For such a small village, Cambria is many things; charming, curious and an art colony. 927, named for the local phone prefix, the annual "non traditional" art show is a conspiracy of all of the above.
Pleased to see a couple of Lana's pieces in the 927 Hall of Fame, including her best of show Well Traveled Woman sculpture. My choice for best title of the year is the frame below-
Musician and mac guru Rick Auricchio's Beta Dead Than Red
927 Founder, painter sculptor and newspaper cartoonist Art Van Rhyn drew on the drought as his continuing character Mrs. Fosdick Tends Her Roses.
Lana won the Cambria Center for the Arts Theater Award
for her paper mache' Buddy Can You Spare a Drop?
Themes other than California's water woes were evident
Carol Flash calls the above watercolor Hi Moon
Portrait of a Selfie was a crowd favorite. Cambria's artisans also produced enduring beauties- Fox Garney entered these lovely pieces with the unique
titles Let's Get A Handle on the Water Situation and its companion porcelain You've Got Balls to Say That.
Weaver Michele Pike titled this Disregard for History-it is woven from an old cassette tape.
Annie Lawrence's Good Egg.
J'nett Wolff's Water Witch, with running water was potable, as she said.
Beverly Whitaker's Old News is that indeed, rolled newspapers.
Richard Morriss is a sculptor who can re-purpose objects.
Painter Pat Wilmott's All Those In Favor-The Eyes Have It had a lot of eyes on it.
As did Tish Rogers' departure for Wonderland.
This is but a small sampling of the kind of non traditional art, Cambria's serious artists, hobbyists and playful residents turn out for the annual 927 which provokes a lot of smiles.
And as this is Cambria, curious, charming, eclectic and all, there was controversy over The Best of Show selection. Some were offended, others thought it humorous while still in very poor taste.
The piece called PETA Pussy was done by Carol Meuneir and Mena Granatino. It is a mummified cat, dressed up. We were told it was found beneath their porch. What do you think?
NOW SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT
No contest here. Lana's most recent baking effort.
And the poached pear from Maestro Giovanni at Harmony Cafe.
Admiring what I call the old "buck board bench" at Giovanni's Harmony Cafe, warmed by the coastal sun, reading a note from our pal Bruce about recipes from Provence' as we await the latest offering from our local master chef, the aromas of the kitchen mixing with the roses, my cocoon of well being is bumped by a realization.
Lana and I have been chatting about the joie d'vivre of the Susan Loomis book ON RUE TATIN as she recounts her move to France to write a cookbook as her husband rebuilds a centuries old home in a northern town. It strikes us that our life here in what some have called the "American Provence'" is authentic provincial joy itself. The cafe for example, guests reflect that with the alfresco setting, the climate and cuisine they could be in Tuscany or Provence. Indeed! The culture here is younger than Loomis's Louviers in Normandy, but it is unique, as in
ART ON A LADDER
Art Van Rhyn that is. Artist, gallery owner, musician, founder of the whimsical 927 art show, cartoonist of the weekly From the Beach cartoon in The Cambrian and personality unique is one of the pantheon of "Cambria Characters" this village is known for. Emphasis on "character!"
CAN YOU GUESS WHAT THIS IS?
30 minutes down the gorgeous Pacific Coast Highway is the beautiful small city of San Luis Obispo. Truly Mediterranean in look and temperament, S-L-O, as many call it, is a university town, full of playfulness, as in the scene above. Bubblegum Alley.
Yep, that's all gum. It's a changing work of art, as generations have created their own morphing images, words, messages and etc. Bet they don't have one of these in Normandy.
So later I'll slip into my easy chair, crack open ON RUE
TATIN, peak out the window at the Santa Lucia mountains and start thinking about what we're going to do for dinner.
The whir of the mixer as I write this is the reminder Lana is making pasta. We'll probably pick a few tomatoes from one of the raised beds and likely find the other items to round it out at the Farmer's Market underway in the village. Many of the characters will be there. In fact the longer one stays here, the more we all transform, or aspire to our niche in the ways of eccentricity.
Oh yea, we'll be using olive oil, but then, which type? While this region produces great wine, we have a burgeoning olive oil market as well. So, perhaps, there is a place for our version of this fellow---enjoy.
As did Tish Rogers' departure for Wonderland.
