Welcome to Portland. Home of good beer, community and, of course, the Steens. I don’t think I realized how much I really missed Eric and Stephanie until we headed for home this morning. Our visit was so much fun! They have a great apartment that’s close to a bunch of great pubs, old theatres and little shops. Stephanie has a great job as a Marketing and Communications Coordinator and Eric has been diving head-first into his art. It was awesome to see Steve and Eric reminisce about old times. They are still so similar in a lot of ways. This road trip has been the highlight of my year. I’ve discovered that I thrive off of seeing new things; I suck at throwing a frisby; I feel extra small standing next to the ocean; I am beginning to appreciate a good IPA; and visiting old friends is what life should be made of. We’re home now, planning our next trip…
Fun at The Red Light (vintage second-hand clothing)… AWESOME STUFF!
We headed out from Johnny and Alyssa’s house on Wednesday morning and spent the day away. We headed up the coast to Patrick’s Point. This is a place that holds a lot of memories for me… family camping trips, school field trips and such. We hiked up Wedding Rock and then checked out the Yurok Village of Sumeg, a group of houses that are buried in the ground, then hung out on Agate Beach for a while. It was a beautiful day. Stevie and I stopped at Crescent City for the night and we are heading now to Portland to visit Eric and Stephanie.
Yesterday, we drove up highway 101 to Arcata. The trees and mountains are beautiful! It’s hard not to take it all for granted. I’m trying to soak in everything. A bit of the way was smokey because of the fires in Mendocino County, but we soon past that and the drive was great. We stopped off by the road to check out an old road that headed up the side of the mountain. It was kinda creepy… like Blair Witch creepy, so we just took some pictures then headed back to the car.
We’ve been having a great time with Johnny and Alyssa. The weather has been beautiful and today we went to the river to take a dip and enjoy the wildlife. The water was freezing. Alyssa spotted a bald eagle. It was great. Tonight we did some hiking in Trinidad had dinner at a great restaurant in Arcata. Our plan is to just wing it for the next couple of nights while heading to Portland. I love road trips.
We’re finally on our road trip! Last night, we stopped in at Santa Rosa to visit some old friends Dave and Amanda. It has been so much fun. We had a beer at Russian River Brewery and then out to dinner. Later, we hit up this great beer garden where we got a free magic show from a local magician, Ron Blair. Amanda spotted him across the way and Dave asked him to do some tricks for us. It was amazing! This morning, I’m sitting in Coffee Catz, an awesome coffee shop in Sebastopol where Amanda works. She’s roasting coffee and we got to watch and learn a bit. So interesting. Next, we’re headed up the coast to Johnny and Alyssa’s in Arcata.
Outside of Coffee Catz, there’s a small tree with a sign asking people to fill out a tag with what you’re grateful for and hang it on the tree. I’m grateful for “Friends and road trips.”
I was first introduced to Frida Kahlo’s work when living in San Diego couple years back. My sister-in-law showed me her work and I’ve loved her ever since. Not only is her work amazing, but she has a crazy life story. If you live in the Bay Area, I would recommend checking out her upcoming exhibit at the SFMOMA. It opens June 14th. They’re doing this thing where you have to pre-reserve a ticket for a day and time to ensure that there isn’t an overload of viewers in the gallery all at once. Even if you are already a member, you are required to pre-reserve a complimentary ticket for these purposes. I think this is a genius little trick to make the experience a bit more enjoyable for everyone. Go to www.sfmoma.com to get your timed tickets.
To tell you some about Frida Kahlo, she is a Mexican artist who began painting in 1926, while recovering from a near-fatal bus accident. She paints in a folkish style. Of her 143 paintings, 55 of them are self portraits, and often have a symbolic portrayal of both physical, and psychological wounds. It has a certain dark edginess to it. I really love her work. Here’s just a few examples…
Ok, this has been a very event filled weekend. It’s now Monday morning and I have to get back to business. However, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to tell you all about what went down yesterday. I went with my good friends Jenny and Yvette, Jenny’s husband, Joe, and my husband, Steve, to get my tattoo…finally! Jenny and I have been talking about going together for a long time, so we made it happen. She left with a very sweet tattoo of Aramaic words on her back and arm. It was our first experience, so we were a bit anxious at first, but found out it’s not as bad as I made it out to be in my head. Don’t get me wrong, it hurt, but it was also quite bearable. We went to Temple Tattoo in Oakland, California www.templeoakland.com. The place was very clean and friendly and I’m very pleased with how it turned out!
The day finally came and then went just as quickly. Isn’t it crazy how we wait and anticipate something that’s going to take place and then it feels as though you blinked and it was over? R.E.M. were amazing and Stephen had the best time of his life. I feel that he revisited his childhood for an evening. The band and visual show were superb, but the seating left something to be desired. I had never seen a show at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley before, so didn’t know what to expect. We had lawn seats which seem comfy and spacious, but ended up being on the side of a steep hill and among about 1,000 others who were also trying to keep themselves from tumbling like Jack and Jill down the hill. Fortunately, if you were lucky enough to find a small cut-away area in the grass to perch yourself on, it was a pleasant experience. No more complaining… here’s a fun clip from the show. I would recommend seeing them soon if you’re a fan. Carpe diem! Enjoy.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved stuff that has been handcrafted, made from things of the past. Growing up, I would raid my Grandpa’s junk yard for materials that I could fix up or include in some latest art venture. Ok, I admit, I still do this. Last weekend, I took home an old wooden frame that I found on his back porch. This look has become crazy popular lately. Everything is made to look old-fashioned, worn, antique… the older the better it seems.
Since starting this blog, I’ve been doing a bit more web surfing that normal and have discovered that this handcrafted, independent type of art, whether visual, music, fashion or film carries the label “indie” as of late. I think it’s somewhat ironic that this has become the staple look, sound and feel of everything commercial when in it’s very nature “indie” means to be independent, made by hand and self-sufficient. That’s America for you.
Anyway, back to my Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I mentioned that I visited last weekend. I always knew they had collected old stuff throughout the years, but never fully realized how incredibly sweet it all is. I took some pictures to share. I love that years before “indie” anything became popular, my grandparents were just being completely authentic with what they liked.
My friend Yvette told me about this great arts organization calledIntersection for the Arts. They are a nonprofit supporting various types of art in the area. This would be a great place to get involved. I wanted to share…
Intersection for the Arts is San Francisco’s oldest alternative nonprofit art space (est. 1965) and has a long history of presenting new and experimental work in the fields of literature, theater, music and the visual arts, and also in nurturing and supporting the Bay Area’s cultural community through service, technical support, and mentorship programs. Intersection provides a place where provocative ideas, diverse art forms, artists, and audiences can intersect one another. (read more)
Check out the current gallery installation.
How I Learned To…
by Weston Teruya & Michele Carlson
April 21 - May 24, 2008
Gallery Hours: Wed-Sat, 12-6pm
Opening Reception: Monday April 21, 6-9pm
A collaborative installation by Weston Teruya & Michele Carlson that looks at the construction of nationhood and identity through a sculptural disruption of institutional educational spaces. This project exposes the power dynamics contained within the architecture and set-up of traditional American classrooms and explores how histories of marginalized communities are taught and absorbed into concepts of nationhood and citizenship. This new installation destabilizes and re-imagines the environment that we learn and grow up in.
“Weston Teruya’s…provocative mixed-media works on paper articulate powerful cycles of creation and destruction.” - Glen Helfand, Artforum
“…to appreciate Michele Carlson’s [work]…you could be jumping up and down and not miss out.” - Hiya Swanhuser, SF Weekly
"Life is a daring adventure or nothing."
Helen Keller
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