LA Digs - Northeast LA Real Estate Blog

4928 Hartwick Street, Eagle Rock
2 bedrooms, 2 baths
1,456 SF on a 5,663 SF lot
Listed for $529,000

Listing courtesy of Craig Farestveit of Craig Estates and Fine Properties

We try to be responsible home owners, but we lead busy lives and all of a sudden, ten years have passed since we bought our current home and had it fumigated for termites. When our painter said she couldn't paint the trim on a window because the wood was too termite-damaged, we realized we had to deal with it, and now. An inspection from my trusty termite expert revealed the worst: a complete fumigation for house and carport was required.

Rule #1:  have a termite inspection at least once every 2 years.  Most fumigations come with a 2-year guarantee—just do it. No fumigation will prevent a re-infestation. Be vigilant.

If time slips by and you have to fumigate, here are a few things we have learned that might save you some trouble.

Rule #2: don't be a pack rat, especially about food. Any food or drink that is still factory packed or sealed is ok, but think about all your spices, condiments, flours and sugars. You will have to either remove them or double bag them in special plastic bags the termite company will give you. Everything in your freezer and refrigerator that has been opened has to be bagged also. All your pet food. As my husband was clearing out our pantry, he held up one plastic bag filled with old boxes of tea. Who knew all that was in there?

Then there are medications and vitamins. I think we could open a health food store with what we found.

Basically, anything you ingest needs to be sealed, bagged, or removed.

All plants must be removed from inside. All vegetation near the house must be cut back or removed. If not, water it really well and hope for the best. Most established plants will come back even after turning brown.

All animals, including fish and birds, must be removed. Do you have a fishpond nearby? If the tent is going over it, you'll have to remove the fish or they will die. That was fun to do at 8 o'clock the morning before the fumigation.

Which brings us to Rule #3: Make sure you talk to the termite company in detail about what you need to do to prepare. Ask if you need to meet with the fumigator—because most termite companies subcontract the actual fumigation. My termite guy (whom I’ve worked with for many years, remember) said he told the fumigator to check out the property and to let him/us know what was needed since we have a hillside house and it probably needed extra staff and tenting.

According to all the literature, Vikane (sulfuryl fluoride, the poison used to kill the termites) leaves no toxic residue and once the gas is gone, the house is safe to re-enter. I spoke with a client who wondered if the teargas (chloropicrin) they mix with the Vikane has a damaging effect on anything. I haven't found any literature on that yet. He removed all his computers and other electronics when he was fumigated. I decided to take my chances with that.

Back home after 3 days. As we expected, a few plants were browned. The fish were okay, even the one that eluded our efforts to remove it from the pond. All the electronics were fine. Much as we would have wished differently, the ants were unaffected as well.

Is this the only way to get rid of termites? No. However, the only other method recognized by the California Department of Consumer Affairs for a complete fumigation is the heat method, where your home is heated to about 150 degrees, so the wood core will reach 130 degrees. According to a paper published in 2002 by the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program, the only negative side effect of the heat system is the possibility of damage to the roof when walked upon, and to some heat-sensitive furnishings.  What might those be? This could be big—plastics, cable wiring, computers and CDs, obviously candles and chocolate. Also, consider antique furniture with old fragile glue or varnish. The plusses are that you don’t have to move out or bag your food, and the process takes one day instead of 3. And there are no poisonous gasses.

When we first bought this house, we had the place tented with the heat method. We had it redone within the first year under their guarantee. I didn’t like the company we used and they were the only ones who did the work in Southern California at the time, so I conveniently forgot about keeping up on the termite inspections. Also, it seemed like it would be about the same amount of trouble to remove all the meltable items as it would be to bag the food. And I started hearing more about the things that could melt at temperatures of 150 degrees.

Another method is the orange oil treatment. Check out the details at Eco LA Termite. Bottom line, the orange oil treatment people themselves say that they are best for local treatment.

Another good source for good information about termite is at Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner's website.

Dear Tracy,

Every now and then when perusing the homes for sale in the area I’d like to live in, I see a description that states it is a Fannie Mae HomePath property.

