MRPOTANI WORLD

2011 Kohaku Utagassen

2012-01-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

An over-the-top emotional performance by the last singer on the Red Team pushed the votes in favor of the women's team.

White Version

2011-12-30T13:08:00.001-08:00

Almost done .

Holiday Season

2011-12-28T20:41:00.001-08:00

Sadly, the tree in Union Square is now artificial but it is still a glorious sight!

Burning Bad Juju

2011-12-28T20:35:00.001-08:00

All those evil letters from that evil neighbor were shredded and burned in a lovely firepit at Judy's last night. What a beautiful ending it was!

Winter Rain

2011-12-21T14:50:00.001-08:00

Just finished this collage made with painted index cards, scrap paper, momigami and bamboo. The scraps were collaged on Avery sheets, then cut into thin strips. Most time consuming was painting the index cards until they acquired the right consistency of thin leather. The sharp strips reminded me of cold winter rains. Thinking of making three more in red, white, and dark blue. Things to remember: do not glue all the way through. Loose paper makes a nice rain sound. Also tape down the strips to prevent buckling.

Detail of collage

Smokes

2011-11-26T15:01:00.001-08:00

Patterns of Addiction

2011-11-25T10:45:00.001-08:00

Working on a ArtTag subject called Patterns. My partner in this game sent an interesting piece with smokers chewing on fat doobies. I had forgotten how seductive smoking images can be. Patterns of addiction. Yes!

Hapa Bruthas

2011-11-16T20:45:00.001-08:00

Opening

2011-11-07T07:22:00.001-08:00

After 18 plus months of hard work the show opened on Nov 4. The works looked amazing and we drew a huge crowd. Mills College received their Sylvia Sleigh donation and Chanel completed her performance. Hopefully next weekend's offerings will attract further attention.

One Day in NYC

2011-10-04T12:22:00.001-07:00

I am here unexpectedly, on my way to visit a gravely ill friend in PA. Mike arrives early tomorrow and we are driving down. Last night I got together with two friends whom I haven't seen in a number of years. It was a drizzly night and I walked the 20 blocks or so to the Portuguese restaurant and back. The Chrysler building gleamed like a retro movie set. My room is a sliver but it has a neat view of the Empire State Building.

Today is a mix of free time and work. There were two galleries in Chelsea that featured Nick Cave's amazing sound suits. At Mary Boone, the suits were colorful and fanciful. The Jack Shainman Gallery had more monochromatic suits, but just as amazing. I sat through the video at Shainman twice to enjoy the leaping, rolling, kaleidoscopic performances of dancers wearing Cave's suits. Stopped for lunch at the Legend Szechuan restaurant and had a delicious bowl of dandanmein.

Then on the subway to the Met.

The only exhibit I wanted to see was a small wall of Romare Bearden's cityscapes. I got some great ideas for the series on Folsom Street that I hope to resume after open studios. Or after Reversing the Gaze. Or around the end of the year.

NYC is full of inspirations, even on this short visit.

View from my hotel window

Seventh Avenue

Union Square

Met sketchers

Artful Day

2011-06-12T10:17:00.001-07:00

Started the morning at a SBAWCA meeting in Redwood City, talking about effective use of social media and an exciting exhibition about Suffrage. Mike came up with the tagline: "don't miss the train."

Then on to ProArts open studios, where we walked among the sculptures of Vicky Jo Sowell. I loved this goddess piece standing tall against a backdrop of surreal fuzzy clouds.

Then on to some lovely calligraphic oil and ink paintings on aluminum.

Then to izakaya Ippuku, which mostly serves yakitori.

These are skin (left) and thigh (right).

We finished the evening back in SF for an opening of "Sign Your Life Away" at Guerrero Gallery. It featured a room full of yummy lettering.

Location:San Jose Ave,San Francisco,United States

Flow Opening

2011-06-05T07:51:00.001-07:00

About 300 people attended the Flow opening last night. Great to see that many artists invited their friends. Also great to see juror Andre Rozanoff of Caine Schulte Gallery and gallerist Sandra Lee.

Visitors enjoying the scene

Deborah Mills Thackery and artists in Skylight gallery

William Salit with Andre Rozanoff

Kevin Pincus next to his painting

Nite Owl with his work

Sandra Lee

Artist checking in

Location:San Jose Ave,San Francisco,United States

I Grant Yo Wishes

2011-06-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

The speed-dating question has been rephrased slightly to: "What was the best perk you've ever offered in your job?"

Answer: That would be lactation benefits. We were able to justify the cost of installing a breast pump machine in the quiet room by demonstrating that it took women only 10 minutes to pump their breasts by machine versus 20 minutes manually, over the toilet seat. We gave each nursing mother a lovely cooler kit that included breast attachments and bottles for the milk. For a company full of young women, this was a much-appreciated perk.

ArtPad 2011

2011-05-20T06:46:00.001-07:00

Opening party at the Phoenix filled the funky motel rooms with art, wildly costumed art lovers and the nostalgic scent of weed,

Swimming pool and mob

Slideshow on wall, view from the balcony

Pink tail, petal bells

A room with a pool

Big hair woman or man

Enuff said!

Rain in May

2011-05-17T06:28:00.001-07:00

Unseasonably cold, rainy day in Alameda yesterday. View from my windshield. Raindrops transformed the State and US flags into flowing brush strokes. I love the free instagram app which lets me play with various filters. Though Time Zero film is now defunct, I can get my former Polaroid effects with rain and Instagram.

Filoli Gardens

2011-05-16T07:43:00.001-07:00

My FIPS friends took me to Filoli Gardens for my birthday. Overcast and cool, it was the perfect day for photographing the late spring blooms. One of the pleasures of the day was the fragrance of flowers, the special, rich scent of roses and peonies to the subtle, secret aroma of wisteria. The day ended at the cafe, which served up a fantasy slice of lemon cake. A perfect getaway day from the drudgery of pecking on a slowly dying computer.

