SCULPTURE IN THE GARDEN 2015 IN WALNUT CREEK: THROUGH JULY 19

For one month every summer, The Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, California is transformed into an outdoor art gallery.

The Garden is a "hidden treasure", less than 30 miles east of San Francisco. Ruth Bancroft's collection on the property where she still lives at well over 100 years old, is known for its world class collection of succulent and drought-tolerant plants.

The Garden provides a spectactular backdrop for the displayed art works, most of which are for sale.

We attended the opening of the exhibit last week and got to meet several of the artists.

My favorite piece is by Leslie Safarik, whom, I, by chance, starting chatting with while enjoying a glass of champagne and tasty finger food. Her big red cat sculpture is the at the beginning of this post.

The Garden's final event during the Sculpture in the Garden show will be on Friday, July 17: Blues, BBQ and Beer Sunset Social. Tickets can be purchased on the the Garden web site.

Hockney at the DeYoung closes Monday, January 20!

DAVID HOCKNEY: A BIGGER EXHIBITION has been in San Francisco at the DeYoung since October 26.

I was busy with holidays and travel before Christmas and stayed away from the museum before New Years, thinking that, with kids out of school and lots of visitors to the Bay Area, the exhibit would be packed with viewers.

This exhibit is the first comprehensive survey of British artist David Hockney's 21st-century work. Just about all the works belong to the artist. Hockney has been amazingly prolific throughout his career and worked for about 25 years from Southern California. (His swimming pool paintings are what usually come to my mind.) Currently, at 76 years old, he is doing incredible works on his iPhone and iPad and using a variety of digital media to display his work…his "Cubist" videos are a bit hard to focus on, but certainly impressive. He is now back working in his native Britain and this past year went back to his beginnings, so to speak, with a series charcoal drawings…of course, he didn't just leave them as drawn; he then enlarged them on his inkjet printer!! The charcoal drawings are being shown at the DeYoung for the first time.

Today was my day to go!

At least at noon, the exhibit was not sold out, but the museum certainly was packed.  I had about a 45 minute wait until my entrance time to the exhibit (they let groups in every 15 minutes), which was perfect for me to have time to dash through a few other DeYoung galleries and the gift shop. When I left the museum a few hours later, there we still long lines for the exhibit.

Most of the people waiting in line with me were seeing it for the first time, but, I expect, as the week goes on, many will come back for a last viewing.

It's crowded, but, if you haven't seen this unique David Hockney exhibit, it's worth the visit.

Also, the DeYoung has extended it's hours through January 20, when the exhibit closes. January 17 -19 (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday) it will be open 9:30 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. (last exhibit entry at 6 p.m.). On Monday, January 20, when the museum is usually closed, it will be open 9:30 a.m. until 5:15 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased in advance online, for a given time slot. If you don't reserve in advance, I suggest arriving at the museum early in the day.

A SECOND DAY IN WASHINGTON DC

Virginia and I spent another whole day in Washington D.C. during my recent visit.

On this day, we took the Metro to Metro Center for our first stop: The New York Avenue Sculpture Project. As a member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, which is responsible for this project, I have been following the progress of this outdoor sculpture project which they are creating. The first phase of the project is four enormous sculptures by French-born artist Niki de Saint Phalle.




The sculptures have been placed on the median on the block of New York Avenue (between 12th abd 13th Streets) right outside the Museum. Three more phases of the New York Avenue Sculpture Project, all featuring works by women artists, are planned so that outdoor art will line New York Avenue all the way to 9th Street.

We had a lot of fun viewing and walking around the fanciful Niki de Saint Phalle works.



Then we went into the Museum to view works by some of our some of our favorite artists which include

Frida Kahlo




and Camille Claudel.



It is believed, Camille, who was Rodin's mistress as well as student, did much of Rodin's work with no credit.

We stayed for lunch in their restaurant. This photo is from the museum's restaurant and shows the museum reflected in the building across the street.



