Category Archives: restaurants & bars

Adam5100 & Rowan Morrison

Remember the hand stencil from SF Shout Out! the other day? Here’s the Oaktown version…

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It’s actually two hands… can you see that?

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I did a little research and found out (thanks to the gracious folks at Rowan Morrison, exterior pictured below) that the artist responsible is Adam5100. He’s a CCAC (now CCA) graduate who channeled his graffiti skills into more formal printmaking techniques there. He’s known for his use of complex multi-layered stencils, typically applied on canvas rather than concrete. If you check out his website, you’ll get the idea… it’s amazing these images are created with stencils! Here are a couple of my favs:
http://www.adam5100.com/display_image.php?image=36
http://www.adam5100.com/display_image.php?image=35

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He installed “the hand” on the side of Rowan Morrison’s building in June of 2008 in conjunction with a solo show there, entitled “The Heart Vs. The Mind in a Fight to the Finish”. I love that! Here are a couple snaps of the process, provided by Rowan Morrison (more on them further down this post… )

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He currently is exhibiting at White Walls in San Francisco for their exhibit, The Stencil Show which is up until 11/7, and also has a piece in London’s Stolen Space Gallery as part of local boys Green Day‘s commissioned pieces designated to accompany their new album 21st Century Breakdown. This guy is prolific!

And I found this great video of him doing a tiny stencil… basically a trailer for the solo show at RM. It’s only a minute long… you have to check this out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAsqQWNkTTo

Now to Rowan Morrison… I hope you’re still with me, because this is a cool space. They’re located on 40th street near Broadway and have limited hours, but you can check them out on Fridays & Saturdays between 11am-6pm, or by special appointment. Run by husband and wife artists Pete Glover & Narangkar Glover (also CCA graduates), RM is a gallery/bookstore specializing in artist books, home grown ‘zines and special edition prints. They’ve got a great space for perusing these items in person, but if you’re more virtually inclined, they have an online store and a great blog about art books.  Please check them out.

And if you happen to make your way there… you can grab a bite to eat at Mama’s Royal Cafe just around the corner on Broadway.  I’ll probably do a whole post about Mama’s sometime in the future because it’s certainly worthy (full of funky art and fantastic food) and is simply one of my all-time oakland favs…  In the meantime, I’ll simply say, “It’s the best!”

Oh… one last thing.  We’re headed to the cemetery tomorrow… mwa ha ha haaaa!

The Heart of Our City

So I want to wrap up my focus on Lake Merritt… we’ve talked about the stunning architecture of the two catholic churches poised at each end of the lake… and we’ve explored the lovely gardens tucked into Lakeside Park. I would be remiss if I failed to mention some other fantastic developments happening around the lake.

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In 2002, Oakland voters overwhelmingly passed Measure DD, a $198 million bond measure designated to “improve water quality; provide educational and recreational facilities for children; clean up Lake Merritt; restore Oakland’s creeks, waterfront and estuary; preserve and acquire open space; renovate parks;” and more. And it’s all happening now…

Here’s a summary of the projects around the lake:

1) Lakeside Drive – improvements to Lakeside Drive including installation of bike lane (yes!), new trees & landscaping (yes!), and conversion of the old defunct boathouse office facility into a new lakeside restaurant (yes!) It’s all done folks, and it looks awesome!  Here are a few pics of the restaurant, which I haven’t had the chance to check out yet, but it looks like great spot to meet for a bite and a drink after work.

It was opened in August with a ribbon cutting ceremony officiated by Mayor Ron Dellums, celebrating its 100th anniversary. He said, “What a tremendous pleasure to stand here 100 years later and celebrate not only the renovation of these architectural gems, but the restoration of our parks and waterways that our children and grandchildren may enjoy for the next 100 years.”

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2) Lakeshore Avenue – improvements to Lakeshore Avenue including installation of bike lanes (yes!), improvements to the recreational trail including a new planting strip designed to buffer it from the roadway (yes!), over 8 acres of renovated planting and irrigation with over 100 new trees installed (yes!), pier reconstruction, and plenty of new seating areas. This too is done, and it looks fantastic!

3) 12th Street -redesign of the current 12-lane expressway at this end of the lake to a slower, scenic boulevard more congruous with the adjacent park setting.  To this end, the expressway will be reduced to 6-lane tree-lined boulevard, allowing for construction of a shoreline park, and installation of bike lanes (yes, yes, and yes!)  Additionally, the Lake Merritt Channel (waterway that feeds the lake) is going to be improved allowing for greater tidal circulation into the lake. (This project slated to be finished in 2011).

Which reminds me… did you know that Lake Merritt is not a lake at all?  It’s actually a tidal lagoon that is fed by the bay.  It’s salty!  And it’s teeming with life…everything from mussels to 4-inch fish to even small sharks, plenty of delicious food for the large population of birds… all kinds of ducks, geese (watch out for the poop!), coots, gulls, night herons, egrets, pelicans, and more.

And did you know that Lake Merritt is the oldest wildlife refuge in the United States (established in 1870)?  It’s true! And it’s smack in the middle of our city… amazing!

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Deadeyes

Same artist again… I’m runnin’ with it because I’m under the gun and headed out of town… Who knew this blogging stuff would be so time consuming?! Jeeeeezz….

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This is the first one I’ve seen that’s titled. How does the title impact your experience of the image? What does it mean to you? Do you like it? Send me some comments. Pulleeeeezzz.

This one spotted outside Brown Sugar Kitchen on Mandela Parkway, which has the most delectable melt-in-your-mouth waffles you’ll ever taste. Chef/Owner Tanya Holland opened a couple of years ago in this very industrial neighborhood where few restaurant options existed, then or now. I’m happy to say this venture’s been a huge success, garnering various east bay awards and plenty of regular customers. As the name says, it’s a sweet spot!

First Friday Frolic! ~ ART MURMUR

Ok… so I’m going to try something a little different for my post today. Instead of just focusing on one piece of art, we’re going to revisit all of the fun & fantastic happenings I experienced on my “first friday” last night… I’ll do this once a month and call it “First Friday Frolic!”

For starters, my girlfriend and I met at Flora for a drink. Flora is located in a gorgeous art deco building with stunning tile & faux-metal work, just across the street from the equally impressive Fox Theater (more on this in future posts…) Flora is, hands down, one of the (if not the) best restaurants in Oakland, and boy can they make cocktails! I had something called a Salt and Pepper which was a fantastic grapefruity concoction, rimmed with salt & pepper. YUM! My girlfriend had two cocktails (she is a lush) and was equally enthusiastic about both of hers. The bartenders are true artisans and it was educational and entertaining to watch as they shaked, stirred, strained, and dripped their delicious & beautiful elixers. We also had some small plate delectable snacks at the bar… and all I can say is, you simply must go.
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I had to duck out of Flora 1/2 way through my drink to ply my parking meter with quarters. Oakland meters are now functional until 8pm! Yes, you read that right, 8pm folks. It’s a drag, but hey… we need the cash. Don’t forget to feed those meters… I saw several tickets on cars last night.

On my way I walked past a slew of murals hung around a development site… they seem to be projects from various Art & Soul Festivals from years past. Really great stuff…
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I also made my way past the Great Western Power Company building which, I just learned, was converted into a rock climbing gym in early 2008. The building originates to the 1920’s and was a steam-powered generation plant into the 1930’s until it was bought out and decommissioned by rival PG&E.  Touchstone Climbing did a lovely job renovating the building, which adds to the growing list of historic revival buildings downtown.  The painted figures on the old smokestack are a relatively new addition… very cool! Didn’t I tell you Oakland was cool?

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Next it was on to the murmur… Art Murmur that is. Art Murmur as most folks know by now, is Oakland’s answer to San Francisco’s First Thursdays. First Fridays are way cooler…

We made our first stop into Mercury 20… highlights for me were the watery underworld abstracts upstairs (can’t find artist’s name), Mary V. Marsh‘s ink drawings on remants of old library cards, pieces of newsprint, etc., and finally the quirky and comical workings of Julie Alvarado… how can you not love a T-Rex playing the accordian? The music was quite good too… lovely stringed duo playing live.
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After that, we strolled on up to the clusterf&*! around Johansson Projects and Rock, Paper, Scissors. This is hipster central, where the real party is, though I’m not sure that’s the real draw of Art Murmur for me. There are a lot of talented artist’s in Oakland and I want to see what they’re doing. Of course, it’s fun to have cocktails at Flora first!

The alley between the two was full of artists plying their wares… some pretty cool stuff. But I have to say it was kind of hard to see stuff (or maybe I’m just old)… I think they need to string the alley with lights like on Belden Lane in San Francisco… give it that Euro-feel. It would be pretty!

I loved the work of artist Terri Saul. She had a little table of funky and beautiful paintings for really reasonable prices. If I hadn’t spent all my cash at Flora, I would have bought something. I will find her again…

We blasted through Mama Buzz and then passed this adorable little Art Cart on our way back to the car. They do art on the spot and have all kinds of supplies and little tables and chairs… it’s so cute! I feel a little guilty telling you that we did not stop and spontaneously make art. We should have. But we are old and we were tired.

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Oh.. I almost forgot to mention Luka’s. Luka’s is a staple. One of the first to brave the neighborhood which really didn’t exist a few years ago… there was just the Paramount and that was it. In fact, I remember the old Hofbrau that Luka’s is now housed in. Their food was terrible. I didn’t like it when my mom made corned beef, and I can’t say I like it when anyone else does either. But you went to the Hofbrau for the large cheap beers before shows at the Paramount. Now we are blessed to be able to get better beers, and much better food. Thank you Luka’s!