de Young - Bouquets to Art

I have been to the de Young Museum on several occasions. The last big exhibit I saw there was Oscar De La Renta two years ago. This time around some friends joined me for a day in the city centered around the Bouquets to Art exhibit. It is the 34th year that de Young is hosting its annual floral takeover of the museum offering demonstrations and conversations about flowers, decor, and lifestyle. 120 of the most innovative floral designers from the Bay Area to Tokyo create their own masterpieces inspired by the works of art. It was really exciting to wander the galleries seeing the amazing paintings and sculptures being complemented by the colors, and smells of all the beautiful flowers. 

Here are are my top picks from the exhibit, which inspired me the most, starting with colorful paintings and flowers.

 Marion Moss Floral Design and Susan Kelly (Petaluma) 

James Peal, Still Life with Fruit, ca. 1821

I have always been fond of still life paintings, especially of fruit. James Peal was one of the earliest and most talented professional painters in America to specialize in still life. The beautiful bright colors of these flowers really complement this painting.   

Nixon Tran (Vietnam)

Andy Warhol, Flowers, 1964

This is one of my favorite pieces by Warhol. I love the bright composition and bright colors of the flowers in this print. The Mandrinette is a highly rare, local shrub. Andy Warhol made prints of the Mandrinette with petals in different colors based on a photograph by the nature photographer Patricia Caulfield. This floral arrangement truly depicted this piece of art. 

Rachel Riser (Napa)

Mose Tolliver, Windmill Down at Old Pike and a Man Got a Gun Trying to Shoot the Bird Back, 1988

"Perhaps finding an image of himself in the birds, Mose Tolliver chooses to depict his nostalgic memory of home at a moment when a vulnerable animal is being threatened by a blond hunter as it tries". This was one of my favorite floral arrangements of the day.  It really comes to life with movement of the flowers and bright colors. 

My favorite pieces inspired by the ocean, with beautiful blues and complimentary oranges:

Joy Kuhn McCabe; assistant Patty Reed (Tiburon)

Dale Chihuly, Ultramarine Stemmed Form with Orange, 

from the Persian series, 1992

I just love the colors of this arrangement. Tulips and hydrangeas are some of my favorite flowers. This arrangement is just as beautiful as the blown glass sculpture. 

J. Miller Flower & Gifts, Valerie Lee Ow; 

co-exhinitor Maureen Ownens; assistants Robbin Lee, Jaqueline Ow (Oakland)

Miguel Covarrubias, The Fauna and Flora of The Pacific, 

from the Pageant of the Pacific Mural series, 1939

This mural is very beautiful and grand in person. I love that this floral arrangement looks as if it is under sea. The best part of this floral piece is the orange fish made of flowers. The Fauna and Flora of The Pacific is one of the six remaining murals done by Miguel Covarrubias. This Mural was created for The Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. The full set of six murals featured oversized, illustrated maps entitled: The Fauna and Flora off the Pacific, Peoples, Economy, Native Dwellings, and Native Means of Transportation.  This piece of art was painted "at a critical juncture in America's history".  Covarrubias "was a confidante of Mexican greats Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. 

My favorite colorful and ethnic pieces of art using primary colors, with complementary colors accented with black and white:

Plumweed Floral and Event Design Monique Duncan (San Francisco) 

Lonnie Holley, Black in the Midst of Red, White and Blue, 2017

Color Woodblock

These pieces really spoke to me. I love the the graphic quality of these pieces which are complemented by the contrasting black and white with pops of primary colors. Lonnie Holley is a man of many myths and talents. Born in Jim Crow-era Birmingham Alabama as the 7th of 27 children, Holley travelled across the South and held a wide array of jobs (grave digger, cotton picker, a short-order cook at Disney World) before making his first artwork at the age of 29. 

Conservatory of Flowers, Mathew Stephens, Mario Vega (San Francisco)

Joe Light, Red Bird, 1988

This was one of the most beautiful and colorful pieces in the exhibit, which was really complemented by the tropical flowers of the the floral design. 

