North Park Festival of Arts

Come one, come all to the 13th annual North Park Festival of Arts! Sunday, May 17th between 30th and 32nd Streets from 10 AM to 6 PM will be you, your family, and 35,000 other people enjoying the arts, culture, and entertainment in this creative hub of San Diego. Unfortunately, I'll be returning from Las Vegas that day, so I'll miss out on the fun, but don't let my absence deter you! There will be artist demonstrations, animals for the kids, a variety of international food booths, and best of all, it's FREE! In this economy, anything free is welcomed and should be enjoyed to the fullest.

Vinyl store in San Diego now!

The nearest Kidrobot store to me is in Los Angeles. Now, I'm sure LA is a great town. There's a ton of artsy stuff going on non-stop, it's a giant hub of the world, a really lovely place with lovely people... right. As much as I LOVE the 2 hour drive up there to buy overpriced (albeit cool) clothes and knick-knacks, I'd just as soon stay local and buy my vinyl wares in the neighborhood. Now, thanks to Gunnzo, I can do just that!

Gunnzo is located in Old Town San Diego at 2445 Juan Street. It doesn't look like much from the outside (the store is located in the left side of a house smack in the middle of an incredibly steep residental street), and the inside consists of a small front room which leads to a slightly larger and more angular back room. All of this is attached to a great back porch which opens into a small courtyard linking the other side of the house (I'm assuming). What it lacks in space it makes up for in cozy quality.

Chika Sasaki has opened the only designer toy store in San Diego as far as I'm aware, and I'm hoping it works out beautifully for her. I got to go to the "opening" party where every attendee got a free Mini Munny Mobile to decorate as they pleased! I got to talking with a guy there (Jesse? Maybe? Bad with names) and apparently this entire venture started from her own personal collection. From the sounds of things, it seems like she has more internet business than walk-ins, but I'm sure as the buzz continues she's going to find herself in a great spot to dominate the toy market in San Diego. Not only does she have a great collection of hard to find Dunnys, Gunnzo is the exclusive US retailer for MINDstyle Asia Exclusives.

The fact that this is a toy store by a toy collector means that some things are off-limits, but what is for sale isn't grossly inflated with outlandish retail upcharging. Yes, she's got to make a profit, and her collection is small but very thorough. Sasaki seems to have a good handle on what's available and what's coming, so I'm expecting great things from her.

Free People

Free People is a really neat little line of clothes out of South Carolina (or at least that's their mailing address). Their stuff is carried at a handful of large retailers that fancy themselves exclusive, like Anthropologie (which I love but is too expensive and at the end of the day it's a chain!) Anyway, North Park has this great little store called Material on University Avenue right by 30th Street. It's to North Park what Need Supply is to Richmond. I've been eyeing this dress since I first went in there and now that it's on sale I am SO tempted to go try it on. Honestly I'm half hoping it will look terrible on me so I can stop obsessing over it, but the other half hopes that this will be the most awesome dress ever. For $64 I might be able to deal with it. If it slips away from me I would be one sad lady.

SD Punks for Presents

Punks for Presents is a great Richmond based organization that is creepin' into San Diego via my very own cupcake Ashton! It's basically the newbie of the San Diego scene, and here's the site to check for updates. The Tower Bar in City Heights is the first participant, and mas events and flyers coming soon, so collect your pop tabs and stay tuned!

Holiday Hit List

Today was the 2nd annual Holiday Hit List in Point Loma by the North Park Craft Mafia.
To anyone unfamiliar with the Craft Mafia mentality, get with it. The North Park chapter seems to really have their stuff together. The first and only other Craft Mafia that I've been exposed to was the Seven Cities Craft Mafia in Hampton Roads, VA (which I now believe is simply 7 Cities Crafters). They seem to be really involved in the community as well, but it seems like every week I see some sort of event that's either hosted by or helped organize by the NPCM out here. Today was a HUGE event with over 65 vendors from all over, with TONS of REALLY well-priced handmade goods of all kind, plus raffles and demonstrations. If you were unlucky enough to miss it, check out their CafePress store here and the Myspace page as well. Some of the vendors that really caught my eye were Planet Tokki(I LOVED her poo ornaments and Mr. Tofu stuffed creatures!), Made with Luv (a founding member of NPCM), Little Grey Cat Designs (LOVED her choices of knitted scarves and fingerless gloves), Velvet Klaw (another founding NPCM member and another bunny enthusiast), and In-Vita (great paper goods, great holiday cards). There were plenty more that hooked me, but a few stood out for a mention. Keep up the great work Crafters! I hope to see you for many more Christmases to come.

yay yay yay it's a giveaway!

