Meet Deborah Blum of 7811 Gallery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Deborah Blum

Hi Deborah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Germany to American parents, who were from Los Angeles; my grandparents were immigrants from Hungary and Germany. My father was a law professor and we moved around a lot in my early years. I saw a lot of great art in museums. My parents love art and always took my sister and me to museums, wherever we happened to be. I also grew up watching foreign and Indie films at my Uncle Bob’s Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles. We settled in Westwood and later in Santa Monica. I worked the Monica Theaters in Santa Monica and went to Santa Monica public schools. I had a great graphic arts class at Lincoln Jr High. I started my first art class at LACMA in the 70s when I was only about 7 years old. Then, I studies art at the Brentwood Art Center, where I took a life drawing class taught by the founder of the school, Ed Buttwinick. I was part of the exhibits the school had every year and learned a lot there. It was a very friendly, welcoming place and I had a great training in drawing there.

I went off to college to Brown University — my parents were academics so they wanted me to go to college back East. I studied fine art, history, English and film theory. I also was able to take art classes — oil painting, watercolor and black and white photography — at the Rhode Island School of Design, which was close by. There I learned to really paint in oils and it was a challenge that I met head on. I recall painting in a large bathroom of the vegetarian co-op I lived in at Brown, because it was the only place where there was enough ventilation and I didn’t bother anyone. In my junior year, I embarked on a study abroad program in Africa and spent eight months in Kenya and Tanzania. I learned about the culture, history and languages of the area, and completed an independent study in ceramics. I was in Nairobi during the UN Decade for Women conference, which opened my eyes to the power of women. I also exhibited the paintings I’d done during that time at the French Cultural Center – very nice of them to let me do that even though I wasn’t French. I just saw there were events happening there and asked them and they said, “Yes.”

After that I took time off from college, traveled to Brazil for several months and worked and volunteered in New York City. I moved back to Los Angeles, was blessed with a beautiful daughter, Rachel Rose, and finished up my B.A. degree at UCLA with a major in English Literature. I then earned a Waldorf teaching certificate at WISC (Waldorf Institute of Southern California) in Northridge, California, and accepted a job teaching at a Rudolf Steiner (Waldorf) school in New Paltz, New York. I loved being a Waldorf teacher because it used my art skills and because their pedagogic philosophy is very wholistic. After a year in New York, I was contacted by the Waldorf school there asking if I could teach their new first grade. I packed up and went back there with my seven year old daughter.

We loved it there and in addition to teaching, I helped the school become registered with the Kenyan government. After three years at the Rudolf Steiner School Mbagathi Nairobi, I returned to Los Angeles, began some other types of teaching jobs, working in early childhood education and also as a LA Unified substitute. I met the love of my life and married. We had a child together, and I helped him manage his mother’s property. I also continued to teach, write and make and exhibit my art. I began researching my family history and together we made a documentary about my relative, Carl Laemmle, who founded Universal Studios, saved Jews from the Holocaust. I located three families he rescued and we interviewed them. I also found the location of the factory my great-grandparents were forced to turn over to the Nazis.

Then, in 2021, we tragically lost our teenager to mental illness, and I sunk into depression. My older daughter Rachel was living in New York and doing well. But it was time for me to find a new passion: so, my husband and I decided to start our own business and an open an art gallery in our small commercial property on Melrose that happened to be vacant. It has been an amazing journey so far. We opened in May 2023, have had several successful exhibits so far. I love helping artists and it is also helping me heal from the trauma of losing a child. We are focusing on healing, spiritual and uplifting art.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have faced many challenges in my life, though I am also grateful for my life. I would say the most intense obstacle that I faced in the past and continue to grapple with is self-doubt. As an artist growing up, I always received praise for my art but was never encouraged to pursue art as a career. In the academic world that I grew up in, it was considered too risky. It was a struggle for my to find myself as an artist and to learn to trust myself.

There have been times in my life when I was on a very tight budget. My older daughter got used to me saying: “Sorry, we can’t afford it,” a lot. I think this is a good lesson for an artist to learn, how to adapt, and make the most of life, without spending a lot of money.

Also, traveling alone as a women sometimes was challenging. I learned how to say: “Please go away” in many languages. I liked traveling and spending time alone but at a certain point, I became very lonely. I wanted to put down roots and find a supportive community. This took time and I am so grateful to have found it here in Los Angeles.

Yet, by far, the most difficult challenge has been losing my second child. This is something you never recover from. You just try to manage the heartache and do the best you can to go on with life and find new joy and happiness, while continuing to honor their memory. I have been reading a lot of spiritual books and also meditating and doing yoga and gardening. All those things help.

We’ve been impressed with 7811 Gallery, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a new art gallery, located on Melrose Avenue near Fairfax in Los Angeles. We are specializing in spiritual and uplifting art and are committed to building community and bringing quality, affordable art to the art lovers and art collectors. We have walk-in visitors from the neighborhood and we also attract art collectors and people interested in the events we offer. such a poetry readings, music, classes and workshops. We have a only been around for a bit over a year — we opened in May 2023 — and already we are attracting many interesting artists and art-lovers.

I love our logo I helped create for the gallery. It is featured on our sign in the front of the building, and inside the gallery and on our website. We use this logo everywhere we can and it inspires me when I see it. I worked with a great graphic designer and she helped implement my vision. I also had a vision for an office-lounge type of room that I designed too. I wanted to make it comfortable and stylish and the perfect place to meet new clients and collectors and talk about art and do business. We were on a tight budget and I like real wood furniture — so I searched for and finally found a vintage furniture store that carried some pieces of Mid-Century modern furniture that we could afford. The room is lovely and a great place to work and relax right next to our main gallery.

We feature abstract and representational art, paintings, collages and assemblages and even some ceramics. We also offer design services and can advise about framing. We are a small gallery and we take the time to connect to our customers.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I think the most important lessons I have learned are:
1. Follow your heart
2. Trust your instincts and your gut
3. Make changes if you feel something is not working out or really doesn’t feel right.
4. Build a community of friends and family and community supporters, who are there for you and who you care about.
5. Seek out guidance and help from those who have more experience
6. Do not compare yourself to others; seek to be your own best self.
7. Remember that relationships can yield amazing results when they are nurtured over time.
8. We are all greater than we give ourselves credit for and are capable of incredible things.
9. Keep learning, reading, exploring, meeting new people, and expanding your point of view. Keep growing.
10. Don’t be afraid to take risks and also take time to appreciate what you have accomplished.
11. The people you love and are closest to are the most important aspect of your life.

Pricing:

• Our art sells for between $75 for a print to up to $10,000
• Most of the art we feature is between $400 – $3,000
• We are always willing to negotiate with customers

Contact Info:

• Website: https://7811gallery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/7811gallery
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/7811gallery
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/7811-gallery-los-angeles

Image Credits
Warren I Blum