Just popped a turtle in my mouth — the candy, not the reptile — and am savoring the sheer bliss of the chewy caramel, dense dark chocolate, and the crunch of pecans. There is nothing like a turtle, nothing in this world! Spied the purveyor at the Benicia Farmers Market, one Allyson J. Hill, owner of Cocamel & Co. who concocts all manner of caramel and chocolate decadence in her home kitchen. Couldn’t resist a small bag of her Crackle — toffee coated puffed corn balls. Hello!! Have the bag right here next to me as I write this. There are chocolate orange options, key lime, Crackle with a hint of jalapeño, cinnamon, and more. cocamelcompany.com to order on-line.
Am also using them to practice mindfulness — notice the crunch, the explosion of flavor and sweetness on the outer edges of the tongue, the pleasant feeling tone, and then the emotion of joy, and lastly the craving for more. Wisdom appeared in the form of an insight — I’m a Crackle addict. Let it go.
Attended Pam Dixon’s reception and talk at the Benicia Library Gallery last week where her show “I Ching Cha Cha” opened. The Gallery was an explosion of color, fantasy, and pure fun — ceramics and paintings informed by the Funk Art movement out of UC Davis in the 1960s. Benicia’s favorite son, ceramicist Robert Arneson, along with Manuel Neri, Wayne Thiebaud, William Wiley, and others were some of Pam’s greatest artistic influences. She was dear friends with Neri — a major player in the Bay Area Figurative Movement — whose home/studio was in the old church across from Benicia Theater Group on West J St.
The Dona Benicia Room was filled with old friends, colleagues, and art aficionados including City Council members Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye, both long-time champions of the arts. “Artists who are women have always had difficulty in showing their work,” Pam began. “Only about 2 percent of artists in museums are women, and many of their works are stuck in the basement. I used to sign my paintings with only my initials,” she said, “so they would think I was a man.”
“You can tell by looking at my work that it’s done by a girl; it’s fun, passionate, and joyful. There isn’t the angst of a Rothko or a Pollack.”
Just about everything that has happened in Benicia’s art scene for the past 50 years has Pam’s fingerprints on it. She had been living and working here for awhile when Judy Chicago of “Dinner Party” fame was creating the “Birth Project” in an Arsenal studio.
“Judy couldn’t stand me” said Pam as she flipped her pony tails. “She thought I was too girly.” With a father in vaudeville Pam learned to love costume and can sometimes be seen at art openings wearing her crimson marching band uniform with matching hat.
She reminisced about her consignment store on First Street which later evolved into Gallery 621. My sister and I used to have fun trying on various outfits and modeling them for Pam in front of the big mirror, asking for her opinion. I still get compliments on a vintage leather jacket that I scored there for $20.
Pam’s Mom was a fashion plate and worked in the gift shop of the Fairmont Hotel, commuting on the ferry well into her nineties. “She looked like no one else walking down First Street, dressed to the nines in a perfect Adolfo suit, Hermes scarf, and Chanel pumps,” Pam reminisced.
Look closely at her paintings “The World of Mr. Paint” and “Malibu,” where she has clothed the previously topless figures with bras made out of old “Where’s Waldo” comic strips.The collage coverup or décolletage, as it were, is in deference to the small children who visit the Library. “Children respond to my work because it is easy to read and not complicated,” she said.
What other artist do you know that got a shout out from a pastor from the pulpit? Sunday morning, St. Paul’s Reverend announced that there was a “very important person” in the audience as Pam wondered who it could be — Taylor Swift? Beyonce? When she heard her own name, Pam was shocked and thrilled as the pastor urged congregants to visit her show. Talk about connections in high places! Showing through September 14, at the Marilyn Citron O’Rourke Gallery at the Library.
I veered off of my stroll up First and hung a right on the path just before you reach the Harold Bray monument. If you get a moment check out the Wish Tree in front of the Library planted by the Benicia Tree Foundation. You can’t miss it as it shimmers with tiny paper wishes tied to its branches. The ground beneath the tree sparkles with colorful painted rocks — flags, footballs, funny faces, flowers, and rainbows.
Dion Miller-Garcia of Eagle Scout Troop 9 coordinated the entire project as her service to our community “The purpose is to attract positive vibes, encourage creativity, and to allow people of all ages to have a positive outlook. I encourage you all to make a wish or paint a special rock!” she was quoted as saying.
I spent some time reading the wishes as a soft breeze wafted their myriad aspirations all over town.
“I wish for my daughter to find love and happiness on her life journey,” one parent wrote.
“I wish for the love of my life to remain mine for eternity,” from a teenager, perhaps.
“I wish that Daddy lives [sic] a long and happy life,” in childlike printing.
“I wish to get a cat.”
“I wish that I can [sic] make the wrold [sic] better.”
“I wish that I live [sic] in a rich nice house and a dog inside.”
“I wish for my family to be healthy and happy together forever.” May it be so.
My neighbor at Benicia Homeowners Association, David, was walking through the financial district last week when he spotted former Speaker and Mayor Willie Brown standing on the corner looking natty, as usual. David approached him. “ Well, I see that you survived the helicopter crash,” David said. Willie roared with laughter.
Letters From Benicia 