WOO! SewMamaSew is sponsoring the Give-Away Day, where blogs sign up to give away a handmade good or object and mail it out within a week.

Purpose? Fun!

Everybody, including myself, likes winning things. I think I'm a little late to participate, but I'll do my part by spreading my enthusiasm and encourage people to sign up. Hey, you might win something! So check out the site, go to the blogs, get a chance to win some neat-o stuff, and maybe get introduced to something new and interesting.

Balboa Park Family Festival

A week or so ago, I volunteered at the Balboa Park Family Festival on behalf of the San Diego Museum of Art. Apparently they have a Family Festival every 4 months, and the theme corresponds with the current exhibition, which in this case happened to be the Kimono as Art: The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota exhibition.

First of all, let me just say this exhibition was absolutely unbelievable. Beyond my already obsessive love for all things Japanese, and all things artsy, the sheer time that must have been spent by Itchiku Kubota to become a complete master of this trade is unfathomable. The Museum did a fantastic job of installing the kimono in an arc, which facilitated the viewer's eye around the collection from his 4 Seasons series. He actually died before he could complete his masterpiece, so now his sons have taken over the museum in his name and have vowed to complete it. The San Diego museum has on display the Autumn and Winter kimono, which numbers about 30 or so. I wish I had been able to take pictures of the collection, but if you haven't already clicked on the exhibition link, do so now. It's absolutely worth it.

My volunteering time was first assigned to the ink painting tent, where we passed out rice paper and demonstrated the Japanese style of ink painting and washing. Unfortunately, this totally cushy, easy, fun, sitting-down-in-the-shade job was replaced with helping James (last name ?) put together the giant paper kimono that was to be "unveiled" at the end of the festival. Basically people would paint their ink paintings at the tent, and then bring them over to us so we could attach them onto a giant paper kimono as an assemblage. It was hit or miss with the wind, but we actually had a great time despite major difficulties dealing with the paper tearing and a pretty hot sun beating down on us.

In the end, it looked something like this:


Okay, those are kind of terrible depictions of the final product. At the beginning, it really was a large paper kimono with sort of wing attachments flowing from the bottom. Since this made it pretty unstable and vulnerable to the wind, we had to add those at the very end. Regardless, we got so many ink paintings that it ended up being difficult to attach them all on the kimono, but we managed.

In the end, it was a pretty awesome day. There were Japanese drum dancers, kimono ceremony, origami folding, ink painting, and even a puppet show! Basically my ideal day. Plus I got to make a few friends and hang out with kids teaching them how to be crafty. Awesome stuff.

The Handmade Holiday

What: A New Juried Indie Craft Show in Richmond, Virginia that will exclusively feature the work of local crafters & designers.

Why: Buy Handmade & Buy Local this Holiday Season!

Who: The Richmond Craft Mafia, The Visual Arts Center of Richmond and some of Richmond's most talented indie crafters and designers.

Where: The Visual Arts Center of Richmond (formerly the Hand Workshop) at 1812 Main Street

When:
Preview Party - Friday
December 12th from 7 - 10 pm
Ticket Info

Open to the Public - Saturday
December 13th from 10 - 5
Free & Open to the Public

How: Come on out and support local carfters and designers this Holiday Season!
Vendors:
Amy Weiks Jewelry
April Scott Kids
Avant-gourde
Avenue Handmade
Bee's Knees Studio
Claire McDermott Designs
Crystal J Silks
Erin Taylor Designs
Ernst & Thistle
Essential E Paper
Face Metal Design
Gabriel Craig Metalsmith
Gwen's Garden
Hearts & Needles
Hershey Is My Baby
Jackson Sage
Jude Glass
Keen Designs
Lark Studio
Lorcom Lane
Maslodesigns
Miss Pickles Press
Modern Atelier
Modern June
Moneky & Me
My Precious Studio
Nicole Lee Designs
oelle m.
Phil Barbato
Popidiot
Pretty Silly Things
Serious Whimsy
Sew * Ono Apparel
Shannon by Hand
Silver Tree Art
Solos Glass
Tasha McKelvey
Team 8 Press
The Cupcakery
Twist Style

LINK TO HANDMADE HOLIDAY WEBSITE LINK LINK LINK LINK!!!!!

ray at night

In San Diego, they don't have First Fridays. What they DO have is an entire plethora of arts organizations at different times during the week, so basically it's like having First Fridays in different communities every week. Many of these I have yet to discover or attend, but the local one here is Ray at Night, which I guess started a few years ago. While it occupies a small amount of actual space, it seems to have a lot to offer.

