Let there be light

Another happy sketcher here from a visit to Sue Johnson Lamps in Berkeley last week. For over 48 years, Sue's been creating beautiful lampshades of pressed layers of mica and other materials. She combines them with most wonderful sculptural elements imaginable, creating one-of-a-kind lamps that are a joy to own and to sketch.

Thanks, Sue, for a most enjoyable opportunity to sketch your creations.

Takara Sake Museum, Berkeley

Tools of the trade.

Sake-making tools, 19th century   ~Susan Ford

Longbranch Saloon, Berkeley

~Susan Ford

Navarro River, Anderson Valley, Mendocino County

Reframing the view, three on an A4 sketchbook page

Heavenly! Time spent contemplating and painting the Navarro River in Anderson Valley, Mendocino County.

Inspiration and techniques from Virginia Hein's book 5-Minute Sketching Landscapes; reframing the view. Painted three views in quick succession.

Took Tom Hoffman's lead with the 1-1/2 inch Angular Wash brush. Happily, one cannot get overly fussy plying this brush. And it's larger than I'm used to, so results may vary. ~~Susan Ford

Though appearing green, the water was refreshing and not at all algae-ridden

Bierhaus, Temescal neighborhood, Oakland

Across 40th Street from Bierhaus, Oakland

An enjoyable summer evening: Sketching with friends on the outside patio @ Bierhaus -- enjoying a brew and some German-inspired food. Marc and wait staff were kind and welcoming. Thanks for the opportunity, Bierhaus! ~~Susan Ford

#Bierhaus.ca

Papel picado artist, Enrique Martinez

For 26 years, artist Enrique Martinez has been creating colorful 'papel picado' cut tissuepaper banners.  

Traditionally, papel picado banners decorate Day of the Dead altars, buildings and streets during religious and secular celebrations in Mexico. Enrique's designs honor this custom and broaden the craft for many other uses and celebrations. 

His beautiful banners can be seen and purchased at his workshop, and they flutter in abundance from the rafters next door at Picante, Berkeley. Thanks, Enrique for demonstrating your craft to us.

Oakland Ferry Building, too

Same view as Vivian had of this cool building.  (That's me in her sketch.) ~ Susan Ford 

Donkey and Goat Winery, Berkeley

Three large Kvevri, clay amphora vessels used to age some of the biodynamic and organic wine at Donkey and Goat Winery. And there's Micaela, for a sense of scale.

Following natural farming philosophies and sustainable biodynamic practices, grape vines are planted in a combination of plant compost, animal manure and powdered animal horn. Planting is done only during the new moon phase.

Every month at Donkey and Goat Winery on First Friday night, there are pop-up food stalls, an art exhibit, live music, wine tasting and purchase. Kids, multi-generations, dogs, indoor/outdoor space, dancing -- a relaxing start to the first weekend.  ~ Susan Ford

Your Basic Bird, Berkeley

It's a challenge sketching a constantly moving bird. Roudybush and I enjoyed each other's company at Your Basic Bird. Around us were other brilliantly colored birds of many sizes -- sleeping, yelling, singing and feeding one another regurgitated seed (an act of avian affection).

You might ask, Wouldn't they all be happier in their native environments rather than sitting in a cage? To which a friend of mine would reply, Perhaps so, but they'll live longer lives in captivity.

Later, I learned that Roudybush mini is the name of his seed mix diet, not his species. Roudy, I hardly knew ya.  ~Susan Ford

Tulip Festival, Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland

The deYoung Museum’s annual “Bouquets to Art” exhibition in San Francisco pairs floral arrangements and fine art. 

The floral exhibit at historic Tower Chapel at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland is an annual homage to their Tulip Festival -- mass plantings of tulips and other spring bulbs blooming throughout the cemetery grounds. 

Floral arrangements must contain at least 20 percent tulips. Otherwise, invited participants are free to let their imaginations run wild, and they do. 

Late March at Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, free admission.

UC Botanical Garden, Berkeley

A trip to the 34-acre UC Botanical Garden is always a relaxing and rejuvenating experience. Organized geographically, there are California native plants and naturalistic plantings from many countries and regions of the world. There are newts and newt eggs in natural pools. There are plant conservatories, waterfalls, rock formations, paths and plant sales.

Although many trees were still bare, gigantic azaleas were ablaze with hot color on a recent visit.

Inlaid, inscribed tribute bricks are installed on the Tribute Plaza. Inscriptions commemorate founders, family members and garden donors. There are also horticultural quotes and aphorisms. Two of my favorites:

Savor roots, shoots, fruits and newts.

All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.

The Artworks Foundry, Berkeley

 Swelled head: flaking composite material, revealing layered colors  

It once was the site of Magic Gardens Nursery.  Now it's The Artworks Foundry, a location for the production and restoration of sculptures, reliefs and monuments.