The Empire of Flora, Constance Oaks, AIFD, EMC (Los Altos)

Robert Colescott, A Taste of Gumbo, 1990

Acrylic on canvas

I just love the colorful contrasting colors of this piece and the humor behind it, paired with this floral design. Robert Colescott's paintings combine images and ideas from art and popular culture to confront racism in America. "A Taste of Gumbo addresses the African roots of a popular American food that French colonists claimed to have invented. According to Colescott "Louisiana cooking is purely African food.  Nevertheless, the French could enjoy it and be nourished by it, as they were by the slave mothers of their Creole offspring". 

My favorite colorful quilting pieces in red, white and black: 

Dianna Vigil, AIFD; co-exhibitor Irasema Caranza, CFD (Livermore)

Mary Lee Bendolph, Passing By, 2007

Mary Lee Bendolph is one of Gee's Bend's community memory keepers. In 1999 she was the subject of "Crossing Over", the Los Angles Times Pulitzer Prize-winning article about the effort to reestablish ferry service across the Alabama River." Gee's Bend is a small isolated African American community in South Alabama. Made between 1930's and the present, the Gee's Bend quilt's bright patterns, inventive color combinations, lively irregularities, and unexpected compositional variations make them outstanding examples of modern art".  The quilting portion of the exhibit was really wonderful. I loved all the textile elements and color combinations of these pieces.

Emil Yanos Design, Emil Yanos, AIFD (Napa)

Loretta Bennett, No Way, No Way, 2006 

Favorite modern sculptural pieces inspired by shape and space:

Sue Morford, AIFD (Freemont)

Cornelia Parker, Anti-Mass, 2005

Charred wood 

(retried from a church in Alabama destroyed by arson), 

nails and wire

This piece was the most unique and really stopped you in your tracks to take a deeper look. Anti-Mass was created from the charred remains of an African American Baptist church in Alabama that was destroyed by arsonists. "Parker's use of the word "mass" references both the physical substance and weight of objects, and also the sacramental at the center of Christian faith". 

April Flowers, April Abbot (Mill Valley)

Ruth Asawa, untitled sculptures, ca. 1959-1965

Hunter-Lee Flowers, Katsuko Thielke (Mountain View)

Ruth Asawa, untitled sculptures, ca. 1959-1965

Ruth Asawa was born in 1926 in Norwalk, California. Her parents were immigrants from Japan. She recognized her artistic talent in third grade while working on her family's farm. She moved to San Francisco in the 1950's. In 1952 she started to be recognized for her looped wire sculptures. In 1960 she had her first exhibition of sculptures, paintings, and drawings at the de Young in San Francisco. Along with San Francisco her work has been shown in Oakland, Los Angeles, New York and even in San Jose at The San Jose Museum of Art, where I first saw her work. I have always loved the lightness and airiness of her pieces. 

After an amazing day of seeing awesome art and flower arrangements we ended the day at one of my favorite restaurants nestled in the Marina neighborhood called Isa. This is a wonderful Cal French small plate restaurant that I have been going to for several years with my husband and friends. Our consensus favorite dish is the potato wrapped sea bass. It is to die for! We ended up getting two orders this time around between the three of us and had no problem devouring every last delicious bite. Another amazing dish was their truffle risotto.  We couldn't help but order two of those as well!!!  The artsy day topped off with a wonderful meal was unforgettable. There is nothing better then a day full of art, flowers, and food. 

San Jose Street Art

I spend a lot of time in the neighborhood of Willow Glen. Besides all of the great shops and restaurants in the area one thing that has always caught my eye are all of the fun, colorful murals on buildings.  These murals bring culture and art to the neighborhood. They are transforming blank walls from Willow Glen to Downtown San Jose. 

Three years ago Black Sheep Brasserie opened on Lincoln Avenue and brought a bit of France to Willow Glen, serving updated French classics. Of course I was exited about this new addition since I love everything French. On the back wall of the restaurant they have a beautiful mural with wine, cheese, flowers, veggies, and a black sheep titled "Le Moutor Noir".  Every time I see this mural it makes me happy.  It is so bright and cheery to look at. 