Highway One

2011-02-21T18:31:00.001-08:00

Tree cutters, Point Reyes Station

I dropped off my work for Season of Water at Gallery One. Outside, tree cutters glided like circus acrobats among the bare branches of an enormous tree.

LIVE SPACE: WOMEN ART & ACTIVISM

2011-02-10T13:23:00.001-08:00

CM Judge put together a fabulous panel of media artist Carolee Schneemann, Paula Rendino Zaentz and Elizabeth Streb.

Carol Schneemann

Paula Rendino Zaentz

Elizabeth Streb's STREB lab for action mechanics

WCA LIVE SPACE DAY ONE

2011-02-10T08:18:00.001-08:00

Feminist Tea Party preparation

Partaking of tea!

Jaimianne sends greetings

Penny for your thoughts performance by Young WCA

Knitting and discussing

Collectives: For the Birds, Project Space, brainstormers

New York chapter forming

WCA DAY ONE

2011-02-09T17:18:00.001-08:00

Walking unnoticed on Times Square, enjoying the jewel tones of neon and taxi.

Taking a picture of someone taking a picture.

Playing with Kaleidoscopes

2011-01-29T20:24:00.001-08:00

A new app lets me transform any photo into a gorgeous kaleidoscopic image. This one reminds me of a Nordic fairytale or an extraordinarily painful migraine aura.

Bad Habits

2011-01-14T17:17:00.000-08:00

1. Channel surfing.

2. Acting out in public.

3. Saying, "Let's get together soon" and mean "Let's not get together soon."

4. Unctuousness.

5. Stepping on the heels of my shoes.

6. Smacking me on the head when I snore.

7. Not bathing at least once a day.

8. Talking for the sake of talking.

9. Using chopsticks as hair ornaments or for eating western food.

10. Leaving a half-finished bottle of water in the car, then drinking from it the next day.

If Only....

2011-01-12T19:49:00.000-08:00

If only we had the time to appreciate it: ocean, baseball, city, hills, baseball, diversity of cultures and languages, fog, quality of light, coolness, baseball, the nonchalance of the strange. Oh. That's San Francisco. Not all of California.

Favorite Exercise

2011-01-06T09:05:00.000-08:00

Walking continues to be. My feet have taken me to many places, some which I probably shouldn't have gone to. With no arches, my feet have ached from walking on pavement, but they haven't given out and are still capable of taking me on memorable adventures. When younger, I had walking companions who traveled with me to new countries. Now many have knee, hip, ankle, nerve, feet, arch, and circulation problems and walking is limited. Many breaks are needed and my feet feel restless. My mother, at age 82, can still walk our hill in Kobe - a tortuous, twisted & steep road. And I can hardly keep up with her downhill - she scuttles ahead like a beetle. A number of years ago, she developed arthritis in her knees and gave up walking the hill. Then she took a vacation with me in NYC and somewhere along Avenue of the Americas I noticed that she was walking normally. "You're healed!" I said, and she was. When I am bored with the treadmill, I think of her walking energetically in Japan, and continue walking.

Know About Me

2011-01-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

I lived to adulthood bearing a name and surname that officially does not exist.

Amusement

2010-12-28T15:44:00.000-08:00

Spinning swings always got me going.

2010-12-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

Parasol. For obvious reasons.

An Endless Supply of Food

2010-12-26T17:50:00.000-08:00

Japanese food. Mom feared that I wouldn't survive the United States without it. Both parents sent boxes of non-perishable food all the way through graduate school. Polished white rice. Ramen. Soba. Bottled nametake. Dried shiitake. Nori. Kombu. Rice crackers. Instant miso soup. Soup base. I survived the 1970's by going to Koto Restaurant in downtown Oakland. My roommate and I always shared the sukiyaki with an extra order of rice. In New York City, I found a small Japanese restaurant near Columbia that served a number of authentic side dishes such as kimpira gobo, takuan, negi su-miso and hijiki. I had one or two of these side dishes with rice and miso soup. Then, several authentic sushi restaurants opened, and other Japanese restaurants started up too. By the time I returned to San Francisco in 1979, Japanese restaurants and food stores were common. Thank Heavens!

Lost Skills

2010-12-25T09:55:00.001-08:00

1. Playing the piano.

2. Ballet.

3. Translating the original Tale of Genji text.

4. Tailoring a coat.

5. Hand-binding a book.

6. French.

7. Quilling.

8. Squeezing a sea cucumber's guts out.

Merry Christmas!!

If Not San Francisco, Then???

2010-12-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

I would not like to live anywhere other than San Francisco. Much as I love traveling and adventure, living somewhere connotes rootedness. If I had not come here, I would be living in Japan, and mostly likely I would be living in Kobe, where my family is from. Or perhaps Tokyo, to get away from family. Certain cities are enticing...Paris, Venice, New York, Kyoto, Tokyo, Munich, Jakarta, Guatemala City. But to live in a place connotes fitting in with those around me, having the connections and knowledge to navigate myself within the rules, regulations, practices, and customs of a place. Just as Westerners living in Japan for generations are still regarded as "foreign," I think I would always feel the visible and invisible walls of another city.

Speed Dating Fortune Cookies

2010-12-23T09:10:00.001-08:00

At Mike's office holiday party someone felt the need for an ice-breaker. They decided we should play the game of speed-dating. With connotations of lost inhibitions, torrid office romance and convivial hanky panky, it seemed an odd choice for a conservative investment company. Strips of speed-dating-appropriate questions were placed in fish bowls in front us. People laughed nervously, didn't touch them. I saw all those strips of unused paper and contemplated the time it took someone to come up with questions, type them up, print them out, cut them out, bring unwrinkled to the party, place in the bowl. I took a fistful of questions and decided to respond to each one in the course of the year.

