Mark Your Calendar: Your Weekend of Art, Crafts, and Wicked Cool Pyrotechnics

Photo by Lane Hartwell

Heads up, locals: There's tons of great stuff going on in the Bay Area this weekend.

Friday, July 17

* Learn more about Italy's Alessi housewares at the first Summer Design Series presentation at Old Oakland's Entrez! Open House from 5 to 7 p.m. Alessi wares will be 10 percent off during the event, a Michael Graves tea kettle will be raffled off, and drinks and snacks will be served. RSVPs are required.

* Stop by the opening reception for Alex Rosmarin's A Daily Operation at Oakland's Cricket Engine Gallery from 7 to 9 p.m. The show will be up through July 26.

* Get your pyro on at the Crucible's ninth annual Fire Arts Festival. There will be ten acres of interactive fire art, performances, live music, and the largest collection of outdoor fire sculpture on the West Coast. The fiery spectacle runs from 8 p.m. to midnight on Friday, and wraps up at the same time on Saturday night. Tickets are $35 to $50.

* If you're in San Francisco this evening, join the Flower Weaving Workshop with Cathy of California at the Curiosity Shoppe from 5 to 7 p.m.

* While you're there, don't miss Lisa Congdon and Mati McDonough's pretty Little Pink Houses in the Curiosity Shoppe's gallery space. The show will be up through July 31.

* Swing by Congdon's own shop, Rare Device, over the weekend to check out its new art exhibit. The Buddy System: A Conversation in Art was curated by Little Paper Planes' Kelly Lynn Jones, and features work from Aline Cautis, Caitlin Gallupe, Clare Grill, Matt Momchilov, Bridget Moser, Nathaniel Russell, David Wilson, and Jess Wheaton. The show will be up through August 30.

* Kill two birds with one stone at the Mission's BellJar, where you can mingle at the opening reception for Ian Huebert's The Shape of Content from 6 to 9 p.m. and shop the store's Summertime Sale. Huebert's show will be up through August 11, and the sale lasts through July 23.

* Stroll down the street to see Ocean + Beach at Needles + Pens, featuring work from Charlie Callahan, Jeff Canham, Misha Capecchi, Alberto Cuadros, Amy Jo Diaz, Kyle Field, Christopher Gentile, Rachel Kaye, Jeffrey Manson, Aaron Mason, John McCambridge, Serena Mitnik-Miller, Dave Muller, Jay Nelson, Lana Porcello, Nathaniel Russell, Orion Shepherd, Mason St. Peter, Augustus Thompson, and Isabell Weberbauer. The show will be up through August 9.

Saturday, July 18

* Grab some great bargains at Modernica's mammoth 20th Anniversary Warehouse Sale. It's online from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific Time (and in L.A. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

* Don't miss the second annual Renegade Craft Fair from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Fort Mason's Festival Pavilion. This year's Renegade extravaganza will showcase more than 200 independent artists and crafters, and continues through Sunday.

* After you've taken in all that Renegade has to offer, pop over to Fort Mason's SFMOMA Artists Gallery to see its current exhibit, Pipeline: Art, Surfing, and the Ocean Environment. The show features artwork by Jo Ann Biagini, Leo Bersamina, Charlie Callahan, Terry Hoff, Reuben Margolin, Serena Mitnik-Miller, Adrienne Keahi Pao, and Charles Valoroso, surfboards by Jeff Clark, and photography by Frank Quirarte and Doug Acton, and will be up through August 28.

* Check out L.A. street-turned-fine artist Becca's True Colors at White Walls Gallery, up through August 1. (Pssst: New, limited edition prints from Becca available here.)

* Cap off your day at the opening reception for Theo Ellsworth's new exhibit, Imaginary Friends, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at Giant Robot. The show will be up until August 19.

Whew! Have fun out there, kids.

Object of Lust: Enzo Floor Lamp

Reminiscent of the vintage Kaiser Idell and European counterbalance task lights I often stalk on eBay, Anthropologie's industrial-chic Enzo Floor Lamp has me drooling.

It's $398 right here.

