Art :: Craft :: Tour :: Part Two

Yesterday I shared a little bit of my trip to Berkeley to visit some artists work spaces. Our last stop on that tour was to visit Eric Powell and his wife, April Higashi at their live/work/gallery space on 5th street. April's gallery is called Shibumi Gallery (Shibumi, according to Wikipedia: simple, subtle, and unobtrusive beauty) That sums up the beauty we found inside this amazing gallery/home/studio. April is a jeweler and Eric is a sculptor and painter.

The first part of this visit was spent with Eric in the back room of the gallery. The backroom is a jewelry studio and also Eric's studio and the downstairs of their home. Eric showed a slide show of his work, many large installation pieces and he talked about his process and the evolution of his work. Another humble creator, also speaking of the constant acquisition of knowledge, and learning as you go. Taking chances, do as much as you can with whatever skills you have because the more you do the more you learn, and so on. Loved this talk, and the work.

After Eric's talk we went into Shibumi Gallery. What amazing work was in here. Jewelry, sculpture, clothing, jewelry, sculpture, clothing...Ahhh.

Inside Shibumi Gallery on 5th Street in Berkeley, CA

Liisa Hashimoto

Liisa Hashimoto; I just want to climb that ladder.

start to our Tofu House dinner - Korean style tapas :) - all so yummy.

That concludes my Saturday visit to the city. My friend Linda and I ate in Palo Alto at Tofu House on our way back to Santa Cruz. I had the tofu bibimbap - oh so yummy. When I got home I searched (in vain) for my sketch book. I felt the need to draw and put down some thoughts. Instead I ended up reading my new favorite book, FLOW by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly. It all fit so nicely together, the artists we visited found FLOW in their lives. No need to separate work from life - especially the last visit. Goals, that's what I will focus on in this new year, and getting flow in as much of my life as possible. Oh, good people, do read the book. Time and energy well spent.