Randomly selected, my first question was about earliest memory:

The bright lights of the hospital. Someone saying, "Look her eyes are already open." The feeling of being bathed.

Blue Studios

2010-10-10T17:38:00.001-07:00

Partner Matthew Frederick's open studio at Blue Studios in the Mission.

Weekend One: Mission

2010-10-09T16:54:00.001-07:00

It's the first weekend of SF Open studios and I visited Art Explosion and 1890 Bryant. I has great time visiting with Georgiana Fastaia, Cynthia Tom, Paul Morin, Martha Rodriguez, Melisa Phillips, Emily Citraro, Kevin Pincus, Kirsten Tradowsky, Lucky Rapp and others. Now that my open studio is on another weekend I can visit Mission artists.

De-threaded, gessoed and distressed cloth works by Rachel Meginnes at AE.

Cynthia Tom's surrealist work at 1890 Bryant

Detail of knitting on paper by Sonya Philip at 1890 Bryant

Mixed media by Vera Costa at 1890 Bryant

Resolutions and Dissolutions

2010-10-06T13:31:00.001-07:00

South Bay WCA exhibit at the MLK Library in San Jose

Red, White and Too Much Blue by Hedda Hope

The Face Behind the Mask by Susan Kraft

Art Launch

2010-10-02T21:07:00.001-07:00

Launching 2010 Open Studios at Somarts. Body painting and interactive art and lots of viewers.

Kara Walker

2010-09-29T06:56:00.001-07:00

Kara Walker at the Wattis reception for Huckleberry Finn last night. Judy and I scrutinized the cutouts on the wall to see how they were cut and adhered. We think she works in the reductive mode. Interesting contrast between her painted pieces and her cutouts.

Pen and ink

2010-09-28T09:38:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've used pen & ink but the pent-up desire must have been there. Last time I was at Blick I loaded up on black ink. And my favorite new medium is gouache, which gives an amazing deep black, matte finish. This piece is for Kearny Street's fundraiser but now I am inspired to make more for open studio.

Altered book

2010-09-04T16:43:00.001-07:00

Slashed, quilled, painted, torn. My altered book from Jody Alexander's class. Learned how to take a book apart and feel good about it.

Hauntings

2010-09-03T16:54:00.001-07:00

I am getting a lot of energy from my hauntings paintings. I wanted to create ghosts but not in the usual manner of hags and bald headed melty faces. What makes something creepy? Masks, mist, slightly soiled items, bandages, messy hair.

Ghost Stories

2010-09-01T12:35:00.001-07:00

Started a new series on ghost stories. Image still taking shape.

Location:Folsom St,San Francisco,United States

Water Baby

2010-08-23T10:17:00.001-07:00

This recent series is in response to the photos of jizos that I took in June. It took some effort to capture the essence of these stone figures. In the end, I decided to depict the pathos of these unborn souls and the mystery of the anonymous women who knit hats and sew bibs to keep these babies warm.

Work of Art: Made to Fail

2010-08-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

I've been watching the reality show, "Work of Art," where 14 artists are tasked to create a work of art in a day or two. A winner is declared after each challenge, a loser gets eliminated after much harsh criticism. It's become increasingly clear that "art on demand" doesn't work...or at least look presentable. There is little qualitative difference between "winner" and "loser," all the works look slapped together. It is also ridiculous that artists are made to feel they must create works outside of their media and genres - we may as well be watching amateurs scurry around with drills and brushes. Sadly, I see little creative growth among the contestants, just greater anxiety, fear and uncertainty with each episode. Artists need time to translate a concept into art. They need the privacy to experiment, play and make a few failed pieces. The world of art isn't the same as the the garment industry's. Artwork does not need to meet a production cycle based on getting goods into the stores as quickly as possible. It must be based on an artist's own rhythm and cycle.

Jizo

2010-07-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

Other than festival days, few visit the hamlet of Jizo. The guidebooks don’t mention this place, which is nothing more than a few rice paddies and humble thatched roof houses. Behind the village is a steep hill overgrown with broom grass and bellflowers. Thousands of statues of jizo, or children of stone, stand alongside the ascending path. These armless stone children are common throughout Japan, but Jizo is full of them. Some are dressed in red bibs and knitted caps, others have pebbles piled on top of their heads or shoulders. They gaze sweetly at the solitary traveler who passes by them.
On top of the hill, nearly hidden by wild grasses and ivy, is a shrine dedicated to the white fox. Someone once said that at nightfall, just when the last rays of the sun yield to the inky darkness of the country night, the villagers change out of their shabby clothes and become their old selves again - twitchy wild foxes who dance on their hind legs and roam the fields looking for mischief.
Jizo has few visitors outside festival days. That’s because travelers have to make several train transfers and pay extra for this private line, that independent line, to get there. Stationmasters, not wanting to look up routes in their thick, incomprehensible train schedules, direct travelers to towns that sound similar, like Juusoo or Jigoo. Only on festival days do direct, uncomplicated schedules appear, as if cast by a fox’s spell.
Among geishas, however, the route to this village is passed along by word of mouth, from experienced geishas to their younger sisters. There’s no need to consult with unhelpful stationmasters. If they set out early, they can reach Jizo by nightfall.
As evening shadows sweep over the village, a young geisha named Kikue arrives at her guesthouse. Tomorrow she will journey home, and resume her duties as an entertainer. But tonight she will be treated as an honored guest. A hot bath is prepared, and she’s given an indigo-dyed cotton kimono in the old arrows pattern to change into. In her room, Kikue finds a husk pillow and wadded cotton bedding laid out on the floor. Flushed from the bath, she feels the tickle of worn-out tatami on the soles of her feet. She runs her fingers over the coarse autumn leaves used to patch holes in the paper sliding doors. The smell of burning wood wafts up from the kitchen below. When the moon rises, Kikue gazes into her small, oval mirror and catches a glimpse of her own village, where her parents and younger sisters share their meager meal of millet and radishes.
Later that evening, a white fox dressed in an ivory kimono steals into the room. The creature breathes over the geisha’s face and Kikue smiles, dreaming of her baby floating peacefully in her womb. Each time the baby turns inside her, it grows older, more like a child. After a while, the fox coughs three times and Kikue awakens to find a small child beside her.
The fox leads Kikue and the child up the steep hill. She will try hard to memorize the spot the child picks, under a large red pine whose serpentine limbs offer shelter from the elements. Kikue clears away the pine needles so her child can more easily dig its tiny feet into the damp earth. She pats the child’s head and promises to visit the village in the spring. She will bring a red bib and the sweetest bean pastry she can find.
And so this child joins countless other unborn, unnamed playmates alongside the hilly path. Watched over by white foxes, the jizos stand quietly. In the spring they will listen to the bush warbler’s magnificent trill, in the summer they will be soothed by the cicada’s cadence, in the fall they will look up wistfully at the ducks migrating south and in the winter they will wear cloaks of snow to stay warm. Each waits longingly for its mother, who will renew her love when she makes her pilgrimage up the steep hill.