While searching for murals on my San Jose Street Art Blog Adventure Day I found one behind the BevMo building on Lincoln Avenue called "Life in Willow Glen". I walked over and took a bunch of photos of this beautiful and colorful mural.  In this fun rainbow hued interactive piece the artist Lila Gemellos illustrates the culture of Willow Glen. She tells the story of Willow Glen's past and present taking the audience on a trip through time. I started researching Lila Gemellos and discovered that the bicycle mural that I love so much on the Peet's Coffee building in the Rose Garden neighborhood (see my recent Rose Garden blog) is also by the same artist. Gemellos was raised and trained in San Jose. She started her mural business seven years ago and brings a local creative force to the area. 

Another fun and cheerful mural that I love in the Willow Glen neighborhood is on the building of the bakery Flower Flour. This is a "lovely little neighborhood spot" which is off the beaten path from the downtown strip on Willow Street. The colorful walls are covered in a French inspired painting. Everything about this place is French including the decor, food, and even the music playing inside. This little European patisserie and flower shop owned by Mimi Brown is cheerfully decorated and offers pastries, lunch, custom cakes, along with floral arrangements. When I went inside I was greeted by a very friendly women that suggested trying the Spinach Pie for lunch. It was a perfect warm and cozy meal on a rainy day. I let her know that I was checking out local places for my blog and she let me take photos inside. She even helped me stage an Instagram photo of the delicious "Flower Flour Choco Slice" of chocolate cake that I enjoyed. This cake is layered with chocolate mousse and chocolate ganache, a chocolate lovers dream!

Moving on from the Willow Glen area I headed to downtown San Jose which has a large variety of murals. After researching I picked the one that called out to me and went to take a look. Since I love colorful and cute things the one that spoke to me the most was the Panda Mural on 1st Street and San Fernando by the "Panda Cafe Bakery". It was a little tricky to get a parking spot to take a photo of this large mural.  It's on a one way street with the light rail running by often. After driving around the block a couple times I was finally able to park and get a good look. This fun mural by Phoung-Mai Bui Quoung and the P.M.Q Studios was created on February 3, 2015. This large scale pice of art brings whimsy to Downtown San Jose. Since there won't be any retail space any time soon on this block it entertains drivers along 1st Street. Even though it is tricky getting over here it is worth taking a trip to the busy side of town to see this great mural. I will have to make a trip back to check out the "Panda Cafe Bakery" since I am always on the look out for new bakeries. Seeing this fun and cheerful mural was a great way to end my San Jose Street Art Adventure day. 

Eclectic Day In San Francisco

A little over 10 years ago we lived in the city of San Francisco. I lived in Cow Hollow on my own and then moved in with my husband to the Pacific Heights neighborhood. This was the best and most beautiful neighborhood that I have ever lived in. It was hard when we moved to a house in West Portal for more space to leave this area and even harder to move from the city to San Jose. We still visit the city a lot and I still get my hair cut in the Pacific Heights neighborhood. One of our favorite places for brunch or lunch in Pacific Heights is Chouquet's. It is on Fillmore Street, walking distance from our old apartment. I often introduce it to friends when it's time for a girl's day in the city. This corner cafe at Washington and Fillmore has small sidewalk tables where you can sit and watch the world go by. You feel like you are at a contemporary cafe in Europe. My favorite thing to order for lunch is the Poulet Roti, which is roasted chicken with herbs de Provence & french fries. This dish is great paired with a glass of Chablis. Ever since we started going to this cafe I have admired the contemporary bowl used to serve their French bread. After going there for 12 years now I finally asked where they get these bowls and the waiter referred me to a restaurant supply store on Clement called Kamei Housewares & Restaurant Supply.

