Renegade Craft Fair

Craft fairs can be quite “marmish” and “kitschy” events, but even so, I usually can’t resist.  There’s a part of me that loves decoupage coasters and crotchet numbers in bright-pink synthetic yarn. But, even though I did not see a SINGLE tea-cosy or coaster at the Renegade Craft Fair at Fort Mason, there were plenty of other novelties to delight in. 

The craftsmen and women at Festival Pavilion are artists incorporating eclectic and modern elements into their wares.  The found, the salvaged, the industrial, the recycled, and the reused, were all on display.  Prices were boutique-high as you might expect from an urban reinvention of “artsy crafty”; Festival Pavilion felt more trade-show than fair.  Not a face painter in sight.   

Here were a couple of artists who stood out:  

Nina Dinoff uses molds to turn vintage martini paraphernalia (swizzle sticks, cocktail picks, etc) into metal bracelets and pins. 

Jamila Starwater Tazewell brought her bright LA based collection of wallets, cardholders, notebooks, condom cases and passport covers.

Amy Cools, designer of AC Clothing and Bags created a great resource called: Afterglow’s Guide to Independent California Shopping.  Amy compiled information about independent designers in California as well as the stores, online shops, and fairs (more crafts!) that carry independent designs. 

I fell in love with local talent, Hilary Williams’, screen prints and paintings.  You can visit her work at her studio on San Jose and Ocean during open studio hours, every Wednesday from 4-7pm. She also makes dolls that are creepily adorable.

Who Boogaloos?

Oh, Boogaloo’s, you “brunch spot of all brunch spots” in the mission. Come rain, come shine, come in-between grayness, there will always be brunchers queued to partake in your sloppy, vegan and meatetarian friendly, faux-mexican goodness.  

So, who are these loyal participants? On weekends, the answer is: anyone willing to wait 45 minutes for Valencia corridor convenience and eggs. 

But, what about those people who flock to the Boog on TUESDAYS?   Since 11:30 is too early to lunch, and hours late for “breakfast o’clock,” I’ve reasoned that these people are part of the mission elite who BRUNCH on weekdays.  Lets call them, “hipsters who brunch.”

Yesterday morning, the crowd seemed especially busy, so I decided to treat my unemployed ass to a bottomless cup of coffee, a square-cool combo and some people watching with the hopes of better understanding the mysterious order of people engaging in this unpretentious, yet indulgent, ritual. Here are my findings:

Type A. The Unemployed or Self-Employed: Like me, these persons tend to stay too long and order too little. What else have they got to do?  In groups, they are often found splitting side dishes three ways, and asking their server to refill the creme pot for the fourth time. 

Type B. The Parents:  Found in both the male and female breed (how progressive is California!), these doting and mature individuals are clad in the most trendy and ergonomic of “baby-wearing” fashions.  While shoveling whole-grain O’s into their children’s mouths, and 22nd Street Steak Sandwiches into their own, they discuss adult topics like the trials of job-sharing and how to fit two carseats into a Mini. 

Type C. The Night Shifters:  They are just what you’d expect from your local bartenders, servers, and bouncers: pissed off. 

Type D. The Financially Secure:  These trust-funders and Silicon Valley early-retirees are so subconscious about their prosperity that they skip Zuni’s in favor of slumming it.  Despite best efforts, these someones betray themselves by opting for the “real maple syrup” upgrade and never asking for doggie-bags. 

Type E. Truants:  In true Dylan style, these “forever youngs” have called in sick or late in order to ditch their hangover over a plate of soy-chorizo hash. 

So, how does our new generation of “hipsters who brunch” compare with the “ladies who lunch” of yesteryear?  While the number of mimosas may not have increased (those miserable matrons could drink most of us under the table), the diversity of characters certainly has.  And more power to them if they have somehow shirked the 8-6 travail, even if only for a day.

Stevland Hardaway Morris

I went with my family to see this Motown great (better known as Stevie Wonder) play to a packed Shoreline on Saturday night. My sister, Sydney, and I were asked to be in a promo pic for some radio station, most likely because we were the only women under 35 they could find.  But, lest I give you the wrong impression: that 40+ crowd still knows how to rock an amphitheatre and so does Stevie.  And even if you find fault with the 58 year old artist’s aging pipes, you have got to love an icon who will break off a song mid-verse with, “that’s enough of that one.”  No apology needed, Stevie.  You’re way past that.

