getaway

This has been one of my busiest summers at work and I really haven't gotten to travel or rest at all, so I was very glad when my husband suggested a trip down the coast for the weekend. We stayed in a little town near San Luis Obispo, not far from Pismo State Beach. The distant horizon, the soft, warm sand, the ocean breeze and sound of the waves were perfect for clearing one's mind and simply being without any rush.

 
The colors of the sand and sky were so beautiful, and the weather was just right. We saw pelicans and gulls. And we found a number of sea shells.

Our house has a wild hillside stretching farther down than one can see. Long-limbed, gnarled oaks grow back there, sheltering the house and dropping a carpet of leaves. I ventured out there shortly after sunrise and felt like I was in a storybook. I asked a passing deer how old the trees were, but he just looked at me curiously and did not reply. He was surely too young to know.

We packed in as much vacation as we could into one weekend. I played and sang the three songs I now know on the ukulele, we attended a go-kart race in Santa Maria, we walked around the old town area of Arroyo Grande and crossed its swinging footbridge. We tasted wine in Paso Robles, ate fresh bread at the bakery, wandered around San Luis Obispo and deliberately drove around on back roads that we hadn't been on before.

Now I'm back to work, rushing to complete projects and either forgetting to eat lunch or hastily gulping a sandwich at my desk, but I'll keep this weekend with me and take the soft palette of the beach or the vivid strokes of the oak branches and let them come out in my painting one day soon.

Hope you're enjoying these summer days before they're gone!

industrial arts inspiration ~ {the crucible}

I took a little drive up to Oakland for an afternoon of industrial arts demonstrations by numerous artisans who've no fear of fire. The Crucible is the kind of place that takes all your latent superhero fantasies of bending glass and twisting metal with your bare hands and makes them... reality! Wow.

We all left with visions of welding enormous metal sculptures, blowing glass bubbles and hammering out swords. Here are a few photos from this amazing, non-profit, educational facility. Once you've learned a trade, you can buy studio hours, go in and make to your heart's content.

He rolled the hot glass in the blue powder on the table for color.

I think the hot glass is so pretty!

(Eventually, he made a pitcher.)

Demonstration on bending glass tubes for neon signs.

He blows air through the tube during the bend so the passage stays open.

This guy was so cool. He gave me two linked heart-shaped tubes "to give to your sweetheart".

Everyone loved the blacksmith.

Twisting metal to make a very strong & handy hook.

You need a hood, protective clothing & eyewear to guard against the sparks & UV rays.

But then you can meld metal together into statues.

Yeah, I'm fired up! :D

Another way to bend steel.

This method feels a little spectacular. :)

Not trash ~ supply bins!

Melted aluminum being poured into ingots.

Hot stuff.

Art everywhere.

Right next to a BART exit so anyone can get there!

preparing for a new show!

This morning Toni Rica and I had our second meeting with Davin, a Fremont artist who is helping us launch our Trans-Pacific art show at the Bay St. Cafe' in Fremont's Irvington District. The opening reception will be on Saturday, January 21st at 6:00 pm and there's much to do to prepare!

Bay St. Cafe' is recently under new management and the owner has been very generous with his assistance. He has many big plans for the arts and creativity at Bay St. ~ ours will be the first show to kick things off. So if you're in the East Bay or South Bay, save the date of January 21st and then make plans to return for all the other exciting music and art shows that Davin and Lotfi will prepare for you!

Davin, Rica and me

It was quite by luck that we chanced upon this venue. Toni Rica came by on occasion to have a coffee and one day she asked if it would be possible to display our Trans-Pacific art here. The idea was met with a lot of enthusiasm (both Lotfi and Davin are big on building community) and we're thrilled to be working with them and showing our art in such an historic building. The coffee is really good, too!

If you come to our opening reception, you can also catch a theater show upstairs in the same building at the Broadway West Theater Company. We're hoping to meet some of the cast members ourselves. :)

The building has such character, sitting on the corner of a five-street intersection and busy each time I've been there. I had fun taking photos of the building and the surrounding environment.

Bay St. Cafe' is located at 4000 Bay Street in Fremont at the corners of Fremont Blvd., Washington Blvd., Union St. and Bay St. Hope to have you join us on January 21st!

