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JULY FLEW BY

If I turn around, the summer will be over, so I want to be sure to enjoy each wonderful moment! The best high after the 4th of July celebration was seeing Mamma Mia. We were in the absolute first row which was great as we saw everyone close up including the musicians....

I LOVE THE 4TH OF JULY…

It's grilled cheese sandwiches, games and unmitigated joy! Preparations start a week before the 4th. Tomatoes give the cheese sandwiches that special something but they have to be sliced thin and well drained. Party favors. The caricature is from the year before, when...

JUNE FLEW BY…

...with memorable moments such as delightful Peggy treating us to an evening of MUSE/IQUE at the Huntington. My birthday celebrations continued with lovely Marine and her delightful sister Eliza treating me at The Capital Grille. Another great movie night with Curtis...

MAY REMINICENSE

April was so very difficult that I'm going to skip right past it to delightful May. Perhaps it's because May is my birthday month but I really think there's so much more to look forward to in the month. Veronica pulled several landscapes for collector Pam to select...

CONTINUING MARCH

A highlight of March has to be being serenaded by Universal Renaissance man, my friend Stanley Penner, playing a bit of Mozart, Brahms and more... ...on his Bösendorfer. I was told to "Look up!" So many treasurers... A lovely "Gratitude Luncheon" at the Athenaeum....

MARCHING THROUGH MARCH

The Children's Festival was a wonderful way to begin the month. Three days of getting up at five, wearing a white apron and helping all the kids find their way to seats at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for an exciting dance performance by the Hubbard Street Dance...

SHORT BUT WONDERFUL

February, being the shortest month, has to cram a lot of joyful happenings..I can't think of a better way to begin the month than by celebrating Susie Kat's birthday at the Jonathan Beach Club! Yours truly, Maggie, Susie's cousin, Carol Soucek King, our amazing...

JANUARY, AND THE NEW YEAR BEGINS…

I'm not too sure what to make of January. Perhaps it's because December is such an amazing high with Christmas and New Years that it's hard to re-focus on business as usual. Well, maybe not as usual but certainly not at the extreme! It took Veronica and me two days to...

THE MOST WONDERFUL NEW YEAR’S …

began with guests getting their bling on. Here Alexis decides on hers. Also, signing the guest book and indicating what yummy treat they brought. Here's Jan making her entry. And with her bling on. Then it was time for amazing Magician Tom to mesmerize all of us,...

CHRISTMAS AND SO MUCH MORE!

Valerie Foster Hoffman is truly the Hostess With the Mostest, a real-life Auntie Mame! And to be at her Christmas party is to partake of an unforgettable experience. Cookies anyone? With Sherry in the garden. With Santa and our Lovely Hostess! Photographer Karl....

REALITY, WHAT A CONCEPT…

Try to wrap your mind around the single word ‘Reality’ … that’s what Beverly Hynds did in creating this amazing work.  She had decided to be very Japanese and change the scrolls hanging in her home seasonally. Here you see this summer’s presentation done with a...

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WATER IS LIFE…

…is the theme each year for the Departments of Water and Power state wide.  I’ve been privileged and honored each year to judge the Burbank high schools student poster submissions since the inception of the contest.  After all the participating cities submit...

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IT WAS STANDING ROOM ONLY….

…at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens on Tuesday for the much anticipated event with New York Times best selling author* Lisa See. Over 500 people gathered together happily paying $50 for a private tour of the new Chinese Garden, ...

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MY BIRTHDAY WISH FOR YOU…

…is that you have a friend as loving, thoughtful and generous as Valerie Foster Hoffman, a combination of Auntie Mame, Pearl Mesta and Mother Teressa with a big dollop of St. Francis of Assisi! Starting with the beautiful invitations Valerie sent out for the memorable...

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IT’S A ZEN THING

Everyone is getting more and more creative in Shantien ‘Tom’ Chow’s calligraphy classes here in the studio. Melanie Campbell painted a calligraphic Zen ‘circle’ which is a Zen meditation and brilliantly combined it with the saying…’Drink Your Tea’! I just love it and...

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A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

When the amazingly talented and simply wonderful Molly Siple phoned with two tickets to the opera (thanks to Peter Adams) she said that she knew I’d be the most fun to go with.  And what opera is that pray tell?  Why five hours of fun and frivolity otherwise...

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THE CH’I OF THE BRUSH

After four printings and six years, I was able to purchase the rights to my book ‘The Ch’i of the Brush’ from Random House.  Little did I dream that ‘self’ publishing would be so very complicated and might I add expensive.  It made me appreciate...

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THE ARTISTS AT NICKELODEON…

…are the most delightful, receptive group and doing a workshop there is the  most fun imaginable.  This time the subject was ‘Landscape’ and armed with a 39 page lesson we set forth on our journey. With our objective in mind… to finish our subject by the end...

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THE GLENDALE ART ASSOCIATION…

…is a small but mighty group of artists.  Dulcie Adams, the groups vice president ‘signed me up’ when I did a presentation for the San Fernando Valley Art Assoc. It was a delight demonstrating Chinese Brush painting for them and discussing many of the concerns...

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WELCOME…

to my personal blog where I’ll be sharing adventures and how I determine each day to live joyfully as an Artist, Teacher, and Author. My latest book “What If… We Have the Power to Change Our Lives” an inspirational book that hopefully will empower you to live your best life! You can find me and my work at nanraestudio.com My hope is that this blog will inspire you to find joy everywhere and in everything and that is what I wish for you!

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