Creativity Never Goes Out of Style

CreativityNever Goes Out of Style

It’s no secret that Malibu has a flourishing arts scene; artists are woven into the fabric of this unique place. These creators contribute to the rich tapestry of life. MTM is offering an inside look at some of the incredible artists who share their work with the community.

BY STEPHANIA JEAN

Cin Short

In a fast world, Cin Short’s Laughing Dog Art Studio “slows down, collaborates, recycles and creates art with the stories that connect us.” Short, a versatile artist, works in many different mediums.

“My mediums vary from paint [for commissioned pet portraits], to upcycled clothing art [for the planet and for fun], to a vintage VW bus [for a place people can gather to connect], to scrap wood from Woolsey rebuilds, to my body and a long history with performance-based works and choreography,” she said.

The artist described her art as the product of her “infinite curiosity in the stories we humans create about everything and trying to find ways to tell those stories.”

One of her storytelling modes includes painting pet portraits.

“Our pets teach us to love with more honesty,” Short said. “Through their ‘creatureness,’ we become better humans. Using paint for these portraits requires me to slow down and stay with the stories much longer than simply taking a photograph would. It is more about my attempt at capturing a sense of the story and bond between the person and their pet than about mastery of the medium.”

The same goes for her textile creations.

“The upcycled clothing art—similarly—isn’t about great sewmanship— I’m a novice at best—but about the amazing stories and histories donated clothing has,” she said.

The beauty of Short’s work is that it has a goal she hopes each viewer will experience.

“Any needed change happens first through stories,” the artist said. “By really listening to and sharing stories, we better understand ourselves and others, and are better equipped to create a world less fraught with divisiveness.”

By using recycled apparel, Gena Lee breathes new life into clothing once tossed aside as useless so that it may be reborn and respected once again.

“I am aware of the harmful effects of the overproduction of apparel and textiles and its effects on the environment,” Lee said. “I love to go treasure hunting at thrift stores, and it occurred to me that maybe I could prevent waste in a small, fun and creative way.”

Stopping clothing from going to the landfill led to her artisty for One Of One creations. Lee scouts out feel-good graphics on old, discarded T-shirts that make her smile. She then washes, cuts, sews and embroiders them onto other recycled cashmere, denim, blazers or flannel. The result is ideally a product that has a nostalgic vibe.

The pandemic allowed her time to focus on the details of each handsewn piece without the rush to mass produce to meet the demands of stores and customers. Once done, Lee sells her creations at the Malibu Farmers Market every Sunday.

“I get to see so many people stop and get such a thrill taking in the variety of old classic movie phrases, genre rock bands, commercials and more,” the artist said. “It tickles my heart to see the smiles of happy buyers and hear all the stories behind why a design connects with them personally. This in turn, inspires me to keep creating.” Continued on pg. 28

Gena Lee

Declan Bates is incredibly grateful to call Malibu home. Raised here like his father before him, he feels lucky to live within such a special community. Declan Bates

“I think something that has stuck with me the most was seeing the dedication people put into protecting and aiding the community both during and after the Wolsey fire,” the artist said. “I thought that was pretty inspiring.”

Bates draws his artistic inspiration from nearby beaches. His modern expressions of surf themed pieces, a combination of acrylic paint and epoxy resin, pull from the vibrant colors of the Malibu landscape. It is a style that came from years of experimenting with different materials and techniques.

“I think subconsciously, I took aspects of my life and imagination that I’ve enjoyed and tried to integrate them into my work while having fun and not taking myself too seriously,” Bates said. “The mood of it may be mindless, in a positive way, and spontaneous.”

During his creative process, he said he will often ponder over an idea for a long time and will wait until he has “everything figured out” in his head. But then there are the times when an idea hits him randomly and from there it’s trial and error to find the image.

When not creating art, Bates can be found taking classes online for school. He’s stayed busy between adjusting to online learning and experimenting with new forms of art like printmaking. And his motivation for creation remains unchanged.

“When I create, it’s usually because I have the strong urge to make something,” he said. “That being said, I hope people are able to feel some sort of emotion when they view my art.”

