wonderful to survive. Many of the goods for sale are never-worn designer pieces with the tags still attached; others were little-worn items donated by the fashionistas of Laguna. One of my go-to wearables is a chic little black Chanel-style jacket in perfect condition I picked up at last year's magnificent boutique for a few dollars. Last year, I also bought a short, grey suede dress that I wore once, to a fashion show at the Montage, feeling very European, and donated back to the Boutique this year. It served me well. Why should I have all the fun? 

No matter what your style or size, you are certain to find something of interest at the Boutique Benefit this Saturday at the Neighborhood Congregational Church (340 St. Ann's  Drive at Glenneyre). Or if you are a true BB aficionado, you know the choicest goodies can be purchased at the presale on Friday evening. Evonne knows what works – for your $40 donation, she and her merry band of volunteers will ply you with food, wine donated by Organic Cellar, and set you free for the full run of their pop-up shop from 5 to 8 p.m. Everyone's favorite Forest Avenue breezeway singer, April Walsh, will be belting out her beautifully wrought standards during happy hour (which, I suspect, just might be designed to loosen up our purse strings. Could it be so?). 

The best part isn't the sprucing up your wardrobe will receive; it's that all proceeds go to four nonprofit organizations: Laguna Food Pantry (formerly known as the Laguna Resource Center), Friendship Shelter, the 25-year-old service program for homeless men and women in Orange County; Impact Giving, an OC women's giving collective; and Women for Women, an international aid organization that helps women recover from the ravages of war, chiefly through economic aid. In its six years, the Boutique Benefit has raised $85,000 and donated it to these and other worthy organizations. 

Click here to buy your Friday night presale ticket.
And if you have to miss Friday night, don't THINK of missing Saturday. Admission is $4; doors open at 8:30 a.m. and close at 3 p.m. Be prepared to browse and try on in a (ladies') communal dressing room, see friends, chat, rest up with a snack, and dive back in. It's Filene's Basement/Loehmann's with the friendliest of attitudes. If you love fashion, shopping, and getting a screaming deal, don't miss it.  

No Line Between Work and Play

A still of ceramic artist Thom Chambers from Fred Stodder's YouTube sensation "Ceramic Displacement"

Ceramic artist Fred Stodder, by all accounts, is a great guy. I am inclined to agree. After I posted Ceramic Displacement, the video he shot with a Super 8 and painstakingly edited, Fred emailed me with details about the video that reflect his life as a Laguna artist circa 1979. It makes me muse over how a Thom-Fred duo may have continued to impact and inspire other local artists  had Thom Chambers's life not been so tragically brief. 

Here's what Fred wrote: 
"Thom and I met in fourth grade and became friends in fifth or sixth grade. Thom got  into ceramics in seventh grade and had a great talent for it. By the time he was 16 years old he was one of the best potters in the area. Also at  about 16 years old he was teaching an adult ed ceramics class at UC Irvine. That is about the time I started making pottery.

"Thom graduated from Laguna High in 1976. Shortly after we began working together and shared a booth at the 1976 Sawdust Festival. Thom was very influential to me. He was funny, extremely talented and filled with enthusiasm. We always had fun and there was no line between work and play. He was one of my best friends ever.

"In the winter of 1977 we rented a studio in north Laguna from Margaret (Mocky) Kuntz, which had formerly belonged to the great painter Roger Kuntz. That is were the van pulls in at the end of the movie; it begins in the alley behind the studio. I worked there for 11 years. Thom and I shared it for six or seven years.

"We collaborated on four films and several art projects. Ceramic Displacement is probably my favorite film that I did with Thom. We thought it up together. The concept is simply what it is. Thom is throwing on a kick wheel. I did all the filming and editing. The Pottery Shack shot was funny to me because they used to have potters throwing pots as an attraction, and as we are driving by there is a potter throwing with a crowd around him, and I think they were kind of shocked to see Thom throwing in the van. I wish that it lasted a little longer so you could easily see that.

"I started messing with Super 8 films when I was 13 and made several little films. A few are worth watching. They include clay animations, painting animations, surfing and a couple of dramas. I plan to post more of my old Super 8 films in the future but it will take a while because I want to have all original music for them and they weren't made that way."

We'll look forward to more hand-crafted Super 8 films with original music as Fred posts them to YouTube. Thank you, Fred! 

Throwing pots in and from a VW bus

Got six minutes for a little time-travel back to Laguna Beach circa 1979? 

