Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Memorial Day weekend


This past weekend was spent making trips out and seeing new things.  On Saturday, Thom and I ventured out to the Bayview neighborhood and stopped in at Scrap.  Scrap is this huge warehouse where people drop off and donate reusable items and materials.  They have everything from framing wood to fabric to old film slides.  The best part is that all the items are severely marked down and super cheap.  They even have a rotating free section where items come and go.

 Unfortunately for me, I am without a current project.  And I found nothing to pick up and take home!  But I do know where I could come for a large variety of affordable fabric, papers, yarns, notions, and framing materials.

On Sunday, Thom and I made absolutely no attempt to see the fireworks for the Golden Gate Bridge 75th Celebration.  Cold weather, fog, crowded spaces and young drunk people?  Pass.

Ironically though, we ended up having to take the dreaded 28 public transit bus line that evening.  (One of the few bus routes that was in full operation to transport every other SF resident to the Golden Gate.  No cars were allowed anywhere near the bridge that day and everyone that wanted to see the grand fireworks finale had to take public transit.)  It's funny how I can become so fearful of groups of people when riding a bus.  By the time our stop had arrived, the bus was so packed, Thom had to shove people back out of the bus in order to get out.  I actually jumped!  Some people just do not understand how riding a bus works.   

Bus stops.  
Let people out.  
Get on bus.

You would think such a simple concept would be easily understood and followed out.  But no.  Somehow we be come basic and so primal that our only need and desire is to get on that already-packed bus.

A low point in human civilization for sure.

Anyway, we ended up making up for it and spending a terrific night with friends, playing cards, drinking cocktails and catching the first half of the fireworks from the roof top.



I typically associate Memorial Day with BBQing and flea markets.  Since we do not own a grill and there were no flea markets to be had, Thom and I made an adventure to the Mission district yesterday.  We visited sunny Dolores Park, which neither of us have visited since moving here, one year ago.  The weather seemed warmer and there were many people out enjoying the holiday.

We stopped by Delfina for lunch.  And I'll say that it was all everyone has said their pizza would be.  After reading so many Yelp reviews, SF articles and food blogs on this place, I was afraid it would not live up to the hype.

Thankfully, we were not disappointed.

Now we'll just have to stop by Flour & Water to make our ultimate pizza comparisons.

And just because, because, because, we stopped by Bi-Rite and grabbed an ice cream.  Thom choose the ever popular cookies & cream and I choose toasted coconut.  There were the other infamous flavor combinations like Lavender & Honey, Balsamic Strawberry and Creme Fraiche, but I just couldn't resist a familiar and comfortable flavor.  Perhaps next time I will get adventurous.

In all, a great weekend to spend before I head back to New York!










Sunday, May 27, 2012

Photobooks

 

Last weekend I had some time to utilize the skills I learned in bookmaking and combine my photography together.  The result?  A hand bound artist's book.

Actually three of them.

It's amazing how imagery changes from a digital to a physical space.  In my opinion, I love them more so in the physical form.  Binding them together in book form just adds that certain charm and clean professionalism that I have always wanted to represent my images in.  And because of this, I will cherish them all the more.

I ran into a few issues when developing my books, specifically with binding.  In one of my series, I had printed all the images as 7.5x11 prints on a thick weighted paper.  My hopes for the prints where to frame and hang a few of them but I never got around to doing so.  And I probably didn't because the paper has always been so nice to touch and feel and I thought it was a shame to stick it behind some glass.

So I thought it brilliant to try and bind the prints together in book form.  This way I would enjoy the intimacy of viewing all the imagery while experiencing the beautiful qualities of the paper.

The problem was that they were separate prints and each were cut flush to the image.  This basically means, I had to physical spine to bind a book with.

So I ended up making one.  I created a slight version of a perfect bind with PVA and mulberry paper as my spine and cased in the book block.

And after I created that first book, I followed the other two out pretty much the same.  Each book contains a title page and colophon.  Two of the books have an introduction and all three books have velvet end pages.  All cases are covered in Japanese book cloth.

Yes I know... fancy.














Monday, May 14, 2012

Tamales Oyster Bay


This past weekend, Thom and I left behind work, final projects, and the San Francisco fog for a scenic drive up North to Tamales Oyster Bay Company.  Tamales is located on the inner part of the bay of Point Reyes, so it took a good hour to get there from the city.  The drive was scenic and the sunshine welcoming.  It's funny how much perspective you can draw from leaving familiar surroundings and experiencing a new adventure.

When we got there, the place was already bustling.  There were picnic tables filled with all kinds of people, food, and oysters.  The oyster shop itself was non-stop busy that day.  The company farms a small variety right on the bay.  The atmosphere was so relaxed and there was all kinds of music playing, dogs barking, people conversing and children laughing. 

And the oysters?  Amazing and so fresh.  Nowhere near slimy or fishy, like some horror oyster stories begin with.

After grilling to our stomachs content, we all decided to head down to the low tide and let the dogs run around.  In all, a great day.



I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  And congrats to those that are graduating!