Rodeo Drive jewelry and art exhibit

Wednesday night, I embarked on a journey to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills to go to an art exhibit at the jewelry store,
Steven Webster.  The jewelry was
magnificent, and quite unique. This could also describe the art show by Harland
Miller.

Webster, an Englishman, is
known as a designer of gothic, rock and roll, and steam punk styles. He has 20 international
boutiques including  the one located at
the iconic 200 Rodeo Drive.  Webster has
quiet a celebrity following, most famously including Christina Aguilera.  We perused the stunning first floor
consisting of all of his interesting creations. My mom was intrigued by the
shark jaws ring and matching bracelet as I stood
mesmerized by a shark jaw clock.  Bold,
sparkly colors jumped out at us, and provided inspiration for just why I study
in school-perhaps one day I can indulge in these statement pieces.

Upstairs, the art went from jewels to hand-finished prints by Miller, an English writer and
artist. The art I saw was his penguin books collection. Each piece is a book
cover where he used cliché statements, and turned them into art through
ironically changing the words to sardonic statements, and creating an antiquated
look with his paints. You could see Harland’s astonishing talent in both art
and writing, as they were clearly juxtaposed in the penguin book collection. His
soul comes out in his work. He can make such simple statements that people
don’t give a thought to each day and turn into art. From a personal viewpoint,
Harland work made me dig deeper in myself to find out what the art really meant
to me. One of his works, “Can I Get Involved in your Crisis?” was quite
important to me. The work was pertinent in so many aspects of today’s world and
society, that it was able to mean something different to anyone.  Miller was an interesting man and I am glad I had the pleasure of meeting him.

The evening was made magical through
watching individuals faces as they looked at the art. Each expression was
different than the last. This show was full of creative people in search of
their feelings and inspiration for art.  

—Cece Jane