Five years after Ed and Linda Buttwinick sold the Brentwood Art Center to their bookkeeper Sarkis Melkonian, the Santa Monica school remains vibrant and thriving as it celebrates its 40th anniversary. The founders’ vision continues to permeate the Center’s seven studios, located in a 6,700-sq.-ft. space on the corner of 26th Street and Montana Avenue. When the Buttwinicks sold, they were asked how they chose Melkonian, Ed said, ‘We prayed to find someone in the family whose heart was in the same place.’ Some people may have questioned their decision to sell the center to a 28-year-old with no background in art. But it was in keeping with how the Buttwinicks took chances with business decisions, including when Ed quit teaching to open the art school in 1970, buying the building in 1979 and then hiring David Limrite to teach. Instinctively they made the right choices. A recent trip to the Center showed a few changes over the past five years: fresh paint on the walls and ceiling, a new studio carved out of storage space, and an increased number of employees, from 50 to 75, to handle the 600 students ages 4 to 90. During the school year, about 400 adults take one of 79 scheduled classes that include mixed media, portrait and figure drawing, acrylics and watercolor, photography and printmaking. The 200 young students can choose from the same array as the adults, but they also have the option of taking cartooning and clay sculpture. During the summer, the ratio changes to 500 youth and 200 adults with the addition of summer day camps. Other changes include promoting Limrite, who was also teaching at the Pasadena School of Art, to become his full-time curriculum director, and hiring Jordan Blaquera as the school’s administrative director.   As one learns about the new owner, Buttwinick’s choice doesn’t seem random. As a 19-year-old, Melkonian moved from Moscow to the United States with his family in 1995.   ’There is not a simple answer of why we came,’ says Melkonian, who is Armenian. ‘When the system collapsed and it became the Wild West with violence that surpassed what was happening in Colombia, those who had the means to leave did so.’ Before moving to the U.S., Melkonian had graduated from the Conservatory of Music in Moscow. His father, Grant, was a renowned dancer with the State Dance Academy of Armenia, who later became choreographer for the Mirinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. His grandfather was a professor of physics, and his grandmother taught chemistry at a state university. ‘In the Russian system, if kids get into trouble when they’re young and at school, the recommendation is to keep them busy,’ says Melkonian, noting that was how his father discovered he had a natural talent for dancing.   Melkonian’s mother, Rose, is a doctor. Her father was a developer and her mother an architect. ‘In the Soviet system, architects have more to do with art than someone who makes money,’ Melkonian says.   Given Melkonian’s background, his parents decided that their son should be a dancer, but his likelihood for success was doubtful. ‘Your physical appearance has to be perfect,’ Melkonian says. ‘My elbow sticks out slightly when my arm is extended, which means that when I lifted someone, there was a bump.’ He was rejected from the program, but soon discovered he had a musical talent and switched to piano. His father is now retired, his mother is a radiologist at the USC Medical Center, and his sister, Maria, is a nursing student. After moving to the United States, Melkonian completed a four-year degree in music from Cal Arts and then enrolled in an accounting extension course at UCLA. ‘I didn’t want to be a CPA,’ he says, ‘but I knew I wanted to run my own business.’   In 1999, he began working at Brentwood Art Center, and a year later met his future wife, Aurore Feugret, at the school. Also an immigrant, Feugret was born in Paris, but grew up in Gabon, West Africa, where her father was a banker. From there, she moved with her family to Tahiti and Andorra. Feugret finished her studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and moved to Los Angeles in 1995. ‘I saw this gorgeous girl signing up for a class,’ Melkonian says. But he also noticed that she had a boyfriend. Eventually, he was able to win her over. The pair married in April 2005 and bought the school two months later. They are now expecting their first child, Lily, in March. Melkonian is quick to give credit Limrite and Blaquera, who have been a couple for 15 years, for the school’s continued success. ‘It’s like a family business here,’ Melkonian says. In addition to having art degrees from San Diego State University (1980) and the Art Center College of Design (1983), Limrite was a freelance illustrator before joining the Los Angeles Herald Examiner in 1988. He worked as the newspaper’s art director for four years. ‘It was fantastic because I got to do maps, graphs and illustrations for the editorial department, and layout,’ Limrite says. ‘It was great because it was something different every day.’ He met Blaquera, who was temping at the newspaper. At that time, she also performed with her musical group, The Damn Band, in the evenings. ‘We’ve been together ever since,’ Limrite says. ‘We work together as a team. She organizes my fine art career.’ His work is exhibited at the JoAnne Art Man Gallery in Laguna Beach. Blaquera and Limrite were founding members of the Brewery ArtWalks, a bi-annual art event downtown. After the Examiner folded in 1992, Limrite applied to teach at Brentwood Art Center, but Buttwinick rejected him, explaining that he required at least three years of teaching experience. But a student advocated for Limrite, asking Ed to meet Limrite in person. ‘The meeting went well, and he gave me a chance,’ Limrite says. ‘That was the kind of guy he was. He listened to students and he took a chance.’ Similarly, Buttwinick hired Blaquera to work at the front desk, but three months later, he realized that she would make a good administrator and promoted her to oversee all the front desk staff and customer service. Limrite credits Buttwinick with implementing almost every type of fine-art class offered at the school. Lately, they’ve brought back printmaking and pastels, as well as a classical painting class that replicates the Old Masters’ style. ‘We’re offering a serious drawing class for 9- to 12-year-olds that teaches light/shadow, perspective, line quality and composition,’ says Limrite, who teaches advanced classes in mixed media figure work. ‘We’re never afraid to try a new class or something different; we take suggestions from students. ‘We have excellent instructors,’ Limrite continues, noting that adult classes have a maximum of 15 students, and the limit in children’s classes is 10. ‘We provide a friendly, light environment, where people can have fun. We’re not for everyone, but we have something for everyone.’ Given the economic times, art lessons might be the first thing to go, but Limrite has had one student tell him, ‘This is my safe haven, my sanctuary; this is the one place I look forward to coming every week.’ Blaquera trains the front office staff to be sensitive to the students: ‘I keep my ear to the ground on what’s happening in the school, and what folks are looking for, so we can bring it to the school.’ She quotes student Roberta Goodman-Rosenberg, who says her time at Brentwood Art Center was ‘my favorite four hours of the week.’ Brentwood Art Center is open six days a week. Contact: 310-451-5657 or visit www.BrentwoodArt.com.

Perhaps you’ve thought about it. Perhaps you’ve been moved by the movie ‘The Hurt Locker,’ set in the Iraq War. As American soldiers put their lives on the line, perhaps you’ve asked yourself: what can I do to help? One local man has devised a clean, reader-friendly guide spelling out ideas on how to contribute”big or small”to supporting our troops in the war.   Jim Hake is the author of ‘101 Ways to Help the Cause in Afghanistan,’ a book featuring 65 organizations that are supporting our troops and helping the Afghan people in innovative ways.   Hake stresses that this book is directed to everyone, regardless of economic stratum or political leanings.   ’When you get below policies and politics,’ Hake says, ‘and look at the people involved, the soldiers and the Afghan people, there’s a connection with Americans that will lead people to help in some way.’   Hake, a technology and media industry entrepreneur and investor, founded Spirit of America in 2003. He currently serves as the foundation’s chief executive officer and runs it with a staff of four. Spirit of America has provided millions of dollars of aid: medical supplies, clothing, tools and more to the people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa. His efforts have garnered praise from the Wall Street Journal and Senator John McCain.   Hake, who has traveled to Iraq but not Afghanistan, says, ‘I came to understand that many Americans wanted to help but didn’t quite understand what they could do. The book shows how individual Americans can make an extraordinary difference.’ Originally from Philadelphia, Hake moved from Venice to Pacific Palisades in 1996 because ‘I thought it would be a wonderful community to raise a family.’ Hake and his wife, Kristy, have two boys, Sam, 15, and Muki, 12.   Hake earned his BA in economics at Dartmouth College and received his MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Entering the Internet and media sectors, he says, was ‘almost inevitable’ going to school near Silicon Valley. ‘In 1981 to 1983, there were a lot of companies like Apple which were starting to explode. The activity and creativity was extraordinary.’   He was also a marketing executive at Rational Software from 1982-87, when he helped launch the company’s hardware and software products. In 1992, Hake became a founding partner and president of Access Media Inc., an Internet media company, which created the high-tech industry’s first Internet-focused media and marketing programs. By 1996, he had sold his stake in Access Media to a business unit of SOFTBANK, the world’s largest investor in the Internet at the time.   