Roll with it…

Happy last day of May everyone!  I’m feeling better this week… how about you?  Did you all have a nice 3 day weekend?  Can you believe it’s still raining?!? It put a bit of a damper on some of my weekend plans, but I decided to roll with it and adjust…

So instead of putting those veggie starters in the ground (yes, I realize this likely should have happened months ago), I spent a very satisfying afternoon snail hunting. The ducks and chickens next door were satisfied as well!

I think adaptability is one of our most amazing traits as humans. Of course it’s not a human trait exclusively, but we’ve seemed to have mastered it to a degree few other creatures have…

We went for a walk in Joaquin Miller Park yesterday during a stint of gorgeous breezy spring sunshine.  This squirrel cracked me up!

joaquin miller park, east bay hiking

I didn’t get to any art this past weekend, but there’s a lot coming up… another Art Murmur, two weekends of East Bay Open Studios including art “hops” and walks, street festivals, and more!

And, I’m taking a month long blogging course starting tomorrow. I’m hoping it will reinvigorate my blogging practice, which has suffered of late due to being squeezed into the tiny sliver of time remaining after all that other stuff that has to get done. Wish me luck!

And lastly, thanks to all who commented or completed my little survey last week. Sorry for whining… I was just having a moment.

And thanks too to my new twitter friend OaktownTuro, who graciously changed his mind and let me have the OaktownArt twitter handle! More on the twitter thing once I get it all figured out…

Express yourself…

So I know Friday is s’posed to be partyin’ partyin’ fun fun fun lookin’ forward to the weekend, but not for me. Not today.

This sticker pretty much sums up how I feel, so I’m just puttin’ it out there.  It’s healthy, right?

oakland sticker art, graffiti stickers east bay, street art stickers

And why am I such an oscar-the-grouch this morning? Little things really. Insignificant if you think about it, but I’d rather vent for a minute and be done with it.

  • First, my little survey yesterday was an utter failure. Only 4 responses, two of which were pathetically un-helpful (“Oaktown Art” and “vagina” – thanks B!) The two more serious answers were “street art” (here you go!) and “new art in Oakland I haven’t seen” – hmmm, that’s a toughie since I’m not you, but I’ll work on it…
  • Next, because I am a Luddite and am late to the Twitfest, I’ve just discovered that someone’s already using my handle (oaktownart). The nerve! I actually tweeted him (my first tweet ever) to ask if he’d consider changing his name, and he replied NO, despite the fact that until yesterday, he had only 1 tweet under his belt. (sigh) What to do dear readers? Do we launch a Colbert-style assault to humiliate him into changing? Or do I change? And if so, please tell… what should my twitter handle be?

There.  I feel a bit better.  Now on with the “Gettin’ down on Friday”…

What’s YOUR interest in Oaktown Art?

Hey Peeps, so I’m a bit stumped this week… feeling lackadaisical… awaiting inspiration (sometimes you just have to wait)… yet nothing is springing forth to grab my attention and say, “Hey! Post about this this week.”

So I thought two things:

  • First, I’d share a list, because everything I’ve read about blogging says you simply must post lists. People eat them up like hot-out-of-the-oven-chocolate-chip-cookies. They may not contain the most nutritious content, but they’re delicious and they go down quick!
  • Second, I’d ask you all what you’re interested in. Because one of my favorite parts of blogging is the feeling I get when I can see, through comments or traffic, that something I’ve posted really resonates. So please, chime in and let me know if you have specific interests about art and/or culture in Oakland…(scroll below question mark for input form)

So here is a list of the Top-30 All-Time Search Engine terms used to hit Oaktown Art:

  1. if you want to achieve greatness stop asking for permission
  2. what is art deco
  3. oaktown art
  4. gats graffiti
  5. wheat paste graffiti
  6. california spiders
  7. where is dave chappelle now 2010
  8. dave chappelle 2010
  9. art deco
  10. earth art bumper sticker
  11. ghost town farm
  12. oakland graffiti
  13. new parish oakland
  14. ras terms
  15. guitar art
  16. art in the streets la
  17. modern folk art
  18. dia de los muertos art
  19. vagina
  20. mua oakland
  21. wheat paste art
  22. wheat paste
  23. graffiti stickers
  24. sticker art
  25. temescal creek cohousing
  26. ella baker center
  27. alameda county courthouse
  28. art’s crab shack
  29. someone is spitting on the liars and hypocrites in the name of jesus christ.
  30. the layover oakland

oaktown art feedback, what would you search for?

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Feel free to post comments as well if this form is too confining…

Kicking Ass for the Working Class

Billboard sized wheatpaste on San Pablo… almost didn’t catch it because the color scheme matched the real billboard above.

Although quite damaged now, you can see the original installation on Endless Canvas, as well as an interesting historical recap of International Workers’ Day (May 1st) – the inspiration behind this piece.

giant wheatpaste, international workers day, kicking ass wheat paste

Each of the figures appears to be a separate cut-out, as are the individual letters. This baby must have taken some time!
oakland street art, oakland graffiti art, oakland wheatpaste san pablo