From here we walked back toward the Mall to the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery where I wanted to see the "Echoes of Elvis" exhibit.



There are several Elvis exhibits at various D.C. museums to celebrate that Elvis would have turned 75 years old this year.

The National Portrait Gallery shares a building with the National American Art Museum. As is the case with all Smithsonian museums, I often come in to view a specific exhibit but always find other exhibits that catch my attention. After wandering through the Portrait Gallery, we took what we thought would be a quick peek at the American Art, and wound up spending the rest of the afternoon there.

The "Remembering The Running Fence" exhibit brought back memories of when Christo and Jeanne-Claude ran their fabric fence through 24 1/2 miles of Sonoma and Marin Counties, working on it from 1972 to 1976.

We admired the beauty of the American Art's Great Hall





and enjoyed other works of art as well.







It seemed that throughout my visit to D.C. and Virginia, I was running into fellow Californians and things California. My biggest California surprise was on our way to the Portrait Gallery when we discovered the Cowgirl Creamery in the Penn Quarter neighborhood.



Cowgirl Creamery began in Point Reyes Station, California (west Marin County) in 1997 when owners Sue Conley and Peggy Smith started making hand-crafted cheese. From their beginning I've been a fan of their cheese and often take out of towners to their Point Reyes Station location to sample cheese, have a sandwich, and watch cheese being made. At the Ferry Plaza Marketplace in San Francisco, they have a second cheese shop. So, we made a stop at the D.C. shop, a delightful place with lots of cheese and other fancy food items. As is the case at all Cowgirl Creamery shops, you can sample many of the cheeses. While I was surprised to find the shop in D.C., I was enlightened that Sue Conley is originally from the D.C. area and much of her family is still in Washington and Maryland. And, Peggy Smith was raised in Northern Virginia. So both owners have reason to keep their roots in the D.C. area.

A FEW DAYS IN WASHINGTON DC

I am just back from a week and a half in Washington D.C. and Virginia. My sister Virginia, who lives in Virginia, and I spent two whole days in Washington D.C. where the weather mimicked the cold, rainy days that I left behind in Northern California. None the less, as "tourists" we were out and about and busy.

Whenever I am in D.C. I spend time at the Smithsonian museums. And, each time I visit, I am in awe of what a vast cultural and historical resource the Smithsonian is and that admission to its museums is FREE!

We started one day on the National Mall at the Smithsonian Metro station.

Before heading to Smithsonian museums, we walked to the relatively new World War II Memorial, which is part of the National Park System.




The Memorial officially opened in 2004 but this was the first time we have visited it. Strategically located between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, it has been sunk down sufficiently as to block neither of those Memorials while providing views of both of them.





I was intrigued by the bas-relief plaques on either side of the Memorial's entry paths; they depict scenes of America at War.




The Freedom Wall consists of 4,000 gold stars commemorating the more than 400,000 Americans who died in World War II.



I observed many older people visiting the Memorial and overheard them recalling their experiences in the War. It's a very moving experience to make this visit as an American.

Even with heavy rain beginning, we managed to walk through the entire Memorial and to take a short guided tour with a US Park Ranger.



The expanse of the Mall always deceives me, just as walking around Paris always does. This is not a surprise since Pierre L'Enfant, a French artist and engineer who became friends with George Washington while serving in the Revolutionary War, designed both cities. The open space, combined with a lack of high-rise buildings always makes things seem closer than they are...that is, until you start walking from one place to another because it looks nearby and you are still walking half an hour later and still not there.

So, off we went in the rain from the World War II Memorial, past the Washington Monument and eventually arrived at the National Museum of American History.



My main reason to visit this particular museum, other than being hungry for lunch and that it was the closest one to the Washington Monument, was to visit Julia Child's Kitchen and to see the dresses that First Ladies wore to the presidential inaugural balls.




