San Francisco Chronicle: Days 5 & 6

View from Battery Spencer

Playing catch-up today with what's been going on out here in San Francisco.

Yesterday, my husband drove across the Golden Gate Bridge...twice! This is a really big deal as it has been a goal of his for three years (and three years of bridge walking).

The other thing we've been doing for three years is watching movies and TV shows that have been filmed in San Francisco. We have become big fans of  The Streets of San Francisco and Vertigo. So, of course we had to find some of the scenes from these shows. First stop on Wednesday was to the Sausalito side of the bridge, up a windy road to Battery Spencer (Streets episode) for a magnificent view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I can just imagine Martin Sheen (doing his best James Dean impersonation) planning to murder his older girlfriend by tossing her off the edge only to be stopped by San Francisco detective, Steve (Michael Douglas)!

Legion of Honor

 Today we visited three sites... Twin Peaks for a panoramic vista of the entire city (Streets episode), a visit to the Legion of Honor (Vertigo) and Fort Point (both Streets and Vertigo).

My husband, Mark, striking a pose from Vertigo

View of the Golden Gate Bridge from inside Fort Point

 Of course, there were other interesting aspects of these places...

On our trip into the town of Sausalito, I found a very colorful shop with textiles galore...but what caught my eye were the rolls of handmade paper. I couldn't resist purchasing a few sheets. I was amazed at how some of these sheets looked and felt like cloth. I'm excited to see what I will do with these. I'm looking forward to printing on them and using them ...perhaps three-dimensionally.

Today, I was surprised to find that there was an art show at Fort Point, a fort built during the Civil War to protect the entrance into the harbor of San Francisco. The art show, International Orange, commemorates the 75th anniversary of the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge and is spread through out the Fort. Two art pieces I found particularly interesting...fiber of course.

The first piece, Fiesta Queens by Anandamayi Arnold is a series of seven colorful gowns made entirely of crepe paper. Six of the gowns represent the six counties that supported the building of the bridge. The seventh gown represents a tribute to the bridge.

Gown commemorating the anniversary of the bridge.

The second piece, muhf-uhl by Pae White tries to capture the fog that often encompasses the bridge. This large digitally woven tapestry has colors that range from an intense orange to a soft creamy white.

Detail of tapestry

That's all for now.

And just a reminder that the Searching for Roy G Biv Challenge this month is Indigo. Get ready to post your photos next Thursday, October 18th. I'm still searching...

San Francisco Chronicle: Day 4

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The highlight of today was a trip to the de Young Museum.
There is far too much to see, but here are a few of the (smaller) exhibits...

Contemporary Omie Bark Cloth

Metal Vessels by June Schwarcz. Shaped sheets of copper, electroformed, some enameled.

Hanging wire sculptures by Ruth Asawa. I love the shadows formed on the walls.

San Francisco Chronicle: Day 3

Poetry on the sidewalk.

Some textures and patterns from the day...

Hyatt Regency

Interior view 

San Francisco Chronicle Days 1 & 2

View from our room.

 I'm here in San Francisco for a week long vacation with my husband, Mark.

The town's been hoppin! I think it must be one of the busiest weekends here. First it is Fleet Week. A week of honoring the military. There are navy ships up and down the Bay and we are being buzzed by the aerial acrobatics of the Blue Angels. Quite a sight!

Then there is the America's Cup World Series with wingsail catamaran races. Today, the city was tied up with the Columbus Day parade in the Italian neighborhood. And to top it all off there are the post season baseball games between the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds!

To catch up... we arrived at the hotel at around 3 PM on Saturday. Mark managed to get us a great deal at the Hyatt Regency with the above amazing view from our room. The hotel itself is quite interesting. Shaped like an arrow, the floors surround an open atrium. There are strings of lights coming down from the ceiling and a spherical sculpture with violet lights (hmm...roy g biv material?). I'll be sure to take some photos of the atrium this week.

On Saturday we decided to head over to one of our favorite spots, The Ferry Building. Twice a week there is a wonderful farmer's market there. We got there a bit late for that but of course, the inside of the building is just (if not even more) wonderful with its food specialty shops. We managed to purchase the last container of my favorite ginger snaps from Miette.

After being dazzled by the Blue Angels out on the pier, we headed back towards the hotel. It turns out that our hotel overlooks a park that has an ongoing arts and craft fair. I found this wonderful fiber artist, Diana Samuelson who crochets hand and finger puppets. These puppets are sometimes in the form of scarves and bracelets. I bought this fabulous scarf called Wolf in Sheep's Clothing.

One end of the scarf is the wolf with his sheep disguise, the other end is the unsuspecting sheep.

The wolf and sheep are hand puppets and the little sheep disguise is a finger puppet. Really delightful!

I spoke to Diana for a short while and hope to purchase more pieces from her this week.

Today was the really big deal...the bridge trek over the Golden Gate Bridge. Mark has been planning this for the last three years. It was foggy, chilly and a bit breezy. Mark's hands were a little clammy but we made it the whole way. A great accomplishment for hubby who is no fan of tall bridges. We will see if the walk will lead to a drive across the bridge on Wednesday...that is the grand plan!

Here are some views of the bridge itself. It is truly a feat of engineering...

That's all for today. I am still on my search for Indigo. Man that's a tough color!

The Art Room

 A gray start to the day.

I was invited to see this special room.

 To see the supplies and tools so lovingly arranged.

 

A work in progress that won't be completed.

A little gift of red.

I felt my friend's presence everywhere.

Missing her...

Indigo Tease

Indigo Challenge Fabric

I guess that sounds just a little bit kinky!

I finished up the Indigo Challenge Fabric for the Searching for Roy G Biv Challenge. I had to get it done early as I am heading out to San Francisco on Saturday for a week. I'm really looking forward to the trip.

My husband and I were out there three years ago. It was our first trip together as empty nesters. What a fabulous time we had! It was during that trip that bridge trekking was hatched. You see, like many people, my husband does not enjoy driving over large bridges, especially over water. He figured that if he could walk over a bridge, he could drive over it. Walking and then driving over the Golden Gate became his goal. In the meantime, we have had many wonderful treks (and some interesting adventures) walking over bridges in D.C., NYC, Pennsylvania, West Virginia as well as London and Paris.

So... we are going back to San Francisco, in part, to walk over the Golden Gate Bridge. I will certainly blog about our adventure. We will also spend days eating delicious food and seeing some of the sites and museums we missed last time. I'd like to ask if any of you have suggestions for interesting fiber, craft, bead or art stores in San Francisco. We will be visiting the Craft Museum as well as a museum in Berkeley that specializes in lace. Any other suggestions would be most welcome.

I will also be on the search for Indigo. For those of you considering playing along this month, the rules of the game are here. The next Challenge date is Thursday, October 18 and as you can guess, the color is Indigo. Playing makes you eligible to win the Challenge Fabric.

Fabric detail

Also, just a reminder that I have a giveaway going on to celebrate my 200th post. Please be sure to leave a comment if you would like to participate. The drawing for one of my peace flags is Sunday, October 14.