Lucia di Lammermoor

The staging of the first two acts of San Francisco Opera’s production of Donizetti’s Lucia go something like this:

Act 1. Forbidden Love. Male posturing in the form of strutting and gesticulating from Enrico (Gabriele Viviani), Raimondo (Oren Gradus) and Edgardo (Giuseppe Filianoti).  Lucia (Natalie Dessay) does some rolling around in wispy ground-cover. Next, the lovers duet–an embrace here, an embrace there, kilt play (not as racy as it sounds)–end scene. 

Act 2. Deception, Betrayal and a Wedding.  More male posturing. Lucia and brother, Enrico, exhibiting unintentional sexual tension (by far the most interesting dynamic of the second act).  Dessay is nailed to her marks: chair, table, floor, repeat.  Big wedding and a humorous sword fight. 

Luckily, the infamous Act 3 effectively curbed audience boredom.  Directors Vick and Gandini must have been saving all the gusto for the finale.  While still stiff, the staging was conceptual and Dessay came alive in all of Lucia’s sublime madness to a backdrop of a huge, omnipresent moon. 

Aside from production, there were many standout vocal moments.  While I remained unimpressed by Edgardo and undecided about Enrico, Adler Fellow, Andrew Bidlack, energized the stage with his young but standout voice and Dessay’s cadenza with the glass harmonica was eerily supreme. (You can watch a clip of the cadenza here.)

I have heard so much about Dessay’s energetic and near acrobatic performances that I was eager to see what she would do for her debut role with the San Francisco Opera.  While her coloratura doesn’t disappoint, she seemed to be fighting her suffocating direction.  

Yes, it’s opera and not Cirque du Soleil, but the world has been watching the same standing and arm waving for years, and I guarantee you, “Pavarotti did it better.”  Hopefully the 08-09 season with The Bonesetter’s Daughter and Porgy and Bess will bring more modern interpretation to SFWMPAC. 

The last show of Summer Madness is on Saturday, July 5th and if you are trying to do “standing room” (a true bargain at $10), be sure to arrive early to get a spot on the rail.  And please, ladies, don’t make the mistake I made and forget a change of shoes.  I know it’s the opera, but there is nothing glamorous about standing for 3 hours in stilettos.

The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo

One of the films being screened at the SFMOMA exhibition is the PBS documentary, The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo.  Because I didn’t get the opportunity to view this documentary during my visit, I queued the film up on my Netflix account.  

For anyone with an interest in Srt. Kahlo’s life beyond what was depicted in the 2002 dramatization, Frida, I recommend either catching a screening of the documentary while visiting the museum, or renting the film.  

The documentary includes live, silent footage of Frida and Diego taken at the Casa Azul in Coyoacan. It also provides some insight into her legendary affairs with both women and men– most notably, the Russian Communist leader, Leon Trotsky. 

Frida Kahlo at the SF MOMA

I lucked out with an invitation to the press preview of the Frida Kahlo exhibition. My good friend is an editor at a magazine and I was her tag-along “+1.”  After comped admission and a delicious luncheon (complete with margaritas), I feel compelled to give back a little and spread the word about this enchanting show. 

To observe a Frida Kahlo self-portrait with her singularly poised gaze, is one way of understanding this complex woman, but the MOMA exhibition goes beyond that and offers an opportunity to journey through the years of her life and the progression of her pain, both emotional and physical. 

Another notable feature of the exhibit is the inclusion of photographs from Frida’s own collection.  These portraits of Frida, her husband Diego Rivera, her family and friends complement and contextualize Frida’s self-portraiture. 

The exhibit runs through September 28th but be sure to plan ahead, especially during weekends and peak hours.  The museum is implementing timed-ticketing for this exhibit in order to better accommodate the expected high-volume of visitors without compromising the experience.  Many of the exhibit’s paintings are small and controlled flow of traffic will allow visitors a more intimate experience with Kahlo’s work.