Last night was my first night attending the Second Saturday event, and I didn't really know what to expect. I'd been into the Milo Shoes and Gallery before, but wanted to see some local galleries dedicated to younger artists or the contemporary movement. To be honest, the only one I really spent time in was 4 Walls with the Adapta Project, which was the work of Jorge Tellaeche.

This guy is the painter I want to be. Nature, color, free forms, and exploring the idea of using non-archival materials to achieve a sense of the immediate without an emphasis on longevity are all things that I've toyed with, but never mastered as he so obviously has. He works on wood, canvas (primed and unprimed), fabric (linen?) and he even had a shirt/dress that he had painted and embroidered. Just the layering work on his paintings were so intricate but maintained such spontaneity that my mind was blown. Really, after that, there was nothing worth looking at. We had some wine and left.

A promising first time.

The Mission North Park

Boys and girls, it is time for the weekly BRUNCH REVIEW! This week we actually had some friends join us for the monumental event which took place at the Mission in North Park.

(picture taken from their website)
We've been passing it on a daily basis for a few weeks now, and there is always a huge crowd out front. To me this means there is something worth waiting for. Today was no exception, but when I managed to fight through the crowds outside and in the lobby, I was pleased to hear that it was only a wait of 20 minutes. Brilliant! I expected it to be a pretty classic American brunch menu, with the normal eggs, bacon, toast, maybe with a few innovative omelets here and there, but I was pleasantly surprised. The menu was extremely unconventional, and it was described as "chino-latino", which I still don't totally understand but I could see the slant. There was a whole section for just Latin breakfast dishes, and a great drink menu. I guess there's a pretty serious espresso and smoothie bar happening. I toyed with the idea of getting a Blackberry Banana smoothie, but settled for a hammerhead (espresso in coffee) instead.
For my meal, I was torn between the Pappas Loca (Rosemary potatoes, grilled jalapeños, black beans, cheese, avocado, and sour cream, with the option of adding 2 eggs) and the Roast Beef Hash and eggs (Grilled Angus beef, horseradish cream, rosemary potatoes, and scrambled eggs.) Ultimately I decided to go with the latter, pictured below.

HOLY FREAKING COW. Normally you'd expect the eggs to be the main part, with a "side" of potatoes, but this was the exact opposite. Within 5 minutes of ordering, I was presented with an absolute mountain of rosemary potatoes, huge chunks of what said to be roast beef but tasted more like straight up steak to me, topped with cilantro, small onions, tomato, and horseradish on the side with 2 eggs (scrambled BEAUTIFULLY) and rosemary toast.
The potatoes were for lack of any other word, BOMB. Crispy on the outside, barely stuck together by the skin, but cooked all the way through with just the right amount of spices. The horseradish wasn't sinus-clearing, but the provided hot sauce was a superb additive. I'm mildly picky about how my eggs are cooked, and this scramble was the perfect amount of scrambled-medium to slightly soft (I like my eggs slightly sticky). Perfect.
THE TOAST! Oh god, the toast. Very few things make my mouth water like the promise of a great slice of toast. I didn't have to add a single thing to this. Incredibly tasteful, just bland (in a good way) enough to make it still seem like toast without going totally overboard and dominating the flavor of the main dish. A little horseradish was a delight to add, but not even necessary for the entire piece. Today I was not part of the clean plate club, and I have about half of it left. For $8, a totally filling, innovative, and delicious meal that I am looking forward to finishing later today.
All in all, I'd give the Mission two enthusiastic thumbs up. I see now what all the crowds were excited about.

what do we want? equal rights! when do we want them? now!

California just passed Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage in the state, and seemed to shock people across the country with the idea that California is generally a front runner in terms of progressive legislation. Needless to say, Ashton and I live in what seems to be the Gay Capital of Southern California, so there was a huge backlash from the community today. Apparently in 2 days, 3 people came together and organized a march to repeal Prop 8. I had NO idea this was going on, so when we went out for our regular bike ride we came across a steady stream of people as far as the eye could see.





Well, being the curious citizens we are, we followed the rally down to a neighborhood park. It's interesting to see such a quickly organized gathering with such a stimulated response. I'm not going to totally get into what my personal beliefs are, but basically I think that if you believe in the Constitution- liberty, justice, and equality for all, then gay marriage is an absolute American right. BUT, if morality is your bigger concern, then that's an entirely different set of bananas. It's ignorant and discriminatory to stand against it without moral conviction backing your claim. I absolutely believe that gay marriage is the civil rights movement of our generation, and in 50 years we will look back and be shocked that this was ever even an issue. Thinking back, even Christian churches preached "separate but equal" and now would never even think that race should be in issue in any way. I'd be willing to bet that the rhetoric preached now will be swung further to the left preaching tolerance in the future. I guess it comes down to whether you think homosexuality is nature or nurture, but I guess it's something you can never be absolutely positive about. Time will tell!

