Tropical Heat Wave

OK, I am a little behind on the blogging...our opening party for the new Avant-Garden show was last Thursday, May 15, a beautiful tropical night with temps in the 80s. I love this weather. It means staying out in skimpy clothes, sipping beer foam from the keg, admiring the pink clouds behind your friends heads, ahhhhhh.

The night was even more exotic with the voice of Venezuelan jazz singer Maria Marquez and happy flowers and veg all adjusting to their new pots in the Community Garden. I loved how so many people were wearing green. The space is glowing green with the installation by Oakland artist Carrie Lederer. She uses found objects, papier mache, and fake foliage to create an Alice-in-Wonderland adventure. You have to shrink and stretch just to see all the details. 

Also the work by Lewis deSoto and Joyce Hsu makes us pause and investigate botanicals in a more unusual way. deSoto's sunflowers and weeds are caught in motion, defying the typical "still life". Hsu's architectural blossoms deconstruct the petal, pistil, and stamen. Created out of super thin plywood, they scatter weightless across the room.

Enough poetry...let's talk about the food! Ashley Teplin and Raul Salinas (Yes chef) did it again! The spring crudite and spreads matched our bright green decor and the gourmet ants-on-a-log were genius. Topped off perfectly with strawberry, taragon, and basalmic salad. slurp!

Everyone walked away with an free tomato plant leftover from our abundant donation from Home Depot. They helped make our Community Garden one of the most welcoming spots in Napa. Be sure to check back later this summer to pick strawberries, peppers, eggplants, tomatos, etc from the garden. Its all there for you!

Thanks for coming everyone. I hope to see you at our upcoming event (see www.napanest.com). Friday May 30 is a shopping feast for the ladies...and Saturday, June 14 we'll be making Shadow Portraits.