ELEMENTS Logo

2010-03-05T09:45:00.000-08:00

This beautiful logo for our upcoming Elements Eco-art conference was designed by Rozanne Hermelyn Di Silvestro. Pacific Region WCA has just put out a call for submission for a juried exhibition, Blue Planet, that examines the social, political and economic issues related to water. This show will be an important component of our Eco-art Conference. Submissions are welcome from all resident California artists and national WCA members. For more information and prospectus go to: http://ecoartactivism.wordpress.com/blue-planet-art-exhibition/.

Trader Joe Tiger

2010-02-09T19:25:00.001-08:00

A wall on a local Trade Joe's was covered with tigers saying "Gung Hay Fat Choy."

Tiger in the Mission

2010-02-09T17:31:00.001-08:00

Came upon this wonderful mural one evening while going to art openings.

Felt Hearts

2010-02-07T21:35:00.001-08:00

A set of fuschia-colored felt hearts arrived in the mail from Frannie. They sprung out of her handmade CNY card. I'll miss both celebrations this year because I will be in Chicago attending the CAA and WCA conferences. Just packed my boots, earmuffs, gloves and tights and hope they'll keep me warm.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T08:27:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! The Year of the Tiger starts with a new studio in a different neighborhood. May it bring productivity, creativity and inspiration!

Mamita's Kappogi

2009-11-28T19:23:00.001-08:00

I made this piece for the Young Women's Caucus Apron Show. This little apron packs a lot of memories. It's embellished with passages from mom's letters and postcards. On the pocket, a little card with a very un-momlike formal congratulations on my engagement. The only English letter that's on this apron is her description of all the types of animal excrements she encountered in Burma. The rest are in Japanese: snippets of important milestones and events.

Mandala

2009-11-19T08:43:00.000-08:00

Amazing piece by Jane Woolverton at Hunter's Point. Plastic six-pack holders and plastic strings.

Self Portrait: Duchamp

2009-11-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

Squirts

2009-11-17T17:30:00.001-08:00

Low tide at Dillon Beach exposed these sand-speckled sea squirts. Gem-encrused in this photo but in reality they are rubbery and shrink back and squirt sea water when you touch them. Some were small, others huge. Fabulously creepy.

Frida #2

2009-11-10T18:25:00.001-08:00

I am responding to the first piece sent by Judy J-W. My favorite materials source, Thrift Town had a perfectly shaped pocketbook that I converted into covers for my accordion book. I tried to include all the elements in the Frida painting, from her mustache to butterflies, dragonfly, snake-like neck, hummingbird, monkey, black cat and the necklace of thorns. For the book I painted with Golden fluid acrylics, which gave a lovely transparency and used permanent black ink to draw in the faces. A very enjoyable project!

Abaca Project

2009-11-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

Prototype transparency people inside unpapered cages

Cages covered over with paper

Cages un-nested

I found these rickety-looking cages at SCRAP a few weeks ago. They come in a nested set of 5, with the largest one being perhaps 12 inches or so, the others sized progressively smaller. I couldn't decide what to do with them - perhaps Christmas-themed objects for sale at the Art Explosion holiday show?

Without knowing where I was going with them, I dyed the cages with walnut ink, then coated them with glitter. That was a dead-end.

Then I had the idea of covering the cages with paper. I have a stash of thin Japanese rice paper bought at a Flax warehouse sale a few years ago. I also used sewing pattern paper and old Japanese copybooks, anything that was thin and pliable enough to cover these cages. I traced templates for each size birdcase, cut various types of paper and glued them with gluestick. Turns out gluestick is not the best adhesive for these things.

Sleeping over these disappointing results, I realized that gel medium might work better. Sure enough. The gel adhered the paper seamlessly and turned it into a second skin around the cage's skeleton. The afternoon sun in my studio created a lantern effect that led to the next step.

There needed to be something to illuminate these lanterns and something inside to be illuminated. I used transparency sheets and traced around photographs of people, which I filled in with black. The first batch was made with acrylic paint, which was too dry a medium. The side of the transparency sheet that has texture to absorb inkjet ink sucked the paint dry before a smooth layer could be applied. I started over using India ink and got much better results.

Right now I am researching ways to illuminate these lanterns. There are many options available in battery-operated lights - anything from tiny tea candles to neon-like lights to fanciful fiberoptics. I am still in the thinking process over how much light I want inside the lanterns and how much outside. Also being investigated are sound effects. I just downloaded an app that plays Japanese summer sounds.