The artists participating from Japan are: Yuuco, Pen Artist Santaac, Kanae Nagashima, Akiyama Shingo and Ikecoo. If you'd like you can read a bit more about them in my earlier post here. Wish us luck for a successful show!

a day at the museum

We caught Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris at the de Young Museum on its last day. 'Twas a foggy, drizzly sort of day, softly warm. It put us in the right mood for viewing art.

I'd heard many good things about the exhibit and was curious to see it. Picasso isn't my favorite artist and I hadn't seen a large collection of his work before, so I wondered what I would think and feel when I stood in front of his work. The exhibit was quite extensive, displayed mostly chronologically, and included paintings, studies for paintings and sculpture. Perhaps the quote that resonated with me the most was:

"Painting is 

just another way 

of keeping a diary."

- Picasso

I hadn't thought about painting in that exact way before, but I liked it very much. For me, blogging is another way of keeping a diary - of artistic pursuits in particular - and I could see how Picasso recorded his experiences in his art. The exhibit felt both like walking through an experiment of multiple phases and also of browsing a journal of events and opinions. Sometimes the styles led from one to another - expressionism, cubism, neoclassicism, surrealism - and sometimes the leaps in style were huge with the art seeming to connect only by repeating themes (such as of bathers in striped blue suits on the beach). Why so many bathers? Why the stripes? I felt more curious about him by viewing the collection of work.

I enjoyed the studies on paper that led to canvas works or sculptures. I was impressed by the large scale of his work and his enormous capacity to create. I also found that I appreciated the design of his works more than many of the works themselves, or their message. There were not too many that I would feel like hanging in my home or living with on a daily basis. Sometimes it seemed that the message of the art was lost in the study of its process - although that wasn't the case with his Bull's Head, which just might be my favorite piece of the entire show. 

Overall, the exhibit was quite fascinating and interesting. I was glad not to miss it.

Looking across the plaza to the California Academy of Sciences.

The next de Young exhibit I'm especially looking forward to is The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier, arriving in the spring. But I'm sure I'll be back to Golden Gate Park before then...

art & friends ~ {tuscany}

from Miwako

This evening we went to San Francisco to have dinner with new friends from Siena, Vito and Dina. They are artists of a different medium ~ architectural gardening! If you desire an authentic Tuscan garden design, I would happily recommend this notably kind and enthusiastic couple, landscape architects and founders of Citera Studio. Dina also keeps a cooking tumblr where she shares authentic recipes passed down through her family. It's in Italian, but I find it quite soothing to watch one of her videos of how to make bread... I only wish I could eat some at the end!

They were sweet enough to courier a drawing to me, sent by our mutual friend Miwako. When I saw her illustration, I wanted to hop on a plane to Italy right away to stay with her in this beautiful old building. It was once a convent that has since been transformed into numerous apartments. I can already envision our little ones running around together in the grass or playing tag around the tree in her drawing. If I could go quickly, there would still be a blue sky and warm sun. September is the most beautiful month in Italy.

I've shared a small watercolor of Miwako's on this blog before. She has a delicate touch and refined aesthetic. I know she sent me this drawing because she wants me to move to Siena and keep her company... and it's very tempting! The power of her sketch is quite strong; she knows exactly what I love there. Maybe I can't move there right now but I surely want to plan a visit and spend as many idyllic days together as possible in the beautiful countryside. One day... arrivero'!

art afternoon

My friend Chiori and I met with our boys at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University this afternoon for the last day of the Art of the Book in California show. We ended up going through most of the wings, so got to see unique books, antique books, African art, contemporary Bay Area artists and of course, the famous collection of Rodin sculptures.

Here are some of the beautiful books:

Some of the Rodin collection:

A few of the modern pieces:

And a huge sculpture of metal that one could enter inside and see ever-changing curves of metal, light and shadow:

Iced coffee in the cafe', a walk around the Stanford campus (boys shooting ahead on scooters), a pause in the shade for sketching and admiring the architecture, and soon the sun was setting. A perfect afternoon, I'd say!

Quick sketch that I'll send to Chiori for happy memories.