Flourish

Art n Gardens

I'm still out and about absorbing art in all its configurations. Besides being arty in the Napa Valley, I hit up galleries and museums all over the place. Last weekend I went down to L.A. to see my awesome brother receive two graduate degrees and to meet my fiance's brother Paul.

First stop, the Downtown Fullerton Art Walk where Paul (Bongo) and Chandra showed us around their cool neighborhood. We found a lot of inspiration at PAS Gallery/Magoski Arts Colony which is a hybrid gallery/artist collective that changes out shows monthly. They had a two-person sculpture show called Artifacts and Rituals featuring the work of Jon St. Amant and Evan Everest, plus several other mini shows in adjoining spaces. This was the heart of the art walk. Their mission, as stated on their website is, "To love people. All people." How cool is that?

The next day we were in Pasadena at The Huntington (Library, Art Collection, and Boatnical Gardens). There was no place more perfect for two art addicts in love. We checked out the Scott Galleries that held Mary Cassat's tender Breakfast in Bed, as well as work by Edward Hopper, and a dining set by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Library Exhibition Hall was heaven for bibliophiles and the Japanese gardens were my favorite placeto people watch. The herb gardens, roses, and tropical plants were just as impressive as the collection. I'm so happy I finally made it to The Hungtington. Next trip...the Getty Villa and maybe some more Culver City galleries.

More photos in the "Walking in L.A." album at the right (scroll down).

Next week its the San Francisco artMRKT and SF Fine Art Fair. Look for me if you're going.

 

Come meet the group of photographers I traveled to Myanmar with in January...photo show at Yo el Rey Roasting in Calistoga at 7:00pm.

Join us on March 10 at Ella Blu in Calistoga for a Blue Note Sidewalk Sale. Special prices on jazzy clothes and home accessories plus live music and champagne. Just down the street from the Calistoga Jazz Festival. Come see us 10 am to 4pm at 1125 Lincoln Ave.

Myanmar Photo Journey

Just back from an incredible two week photography journey to Myanmar with Solano College instructor Ron Zak. So many crisp memories: Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon fish market, the reclining Buddha at Chaukhtatgyi Paya, stupas in Bagan, the Snake Pagoda, Pindaya Cave, Jumping Cat Monastery, Inle Lake. We saw one breathtaking site after another. But what I valued the most was the chance to connect with Myanmar's people--warm, funny, resilient--the true natural resource of this country that has been repressed from outside and in. If you have a chance to visit before things change too much there, I would highly recommend it. Its magical, ironic, and inspiring. Hope you enjoy some of my photos in this slideshow. Stay tuned for a class exhibition of our favorites.

Napa Nest North

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

from
Ann Trinca
Norma Quintana
Nina Zaslove

Thank you all for supporting Napa Nest this year at the Pop-Up shops and our personal projects. We hope you have a joyous year full of art and creativity! 

We are thrilled to announce that the Nest has found a little corner of the valley where we can sell vintage items. Please come visit us at ELLA BLU a gorgeous new consignment store at 1125 Lincoln Ave, Calistoga. Owner Kate Buck has a wonderful eye and fills her shop with little black dresses to die for. Napa Nest has handmade pillows, cute baskets, and miscellaneous coolness stocked up in the "home" section. Stop by and check it out, and please tell Kate we sent you. See you in 2012!

Handmade Heartfelt

Last weekend I got an early dose of holiday spirit at our Napa Nest Pop-Up shop. Tons of feathered friends showed up to support our local artisans and Marie Ferrini offered her space to host a reunion of Nest artists. Thank you all for your support! If you missed the merriment, you can still purchase handmade goods online at the following links:

Thief of Hearts

Napa Farmhouse 1885

Athena Studio

Valerie Raven

And COMING BACK SOON: Napa Nest on Etsy

See you online!

 

 

Art of the Mix

Time for a diversion...the season of holiday parties, family gatherings, and fancy beverages is upon us. While I enjoy all of the art activities springing up around Napa (see next post), I like to support our local mixologist at Solbar in Calistoga, Michael Pazdon. Michael just won the King's Ginger Holiday Cocktail Competition hosted by Mutineer magazine. I was lucky enough to attend with my pals from The Best Book Club Ever (who were dressed to the nines) at the Napa Valley Opera House.

The winning cocktail is worth making note of. I reccomend serving this delicious brew at your next cozy party, or just as a treat at home in front of the fire. Below are some pics from the glamorous event.

 

The King’s Waes Hail
by Michael Jack Pazdon, SolBar

1 oz. Christian Drouin VSOP Calvados
3/4 oz. The King’s Ginger Liqueur
3/4 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. Carpano Antica Formula
1/2 oz. egg white
dash house-made grenadine*
dash Maraschino Orginale Luxardo
5 drops gingersnap spice tincture**
5 drops Genevieve Genever-style Gin

Combine all ingredients, aside from the genever, in a mixing glass, dry shake for 10 seconds, add ice, shake hard and double strain into a chilled coupe. Float dehydrated apple chip, fresh grated nutmeg, rosemary flowers, 5 drops gingerbread spice tincture and 5 drops Genevieve on top of foam.

Time for a farm flash back

Remember my friends Clare Carver & Brian Marcy at Big Table Farm? About 6 years ago they escaped the hoighty-toighty wine industry in Napa and leapt into full-on farming and wine making in the Willamette Valley near Portland, Oregon. Clare is a talented painter who I met through the Arts Council Napa Valley and she is always the epitome of confidence and adventure. But when they moved to Oregon I was still slightly skeptical that this outgoing creature could live on an isolated farm and haul 50 lb feed bags at sunrise. I should have known better...

Clare and Brian are thriving, even if they have to do most of the work by themselves. The response to their Big Table wines has been explosive, they are raising cows and pigs and chickens for extra income. Clare is still painting every week with a plein air group. And they are still smiling.

Here is a video shot during the Outstanding in the Field event they hosted in July. Followed by some photos I took on my last visit. If this couple doesn't inspire you, you must be daft.

 

Big Table Farm, Oregon from Outstanding in the Field on Vimeo.

From my visit last April:

Local hunts

Along with Indra Fortney of life-style, I drove down to the Oakland Museum Women's Board's White Elephant Sale full of hope and anticipation. I have been hearing tales of the unbelievable deals and throngs of people for years and years. The website says it "is the biggest, the best and certainly the most enjoyable rummage sale in Northern California".....Nope.

 

It was overcrowded, overhyped and certainly not enjoyable. The line to get it went around a full city block and kept coming. Once you got inside, there was barely breathing room to look at the items, which really weren't worth fighting for. Although I applaud the Oakland Museum of CA's Women's Board for organizing such a huge feat of philanthropy...I now know that I haven't been missing much.

When we returned to Napa I toook some time to visit our local consignment shops: Alice's Consignments, Antiques on Second, Community Projects, and the newly opened Roost on Lincoln Ave. I found a better selection, lower prices, and nicer people right here in our very own city. I suggest you support these community businesses. The more we shop in Napa, the fewer white elephants we have to chase!

 

Beauty in Buenos Aires

Back from Buenos Aires with a collection of great photographs! I’ve just returned from a two-week sojourn with a class of photographers led by the fearless Ron Zak. Zak is the Photography Department Chair at Solano College and he has been leading these excursions around the world for over twenty years.

On Dec 29 we arrived and settled into our home base in the San Telmo district. Having been away from city life for so long, it took me a while to work up my urban mojo. Buenos Aires is a vibrant, grungy, cosmopolitan, complex city with a mix of cultures and a passion for art, architecture, dance, and beef.

Our group of 23 photographers (all ages and experience) tried to capture this chaotic beauty in our photos—each of us with a different tilt. Part of the fun was sharing our work at the end of day and telling stories of “the great capture” or the one that got away.

 
Highlights for me were the immense walls of graffiti, our excursion to a local dance hall, the Recoleta cemetery, the MALBA museum, Palermo Thai food, ambitious dog walkers, Museo Evita, looking for the disappeared, Spanglish lessons, and the flea market on Avenida Defensa.

Zak told us to look for themes in our work, assuring us one would emerge. After a while I determined that my photos were “Indirect Portraits” i.e. photos of human evidence but not typical portraits. I definitely learned a lot during the trip and got to know a place I had never imagined I would visit. Coming back is like returning from another lifetime—one filled with noise, color, drama in the land of Tango.

(see more photos in Tangoland album)