Click here to see "Ceramic Displacement" - it's guaranteed to put a smile on your face. If recognizing iconic spots around Laguna Beach doesn't do it, then surely the free-roaming dogs, that kid on his Big Wheel, the ponchos and other '70s sartorial choices, the hair, the cows, and the literal throwing of pots will! Also, I think it's a good idea to always listen to something akin to the video's accompanying jazz piece while you're working – surely you'll get more done.

A bit of Google research on the potter, Thom Chambers, reveals, sadly, that 1974 LBHS grad died suddenly in 1991 at age 33. At the time of his death he was an art director for Quiksilver. Cameraman and video co-conceptualist Fred Stodder is a successful working ceramic artist and teacher with an impressive list of shows, collectors, and art show prizes. (I've tried to contact him to learn more about the inspiration for this video; I will post more here if I hear back from him.)

Savor your Friday! 

Glory

Prism over Sleepy Hollow.

In which we leave Laguna Beach to eavesdrop at a movie theater

Maybe "eavesdrop" is too strong a word. The public was invited to "listen in"at Corona del Mar's Port Theater on Thursday night as three fascinating people shared thoughts on overcoming obstacles with an audience of residents from Friendship Shelter. This resilient, well-managed nonprofit provides services and shelter to homeless adults and is celebrating its 25th year. Not content to simply have a party, its innovative staff came up with a constructive, educational element. "Speaking of..." is the theme for a speaker series aimed at giving shelter residents food for thought; this one was called "Speaking of Conquering Mountains." 

The first speaker, Santina Davies, made a misstep while hiking on Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, and tumbled 160 feet. Athletic and trim, she spent the next six years in painful rehabilitation, after suffering lacerations to her head and face, a collapsed lung, broken wrists and–worse–a severed spinal column. She was airlifted, unconscious, her lungs filling with blood, and spent seven weeks in a Cape Town hospital before she was allowed to fly home to the U.S. Doctors told her she would likely never walk again. Determined not to spend life in a wheelchair, Santina gritted it out, promising herself she would do all she could to walk again. Her message to the rapt audience: "Never give up on yourself. Never."Through intense pain, dark moods, and innumerable hours of relearning movement, she walked confidently – in a beautiful pair of black Tod's high-heels – to and from the chair at the front of the room for her interview with Mark Miller, director of programs at Friendship Shelter. In closing, Mark asked her about her new challenge she learned about just this week. Santina disclosed that she is battling breast cancer; surgery is set for a few weeks from now.

When she walked back to her seat, she received a standing ovation.

Santina Davies and Paola Porrini-Bisson in 2009. 

Next up was Santina's close friend, another strong, Italian-born woman, Paola Porrini-Bisson, a Laguna Beach realtor turned film producer. In introducing her short film, The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars, she reminded guests to set a goal and reach it, "Whatever you want to do, work toward it. I did it, even with a strong accent." Her 30-minute film, based on a story by famed Italian writer Erri DeLuca, chronicled a nuanced victory of two heart surgery patients who vowed in the hospital to meet again and go rock climbing together in the Dolomites to celebrate their recovery. The film itself is a victory; starring Nastassja Kinski, Julian Sands, and Enrico Lo Verso, with an appearance by DeLuca, it was short-listed for an Academy Award, and two weeks ago won at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Julian Sands and Nastassja Kinski in Nightshift

Capping the evening was more physical mountain climbing as Dr. James Doti, president of Chapman University, shared his other life - that of an adventurer who has climbed six of the world's peaks, including the South Pole's Mt. Vinson in 2009. He showed photos of the ascent to the top of the 16,067 peak, and advised listeners that "When it's easy, mistakes are made. If you let your guard down when the path seems less arduous, that's when you are most at risk." He related the story of one of his climbing partners, Suzanna Derby, who was completely prepared for the challenging Mt.Vinson expedition, but lost two fingers to frostbite on what should have been like a walk in the park on a domestic mountain because she did not adequately prepare for low temperatures. 

Dr. Jim Doti and Suzanna Derby plant the Chapman flag on Mt. Vinson

Stay tuned as more "Speaking of..." talks will be announced by Friendship Shelter later this year. You'll want to eavesdrop....er, listen in.

