The rains have begun late this year and because of this it has been a long and fruitful growing year for the front yard garden. The flowers from the squash and sungold cherry tomatoes were picked, the squash itself nurtured, all by neighbors unknown.

Food plants are meant to die back, drop their seed and nourish the soil as they go. All of this takes time, the garden is not always “pretty”, as the seasons work toward the plants end and the soil rests. Recently someone called the non emergency number in San Francisco to report that the front yard garden was a Danger- high priority. I could see as I took a look at the garden that it might be a bother to someone getting out of their car, not dangerous, but “definitely a bother.”

The front yard food garden is separated by a driveway that has a rose tree and other non food plants. The non food part of the garden touches my neighbors garden.  I garden their plot also. My neighbors got a letter about the front yard garden.  I had begged these neighbors I consider friends to be part of the city planting that was happening in the Mission District, and now they are displeased with me and the front yard garden. The letter we both got has not made them want to keep their front yard garden any more than they already did not want to have the front yard garden.  Before and after getting the letters the gardens were prettied up.

I plant and maintain these gardens for all of the folks that like finding free treasure, for folks with plenty and for folks with not enough.  There are millions of hungry people in the U.S.A. and this garden helps me feel better about that fact.

Another neighbor, a friend had told me to expect the letter.  This neighbor is one of the many gardeners in the front yard garden. He was a farmer in Mexico and has given me many garden tips. He said he had tried to explain fallow soil and why it was messy.  He said she did not understand.

I realize many do not know that plants are alive. Plants are alive.

I wrote about a photo shoot that happened at Ocean Beach for a group art show I am curating, “WATER Currents in Contemporary Art”, opening May/2014.  I mentioned the corporate women’s run, but did not mention what I consider to be the most important thing going on at Ocean Beach in San Francisco’s (same place as my photo shoot), Outer Richmond District is a planned  massive gathering “Fukushima is Here”, tomorrow, Saturday 19, October 2013, same as the run.

BART is not running, “rightfully I believe”, so plan to take the bus or MUNI out to Ocean Beach, parking will be non existent.

I am imagining the mine blowing realization that the corporate workers will have when they realize Fukushima is Here!  What will the middle higher ups think? and the the higher higher ups? and their bosses?  Who will get blamed?

Many folks who have not thought of radiation all year will have had an unplanned for education. “Fukushima is Here”!

For more information go to http://www.Fukushimaishere.org

The group show being put together opening the holiday weekend in San Francisco, California at the “Back to the Picture, The Latin American Gallery”, in May/2014 is about Water.  Currently artists are being invited, letters are being sent and yesterday the photographs for the postcard which always shows “me and my dog” was being shot out at Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California, USA. Nick on the wall, with Golden Gate Park at his back theatrically improvising his Love Dogs Talk. Maxine Kraemer, Assistant Curator for the Water Show was also the photographer for this shoot which included our own actor, Nick. It happens that there is a Big Corporate Woman’s Run, happening this weekend October 19th or 20th, 2013 with part of it being on The Ocean(s) Highway, with tents set up in the parking lot, next to the beach, in the outer Richmond District of San Francisco. Pacific Ocean San Francisco, California USA living and beautiful Pacific Ocean alive and beautifully powerful Surfers at the Pacific Ocean, Ocean Beach on a lovely day. This  just happened to be the day we had chosen for our photo shoot. Nick was a great theater person and added much to the importance and humor of our artful mission, to get the perfect picture for our collaborative postcard. Maxine Kraemer has a great eye so it took little time to get our perfect image. We hung out for a bit after the shoot, sipped our water, watched the surfers at the Pacific Ocean, Ocean Beach, breathing in the negative ions on a beautiful, sunny and breezy day. The Postcard will be something we work on together late into this process Nick seeing us off after our photo shoot

If you are accosted by a screaming po liceman continue walking  and do not respond. If you stop as I did, because you are afraid and behave without thinking as I did, ask if you are being detained. If you are not being detained (another word for arrested) continue walking and say nothing.  Do not speak with any po licemen, even if you witness an incident.  If you want to report an incident go to a po lice station.  If you want to report a po liceman in San Francisco there is paper work you can fill out and submit.

Local San Francisco artist Fernando Marti’s pen and ink drawings and others from his sketch book (prints, some framed) opened at the bustling Cafe La Boheme, 23rd, May 2013, in San Francisco. I particularly like his rendition of the American Mexican wall, he has printed or etched more than one. This wall that separates humans from humans and bugs from bugs is always on my mind; I like seeing it on other artists minds.