Carla Marlenée Bates

With art that is best described as Contemporary Coastal, Carla Marlenée Bates paints in appreciation of the nature surrounding her. After living in Malibu for more than three decades, it makes sense that her art is an ode to the area. The primary goal of her subject matter is to evoke life affirming thoughts and emotions in the viewer.

“When an idea for a painting comes to me, I will spend time thinking about the best way to convey the energy in that moment,” Marlenée Bates said. “For instance, I am entranced by the silhouette of palm trees against the sky. But what I see is more than just the graphic effect of the shapes, I also observe the light igniting the sky and saturating the trees with glowing color. My palm tree paintings are an ode to Southern California, and I want to paint them with the same energy and excitement they evoke for me.” palm trees and other favorite subjects like surfers immersed in the grandeur of the Pacific Coast. Her biggest inspiration is the Pacific Ocean, which she considers a playground that provides endless inspiration.

“My style reflects who I am, grounded in reality but faithful to idealism,” she explained.

Marlenée Bates is not only grounded, but extremely grateful for her life in Malibu.

“We have been so fortunate to raise our children here,” she said. “Not only is Malibu stunningly beautiful, but it has somehow maintained a small-town feeling. I feel very connected to our community.” Continued on pg. 30

Jayne Cooper

Self-taught action art painter Jayne Cooper feels that art has saved her life many times over. While she never went to art school, she began drawing at a very young age. Though her career path began as a stylist, Cooper embraced her calling as a painter and now works with a wide variety of mediums from oil, acrylic, pencils, tempered paint, markers and Indian Ink.

“I’m very attracted to Ancient Egypt and engravings on cave walls,” Cooper said, “And I try to recreate that look in my art.”

“I crank up the music in my studio, and then start out with markers and mark the whole canvas and then take off,” she said. “I just go with it. I’ll change it, mess it up, destroy it and work the canvas really hard.”

Her art is ever-present in her mind in both waking and non-waking hours. Cooper explained that sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night to draw, and then forgets that she did it.

“Then it’s a surprise in the morning,” she said with a laugh.

1stdibs.com ▪

Explore More Local Artists Malibu is fortunate to have a wealth of creatives enriching the local landscape with their work. This series of mini-vignettes will hopefully inspire the community to continue to explore and encourage the incredible artists who call this area home.

Love is in the Air

Locals continue to celebrate family joy

By Kamala Kirk

Even though many things are different as a result of COVID-19, one thing that has not changed is the power of love and its importance in everyone’s lives. From wedding nuptials to welcoming new babies into the world, people have continued to celebrate love.

Wedding Bells

Andy and Kimberly Ho met at a wedding in 2016 and had their first date in Malibu, where they hiked around Point Dume before having lunch at Malibu Seafood. Five years later, they celebrated their nuptials on July 4, 2021 at Calamigos Ranch in a beautiful ceremony with 130 family members and close friends.

“We loved the open-air space and outdoor nature aspects of [Calamigos], especially the Oaks Room,” he said. “We were in awe the moment we saw it with the waterfall in the background of the ceremony site. Everything was all in one place for people to celebrate.

The couple wanted the vibe of their wedding to be welcoming, down-to-earth and heartwarming, as well as for their guests to have fun. They made sure to incorporate various aspects of themselves and their relationship into the wedding details.

“My niece and nephews walked our 14-year-old dog Mochi down the aisle, Andrew’s cousin was our officiant, and his sister performed a song she wrote about our love story (‘A holottalove’s got me feeling this way’),” Kimberly said.

“Our hashtag was #holottalove,” she continued. “We also love eating ramen, so we had an instant noodle bar, which was a great hit as the night went on and people enjoyed more drinks. Every song on the playlists for the ceremony, cocktail hour and dinner reception were handpicked by us to make sure the vibe we wanted was there.”

