love to people of New Zealand

this goes out to all the people in New Zealand affected by the recent quake.My hopes and prayers are that no more people get injured. Our love goes out to families who have lost loved ones and those injured. New Zealand is a place I want to visit. Our book is in 11 libraries there and we have met and had e mail communications with people there. I feel it is a Kindred Spirit place. So please take care of each other we love you! I hope someone reads this, I just don't know how to do all those other tweet things et al. LOve Caren and Carl

Velvet Paintings and the Beats

Went to a really fun celebration of the Beats in Davis in October. There was poetry read to Jazz music. A reading by David Meltzer who I really dug. HE has a new book of poetry out called BEAT THING. He writes lyrically like and autumn leaf . Then we heard and outdoor concert/poetry reading of Michael Mc Clure poetry and Ray Manzarek playing the piano. It was really beautiful stuff . If you ever get the chance to hear any of these guys. DO IT!
I was born in 1953 in San Fran so some of this is in my blood. My Dad had jazz records Cal Tjader, Ahmad Jamal , Brubeck and I would do interpretive dancing to them in black tights and smoke candy cigarrettes.
Now, I don't think the Beats were into Velvet paintings but they set the stage for the 60's and voila, rock stars on Velvet. Think about, it must be true. Oh, a cool blog mentioned us and lots of people checked us out it is booksofadam.com .

Waiting for Godot or Alice Cooper

From Nitwit Ridge to Taroko Gorge we are scanning the globe and looking at various proposals on where to locate the Epicenter of Art and continue our fight against cultural deprivation. thanks everybody for your continued support and inquiries. We Had a great time at the American Association of Museums Convention in May in BOSS Angeles. 93 KHJ. We met Ernie Cefalu, who has created over 200 album covers. originalalbumcoverart.com. He is working on Alice Coopers new record. we gave him our book and one for Alice. Alice Cooper on Velvet, Every Billion Dollar Baby's Dream, is on pg 164 in Black Velvet Masterpieces . We found this treasure in Union Gap, Washington. Did it come from Gary Puckett's yard sale? Only Lady Willpower Knows for sure. thanks Ernie and Alice for diggin the book. We saw Alice Coopers Halloween Show last year and as always, Alice schooled everyone on showmanship. from the desert to the sea to all of Southern California, that is the Big News. Stay tuned for our next blog Channeling Dennis Hopper.

Swimming pools , movie stars

Hello, we just spent 2 months in S. Calif doing the American Assoc. Of Museum Convention . The convention was only a week and it was really interesting meeting other museum people. One museum owner we met was Prof. Oran Z. Belgrave who has Oran Z's Pan African Black Facts and Wax Museum. We will most certainly visit when we get down to LA again. www.oransblackmuseum.com
Besides being in our booth and meeting and greeting we attended parties everynight. The first night was an opening party at the Club Nokia, very cool and the band and dancing was great, the drinks were strong! Then all the partygoers were invited by the director of the Grammy Museum to tour. Very interesting, Leadbelly's guitar, and so much more, we needed more time.
www.grammymuseum.com
The next night we had the run of all the museums at EXposition Park , The California African American Museum,The Natural History Museum of LOs Angeles County and the California Science Center. You can see all of these museums for free and parking is only 8. When I was a child my father used to take me to the Natural HIstory Museum and the dioramas are amazing and dreamy.
The last night we went to the Hammer Museum near UCLA . It is a gorgeous space with an open courtyard. The art that is from Mr. Hammers collection is impeccable. The painting called "Juno" by Rembrandt is so beautiful, I had seen her in books but never expected to be inches away. The place was just so "first cabin"
We went to Olvera Street, the oldest street in LA, love that place. Ate at Phillippe's , it is worth the wait.
Before we headed back up north we went to Venice, we met some cool street vendors and missed going into the Freak Museum , it is only open on weekends. Lots of creatures with 2 heads, apparently. AFter all that we spent a week by the ocean pretty much staring and sleeping we were beat.

LA Convention Center

It is almost time to show more of the world the glory of Velvet paintings. We will set up this Sunday at the LA Convention Center. People from all over the world are invited and I can't wait to see the reaction. This will be a convergence of hearts and minds to show the world, this blue planet just how very important museums are. Come talk to us and leave your card we will have a drawing and giveaway. DOn't be left out.

velveteria goes to American Assoc. of Museums Annual meeting

Wow, my savvy sister urged us to go to the annual meeting of the American Assoc. of Museums or AAM it has been around for over 100 years. We will have a booth to tell the world about Velveteria and entice folks to do a traveling show. That is the idea.
The topic is also perfect , it is MUSEUMS WITHOUT BORDERS and many of the talks will be translated in Mandarin and Spanish. Attendees will be from all over the U.S. and the world. Los Angeles is the spot for this years meeting. Carl and I will be in rare form as allways. Since the museum closed we acquired 50 plus more works. We just can't help it!

last day at the Velveteria

The last day was hectic and emotional Carl, me and two other dear fans cried right in the middle of a throng of visitors. Since we announced our closing hundreds of people showed up every weekend. We appreciate and thank everyone of you. The stories were pouring in , we couldn't keep up but there was a tale of a steakhouse in Long Beach and some hard drinking and a baked potato being hurled at a painting on velvet of Elvis.
Don't know what else to say, thinking of that line in the Jethro Tull song, "skating away on the thin ice of a new day" and the end of the book Huckleberry Finn where he realizes he needs to "light out for the territory." much love caren