At this intimate gathering, in the largish cafe where not all were there to see Fernando Marti’s work were some of his close human friends, their kids, his lovely wife and their four year old son. I was surprised and pleased to see that people I call ‘neighbors’, were the same people that Fernando calls ‘friends’. Labeling people has been on my mind lately.

Go see and buy the reasonably priced art of Fernando Marti’s, sit and have a glass of wine at Cafe La Boheme 3318 24th Street (just across from BART), and check out the hood in San Francisco’s Mission District.

The walls were painted, the floor adorned with a painted compass rose;  a collaboration of Oliver Lowe, Deborah Scailes and Char Green, with much feedback from the gallery. The walls got the artists names,  and  their art work was hung by Kevin Evenson of exclusiveartservice@mac.com, May 25th, 2012.

Tempers flew, in not a bad way, food was eaten, wine drunk and relationships forged at this show. It was really a great evening of Art and an artful moment. In presenting MAPS ONLY: RADICAL CARTOGRAPHY IN CONTEMPORARY ART I wanted the ‘artful moment‘. I wanted the gathering together and hanging of the art, to be Art.  I really like the artful part of Art. The artful part of Art shares food, wine and lemonade. The artful part patches walls for one night and paints on the floor for 2 nights. This hard work or Art in this collaboration between the artists in this show was over in a moment.

Widely attended in the Mission District, Maps Only was a wild success!

As the curator there were many successes for me personally; Artists sold their work and met lovers of their personal maps, there is no  greater compliment. Char Green’s “San Francisco in My Hair”, Fernando Marti’s “Mis Missiones” and Richard Keltner’s “Top of the Bay” all found new wall hooks and “Mission Possible: A Neighborhood Atlas”, a broadside of maps, have few left in this print run. I was thrilled to be asked to collaborate by a SOMA Gallery!

ART in pirate garb, Oliver Lowe regaled the huge and often crushing crowd, while many drank grog and were saved of scurvy, at the same time folks were educated by Deborah Sciales’, “Transmigration of Radiation: We All Live in Japan”. Brian Jones’ “Pistol Pop and Dada” gave us insight into British and U.S. Punk and is being considered by a serious collector.

“Lordrifa” and “True North”, performed their audio map to a room so full they were unable to move from their latitudinal and longitudinal locations.

Randy Figures met a woman who is following the progress of his map, “Aestos” a fantasy world map, in hopes of investing in “Aestos” in the book form.

“Relocation”was Take-Able and many were, thanks to Mary Brown and art is touchable thanks to Sarah Dorrance’s, “Infinite Possibilities”, dedicated to Helen Martin 1957-2012, Nellie Stine and my Grandmother Lucille Carter Merritt 1922-May 31st, 2012.

Maps Only: Radical Cartography in Contemporary Art opened May 26th and hangs until June 25th, 2012 and can be seen at Back to the Picture, The Latin American Gallery, 934 Valencia Street, San Francisco, California. Please come and be educated!

You are invited to see, hear and touch some of the maps, and meet the artists of “Maps Only: Radical Cartography in Contemporary Art,” May 26th, 7pm-10pm, Back to the Picture Latin American Gallery,  934 Valencia Street, between 20th & 21st Streets, in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. Parking will be limited so please walk, ride your bike or use public transportation if at all possible.

There has been an addition and one very sad loss to ‘Maps Only’. Heather Green’s, “Swedish Lesson” was damaged in shipping and will not be shown. This is a huge loss for the show, we can hardly imagine how it is for Heather Green. Look for her work, it is well worth seeing!

On another note, ‘Maps Only’ is very excited to collaborate with Lydia Chavez of Mission Local and Darin Jensen and Molly Roy of UCBerkeley in showing “Mission Possible: A Neighborhood Atlas.”  These local Mission maps are all different and have many cartographers. Too numerous to mention here, the cartographers will be cited for their maps, so please come see these very different maps of the very same place. The profits from these maps will go to ‘Mission Local’, non-profit news service.

Come support your local news and the artists participating in “Maps Only: Radical Cartography in Contemporary Art,” May 26th, 2012, 7pm until 10pm 934 Valencia Street, San Francisco, California. The show will run until June 25th 2012.

These are some of the interesting flowers that have never bloomed and others that have bloomed twice this year in my backyard. The weather is changing, I can see it in my San Francisco, Mission District back yard.

 

Please join us for food, drinks, grog and conversations with the artists, May 26th, 2012 at 7pm, in San Francisco’s Mission District. The artists will be  offering insight into their personal psychogeographies.