Last weekend my husband and I had a day in San Francisco together. We decided to do eclectic day in the city and go to areas that we don't go to very often. I really wanted to go check out Kamei and look for that bowl from Chouquet's. So we went over to Clement street and looked through the whole store. This place is great, especially for housewares. There was a mixture of contemporary dishware and Japanese pottery that I love. They also have really fun Japanese lanterns which are always fun and cheerful. Unfortunately we did not have a photo of the bowl so we were not sure if we saw it or not. We ended up buying a different one that we both liked, which also was very modern in style. Later that day we went and had lunch at Chouquet's and took a photo of the bowl so now I have an excuse to go back and look for it again. This is a great store for Etsy inspiration. I am excited by all the fun colors and prints on the pottery. 

After Clement Street we headed over to Divisadero and Hayes. I wanted to go back to my favorite stationery store in the city called Rare Device, which opened in 2007. This was the first store I wrote about in my blog two years ago. I was inspired the first time going because I discovered a book about the Artist Lisa Congdon who used to co-own Rare Device with her partner Rena Tom. Her book "Art Inc" inspired me to market my Etsy shop. 

This gallery and store has a mix of houseware items, stationery, wrapping paper, jewelry, books, and art all by local artists. It is known as the store with "beautiful things to hold in your hands". Every object here has it's own story. The gallery hosts events, gallery openings, trunk shows, workshops and monthly kids events. The name Rare Device comes from a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge called  Kubla Khan where he calls the Pleasure Dome that an ancient Mongol emperor created "a miracle of rare device". One of my favorite things on display right now are the graphic prints on the kelly green back wall. I love this style of colorful Pop Art. This color is very impactful and makes the art pop even more. I would love to incorporate more of this style in my stationery designs. Maybe even include some screen print art on T-shirts to pair with my party invitations. We were walking distance to Alamo Square Park so we headed over there to sit and look at the famous "Painted Ladies". This is a great place to reflect and relax.

After going to Alamo Square we headed over to an area where we had not been in awhile, the Mission District. At 18th and Guerrero is Tartine Bakery, widely considered the best bakery in the city. Opened in 2002 it is owned and operated by a husband and wife team, pastry chef Elisabeth Pruitt and renowned baker Chad Robertson who is known as the "Bread Whisperer". They were both trained in New York and France. They opened their first bakery together in Point Reyes in 1996. They will be opening a location on Alameda St. in Los Angeles in Spring 2018. If it is anything like the one in the city there will be lines out the door. We stood in line about twenty minutes this time around. When we finally got inside we got really lucky and found a place to sit. It was hard to decide what to order since everything looks so delicious. I ended up getting their Chocolate Hazelnut Tart and my husband got their huge chocolate chip cookie. Both were out of this world. They are known for their crusty loafs of bread, pastries, cakes and their morning buns, which get the most attention.  There is a building across the street where they do most of the baking. Daily the staff goes back and fourth from the Tartine kitchen across the street to get the freshly baked goods. Getting to go there and enjoy the goodness was a great end to a fantastic eclectic day in San Francisco. 

(SoFA) South First Arts District San Jose

The South First Arts District (SoFA) in San Jose has a wide variety of businesses, ranging from cafes and restaurants to clubs, art galleries and theaters on 1st Street in downtown San Jose. This is considered "Silicon Valley's Creative District", which includes the SoFA Market, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, Mouimiento de Arte Cultura Latino Americana Museum, The Ritz, San Jose City Lights Theater Company, and Cineaquest. Currently there is a Cineaquest Film Festival going on this month and next month. I would love to attend one of the films during the festival. On the first Friday of every month there is Friday First Nights which has food vendors and art walks. I plan to go next month and check it out. My first time in this area was when I saw a New Order cover band "Temptation"and the Depeche Mode cover band "Strangelove" at The Ritz. I did not know at the time that I was in the SoFA District. This a great place to see concerts and these cover bands are a lot of fun! 

