NCECA + new art

Hello all!

THB and DB are traveling again! Not far, just to Sacramento and back. Chasing art...ceramics mostly! Rather than bore you followers with tons of text, THB will bore you with tons of pictures, especially while THB gets used to doing a daily blog again. At the end of the travel pics are some more personal updates: medical status, a few twin pics, some construction across the street from the loft pics, etc.

Big bus for about 25 of us; two of our friends, RR and AR, have flights cancelled from Miami and miss the tour. We were hoping to reconnect from past NCECAs. Also on the tour is JS, someone we had met once over a lunch with a common friend in March 2020...two long Covid years later....maybe it was just THB being THB: the bus driver took the most convoluted routes possible between stops. What do these guys from Sacramento know about the East Bay? Nada

Day 1: NCECA, Berkeley to Sacramento Hyatt Regency

outside Dome, Peter Voulkos studio, less than a 2 miles from the loft

huge mural just inside door

PV (Peter Voulkos) paintings

PV Bronzes

clay

Litho by PV

Early Jun Kaneko; Jun found PV and they became friends

PV became great guitarist and "friends" with David Crosby (top). It is not easy to be friends with David - listen to 70 over 70 Crosby podcast

This guy came to work as a grad student with PV, he's still in studio 40+ years later

Marilyn Levine was an earlier studio mate of PV

An early visitor: Goro Suzuji. PV traded for a Goro chair. See DB and THB's at Museum of Craft and Design

Maybe Dale Chihuly

PV's daughter explains she is long-time tango enthusiast

Stephen De Staebler: Tour visits his house and 

studio in the Berkeley hills. He died in 2011; his second

wife of 18 years,Danae Mattes, also an artist, gives us the tour

Note the fish with the large yellow "tumor"

Next stop: Trax Gallery, home to Bob Brady and Sandy Simon: featured  are work by Bob (DB and THB have many pieces of both), Claudia Tarantino, Bill Abright (also a couple), Stan Welsh, Mary Alison Lucas (DB and THB have a great piece of hers at the beach)

Bob's latest, purchased by SAS and CYS

Mary Alison

Bill Abright

Claudia (we are hoping she will repair our Richard Shaw)

Next stop: Nancy Selvin Studio, 5 blocks from Trax (we should have walked)

DB talking to ? He uses 3D printer to generate his new work

Nancy's work

Next stop: Jeffrey Spahn house and gallery (Jeffrey in white shirt), across street from Nancy (we walk!)    

Jose Sierra work, very unusual construction 

Early Bob Brady

Next stop: Richmond Art Center this time the bus driver refuses to use HOV lane

Photograph by Val Kai of intersection 1/2 mile from Loft

Lauren Ari exhibit - we are considering a piece by her...can you guess which one

Twin Sisters: Lauren's mom has a twin sister

Lauren

Next stop: Epperson Gallery in Crockett, next door to the Tat Gallery

Richard Notkin piece, DJT profile!

THB buys one of a series: porcelain Tablet by James Aarons

Next stop: dinner at Bella Siena, not very memorable

chilly on the water behind restaurant 

Department of Medicine: 

1. THB goes for his every-other-year exercise-stress-echo test to find out if his heart needs more attention. This is standard post-op stuff for those having received a stent. Something new this time: the prep for the stress test means getting a PCR test. Stanford Health built a new facility right down the road from the loft  and THB decided to ride his bike to the drive-thru test center. Timing is also good  for joining the NCECA Collectors Tour in 5 days. Test result: no Covid virus detected (i.e., negative). PHEW!!

Good news: there was no sign of Covid-19 antibodies

2. Necrotizing Myositis Status: More good news for THB on the Covid front. Evulsheld (a combination of two human monoclonal antibodies), used to prevent COVID-19, is now more widely available. Thus THB can go back to getting the Rituximab infusions (in early April) and subsequently get Evulshed to provide protection from Covid-19 if the infustions wipe out the vaccine shots (THB has now got his 2nd booster, this time Moderna).  In meantime, THB will continue with and increased dose of Methotrexate and optimistically discontinue the Metho after receivng Evulsheld. TMI! Short version: there is another weapon against Covid for those afflicted with auto-immune illnesses. Why did THB say this the first time?

3. Remember the pic of THB's finger from a recent post:

That turns out to be Raynaud's, where the way to treat this disease is by dressing warmer. Hmmmm....in meantime, apparently in conjunction with other auto-immune illnesses, it lops of 3 years of THB's average remaining lifetime. Really? Time to start wearing gloves with the tops of the fingers - of the gloves - cut off, warmer socks, and maybe something to cover the ears (oops, this last is because THB suffers from cold ears). And, as DB remembered, THB's mom also had Raynaud's, so maybe it is genetic. 

Department of Twins: Why do the twins now make special requests to sleep-over at the loft?

A table in the sun for breakfast, enjoying Arizmendi, sharing hot chocolate and pumpkin chocolate-chip muffins

Department of Art: The loft "kitchen" floor gets an upgrade. Surrounding three sides of the kitchen island is a floorcloth by Patricia Dreher (local artist with a work-live studio near Riva Cucina, about 2 miles from the loft).

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Department of Construction: Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams project has morphed intoTHE EMERY

And around the corner on Halleck another old building is undergoing major reconstruction

Department of Destruction: