Be thankful for grimy walls

Following my pre-Turkey Day disappointment in humanity, I remembered one of my favorite works of public art. It lives on the Berkeley campus, on a slab of gray just by the square of grass across from Café Strada, where my dog likes to go crazy. There is usually construction there, which of course means lots of cement and blah. It was it's usual boring until one day I noticed the wall had changed. Tiny creatures and flowers were now etched into the grime. And although not really my artistic style, the cartoon-like figures made me smile. As though silently mocking, they stood there showing that public art didn't necessarily have to be a "destructive" thing. 

Note to self: next time you see a graffiti artist being told off, remind them to use a powerhose instead of a spray can.

Wait...you're supposed to be thankful at this time of year, right?

Today I lived in a cloud of flour all day. Made two pumpkin pies, two pumpkin breads (with winter luxury pumpkins from Pie Ranch!) and will soon finish a few batches of cookies. It was the perfect day: clear blue skies, falling leaves, warm, crisp, beautiful.

Alas half way through my baking craze I ran out of flour and oil so I ran to the store....On my way in I saw a man writing with chalk on the cement side of a planter box, the owner of the store stood above him, talking about how it was illegal to write on private property. I didn't think much of it except that I thought it was silly since it was just chalk he was writing with.

On my way out, the drawing man was gone but the owner remained, scrubbing away at what I now saw was an "I love you Brooke" sign. WHAT. A. GRINCH. Some people just have no heart sometimes.

Totland mural

The North side of the mural

A flower-breathing dragon

I started going to the young artists workspace (YAWS) at a pretty young age with my best friend, Zoe. In the beginning, it was pretty much just an excuse to see her on a regular basis after we changed to different schools. But as time passed we formed a tight community with the teacher, Jen, and a few of the other core students. We outgrew the kid-sized chairs but we kept coming every week because we enjoyed it so much.
Though I no longer take classes there, I've been working on restoring the mural on the outside of the building for the past month.
Last week we had a 10 year anniversary celebration in the park with face painting, print making and side-walk chalk.
My dog, Luna, decided to lie in the kolam chalk designs... Then we turned her into a rainbow.

Catching up

I've always toyed with the idea of starting my own blog but somehow it's always seemed too daunting. Inspired by another "gap year girl", I have finally decided to bite the bullet and start my own. I guess I have just been waiting all this time to find a good excuse to write one and all of a sudden I have one!

But first I'll have to do some catching up.....

It's been a few months since I started working at Pie Ranch and a LOT has happened.

September: Splitting my time between Pescadero and home, Berkeley. When I'm not at Pie Ranch I'm working with City Slicker Farms in Oakland/Emeryville and working as an assistant at the Young Artists Workspace (YAWS) in Totland Park, Berkeley.

October: Spent two weeks at Full Belly Farm in Guinda, preparing for the Hoes Down Harvest Festival then back to Pie Ranch. Working with Oakland-based artist Sita Rupe in her cozy studio.

November: Things are winding down at Pie Ranch now... Lots of cover crop planted and many pies to be made!