The thing I’m loving about Oakland is the collaboration of artists that is emerging behind so many new galleries. We all long to be around like minded people that motivate and give us creative energy, right? The Compound Studios & Gallery is an artist run space, established in 2008, featuring work in a variety of media by some of the best Bay Area artists. In their beautifully lit space they offer workshops, interactive art shows, art movie nights, and gallery openings.

This week, a show I am quite partial to, opened up; The Art of Letterpress. I have a thing for textures and print as a graphic designer. I can’t help it, but I’m drawn to the world of hand-crafted objects as our world quickly becomes immersed in lit-up screens and perfectly constructed letterforms. The art of letterpress embodies the organic and natural sentiment that gets lost among our techy lives. The show will be up through March 25th.

You will certainly find me back at the Gallery on February 23 watching the film, Typeface. This movie is held in conjunction with The Art of Letterpress show and is a must see for anyone struggling with the love of both analog craft and the digital future.

At LS we pull inspiration for our events from anything and everything, especially art. Martin Pfeifle’s commentary on space and color translate very easily into an event setting, if you look hard enough. I love the colored paper hanging from the ceiling as a potential backdrop or partition. And, I’m a big fan of this pink spacial field turning into a table with one huge hit of color.

Most of you who have been in the Bay Area for quite some time have heard of the Crucible by now. For those of you who have not The Crucible is a non-profit educational facility promoting creative expression, reuse of materials and innovative design training in the fine and industrial arts for people of all skill levels. You may have also heard of some of their amazing art performances and if you haven’t, you’re just in time to go to their most recent Fire Opera production which opened just last night and will run through the 21st of January.

I haven’t yet had a chance to take in this show, but I have had the chance to see a couple of the Crucible’s performances and can only say that they have never disappointed. Their shows are a breathtaking array of sight and sound, not to mention unusually spectacular and worth every penny! Be prepared to see a fusion of fire and dance and drama ring your core with delight. I’m getting goosebumps (or fired up) just thinking about it.

The Fire Opera show currently on stage is titled MACHINE: A world premiere Fire Opera. It was written, conceived and directed for The Crucible stage by Mark Streshinsky, who has collaborated on previous Fire shows. The music of MACHINE is by Clark Suprynowicz who is well known in the Bay area for his Jazz and Rock infused compositions of opera and symphonic work.

This spectacular performance features five opera singers, a rock singer and percussionists who “play” the scaffolding-like set. Visual effects including a molten metal pour, fire performers and industrial artists, such as glass blowers and blacksmiths. MACHINE will deliver the kind of awe-inspiring performance that Crucible audiences have come to expect.

“I’m incredibly excited about working with some of the Bay Area’s top opera talent,” said Steven Young, Crucible Executive Director. “MACHINE is going to be a breathtaking, world-class opera, and I’m thrilled that The Crucible is part of bringing the work to life.”

January 11-14 and 18-21, 2012
Tickets: $45-$65 {Buy Now}

Directed and Libretto by Mark Streshinsky
Score by Clark Suprynowicz

This is long overdue, but we’re finally posting about the alternative wedding event we were a part of in September: Tilt. This was the first Tilt event, catering toward the alternative bride and groom. We were so excited when Swarm Gallery (the hosting venue of the event) asked us to style and participate in it. What a fantastic venue for brides and grooms to take in the overwhelming job of searching for cool/alternative wedding knowledge.

Check out a video of Tilt by Oakland North as well as more info below on the styling of the event.

For the styling of Tilt, we were inspired by a simple, sophisticated and playful palette of colors and whimsical decor. We received generous contributions for floral arrangements (provided by Clementine in Rockridge), calligraphy from Megan Cott, Air Plants for boutonnieres and decor from Air Plant Supply Co., furniture from Mignonne Decor, and decorated with these incredibly large and lofty balloons to make the space simply amazing.

Photos // Bliss Fotography or Local Social

We had so much fun coming up with creative ideas with Svea from Swarm, including a cake cutting from The Whole Cake, a casual fashion show from creations by Cara Borja, DJ’s and dancing by various artists including the group pictured below, The Solace Trio as well as DJ Extra Lars, Alex Jacobs and Tiny Home, a photo booth hosted by Magnolia Photo Booth Co., and food vendors both inside and out!

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If you’ve got some free time this Thursday evening, check out one of these art opening receptions. And if not, pop in another day: both shows are up for at least the next month and are worth the visit!

