it's burnin' up over here... whew

Basically.. Northern California has turned into the desert. The weather today was off the charts HOT!!. The weather channel reports a high of 86.. yeah right. It feel like I'm sittin' on Satan's lap right about now. sheesh.

On the bright, hot, sweaty side of things... when walking Dean tonight.. I got to hear the crickets chirp. I'm not sure I have heard that since I moved from Utah. It suddenly reminded me of all the wonderful summer nights I had growing up.

Now if only I could get some lightening and thunder in the sunshine.

Really?

Can you believe that one of the hearts is now missing? Who does that? The boxes are all there but now one of the hearts is missing. I'm not sure if it fell out or someone stole it. If someone stole it.. all I can say is... if someone stole it well that's just rude. Don't steal peoples artwork, it's just wrong.

Now I have to try and replace it properly and try my best to match the heart.. since it was already purchased.

grumble grumble grumble.

Art Closing was a success..

My art has a very big affect on people as you can see.

I am now starting to work on my new show for October. No time to rest...ever.

Bolinas day drive

This is from the end of my trip to the beginning.

Nothing like a picture of the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge.. ooh la la. Everyone needs one, even if you live here.

This is on Highway 1 - pictured is Stinson Beach. Not bad for a moving car picture.

In Bolinas they had a cute little farm stand that still used the honor system. I got butter lettuce, zucchini, cucumber, garlic, and an heirloom apple.

Bolinas is a strange town.. Old hippies are abundant. I also noticed dogs were allowed to be loose and they just sort of ran around the town doing their own thing.

There were kitty pictures all over town, like this one below. meeeow.

This is a very old saloon named Smiley's. I think it was built in the middle to late 1800's. Some strange ducks hung out in there.. but the coffee was strong.

They had a little town museum too.. It basically brushed on the local history and had gobs of artifacts that I adored. This is a beer bottle from a brewery in San Francisco from the early 1900's.

Oops! Someone forgot their shoes. Aren't these the coolest. Look how delicate they are. Can you imagine walking around the muddy town trying not to get these puppies dirty. They don't make shoes like this anymore.

Another strange kitty..

My friend and I ate at the "Coast Cafe". They actually go out and catch their own crab and seafood. These were just hanging around the yard.

More of the yard.. does this remind you of something?? Think - Short Circuit.

Floaties

The drive started in Oakland and made our way to Fairfax, just above Marin. Then from there we went on a little road west.. off the beaten path. The road was dominated by bicyclist and had tricky tight turns.

This is the very top of our journey. The drive went from dry to fog and rain with redwoods.

Before the redwoods we came across a dam and this gem. Breathtaking.

awww..

more lake

It was a great day!!

Does this look like someone you know?

Source

Haha.. It looks like me if I were er.. 7 maybe. Oh and in the 1920's

haha

art closing

Tomorrow is my art closing, details are:

Lanesplitter (Temescal Location) 8/24
4799 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, Ca. 94... damn if I know.
7-9 pm

Finger food/pizza/drinks.

I was so lazy this time around that I didn't make fliers.. I'm hoping that doesn't ruin the whole experience but it is what it is. I still feel that I will bring in some people.

The show has had tremendous success which I am so thankful for. I couldn't have imagined it would do this well. Not only have I almost sold the show.. but I am in demand with commission pieces. I need to get to work!!!

I'm going to try and be more diligent about writing in my blog a bit more and setting up my long lost website, so sad.

Today I'm off on a little driving adventure. We are going up to Marin and then cutting west through a back road to Stinson and Bolinas beach. Should be a beautiful fun day.
Yesterday after work I went to the Country Cheese shop in Berkeley and got some top of the line salami, gruyere, and spicy mustard for a snack on today's adventure. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Don't you just love little mom and pop places that are cozy with quality organic products. They sliced the salami fresh right there and I got to sample everything before deciding on it. The mustard I bought is from the Mendocino Mustard Company, I can't wait to dive right in. Maybe I will have to visit them when I go to Hopland in the near future.

Well I better hop in the shower and wash the stink off me.

Music these days have been:

Roots n' Blues - A retrospective 1925-1950 (various artist) 4 disc set
and
Doughboys, Playboys and Cowboys: The Golden Years of Western Swing [BOX SET]
and
Bessie Smith and some old ragtime.

Soooooooo good!

grateful

The show has been up for one week now and has been so far a success. I have already sold 24 small boxes in the 30 piece and 1 large box. I am so grateful and flattered, it's unbelievable. I wasn't very sure what to expect when I hung this show and while making it. There were definite moments I was worried that the hearts were too hokey... but my dark side saw the irony and fun distorting them.

Once the show was hung I thought they would be popular but I wasn't prepared to have sold over half my show by now. Again... I'm a bit astonished and taken back.

Coming into this show I knew that I wanted to try and keep it simple. My last show seemed busy and intense, this show I tried to be light hearted and easy about it. I think for the most part I succeeded. I forgot to mention that I have even had a commission already for some of the hearts that were already sold.

I think this will spark my interest to start selling on Etsy. I do have a shop but have not posted anything as of yet. In fact I hope I can remember all the log in info etc. I just tried to log in and it's still there.. so I guess I'm good.

Here are some more pictures of the current show (30 piece). Sorry about the blurry pics. I'm a terrible shot at times. I can't seem to steady my hands with a digital camera.

From top to bottom: "Happy n' Bleeding" - "Round-Up" - "Natural"

All 3 of these are sold!! I think the other trick during these tough times was to make the art small and super affordable. The small boxes are only 25.00 and the large are 100.00 each.

Until next time..

In current music rotation:

Brandi Carlile - The Story (LOVE this album)

Alison Krauss and Union Station - Lonely Runs Both Ways (might be too twang for some peeps but I love it)

tootles

very long overdue..

It's been a while eh.. I have been very very busy with life and art. I just hung my show at the Lanesplitter Temescal 48th and Telegraph in Oakland. If anyone is in the area.. please stop by.

The show is called "Road Traveled Heart"

The above picture is a 30 piece that symbolizes my life thus far. The center of the boxes are paper mache hearts and each box is different.

Here are some details

Above is one of my larger pieces in the show. And...

I love the piece above, the birds nest is real!

Well I think that is enough for an entrance back to Blogville.