in the driver's seat

I have the tremendous good fortune of knowing Sam. Sam makes something everyday. It is usually in the shape of a letter, perhaps a sketch or character, and it is always magical. This is a show Sam has imagined for me; a collection of images I have taken while driving.

thank you, Sam.

Nighttime

images gleaned from various tumblrs

thoughts of nighttime... dark and still... time for quiet and reflection

A Night Out

After a long couple of days at work, I treated myself to a night out with a friend. I started with a trip to Freshly Cut, a beautiful floral shop in Berkeley that creates the most unique and gorgeous arrangements. After a cup of tea, some good conversation and a much needed refill of inspiration, we headed to Adesso on Piedmont for drinks and hors d'oeuvres. My mojito was delicious and our appetizer was pretty tasty.

I ended the night at one of my favorite neighborhood cafes, the Elmwood on College. Tonight the Elmwood celebrated its first donation to one of its charity recipients (50% of Elmwood's profits go to a customer selected charity), Bread Works. The atmosphere was friendly as always and the food was delicious! Homemade strawberry sodas passed in fluted glasses on trays and crostini topped with local goat cheese and peach mint chutney circulated on pretty white plates.

I love that the food is sourced from local farms and everything down to the fresh fruit syrups in the sodas are made in house. I'm looking forward to weekend morning where I can enjoy a pot of loose leaf earl grey! (A pot, not a cup, served in a red tea pot! How perfect is that???)

Aaron and I went to Community Art Night at Jefferson Elementary. Several Parents started an art group and are creating installations throughout the school. Art Night was a school and community event. There was a tremendous amount of energy and creativity. Kids, parents, friends, teachers were all making incredible treasures including birds made from discarded library book. Many of the creations from art night will be installed throughout Jefferson. Check out some of the video below...

Arts Benicia Show Opening

Went to the opening of The Art of a Community exhibit at Arts Benicia tonight. I was so happy to have found this arts organization in my somewhat nearby neighborhood. Although I live in Vallejo, I find myself on First St. in Benicia far more often that any downtown Vallejo street. 

I spent an hour or so looking at the work of 180 different artists. I was pleasantly surprised by the vast range of mediums. Being especially into book arts right now, and as always, anything precious and delicate, I was drawn to this altered book by Karen Hatzigeorgiou.  While butterflies are not my favorite motif, the all white frames of these paper insects cast shadows on the book. They leap off the page only to be suspended, unmoving, yet flickering in the light. I like how the forms create other shapes, constantly changing and shifting in its environment. To be honest, there were so many people, I didn't get a very close or intimate look at any one piece, but I was happy to have spent my night there.  The show will be up through most of March, and I will like to see it again, without the buzzing crowd.