One Cubic Foot: Miniature Surveys in Biodiversity
Photographs by David Liittschwager
Opening is Thursday from 6-8:30 with an artist talk from 8-9
Brower Center in Berkeley

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Image as Contagion Featuring the works of Joseph Lambert & James Shefik
Opening is this Thursday from 6-9
5 Claude Lane in San Francisco

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Get ready Bay Area brides and grooms, we’ve got an event to jump start those wedding plans. Once again we’re teaming up with Svea over at Swarm Gallery as well as event planner Erica Ota from Pretty Perfect Events to plan the first bay area boutique wedding fair, Tilt. Designed to be more of a party than a typical fair, TILT is a culmination of a treasure hunt for artful and unique businesses – both from the wedding industry, and sometime providers to offer couples the experience of possibility.

Photos (clockwise) // Air Plant Supply Co. / The Whole Cake / Swarm Gallery shoot for Martha Stewart + Styling: Enjoy Events Co. + Photography: Kate Harrison / Tamra-Marie Artistry

TILT definitely promises to be the alternative wedding event and a breath of fresh air in the highly commercialized marketplace. We’ll have wedding day wares and fashion pieces from Cari Borja, DJ Extra Lars, food trucks and snow cones, raffles and many more surprises throughout the afternoon. All of this in order to provide inspiration for your special day.

The event will take place at Swarm Gallery, 560 2nd St, Oakland, 94607 on Sunday September 25th from 12 to 4pm. Purchase advance tickets through Brown Paper Tickets for $15 / At the door $20. More information can be found at www.tiltweddingfair.com.

TILT SPONSORS:
The Whole Cake
7×7 Magazine
East Bay Express
Local Social
Good Citizen Brands
Bliss Fotography
Napa Valley Linens
Air Plant Supply Co.

EXHIBITORS
(Please check the Tilt web site for a complete list!)
Pretty Perfect Events
Local Social
Bliss Fotography
Nancy Rothstein Photography
Magnolia Photo Booth Co.
Tamra-Marie Artistry
Cari Borja Clothesmaker
O’Lover Hats
The Whole Cake
Paulding & Company, a Creative Kitchen
The Vegetarian Gourmet
Ninkasi Brewing Company
The Card Lady
Napa Valley Linens
Air Plant Supply Co.
Eat Le Truc
Skylite Snowballs
Learn with Lynn Dance

Live music with…
DJ Extra Lars
Solace Trio
Alex Andrey and Himiko
Tiny Home

Don’t forget that today marks another First Friday Art Walk in Oakland, otherwise know as Art Murmur. With it comes a whole new range of art exhibits that are a must see. This month we’d like to feature the new show at the Chandra Cerrito Contemporary Gallery. The exhibit, titled Lightspace, features four artists: Kana Tanaka, Cathy Cunningham-Little, Amy M. Ho (Bay Area), and Keira Kotler (Bay Area). The focus of the show challenges the artists to “incorporate light in their art in order to bring the viewer’s attention to his or her own perception.”

Lightspace

Sneak peak of work by all 4 featured artists

Amy Ho // Wall Space III

August 5 – September 24, 2011
Opening Reception August 5, 2011, 6 – 9 pm
The opening reception is tonight (August 5th) at Chandra Cerrito Contemporary. If you can’t make it this time around you’re in luck: the show will also be open for public viewing at next month’s Art Murmur on September 2, 2011.

We’ve posted on string installations before (because we love them!) and here is another: a sneak peak at an eye-catching partition we made for our most recent event. It was simple to make, although repetitive, and involved two metal tubes (top and bottom) and miles of colored string.

Keep checking back for more photos from the night coming soon!

Photo booths are all the rage at events and parties! And why not? They are a great way to keep guests busy and interested, and let’s face it, people love to get their photos taken. We’ve included a couple fun ideas for creating your own photo booths below.

We pulled a couple of these photos from our reservoir. This was from our first event, a New Year’s Eve party in 2008! Super simple: just set up a camera with a shutter release cable, hang a picture frame and a backdrop of curtains, and presto! Complete entertainment all night! The hardest part is sifting through all 1200+ photos!

We just love this idea from Ivy and Aster: taking old books and illustrations to make a backdrop! You could use any kind of book. Old atlas’ would be so cool.

This is a great selection of ideas from the people over at Smilebooth. Get inspired from them or just hire them to set up a booth for you!

The girls over at Bash Please, that put together Hitched, always do a wonderful and inventive job and decorating photo booths.

Last weekend LS trekked into the city to see the Recology Program students exhibit their final show. I had the chance to meet Niki Ulehla, one of the students who has been studying for the past 4 months at the Recology center in SF. See below (after the “more” section) for her interview.

The Artist in Residence Program at Recology San Francisco is a unique art and education program that provides Bay Area artists with access to discarded materials, a stipend, and a large studio space at the Recology Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Center. By supporting artists who work with recycled materials, Recology hopes to encourage people to conserve natural resources and promote new ways of thinking about art and the environment.

Photos (clockwise) // Jewelery made from findings in the dump, Niki’s cast of puppets, Recology Center photo of Niki’s work station

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