Frank Stella Retrospective at the DeYoung Museum

Damascus Gate, 1970

There is just another month to see the Frank Stella: A Retrospective exhibit at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. It closes on February 26, 2017.

The exhibit covers this iconic American artist's career over the past nearly-60 years.  It follows his work from his flat bright-colored canvases in the late 1950s, to his cut-out canvases, through his use of different structural materials in his 3-dimensional works, up to present day and his use of computer technology to aid in his creations.  

Talladega (1980) is my favorite piece in this exhibit.  

St. Michael's Counterguard, 1984

Indian Bird maquette

The exhibit includes both Stella's very large pieces and intimate smaller ones such as Indian Bird maquettes, as seen above.

The main exhibit is on the lower floor of the deYoung.  It continues to the first floor to a room of his prints.

Allow at last an hour for the exhibit; two hours, perhaps, with the audioguide.

Washington DC, May 2016

May took me to Washington DC and some nearby Virginia suburbs for a quick visit to see Sister Virginia and other friends and family.

No visit to DC is complete without going to some of the Smithsonian Museums.  The Smithsonian, founded in 1846, is the world's largest museum, education and research complex.  Admission to its museums is free. Most of its 19 museums are in Washington DC. 

The Renwick Gallery, a branch of the larger Smithsonian American Art Museum, exhibits American contemporary craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st centuries. The Renwick has the distinction of being the first building in the United States to be built as an art gallery. It is directly across from the White House.

I've not been to the Renwick before and wanted to see the current exhibit, WONDER, which celebrates the reopening of the Renwick after a two-year renovation. Several leading American contemporary artists were invited to create works specifically for this exhibit. 

Virginia, Kathy, and I stand among artist Janet Echelon's looming spires that she created by stacking index cards.

Virginia was intrigued to be able to walk into the monumental structures by Patrick Dougherty that the artist created on site from tree samplings.

One of my favorite works is by Janet Echelman who created volumetric forms of hand-woven net that hang across the entire 100-foot Grand Salon.  She used colored lighting that constantly changes the mood and colors of this piece.  Many visitors lie down on the floor to take in the light show that this work becomes. 

Of course, no American crafts museum is complete without at least one piece by glass artist Dale Chihuly.  This Seafoam and Amber-Tipped Chandelier is part of the Renwick's permanent collection. 

For lunch with friends John and Kathy, we went to the nearby Exchange Saloon which boasts being DC's Oldest Sports Saloon. It's proximity to the White House, as well as many museums, makes it a popular spot with locals, visitors, and sports fans.

The only other Smithsonian museum we had time for was the Freer/Sackler, the Smithsonian's Asian Art Museum. 

We went specifically for the Turquoise Mountain: Artists Transforming Afghanistan, a small exhibit that chronicles how a British organization, Turquoise Mountain, has transformed the destroyed Murad Khani district of Old Kabul from slums to a vibrant cultural and economic center. Turquoise Mountain enabled Afghan artists and artisans to restore old Kabul. 

The Turquoise Mountain exhibit will be at the Sackler Gallery through the end of January 2017.

For lunch after the Turquoise Mountain exhibit, we went to the USDA Cafeteria, which is open to the public on weekdays. This is the place for in-the-know tourists wanting an inexpensive healthy breakfast or lunch. The menu choices change weekly and on each day of the week. There is a Hot Bar, an Asian Bar, a Barbecue Bar, and a Soup Bar, as well plenty of sandwich, salad, and dessert options.  

You do have to go through a quick security check to get in, but, it is worth it for a tasty meal for well under $10 a person.  I think the 6 of us in our group ate very well for closer to $5 a person.

As might be expected at the USDA, the cafeteria is decorated with vintage nutrition posters that seem to be as true today as this one was in 1918.  

Each year, on the first two Saturdays in May, the European Union hosts a free open house at all the Embassies in the Union.  

Despite long lines to get into the Embassies, we braved it.  At each Embassy there are cultural exhibits as well as food and drink tastings. It was fun and interesting. Here is the line outside the Portugal Embassy. 

Of course, given the current uncertainty about what countries will remain in the European Union, it is possible that we may have attended the last such open house.

I'm a fan of the Le Pain Quotidian restaurants that are all over the world.  There are several in Washington DC and we had lunch at the one  around the corner from the Portugal embassy.  My meal was the daily Baker's Lunch.  This day it was Avocado Toast, Gazpacho, and a Chickpea Salad. Virginia had Quiche and Salad. 

Some of our other memorable meals were 

a Lobster Roll lunch at Ford's Fish Shack.

and,

celebrating Virginia's birthday at  Coastal Flats.

On Saturday morning, we went to her local Farmer's Market where I was intrigued that most vendors were featuring Wild Ramps, a sort of onion that, to my knowledge, only grows on the East Coast.

