City by the Bay

 

I really enjoyed exploring San Francisco this weekend. Was lucky to have the good company of Libby and Micah to show me around!

 

Taxidermy "unicorn" in the window at Paxton Gate

Taxidermy explorer mice...

Look at this cable bus I spotted!

Golden Gate Park (you can see the iconic row of houses from Full House directly behind me.

Such a dog friendly city, they are everywhere. Apparently there are more dogs in SF than children.

 

The giant redwoods in Muir Woods.

The Ferry Building

Bay bridge

Beautiful assortment of mushrooms inside the Ferry Building.

Me with Libby!

The grates on sidewalks have dancing skeletons.

Libby and Walter the cat.

SF Pride Parade

It just so happens that my short visit to San Francisco coincided with the annual pride celebration, so I walked down to Market St. this morning to check out the scene. Definitely great for people watching!

San Francisco Street Art

So much awesome street art here. Took a stroll down Clarion Alley in the Mission...

Avondale: My Lovely Neighborhood

Avondale is constantly growing and expanding and it has been such a joy to watch the progress on a daily basis as a native Avondale resident. In the last week I have visited two new businesses that have opened: Boxcar Vape and MELT. 

The former is a patriotic themed vape lounge fit with board games and a video game and sports watching setup. The latter is a gourmet grilled cheese themed restaurant with ties to Birmingham's well respected Ocean and 26 restaurants. Both spaces lived up to my hopeful expectations and I definitely plan on frequenting both in the future!

These outings were also the perfect way for me to play around with my new camera!

World Cup fans hanging out during the grand opening.

American flag mural that I believe was created by the fabulous Bo Hughins

Menu of vape favors "on tap" that you can try out.

MELT has a fun cocktail menu too. Their Bloody Mary comes with a Habanero jack cheese and bacon garnish.

Fully loaded fries (with BBQ pulled pork, cheese, and grilled smoky jalapeños).

House made condiments...yummy.

The delicious Ham and Swiss grilled cheese with Honey Lavendar butter!

DIY Drawn Shoes

Kristi and I were looking for a fun and funky DIY craft project last week so we skipped on down to Wal-Mart and purchased some cheap canvas shoes for about $6 each.  We then used sharpies and Crayola fabric markers to complete a hand drawn design.  I love how they turned out! :)

Kristi's finished look

My finished look

Close up of mine...

side details...

another look...

Fulbright Hays Seminar Abroad to China

I am so excited! I found out a couple of days ago that I was one of the lucky 16 educators from across the country that was chosen to participate in an intensive month long cultural and educational immersion trip to China.  We will visit many schools, museums, temples, markets and more in Bejing, Xi'an, Chingqong, and Shanghai.

Pictures and posts to come in the next month, so stay tuned!

I have been experimenting with faux wax encaustics recently in my own art and with my students.  In the examples of my own art here I have used a combination of collaged magazine, map, and decorative papers, with drawings and painting.  Then I paint on melted wax (a combination of paraffin and beeswax) over the top.  Once the wax dries, I use a dull pencil to carve out some lines and patterns and then I rubbed acrylic paint into the grooves and wiped off excess.