Kal Spelletich's Night

I attended my friend's evening of interaction art. I stayed for a long time and was extremely lucky to get to experience the fire tornado. Check out the video:

Creativity Explored Opening

This was an incredible show with many great pieces. There was some incredible drawings by Charles "Pancho" Cruz in the back of the space.

August 15 - October 2, 2013

Venue
Creativity Explored

Location
San Francisco, CA

Sideshow (detail) by Gordon Shepard © 2004 Creativity Explored. Mixed media, Mixed media, 30 x 73.5 x 31.5 inches.

Gordon Shepard

Gordon Shepard

Thanh My Diep

Richard Wright

Sara O'Sullivan

Pancho Cruz

Pancho Cruz (detail)

Pancho Cruz (detail)

Pancho Cruz

Pancho Cruz

Pancho Cruz

Pancho Cruz

Pancho Cruz

De Young Museum Visit

Attended free day today and visited some of my favorite pieces in the museum. I also saw some new pieces I really love. I especially enjoyed this piece, however I wish that the top half was printed in darker ink like the bottom. This bottom piece has highly inspired me and may result in a future painting I want to complete.

Marisol

Diptych, 1971
Lithograph in 2 colors on Arches paper 47 3/4 in. x 31 5/8 in.

I love Teraoka's early work and this one is especially beautiful. AIDS has claimed two lives, a mother and child.

George Wesley Bellows

Seated Nude, 1910–1911

I'm extremely fond of paintings by George Wesley Bellows. This one is particularly fantastic with its juicy brushstrokes.

Frank Duveneck

Study for "Guard of the Harem", 1879

Oil on canvas

Frank Duveneck

Venetian Girl, 1880

oil on wood panel

My favorite part of the museum is the African art section.

Mask (Pwoom itok)

Democratic Republic of Congo

Early 20th century

Wood, pigment, beads, vegetable fiber

(detail)

Standing power figure
Democratic Republic of Congo
Kongo people
19th century
Wood, feathers, glass, metal, fiber

(detail)

(detail)

(detail)

Mask
East Epik Province
probably Banaro people
19th–early 20th century
Wood, mud, shell, and green beetle carapaces

Figure, 1940–1950
Alaska, Eskimo, Inupiaq
Seal, rabbin, and elk fur, caribou skin, wood, pigment, and commercial cotton thread

Richard Cleaver
Mother Springhouse (Oakland Plantation Series), 2005
Ceramic, wood, freshwater pearls, garnets, glass crystals, bronze wire, metal, gold leaf, and oil paint

(detail)

(detail)

Frank Lloyd Wright Marin County Civic Center

Stopped with Nikki to finally see the architecture of the Frank Lloyd Wright Marin County Civic Center.

Nikki's Birthday Card

I painted this portrait of Nikki's kitty Bootsie. I liked the way it turned out.

Contemporary Jewish Art Museum

Visited the Contemporary Jewish Art Museum for the Beyond Belief show. There were quite a few pieces that I enjoyed and several I have seen before, but were great to revisit. 

Larry Thomas, Soul Trap, 1982
drawing | pastel, charcoal, and raw pigment on paper

Ross Bleckner, Knights not Nights, 1987
oil, beeswax, pigment, and damar crystals on canvas, 108 in. x 72 in

Mona Hatoum, Pin Rug, 1998-1999
stainless steel pins, canvas, and glue, 1 3/4 in. x 47 7/8 in. x 73 5/8 in.

Helène Aylon, Bulging Spread, Central Break, 1979
Linseed oil on paper adhered to Plexiglas

This piece by Aylon was my favorite. Here is the didactic: Aylon was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family whose life was structured by religious ceremony; as a result, an emphasis on ritualistic action informs her artistic practice. Part of a larger series, Bulging Spread, Central Break is the result of a performance open to chance: Aylon poured linseed oil onto a large flat panel, and months later broke the sac formed by the oil, allowing it to gush and drizzle down the support. Describing this process, Aylon explained that she would "stand by holding the pan to catch the gushing oils like a midwife, as the participants lifted the the panel off the floor onto a wall."