MAS FOOOOOD

Tough ta-tas. I like food, and I like blogging about it.
We went to the Coronado Farmer's Market today, and while it was small, we found some great treasures. PS. If you haven't been to Coronado Island, GO. It is beautiful and has a spectacular view of downtown and the bay. It seems pretty "quaint" in a yuppie-ish way, but I'll take pretty scenery over ugly tenements any day. The farmer's market only had a few tents, but we picked up a pound of roma tomatoes and a basket of jalapenos for $3, and then caroused over to the organic cheese tent.
Clearly, Ashton and I have cheese issues, namely obsession. We seem to eat cheese in every meal and in between meals whenever possible. This was no ordinary cheese tent. I have never tried cheese curds before, but according to the dude there it is what is rendered early in the cheese making process and contains less fat but just as much flavor. It doesn't hold freshness as long, which isn't really a problem for us. We sampled a few kinds and went with Mike's Firehouse Cheddar, a garlic quark spread, and a block of goat cheese.
In our culinary enthusiasm following our purchases, we spontaneously decided to start growing basil in a window box at our apartment. Thus a spur of the moment trip resulted in a window box and small basil plant to start our little garden. It seems easy to grow and doesn't require much room, so perhaps we'll invest in some rosemary or thyme to expand our little venture. This being said, we got even more enthusiastic and created the following dish.


We sliced up two of the tomatoes and splashed some olive oil across the rows, then laying about one small or one half of a large basil leaf on each slice. Then Ashton diced a large jalapeno and put a piece in the center of each one, and I added a dab of the garlic quark and sprinkled black pepper on them all. Then we baked them for 15 minutes at 250 degrees, at which point they were bubbling and hot and looked a little something like this:


The basil had curled nicely, the cheese had melted superbly, and the jalapenos had released all their delicious juices onto the piping hot tomato slices. They were a little soggy, so we added some toast since we didn't have any crackers. The tomatoes were excellent, but they all had a bit of a bitter aftertaste, which I think had something to do with the cheese. Great for dipping, perhaps not for melting. Since you never can tell with jalapenos, I think this one was somewhat mild, but on the last few I sprinkled just a little garlic salt and crushed red pepper and it gave it just the spice it needed.


Basically Ashton and I are the shit, and everyone is jealous of our awesome gastrointestinal adventures. The end.

hippies

Ashton and I have come to the realization that in the month we have been in southern California, we have succumbed to the hippie lifestyle. Here is a a list of reasons why:

1) We vowed to buy the bulk of our produce at local farmer's markets.
2) We are building our own window box herb garden.
3) We voted with absentee ballots because California is pretty much strictly Democratic and voting in Virginia (a massive swing state) is more likely to make a difference. (Or at least as much of a difference as two votes make.)
4) We are pretty much only exploring local eateries and shops for all of our consumer needs.
5) Both of us are volunteering for some local things (me- San Diego Museum of Art, Ashton- a nonprofit/food bank)
6) On our refrigerator there's a list of all the free local outdoor things that we are scheduling our lives around.
7) Despite falling gas prices, we are still basically just riding our bikes or walking everywhere to be more environmentally conscious.
8) We are recycling everything we can and re-using as much as possible.

Not to mention once we get settled with jobs and can afford some furniture, we're setting up the "art room" a.k.a. my bedroom, sort of, to start making arts and crafts again. I love the hippie, tree-hugging lifestyle.

urban solace

Oh man. Reason #8493 to love San Diego. Everyone here seems to love brunch just as much as us! I'm glad we've come to a place that values the most majestic of all meals. Last week Ashton and I scouted the San Diego Sunday Brunchmaster site to find the perfect first brunch of our San Diego experience. Ultimately we decided that Urban Solace was going to be the benefactor of our business. Bluegrass Sunday brunch? Yes please. Within bike riding distance? Sure! Everything sounded good. And I assure you, everything TASTED good.



