Every once in a while if you’re lucky you meet someone who inspires you by the way they work and live their life.  I met such a person last weekend, an artist and sculptor - Betty Gold whose sculpture my daughter and son-in-law are interested in for their new house.  R. and I were invited along to look at her work and we arranged to meet at her studio in Venice Beach.

You enter this urban box-like rust colored building on Pacific Avenue, traffic whizzing by, and you walk into a magical space.  It’s both home and studio– all color and shape, books, her paintings on the walls, her sculpture, a wrought iron curved staircase rising to more art, another staircase with small sculptures on every step, white walls, one dark blue, and in the background cello music playing. And this amazing woman – “Seventy-five next month,” she announces cheerfully -  tall and lean, dressed in jeans and a black sweater, wearing one piece of jewelry – a necklace she designed – and huge glasses, her hair pitch black and shiny, exuding warmth and energy.

Then there’s her sculpture, paintings et al.  Words can't do the power of her art justice. Go to her website: http://bettygold.com/ to see for yourself.

As writers we usually find our mentors and inspiration on the page, reading about our favorite authors and reading what they write. But art is so right there in front of you – and when the artist is right there in front of you too it’s pretty amazing. Especially when it’s Betty Gold. I came home wanting to focus on my own work and to strip down my life of all the unrelated things that snag my time and attention.