Punxsutawney Phil stopped singing “Me and My Shadow” last week when the furry beast popped his head out of his burrow and failed to see his shadow. He’s now singing “It might as well be spring.” The huge tight white buds on my neighbor’s tulip tree are ready to pop. Nasturtiums are showing their orange faces, the pear trees on First are all white blossoms. Spotted my first daffodil, other than the one’s at Safeway, in a planter just off of First. Seems like I just saw these harbingers of spring but it must have been a year ago. Yikes!
We’ve had a few atmospheric storms but nothing like last year. At high tide, the geese can count on a big new lake on East B St. at E. 2nd. The Marina is filled with sticks and detritus from the recent storms which knocked the limes off my tree and bark off the eucalyptus but fortunately no real damage here.
On Saturday, was stopped on my way up First by Girl Scout Sara and her Brownie pal Michaela selling cookies at a table in front of Pets N Purrs. “Do you know the Girl Scout promise?” I asked Sara who was wearing her green vest and badges. “I never did learn it when my Brownie years ended and so didn’t fly up,” I said mixing my metaphors. She recited it perfectly as I held up my palm in solidarity. Her mother Erin was wearing a giant cardboard cookie around her neck. “I recognize that from the Christmas parade,” I said. “Yes, same cookie. The other giant cookie — a thin mint — is here under the table but it’s bent.” And stale, I bet. “The military really appreciates your donation, ” Sarah and Michaela said simultaneously. Or maybe I got it wrong and it was “the troops” appreciate, etc. The girls now wear vests over their regular clothes. Back in the day we had unfashionable brown dresses with matching wool beanies — dorky looking. Mom made me wear a bulky full slip under mine which made me look lumpy. Fast forward, several kinds of gluten-free cookies and six vegan choices are now available.
Two of the wooden benches on the Marina have been replaced and are sporting new dedication plaques. February 13 is Opening Day of the Celebration of Benches — the first chance to buy one plus a plaque. Twenty six are up for purchase at $2500 each. Their publicity says that 75 white doves are to be released. I hope that they are homing pigeons and have a safe flight home. The Pope gave up on white doves back in 2014 when his peace doves were attacked by birds of prey. He now releases white balloons. Easier on the doves and the balloon industry is expanding. BeniciaCelebrationBench.com.
Stopped in HQ gallery and chatted with artist Annette Batchelor who gave me a rundown on their recent expansion. “We took over the palm reader’s space next door, knocked out a wall, and doubled the space of the gallery. Classes, guests artists, and the ability to rent the new room for special showings is now possible,” said Batchelor. “ We’re hoping to have a space for jewelry and small gifts,” she said. “The watercolor classes and jewelry making have been quite popular.” Dennis Arisa, photographer, is HQ’s newest member and also President of the Fairfield Suisun Visual Arts Association. Founded in 1944, the Association has three galleries in Fairfield. It’s encouraging to see HQ Gallery, which started almost 10 years ago when Susan Street opened her studio/gallery in the Headquarters Building in the Arsenal, blossom and prosper downtown.
I was sorry to see the custom curated homewares shop Bell and Brass going out of business. “The traffic on First Street wasn’t as good as we hoped,” said owner Eric Rivera who along with his wife Michelle Tong also own Daughter of Luna Floral Design up the street. We’ll miss your beautifully curated shop and your friendly demeanor.
Decided to visit another gallery on Super Bowl day just prior to the game. Cars were streaming into the Yacht Club which must have had a party in the works. As the magical hour approached, First Street was devoid of all life, as if in a nuclear winter.
Headed up to Larnie and Bodil Fox’s exhibit “Probability 2”at NY2CA Gallery. Co-owner Vicki Marchand greeted me warmly and gave me a tour and demonstration of the various music making installations that were five years in the planning. Think Leonardo (DaVinci, not DiCaprio) meets Rube Goldberg. These are intricate, brilliantly designed constructions of found objects that when tapped with a stick or brush or strummed with your fingers create eerie and unexpected sounds. All of one’s senses get involved including the mind as one tries to figure out how on earth they made these, let alone conceptualized them.
The back room is dedicated to Bodil’s “String Theory,” a maze of intersecting strings connected to cloud-like shapes that when strummed with a bamboo stick create a symphony. Just setting up the show must have taken a week. Co-owner Terry Twigg, who once owned a gallery in NYC’s Soho, exhibits and sells his elegant jewelry in glass cases that line one wall. This is the only gallery in town that shows one artist at a time, not unlike an art museum, in order to showcase a body of work. From New York to Benicia. If you can make it there you can make it anywhere.
Letters From Benicia 