For me, a visit to Julia Child's Kitchen is a pilgrimage of sorts. I was living in Boston when Julia Child started her NPR television series. As a fund raiser for WGBH, the television studio allowed visitors to attend tapings of Julia's shows for a $10 fee. My friend Amy and I, Julia groupies from the start, went to as many tapings as we could. After the show was finished, we got to chat with Julia and husband Paul. Unfortunately, we did not get to taste any food; it was saved for the staff to enjoy.



Julia Child's kitchen at the Museum is the set that was used for her early TV shows. It is a duplicate of her home kitchen which was in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Because many Julia fans like myself come to see Julia's Kitchen, I enjoyed talking with them and reminiscing about this one woman who shaped our culinary habits and interests, as much as I enjoyed looking at the exhibit.




We loved having an up-close look at Michelle Obama's Inaugural Ball dress.




Interestingly, when we got the part of the American History Museum that paid tribute to the Apollo Theatre and black entertainers, we saw that the dresses that the Supremes wore when they performed at the Apollo were of similar fabric to that of Michelle Obama's dress...any connection here?




Just outside of the Apollo Theatre is the Greensboro Lunch Counter, where sit ins by black students took place in the 1960s as part of the Civil Rights movement. It was at this F.W. Woolworth's "whites only" lunch counter, on February 1, 1960, that four African American college students sat down and politely asked for service. When their request was refused, they remained in their seats. After six months of protests, this North Carolina lunch counter was desegregated on July 25, 1960. When the Greensboro Woolworth's closed in 1993, this small section of the lunch counter was donated to the Smithsonian.



While we were at the Lunch Counter exhibit, we were treated to musical entertainment by two Black singers who sang and talked about the struggles of Blacks in America.

We ended our day at the Museum of American History with a visit to Kermit the Frog, who reminded us that it is not easy being Green.

LAST CALL FOR WARHOL

The "Warhol Live" exhibit at the DeYoung Museum closes on May 17 and my time was running out. So today, I made a quick visit to the DeYoung just for Warhol.

Actually, any visit to the DeYoung, no matter how short or long, is always a treat. I love its spaciousness and I love its art and architecture.

Today, I only had time for Warhol and lunch. Unfortunately, photos of the exhibit were not allowed, so all I can show are some announcement signs.





What I most loved is that this exhibit combined Warhol's art with his love of music and his involvement with the music industry. I had no idea, but the exhibit brought me back to the 60s and 70s when I had friends who hung out at the Factory and the time Jim and I went to see a Warhol movie in Harvard Square where the camera focused on a person chewing for the entire length of this movie. When I met Jim, I had a poster of Warhol "Flowers" hanging over my couch. This exhibit and the different music that accompanied it in each gallery is really a blast from the past...Was Mick Jagger ever that young? Was Debra Harry really such a glamor girl? What ever happened to Nico? I never knew the Velvet Underground used the Factory for its practice space. What about Baby Jane Holzer, Ultra Violet, and Viva...they were my contemporaries...Yikes! And, then there was poor Edie Sedgwick. I left the exhibit with my mind reeling...and I loved it.

"Warhol Live" has its own gift shop right outside the exit of the exhibit. And the final best surprise is that just about all the Warhol items are marked down, as much as 50%. My find was a silk scarf with the Flowers on it.

Before heading back downtown, I stopped for lunch in the DeYoung Cafe. My choice of the Tuna Nicoise "Open Faced" Salad was an amazing salad, accompanied by a grilled piece of bread. Very creative, very fresh, very very tasty.



The weather was warm and sunny so I could enjoy my lunch outdoors.

Coming up next at the DeYoung is the King Tut exhibit. Tickets are on sale now and it is a good idea to buy ahead as this will be a very popular show.

BENICIA, A DAY TRIP CLOSE TO HOME WITH AMY

One of my favorite outings, when I have house guests, is to Benicia, a waterfront city in Solano County, close to most parts of the San Francisco Bay Area. Benicia is something of a hidden treasure, which most tourists don't get to visit,despite its proximity to the popular tourist venues.