Andy added, “Kimberly has a huge sweet tooth, so dessert had to be the best. We brought in mochi donuts from Friendly Donuts, and also had our friend, Jackie, who owns Sugar Salt and Crumbs, custom design our wedding cake, which was a honey lavender cake with earl grey buttercream and midnight dark chocolate cake with matcha green tea buttercream.” Our wedding was the happiest day of our lives. COVID-19 had taken a lot away from us and we were just thankful to have a chance to reunite with our closest friends and family in person. ~ Andy Ho

The two spent their honeymoon on a road trip to Montana, stopping in various ski resort towns along the way. They stopped in Las Vegas for a night and also enjoyed time at Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Twin Falls and the Mendocino Coast, among others.

Since the wedding, they said that a lot of guests have shared how fond a memory it was to be able to celebrate and see people face to face after everything that has happened in the past year and a half. Originally, the couple had planned to get married on October 31, 2020, but had to delay their wedding due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

“Our wedding was the happiest day of our lives,” Andy said. “COVID-19 had taken a lot away from us and we were just thankful to have a chance to reunite with our closest friends and family in person. It was everyone’s first large gathering since the pandemic started, which made it all the more special for our wedding to be the reason for everyone’s first reunion. The next thing we’re looking forward to is starting a family.” Continued on pg. 32

Newborn Joy

Montana Coady and Benjamin Randall welcomed their first child into the world on May 25, 2021. The couple, set up by Ben’s mom, went on their first date back in January 2020 at Hotel Bel-Air. The silver lining with COVID-19 has been that we’ve been able to really focus on Coady and spending time at home with him, doing things together as a family unit. ~Montana Coady

Montana, a Malibu native, and Ben, a Pepperdine graduate, immediately hit it off, and, despite the fact he was living in New York City at the time while she was in Los Angeles, they decided to give long distance dating a try. The couple grew more serious, and when Montana was in New York for a photoshoot for work, Ben flew back to California with her in March 2020, right before the pandemic hit.

“He never went back,” Montana said. “Everything was on lockdown, so he had planned to stay temporarily until things calmed down, but it kept getting postponed and finally he decided to get rid of his place in New York and live out here full time. We ended up moving in together and decided to start a family.”

But this is all in the midst of a pandemic. Therefore, the two isolated themselves while Montana was pregnant to take all the precautions against COVID-19.

“At times it was a little tough and isolating,” she said, “but we had each other which was nice, and then when we had our son, things started to relax a bit more in the summer.”

The couple named their son Coady James—his first name is his mom’s last name and James is Ben’s father’s name, as well as Ben’s middle name. since her son was born. Ironically, she runs a fine jewelry house, specializing in bespoke creations—with no shortage of love connections.

“Our whole business is centered around love,” Montana said. “It’s been very interesting because people are still getting engaged and married during the pandemic.”

She is also an avid animal lover and a nationally ranked equestrian who has introduced her son to her horse as well as the family dog that competes in dog shows.

“The silver lining with COVID-19 has been that we’ve been able to really focus on Coady and spending time at home with him, doing things together as a family unit,” Montana said. “We want to protect him as much as we can and be really close to him.”

“I was born and raised in Malibu, and grew up horseback riding,” Montana said. “My mom was also an equestrian and I’ve had ponies since the day I was born. It’s a really amazing connection, and a really challenging and fulfilling sport.”

Montana said that when her son gets a little older, she looks forward to getting him on a pony, but she plans to leave the decision up to him as to whether he ultimately wants to follow in her footsteps and ride competitively or enjoy it more as a hobby.

“He met my horse, Ranger, who is almost 10 and retired,” Coady said. “My son loves him. He also loves our dog, Miss Moneypenny.”

Montana and Ben recently entered the world of show dog competitions, and their one-yearold Russell Terrier has already become a winner at the Kennel Club of Palm Springs.

“Ben and I are doing this together as new dog show parents,” she said. “It’s a whole different world filled with people who are so passionate about their dogs. Ben and I both love animals and it’s so much fun to go and see these beautiful dogs and how much joy they bring to their owners. It’s been a really fun thing to do together as a family.

“We’re so happy with our son, and Ben,” she said, “and I look forward to ultimately getting married and having more kids.” ▪