community connections

The Barnsdall Art Park community includes a remarkable array of inspiring individuals and dynamic organizations. We are excited to highlight their compelling stories.

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BARNSDALL COMMUNITY memory: Cara and Ben Rosenbaum

Cara and Ben Rosenbaum always enjoyed date nights atop Olive Hill. Cara explains that it’s "one of the few quiet places in the middle of our busy city. We loved going to the Friday wine tastings, movies in the park, or just going up for a picnic to play cards and enjoy the gorgeous views." In February 2014, the park's "Great Lawn" set the stage for an evening that would forever change the couple's lives. With the sun setting beyond the majestic olive grove and bathing Hollyhock House in warm orange hues, Cara and Ben became engaged!

Cara fondly recalls: "When Ben was trying to figure out where and how to propose, [Barnsdall Art Park] was one of the first places he thought of because of that amazing view. He sneakily arranged with my bosses for a car to pick me up from work and take me there. He was waiting for me on top of the hill with a small table next to him that had a bouquet of flowers, and a box of custom Converse that read 'Will You' on the side." Ben invited the couple's friends, Jon and Drew, to remain hidden out of sight so that they could snap photos of the special moment as it unfolded.

"When Ben asked me to marry him, I asked him 'Are you sure?' about 3 or 4 times," Cara remembers. The answer was a resounding yes — and the couple was married on April 18, 2015! Three years later, their daughter, Lucy, was born. Today, the family still returns to the Great Lawn to picnic, play in the grass, or simply enjoy the view. One day, Lucy will learn all about the her parents’ magical evening, which eventually brought them all together. We imagine Barnsdall Art Park will remain a special place for the family for decades to come. Thank you, Cara and Ben, for sharing your inspiring story!

BARNSDALL COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: ferne jacobs

Ferne Jacobs is an accomplished Los Angeles-based fiber artist and member of the American Craft Guild whose work can be found in numerous public collections, including the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the de Young Museum in San Francisco, Detroit’s Institute of the Arts, the Rhode Island School of Design and the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh. Jacobs has also been a recipient of National Endowment of the Arts fellowships, the Flintridge Foundation Award for Visual Artists, and has been named a Fellow by the American Craft Council.

But it was years prior to that success that Jacobs first found the passion that would spark her career. And it happened at Barnsdall Art Park.

At the time, she had been studying painting at the Pratt Institute and Art Center in Pasadena. She recalls, “I was in my early 20s and someone told me there was a good painting teacher at Barnsdall Art Center.” Back then, classes were held inside the park’s “Residence A,” a structure designed by Rudolf Schindler and supervised by Frank Lloyd Wright that sits just down the hill from Wright’s Hollyhock House. “It was inspiring to be in that building on what had been Aline Barnsdall’s complex.… It was such a great place to take art classes.”

Though painting had been an initial draw, Ferne added another class to her Barnsdall Art Center roster: the traditional art of weaving. “The techniques learned in the class had to be in a very specific order. There was a strict discipline. Eventually, I started to do my own thing, creating woven sculptures.” And garnering the attention of Josine Ianco-Staarels, at the time, head of Barnsdall Park’s Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, and as Ferne remembers, “a big part of the art scene in Los Angeles.”

Jacobs soon learned about local Weavers Guild workshops and eventually became acquainted with jewelry artist, Arline Fisch, who would go on to teach Jacobs her method of utilizing textile techniques in metal art during classes at San Diego State College.  

Jacobs would later go on to study at Long Beach State College and the Haystack Mountain School of Arts in Maine. “It was a beautiful location on Deer Isle. There, I met artist Olga D’Amaral and the famous textile artist, Jack Larsen, who told me, ‘Buy a loom and go home and weave!’” 

Ferne’s education continued at Claremont College, where she would receive her MFA. “At that time, they had an ‘open door’ policy. It worked out really well for me.… ‘Residencies for artists’ is a concept that I wholeheartedly endorse based on my experience at Claremont. It is a wonderful way for artists to learn and work in an academic setting.”  

These days, Jacobs is represented by the Nancy Margolis Gallery in New York, where a retrospective of her fiber art is scheduled for 2022. One of the artist’s contemporary baskets can also be seen in the group show, Craft in America: L.A. Made, at LAX’s Southwest Airlines Terminal (on display through October 2021).