Collaboration #4: Frida & Me

2009-10-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Our starting point on this round was a self-portrait of Frida Kahlo. In keeping with Halloween, I decided to transform Frida into a black cat. The body is made of painted corrugated cardboard and the limbs and tail can be moved. Frida's face is drawn with craypas (oil crayons). The monkey and hummingbird also have moving parts. The necklace of thorns was a challenge but I didn't want to leave it out. Thankfully I found some plastic barbed wire, which did the trick nicely. I wrapped the Frida in a large green momigami sheet which I stamped with leaf patterns. Also found some giant plastic leaves to throw into the mix.

Barcelona: Gaudi

2009-10-19T16:16:00.001-07:00

Casa Battlo

Casa Batllo: Window Seen Through Glass

Casa Batllo: roof details

Casa Battlo: Inner Window

La Pedrera

We only had time to visit these two buildings on Passeig de Gracia. Casa Battlo was just across the street from the apartment we rented. It was a private residence and impossible to imagine it was built in 1877, the architecture and design was so modern. La Pedrera, built in 1912 has interesting rooftop touches but parts of the building look like regular apartments. Barcelona is worth a visit, if only to appreciate the singular vision of Antonio Gaudi's architecture.

Figueres: Dali Museum

2009-10-19T16:10:00.001-07:00

The Dali Museum in Figueres has a huge collection of his work ranging from surrealist subjects to life drawings. I was impressed with the beauty of his sketches.

Colors of Barcelona

2009-10-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

Granada/Alhambra

2009-10-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

Granada Flamenco

2009-10-19T11:49:00.001-07:00

We went to a gypsy cave in Sacramonte one evening to watch flamenco. At first we were the only guests and were served an odd dinner of Spanish omelet (lightly salted boiled potatoes covered in light egg batter). Just before the dances began, the room filled with a Japanese tour group. In fact one dancer was Japanese and spoke Spanish fluently. The older spider woman was quite dramatic and kept yelling at me to stop videotaping her. I guess my Lumix looked more like a filming tool than a digital camera.

Images of Mexico: People

2009-10-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

Closing Ceremony at ex-Convento St Hipolito

2009-10-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

Kiyo Akasaka and Tadatoshi Akiba

The UN Conference in Mexico City came to a dramatic close at the ex-Convento St Hipolito with a loud thunderstorm overhead. UN officials and the mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba exhorted NGOs to lobby the mayors and government officials for the abolition of nuclear weapons in their towns, cities and countries.

Night Walk on Donceles after Rainfall

2009-10-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

It rained and thundered every night in Mexico City. One could plan on the skies darkening around 3:30 in the afternoon, then, the lightning, thunder and thick drops of rain appearing soon after. Even if the day started out dry, we knew umbrellas or raincoats would be needed in the late afternoon. Because we were in the old central part of the city, taxis were hard to get in the evening. It was a pleasure to walk back to the hotel after dinner after the rains had stopped and photograph the shiny streets cleansed of dust and trash.

Images of Mexico: Art

2009-10-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

Amazing cougar at the Anthropological in Mexico City

Orozco Mural at the San Ildefenso

Orozco mural at San Ildefenso

We were stunned by the art in Mexico City. We had limited time and decided to see just two museums, spending an entire day in each. The San Ildefenso Museum near our hotel housed an amazing collection of murals by Jose Clemente Orozco. Built with an inner courtyard, this museum provides greenery, calm in the midst of a busy city and a feast for the eyes with the murals painted on the outside walls of each level. Inside the museum and in the courtyard was an exhibition of British artist Antony Gormley's works. Small groups of children wandered the museum, sketching and talking with each other on comfortable courtyard benches. With a natural food cafe and a fabulous giftshop, this museum proved to be the oasis we needed after three full days at the UN conference.
We visited the large Anthropological Museum on Sunday, absolutely the worst day in terms of crowds. It was crowded because this museum offers free admission to Mexican citizens on Sundays. And so the working people of this large city were taking in the arts together with their children and elderly parents. Though there were lines to get into some of the exhibitions, it didn't take long to get inside, and I enjoyed watching the parents point out artifacts and read their history to their children. The cultural wealth in this museum was impressive.

Purplesilk Fundraiser at the Legendary Palace

2009-10-02T16:36:00.001-07:00

Maestra Sherlyn Chew with Steve Young

Tyler Thompson sings an opera solo

Satisfied fans fill the Legendary Palace

Spirited performance by the Great Wall Youth Orchestra

I attended a great fundraiser in Oakland last night to support the Great Wall Youth Orchestra & Chorus. The event was sold out and we were all treated to great music and a delicious banquet. Sherlyn Chew continues to amaze with her drive to nurture musical talent among the children of Oakland. The best testimonal came from a former student, who expressed how much her horizons were opened through participation in this orchestra. Bravo Sherlyn!!

7th Annual Altered Barbie Show

2009-09-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

Tanya revealing her Barbie side

Crowds celebrate opening of Altered Barbie show at Shotwell 50 Studios

Jillee mc-ing the event

This is the first year I didn't participate in this annual show due to travels. Did manage to attend the opening reception last night at Shotwell 50 Studios. It's a great space for this show - lots of wallspace to show off all the dolls and photos. There were surprisingly a lot of photos at this year's event. Hope to be part of this event next year!

