self-archive part sixteen

Drawing "the nature" with Catholic children: Today was the day I had been waiting for. My commute consisted of just the 30 bus, and a free bagel with schmear. I arrived just before the museum opened and drew my favorite exhibit (I have several favorites). I will post the drawing when I get back to scannerland (Olympia). This exhibit is dry ice being piece by piece (and some intervals of many pieces at once going) into some liquid and they exude these clouds of crazy white swirldiddle. It represents how comets travel through space, and what it looks like when they do. Then I ran into one of my favorite employees, he was arriving at work. I ran into him at the Xiu Xiu show (he also worked the Traits of life: Stem cells lecture I saw), and wanted to know what he thought. What he thought wasn't very flattering or positive. Then I asked all about the Tactile Dome, because I get to go there Tuesday morning (my last day there) for my reserved, light deprived adventure. Then I left with Dierdre for the St. Joseph Alameda school. Alameda is an island it turns out, and I got to see Oakland some on the way there. When we arrived, we brought in all types of leaves, shells, rocks, bark, and feathers. At the school, we put them into baskets, and then put one on each table. Dierdre read The Dot which I had actually never read (I used to work in the Children's library as a page for a year, and read just about every children's book). Then she brought out large prints of different works of art and spoke about each of them. Then the children all shared what they noticed. While that was happening, I was preparing a "sample" for the kids. Upon picking a leaf and a seashell, I performed rubbings, tracings, and then my interpretation for each. Then when the children returned to their table I walked around and talked about some of the possibilities to depict something. Then I walked around and was encouraging for the duration of the activity before the kids naturally ended doing that and went into sitting quietly and reading. Some of the books: The Indian Paintbrush, Girl of Bluebonnet (or something like that), and Strega Nona, Those are all written by Tomie DePaolo. I really enjoyed his work as a child, and remember being drawn to his use of color. There was a book about Georgia O'keefe, and many on native cultures. I really enjoyed all of the little personalities. It also made me think, probably too much about how impressionable they are. Eventually it turned into everybody's just painting what they want and many are way over the shells, leaves, and whatnot. They want to paint themselves playing or spaceships. I am walking around wanting to comment on their work but not wanting to ask what it is, but also feeling weird about saying "Oh! That's great! What that looks like to me is a _______." because that would be me laying my whole trip on their little painting. I know, I tend to overanalyze but I felt like this was kinda big. The actual PRACTICE of childcare/nurturing. We left from there and I was driven around Oakland so that I could see the rest of it, and then taken to the Oakland Museum of California. It was very interesting. It was really big, the visual art/temporary exhibit was "California as Muse The Art of Arthur and Lucia Mathews". I actually really enjoyed his furniture as art. I have seen some of his pieces before at the Art Institute of Chicago, and I think, but am not sure that this one building on Michigan, that was an interior design school had murals by him. I used to go to that building and take the elevator to where the murals are which is the top floor. There is a room with a large piano and huge windows unattended. It is one of my favorite things ever. I didn't know anything about the artist of the murals was, and now I am thinking maybe its these people. At the least, it was syncronistic (the woman next to me is having a conversation about how she ate too much shepard's pie and hasn't slept enough so she doesn't feel good) and beautiful. Then there was "Laughing Bones Weeping Hearts", a Dia de los Muertos exhibit. I have missed where I lived in Chicago for some of the things I saw there today. There was a beautiful marigold petal labryinth that was outlined with people past and present's shoes. All of the work was so personal that it was sharp and fiercely authentic. There was also a place where you could right a deceased loved one's name on a leaf and tape it to the tree of Dia De Los Muertos celebration. Many beautiful altars. Tasty, tasty altars. The permanent collection was California's history from Pre-history to 20th century. It had a recreation of Vesuvio's instead of a Beat Pad, as opposed to the Beat Museum. They also had a Tlingit hat. There was no reflexivity, but many artifacts to behold the wonder of. For example, candy from the Victorian era, lots of writing desks. The Arthur Mathews exhibit also was writing desk heavy. I had a good time. I only had an hour I could be there because the children's activity so I was not able to take deep time. Then I took BART to 16th and Mission and went on the hunt for Adobe and Aardvark books. It wasn't so much a hunt, as a stroll. Adobe linearly comes first. There was incense burning, and when I came in it felt like the outside instantly turned into rainy evening. Not true. I have been pretty limited in what I am looking for in books: something, anything on Darger that doesn't cost 50 bucks, toying with pursuing WH Auden or Rimbaud again, a new chapbook, whichever is best, and Gary Snyder. At Adobe I found The Book of Nods which is a collection of Jim Carroll's that I have wanted for too long, and then wandered into the back. There was a tiny gallery space of this artist's work that was really interesting. I'd have to see it again, before I decided for sure. Then I wandered back up and continued to browse as the wonderful behind-the-counter-person was helping. I left and wandered up and around into Aardvark. I was most excited to be here. I immediately found some essays Gary Snyder had written and was ready to leave. Being very hungry, I went back to the hostel which has a "free" dinner. I stopped by to see what it was, shepard's pie. Puke city 2006, is all I have to say about that. I went to the Indian restaurant that I had been very excited to finally get to eat at, and it wasn't as good as the one in Olympia, which isn't as good as ANY Indian restaurant in Chicago's Lil' India. Especially Bhabi's Kitchen, go there if you are ever on Oakley, I think just off Devon. You will not regret it. In short, not so hot. India Curry House is not the "best" as it so claims. I then left and starting walking down Columbus taking it all in. Then I ended up at City Lights and looked thru so many chapbooks and found the best one to get. It came with a pillow case. It is so fantastic. This is of course, research for what/how I should do this. Then I went to Vesuvio's and sat next to a native of North Beach, he bought me a Fernet (with a ginger back) and talked about how important art and music are. He said he is making a kids books; that the illustrations aren't complete, but he already has the publishing deal. He told me I looked like a very serious girl. I laughed and he said " I mean it you are very serious."

PS CIty LIghts had two of David Berman's Open Air on hand, and multiple copies of every book Bukowski has ever written.