The opening night of  About Paper was wonderful. Above is a photo of the gallery from the front. A photo from the back would reveal an alley with different parking spaces and a couple of miniature lakes, or to be more specific, some holes filled with water. You need to be careful not to let your vehicle fall into any of the holes or else you and your car could drown. Well, not exactly drown but get stuck. I arrived early to make sure that I had plenty of time to drive around the water-filled holes.

 

 

On the left is my daughter Natalie. On the right you  see my  friend Diego, who is the son of my friend Maiz, who is the person who took these photos. Thanks, Maiz! This post is a reality because of Maiz.

 

 

Children are the best art critics. I am dying to know what they’re thinking here. Just a note: Natalie is not wearing that little blue hat on the top of her head. That’s someone else’s head.

 

 

The back of my head says hi! Here I am hugging  Haley Ramm. She is a talented young actress. Haley had a role in Disconnect, a movie produced by my hubby. Hubby’s face is covered by my hair in the picture. He’s wearing a hat. Haley is not only talented but super nice, so is her boyfriend, who was wearing a hat as well, and a tiny ponytail. Find him on the left extreme of this photo.

 

 

Here is where the truth gets revealed under the lights of the fluorescent lamps: Lately, I have gained more pounds than I can count with all the fingers of my hands. Here are some tips, I can count the number of pounds that I have gained using all the fingers from my hands and all the toes from my feet. That gives you the exact number. But that is a post that I will share with you on Art is a Way. A little advance: I am happy, very happy. Not with being unable to fit in my clothes (I don’t enjoy that part) but happy with my life in general and my family. It is just that I happen to be human. But being human is OK because it gives you lots of room for improvement. Lesson #1: Every time that a human falls down, she/he can just get up and keep going. That’s where I am at right now. My friend Diego in front of Haley and I approves this message, so does the gentleman preparing drinks on the right side of the photo, so does my daughter Natalie, who is sitting on the only chair available  at the gallery last night. Lucky her!

 

 

This photo shows you the shape of the gallery which is a long rectangle. On the back of the rectangle is my friend Darrel Couturier’s office. Darrel is the gallery owner and my personal friend. I love him, his Mom, his Dad and his sister, to whom I gave the necklace that I am wearing in the photos. I made the pendant part of the necklace out of paper. The rest is African beads. Darrel’s sister was so happy! It looked great on her. More than wearing the jewelry I make, I love giving it away.

 

 

Here are my wonderful new friends. I met them on Thanksgiving day at my friend Valerie’s house, where Natalie and I went for dinner while hubby and Diego were in Chicago. That Thanksgiving night he came all the way from the other side of the huge table to talk with me. After 2 seconds we became good friends. They are french and so special. She owns a greenhouse. I have never seeing it but I know that it’s great because she is great. We talked about her plants. People who love plants are good. He used to have a photography printing business on the same street where the gallery is located,  maaaany years ago when the area was almost empty. He has the best sense of humor ever and the best life philosophy, which is: live and let live. That’s why they both look amazing regardless of their age. Can you guess their age?

 

 

 

Here is Danny on the left, I met Danny for the first time last night. He told me his name and I can still remember it. Danny is a great name, consider naming your next baby boy Danny. He had the coolest hairstyle. The smaller men on the right are my friend Diego, you saw him before, and my son, whose name also happens to be Diego. He is holding a small can of potato chips, which he ate for the first time in his entire life. Forget about whether they’re healthy or not, that was a huge accomplishment for a kid who is extremely picky due to his Autism. Go Diego! I still don’t know where he got those chips from.

 

 

 

Here is my french friend wearing the perfect outfit to match my artwork.

 

 

Another beautiful lady wearing the perfect outfit to match my artwork.

 

 

On the right, two more beautiful ladies wearing the perfect outfit to match my artwork. The gentleman on the left is wearing the perfect outfit to match the artworks of Haruka. Her pieces in the show are gorgeous! So delicate and subtle. All in light colors.

 

 

See my face. Here the light bulb in my brain just turned on. Yay! Let’s give Gold medals to the best-behaved children at an art show opening! My son Diego couldn’t believe that he had just won a gold medal. He said: whaaaaat? Behind us is the work of my friend Kevin Stanton.

 

 

Here I started singing something that went like: Eeeeeeee

 

 

My youngest friend at the show, Mr. Julio, with his Dad Jo. Jo is one of my favorite Dads ever.  He  is the husband of my friend Maiz, who took all these photos with her super-duper camera. Maiz is a professional photographer and one of my favorite people on planet Earth. I told you about her before and I will probably mention her again because I love Maiz very much.

 

 

Here I’m singing again.