Images of Mexico: Dance

2009-09-17T08:25:00.001-07:00

Dancing figures at the Anthropological Museum

Aztec Dancers

Shaman dancers in the Zocalo

Because our hotel was near the Catedral and zocalo in the Historic Center of Mexico City, we enjoyed the drumming, herb-burning and the energetic circle of dancers nearly every day. Helen noticed that the dancers' movements brought to life the gestures of ancient pottery figurines we saw at the Museum of Anthropology. Indeed I felt that we were witnessing something ancient, elemental and life-affirming in the zocalo dancers. My favorite shots were of the dancers' feet, which captured the energy of their movements.

Chochin-Making

2009-09-08T08:53:00.001-07:00

Took a class on illuminated paper at the SF Center for Books.It was taught by Oregon papermaker, Helen Hiebert. For the round chochin, we cut molds out of foam core, then wrapped individual rings of reed around it, fastened by paper. Paper shapes were then glued to the reed skeleton. When the paper dried, the mold was disassembled. The magic happened when the chochins were lit.

Friday Art Happenings

2009-09-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

Adobo Hobo at Fabric 8: marrying art with food cart culture

Octo-arm enjoys wine and art at Cityart Opening

Looking at art along Victorian corridor at 3352 24th St

Sugar installation at 951 Shotwell

Home is Something I Carry With Me is a 3-house non-trad venue exhibition. Love the idea of turning one's home into a gallery, love the idea of a unifying theme that carries across multiple venues. I hope more of these spring up in the City. Fabric8 had an interesting idea of combining the burgeoning food carts in the City with art. The venue was filled to capacity with people enjoying adobo, creme brulee, cookies and soup while viewing the artwork and teeshirts for sale. Cityart also had their monthly group show opening - their venue was filled as well.

Thursday's Art

2009-09-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

Frey Norris Gallery: Laurel Roth

Hang Art: Heather Patterson

Cafe Royale: Megan Wolfe

Fifty24SF Gallery: The Date Farmers

Detail of a piece by Date Farmers

A full evening of art openings in San Francisco. We started at the Frey Norris and ended up at the Fifty24SF Gallery. I was very taken by the Date Farmers, Mexican American artists whose vibrant pieces were a visual feast. Their imagination and ability to create beauty from discarded materials resonated. Visit http://thedatefarmers.com/ for more information about them.

Final: Salute to the Muse

2009-09-02T21:35:00.001-07:00

The blue piece now completed. It is titled "He'd Never Seen Her Out of Uniform." It's a tribute to my muse, Heather Fong, and will be part of the AAWAA exhibit this month.

Working with Blue

2009-08-22T16:15:00.001-07:00

Started a couple of blue paintings today. For one, I embedded undergarments under cheese cloth, then painted over with Prussian blue. I had an idea for this painting, with the undergarments covered over with layers of materials and paint. At the moment I love the effect these layers have created, the leaching out of paint around the fabric, giving the painting a cyanotype feel. Will have to wait for a couple of days of drying to see what the final color will be and what I will do next. I am making a piece on Heather Fong for the AAWAA Salute to the Muses exhibit in Sept. I've laid down blue paint on cheesecloth for my second painting and am vaguely considering a paperdoll of HF.

Tour des Artists - Round #2

2009-08-18T21:45:00.001-07:00

Zannah Noe, the raven painter, in her studio at Hunter's Point

Tanya Wilkinson, mixed media artist, in her studio at the Noonan Building

Blowing glass in David Patchen's studio at Public Glass

Rebecca Fox in her metal works studio at Islais Creek

Dimitri Kourouniotis in his painting studio at Hunter's Point

This time the Tour visited five artists near Third Street and Hunter's Point. As in the first Tour, the group got to meet a variety of artists in their studios in a work-setting (well, sort of). The artist has to clean up their space a bit so that people won't trip or be frightened off by the dust, trash and unwashed coffee cups that usually litter the scene. The first time, six artists were visited, some in studios that were too small to fit the nearly 20 people on the tour. Five artists in larger studios was just about perfect. A limo bus shuttled us from studio to studio so no one had to do the driving. For me, it was a nice, relaxing break from the everyday work in my studio and an opportunity to see other's works. David Patchen put on quite a show, creating a Venetian-style vase during his 45 minutes with us.

J-Pop in J-town

2009-08-18T21:18:00.001-07:00

TsuShiMaMiRe - an all-girls punk band rocks out. The song is silly - about stinky American microphones. Lead singer went all-out to get the snuffling noises down just right.

Women dressed up in Lolita and Goth fashions at the J-Pop summit in Japantown this weekend. Actually this event seems like a hyped out opening for a new Japanese mall called New People where the old bowling alley used to be. A long line of people waited to get into this mall and it was a definite "no" for me. I'll visit later, when the excitement dies down. Cannot imagine a lot of people buying into the Lolita look here. For one, hard to fit into those clothes. Cleaning bills would be prohibitive. And it would rate a real laugh at the office. I may, however, buy a sun umbrella with lace trimmings.

What About Tomorrow?

2009-08-12T22:05:00.001-07:00

Piece #1: Love Me Tomorrow

Piece #2: Thinking About Tomorrow Clears Away the Cobwebs

What About Tomorrow? is our new roundrobin theme. I had to think about it for a while - a rather nebulous theme that sounds lighthearted, hopeful and yet foreboding. For my first piece I decided to make another altered book. My imagery came from a skanky women's magazine from Japan. Many women alter their looks via makeup, hair color and surgery, with the belief that their idealized anime character looks make them desirable. I wonder what they will look like in old age - will their fans love them as before? The song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" came to mind while making this book. I looked it up on Youtube and found a great rendition by Amy Winehouse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ludxpkyrab0. My instruction to Gwynn was to have her listen to this song while going through my book.

