Lost and Found Exhibition May 5 - June 15

I am very excited to announce a gallery show that I will be participating in together with my fellow CCA jewelry students at D&H Sustainable Jewelers in San Francisco. The show will feature works made in the Lost and Found class that focuses on recycling, repurposing and reusing materials. There will be an opening reception this Saturday, May 5th from 5-8pm (there is a wine bar in the gallery so fun times for all). Work will be on view through June 15.

Here is the card for our show as well as the official press release (that I wrote - yay for business skills coming in handy).

 The students of the “Lost and Found” Jewelry/Metal Arts class at the California College of the Arts will be presenting works created throughout the Spring 2012 semester in an exhibition at D&H Sustainable Jewelers in San Francisco, on view from to May 5^th to June 15^th  2012. There will be an opening reception on Saturday May 5^th 5pm-8pm.

Through discussion and experimentation, the class explored the formats of jewelry, functional object, and sculpture to change perception about found materials. A primary challenge was to transform waste materials into objects that have purpose, thus allowing potential landfill to have a second life.

Using a wide array of materials including discarded jewelry, hard drives, phone books, antique trade beads, found wire, and recycled metal, students created reimagined pieces with new layers of meaning.

For more information on the “Lost and Found” exhibition or the Jewelry/Metal Arts program at California College of the Arts, please contact Curtis Arima at curtis@curtisharima.com  or visit www.cca.edu. D&H Sustainable Jewelers is a fine jewelry design house that works only with reclaimed precious metals and ethically sourced diamonds and gemstones, located at 2323 Market St., San Francisco, CA, (415)500-2550,  www.dnhjewelers.wordpress.com.

My Definition of Heaven Has Gotten Quite Cheap

Isn't this an incredible photo of Mano and Nina? My mother-in-law took it (she is visiting us here at Casa Cali right now) and I can't get over the silhouetted trees in the background and the way the cats - in particular Mano in all his whiteness - look as if they've been photoshopped in from a different image.

Nina looks grouchy, but we forgive her. My mother-in-law is quite trigger-happy with the camera these days, and there simply comes a moment when a girl has had enough candid photos, thank-you-very-much.

Unfortunately the weather has been pretty crap lately, which is never what you hope for when you have houseguests who are looking forward to Sunny California. There was a bout of sunshine yesterday - though it was bitterly cold - so I decided to ditch my drawing class and join Rico and his mom on a passeio in San Francisco, complete with lunch at the Embarcadero, shopping and a ferry ride.

We had lunch at THE PLANT Organic Café, which has some of the tastiest food ever, although our meal was slightly tarnished by the fact that I hit my elbow ridiculously hard on the corner of the table while sitting down and subsequently lost all feeling in my right hand for about an hour. Also, the hostesses have major attitude, a theme we observed on our last visit to the restaurant as well. The girl who was seating us totally saw me slam my elbow and proceed to cry and curl up in a little ball - I cried, people! - and she didn't even have the heart to ask if I was okay or even acknowledge that I'd hurt myself. She just watched me for a minute or so, raised her eyebrows, then left the menus with Rico and sauntered back to the hostess stand.

Anyhow, a plattter of delicious oysters full of fresh horseradish helped me feel better. Each time I eat oysters I like them more and more - it's sort of akin to what happened to me with sushi and sashimi. I now undeniably have oyster fever. Rico and I have plans to go to this place his uncle Marcelo discovered at the Embarcadero where they have a $1 oyster happy hour every weekday at 5pm. Currently that is pretty close to my definition of heaven.

Divine Lunch

Ever walk into a building or a home that leaves you in awe of its design and decoration? This happened to me the other day while at lunch with family and friends at THE PLANT Organic Cafe at the Embarcadero in San Francisco. The ambience in this restaurant is incredible, and happily the food lived up to the expectations set by the decor. It didn't hurt that we got one of the best tables in the house, on the enclosed patio with a view of the bay. :)


Highly recommended for foodies and design lovers alike.