Light streams in from the high windows of the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock, and illuminates the fluorescent green and yellow lines that Steven L. Anderson carefully draws across poster board with bright markers. In front of him, a boy in a Spider-Man top and his little sister hang over the table intently watching Anderson, one of 100 artists who participated in last Sunday's Monster Drawing Rally sponsored by the Outpost for Contemporary Art. "Mommy, can I buy this?" the boy loudly asks his hovering parents, who make sure they're first in line to bid on—and win—Anderson's piece.

This Sunday, art aficionados have a chance to join young Spider-Man in viewing (and collecting) more of Anderson's green-themed work, including images of glowing succulents and alien-like roots. Anderson and eight other Eagle Rock artists are participating in "North by Northeast", the 18^thAnnual Arroyo Arts Collective Discovery Tour, a self-guided auto exploration (with shuttles also available) of homes, studios, and galleries featuring the work of more than 100 Northeast Los Angeles artists.

The tour starts at "El Alisal," the Arroyo Seco-adjacent home of journalist/early Los Angeles booster Charles Lummis, which is fitting because, as Anderson notes, "Lummis held early salons for artists in Los Angeles more than 100 years ago."  Although the Arroyo Seco area has been a locus for artistic endeavor since the late 19^th century, only recently has it drawn international attention, with publications such as The New York Times and the London Financial Times covering the NELA art scene.

Despite the global focus, Eagle Rock's creative community hasn't glamored up. In fact, the nature-loving Lummis would have felt right at home in Anderson's studio, an open-to-the-elements, tent-like structure at his very private, hilltop home. Anderson--whose company, Ecstatic Energy Consultants, Inc. (with Tom McKenzie), analyzes the "flow of political, psychological, natural, historical, and social energy" at institutions such as the Hammer Museum--designed the studio with fashion artist Bettina Hubby and architect Rachel Allen. "My work is about nature, so it's a very productive space," says Anderson. "I'm out in the elements—it feels like I'm not in the city."

Angela Maria Ortiz S. shares Anderson's sentiments about the area's ability to inspire. "Eagle Rock is my muse," declares the photographer, graphic artist, designer and publishing consultant who has lived in Eagle Rock since the late '80s. "I drive around in the early morning, midday, at night, just to feel the different air and atmosphere. There's a calmness in Eagle Rock. It's still a place where people sit on their porches and talk to each other across the street."

Ortiz appreciates the small-town feel of Eagle Rock, but she also understands the international interest in the NELA art community. "We all go out to Bergamot Station to check out the art, but we got some amazing work on our side of town."

For "North by Northeast," a sampling of Ortiz's photography will be featured at Sandra Mastroianni's cozy, butterscotch-painted Cactus Gallery, which frequently features work by local artists. "I found Cactus Gallery two months after it opened five years ago and never left," says Ortiz. "It's my second home."

At Kerry Deco's home this Sunday, expect found objects repurposed for extreme fashionistas. Deco and fellow specialty costume maker Kacy Treadway's work has been seen in movies such as Star Trek, Cat in the Hat, and, for Treadway, the upcoming Burlesque. "The movie industry generates a lot of wasted material," says Treadway. "At the end of every show, they throw away stuff like shoe straps. It's really a challenge to repurpose materials." 

Wanting to reuse, recycle and showcase their specialty creations beyond the workplace, Deco and Treadway have fashioned cork, bark, metal bits, dry plant material and cable ties into fantasy garments such as Deco's elaborate bonnet made of cork, bark and a pine cone or Treadway's "Metal Urges" dress sculpted from wire screen and miscellaneous metal, including discarded cutlery.

Get wowed by the work of fellow film artisan/"one man art department" Rick O'Brien and his wife, Miss Mindy, an artist, illustrator and concept/product designer who also has a show along with sister artist CJ Metzger at Leanna Lin's Wonderland.  Finally, don't miss the three creative powerhouses recently profiled on Eagle Rock Patch: mask masker/community artist Linda Johnstone Allen and Bughouse visionaries Rebecca Johnson and Jeff Klarin.

Although the self-guided, North by Northeast tour is an all-day affair, Arroyo Arts Collective Co-President Heather Hoggan notes that there will only be one Eagle Rock shuttle, scheduled to begin boarding at the Lummis Home at 1:45 p.m. and depart at 2 p.m. Plan on at least two and a half hours for the shuttle tour, which might run longer, depending on the crowds.

North by Northeast: The Arroyo Arts Collective's 18^th Annual Discovery Tour, is on Sunday, Nov. 21, 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m.  The tour begins at the Lummis Home (El Alisal), 200 E. Avenue 43 in Highland Park. Tickets are $10 in advance; $15 on the day of the tour. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.arroyoartscollective.org or at Galco's Old World Grocery, 5702 York Blvd, Highland Park. For more information on the artists, the tour or Arroyo Arts Collective, visit www.arroyoartscollective.org or call 323 850-8566.