What exactly does this mean?  Does it make the buying process any different?

Thanks,

Home buyer

When a property is a HomePath property it means that it is (a) a bank-owned home owned by Fannie Mae, and, (b) the buyer of the property is eligible for the Fannie Mae HomePath mortgage program.

As you may know, Fannie Mae is the largest lender in the United States.  Fannie Mae currently has thousands and thousands of homes on their books due to the large number of recent foreclosures.  In an effort to help banks liquidate their Fannie Mae REO inventory, Fannie Mae came up with the HomePath program.

The HomePath program gives lenders and buyers less stringent finance requirements, which is great because more buyers can actually qualify for a loan.  Another great thing – you can get a HomePath mortgage for owner-occupied OR investment properties.  Fannie Mae also has a HomePath renovation financing program for those distressed properties that need a little help before they’re ready to be lived in.

Going the HomePath route makes the home buying process different for a few reasons:

1. No appraisal is required.


2. You can make a down payment of as little as 3% of the purchase price.


3. No mortgage insurance is required (therefore, less up-front cash from buyers and lower monthly payments).


4. Credit score requirements are more flexible.

So, the million dollar question – why would a lender agree to such a loan?

Well, Fannie Mae is offering a couple of incentives to lenders who process these loans.  First, loans can be sold back to Fannie Mae, so lenders aren’t holding the loans in their own portfolios.  Second, the more loans a lender makes, the more fees it generates for originating and servicing the loans.

I know what your next question will be – with all the cash investors snatching up distressed properties in the area, is it even possible to get one of these properties with a HomePath loan?

I’m not going to tell you that it will be easy, a lot of the time if a bank can get cash, they’ll take it.  But!  We are actually in escrow on a HomePath property and, except for a delay in opening escrow because it has to go through the Fannie Mae channels, everything is going smoothly so far (knock on wood).

My big advice for going into escrow on HomePath properties is to fully exercise your due diligence – get that property inspected thoroughly!  These banks don’t know a lot of the details on the condition of the property, and they rarely will do repairs before the close of escrow.  So do your homework and really understand what you’re getting into.

For more information and a database of HomePath eligible homes, visit www.homepath.com.

Thursday, August 19, 2010, 7-9 pm. Winetasting Benefit for the Wiggle Waggle Walk!

Come to the Colorado Wine Company for a fun evening. For $20, you get a flight of wine, hors d'ouevres, and donate to the animals! There will also be a raffle with prizes from local businesses. Meet and greet! See and be seen!

I am proud to be raising money for the animals at the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA (PHS). PHS cares for more than 12,000 animals a year by providing food, shelter, veterinary care, adoptions, reunification and so much more. Times are tough, and the animals need our help. Please help me to help them by making a generous donation today. I especially like their goal of no euthanization for homeless animals everywhere. You can donate directly here, or in person at my fundraiser this Thursday!

The animals can't express their gratitude themselves, so I will do it for them. THANK YOU!

If you would like to do even more, you can sign up to join me and more than 1,000 dogs for the Wiggle Waggle Walk on September 26. It will be a wonderful day.

The August edition of my newsletter is available now - you can download a PDF version here, or pick up a paper copy at one of the shops and restaurants along Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock.  If you are on the mailing list, a copy is on it's way to you as we speak!  Want to be on my mailing list? Shoot me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Let me know what you think of this month's issue!

