like our sisters before us

In the tradition of Cocorosie, Rodarte, Sister Act II, Mary-Kate and Ashley, Herzog and Klinski, Tim and Eric, and the Ying Yang Twins-- Cedar and Swan is a duet of dynamism.

Futurist Art: The Singularity and Space

Cedar (Marie-Clare Treseder) is curating the exhibition Futurist Art: The Singularity and Space, at the Appel Gallery in Sacramento, March 4th-April 30th, 2012. 'Futurist Art' showcases international artists Matt Rutherford, Sofya Yampolsky, and Dan Kasser.

Receptions will take place on March 10th and April 14th, 2012:

The March 10th Reception will feature guest speaker Julia Hamilton. Julia Hamilton is a curator and writer based in Oakland, California. Julia's interdisiciplinary practice incorporates the histories and theories of art, activism, curatorial studies, and sociology. Julia worked as a curator of the public art program at the Richmond Art Center, and has been a visiting lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley, teaching classes on social practice and contemporary art history.

The April 14th Reception will feature guest speaker Dr. Bett Schumacher. Bett Schumacher's research interests include aesthetics, postwar American modernism, and gender and modernism. She holds a PhD in the history of art from Johns Hopkins University and has taught at James Madison University and University of the Pacific, where she also directed the Richard Reynolds Gallery. She has won numerous fellowships and awards from such institutions as the Terra Foundation of American Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Research Center. Schumacher is currently a senior aide to President Pamela A. Eibeck at University of the Pacific.

The exhibition is curated by artist and futurist Marie-Clare Treseder. She formerly worked for Singularity University as the Producer for “Women at the Frontier”, their annual Women's Forum: featuring top women entrepreneurs, humanitarian, innovators, scientists and techies voicing their views on issues relevant to our future. Similarly, she worked for Singularity University as their Media Production Supervisor and Official Photographer. Her photography has been published in WIRED UK and The Independent. She last curated the exhibition “Valley Impressions: Historic Block Prints and Watercolors by William S. Rice” at the Reynolds Gallery in Stockton.

Eden of the East

To mark the seasonal subsiding, our animated friends congregated for another Arty Party Extrordinaire-- this time with cartoonz. What began as anime discernibly digressed into anima (Jung), but no matter of unconscious substance. Pokemon resurfaced after an age of innocence, as did the considerable qualities of a smattering of seaweed.

Smashing Pumpkins

While we normally leave gutting and cleaning to the meat-marketeers and deer-hunters, something was to be done with una gran calabaza quickly making its way toward putrescence. And such complication with mammalian deconstruction!--a simple squash was sure to prove easier.

Hence, the question--how does one butcher a pumpkin?

Enter Elven sword (a throwback to days of Lord of the Rings fandom) and multi-generational Swan family axe.



So we hacked and chopped.  We made some indelicate incisions and discovered that the rind of an Atlantic Giant withstands the test of steel and time alike.  Either way, we showed that gourd some gore, in the best way possible.
Pumpkin pie, scones, pudding, and bread followed, and there was great rejoicing.


Rarein' for a showdown.

dedicated attacks of the amateur pumpkin butchers

File under: Arwen vs. the seediest of orcs

file under: Toshiro Mifune

tasty crunchy seeds with the fiber content of your mother's my All-Bran

I think I was trying my best "Fistful of Dollars" face

file under fairy girls

(All photography by Sabrina Araujo)

I browse.
Eye brows.
Call us California Muse, or Broken Shields, even Lara Stoned-- but we too, have taken up the eyebrow mantle. That paragon of expression, forever twisting and taunting. Need we mention their pragmatic protection of the ocular sense?

Dyeing them, by some, is thought to be the death of naturalism. We contend that bleaching, burning, plucking, painting, even tattooing eyebrows (while often ghastly) is simply another form of self-expression. Quite literally, altering ones' eyebrows affects the very expressions our faces are capable of.

While we opt for the optical "get those tweezers the fuck away from me" look, the alienating qualities instilled from their alteration can be beautiful. In other words, we respect freedom of choice. The bigger, the better. The smaller, the sexier.

just in thyme

These may be late-bloomers, but their effloresecence is effortless. Enter our void. (Photography from our "Home is where the Horror is" Arty Party)

Write on our Redwall

It's November, Samhain has passed, and after a spell of the sanguine-- we are ready for more celebration. The theme of this week is REDWALL, a cast of charming childrens' books written by the bright Brit Brian Jacques, (RIP). Joanna and Marie-Clare threw an Arty Party in honor of said tales of magnificent mice, outrageous otters, brave badgers, rotten rats, and cowardly cats. A gaggle of our great friends attended, as we cooked up a feast meant to rival that of the author's famed conjurations. Our recipes included:
1 Occupie-- 99% Fruit, 1% Upper Crust
Dijon Deviled Eggs
Wheat and Honey Gingerbread Cookies
Berry Scones with Almonds
Apple Butter
Worcestershire baked Pumpkin Seeds
Squash Bread
Mulled Wine
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Caramelized Walnuts
Lox
And, what's more English than Sushi, may we ask? Joanna was instrumental in their construction, supplying straight-from-China (sans Firewall) seaweed.

The night glazes over as the stars' ebullience increase-- the awful twittering of our abusive attempts at British accents fade in and out, but the memories remain.

(Photos forthcoming)