Etsy Find: Munstre Lightboxes

Loving these cool lightboxes from Etsy seller Munstre (aka Boston crafter Chris Elsasser). Each is handmade from Munstre's custom graphics or from vintage x-rays and medical lithographs and each is mounted in a ready-to-hang, solid wood frame with a pre-installed lightbulb and plug. Above: Follow Me to Heaven, $95

En Cloude, $70

However Long the Night, the Dawn Will Break, $130

Old Fashioned Bicycle, $95

Lift Your Skinny Arms to the Sky, $140

Anatomical Heart, $65

On a White Lake, $140

See all of Munstre's Etsy offerings right here -- and check out more of his lightboxes, prints, and other creations here.

Cool Stuff: Madison & Grow Eco Wallpaper

I'm smitten with this eco-friendly wallpaper from Los Angeles's Madison & Grow, launched last year by Connecticut transplants Teresa Grow and Erin Yasgar. Each design is hand-drawn and hand-printed with water-based inks, and the recyclable paper is harvested from sustainable forests. Above: Eleanor

Maggie

Eloise

Michelle

Margot

Erin

Elizabeth

Madison & Grow wallpaper is available through these retailers. See the entire collection right here.

Etsy Find: New Prints From Hannah Stouffer

Wild new limited-edition prints from Etsy seller Grand Array (aka L.A.-based artist Hannah Stouffer). Look closely -- there's a whole universe in these images. Above: Black Roses Tell a Story, $12 if you order during July, $25 after that

Bonne Nuit, Crystal Cave, $12 until July 31

Leaving the Crusade to Fate, $12 until July 31

See all of Stouffer's Etsy offerings right here -- and check out more of her work here.

Over and Out

Photo by Shana Rae

Have a lovely weekend!

The Artful Home: Art in a Box

North Oakland's Compound Gallery has devised a novel way to get affordable pieces from emerging local artists into the hands of collectors on a budget: a monthly subscription service called Art in a Box.

Here's how it works: Subscribe for the pick-up-only or nationwide-delivery packages, and every month you'll receive an 11-by-17-inch box containing a painting, print, photo, mixed media work, drawing, collage, ceramic piece, or sculpture from one of 11 Bay Area artists.

The art and the artist will be a surprise, but you can let the gallery directors know your preferences ahead of time and they'll do their best to send you something they think you'll like.

Participating artists include Ben Belknap, Jake Gillespie, Alissa Goss, Kerri Lee Johnson, Obi Kaufmann, Crystal Morey, Lena Verderano Reynoso, Matt Reynoso, Audrey Roy, Eric Sanchez, Tallulah Terryll, Adrian Van Allen, and YaChin Bonny You.

The service costs $30 or $50 a month, with a three-month minimum. Find out more about Art in a Box right here.

Cool Stuff: Criss Cross Lamps

I love a good Bubble Lamp, and am especially digging these new reissues of George Nelson's Criss Cross Lamps. They're just like the midcentury design icon's classic Bubble Lamps -- but, you know, fancier.

The Criss Cross Lamps, which run $359 to $405 apiece, are available from Modernica.

Etsy Find: Tine Wiggens Textile Art

Sweet and simple textile art from British Columbia-based Etsy seller Tine Wiggens. Above: Time to Bake, $24

Summer Rain, $30

Tea Time, $24

Two Tall Seed Heads, $25

Flowers in Watering Can, $30

Mini Rain Cloud, $15

See all of Wiggens' Etsy offerings right here -- and check out more of her work here.

Set-Design Drool: True Blood

Are y'all watching True Blood on HBO? I can't get enough of this soapy, Southern-fried vampire series.

In fact, I'm a sucker -- so to speak -- for pretty much any well-done, intelligent vampire tale. Unlike seemingly half of the adult female population, though, I'm utterly immune to the supposed charms of the Twilight saga and its sparkling (non)bloodsuckers. I like my vampire fables complete with sex and blood, thank you very much. (As for what's behind our collective obsession with the undead, this recent New York Times article attempts to psychoanalyze the fang fixation.)

Anyway, there is plenty of sex and blood in Bon Temps, Louisiana -- the fictional setting for the show, which centers around clairvoyant barmaid Sookie Stackhouse; her 170-year-old vampire boyfriend, Bill Compton; Bill's newly undead "daughter," Jessica; shape-shifting roadhouse proprietor Sam; Sookie's formerly demon-possessed BFF, Tara; mysterious Maenad Maryann; vampire head honcho Eric and his tart-tongued sidekick, Pam; gay and fierce short-order cook, hustler, porn-site entrepreneur, and erstwhile drug dealer Lafayette; Sookie's dumb but sexy brother, Jason; and a collection of other odd -- and often oddly lovable -- characters.

