Motor over for art –“NORTH BY NORTHEAST” The Arroyo Arts Collective 18th Annual Discovery Tour

Fiber artist Connie Rohman's "Felted Abstraction" 2008

Ah, November in Northeast Los Angeles: mosaic-hued black walnut trees, emboldened coyotes, the Arroyo Arts Collective 18th Annual Discovery Tour.

NELA: where decay meets death meets drawing (and more).

This year’s pre-Thanksgiving, art extravaganza has been dubbed “North by Northeast”, perhaps to firmly establish the geographic identity of  the art-centric area that, after 100+ years of unflagging, creative activity,  has  suddenly been discovered by international publications such as The New York Times and The Financial Times of London.

It’s good to be an overnight success.

If you’ve never been on the self-guided-or-shuttle tour of artful neighborhoods such as  Mt. Washington, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Glassell Park, and Montecito Heights — or, heck,  if you don’t even know where those places  are — this is the year to check out NELA’s cultural hotbed so that one day you can remember your Northeast L.A. art epiphany with nostalgia.

Go NELA, young man (and young woman).

If you haven’t been on the tour in a while, the artistic and geographic landscapes have expanded; over 100 artists are participating this year.  Check out what you’ve been missing so you can hold forth on the reeling-in-the-years changes over a microbrew at your favorite gastropub.

And if you’re a regular on the tour, you know exactly what all the fuss is about  and are probably smugly holding your ticket as you read this.

Yes, we all wish we were you.

The tour, which starts at the Lummis Home/El Alisal in Highland Park, is on November 21st, the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  You, however, will want to preview art tour highlights and hobnob with the artists at the gratis bash this Saturday, November 13, at the Future Studio Gallery, one of the area’s original gallery pioneers.

Just call them the NELA OGs.

Ready?  U Know U Want 2 Go Go….

North by Northeast: The Arroyo Arts Collective 18th Annual Discovery Tour

Sunday, November 21 from 9:30AM – 5:00PM

Tour begins at the Lummis Home, 200 E. Ave. 43, Highland Park, 90031

Tickets are $10 in advance; $15 on the day of the tour.

Purchase advance tickets online at www.arroyoartscollective.org or at

Galco’s Old World Grocery, 5702 York Blvd., Highland Park.

For more info:

www.arroyoartscollective.org or call (323) 850-8566.