Drips, Drools and Underpainting at the San Jose Museum of Art

A favorite piece in the permanent collection of the San Jose Museum of Art is a 3D fiberglass S form with parts of a face shown in a looping video.

After visiting the Jun Kaneko ceramic's exhibit (huge pieces!), Doris Fischer-Colbrie, Kathleen Gordon and myself took seats at the Prints of Andy Warhol audience participation table. The exercise was designed to teach underpainting. We'd seen the San Francisco school of abstract expressionism exhibit upstairs, which has also been unkindly referred to as the Drips and Drools school. You'll see some of that influence in the works below.

The work of Doris Fischer-Colbrie:

From Sherry Cordova Jewelry

The work of Kathleen Gordon:

From Sherry Cordova Jewelry

The work of Sherry Cordova:

From Sherry Cordova Jewelry

We also enjoyed the Women's Work printmakers exhibit, especially two prints from Louise Bourgeois. Below is a photo I took of a Bourgeois sculpture at Fundacio Pilar i Joan Miro in Mallorca.

From Fundacio Pilar i Joan Miro

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Creatures in residence at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Wolf Eel

Octopus emphasizing the "no flash" policy for photographers

Powerful and graceful hammer head in the Outer Bay exhibit

Nudibranch

I tried to take photos of the Leafy Sea Dragons; either the creatures moved too much, or the tank distorted the image. Here's a link to a nice image. And, did you know there's a festival for the Leafy Sea Dragons?

The Secret Lives of Seahorses

Monterey Bay Aquarium's latest exhibit is The Secret Lives of Seahorses. Having seen only a few seahorses in their natural habitats, we knew we'd enjoying seeing more at the aquarium. The sea dragons and pipefish are something we still want to see diving.... 

Dunes Reforming

Driving down Highway 1 on one of the windiest days of the year, we were able to see the changes in the dunes as they happened. The town where the pictures were taken is appropriately named Sand City.

Sharing Textures

The local metal clay guild held a texture swap last weekend. Attendees brought different found, created, or purchased objects to share. The offerings ranged from fabric to carved polymer clay molds to a piece of cauliflower to a piece of worm eaten wood from an apple tree in someone's yard. Those worms are quite the artists.



Regular Sculpey (TM) was given to paid members, and after everyone had snacked, the polymer clay prep and molding began. One of the chapter officers brought four pasta machines for everyone to use. Some people, I was one of them, brought two part RTV molding compound.

While my work will still use only the molds I take when I travel, and/or my interpretation of my travels, I now have many molds to share with students when I teach.

Valentino, Tiffany, Fabergé, and Lalique

I had a very enjoyable day recently admiring other peoples artwork. First was Valentino: The Last Emperor this is a *great* movie and the producer/director was at the showing to answer questions. With an initial limited release, the movie is playing in 25 cities. During the Q&A , journalist turned indie movie producer/director Matt Tyrnauer told the audience that they are currently making more copies of the movie because theaters all over the country are calling and asking to show it. On the movie's website they suggest that you contact your local movie house and ask them to bring "Valentino" to their screens.

Yes, the movie is about the world of fashion, yet it is mostly about the relationship between Valentino and his lifelong business partner who took care of everything else so that Valentino could concentrate on his art. The movie is also about the financial sector's takeover of fashion houses for purse and belt profits.

Our next stop was the Luxury: Fabergé, Tiffany, Lalique exhibit where the quality of the work was truly awesome. As with much traditional 'high end' jewelry, there was an abundance of incredible stones. The enameling was thin and perfect, with many flawless examples of the guilloché (l'art de l'émail translucide sur guilloché) technique.

View from Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco

Jellies

When I visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium I always enjoy watching the jellies.

On my recent trip I took the above photo and also picked up some 2009 Seafood Watch and Sushi Watch cards to keep in my wallet for friends who eat fish. I noticed that the aquarium has developed a "new iPhone application [which] brings the latest Seafood Watch recommendations directly to your iPhone or iPod touch."

I ran into an old friend who now works at the aquarium full time. That was a great way to top off a great visit.

Sea Glass Hunting

As I head out to hunt more sea glass today, I hope my glass to plastic/foam ratio is higher than on my last two trips. 

I know - ewwww - it's better I pick it up and sanitize my hands than leave it for birds and other creatures to eat.

On His or Her Own Terms

The cat walked along the beach - when it wanted to walk; and sat it when it wanted to sit. :-)

Tidepools in the late afternoon

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

A photo from last weekend shows the lighthouse during the recent storms, and another photo shows the lighthouse on a sunny day.

The recognizable structure was shown yesterday during Versus' coverage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California.

The Glades

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park grasslands in the Florida Everglades (above) and, the big Cypress trees in the strand (below.)

Here's a short story about why there don't seem to be any walking trails in the strand. I was taking the above photo when I noticed a butterfly (below.)

I then walked to the other side of the road to see a white bird in the swamp (below.)

When I returned to my original spot on the road I looked down into the swamp right next to the road - feet from where I was standing. The last picture shows you what was looking up at me.

Here's a closeup:

Victoria Park Balconies

Balconies in the Victoria Park neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale reminded me of the balconies in Culebra and Vieques.

Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach

Below is a closeup of plantings in the interior courtyard of the Norton Museum of Art where we saw the Ansel Adams / Georgia O'Keefe Exhibition and the Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism Exhibition.

Art Deco

Two art deco hotels in South Beach

Surf's Up at Sunny Cove

In my first step down on the beach I found some seafoam green bottle glass that had been worked a bit by the ocean. Bonus. The ocean air and 79 deg F plus weather were the main treats.

I spent some time reviewing Ernst Haeckel's "Art Forms from the Ocean" thinking about some new designs....

Whale Shark!

Until last week, the longest I'd ever seen a whale shark is twelve seconds over eight years ago. I know this because that's exactly how long the video of my first whale shark encounter is.



After the last dive of the trip last week, the boat captain starting yelling down to us as we were heading back to the beach. We looked over the side and saw a whale shark right below the boat. The 20 foot long creature hung out for a while about 15 feet below the surface as we snorkeled above it. Awesome!

You can now access the whale shark video from 2000, and other trip video and slide shows, over on the right hand side of this blog.

Landmarks, Tanker and Tug Boats, and the Fog

Another beautiful fall day in San Francisco, with three city landmarks as seen from the end of Pier 8.

The tanker and tug boats passing below the bay bridge remind me of something from long ago - the colors are just right. I think the memory is from an old childrens book which has a tanker drawing covering two pages in the middle of the book.

At 3 pm, as the sun still shines brightly, the fog is starting to take back it's hold on the city.