 

 

 

Here is Bill sitting on the same chair where Natalie was sitting before. The only chair at the gallery last night. (I think that I already said that). Lucky him! But he had to leave early because he had to take an airplane to Miami and then to Havana, Cuba, for the Film Festival. He’s doing a presentation over there about his experiences as a film producer. He wanted me to translate some quotes from English to Spanish, but they were too complicated. What you say in English with 5 words, becomes 2 paragraphs in Spanish. But he will have a translator over there. I wish him/her (the translator) good luck.

 

 

 

Perfect photo to see the shape of the gallery again, and all the wonderful people, most of which are wearing black. Because black is the official color for art openings. (I made that up, but I think that it is true). Right on the left extreme of the photo is our Italian friend Fabio, carrying a backpack with red and white accents. Fabio makes the most delicious pizza ever. The latest pizza that he cooked for us is responsible for my weight gain. It’s all Fabio’s fault. But regardless of how guilty Fabio is, we’re planning our next pizza day for when Bill comes back from Havana. Yay!

 

 

Here are Bill and I with our precious friend Annette Bening and her one-of-a-kind daughter Ella. Isn’t Ella beautiful? But that’s not all, she also has her Mom’s brains. Annette is the smartest and most real woman in Hollywood. And the best Mom. Once in a while we get together with 3 other girlfriends and have a wonderful time talking about everything. It is our little women-only secret society. I’m so lucky to be part of it! Also, I’m honored to say that Annette purchased the piece with the orange background that you see below. Thanks a lot again, Annette!

 

 

The happy couple! Those who diet together, stay together 🙂

 

 

Here I am explaining how the wheel works.

 

 

 

I don’t know your name, but thanks a lot for coming to the opening and for taking the time to look at my work. You have a cool hat and beard.

 

 

Thanks for looking at my work.

 

 

 

Thanks again.

 

 

Hi Jo! There is Jo behind Annette and Ella. Can you spot him?

 

 

Hi Ruben! There is my friend Ruben behind Annette and Ella. Ruben has the most beautiful long, curly hair that I have ever seen. Too bad that you can’t see it in this photo. My friend Maiz is Ruben’s Mom.

 

 

On the left you see my new super talented friend Sonia Romero, she is in the show with two beautiful pieces. But papercutting is not the only thing that she does. Visit her website to see a lot more. We’re planning a visit to her studio in 2014. I can’t wait! On the right is our friend Valerie Delahaye. She is my daughter Natalie’s best friend’s Mom. Valerie and her husband Rusty are visual effect experts with a strong career in Hollywood. They are one of the most creative families that we know. She is like a second Mom to Natalie. Natalie and I went to her house for Thanksgiving, that’s where we met our french friends that you saw before, (the lady with the greenhouse and the gentleman with the great life philosophy: live and let live).

 

 

Here Diego is announcing that it is time to go. He was right. Children shouldn’t go to bed too late. I agree. But we still needed to stay a little longer. There are lots of other friends missing from these photos, because they wether arrived before my photographer friend arrived and left early, or they arrived after my photographer friend left. My friend  Maiz and her camera came with her husband Jo and their 3 children. She couldn’t stay all night. I give her a gold medal for coming at all. We need to thank her again for making this post possible. Thanks a lot Maiz!!!!

 

 

Well, now it is really time to go. Diego and his potato chips and Natalie, are ready. And the only chair at the gallery is ready for a break. I have to say that for about a half-minute, I had the fortune of sitting on that chair. It was one of the most glorious moments of the night. Ask my feet and they will tell you why, (ask them about the height of my heels). But regardless of what my feet say, I had a wonderful time at the opening. It is not every day that you can see so many wonderful people in black. Thanks a lot to every person who came last night. The best part of being an artist is meeting other artists and meeting people who appreciate art. You make of the world a fun place. See you at the next opening!

Elsita

PS. Special thanks to my friends Douglas Kirkland and Francoise Kirland for coming. Too bad that I don’t have pictures of you both! The ones that Bill took are in his camera, which is in Havana with him right now. I can’t wait for Bill and his camera to come back. I will add the pictures that he took later on. Thanks Peggy, for coming with your husband. Thanks Ola for coming with your husband and your precious children. Thanks, Kim and Stella for coming. Thanks Ignacio. Thanks Camilla and Fabio. Thanks a lot to each one of my friends for coming and to the artists in the show: Alison Keogh, Lorraine Bubar, Jeff Nishinaka, Sonia Romero, Ann Page, Kevin Stanton, Lucrezia Bieler, Hina Aoyama, Haruka and Juan Gomez-Quiroz. I feel so honored to be in an exhibition with you. Thank you Heather, for reserving the piece Head. And thanks again, Annette, for purchasing the paper scissors. And super duper special thanks to Jay Reto for curating and organizing this show. Jay and Darrel, you rock!

 The show is open through January 4, 2014. I invite you to stop by and take a look: