Narrated Objects

09/02/2023

Stretches of the Familiar/Unfamiliar by Anne Blecksmith
Art opening
108 N Baldwin Ave, Sierra Madre, CA 91024
Friday, Sept. 8
7-9 p.m.

Next Friday, join us to celebrate the art opening of one of our founding members, Anne Blecksmith
She is having her first solo show!

From the artist:

"These small paintings, painted somewhat loose, are meant to capture those nanosecond moments while driving when you're caught in a moment of abstract thinking about where you are and the landscape."

About the show:

Stretches of the familiar/unfamiliar is artist Anne Blecksmith's first solo show featuring a series of new works completed in 2023. These mostly small-scale acrylic landscapes were photographed from her car on various freeways in Los Angeles County. Although the works are modest in size, they quietly acknowledge the outsize role driving on freeways plays in our routines and their intrusive but sculptural abstraction of the natural landscape. The works explore the architecture of overpasses, underpasses, and railings as well as light, shadow, and reflection while subtly nodding to automaticity and inattention on familiar roads. The series is also in dialog with work by artists who have inspired and influenced her practice, including California artists Wayne Thiebaud and Catherine Opie.

04/10/2023

JOIN US FOR TWO AWESOME FREE EVENTS!

On Sat., April 15, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., we will be at Gloria Molina Grand Park for Easy Mornings. We will have our and board games to play, and we invite you to make your own!

Then Sun., April 16, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., join us as we celebrate USC Pacific Asian Museum's 2023 Teen Ambassadors with a fun day of activities for Teen Takeover Day.

12/18/2022

As an ambassador for urban wildlife, he taught us so much about coexistence and he brought our city together. We remain forever proud of our puma, and are especially grateful for the people he brought into our lives.

Protect his legacy by supporting so that mountain lions can continue to call LA home--and let's keep working together to ensure those cats a safer home than P-22 did. We ❤️ P-22, forever and always our 👑 of Griffith Park.

We are making our We Heart P-22 coloring book available to everyone as a free download to celebrate his life. Just comment below with what he meant to you to keep the P-22 love going:

https://narratedobjects.com/Previews/WeHeartP-22_preview.pdf (password: SpintheWheel)

Cover illustration by Leticia Meza /cover design and color by Miriam Blier, book design by Lucy Gonzalez / edited by Andrea Richards and Teena Apeles, copyedited by Jessica Hoffmann, intro by Miguel Ordeñana, with stories from Beth Pratt of National Wildlife Federation and Gerry Hans of Friends of Griffith Park / artworks by40-plus amazing local artists. Full list here at weheartp22.com.

has copies of the book for sale -- we are sold out! -- if you want to support their important work:

https://savelacougars.myshopify.com/products/we-heart-p-22-a-coloring-activity-book-celebrating-l-a-s-most-famous-mountain-lion

12/18/2022

Help us celebrate the remarkable life of our beloved tonight with a sunset memorial hike in Griffith Park. 🤍

We’ll be gathering at the Charlie Turner Trailhead (2840 W Observatory Road) at 4 PM this afternoon, and leaving to hike at 4:15 PM sharp. Transit, carpool, and rideshare are encouraged.

Artwork courtesy of /

11/08/2022

We're back for another workshop at PAM this Sunday to celebrate the second anniversary of their Silk Road exhibit. Have you contributed to our interactive scroll there yet? For our workshop, guests are invited to create illustrated maps of their own memorable journeys, inspired by the cultural exchanges that happened on the Silk Road.

Visit pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu for more details!

11/03/2022

Yay! Los Angeles Times included us in their gift guide with Leanna Lin's Wonderland!

"Leanna Lin’s Wonderland, the fanciful gift shop and art gallery in Eagle Rock, sells an L.A. parks-themed coloring book (by L.A.-based creative collective Narrated Objects and edited by writers Andrea Richards and Teena Apeles) that’s filled with activities and coloring pages, featuring more than 50 public parks in Los Angeles...."

From cozy robes and botanical-infused mints to rage rooms and pottery classes, here are the best gifts to give your highly stressed friends.

10/06/2022

How cute is this illustration of Grand Park by Oscar Rosales  from our book? Come color it with us and play our oversized board game, L.A. Park Adventures, at Grand Park this Sunday, Oct. 9, to celebrate their 10th anniversary!

More info: https://grandparkla.org/event/10th-anniversary/

Festivities will take place all weekend long, including CicLAvia's Heart of L.A. ride on Sunday. Look for us on the lower level by City Hall in the Grand Garden in one of the many decorated greenhouses featuring wonderful community organizations and local entrepreneurs. We can't thank Grand Park and  enough for having us there. We've been going to the park since it first opened and can't imagine the city without it.

                                               

06/30/2022

We were thrilled to collaborate with Mayo Clinic Press to create a book celebrating Mayo Clinic’s Peregrine Falcon Program, which started in 1987 and allows patients, staff, and falcon fans around the world to watch as falcons raise their young atop the Mayo Clinic’s buildings in Rochester, Minnesota. It’s the coolest program, and we loved working with their team to highlight these majestic creatures and the healing they bring to others in a creative way. 

Taking Flight: The Peregrine Falcons of Mayo Clinic is the beautiful result, and like our We Heart P-22 and We Heart L.A. Parks books, it’s a coloring and activity book for all ages with original illustrations and fun activities, plus in-depth information about this remarkable animal and the program's history.

Get your copy: https://mayocl.in/3a6MSaw

We are grateful to the Mayo Clinic Taking Flight team — Jackie Fallon, Jeanne M. Klein, Karen R. Wallevand, Matthew D. Dacy, and Nina Wiener — for the wonderful collaboration. And special thanks to our cover artist and book designer Jennifer Cuellar, copy editor Jessica Hoffmann, and our talented contributing artists: Alfie Ebojo, Carmela LaBare, Deb Jenkins, I-Ching Lao, Leticia Meza, Margaret Gallagher, Marie Estrada, Natalie Peterson, Shean Fritts, Sheryl Schroeder, Sophia Allison, and Tracy Park. We appreciate you! 

From editors Andrea Richards and Teena Apeles

Learn more about the program: https://history.mayoclinic.org/falcon-program.php

See the book trailer: https://youtu.be/WiXUaOQNhLA

                              

06/17/2022

We were at Wishing Tree Park yesterday in the South Bay for L.A. Neighborhood Land Trust's memorable annual Garden Party. is our nonprofit partner on our We Heart L.A. Parks book, and they do incredible work in the county to create parks and gardens in communities that lack recreational areas and green spaces.

One of our contributing artists, Sunny Samuel, created a special coloring page of the park and painted live during the evening's event. The work was inspired by wishes shared by the attendees and auctioned off to help benefit the organization. Thanks, Michele McRae, for the awesome collaboration!

It was incredible to see Wishing Tree Park, one of LANLT's parks that will be opening this year. It's massive and stunning!

WISHING TREE PARK
204th Street & Budlong Avenue, West Carson

Info: "Located on a now remediated brownfield, construction associated with the Neighborhood Land Trust’s largest project to-date started on May 1, 2019, with the installation of a sound barrier to reduce construction-related noise. With the nearest park located over two miles away, this 8.5-acre project represents a monumental demonstration of a community-designed, multi-benefit park for residents who have historically been severely under-resourced and deeply impacted by environmental injustice."