Recently my son's class had a field trip at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles. This was the first time that I had seen the art block on 1st Street with all three museums. Across the street from the museum is a nice park space where you can hang out. I love the artistic structure surrounding it in primary colors and sculptures near by. It makes the area very cheerful and inviting especially for children. The San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles was a great place to visit. It is a small museum displaying current and historic quilts. We learned some history of the quilts on exhibit and how quilts are made with application. I loved all the colors and prints. The current exhibit was "Without a Net"  by the artist Susan Else. She explores the theatrical awe and dark underbelly of the circus. "Susan Else pushes the boundaries of studio art quilt movement by integrating sound, light, and motors with colorful, stitched figures." The kids really enjoyed this exhibit especially seeing the Ferris wheel in movement and the fun skeleton made with quilting. 

This past week I came back to the SoFA District to have my blog adventure day. I went back into the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles on my own. I wanted to check out the fun and colorful gift shop for my Etsy shop inspiration. There were a lot of fun stationery and gift items. I really like the beautiful tiles and stationery with tile prints, which could be a fun style for my Etsy shop. I was also drawn to the fun stationery with stitching. It might be fun to add some 3rd dimension elements to my invitation designs. 

After going to the quilting museum I headed over to the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). I have always wanted to check this place out. It is a very small museum that has free admission, which is great.  When I walked in I was greeted by the artist Mike Oechsli. He was super friendly. I told him that I was exploring the local area and he filled me in on how the area has changed so much since the 1970's and how it is being gentrified now, even more with condos and business coming in. He guided me with all the information on the two current exhibits along with the local artist exhibit in the back of the museum where his art is featured. The first exhibit I really enjoyed the most is called "Printstallations", which has monumental-sized works by nine artists. Large-scale printmaking was commonplace for artists such as Andy Warhol. The exhibit consists of innovative printmaking methods in combination with various media such as photography, textiles, photopolymer and digital techniques. I loved that most of the exhibit was in black and white which made a statement. I think it be would fun to incorporate black and white geometric art in my Etsy Shop for an 80's party theme or something in that vain. My favorite pieces in the exhibit are by Stephen Whisler,. "From a Great Height" uses eight woodcut prints on Masa paper.  Beth Howe and Clive McCarthy's "Triumphal Arch" is a collection of woodblock prints.  Kyoto Fischer's piece "Imagined Nostalgia" is  an illuminated floor installation lithograph using encaustic technique with LED lights. Mixing technology with art and fabrics is the wave of the future.

Stephen Whisler, "From a Great Height"

Beth Howe and Clive McCarthy "Triumphal Arch"  

Kyoto Fischer "Imagined Nostalgia" 

The next time I venture over to this area I want to check out Mouimiento de Arte Cultura Latino Americana Museum (MLCA). Unfortunately I did not have enough time to go to this museum. I love the outside design of the building and the black and white maze-like typography-based mural by Aaron De La Cruz who started as a graffiti artist. This print is actually featured on the cover of December/January's "Content" magazine showcasing "Silicon Valley's Innovative and Creative Culture".  Aaron De La Cruz has designed for countless clothing brands such as Nike along with designing large scale murals. He is focusing on bringing his trademark style into physical form such as sculpture. He will be exhibiting at the up and coming "POW WOW! art festival in San Jose. 

To end my blogging adventure day I went to check out the SoFA Market for lunch. The SoFA Market is a small scale food court with a local following run by family establishments. Content calls the SoFA Market "a stunning example of constant change". Since I got there a bit early I started off with a chocolate croissant made fresh by "Vero's Coffee Bar" owed by Omar and Veronica who are also featured in Content magazine. "Vero's Coffee is one of the first anchor spots in the food hall". They have been established there for four years now. The rest of the vendors have only been there for 3 years. It was not until about 18 months ago when business in the market started to really take off. 

I spoke with Omar and Veronica a bit about the the food market and mentioned my blog. I asked him which place he would recommend for lunch and he recommended "Vietnoms", which is a Vietnamese noodle and rice bowl place that just opened in December. "Vietnoms brings you authentic Vietnamese flavors in a modern package". I spoke to the owner of Vietnoms and he recommended trying the Vermicelli Bowl which consists of lemon grass pork, scallion oil, lettuce, cilantro, cucumber, mint peanuts, and an egg roll. It was super yummy! The market was a great end to another adventure day in Silicon Valley.