Flourish

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.

Gettin Crafty Up in the Valley

If you have your ear to the ground (metaphorically of course) you've heard the rumble of the Bay Area urban craft movement coming our way. As one who religiously frequents Maker Faire, Bazaar Bizarre, and Renegade Craft Fair, I am loving the fact that the Napa Valley has had nonstop craft events all month. 

It started off with the White Barn Winter Fair on November 19th to benefit the Arts Council of Napa Valley. Nimbus Arts followed with their "Hands on Fire" ceramic show and sale. Last weekend I stopped at the "Holiday Shopping Extravaganza" and saw good friends Valerie Raven, Nina Zaslove, and Nancy Shapiro. Napa Valley College has a Pottery Sale and Open Studio Thursday from 11:00am-8:00pm and "Santa's Helpers" returns to the Napa Expo the 11th & 12th.

So I couldn't help throwing my hat in the ring when potter Nikki Ballere invited us to be at the Artisan Trunk Show in St. Helena on Dec 17 & 18. I'll be showing off my latest sewn creations at a booth with my boyfriend Robb McDonough who owns Barn Simple Press. Other fantastically creative artists in the show include: Christopher Jones-Marino, William Callnan III, Mercedes Baker, Daithi, Melissa Garden Streblow, Melissa Baker, Slader Brown, Nikki Ballere, Sonia Lub, Layla Musselwhite, Jenna Wells, Lynae Marie Skookumchuck and Thief of Hearts.

We kick it off Friday with a fun party from 6:00-9:00pm and continue Saturday from 10:00-5:00. Come check out the beautiful space upstairs at the Odd Fellows Building in St. Helena at 1352 Main Street. I guarantee you will find a wonderful work of art or jewelry or letterpress or pottery that you cannot live without.

Viva la Craft!

 

Needle in a Hay Barn

Finding cool contemporary art exhibitions in Napa used to be like looking for a needle in a haystack. But a few recent events have opened up new venues in the local scene. Artist Gordon Huether has moved his exhibition space to downtown Napa, freeing up his Hay Barn studio gallery on Monticello Road to rotating show by guests curators.

The expert vision of Chandra Cerrito (owner of Chandra Cerrito Contemporary in Oakland) has transformed the Hay Barn into a super hip space for new art. The five artists in her show Stratigraphic play with elements of pop, op, and abstract art, to create work that not only catches your eye, it traps it.

The vibrant paintings of Omar Chacón, who was born in Bogotá, refer to the rich colors and patterns of Latin American textiles. Brian Caraway (photo) pairs his rhythmic canvases with titles that throw you off balance i.e. "take my advice don't come any closer". And David Allan Peters, carves into layers and layers of acrylic paint, taking the painting in reverse, flipping your sense of 2D and 3D.

An added bonus was the sighting of the "Imperial America" a work in progress by artist Lewis deSoto that was recently written about in the NY Times.  His customized 1956 Chrysler Imperial was parked out front sans the pending roof rack for a 10.5-foot scale model of a CC-56 Redstone ballistic missile.

Thanks to Gordon and Chandra and all the artists in Stratigraphic for an incredible discovery. The exhibition is up through September 24 and the Hay Barn is open to needle hunters Monday-Friday 9am to 4pm. More photos in the Hay Barn album.

A tilt on tomatoes

Last night I was joined by a cadre of bloggers at Gott's Roadside for a twilight tour of their self-sustaining garden in St. Helena. We were celebrating "Tomato Week" as part of SummerFest 2010 at AWaytoGarden.com. Being an aspiring lenshound, I jumped at the chance to take some artsy photos of Executive Chef, Rick Robinson's abundant crop of corn, tomatoes, peppers, melons, and herbs. Garden Manager, Christopher Landercasper proudly toured us through the rows of green before we sat down to a feast of tomato dishes including classic Gazpacho, Panzanella, Southern Scalloped Tomatoes, and my favorite...Tomato and Mayo Sandwiches (on Wonder Bread)--thus proving myself once again the least gourmet of the group.

But I was there for the pics not the recipes. So I decided to try something new with my digital shots. I took them to tiltshiftmaker.com and automatically, the spot focus changed and the perspective softened. Suddenly the photos looked magical and reflected the equally enchanted warm night we were having (for a change in the Napa Valley). So if you are looking for a fun way to alter your photos, or offer a slightly warped version of your experience out in a tomato field, try "tilt shift". And remember, "The man that cannot visualize a horse galloping on a tomato is an idiot”--Andre Breton

 

La Bella Terra

Uno momento. I'd like to pause a moment to recognize a somewhat hidden talent in our midst. Artist Amy Gallaher, who has been living and working in Napa for the past 10 years, draws little attention to her unique gifts. I have known her practically all of this time, I am still ever surprised by her abilities and drive to perfect them. Last weekend at the Youth in Arts: Italian Street Painting Festival in San Rafael, I was once again awed by her skill and endurance.

