Mark Your Calendar: 2nds on 4th Sale

Berkeley's 4th and Clay Studio is holding its annual "2nds on 4th" sale featuring first- and second-quality bargains from ceramic artists Christa Assad, Rae Dunn, Josie Jurczenia, Sara Paloma, Whitney Smith, and Sharon Virtue.

The sale takes place this Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2390 4th St. at Channing. More info here.

Mark Your Calendar: Art and Handmade Holiday Events

Since a majority of the respondents to my poll on local events posts seem to enjoy -- or at least not mind -- reading about Bay Area happenings, here's another roundup of weekend shopping and art events:

French-flavored Old Oakland boutique Mignonne (that's the shop's beautiful window display at top) is holding its third annual Holiday Party and Sale this evening -- Thursday, December 11 -- from 5 to 9 p.m. There will be wine, music, and raffle prizes. Plus, everything in the store except original art will be 30 percent off during the shindig, and gift-wrapping is free. Local fine-art photographer Valerie J. Cochran (above) and ceramist Whitney Smith will be in attendance to show off their work. Mignonne is located at 1000 Jefferson St.

Whitney is one busy party girl tonight, because she's also making an appearance at the Fourth & Clay Holiday Party alongside Diana Fayt, Rae Dunn, Christa Assad, and Josie Jurczenia. The celebration and sale runs from 6 to 11 p.m. at 2390 "C" Fourth St. in Berkeley. (If you can't make it, the clay babes will be holding another Studio Sale -- details here -- this Saturday and Sunday.)

Friday evening, December 12, from 5 to 9 p.m., West Berkeley's Relish at Home hosts a Holiday Trunk Show for jewelry designer Molly M. I'm not normally big on jewelry, but Molly's laser-cut designs are gorgeous, aren't they? Maybe she'll introduce a line of housewares at some point ... What's more, everything in the shop is 10 percent off during the event. Relish at Home is located at 2703 Seventh St. #112.

On Saturday, December 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Feria Urbana takes place at Oakland's Pizzaiolo restaurant (5008 Telegraph Ave. in the Temescal District). On offer will be clothing, jewelry, ceramics, home accessories, artwork, fashion accessories, baby items, and more from dozens of local designers. (While you're there, grab a slice of Pizzaiolo's fresh buttered toast with Blue Chair jam and a steaming mug of Blue Bottle Coffee. Yum!)

On Saturday and Sunday, December 13 and 14, from noon to 4 p.m., Emeryville potter Sara Paloma is holding a Holiday Studio Sale in her space at 4333 Holden St. #54. She'll have fresh stock of her iconic stoneware bottles as well as her fabulous new nesting bowls (above). And don't miss Paloma's "seconds" shelf for budget-friendly deals on slightly less-than-perfect pottery.

Also Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., West Oakland's 56,000-square-foot Crucible holds its annual Holiday Gifty Art Sale & Open House. The sale features housewares, pottery, sculpture, art glass, clothing, jewelry, and other giftable items from more than 70 local artisans. There will be fire performers, stiltwalkers, circus clowns, a visit from Santa, refreshments and assorted holiday treats, as well as glass blowing, metal casting, and blacksmithing demonstrations, too. The Crucible is located at 1260 Seventh St.

Saturday evening, from 5 to 10 p.m., swing by Rowan Morrison Gallery for the RoMoLoCo Show. There will be affordable original works and prints from more than 30 local artists, plus 10 to 40 percent off Rowan Morrison's stock of art books and papergoods. If you can't make the RoMoLoCo opening party, available works will be on display through December 24. (Pssst -- Sunday, December 14 will also see the release of a new, limited-edition stencil print from Adam5100, available exclusively at Rowan Morrison.) The shop and gallery is located at 330 40th St. in Oakland.

Also Saturday night, from 6 to 9 p.m.: The opening reception for FiveTen Studio's Bailout, a "recession-proof" exhibit featuring work from 18 established and emerging local artists, all priced under $400. Bailout will be up in the gallery through December 30. FiveTen Studio is located at 831 Broadway in Old Oakland.

Finally, on Sunday night, December 14, Uptown Oakland's favorite punk rock dive bar, the Stork Club, hosts the Holi-DIY bash starting at 8 p.m. Indie vendors will be on hand, and live music and a burlesque show round out the offerings. The Stork Club is located at 2330 Telegraph Ave.

Enjoy!

(P.S. If you're on the other side of the Bay, there are a bunch of fun weekend events happening in San Francisco as well, including Trish Grantham at Rare Device, Christine Schmidt at Candystore, and the Mission District Holiday Block Party. Head on over to sfgirlbybay to get the deets on those from Ms. Victoria.)

Etsy Find of the Day: Sara Paloma Stoneware Bird Wings

Sweetly enigmatic, this set of three stoneware bird wings by buzzworthy Bay Area potter Sara Paloma is calling out to me.

Glazed matte white and flat on the back, the sculpted set can be displayed as a simple but lovely objet or mounted on the wall to serve as a three-dimensional piece of art.