I received a framed humming bird print & collage from Patricia. It was a beautiful piece of work, with colors I love - turquoise, gold, oranges and reds. But how to relate it to the theme and my next work? In the end I took the frame idea and moved it forward in piece #2. I found this image in an old book I picked up from a thrift shop. How sad and tired these girls look with their younger siblings strapped to their backs! They are not far in age from the girls in my first piece. Life was difficult for girls back then for quite different reasons. I lifted the image with packing tape and adhered it to two postcards. I got the idea of the two postcards from some works I saw recently. They are adhered to glossy black paper that looks like dried seaweed. I found a kitschy bamboo frame at the thrift shop and repainted it. Now I'll need to put the picture together. I'm going to send Gwynn a Youtube link to Broadway musical Annie's song "Tomorrow" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnjkb4q6FKU. Pairing art with music is something new I've discovered in this round of collaborations.

Control Reception

2009-08-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

Guerrilla Girl hands out pamphlet

The pamphlet!

Opening Reception of Control

By Jessica and Beatrice at the Muriel Right Residential Center

Over 500 people attended the opening of Control at the SOMArts Gallery on August 6, 2009. Lots of great works by women, the Guerrilla Girls showed up with pamphlets in hand, and everyone agreed it was the best show they've attended in quite some time. Now there is talk about traveling the show. Also wonderful: works by girls at the Muriel Right Residential Center and Peninsula WCA Youth Project were also exhibited.

Painting on Vintage Cards

2009-08-09T12:09:00.001-07:00

Went to an opening of works by Marin artist Mike Shine called Flotsam's Wonder Tonic. The location was The Soap Gallery, an alternative space at 3180 Mission St, SF. Shine paints on all kinds of unusual surfaces - just not on canvas. His graphic paintings were devilish and pretty cool. I especially liked a series of painted cards, which seemed too small to be postcards. He found these greeting cards at a flea, the front are family portraits. He liked the aged paper of the reverse side and the deckle-cut edges. He used housepaint and guache and put them inside vintage tramp art frames that he scored on EBay. Very cool!

Visiting Crab Orchard Cemetary

2009-07-13T08:25:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went to the opening reception of Crab Orchard Cemetary Revisited at the Peninsula Art Museum. This exhibition of the late Jo Hanson's installation was curated by NCWCA artist Eleanor Dickinson, a good friend of Jo's. As soon as one enters the gallery, one steps into a different world. Recorded birdsong and other ambient sounds plus the black and white photographs of cemetary vegetation printed on clear plastic sheets form the backdrop for these tombstones carved out of styrofoam. Jo returned to the actual cemetary in Illinois several times to capture the feeling of this solitary and creepy place.

Sweet July 4

2009-07-08T19:03:00.001-07:00

Each year our neighborhood has a July 4 celebration. There's a small parade, the declaration of independence is read, then all make a mad dash for free hotdogs, chips, cupcakes and lemonade.

Some New England Vignettes

2009-07-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

Selecting tomatoes at Boston's Copley Square farmer's market

Portuguese parade in Provincetown

Children's games at Hartwell Tavern

Men line up and wait for George Washington at Hartwell Tavern

The desk where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women

Shalinee Kumari: Mithila Painter

2009-06-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

Shalinee Kumari is having her first solo show in the US at the Frey Norris Gallery. She is from Bihar, India and paints in the Mithila style. Her interpretations of Krishna and world events are fresh and beautifully conceived.

Sketch Tuesday at 111 Minna

2009-06-24T19:47:00.001-07:00

Looked in on Sketch Tuesday at 111 Minna last night. Featured artists were elbow to elbow at the center table. Their works were up for sale later. Loitering on the side tables and sofas were lots of young artists sketching too. Next time I'm going to bring my baseball photos to sketch. Fun!

Audrey's 60th Birthday Bash

2009-06-24T19:44:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Audrey's 60th birthday by dancing the salsa at the Cheryl Burke dance studio. It was a lot of fun learning the salsa and marenge. Afterwards we feted at the Axis cafe.

Polyglot: Expressive Media in Bookarts

2009-06-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

I went to the Polyglot reception last night at the Gualala Arts Center. The Arts Center was in a wonderful setting, nestle among redwoods. Lots of beautiful and unusual books in this show, made with all kinds of materials. I'll add a slideshow a little later.

Shadowplay #3

2009-06-13T11:07:00.001-07:00

I've been participating in a round-robin art project with members of NCWCA with the theme, "Shadowplay." This is my third piece, inspired by Judy Shintani's second piece and South African artist, William Kentridge. It's an altered book incorporating dictionary pages, old postcards from the Uffizi and a Rolling Stones song. What a pleasure to make this piece and to play back all those sexy Stones songs.

ArtSpan Tour des Artistes #1

2009-06-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

ArtSpan conducted its first Tour des Artistes for 18 art-loving viewers. They visited six studios in the Mission District and got to learn first-hand how artists work and create. The artists visited were Cynthia Tom, Jennifer Ewing, Clare Kuo, Katja Leibenath, Silvia Poloto and Liz Mamorsky. The viewers were exposed to different artists' media and styles, saw completed works as well as works in progress, listened to artists' presentatons, asked questions and enjoyed a variety of refreshments and drinks.

Southern Exposure Fundraiser at Electric Works

2009-06-07T20:11:00.001-07:00

Last night we went to a crowded fundraiser for SoEx at Electric Works. Lots of young, hipster art collectors and interesting pieces up for silent and live auctions. The bidding was spirited and art pieces went quickly.

Hearts of San Francisco: Rebecca Fox

2009-06-07T20:08:00.001-07:00

Finally viewed Rebecca Fox's "heart" at Mission Creek Park. I loved her meticulous metal work and the gorgeous patina on this bound and open heart. It's perfectly positioned across the water from San Francisco houseboats.