Move it or lose it: How Sandy Weiss turned 80 wearing Lycra and a feather boa

Three times a week at 8:30 a.m., Dr. Sandy Weiss can be found moving to the beat of Beyonce, Devo, and One Direction in Karen Hogenauer's Jazzercise class. The Lagunan caught up with her to get the story of how an 80-year-old can look somehow so appropriately attired in snug black Lycra and, on this day, a tiara and purple feather boa.

As soon as she speaks, you know that Sandy was born and raised in Brooklyn, attending high school and college within a three-block radius. She earned her bachelor's degree in education from Brooklyn College, and at 33, her master's at Long Beach State and, at 59, her Ph.D. in psychology from California Graduate Institute. The gaps between college degrees can be attributed to her marriage at 18 to her first husband and subsequently raising four children who share the surname Cohn. Sons Bruce and Alan  are both doctors in northern California; daughter Susan, a licensed clinical social worker and marriage and family therapist, has an office in Laguna Beach, and Steve is an attorney who lives in Laguna Beach with wife Jacquie and two of Sandy's seven grandchildren, their daughters Molly and Abby.

Sandy works with cancer patients at Mission Hospital's Cancer Support Community twice a month, a change from the 20 hours a week she used to put in there. It is the largest psycho-social support network internationally. Shanti Orange County is another of Sandy's professional passions. Her therapist daughter had worked with a group there, and soon after she left, Sandy began facilitating support groups for HIV patients. In addition, Sandy can be found at the Laguna Beach Community Clinic holding a group session for men with AIDS/HIV every Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.

All that accumulated wisdom is also available to clients that Sandy sees in her home as part of her private clinical practice.

"I call it kitchen table therapy," she grins.

At age 65, Sandy had been separated from her first husband for two months when she met Leon Weiss, a dermatologist who is now a 77-year-old retiree. They married seven years later. Together they recently attended Leon's 50th medical school reunion at USC. Sandy jokes, "I had to marry a younger man who could keep up with me." 

How does Sandy do it? What's her secret to being such a vibrant, busy, strong, healthy person with enviable abs at age 80?

"Obviously diet and exercise are an important part of staying energetic and healthy," Sandy said, noting that she is mostly a vegetarian, uses 5-lb. weights in the Jazzercise class she takes three times a week, and faithfully attends Carl Brown's free outdoor yoga class in the park at Treasure Island. She swears by her qi gong class, a Chinese regimen of movement, sustained stretching, acupressure and meditation.

"Oh, and I have a group of friends I get together with to play mah-jongg," Sandy adds. "Most important is having an attitude of gratitude. When I start feeling down, I do what I teach other people to do – to tap into the left brain and think about one's blessings in order to stay on an even keel."

Jazzercise teacher Karen Hogenauer honored her star student, Dr. Sandy Weiss.

Positive thinking, staying physically and intellectually active, maintaining friendships and family ties, and involvement in her community have helped Sandy remain a vivacious, energetic person. The newly minted octogenarian moved to the beat and was celebrated by her adoring Jazzercise classmates and teacher early one recent Tuesday (video below).

Fiesta Autentico at the Woman's Club for the Crosscultural Council

There are at least three fundraisers happening in town on Sunday, May 5. It's an easy day to remember and a festive entertaining theme, even if few are convinced of its true importance in Mexican history.  This one caught my eye because it's authentic – Mexican families in a partying mood will be out in force at one of the few social events where various levels of Laguna's demographic strata can mix and mingle, eat and drink–and support an important cause for little outlay. Just $10 gets you in at the Woman's Club of Laguna Beach, kids free. (Amazing) tacos, beer, and wine will be available for purchase. 

"Our Cinco de Mayo party is usually very fun in a midwestern-church-basement-party way.  Very eclectic and homespun," noted Crosscultural Council member and artist Sheryl Seltzer.

The  South County Crosscultural Council was started 20 years ago to help Laguna Beach residents bridge their cultural differences to form a more cohesive community. The Council's two projects are La Playa, an English-as-a-Second-Language school with free childcare housed at the Boys and Girls Club of Laguna Beach, and the Laguna Day Worker Center on Laguna Canyon Road, where contractors and homeowners can find reliable, honest, and hardworking employees. Although a portion of its budget comes from the City of Laguna Beach, the council's members must fundraise to meet the other half of its annual budget. 

There are bigger, fancier, higher-ticket parties for equally wonderful causes on Sunday; this one's the real deal for a group that does specific, important work in our town. Please support it.