Jacobs keeps a studio in Los Angeles, and through teaching and lectures, now brings her career full circle. By providing new generations of artists with invaluable knowledge and inspiration, she, like Barnsdall Art Center, remains a vital asset to the city’s enduring art community. 

BARNSDALL COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: mark labonge

Mark LaBonge is a prolific Los Angeles-based camera operator who found early inspiration at Barnsdall Art Park.

With decades of "behind the camera" experience now under his belt, LaBonge has amassed an impressive list of feature film and television credits that dip into almost every genre. Are you a fan of The X Files, Deadwood, Pretty Little Liars, Castle or the modern horror classic, Annabelle? LaBonge has worked on all of them.

But before all of that, he was a student at Barnsdall Junior Art Center.

"My mom had to push hard to get me in classes because I was not the best student at Ivanhoe Elementary. At Barnsdall, I favored the photography programs as an 11-year-old. It was great to grow up here in Silver Lake and have the JAC so close."

Learning about the intricacies of photography, young Mark was "hooked" from day one. "I enjoyed the whole process of taking pictures…working on composition and shutters and F-stops. But it got even better in the darkroom. It was there where I found the joy of 'dodging and burning' while making enlargements. The whole process of learning the art and craft from the ground up."

LaBonge continued his photography studies at John Marshall High School, and later, via USC's School of Film and Television. Still, Mark credits his early days at Barnsdall Junior Arts Center as a major catalyst for his longevity in Hollywood.

"Without a doubt, I could not have achieved the success I have today without those early classes in photography...All of [JAC's instructors] took the quality time to teach me a craft that has helped me make a living in the motion picture and TV industry over the past 35 years."

Mark’s work can be seen this fall in the film Hubie Halloween (Netflix) and An American Pickle starring Seth Rogen. Next up for LaBonge is James Wan's thriller, Malignant, as well as the Amazon series, Panic, slated for release in spring 2021.

BARNSDALL COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: HOWARD MARSHALL, JR.

Howard Marshall, Jr., is an instructor at the Barnsdall Art Center with an inspiring story that is woven into the very fabric of Barnsdall Art Park and its role within the evolving contemporary art world of Los Angeles.

Marshall’s first introduction to the park was via the Barnsdall Junior Art Center. Howard recalls, “My grandmother first enrolled me in the Junior Art Center when I was in the 6th grade…To enroll then you had to hike up the hill. No stairs. There was a board set up with a list of classes and you were given a number. You had to get there early to register for classes—6 a.m. And classes were free.”

In the following years, young Howard would take classes in painting, etching, and drawing—a session that would lead to him becoming an assistant for teaching artist Richard Ellis.  

“There was also Laura Stickney for printmaking, and Victoria Howard overseeing the Living Arts at Barnsdall program and Dr. Mary Martz from LACMA. I remember Mr. Moore who arranged art exhibitions for the children, and Joan de Bruin, artist/curator and former Director of the LA Craft & Folk Art Museum…She arranged for an exhibit of the art of other countries alongside the work of the local students.”

Later while attending high school, Howard developed an important relationship with Barnsdall Art Center office manager, Willa Thompson. When Thompson wrote a book of poetry that needed artwork, she chose Howard as one of its illustrators.    

“I was like her adopted son…She introduced me to the Los Angeles artist John Outterbridge. John is known as a community activist, educator, highly respected artist, and former director of the Watts Towers Art Center. John later hired me to work at Watts Towers.”

Howard became an education aid in his twenties, and later, part of the teaching staff at Los Angeles City College, UCLA’s Community Services Program, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the 95th Street Preparatory School. Howard has also provided educational support for the mentally and physically challenged students of the Living Arts at Barnsdall program.

“Throughout my career, my goal has been to teach children to think independently and to use his or her imagination. For me, Barnsdall was, and is, a wonderful art school. It supplements the public schools because, at Barnsdall, you are treated as an artist. Big difference.”

Outside of teaching, Howard has been an accomplished mixed media folk artist for over 30 years. He credits his grandmother with introducing him to the art form of quilting and has often gleaned inspiration from the celebrated works of the Gee’s Bend group.

Howard often reflects on the family that raised and supported him. He was told that if you have a gift, it should be used and honored. His practice as an artist and a teacher reflects this philosophy. And the Barnsdall community is the richer for it.