Amy was one of the featured artists at the Festival, which is a high honor considering that the Youth in Arts festival is renowned as one of the finest street painting festivals in the world. This is her fourth year creating a masterpiece in chalk while over 60,000 people look on in amazement. Starting on Thursday evening, Amy was on her hands and knees for three days in the scorching sun to complete her section of a piece called The Four Elements. Her trompe l'oeil flood of color representing water was almost refreshing enough to cool off the crowd. The elements earth, air, and fire were beautifully portrayed by featured artists Sharyn Namnath, David “Two Hawk” Glazier, and Mark Cummings.

 
Amy embraced this unsusual art form as she does everything in life. She picked up street painting as though it was in her blood. And in fact, some of her pieces have been based on super realist paintings by her father John Stewart. Amy says, "I love the scale of street painting, and I'm more comfortable painting a 12-foot square on the ground than I am painting a 12-inch painting to hang on the wall. People ask if I am sad when my paintings are washed away. I answer that the fleeting nature of street painting is probably what I love best about it."

Luckily there were tons of photographers capturing the temporary works of art and the experience must have touched many in a variety of ways. All of this effort went to a great cause, Youth in Arts, a nonprofit arts education program in Marin County that offers students training in the visual and performing arts. As the back of the volunteer t-shirts stated: "I believe that every child needs the arts."

Kudos to the hundreds of volunteers, performers, artists and advocates that make this event a huge success. And congrats Amy on a dream achieved! (More photos in the Chalk Fest album to the right.)

Napa Blog Wave

Allow me to introduce you to a lovely group of ladies who are part of a growing contingent of bloggers in the Napa Valley. I encourage you to check out all of the informative and fun blogs hosted by my amazing friends starting with Indra Fortney of Style & Shoot. Become an un-snob at AficioNapa written by epic dreamer and food writer Brooke Cheshier; visit Napavore for a ton of great restaurant musings by Rachelle Newbold; and look up Literary Legacies to follow Julie Dalrymple on her journey with great writers. Plus get amazing seasonal recipes on Diane Padoven's Napa Farmhouse 1885 blog: share inspiration with Julia Allen at Folia Design; and celebrate the crafty life with Katherine Jalaty at Making Chicken Salad. With so many creative blogs, you can do your Summer Reading online!

Tramp Art finds a home at NV Museum

Sometimes it’s necessary to leave the cozy comforts of your regular scene to find out what’s going on in other art communities…and sometimes you are missing something right in your own backyard. This weekend I ventured to two extremely enjoyable venues which are not on my usual “art route”. The Napa Valley Museum has a new interim director, Tina Blakeney, who has already made visible changes on the exterior and interior of the tired Yountville institution. The exhibition that opened on Friday April 30, “Handcrafted in America: Reinterpreting Tradition” has breathed new life into our hometown museum. The first show by local talent Freeland Tanner, it is exactly what the Napa Valley needs and deserves. Freeland’s insanely intricate wood carvings deeply impressed my Dad (who was a shop teacher for 35 years) as well as everyone else present at the opening. His tramp art sculptures are smartly paired with selections from the Napa Valley Quilters Guild who clearly deserve more recognition for their imaginative and skillful creations.

 

 
 

Freeland Tanner is self-taught and uses reclaimed wood to create stunning functional sculptures. He is influenced by French Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Rococo. By day he is a well-known landscape artist, but in his woodshop he is a master of notched wood and carpentry. The exhibition is up until July 5 so there is plenty of time to stop by and feel the new energy emanating from the NVM.

Enjoy more photos in my album to the right.

 

 

Where did I go next? Watch for my next post on the Benicia Open Studios...

Happy B-day dear Flourish!

Lately time has been flashing back and forth and all around. This may be due to watching too many episodes of LOST in consecutive order, or recent doses of Vicodin, but I seem to have lost track. Friends keep having to remind me: "Oh that was years ago."

So I decided to check back and see how long I've been keeping this blog, and it turns out that this month is the 2-year anniversary! Back when Napa Nest was thriving and was awarded the Bohemian's "Best of the Bay". Back when the Fruit Stand Collective was hawking their wares and Gordon Huether's studio was still a hay barn.

 

Back before I met the incredible crew at Wandering Rose, the amazing group of young people working to inject the Napa arts scene with new energy. Back before the city of Napa passed their Public Art Ordinance, before the Arts Council had a Facebook page, before Pappy Hour and Arty Party and Open Mic Night.

When you think about it, so much has happened in the last two years and so much of it is due to the artists and art advocates who have united and pushed forward so that our community can truly Flourish. So let's celebrate...we've come a long way baby!