Create(d) Equal

There is currently an exhibition at the Berkeley Art Museum / Pacific Film Archive which is near and dear to my heart. The exhibition entitled “Create” features artworks from three pioneering art programs in the San Francisco Bay area: Creativity Explored in San Francisco, Creative Growth in Oakland and NIAD in Richmond.

All three programs were founded by the amazing couple Florence Ludins-Katz and Elias Katz, who shared an unorthodox vision of what an art program could be. Each center facilitates the making, displaying and selling of art by people with developmental disabilities.

The exhibition, which is curated by BAM’s Larry Ridner, along with Matthew Higgs takes art from this oeuvre and elevates it from “outsider” art to significant museum work.

My connection, of course is with Creativity Explored. I wrote a post about CE as part of our “Local Treasure” series when I had started volunteering in earnest back in 2009. Since then, I have joined CE’s Board of Directors, and now have the privilege of actively advocating for these amazing artists and this crucial program.

The nine studio artists from Creativity Explored whose work is featured in “Create” are Mary Belknap, Daniel Green, Michael Bernard Loggins, John Patrick McKenzie, James Miles, James Montgomery, Berta Otoya, Evelyn Reyes and Lance Rivers. Information on all of CE’s artists can be found here. The work of these artists, as well as the others participating in the show may just change the way you look at art!

The exhibition runs through September 25, 2011 at the Berkeley Art Museum / Pacific Film Archive at 2626 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA 94720. More information on the show can be found here. A national tour of the show is currently being organized.

David J. Hansen

Images from top:

1) “Watches On Orange” by James Montgomery © 2007 Creativity Explored

2) Image of Berkeley Art Museum via dailycal.org

3) “Port of Oakland Landscape” by Lance Rivers © 2010 Creativity Explored

4) “Garbage Cans” by Evelyn Reyes © Creativity Explored

5) “Bitter, Butter, Batter” by John Patrick McKenzie © 2011 Creativity Explored

6) “Untitled” by Mary Belknap © 2010 Creativity Eplored

Local Treasure Part 3: What's a Designer To Do?

The season for a flurry of wonderful events, exhibitions and generally colorful activities has arrived here in San Francisco. It’s difficult to do it all, but we’re going to have a go at it. Borrowing an idea from Heather at Habitually Chic, we thought we would devote a post to some local happenings that will be upon us shortly. We hope all you locals will join us, and for those of you who can’t, we will report back on a few of the festivities here in our little corner of the blogosphere. Enjoy!

Through November 29, 2009
Richard Avedon
Photographs 1946 - 2004
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 Third Street (between Mission & Howard)

SF MOMA

November 15, 2009
Holiday Tea
A yearly tradition
Allied Arts Guild
Café Primavera
75 Arbor Road Menlo Park, California
Allied Arts Guild

Through Sunday November 20, 2009 (Saturdays & Sundays only)
Icons of Design
A high-rise designer showcase featuring legendary local designers
Millennium Tower
301 Mission Street (complimentary valet parking)
Icons Of Design

Through Tuesday November 17, 2009
The Art of the Table
A preview for Dining by Design
Table settings and vignettes executed by four local designers
Gump’s
135 Post Street
Gump’s Store

Wednesday November 18, 2009
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Dining by Design San Francisco
Table Hop & Taste
Preview designer table environments while enjoying wine and bites from local restaurants. A Silent Auction and live DJ are part of this amazing event.
Proceeds benefit the Positive Health Program at UCSF.
Design Center Galleria 101 Henry Adams San Francisco
San Francisco DIFFA

Thursday November 19, 2009
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Dining by Design San Francisco
Gala Dinner
Dine in unique designer table environments for a worthy cause.

Proceeds benefit the Positive Health Program at UCSF.
Design Center Galleria 101 Henry Adams San Francisco
San Francisco DIFFA

Friday November 20, 2009 (Exhibit through December 22, 2009)
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Joe Rees “Transformer”
Opening reception
Steven Wolf Fine Arts
49 Geary Streets, Suite 411
Steven Wolf Fine Arts

Through December 11, 2009
INSIGHTS: 20 Years of Creative Vision
Annual juried exhibition of artists who are blind or visually impaired
Presented by the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery
San Francisco City Hall
Van Ness Avenue between Grove and McAllister Streets
San Francisco Arts Commission

December 19, 2009 through April 18, 2010
Cartier in America
Celebrating the imagination and creativity of Cartier in the 20th century
Legion Of Honor Museum
Lincoln Park34th Avenue & Clement Street
Fine Art Museums of San Francisco

Through March 28, 2010
Tutankhamen & the Golden Age of the Pharaohs
DeYoung Museum Golden Gate Park
DeYoung Museum

Barbara Ashfield & David Hansen

Local Treasure Part 1: Allied Arts Guild

A sign welcoming you to Allied Arts Guild

As David and I embark on our latest “Local Treasure” series, I am compelled to share with you a place that holds a warm place in my heart…. and that is Allied Arts Guild. Allied Arts Guild, on Arbor Road at the edge of Menlo Park, is a visual palette of landscape and architecture steeped in history adorned by the local flora and fauna so abundant there.

The front Arched entrance to Allied Arts Guild with sign in Spanish tiles.

The Guild itself, once a parcel of a much larger property, was developed in the late 1920’s by Mr. and Mrs. Werner, both of whom were aficionados of the Spanish inspired garden and accompanying colonial architecture. The couple, both devout followers of the craftsmen and artisans of that period, had a dream of constructing a place where these artists could work in an environment dedicated solely to beauty and serenity, a place to which their inspiration and work might be inspired.

The fountain in the "Courtyard of Abundance"

A view looking into the "Courtyard of Abundance".

From the moment you arrive at the ornamental iron gates emblazoned with the capital letter “A”, you have arrived at “Zanzibar”. This beautiful property, once photographed in its entirety by famed California photographer Ansel Adams, you immediately recognize the sense of calm that the Werners sought to achieve. It is a sanctuary steeped in another era, and each time I visit, I am continually drawn to another time and place, that of early California and the elegance of Spanish culture.

A beautiful mailbox handcrafted in metal emblazoned with "AA".

My first experience of Allied Arts came in the mid 1960s as a little girl when I made frequent visits with my mother and grandparents’ annual sojourn from Vancouver. The highlight of our visit was always having tea on the patio, and in my mind’s eye, I can still see the blue tables and hear the trickle of the little fountain in the courtyard. I will never forget the repertoire of toast soldiers smothered in butter and jam, of cucumber and nasturtium sandwiches and the assortment of sweets that accompanied such events. The highlight was always the tall sugar rimmed glasses filled with iced tea with the proverbial mint garnish. My Grandfather later recaptured the gardens in watercolour, although sorry to say, those pieces were lost along the way.

Detail of a metal grate covering a window.

I was at Allied Arts just this past weekend, and now, some 45 years later, the place still evokes a memory of sunny afternoons with my mother. How warm those memories still are.

One of the many walkways on the property...Consumate California!

To learn more about Allied Arts Guild visit their web site here.

Barbara Ashfield

Introducing...Local Treasure!

The San Francisco Bay area as seen from space from nasa.gov

Barbara and I would like to introduce a new series here at Design Squared entitled “Local Treasure” which will profile places or organizations that promote creativity here in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are fortunate to have so many unique resources at our disposal. Look for profiles on some of our favorite haunts. Enjoy, and thank you for reading Design Squared.

David Hansen


An interesting take on the Bay area from a 1938 Cartoon Guide to California by Reg Manning.