At the very northernmost reach of the City of Los Angeles, O'Melveny Park, 2nd largest in the city according to the plaque, is the point of departure and unmarked, as far as I could see, trial head for Bee Canyon.  Bee Canyon Park is just a block south of the parking lot of O'Melveny Park where a nature trail and paved road edged with rock leads up into the ravines of Bee Canyon.
In these times, traffic to the valley from the arts district is minimal which makes driving to hiking areas we would not normally trek to much less time consuming.
In Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles County, the author asserts Bee Canyon to be "natural L.A.'s answer to Disneyland's Adventureland." Having never been to DA, I could not compare the two. But, I was awed by the steep V shaped gorges, windswept rock formations and the height of the 500 ft. peaks viewed from the canyon floor.

Along the winding, main paved path, there are numerous picnic tables and a large lawn to frolic on  with your furry friend. I can imagine a simple but ample ranch home, O'Melveny's prize bulldogs and grazing cattle on this site. When the paved road turns to dirt, you have the option to take the trail to the west, traversing the gradient switchbacks, or go forward along a much narrower path.  We chose the narrower one because it looked less traveled. We did pass a few groups of fellow hikers but after a while we did not hear any one with their music and chatter- the silence was truly golden. 
Aiming to walk to directly underneath the power lines that stretched across the canyon high above, we hopped across the gullies and stream beds for about a half a mile until Tim stopped suddenly.  A snake, about an inch in diameter and possibly 18 inches long, lay  across the path in the sun.  Our dog Jet did not even see it.  It was quite still and did not move when we got a little closer look for inspection. Deciding to turn around in favor of stepping over the unidentified snake, which we later learned was a gopher snake from posting it on my timeline on Facebook, we settled on making our way back to the car by way of the same route. 

What is wondrous about Bee Canyon are the peaks and shear mountain sides on which you can imagine goats scampering or mountain lions laying wait in caves. There are even narrower trails that lead up into the ravines but the Afoot and Afield guidebook states: "the cliffs are unstable and not suitable for climbing."
Getting out in nature is vital to reboot our sense of calm and collectivity-especially living downtown where muscle car and motorcycle pipes rev, fireworks explode without the visuals, circling helicopters hum and blaring sirens are the ambient noise all day and all night.

To celebrate New Year's Day my husband and I decided to take a drive to Laguna Beach with our dog Jet. The sky was crystalline and the sea delivered those negative ions we needed living in the Arts District of downtown L.A. Once we arrived to the town beach, we strolled along the crashing waves until we reached the miraculous tidal pools below Heisler Park.  Jet wanted to swim but Laguna Beach requires dogs to be on leash. 
In the pandemic it is difficult if not impossible to satisfy the pleasure of dining out.  The closest thing Laguna Beach restaurants are offering at the moment is take out on their patio or parking lot.  We were pretty hungry after our walk on the beach so we went to the Greeter's Corner straight away without investigating other options. They are currently allowing guests to eat take out while distanced on their patio which faces the town beach.  The server who brings you your order is not supposed to take any other requests while you are seated. Thus, you need to request all the condiments and drinks when your order with the host outside the front of the restaurant. Now is the time to carry your own cutlery unless you want to eat with plastic for the foreseeable future. We shared the Fish and Chips and Fish Tacos-both fresh and delicious.
After we finished eating we decided to take a walk north along PCH.  As we climbed the hill, I was struck by the massive poster for Wayne Thiebaud's Clowns exhibition mounted on the wall of the Laguna Museum of Art. Having not known about the exhibition I got very excited for a split second. But knowing we would not be able to enter the museum to see the paintings my excitement turned to sadness almost immediately. Happily being with Tim and Jet quickly brought me back to the present. What boggles my mind is that you can go to an indoor mall but you cannot go to a museum.  Makes no sense. I would much rather wait in line to enter a museum at 20% capacity than a mall any day. I just hope the Laguna Museum of Art postpones the exhibition until we can see the paintings in person. Congrats to Wayne Thiebaud who turned 100 on November 15, 2020!
Over the holidays, I had the fortune to watch the brilliant animation "Clown" in bed one morning with my husband Tim. "Clown" is narrated by the gorgeous Helena Bonham Carter; who else would you want to comfort you out of and prevent childhood clown phobias?! Based on the 1995 book CLOWN by author and artist illustrated by Quentin Blake, HBC brings the story to life with her charming voice and the animations are adorable. I highly recommend the film for everyone; a short thirty or so minutes and perfect to watch around Christmas-with or without kids. To watch it, you may need to trick your computer into thinking you are in England.
Some therapists may suggest confronting your fear(s) to overcome them.  While I am not afraid of clowns, I do not find them comforting either. While my two recent clown, however not irl experiences were not really confrontations, I did re-evaluate my feelings for clowns and have decided that I would rather see a clown in representative form rather than in person-pandemic or no pandemic.

In October 2019 our dog Jet had TTA surgery on her back left leg.  She recovered quickly but then started limping recently.  We consulted our vet who suggested we go back to the surgeon.  For want of a second opinion, we instead made an appointment with Dr. Bausman at VCA in the Valley.  Dr. Bausman was referred to us by MASH in West Hollywood and was told he has performed many TTA surgeries.  We learned from Dr. Bausman that he does not perform many TTA surgeries anymore because of the potential complications from the implants that are placed in the bone.  Lesson learned a little late.  Despite more likely possibilities of torn miniscus and arthritis, however, our goal is to make Jet as comfortable as possible with hopes that she can walk, run and hike like she used to. Dr. Bausman was extremely helpful and friendly to me over the phone and recommended carprofen(basically advil) for when we go for hikes or to the beach.  After Jet's appointment with Dr. Bausman, she has not limped, even after walks, short hikes and visits to the beach.  We are extremely grateful! 
Still, when we decide to go for a hike, we research and choose a location that is scenic but not a rigorous climb.  When I consulted my copy of the informative Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles County by Jerry Schad, I found the Bailey Canyon hike in Sierra Madre.  After the rains on December 29th, the L.A. basin looked crystalline and the skies were very clear.  We set out for the foothills of the Angeles Mountains and from downtown, it only took just over 30 minutes to arrive to the small parking lot below the Bailey Canyon trailhead, near the Passionist Fathers Monastery.  We enjoyed the views-even though we did not climb very high, seeing deer along the nature trail and even running from bees near a hive in a tree trunk! In total we hiked about 50 minutes--I know this because we signed in and out using the pad inside the metal box near the parking lot. Best of all, Jet did not limp during or after our little outing.

In fall 2020, I was invited to respond to a series of prompts and questions about my art practice.  I enjoyed the process of revealing my inspirations while acknowledging from where and whom they have originated.
To read the article click here.

2020 was the year of the creative pivot.  Not knowing the stability of income sources, I moved my studio into storage and started working on a table in the loft I share with my husband Tim and our dog Jet. 
Pictured below is a digital image I created during the summer protests. I combined drawn letters on paper and the LA downtown skyline. The photo of the skyline was taken from the roof of the building where my studio was until July 2020.

In our loft in the Arts District, I began working small and focused on two bodies of work; LA Lover and Color Moves.  I began LA Lover in 2012.  The series mines a well of Los Angeles personalities, both abstract and real, that will never run dry.  Color Moves is a visual exploration into the rainbow colors associated with chakra energy.

Below is an image of LA Lover (Amir Dialameh) of and a detail of Yellow Moves, both from 2020.