In 2005, the busy Hake became a co-founder and CEO of SignalOne Media Corporation, a venture created to establish commercial satellite TV channels in the Middle East. He also became the principal of PacificOne Capital, an investment and business development firm. But with the 21st century, Hake came to a career crossroads. ‘It was really the attacks of 9/11 that led me to try to help,’ he says.   ’We’re supported by individual American donors,’ he continues of Spirit of America, which averages about $2.5 million in money and donated goods annually. ‘The money is going in the general sense to provide what our troops in Afghanistan require to help the Afghan people: sports gear, medical supplies, irrigation equipment, sewing machines. Everything is done in response to some service man or woman asking for something to help.’ For example, ‘The Marines and other soldiers have asked for solar-powered radios to give to villagers in remote areas where there is no electricity.’   ’It’s my entire focus today,’ he continues, although he is not entirely removed from his prior endeavors. ‘Utilizing the Internet and technology is a central part of what we do. Many of the people I stay in touch with are involved [in the technology industry].’   A large part of the nonprofit’s mission is about ‘finding ways to improve relations and perceptions of the American people and help those serving abroad. I want to support America’s freedoms and opportunities, the ideals for which America stands, which I feel really strong about.   In ‘101 Ways,’ ‘there’s something for everyone, regardless of the size of a donation,’ the author says. The book organizes ‘the ideas of 65 organizations doing useful and interesting things.’ He cites as examples ‘helping Afghan women go to school or start a business. Or providing blankets for children.’ Chapter #11 explains how one might help provide dental care for Afghan kids; #53 (dubbed ‘It’s On Me’) suggests ‘random acts of kindness’ such as taking care of a soldier’s tab at a restaurant or coffeehouse; #73 details how to temporarily care for a soldier’s pet while he/she is serving abroad. One pointer is particularly poignant and simple: ‘You can show a veteran that you are interested in his/her personal story by asking them to sit down and talk [#98].’   Raising money to buy computers is a way to make a grand statement. ‘It’s not just about a computer,’ Hake says, ‘but women, for a very long period of time and even today, have been suppressed or repressed. We’re providing a way to communicate with them.’   Ultimately, the quicker we can aid the Afghanis, the sooner we can get our soldiers home.   ’Those are great things to support,’ Hake says. ‘And in doing these things, if we help shorten the war, that’s even better.’   ’101 Ways to Help the Cause in Afghanistan’ is available via Amazon and HelptheCause.com. Visit www.SpirtiofAmerica.net.

Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera will present ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ in four performances at the United Methodist Church, 801 Via de la Paz. Performances run Friday, January 29 and February 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, January 31 and February 7 at 3:30 p.m.   The opera is one of the three Mozart opera written by librettist Lorenzo De Ponte, which also include ‘Le nozze di Figaro’ and ‘Don Giovanni.’ The opera buffa, translated ‘Women are like that,’ takes as its theme ‘fianc’e swapping,’ a topic that dates back to the 13th century. It includes elements from Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ and Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses.’   The stage is set in the first scene when two army officers (Ferrando and Gulielmo) claim that their fianc’es (Dorabella and Fiordiligi) will be eternally faithful. Don Alfonso joins the discussion and lays a wager with the two officers, claiming he can prove in a day’s time that these two women, like all women, are fickle.   The action ensues with plenty of disguise, self-interest, buffoonery, and some beautiful music, including the memorable aria ‘In uomini, in soldati, sperare fedelt’? ‘In men, in soldiers, you hope for faithfulness?’   The cast includes: Linda Jackson, January 29 and February 7; Diana Briscoe, January 31 and February 5; Miguel Vargas, January 31 and February 5; James Salazar, January 29 and February 7; Nandani Sinha, January 29 and February 7; Katherine Scheaffer, January 31 and February 5; Elizabeth Harmetz, January 31 and February 5; Xin Xin Martin, January 29 and February 7; Sang ‘Sam’ Wook Kwon, January 29 and February 7; Matthew Acuff, January 31 and February 5; Jay Stephenson, all performances.   Galina Barskaya is the music director and Jonathan Sharp is stage director.   Founded in 2008 by sopranos Ella Lee and Linda Jackson, LAMO brings affordable local professional opera performances to Los Angeles and surrounding areas. Suggested donations: $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Contact: 310-570-6448 or visit www.losangelesmet.com.   The Oak Room at 1035 Swarthmore is offering a three-course dinner of an appetizer, entr’e and dessert for $34, and a free glass of house wine for opera-goers. Doors open at 5 p.m.