We hadn’t been to Music in the Zoo at the Los Angeles Zoo in a few years. With no little kids at home, we’d done it so many times, you know, it was old news. But this time they had a Local Scene night and my Pilates instructor mentioned she was going and after a long day at work it suddenly sounded like an evening walk in the zoo might be just the thing.
At first, it seemed like a shadow of the evenings we’d spent in the past. There were relatively few musical groups, no mimes or other little side shows, and the crowds were practically non-existent. But they had street food booths like LA Street Dogs, hot dogs with Mexican, Chicago, Viennese or chili toppings. They had a wine and cheese and fruit stand with a very presentable Merlot offering. They had a mashed potato bar with Martinis—an intriguing idea that I was too full to try at that point.
It got better as we wandered along the paths near the construction area where the six-acre Elephants of Asia is in the process of being completed for its opening in Winter, 2010. We encountered a handsome tusked elephant actively engaged in exploring a eucalyptus tree with his trunk. We heard screams of chimpanzees in the gathering dusk, and came across an exhibit of Tadjik markhors, an Asian species of wild goat that is critically endangered in its native Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Two pairs of the markhors were born in May at the zoo. This playful group of maybe 15 wild goats was great fun to watch. The alpha male was a beauty, there were juveniles who sparred with their budding horns, the little ones watched from the sidelines. All of a sudden, several of them would explode into springing leaps and run all over the rocky cliffs in their enclosure. We encountered groups of families, single folks, couples scattered all over the park. And we encountered lots of people gathered at the music and at the enclosures with animals on display.
We walked all over the far end of the zoo, often with no one else in sight. It was almost the realization of my long ago college dream of spending the night at the San Diego Zoo. It was beautiful and a little spooky, quite delicious. And then we found the last performers at the World of Birds Show area, had an LA Street taco, enjoyed the small crowd of families there and wended our way back to the entrance.
I hesitate to tell you how special this evening was, because you might remember to come next year and bring your friends and then it would be all crowded again. Good for the Zoo, not the same feeling as tonight. But that might be fun to experience, as well, and it would be great to see the completed elephant project in the cool of the evening.
The Los Angeles Zoo deserves your support. They’ve had their ups and downs, and some challenges with providing the best possible care for the species they house. But the work they are doing to renovate the grounds and buildings is huge. Besides the elephant exhibit, there is a new reptile and insect center under construction and a Rainforest of the Americas exhibit planned near the current aviaries. The state of the art facilities will enable them to provide better care. I know the zoo would appreciate your donation and support. Check it all out at www.lazoo.org.

Happy Fourth of July!
Come celebrate with the community at the first of this summer’s
CONCERTS IN THE PARK
Location:
1100 Eagle Vista Drive
Eagle Rock, CA 90041

Entertainment - 4:00PM: Surfin Safari—a tribute to the Beach Boys
Food, Moon Bouncers, Car Show, Service Organization Booths - 6:00PM
Fire Works: 8:30 pm.
Sponsor: Sir Michael's Party Rental & LA City Council member Jose Huizar

Hmm, where is that "shadow inventory" we have heard about for so long?

It’s tonight! The Summer Solstice Sound Bath at the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock!
There are chairs for you, but you are encouraged to bring a blanket, wear comfortable clothes, and relax on the floor to let the sounds of the gongs and singing bowls wash over you. The music is fun but even better is the sense of community that you are a part of. You might meet someone you haven’t seen in awhile or you might meet someone entirely new. You are encouraged to move or dance around the room if you want, or just float on your own little cloud in one place.


Donations are $10 and partly go to support the Center. See you there!

If last week the highest sale in, say, the 90041 zip code was $695,000 and this week the highest sale is $748,000—does that mean that the value of my house just went up $40,000?

Auntie Em’s Market Dinner
Periodically, Auntie Em’s Kitchen (4616 Eagle Rock Blvd. 90041) offers a Farmer’s Market Dinner and the sold-out crowd thoroughly enjoyed the one last night. Here’s the menu:
Starter
Oro Blanco Grapefruit, Blood Orange, Cara Cara Orange and
Three Beet Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Main Course
Falafel, Muhammara, Cilantro and Jalapeño Hummus, Tatziki, Tabouleh and Pita,
all handmade in-house
OR
Spring Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Oil Cured Olives, Leeks, Roasted Garlic, Spinach and Fresh Herbs
served with a sauté of Asparagus, Fava Beans, Fresh English Peas, Snap Peas, Fennel, Pea Tendrils and Chervil

Cheese Course
Hudson Valley Camembert Square (sheep/cow, NY)
Jasper Hill Farm's Bayley Hazen Blue (cow, VT)
Capriole's Old Kentucky Tomme (goat, IN)
Cesar's Cheese's Oaxacan-Style String Cheese (cow, WI)
served with Peppadew (sweet/spicy Red Pickled Peppers), Pine Cone Bud Syrup and Strawberries