Amy, MA, and I headed to Benicia for one of our last outings during Amy's visit. We went on a weekday, so that we could watch the glass blowers at work (they are not at work at the glass studios on weekends, except for special open house events).

I like Benicia because it is historic, an arts community, and just a pleasant place to spend a day. Benicia is a laid back community where it is easy to park and easy to get around. On a hot day, I come here to cool off along the waterfront which overlooks the Carquinez Strait.



I never tire of watching the glass blowers at the Smyers and Nourot studios while they work. You can fish off the dock at the end of First Street. It is a pleasant place to ride a bicycle. The shops on First Street are a mix of antiques and other unique merchandise. There are several good restaurants in town.

Founded in 1847, Benicia was the California State Capitol for 13 months in 1853 and 1854. The State Capitol Building and its grounds are open to the public for visits and tours (small admission fee). Benicia was a way station during the Gold Rush for miners coming and going to Gold Country. It was also where Pony Express riders stopped and often boarded ferry boats to and from Martinez.

In the 1850s and 1860s, the U.S. Army had a corps of camels which they used as pack animals. When the Civil War broke out, the Camel Corps was abandoned and the camels were shipped to the Benicia Arsenal where they were housed until they were sold. The site of the Camel Barn is now the Benicia Historical Museum.

What was the Benicia Arsenal for the military from 1849 to 1964 is now a community of artists and craftspeople. The Arsenal is now live/work studios for many artists, who make up Arts Benicia. In addition to their annual Open Studio weekend, Arts Benicia, offers classes, programs, and other events for the public throughout the year. Often when I visit the Arsenal, I will find some galleries and studios where the artists are working and which invite me to come in to look around.

We started our visit with a walk down First Street to the waterfront. We were not sure where we would have lunch but decided on the http://www.firststcafe.com/, a popular local dining spot.

Amy marveled that her Turkey Sandwich was filled with "real" turkey, freshly roasted and sliced.



MA had a cup of soup and the delicious house salad (greens, sliced apples, pecans and both Balsamic and Blue Cheese dressings).



My choice was one of the day's specials, a PLT Sandwich, with the P being hot pastrami.



Everything was delicious and fresh. Portions were so large that we sandwich eaters, took home half of our sandwiches for lunch the next day. We had a hard time passing up the homemade baked goods but decided to move on to the glass studios before the glass blowers stopped working for the day.

Smyers and Nourot are housed in the same building, a short drive from downtown. On this day, only the blowers at Smyers were working. As always, they welcome visitors to get up close to them and, despite working with molten glass, they casually chatted with us and another group of visitors. On this day, they were making glass clocks, an example of which is in the bottom right of this photo.





Both Smyers and Nourot have full retail shops here and also sell their seconds at reduced prices. Their glass is famous throughout the world. It is special to visit the "source" and watch the glass items being made.

By the time we tore ourselves away from the glass studios, it was almost time to head home.


We took a quick drive through the Arsenal and into the former military base. The girls were fascinated by the story of the Camel Corps, so we made a stop at the Camel Barns, but did not have time to go to the museum.




In our 5 hours or so in Benicia, we scarcely had time to see and visit most of its attractions.

A few added notes on Benicia...

Another, somewhat newer glass studio is Lindsay Art Glass. It is located right in the downtown, off First Street...a good choice if you are limited on time when you visit and, of course, if you just want to see another style of locally made art glass.

For those who like Victorian Tea Rooms, Camellia Tea Room is a good choice for lunch. Captain Blythers overlooks the water and features lots of seafood offerings. Its building is the 1850s home in which sea captain Samual Blyther lived with his family.

My favorite downtown Benicia shop is Studio 41, a shop and gallery that features unique items...jewelry, decorative, foods.., all of which are crafted in America.