Of course, being the design geek that I am, I'm nearly as fascinated by the physical spaces the show's characters inhabit as I am the steamy storylines they become entangled in. Let's take a little tour, shall we? (Warning: Mild spoilers ahead.)

Bill's digs -- no surprise -- are my favorite. Imbued with the sort of dark glamour and crumbling grandeur that makes me go weak in the knees, it's a fitting home for Bon Temps' resident Victorian-era vamp.

Bottom photo from True-Blood.net

Bill's home probably looks much the same as it did when he last resided here as a human in the 1860s. It's all florid, peeling wallpaper, dark-stained woodwork, fine-but-threadbare rugs, flickering gaslight, and aged, ornate furnishings. In a word: Yummy. (And yeah, I think I'd find it hard to resist in such lushly Gothic surroundings, too.)

Bill plays the piano like any well-bred Southern gentleman, and doesn't seem terribly interested in current decorating trends. But he is starting to outfit his home with modern amenities like a Wii system, with which he rather heartbreakingly plays virtual golf on a sunlight-dappled course.

Daddy is no fun at all. But his sumptuous red velvet settee is pretty sweet.

Top and bottom photos from TrueBloodNet

This is where the magic happens, people. Though if I were Sookie, I think I'd quietly remove the portrait -- presumably of Bill's Civil War-era bride -- from the mantle. It might put a bit of a damper on their frequent, torrid make-up sex, after all.

Eric the Viking vamp kicks back in Bill's bathtub. Yes, please.

Sookie's family home, by contrast, is all warm, cozy Granny style.

Photo from TrueBloodNet

And I mean that literally. Sookie lived in the pleasantly dilapidated farmhouse with her late grandmother, and from the looks of it, she hasn't made many changes since her beloved Gran was killed in the kitchen during Season One.

Still, the Stackhouse home represents warmth, family, and normalcy in a world that's gone a bit mad. It may not push any design envelopes, but it's homey and welcoming, and that is as it should be.

Eric's bar, Fangtasia, is a redneck roadhouse-turned-tawdry, over-the-top vision of vampire cool.

Blood-red walls, flocked upholstery, and faux-goth accouterments complete a look that seems geared more to satisfying the leering tourists' idea of what an undead hangout should look like than a place that (incredibly hot) thousand-year-old Nordic vampires would call home-away-from-home.

OK, I guess what really completes the look is a floor full of gore from a messily staked vampire bartender. RIP, Longshadow.

Photo by jaded*mystery

Sam's restaurant and bar is the setting for much of the show. It's where the townsfolk meet and where many of the main characters work or play.

Can you smell the beer and burgers?

I can't tell you how despondent I was when it appeared that Lafayette had met his maker in last season's cliffhanger. Love. Him. (Anna Paquin may have won a Golden Globe for her grating, overly accented Sookie, but Nelsan Ellis brings it week after week. The man was robbed, if you ask me.)

Photo from TrueBloodNet

Oh dear, it looks like a thrift store exploded in here. That said, Lafayette always does the best he can with the tools available to him. Not surprisingly, he's turned a dreary little abode furnished with garage sale castoffs into a funky, colorful crash pad with attitude. Who knew that he had a Tiki Fabulous side?

Photo from TrueBloodNet

What is that on the wall -- some sort of Santeria shrine? Oh Lafayette, you are so ... complex.

Given the untamed bacchanalias that take place here, Maryann's stately spread is deceptively buttoned-up.

The classic architecture is accented with touches of exotica that presumably provide clues to Maryann's past and true identity. There's the fresco depicting Pan in the courtyard, for starters, as well as the tribal masks and the ancient fertility statue inside.

Come to think of it, the shape of that statue is oddly reminiscent of the horned, demonic-looking bull creature that attacked Sookie. (Get out of the house now, Sam!)

Overflowing trays of juicy, delectable food are ever-present at Maryann's. (Was that a human heart in the stew her houseboy was preparing for last week's poolside party-turned-orgy?) What is this woman up to -- and is she really a woman at all?

What other clues do you think True Blood's sets reveal about Bon Temps' residents and the town's supernatural goings-on? Any southerners out there with quibbles about how the region's architecture and interiors are depicted on the series? Most importantly, could Eric be any hotter?