Some of the sculptures sit in, or beside the parking lot and they're way larger than life. ~Susan Ford

A matter of scale: M touches a quarrelsome metal or steel crow

Space Oddity, Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland

1967-1971: Soyuz 7K-OK Descent Module

"This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today.
For here am I sitting in my tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do . . . . "

Space Oddity, David Bowie, 1969

Oakland's Chabot Space and Science Center has exhibits, telescopes, a planetarium and an array of space-race relics, like the Vostok ejector seat and the Soyuz descent module, both Russian c. 1960's. Does Putin know about this? Susan Ford

1961: Yuri Gagarin, 1st human in space.
His ejector seat from the Soviet Vostok. 

Mannequinn Madness, Oakland

Mannequin Madness: "the one stop shop for all things mannequin." Owner Judi Townsend repairs, recycles, rents and sells mannequins, torsos, heads, hands, feet and more.

It was fun overhearing customers' plans for their purchases. Creative examples on display that day were a mannequin with a computer screen head and a torso covered with silk leaves and flowers.

Thanks, Judi for the opportunity to sketch some of the Mannequin Madness.

mannequinmadness.com

Flowerland Nursery, Albany

Flowerland Nursery opened in 1947. When I was a landscaper in the '90s and aughts, Flowerland was the place to buy sod---those pregrown rolls of grass that provide instant garden greenification.

My, how things have changed, at least on this side of the Caldecott Tunnel. Garden designers I know would be abashed to spec a lawn today.

Flowerland has been redesigned, too. Under new ownership since 2008, sod has long disappeared from the inventory. Outside, the old marquee sign still amuses pedestrians with pithy horticultural puns. Inside, Flowerland's become an East Bay nursery destination offering Highwire Coffee from an airstream trailer, Fermob French modern garden furniture, and the most beautiful pots and plants. You can also expect the best garden advice from professional plant experts like Griff Hulsey.

Brennan's threw in the (bar) towel

May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past. 

I've never seen as many patrons enjoying supper and a pint as I did at Brennan's nine days before they closed their doors forever.

In a quirky article in Eater, co-owner Margaret Wade, granddaughter of founder John Brennan claimed that rising rent, climate change and cocaine use in the '70s are contributing factors to Brennan's closure after a 60-year run.

www.sf.eater.com

Berkeley City Club

An historic hotel in downtown Berkeley, the Berkeley City Club is an architectural gem constructed in 1927 and designed by California architect Julia Morgan.

In 1890, young girls typically married after high school. Not Julia Morgan. She attended UC Berkeley, which had just begun enrolling women, studied Civil Engineering under the tutelage of architect Bernard Maybeck and was the only woman in the graduating class of 1894 with a degree in Civil Engineering. She was also the first woman to enroll in Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1898, where she received her Master's degree in architecture in 1901. Julia, you do us proud.

www.berkeleycityclub.com

On this courtyard, surrounded by the Club on four sides and open to the darkening sky, this fountain nymph which resembled a small laughing boy was transformed under my hand into an approximation of Mark Twain in a loincloth.

Transbay Transit Center Rooftop Park

The three-block-long Transbay Transit Center is envisioned as the Grand Central Station of the West, with buses and high-speed rail pumping 100,000 visitors in and out of the city.

With no high-speed rail connection as yet, what we have is a glorious LEED-certified bus station serving 14,000 daily AC Transit commuters -- and no one's sure who to bill for the $20M in yearly maintenance costs.

Details, details. For now, let's go up on the roof. There are fantastic vistas and sketching opportunities everywhere you turn. Everyone enjoys getting out of the office, catching some sun, a walk and maybe some lunch on the grass.  There are exercise classes, live music, games and art supplies.

I always enjoy snippets of overheard conversation. A young woman in a Salesforce vest asked her friend, "Oh, you must mean the guy that just started Monday? There's like, some new person every day!" One of my favorites was from a young guy recounting what he'd accomplished (at work?) that day: "Oh yeah. Dude. I love it. I watched Netflix all morning." Awesome.

Albion River Bridge

The Albion River Bridge, located where the Albion River meets the sea, is the last timber trestle bridge on the California Coast. Caltrans wants to replace it with a concrete bridge but the local Mendocino residents want to save their beloved landmark.

Because of WWII concrete and steel shortages,  the bridge was constructed in 1944 of salvaged wood and a steel center truss that was salvaged from an older bridge.

In 2014, Caltrans determined that the bridge, "is reaching the end of its service life and becoming too expensive to maintain." Preservationists, distrustful of Caltran's assessment, successfully added the bridge to the National Register of Historic Places. The debate continues . . . .

https://www.facebook.com/savethealbionbridge/

Children's Fairyland

In a sendup on the masks of tragedy and comedy, Aesop's Tortoise and Hare welcome you to the open-air Playhouse at Children's Fairyland. Aesop was a slave and storyteller in ancient Greece and in his fable, Tortoise triumphs over Hare and proclaims: "Don't brag about your lightening pace, for slow and steady wins the race!"

Thank you, C.J. Hirschfield, Executive Director and Shannon Taylor, Director of Art and Restoration for the opportunity, once again, to sketch at Fairyland. It's always a blast and the time just flies! Children's Fairyland in Oakland is the best.  ~~Susan Ford