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Los Cabos Mexico

Flora Farm

Artist Jane Lillico – Birds, Beasts and Beings

February 7, 2016 by Akiba 6 Comments
Artist Jane Lillico

Artist Jane Lillico

The term “emerging artist” is too vague when describing Jane Lillico.  I prefer to describe her as a REAL artist growing in strength with a unique creative voice.  She is multi-talented with a substantial body of work under her belt.  Her love for nature, wildlife and people are reflections of her work.

Her mediums are sculpting, painting (landscape and architecture), freehand architectural drawings, mixed media using  found and re-purposed items such as sea shells, feathers, glass, pieces of wire and packing materials.  Jane  is also a writer, interior designer and she creates unique lighting sources, jewelry and embroidered tapestries.  One of her goals this year is to have her book of homonyms published: Too Bee Oar Knot Two B.

Freehand Architectural Drawing

Freehand Architectural Drawing

Jane employs an array of materials and mediums but in our conversation, she kept coming back to the versatility of the ancient art of papier-mâché, which is virtually unlimited because it is lightweight and airy and because of the unpredictability in the way it dries, it has its owns unique character.

Jane is particularly attracted to birds and her papier-mâché sculptures of pelicans, frigates and flying fish at the stunning Galeria de Ida Victoria in the Historic San Jose Art District, are airborne and soaring from the ceiling.

Flying Fish at Galeria de Ida Victoria

Flying Fish at Galeria de Ida Victoria

Working with recycled materials is a real joy for Jane because  it educates people to use something that is discarded and transform it into art. This is also about teaching the next generation about recycling.  When she comes across a unique shaped box or vessel of some sort, she knows immediately how it can be a base element for a sculpture.

Tribal Masks made from Recycled Bicycle Boxes

Tribal Masks made from Recycled Bicycle Boxes

Humor is vital to her creativity and reflected in her current work where exaggerated features are meant to put a smile on your face. Also the eyes of her subjects are super important – human or animal –  it develops their own individual personality.

Pelican in Papier-Mâché

Pelican Frank made of fibreglass and durable enough to remain outside.

Gift for Flora Farm

Gift for Flora Farm

Jane is currently developing her Suitcase Series which will be pieces that can be carried in a standard size suitcase.  Because some of her work has been so large scale, it can be a stumbling block because it is prohibitive to ship.  Her first foray into the Suitcase Series will be with Frigates, reducing the scale for manageable shipping to remote locations.

Pelicans and Frigates

Pelican and Frigates

Jane is very introspective and we talked about how she handles disappointment – she made me laugh with something she had read about the philosophy of a dog – if you can’t eat it or play with it, walk away.  But honestly, she told me if something does not work the first time, you have to find a way to make it work.  Her motto is, if you feel strongly enough about it, you will make it work.

Signature Initials for Eileen

Papier-Mâché Signature Initials – Jane uses the recipient’s signature for these magical pieces which make amazing gifts for any occasion.  They can be hung or freestanding and the approximate size is 16″ x 14″x 3″d.

papier-mâché

Jane Lillico has caught the eye of the art community in Mexico, Canada and the United States.  She is one of the featured artists in Arabella Magazine which will be released in Canada in March. Her unique creative voice is gaining strength, exposure and the recognition she deserves.

Triplicity in Papier-Mâché

Triplicity in Papier-Mâché

Some cultures believe birds are the connection between heaven and earth. The next time you are lounging around your house staring at your empty ceiling, imagine Trumpeter Swans, Canadian Geese, Pelicans and Flying Fish airborne above you and remember Jane Lillico and her amazing art.

Trumpeter Swans

Trumpeter Swans

 

Jane Lillico, www.janelillico.com

 

Posted in: About, Learn Tagged: Flora Farm, Ida Victoria Gallery, Jane Lillico Art, San Jose' Art District

Off the Baja Beaten Path to SHED in Healdsburg, California

July 25, 2015 by Akiba 6 Comments

I was going through my emails the other morning when I was excited to see my monthly e-mail from SHED in Healdsburg, California.  I always savor reading what new classes and events they have planned.

I lived in Healdsburg from 1995 to 2001 when it was still a sleepy town.  It is an hour and a half north of San Francisco in the heart of the Sonoma County wine country surrounded by Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley and Russian River Valley. My youngest son went to elementary school there and played sports and swam in a magical pond in the middle of a vineyard with our Labrador.  I have memories of them running on the dock and jumping in together on hot summer days.

While I was perusing SHED’s monthly e-mail and looking at their blog, my friend, Karen, sent me photos entitled “My Morning at SHED.”  What a coincidence?  She told me that she was talking to the owner, Cindy Daniels, about me – that if I ever moved back to Healdsburg, I would want to live at SHED.  Cindy got a laugh out of that and said she would put a hammock in the back garden for me.  I may take her up on it one day.

A visit to SHED feels like a fun and friendly tour of what’s happening in food and farming in the region.  SHED is a gardening store, restaurant, fermentation bar, market and modern grange.