And, the final highlight of my visit was meeting her almost-one-year-old grand daughter, Italia.

Cruising down the California Coast

Jim and I, on something of a whim, took a Princess Cruise down the California Coast, round trip from/to San Francisco.  It was just a week long and the combination of a reasonable price and being able to get there by just taking Bart, the Bay Area's public transit system, and then walking a a short distance to the cruise ship terminal, made it irresistible.

We like going on cruises but usually take cruises to places that we can't easily visit on our own. We made an exception to this "rule" with the California Coastal cruise; we already were familiar with all but one of the ports.

 

One of our traditions upon embarking on the ship, before we set sail, is to go up to the poolside deck and have a hot dog and french fries...not very fancy, for sure, but certainly tasty. Many people immediately head to the buffet dining room and have a large "feast," but, for us, that hot dog and fries is our perfect way to start a cruise vacation and still leave plenty of appetite for a nice dinner that evening.

Before we could set sail, we had our safety drill.  Fortunately, this was the only time we needed the life vests.

It was after sunset by the time we were underway. Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge was a special thrill.

SANTA BARBARA

In Santa Barbara, I took a half day excursion to Montecito to see where the rich and famous live.

And then, I spent the rest of the day walking in the downtown area, mainly on State Street in downtown.  Before heading up to the historic and high-end shopping part of downtown State Street, I stopped for lunch at Metropulos, a gourmet market and sandwich shop, in the Funk Zone, a section of town near Sterns Wharf and the Visitors Center that the L.A. Times recently described as the "happening" part of Santa Barbara.  The Funk Zone has industrial origins, but is currently populated by breweries, wine-tasting rooms, art galleries, shops, musical venues, and more. Metropulos has been in its location for over 11 years, long before the Funk Zone's name existed.  Most of the customers having lunch were young local business people; the vibe was much like that in San Francisco's SOMA district during San Francisco's first dot-com boom...very energized. And, my Pastrami Reuben sandwich was yummy.

LOS ANGELES

For our Los Angeles stop, we docked in Long Beach.  We were across from the Queen Mary, which is now permanently docked here and open to the public as a hotel, restaurant and shopping area, and museum.

We had no time for the Queen Mary because we spent most of the day at the Getty Museum.

 

Our bus to the Getty made a short stop in Beverly Hills, just enough time for a quick walk on and around Rodeo Drive.

 

The Getty is high up on a hill, overlooking the 405 Freeway in one direction and out as far as Santa Catalina in another.  It has very scenic setting.

 

            

My main activity at the Getty was to take a guided tour of its impressive gardens.  Jim spent his time in the galleries looking at the diverse art collection which is housed in multiple buildings and galleries.

SAN DIEGO

 

In San Diego, we woke up to a view of the Midway docked next to us.  And we bid it farewell at dusk, as we sailed away

We spent this entire day at Balboa Park, in its museums and park areas.

   

We both visited the Air and Space Museum.

 

 I also went to the Mingei International Museum, a museum dedicated to crafts. Its current "Art in the Americas" exhibit has examples of crafts from each of our 50 states. I was delighted to find a beautiful pottery plate by Maria Martinez, of the San Ildefonso Pueblo until her 1980 death,  as the representative work from the state of New Mexico.

 

It was the Niki de Saint Phalle large ceramic sculptures that initially lured me to the Mingei over Balboa Park's many other museums. I'm a longtime fan of her work but did not know until seeing her works here that she lived her last years (1992 - 2002) in nearby La Jolla.

ENSENADA

 

Our final stop was in Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico.  Ensenada is a "typical" border town in Mexico.  I went into town and wandered around its six blocks of shops to get a feel for the town and to buy a few pieces of jewelry at a shop recommended by our ship's Shopping Host.

LIFE ON THE SHIP

Life on a cruise ship is always fun. To me, it's kind of a combination of being at summer camp and being in a luxury hotel.  One can fill one's days with classes, live shows, bingo, art auctions, working out in the gym, or just sitting in a quiet spot reading a good book.

I always find a few fun classes to attend. This time it was Origami and Napkin Folding. I pretty much failed Origami (fortunately there are no grades given) but did well with my Napkin Folding.

One of our favorite shows on the Princess ships is the one in which the executive chef and maitre d' do a cooking demonstration. This show usually takes place on the last day at sea.  It is a totally lighthearted event where the two of them face off in making a few dishes.

The above picture of the two of them making Tiramisu.

We met nice people, especially Sue and Jack who don't live too far from us when we are home. One night we dined with them in the ship's specialty steak restaurant and, on another night, we joined them in the pizza restaurant.

As always, we ate well and enjoyed the variety of food and dining venues. Jim especially enjoyed the chocolate-themed desserts that were featured in the dining room. As you can see, they are as pretty as they are tasty.

  

 Life is easy and as relaxing or busy as your want to make it on a cruise ship.