Dessert
Trio of Cream Puffs filled with Meyer Lemon Mousse, Orange Mousse and Seascape Strawberry Mousse
with a pot of Dipping Chocolate

$45 PER PERSON
We picked up our wine from the Colorado Wine Company, where Jennifer gave us 3 great pairings (there were several of us!). We started off with a light, grassy Caliberico Verdelho which went perfectly with the citrus and beet flavors of the salad course. For the lamb/falafel main course we first had the Falasco Valpolicella and then finished through the cheese course with the Rothschild valde l’ours. That cheese course was fascinating. Have you ever heard of pine cone bud syrup? Suffice it to say, some cheeses and flavors were distinctive and new to me.
The dessert of 3 little cream puffs each with a different fruit mousse filling with a pot of chocolate to dip them in was the perfectly tasty end to a rich and interesting meal.
To find out more about Auntie Em’s, check out the website at www.AuntieEmsKitchen.com. Besides the restaurant, Auntie does catering and also offers organic produce delivery with recipes! Read about it on the website. Terri Wahl, the owner, is passionate about this way of supporting locally grown food and small businesses while enabling busy families to eat fresh healthy meals.

Coming Attractions From the Arroyo Arts Collective

There is so much to do around here! Luckily, many of these shows run for a few weeks, but if you want to attend the openings, you'll have to pack most of them into Saturday, March 13!

Coming Attractions From the Arroyo Arts Collective

There is so much to do around here! Luckily, many of these shows run for a few weeks, but if you want to attend the openings, you'll have to pack most of them into Saturday, March 13!
GERARDO HACER: THE MYTH
PE Lofts Gallery, 610 S. Main St. LA 90017
Reception: Thursday, March 11, 2010 from 12:00 noon to 10:00 PM
Presented by The Avenue 50 Studio, with the support of Los Angeles Trade-Tech College (LATTC) at the Downtown Art Walk in the PE Lofts Gallery (corner of 6th and Main Street).
The work of Los Angeles-based sculptor, Gerardo Hacer, consists of monumental structural, metal, origami animals in bold, flat, solid colors. The centerpiece of the show, Gerardo Hacer: The Myth, is a 2-ton fourteen-foot Pegasus entitled, "Education Gives You Wings To Fly" that will be permanently installed at the gateway of the main entrance to Los Angeles Trade-Tech College's new $250M campus. A former graduate, Gerardo was selected as the face of their multimedia campaign, "Trade As Art". His works have received coverage from SoCal News, Huell Howser's "California Gold", as well as, featured on public transit DASH buses. Contact: Ashley Lund - 310-405-5285

ART AND ARCHITECTURE: MERGING THE CONTEMPORARY AND THE HISTORICAL
Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock, 2225 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles 90041
323.226.1617, www.centerartseaglerock.org
Panel Discussion: March 13, 2010, 4-6 pm
Panelists: Gwynne Pugh (Pugh + Scarpa), Isotta Poggi (Getty Research Institute), John O'Brien, Cielo Pessione
Bruno Bondanelli will be making a brief presentation on behalf of Italian Living Umbria at the end of the round table conversation and offering Baci Perugina for all.
FOLLOWED by NELAart Second Saturday Gallery Night 7-10 pm
The March 13, 2010 panel discussion about "Art and Architecture: Merging the contemporary and the historical" is particularly relevant at CFAER, a historically listed 1914 Carnegie Library Building, that was itself transformed into a multicultural community center for arts and culture.

ASSEMBLAGE & COLLAGE
Howeeduzzit Gallery, 821 S. Raymond #27, Alhambra 91803
626.458.8811, www.howeeduzzitgallery.com
February 21st – March 13th, 2010
Closing Reception March 13th, 2:00-5:00 PM
Featured artists: Kathy Carvalles, Ruth DeNicola, Charles Dickson, Jack Fenn, Clare Graham, Frank Gutierrez, Cookie Hanson, Cidne Hart, Heather Hoggan, Jeffrey Kibbe, Dave Lovejoy, Mavis Leahy, Jaime Sabatte, Richard Sculley, Suzanne Siegel, Joseph Sims, Richard Turner, Howard Swerdloff, LaMonte Westmoreland