If you have theories, thoughts, or opinions on the show, its set design, and/or Eric's hotness quotient, please post a comment and share them!

P.S. Tell me these opening credits aren't awesome.

eBay Finds

Achille Castiglioni Floor Lamp

Klein Reid Ceramic Book and Logs

Holmegaard Art Glass Vase

Second Wife Painted by First Wife Framed Oil Portrait

Pair High-Back Tufted Lemon Velvet Chairs

19-Inch Marquee Channel Letter

Four Vintage Faux Bamboo Chairs

Danish Modern Light Fixture

Hans Wegner Sibast Chair

X-Base Chrome and Wood Desk

George Nelson Dresser

Florence Knoll Side Table

Industrial Cage Lamp

Gustavberg Coffee Cups

Baldinger Britannia Drafting Lamp

Bertoia Diamond Chair Plus Ottoman

Raymor Pottery Lamp

Pair Red Eames LCW Chairs

Brass Desk Fan

Authentic Knoll Womb Chair

Woodard Sculptura Lounge Chairs

Antique Carved Santos Head

Eames DCM Chair

Note: These auctions end between Monday afternoon, July 6, and Thursday evening, July 9. Happy bidding!

Over and Out

Photo by -stacey-

Have a lovely long holiday weekend, everyone! I'll see you back here on Monday.

P.S. If you're local, don't miss Evan B. Harris and Alisha Wessler's new show, Back Channels, opening tonight at Johansson Projects as part of the monthly Oakland Art Murmur.

eBay Finds

Vintage Mercury Glass Apothecary Bottle

Hadrill & Horstmann Counterbalance Lamp

Orla Kiely Scribble Stem Cushion Cover

Paul McCobb Room Divider

Antique Demijohn Bottle

Vintage Industrial Stool

Antique Fireside Accent Chairs

Goodform Aluminum Desk Chair

Jack Lenor Larson X Stools

Conran Mac Lamp

Ernst Dragsted Silverplate Elephant

Exit Lamp

Sortie Lamp

Stig Lindberg Spear Dish

Danish Modern Lounge Chairs

Pair Vintage Plaster Lamps

Luxo Drafting Lamp

Milo Baughman Scoop Settee

Vintage Factory Milk Glass Drop Light

Pair Frederick Cooper Turquoise Lamps

Spectacular Hollywood Regency Lounge Chair

Vintage Trouble Light Stand

Vintage School Light Fixture

Vintage Wire Basket

1960s Geovanni Bragolin Crying Boy

Note: These auctions end between Friday morning, July 3 and Monday morning, July 6. Happy bidding!

Cool Stuff: Pandora Deluxe Cutlery

Are there picnics and barbecues in your future this holiday weekend? Too bad you don't have a set of these uber-fancy plastic utensils. After all, you don't want to dig into that potato salad with just any old supermarket spork, do you?

Next time, be prepared with these chic forks, knives, and spoons from Italy's Pandora Design, which take the form of fine silver cutlery but come in a variety of poppy plastic hues. Bonus: The lightweight utensils are dishwasher safe, so they'll serve you well for many al fresco meals to come.

Right now, they're on sale for $18.90 per four-piece set from Rose and Radish.

Objects of Lust: Victoria Morris Pottery

Inspired by both Scandinavian and Japanese traditions, Los Angeles ceramic artist Victoria Morris creates beautifully subtle, organic pottery that recalls a midcentury aesthetic and yet feels utterly modern.

Morris's pieces are available through L.A.'s OK Store (where the hand-thrown vases above run $65 to $195 apiece) and Zelen.

Check out more of her work right here.

Etsy Find: Jane Heller Photography

I adore the quiet, contemplative quality of these images from Montreal-based photographer and Etsy seller Jane Heller. In her work, Heller focuses on "the nuances of everyday life, the small details that go unnoticed, light and shadow, humor and sadness, and everything in between." Above: I Love Thread

A Day at the Museum

Lingerie on the Line

Family Threads II

Free as a Bird

Blue Wedgwood

Sweet Dreams

Thread

Each signed and dated, archival-quality 8-by-12-inch print is $35. Other sizes are available on request. See all of Heller's Etsy offerings right here -- and check out more of her work here.