Chamber Music Palisades (CMP) presents a program of five tour de force chamber works showcasing leading guitarist Martha Masters, violinist Roger Wilkie, cellist John Walz and CMP founders/co-artistic directors Delores Stevens (on piano) and Susan Greenberg (flute), on Tuesday, February 2, 8 p.m., at St. Matthew’s Church, 1031 Bienveneda.   The program opens with three guitar works, including Mauro Giuliani’s ‘Duo Concertante for Flute and Guitar,’ composed in 1817. One of the leading guitar virtuosos of the 19th century and greatest exponents of the instrument, Giuliani worked with the era’s top musicians as well as such leading composers as Rossini and Beethoven, helping to define a new role for guitar in European music.   The second piece is ‘Duo for piano and guitar’ by Italian-born composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, one of the most prolific and important composers for the guitar in the 20th century. He began composing at age nine and later moved to America, where he wrote more than 200 works for Hollywood films.   Astor Piazzolla revolutionized the tango, spending much of his career blending classical music and tango, resulting in, among other classics, ‘Histoire du Tango for flute and guitar,’ which will be the evening’s third selection.   Chamber Music Palisades takes the musical mix in a different direction with Beethoven’s ‘Trio in G major for violin, cello and piano (Kakadu Variations).’ In 1803, Beethoven took a song from an operetta by Wenzell Muller and turned it into a lean and powerful set of variations. The operetta was named ‘The Sisters from Prague’ and the song was ‘I am the Tailor Kakadu,’ hence the reference ‘Kakadu Variations.’   The program concludes with a concert arrangement of George Gershwin’s ‘Porgy and Bess Suite for violin, cello and piano.’   For tickets ($25; students with ID are free), call 310-463-4388; visit www.cmpalisades.org. Tickets are available at the door.

Dr. Susan Love will introduce her latest book, ‘Live a Little! Breaking the Rules Won’t Break Your Health,’ on Monday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Books, 1049 Swarthmore. The author will be joined by local artist and fellow Pacific Palisades resident Gabrielle Gottlieb, who will introduce her new silkscreen, ‘Love Hearts Collection.’   Somewhat a departure for Love, the notable breast cancer surgeon and president of her eponymous cancer research foundation, ‘Live a Little’ is co-authored with women’s health expert Alice Domar and brings a dose of realism to the way women view their health habits.   The book examines the evidence for health ‘rules’ that exist in six areas: exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress management, personal relationships and preventive care. The authors posit that some of the prevailing wisdom is right and much of it is wrong. Examples include advice on fitness and exercise in which they write: ‘If you can walk a mile in less than 20 minutes, you’ve pulled yourself out of the category of greatest risk of disease. If you easily lift grocery bags, children or suitcases during the course of the week, you’re strong enough. You don’t need a special weight-lifting program at this point in your life.’   They point out that stress is normal to all human beings: ‘Our bodies are designed to handle a certain amount of psychological strain. In fact, we perform better under moderate amounts of stress for short periods of time.’   They recommend that most people without risk factors for heart disease should get their cholesterol tested only once in every five years. Finally, they say that the goal is not to live forever. ‘Instead, focus on having a fabulous life for as long as you can.’   Gottlieb’s new artwork features a graphic heart motif plus the word ‘Love’ in a myriad of color combinations. Some of the notable individuals who own her work include Maria Shriver, Susan Lucci and Palisadians Hilary Swank, former honorary mayor Steve Guttenberg and incumbent honorary mayor Gavin MacLeod.   Gottlieb’s artwork can be found in the permanent collections at the Ronald Reagan Center Gallery in Santa Barbara and at UCLA, and it has been featured in numerous publications. Gottlieb will donate 20 percent of the evening’s sales to Love’s foundation.   Refreshments will be provided by Anne’s Bakery in Venice and several Pacific Palisades restaurants. Two free raffle tickets, good for a pair of dinners at the Village Pantry, will be chosen by MacLeod.   Contact: Gabrielle Gottlieb Fine Art at 310-454-4503.