Cindy described grange halls as follows:  “To those unfamiliar with the Grange movement, there’s a rich history that goes back to the late 1800’s when farms formed collectives to create healthier, more resilient communities and built grange halls to provide a place to share ideas and socialize. SHED engages the Grange’s history as both a rural meeting place and farmers’ exchange but is firmly rooted in contemporary Healdsburg. We are a gathering place that celebrates our region’s farmers and makers while tapping into a global community of chefs, producers, and visitors. Our dinners and programs, crafted to revive the Grange traditions of fellowship, conviviality, and exchange, feed a cultural appetite for ideas and interests ranging beyond the realm of food and farming, including art, culture, civic engagement, and community.”

You can participate in their CSA program (community supported agriculture – and art) and pick up a monthly CSA crate featuring whatever is growing fresh at their Home Farm: think – greens in winter, corn and tomatoes in summer as well as such treats from SHED as freshly milled polenta or heirloom beans, a jar of house-made pickled vegetables, a fresh loaf of bread from the ovens, an excellent cheese, or some olio nuevo squeezed from their own olives.

Whenever I am in Healdsburg, I head to SHED to shop.  They offer beautiful housewares, pantry provisions and farm and garden tools.  I bought a black La Chamba cooking pot from Columbia that is so beautiful, I consider it a work of art and display it in my home when I am not cooking with it.

Cindy believes their fermentation bar may be the only one of its kind in the country. You can choose from house-made kombucha and kefir water or try something called Shrubs. Shrubs are cocktails or soft drinks that were popular during America’s colonial era, made by mixing house vinegars with spirits, water or carbonated water.

SHED Grange Hall

SHED Grange Hall – The design of the building and its contents are so striking that it won the 2014 James Beard Froundation’s  “Best Restaurant Design or Renovation in North America since January 1, 2011”

SHED interior

SHED interior

Fermentation Bar

Fermentation Bar

CSA crate

CSA crate

Chamba pot from Colombia

Chamba pot from Colombia

This is a lineup of their summer classes:

Saturday, July 25: Summer in a Bottle: Shrub Workshop. Learn to prolong the season by making Shrubs, a refreshing farm drink, with SHED fermentation crafter Gillian Helquist. 11am; $50.

Thursday, July 30: Trash is for Tossers with zero-waste activist Lauren Singer, who ably keeps two years’ worth of waste in a, you know, Mason jar. Free.
At 6pm: Americana Jazz Blues instrumentalists Doug Lipton, Chris Amberger, and Lorca Hart perform live in the SHED café. Free.

Saturday, Aug. 1: Farmers’ Market Tour and Lunch. Great for groups! Take a behind-the-scenes tour of SHED, learn about milling, and enjoy fresh juices before heading over for a guided tour of the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market where we’ll sample foods and meet the farmers. Then, we’ll return to SHED to learn about fermentation and share a private luncheon. 10am; $85.

Saturday, Aug. 16: Root to Leaf Tasting and Signing. Join chef Steven Satterfield, the shaman of vegetable cooking, for a tasting from his new book and a talk on using every part of the plant. 3pm; $30.

Sunday, Sept. 13: Fermented Hot Sauce Workshop. Learn the secrets of creating your own Southeast Asian hot sauce with Lisa Murphy of Sosu Sauces. 1pm; $25.

SHED is the winner of a 2014 James Beard Award for restaurant design.

Thank you Karen for inspiring me this week.

www.healdsburgshed.com

——————————————————————————————————————

Meanwhile back in the Baja:

The Saturday morning Pedregal Farmers Market is open and the produce was bountiful:  Mixed greens, arugula, mustard greens, microgreens, tomatoes, beets, tomatillos, spring onions, cucumbers, fennel, swiss chard, bok choy, zucchini, butternut squash, dill, sage, cilantro, carrots, mangoes, papaya, cantaloupe, organic chickens and eggs.

Flora Farm has opened a very large market and bar in downtown Cabo and it is fully stocked with produce, herbs, fresh bread, cinnamon rolls, meat, eggs and natural skin care products.  The bar opens today and they will be serving traditional cocktails, wine, beer and their signature drinks which are a full-range of fruit and vegetable infused specialty cocktails such as the heirloom carrot Farmarita, Flora Farm’s spin on the traditional Margarita, and the Farm Julep made with fresh watermelon juice. It’s located on the corner of Marina Blvd. and Cabo San Lucas Blvd. across the street and up a half block from El Tesoro Hotel.

For those of you not familiar with Flora Farm, it is a ten-acre organic farm in the foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains. Flora’s Field Kitchen is handmade food using farm fresh ingredients. Flora Farm appeared in an article by the New York Times about 52 places to visit in 2015.

Buen Provecho, Akiba

Posted in: About, Eat, Learn Tagged: CSA, fermentation bar, Flora Farm, grange hall, Healdsburg, La Chamba, Pedregal Farmers Market. composed salad, Shed

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