THE VIRGIN MARY CHAINSMOKING AT THE BEACH AND A COUPLE OTHER REALLY AWFUL THINGS I SAW WHEN I DITCHED SCHOOL THAT DAY
Future Studio Gallery, 5558 N. Figueroa St., LA 90042
futurestudiogallery.com
Opening Saturday March 13, 7 to 10 pm, part of NELAart.com Second Saturday Gallery Night
Tatiana Luboviski-Acosta: Drawings, Piñatas, Videos, Prints, Collages, and Photographs
(Don't forget to pick up your free Tati artist trading card at the gallery during the opening)
March's Chicken Boy Trading Card #6, also available Second Saturday. (It's CB, a guy's guy, repairing his cycle)
CUENTOS DE HADAS
Avenue 50 Studio, 131 North Avenue 50, Highland Park 90042
323.258.1435, www.avenue50studio.com
Mercedes Gertz and Esau Andrade reinterpret fairy tales with photographs by Elizabeth Beristain
Opening Night Reception: Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 7-10 pm
The Avenue 50 Studio is proud to present “Cuentos de Hadas” (Fairy Tales), an exhibition of works by two contemporary Mexican artists. Through a narrative language, Gertz and Andrade portray the female vs. male versions of fairy tales. The exhibit opens with an artists’ reception on Saturday evening, March 13, 2010 from 7 to 10 p.m. and closes on Sunday, April 4, 2010.
Mercedes Gertz. Using humor and sensuality, Gertz’s fairy tale series asks us to consider where women are in the 21st century. Her heroines are unapologetic symbols of female confidence. We sense in them a comfort with the body, with play and decoration. They confidently own the sensual, and relish in being a woman in charge. “These … fairy or folk tales … recur over and over through millennia in the guise of innocent stories telling us time and again that the docile, young body gets the prince, that the girl brave enough to venture into the woods—the space of men--meets her fate at the hands of the big bad wolf. Peter Pan lives forever as a boy, Wendy must grow up--it is her calling, her duty, her essential nature.” -- Marlena Doktorczyk-Donohue, Art Critic, Essayist, Poet
Esau Andrade. Following in the footsteps of the Latin American surrealists, Esau Andrade twists reality, creating canvases bursting with color that are pop in nature. He instills a childlike exuberance into his delightful paintings. Andrade comes from a folk art background, as both his mother Guadalupe Valencia and brother Raymundo Andrade are also artists. He is mainly a self-taught painter, although attended La Escuela de Artes Plasticas de la Universidad de Guadalajara. “Unlike the candy colored confections of his more stylized folk art paintings, these other works by Andrade place him firmly in the surrealist tradition shared by many Latin masters. He retains a naiveté and originality with quirky images that are both charming and serious, and also remain indebted to his rich culture for visual symbols that are vivid and intense.” -- Kathy Zimmerer, Artscene 11/2004
Elizabeth Beristain. Elizabeth was born in Mexico City. A graduate of the Escuela Activa de Fotografia and staff photographer for “El Reforma,” one of the top national daily newspapers in Mexico, she moved to Los Angeles as a freelance photographer and later became Photography Editor for the cultural publication Latino Weekly Review. A product of her Mexican mother’s artistic sensitivity and her Portuguese father’s decidedly more adventurous side, this subtle mixture of Old and the New World influences are germinal elements of Elizabeth’s artistry. Additionally, in devising the art direction of her own work, a wider range of crucial creative features shine through, from the world of opera, painting, music, and cinema, in a vision where a unique sense of artistry never intrudes with a boundless appreciation of our common humanity. Elizabeth has participated in various collective and solo shows, both in Mexico and Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband, cinematographer Gabriel Beristain ASC, BSC, and their two children Max and Victoria. She is currently at work on her new series, entitled Crowned Nuns.

