Josey Baker Bread

After a quick but fruitful day of shopping on Haight street with the lovely Iris we headed over to Mission pies for an afternoon delight. Man oh man they did not disappoint. Not only was the pie delicious, as always, but Josey baker (yes that's really his name) of Josey Baker Bread was there with a smile on his face, selling his amazing bread. I used my fresh from the oven sourdough loaf to make a havarti grilled cheese but think it's best warmed up with a little bit of butter. I strongly suggest you drop by and buy a loaf for yourself. Josey's there Tuesday's and Wednesday's but get there early as they go quick!

Daily Door

Spotlight on Jennie Ottinger

Hello out there! Gillian here. I was out in Oakland on Friday night for Art Murmur with some friends and came across SF-based artist Jennie Ottinger's show at the Johannson Project gallery.
Her work drew me inside, away from the vegan cupcake hawkers in the streets, and I was completely captivated. The show featured many paintings, all with her signature minimalist renderings of folks. Spare though they are, each portrait transmits a surfeit of emotional content.





For me the highlight of the show was her collection of "books". The dust jackets of each of these classic novels displays an original cover design conceived and painted by Ottinger, but inside are the real treats. Ottinger has distilled the essence of each of the novels into tight, irreverent, and highly opinionated summaries; post-modern CliffsNotes for Twitter attention spans.



Ottinger's synopsis of Moby Dick begins with, "This book is more tedious than the war parts of War and Peace but the character names are so much better!" Each of her boiled down summaries is smarter and more hilarious than the last.



Thanks to MKC for several of the photos, and thanks to the Johansson Project in Oakland for putting together such a great show!

--gillian

Clouds

I'm not entirely sure what's going on a meteorological level but the clouds in San Francisco lately have been out of this world, gut wrenching, can't believe my eyes beautiful. So next time your having a rough day just take a moment and look up. Here's what I've seen....

I took the one above at 6am from my apartments balcony. While I am definitely a reluctant early riser I have to admit their is nothing more beautiful then the a sunrise.

--whitney

Daily Door

Courtesy of the lovely Meghan Rand.

Pretty, Pretty bowls!

I am totally powerless when it comes to the lure of ceramic bowls (teacups and mugs as well but thats another fetish all together). Thus as you can imagine I nearly fainted with envy when I saw this cupboard on You are my fav jr. Someday I will have a cupboard dedicated completely to pretty little bowls.....

I can barely wait!!

--whitney

Musings on Creativity. And pianos.

Hello Visionaries!
Lately I have been plunging headfirst into the arts, with an open mind, an open heart and an open imagination. I have felt this incredible urge to create, create without limits. My time has opened up, and with that, my energy had simply multiplied! So I have been stoking the creative fire with all tastes, and all mediums, delving into writing, drawing, cooking, meditation, sewing, ceramics, and today, (I am grinning proudly as I write this) I had my first piano lesson!
Well, actually not my first. But my first of this millenium. I think probably my first since the 80s. Therefore I will count it as a capital-F First!
What brought this on? Well, aside from a love of music, I have had the pleasure of being invited to several truly astounding, seriously inspiring concerts lately. Seeing music live just fills me with so much energy... as if it emanates from the performer's voice and fingertips and floods the room. I drink in as much of it as possible, but I'm overflowing. It's as if I'm trying to take a breath of air large enough to last the rest of the day, and my lung capacity is just bursting.
I'm sure you have felt this feeling before. After hearing an incredible piece of music, seeing a moving painting or photograph, or reading something which touches your very core. What to do with all this excess creative energy? How do I utilize this frantic overwhelm of action potential?
My old strategy? Consume. Buy a CD. Buy a book. Buy an ice cream cone. Buy anything, in order to feel like I had satisfied or somehow squelched that gnawing grumble.
But my heart and my creative channels, though still in their infant stage of development, are more open than they used to be. I now realize that when life gives you lemons, you don't go for a bike ride. What I mean is, there is a way to take in beautiful work, and photosynthesize your own creative energy out of it. Julia Cameron calls it "filling the well". What it does is gives you the raw material of creativity: the spark, which energizes you, PROPELS you, to create of your own accord. This kind of raw energy can be intimidating, scary, perilous! Or if used correctly (meaning, if used, period), can be immensely productive and useful.
All that is to say, today, I made some noise on the piano. It wasn't music yet, but I made something.
I'll leave you with some inspiring images of pianos, in hopes that they might propel YOU to make something, anything.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninajeaninephotography/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vyno/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifein2-d/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12919827@N04/

--gillian