Just $20 for the set right here -- and click here and here to see Paloma's other graceful creations.

Mark Your Calendar: Your Thursday-Sunday of Art, Crafts, Pottery, Orchids, De-Panting, and Naked Gardening

There is so much fun stuff going on in the Bay Area over the next few days. (And where will I be? Driving my kids to baseball and softball, taking my turn in our monthly Friday-night childcare swap with friends, passing out Popsicles at my kids' school walkathon, and then hosting a gaggle of squealing 10-year-olds at my daughter's birthday party. You all better go out and do something fabulous, since I can't.)

In San Francisco Thursday evening: The opening of Portland artist Betsy Walton's Sacred Spring at Rare Device. The artist's reception runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 1, and the show will be up until June 1 at 1845 Market St. at Guerrero. (Not in the area? You can purchase the original pieces Walton painted for the show here, see more of Walton's gorgeous paintings here, and browse her prints for sale on Etsy.)

On Friday, May 2, the Heath Ceramics Factory Store in Sausalito kicks off a weekend of festivities by marking everything off 15 percent. So go and snap up some of the sublime Heath tile, tableware, and home goods you've been coveting. The sale continues Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4, when Heath will also hold one of its semi-regular Open Studio events. Heath owners Catherine and Robin (whose awesome home can be seen here) and their crew of talented artisans will be barbecuing, giving factory tours, offering hands-on tile glazing activities, and hosting a vintage sale and silent auction of Edith Heath originals. Heath Ceramics is located at 400 Gate Five Road in Sausalito. The hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 to 5 Sunday. (Can't make it? Heath is offering free shipping on online orders from May 1 to 8.)

Photo: Jan Stürmann for the East Bay Express

Friday night is, of course, the monthly Oakland Art Murmur at the galleries centered around 23rd St. and Telegraph Ave. in the burgeoning Uptown area. Opening: Dress Form Dialogues and Reading History at Mercury20 and Ready to Pop at Blankspace. The event starts at 6 and goes until about 10 p.m. (More on the Murmur later today.)

Emeryville ceramist Sara Paloma is having a studio sale on Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4, from noon to 4 p.m. Paloma will be selling new designs, old favorites, seconds, and one-of-a-kind items. Her studio is located at 4333 Holden St. #54 in Emeryville. (If you're not in the area, check out Paloma's Etsy shop, where she also sells seconds and other assorted -- but still totally drool-worthy -- items.)

In nearby Berkeley, stop in at the Fourth & Clay Seconds Sale. The west Berkeley ceramics studio will host a liquidation of slightly imperfect pieces by studio denizens Rae Dunn and Josie Jurczenia and pals Whitney Smith and Diana Fayt -- as well as handmade bags from Susannah Schnick and Nancy La Rose. The studio is located at 2390 Fourth St. at Channing, and the sale runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 3, and from noon to 5 Sunday, May 4.

For her part, Fayt is earmarking proceeds from the sale of her seconds this weekend -- as well as from this amazing yellow pottery set in her Etsy shop -- to help her sister, who recently lost her home in a terrible fire. (By the way, out-of-towners: Smith and Dunn have Etsy storefronts as well.)

Also Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4, the Maker Faire will celebrate DIY in all of its incarnations at the San Mateo Fairgrounds. There will be live music, craft and MAKE magazine demos, a Bazaar Bizarre marketplace featuring hip, handcrafted items from dozens of vendors, and lots more. Tickets are $10 to $25. Download the Faire program right here.

Starting Saturday, May 3, and running through Saturday, May 10, longtime Oakland orchid grower Fiori D'Amore hosts its annual Orchid Sale featuring dozens of rare and beautiful varieties. Trust me, these make incredible Mother's Day presents. (Nick and the kids, are you reading?) The sale takes place at the Fiori D'Amore owners' home at 4526 Fair Ave. at Carson in the Oakland hills, and is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day until May 10.

Finally, don't forget: Friday, May 2, is No Pants Day, which I just learned about from my buds over at Design Boner. There's a No Pants Day Dance Party on Friday night at 9:50 p.m. at 1817 Woolsey St. in Berkeley (pants, obviously, are optional). And Saturday, May 3, is World Naked Gardening Day!

Now these two, I might actually be able to do ...

Etsy Find of the Day: Sara Paloma Pottery

You’ve seen her delicately beautiful bottles in ReadyMade magazine and on the cover of Restoration Hardware’s catalog.

Now you can find Emeryville, California ceramacist Sara Paloma’s lovely, collectible creations on Etsy.

Grouped together, Paloma’s stoneware bottles evoke a city skyline, and her “Vertebra” and “Bone” pieces are strikingly biomorphic, yet still abstract and ethereal.

A few of the Paloma originals that are going on my wish list:

Ice Blue Stoneware Bottles, $600 for seven

Large Vertebra Vase 2, $120

Small Bone Vase B, $40

You can find all of Sara Paloma’s Etsy offerings right here.

(Via Another Shade of Grey.)