Mt. Baldy to Chuck’s Place

On Thursday Emmett and I visited Chuck Moffit in Mount Baldy.  The town of Baldy is a secret little village tucked up in the mountains next to Claremont – the small town vibe and idiosyncratic lifestyles make it feel similar to Joshua Tree – though with a bit more altitude.  Chucks place is a small cabin in the woods that he has completely taken apart and painstakingly put back together again – there are sculptures in all states scattered everywhere both indoors and outdoors everything feels earthy and organic – it is often hard to tell what is coming together and what is coming apart (in the best way possible).  Since Chuck has been a two-time HDTS artist my mission was to coax him into giving us a few more affordable works to sell at the HDTS HQ – I was successful in liberating a really nice ceramic floor piece as well as a brass “mountainscape”

Chakra Healing Pyramids

For years I’ve been eyeing this head turner – a big pink building (turns out it is a former post office) – uncharacteristically stylish for its Wonder Valley digs.  Why this remote and sparsely section of the desert would need such a huge and fancy post office is still a bit of a mystery – as is the reason for its decommission.

A few years ago my interest ramped up even more when pyramids and a big dome appeared scattered around the grounds.   And on Sunday I finally got an up-close viewing by owners Philip and Margot who are going to open up the building and grounds as part of the HDTS driving map (the building will be open on the first Saturday of every month).

The inside of the building is even more astounding than the outside, but since the power was out I didn’t try to take photos – discovering the interior wonderment should be considered further enticement to curiosity seekers considering the trek out to Wonder Valley.

First Day For HDTS HQ

Lemons, Land ownership, and Licenses….  was the heading of Jena’s first entry in the HQ’s log.  She also noted that we had seventeen visitors, made two sales and received the following: a $10 donation, a cookie and a bag of lemons.  Not a bad day for the “slow season” in downtown Joshua Tree.

Soft Opening

The HDTS Headquarters is finally going to be open this weekend!  Jena has volunteered to come out from Los Angeles and HQ sit – and I’m putting the finishing touches on the driving map as I post this.  Plus we have new stuff to peddle including a bitchin stained glass window by Steve Halterman (in background) and cool bronze necklaces by Wells Pollock (being modeled in the foreground by Thomas).

For more info on HDTS visit the website.  If you are local and are able to help sit the space on weekends email us – we need you!

The New Everyday Life

We finally did it!  After what seemed like the most intensive planning session ever we pulled off our first installment of “The New Everyday Life” this weekend.  The program was led by four workshop leaders (Trinie Dalton, Wells Pollock, Chantale Doyle and Katie Grinnan) and there were eleven participants.  Unlike the larger events the group this weekend was small, and by the end of two days I felt like I had learned something about each person who turned out.  The picture above of the inside of the school bus that Wells lives in and uses as a leather working studio.  Before his session started he squeezed blood oranges into soda water and made sort of virgin cocktails for everyone.

New HDTS Sign at the HQ

We got the sign up at the HDTS Headquarters today – Just in time for the New Everyday Life workshops this upcoming weekend.