First off, Ashton had the portobello sandwich, complete with lemon chive aioli, crisp lettuce, tomato, and sweet potato fries. I'm not the biggest advocate of sweet potato fries (mixing the sweet and savory seems silly to me) but these were pretty good. Not the best (Ipanema anyone??) but pretty good. The actual mushroom itself was a giant steak of a shroom, juicy and dribbling with perfection. An excellent sandwich.
I, craving the lost tastes of the South, got the Cheddar n' Chive biscuits and gravy, which was definitely southern-inspired, but a more "Western" take on it. The biscuits themselves were heaven. Light, fluffy, delicious. The sausage was a tad sweet, but the gravy was a cheesy, gravy-licous experience. And while I find watermelon often bland and boring, THIS particular slice was cool, refreshing, and just the right amount of sweet. Perfect. I annihilated every last bite. Ashton fought bravely, but eventually had to call it quits on the mountain of sweet potato fries.


Don't let those last few morsels fool you. I had a clean plate by the end. Also, I might add, the mimosas were excellent, albeit a smidge expensive, and Ashton's bloody mary came with a lemon, lime, and huge stalk of celery. Nice touches, and it was an excellent shade of spicy. At $6 and $7 a pop, I didn't feel like we could indulge as we usually would, but the ones we had were lip smackin' good.
Ah, the bluegrass. What can I say? It seemed almost for a moment that we were in the Deep South. The cirleque iron railings, patio, and 3 man band complete with cowboy hats and a banjo, whilst enjoying biscuits n' gravy.... ahhh. It really was an absolutely stellar day.
In conclusion, Urban Solace was the perfect choice for our introduction to San Diego Sunday Brunch. The drinks were a tad pricey, but the food was excellent and the prices were reasonable. Service I'd give a B- to in terms of timeliness, but an A in terms of friendliness. Now I think this week it will be El Torito for us, with its $15 brunch and Mexican buffet with endless mimosas?!?!? YES!!!!!

farmie markie

Today was a good day. I thought it was going to suck, but became an A+ day instead of a C-.

Blah blah blah I was going to explain all the job hunting we did, and how it seemed like we had more prospects today, but who cares? We went to the beach! And watched doggies play! And then we went to the North Park Farmer's Market!



The Farmer's Market was awesome. I think we got there towards the end part of it, but there was still plenty to see (and eat). We got to sample a bunch of things, and ended up buying some pumpkin butter and some Kenyan vegan snacks, complete with Ginger Green Tea. It was totally the perfect end to the day. Well, the afternoon. Tonight 2 of our German/Long Island friends are coming and we are hitting the town with them.

Should be good.

Change for a Ten!

Art 180 is an absolutely fabulous nonprofit organization in Richmond dedicated to art-related programs for inner city and at risk youth, encouraging self-expression and community growth 180 degrees. In their own words, they:

"ART 180 partners with other nonprofit organizations to serve children living in challenging circumstances in Richmond, Virginia. Through our programs, youth discover ways they can positively engage in and influence their surroundings.

Professional artists and volunteers work with youth after school for 12 weekly sessions. Each program grows from the needs and interests of the group of young people being served.

The young artists are asked to explore crucial personal statements that reinforce their sense of identity and purpose, such as: What is a hero? What do I want people to know about me? How can I make my community a better place? Programs culminate with some kind of public presentation of artwork. These have included billboards, art exhibits, poetry readings, CDs and DVDs.

By merging the private creative experience with a public showcase, ART 180 offers youth a safe way to talk about what matters most to them, while offering the community a compelling way to hear it."

Pretty good, huh?

The "Change for a Ten" campaign is their current project. Please visit their website at www.changeforaten.blogspot.com.
"Money can do a lot. Art can do a lot more. That’s why, on this 10th anniversary of ART 180, we’re asking for both — a $10 donation along with your artistic vision for making your community a better place.

Our goal is for 1,000 people to give their artistic and monetary gifts to ART 180. It’s these same gifts that will make it possible for at-risk youth to discover their own voice through creative expression. Will you help us make Change for a Ten?

1. make
a statement. Make a donation. Download the template at www.art180.org/ten (or just keep it the size of a dollar bill) and create artwork about the kind of change you'd like to see in your community. Paint it. Write it. Sketch it. Sculpt it. Sew it. Whatever it. Then, submit it.

2. send
us your creation (mail to 0 East 4th St, Studio 56, Richmond, VA 23224) and your $10 by 9/22/08, or drop them off at participating locations (see art180.org/ten for details.)

3. see
your work exhibited and sold along with the other submissions on 10/10/2008 at VCU's Brandcenter. People from all across Richmond will view your artistic vision for change.

4. tell
others to send in their own art and their $10 donation. Help us reach our goal of 1,000 people and together we'll all see true change for a ten."



Please add this to your blogs to help spread the word.