And the Annex Presents:
A PRAYER FOR JUAREZ, A CURSE ON THE KILLERS
March 13 through April 4, 2010
Opening Night Reception: Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 7-10 pm
Alfonso Aceves, Ismael de Anda, Antonio Escalante, Judithe Hernandez, Cindy Suriyani, vincentmayakovsky

DECKED OUT - ART ON RECYCLED SKATE DECKS
Cactus Gallery, 4534 Eagle Rock Blvd. Eagle Rock 90041
323-256-6117, http://www.eclecticcactus.com
w/ Featured Artist Michael Pukac plus group show
March 13th – April 7th 2010, Gallery Hours: Weds-Sun 12-6pm
Opening Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 7-10pm
Group Show Artists: Amanda Sage, Motion One, Hans Haveron, L. Croskey, John Park, Spectr, Tommii Lim, Stix and Jones, Yuki Miyazaki, Nick Wildermuth, Ted Von Heiland, Anna Chung, Shahid Brown, Patrick Haemmerlein, Max Neutra, Jacob E. Roanhaus, Jose Carabes, Elle Seven, Liz Brizzi, Jonathan Bueno, Kelly Thompson, Carlos Ramsey, Dicapria, Mikolaj Wyszynski, Walt Hall, Art Martinez, Douglas Alvarez, Julie B., Delphia, Mike Russek, Amy Bernays, Krystle Smith, Alfie Numeric, and more.
Beats by Mr. Numberwonderful
Curated by The Imaginary Light Bulb Factory
10% of proceeds will go to Greenizm: a 501.3c rehabilitating neglected urban landscape into green skate parks in LA County while promoting the arts to skate culture.
More info: ArtSlant Event Page - http://www.artslant.com/la/events/show/92985-decked-out,
Facebook Event Page - http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=301594547342&ref=ts

MICK & FRIENDS: A COLLECTION OF ROCK & ROLL PHOTOGRAPHY
drkrm/gallery, 2121 San Fernando Road Suite 3, Los Angele 90065
323.223.6867, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
March 13th- April 3rd, 2010, Tue-Sat 11-5 Sun 1-4
Opening Reception Saturday March 13th 7-10pm
drkrm/gallery announces it first show of 2010, a group show retrospective of fine art Rock & Roll photographs. Featuring Ethan Russell's 1968 portrait of John and Yoko, Cecil Beaton's portraits of Mick Jagger on the set of the film Performance and Travis Shinn's recent photographs of Morrissey and Marilyn Manson. The Exhibition will run though April 3rd. There will be an opening reception Saturday March 12 from 7-10 pm with several of the artists in attendance.
Also featured are images of Bob Marley from the 1980's by Neville Garrick, Paul Zone's photos of KISS playing a small Queens NY club in 1973 and a 1969 Grateful Dead concert in San Francisco photographed by Ryan Herz plus many more.
The Land of Odd Gallery, 4690 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles 90041
March 13, 2010 – March 27, 2010
Opening Reception: March 13, 2010 from 6pm to 12am
Come to The Land of Odd Gallery's 5×7″ Group Show, opening on the evening of March 13, 2010 from 6pm to 12am. We will also be continuing our $100 and Under Art Show so if you missed getting to see it, now is your chance to come by and check it out. This event will be held in conjunction with the NELA 2nd Saturday art walk. As always refreshments will be served and the event is FREE!
We are proud to have the following artists participating in the 5×7″ show: Chito Arellano, Christie Bastet, Jeff Bertrand, Julie Bossinger, Deryke Cardenaz, Jennifer Cuellar, Brad Davis, Jolly de Guzman, Diane Harrelson, Chuck Hodi, Edith Ben Horin, Jinx, Bruce Kaplan, Patrick Quinn, Pablo Ramos, Monica Roache, Annalise Sullivan, Jason Sullivan, Melissa Sullivan, and Christopher Umana. Most of these works have been created especially for this event and have never been exhibited before, so come by and show your support.
We will also be continuing our $100 and Under Art Show, featuring the artwork of; Douglas Alvarez, Christie Bastet, Edith Ben-Horin, Charles Bennett, Terri Berman, Jeff Bertrand, Deborah Blanco-Flores, Chris Bonno, Heidi K. Born, Deryke Cardenaz, Bryan Collins, Emma Cooper, Josh Cooper, Creep Creepersin, David Daniel, Brett Gilbert, Jolly de Guzman, Brad Davis, William Reynolds Green, Joe B. Hall, Benjamin Harmon, Santiago Heredia, Nicholas Hernandez, John Hicks, Chuck Hodi, K. Howell, Chris Isner, Jinx, Bruce Kaplan, Amelia Lewis, Cynthia Llanes, Vivian Nguyen, Sean Madden, Demi Pietchell, Patrick Quinn, Pablo Ramos, Monica Roache, Glenda Rolle, Lisa Rosso, Therese Solone, Evil Paul Springer, Melissa Sullivan, Jason Sullivan, and Ckay Walker.
Mention the phrase — "The greatest FREE print on Earth" — and you may choose a FREE 5×7″ linoleum print. You might want to mention it to someone who works at the gallery. Otherwise people will just think you are weird.