Third Street Bridge - Memorial Day

2009-05-25T17:10:00.001-07:00

The view from AT&T Park: the Third Street bridge being raised for a sailboat

Bergamot Station

2009-05-24T17:01:00.001-07:00

Most of the art galleries were closed when I arrived at Bergamot Station on Friday afternoon. I did manage to take in a wonderful photographic exhibition of works by Asako Narahashi. And I took a pic of sidewalk art posted on the outside of the buildings.

Experimental Artists: Photo Alteration Techniques

2009-05-24T10:27:00.001-07:00

texturized photo

distressed, hand-tinted photo

bleached photo

I was invited to a workshop with the Experimental Artists' group while I was visiting Pasadena. Avinger N. showed us several techniques to alter photos. Last week I picked up an old movie still from the "free pile" at the recycling center's artists' reception. The old black and white photo was perfect for hand-tinting. I soaked the photograph in water for about 30 seconds to loosen the emulsion, then sanded it lightly. My watercolors took to the photograph easily and I was impressed with how well they blended into the image after drying. Avinger also showed us the effect of liquid Draino and bleach on color photographs. We used photographs printed on photo paper (versus inkjet photopaper) to separate the cyan/red/yellow colors. I used a bleach pen (which is like a gel pen) to draw "steam" on the photograph and left it on for about 30 seconds before washing it off. Left too long, the bleach strips the colors off entirely. It was more difficult to control the color stripping with a pan of liquid bleach - you had to paint areas you wanted to keep by painting gel medium on the photo first. The liquid Draino was very tricky - you dipped the photo in it for a split second, then put it face-down on paper. If done properly, you got a mirror image of the photo without the cyan colors. More often, we managed to smear color onto paper - the images were lost entirely. Another neat technique was using textured surfaces (you can buy textured plates in the scrapbooking section of Target) to create interesting effects on photos. You simply wet the photo, then rub over the texture with a fine-grain sandpaper. I had an old black and white photo I took of a train barn, and it came out fabu.

Pasadena

2009-05-23T18:52:00.000-07:00

Avinger N lit in pink light at Don Cuco's

Retro movie theater closed for renovation

A funky bar in an alley in downtown Pasadena

I drove down to LA to participate in an experimental artists' workshop and to speak at a Collage Artists of America meeting. Arrived around 4:30 and Avinger took me to old town to walk around and discover alleys. Very cool architecture (Moorish influences) and narrow alleys. It was a perfect Southern California afternoon with bright skies and balmy air.

MACLA Fundraiser - San Jose

2009-05-17T20:36:00.001-07:00

We went to the annual MACLA (Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americano) fundraiser last night. It was quite an exuberant affair with lots of beautiful artwork donated by latino artists up for auction.

SF Recycling & Disposal Artists-in-Residence

2009-05-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

View from the dump of train tracks and fog drifting over the hills

Gallery space - actually the artists' studio cleared away for this show

Outside the studio - a place to hang out

Some works made by previous artists

We went to a reception at the dump on Friday. They have a wonderful artists-in-Residence program there, started by Women's Caucus artist Jo Hanson in 1990. Artists work 40 hours/week for 4 months at the dump to create artwork from recycled materials. At the end of their residency, they get a show and leave their creations there for 12 months. This was my first reception and I was inspired by the materials available. Perhaps I will apply for a residency one of these days.

Water, Water Everywhere

2009-05-15T16:52:00.001-07:00

I came home to a river of muddy water flowing down our street. A broken water main has shut down our street and brought the city water department crew to deal with the flow. Lots of drilling of street and shouting of orders outside our window. Not good to lose so much water in a drought year. A water main broke on our street several years ago and flooded our ground floor rooms. A connection to the replacement pipe may have come loose and caused this problem.

SOMA Open Studios

2009-05-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

We made our rounds of spring open studios today in the South of Market area. Bryant Street studios had works by Erika Meriaux, who used to work out of Art Explosion. Her new space is spacious and I really like her new works, which are her interpretations of Greek mythology.

We also visited with Mike Kimball, who was mostly showing his prints. Other studios we visited included the Garage Gallery, Second Street Studios and 8th Street Studios. The Second Street Studios are brand new and located near the Bay Bridge freeway entrance. Rather precariously perched but the studio spaces were nice & big.

First Thursday: May 2009

2009-05-08T18:55:00.001-07:00

Elisabeth Sunday at Gallery 291, her solo show is titled Africa VI: The Tuareg

Enrique Chagoya opened at Electric Works with a show called "Super-Bato Saves the World"

We went to two openings last night - first to Elisabeth Sunday's solo exhibit of her recent photographs of African women. Her women are always beautifully elongated and their long, black robes transform them into human sculptures.

At Electric Works, Enrique Chagoya's paintings and artist's books focused on immigration issues. He also painted several slot machines and visitors were encouraged to try their luck.

Paris Book

2009-05-03T19:06:00.001-07:00

Finally finished making the Paris travel book, which I started weeks ago. It documents my trip last September to attend the UN NGO conference at UNESCO. I created a number of signatures using postcards distributed at the conference as covers. I also incorporated packing tape transfer, gel lift and matte photo paper transfer techniques I recently learned from Dolores G. The time-consuming part was incorporating the many separate elements into some sort of cohesive whole, especially the photographs I took on the trip. I learned this book's form from Gail R. who taught a traveler book class at SF Center for Books last year. It's cool because the spine is flexible and can be as large as the number of items I want to put into the book. And the signatures help the book stand on its own when all are incorporated. Not the kind of book I would make for all my trips but it works well when one comes home with an inordinate amount of paper and ephemera.

Friday NIght Openings

2009-05-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

Opening Reception at Hunters Point Spring Open Studios

At San Jose's North First ArtSpace

ICA

2009-04-29T17:10:00.001-07:00

I visited the Institute of Contemporary Art for the first time. They make wonderful use of windows looking out into the waters of Boston harbor. They had a great exhibition of Shepard Fairey's graphic works.