MOSTLY SCULPTURE SHOW
Sea and Space Explorations, 4744 York Boulevard, Los Angeles 90042
March 13-28, 2010, Gallery Hours Friday/Saturday 1-6 pm, Sunday 1-5 pm
Opening Saturday March 13, 7-10 pm
This is a show of work that centers on material exploration. The six artists’ works are unified by their emphasis on process and innovation. Each artist engages in a pas-de-deux with specific materials in a poetry of making. In the tradition of Schwitters, Tuttle, Franz West, Kippenberger, and Genzkin, this work is strongly formal and has to do with specific methods of making. Encompassing materials from draped fabric to dyed carrara marble to sheetrock to newspaper to fireproof canvas to human stand-ins and fake flowers, the show is made up of work that is sculptural and mostly sculpture.
Artists: Kathryn Andrews, Alice Clements, Heather Cook, Patrick Hill, Alice Konitz, Brett Lund

MIRROR TO A WORLD
José Vera Fine Art & Antiques, 2012 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles 90041
323.258.5050, www.joseveragallery.com
Gallery Hours: Wed.-Sun. 11am-6pm
Opening Reception on Saturday, March 13th, from 6 - 9
José Vera Fine Art & Antiques invites you to join us for our upcoming exhibit, featuring the work of Irene Carranza in her solo show "Mirror To A World". We are pleased to showcase her work from March 3 - April 11, 2010, with an Opening Reception on Saturday, March 13th, from 6 - 9 pm, in conjunction with the NELA ArtWalk. Please join us for wine, appetizers and a meet-and-greet with the artist herself.
Artist Statement: On the surface, Carranza's work is about women; that is the subject matter. At a deeper level, however, the works are about issues that women face, and they pay tribute to the resilient female spirit. Some of the images explore challenges of identity that we confront as women as we attempt to reconcile modern life with traditional Latino culture. Thus the art can be viewed as affirmations of strength and celebrations of a complex yet incredibly diverse presence as female human beings. She also explores themes of beauty, nature, solitude, death and rebirth. Feminism is expressed in many forms-virgins, mothers, mermaids, maidens, field workers, musicians and prostitutes, reflecting on the tender aspects of mankind. Carranza prefers to work with organic and richly layered oil pastels, using mineral spirits to blend, achieving painterly results. She also works with acrylic and oil paints, and occasionally some printmaking, such as aquatints, etchings and collographs. The artist's recent explorations of color are done with acrylic paintings on black-gessoed surfaces of canvas and wood, and oil pastels and oil bars on black museum board. She considers these pieces as transformations of darkness into light, or darkness and lightvying with one another. This fascination may come from early childhood memories of the Mexican paintings on black velvet she saw everywhere during visits across the border. It may also stem from her immersion in Catholicism growing up in religious schools and a deeply religious home, where the concepts of good vs. evil and light coming out of darkness were pervasive.

HOW OLD DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO BE AN ARTIST?
The Judson Studios Gallery, 200 So. Avenue 66, Los Angeles 90042
Saturday,March 13th , 6:00PM~9:00PM
Students of ROOM 13, an international network of student-operated art studios will show work at The Judson Studios Gallery as part of NELA Art Night. Three ROOM 13 studios, including James Foshay Learning Center in South Los Angeles, Eliot Middle School in Altadena, and Marjorie Street in South Bay, will showcase paintings, drawings, sculptures, mixed media, assemblage, muralart and animation at this collaborative art installation. The Judson Studios, an internationally known stained glass maker run by five generations of family members, was also the first home to the USC School of Fine Arts until 1920.
Room13 originated in Caol, Scotland in1994 and has grown into an international network of student-designed and operated creative studios. It now provides learning and business enterprise skills to students in Scotland, Britain, Nepal, India and South Africa, and is currently expanding to Mexico, Turkey, China and Austria. The director of theTate Galleries has called Room 13 "the most important model for artistic teaching in school that we have in the UK."
In 2008, Light Bringer Project, a nonprofit arts provider, engaged with the program's international trustees and decided to take advantage of this opportunity for our own public school children. Partnering with Project Design Studio, the organization launched the first ROOM 13 in America at James Foshay Learning Center in South Los Angeles. They proceeded to found ROOM 13 at Eliot Middle School in Altadena. The third, an dmost recent model, ROOM 13 at Marjorie Street, was formed early this year in the South Bay vicinity. Like its peers, each creative studio operates as a physical space flourishing within a public school or community setting and is solely managed by the students.ROOM 13 is dedicated to provingthe worth of the individual with with the support and mentorship of schoolstaff and community members. Facilitated by an artist-in-residence, also from the community, students work in teams, as partners or alone, determining the scope and content of their own creative projects. ROOM 13 artists also learn self-reliance by designing a business model that will sustain their own studio operation. TBWAChiatDay advertising has also provided support of the ROOM 13 network through the contributed help of its creative professionals.
Proceeds from the sale of artworks will benefit ROOM 13 studios.

These numbers indicate an active market where, in general, almost as many properties are selling as fast as there are properties coming onto the market.

Recently our government announced that it will stop purchasing Mortgage Back Securities (MBS) at the end of March of 2010. That means there can be a rise in mortgage rates in our near future, couple that with the $8,000 1st time buyer tax credit and the $6,500 move up tax credit ending at the end of April 30, 2010. We may likely see fewer buyers and higher interest rates in our near future.

Buy Today

Purchase Price $662,000

Down payment 20%
Loan Amount 529,600
Rate 5.00% fully Amortized for 30 years
Mortgage payment $2,843.01
Home Owner Insurance $66.20
Property Tax (L.A County) $ 689.58
Total PITI $3,598.79
Or Buy Tomorrow

Purchase Price $575,000

Down payment 20%
Loan Amount $460,000
Rate 6.50% fully Amortized for 30 years
Mortgage payment $2,907.51
Home Owner Insurance $56.88
Property Tax (L.A County) $598.96
Total PITI $3,563.35

The above scenario is based on net income of $8,000 and 45% overall debt to income ratios with credit scores above 720. It is strictly meant for illustration purposes. Rates are subject to change without notice

Lender Information
Edward Uriarte * Loan Consultant
(626) 8172449 dir. * (626) 4622270 Cell
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Remember, you have until April 30, 2010, to open escrow on your first time buyer purchase or your long-term owner sale/purchase to qualify for the federal housing tax credits. For all the details, go to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com .

It seems like every other person I meet is applying for a loan modification on their mortgage. The general feeling seems to be, "Why not? It might work."

Have you wanted to explore the surrounding foothills here in Northeast LA/Altadena/Glendale, but you don’t know where to go? Want a guide? These hikes are free, but you should join or at least make a donation to the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy (formerly Altadena Foothills Conservancy) and support their good work – http://www.altadenafoothills.org/.

First rule: if the question “Should I disclose this?” occurs to you regarding a property you plan to sell, the answer is “Yes.”

This is the first of my end-of-year reflections on where we are and where we’ve been and why do we do this anyway?
I have lots of caveats about the following statistics. Note that the source is called Trend Graphics. These are generalizations, trends, an overview of what the market has done over a period of time.

One of the most difficult aspects of selling your property is figuring out where you are going to move next. Most people want to buy another house, but it can be a frustrating desire in so many ways.