Medium Reality: design from the front lines

Introducing Coyote Counter Collective

2011-11-12T15:29:00.000-08:00

Medium Reality has been suspiciously quiet for the last few months. I have been getting surreptitious inquiries from concerned friends, clients who crave attention, and art lovers who are demanding I keep up the supply of laser etched landscapes.

What the heck have we been up to? Where have we been?! Well, a lot has been going on. The revolution, hallelujah, has come, and it's here to stay. Even stranger, though, we have moved our studio. Medium Reality has been based in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood for most of a decade. The rising cost of real estate in that neighborhood is finally sweeping through lots of little side streets that time had forgotten, though, and things are changing. We are excited to change our focus to Oakland, where a more wide-open (but still bike-friendly!) city leaves more elbow room for oddball arts projects.

Medium Reality, in collaboration with Project Transaction, Ghetto Goldilocks, and Gneiss Wood, presents:

Coyote Counter Collective
a new (re)construction experience in Oakland

423 40th St, Oakland
(leave Macarthur BART, turn right, cross Telegraph and look out for us on the right at Webster)
Open Now By Appointment

Grand Opening December 1st

We are slowly assembling an altered storefront experience, by hand, from scrips and scraps. We've already painted, hung curtains, installed glass cases, tiny puppet doors, trunks and suitcases everywhere, and cut scalloped edges into everything. There is a sewing studio in back where we are still desperately putting up storage shelves, and throughout the space we are working on small facilities projects one piece at a time.

So we're building a store? Well, yes, but. But. One of the things I am most excited about for this new space is something we are trying out - a menu of (re)construction services. Drawings, swatches, samples, and photos will bring customers in to the style re-design process, while the streamlined menu will allow these services to be offered a la carte to all members of our community, for affordable prices. Services will range from complete reconstructions (and my unique brand of elaborate layered embroidery/applique), to simpler alterations like silkscreened images or added pockets, which can be offered at very reasonable prices. We are working towards offering laser etching services as well.

It is my hope that this space will become a hub for different reconstruction communities, and I am excited to see how the cooperative part of things comes together. In assembling the business model for our collective we have drawn heavily on my experiences at City Art and Noisebridge, as well as all of our time together at Pandora's former location on Haight St. It is great to be working with these artists again.

Pants Interface - Open Hardware Summit & Maker Faire NY 2011

2011-11-10T20:42:00.000-08:00

At the end of September, in a flurry of solder, wire bits, and threads, we finished a prototype Pants Interface controller. I threw it, still smoking, into a suitcase and flew off to New York to show it off - and ask for help. Here's what happened.

Open Hardware Summit http://www.openhardwaresummit.org/ is in its second year, and is an amazing hotbed of conversation about this growing field. Topics popping up over and over for me centered around how to share ideas, especially legal licensing and functional software tools for filesharing. It was great also to run into Autumn Wiggins, longtime collaborator from the indie craft world, there to talk about Upcycle Exchange and reminding me once again of the interesting and growing intersections between craft-making and electronics development. Mitch Altman of TV-B-Gone fame, a Noisebridge pal of mine, gave a really inspiring talk, as did Bunnie Huang from Chumby. According to Bunnie, hardware development cycles actually favor small businesses!

Developing licenses that let people share their ideas is clearly important to a lot of people, and a lot of interesting options are developing. It gets pretty esoteric but is still really interesting stuff. CERN is developing an open hardware license http://www.ohwr.org/projects/cernohl/wiki . OHANDA has an open trademark solution http://www.ohanda.org/ .

The founder of Sparkfun gave a practical talk on how they open up their documents, to what extent, and the basic functionality concerns that raises for an operating business. I went to the breakout session 'Documentation, Distribution, and Community Building for Open Hardware'. Joseph Prusa from RepRap http://reprap.org/wiki/Main_Page was there along with others, talking about how the crazy varieties of files that project uses are all managed. That project, an open source 3d prototyping printer, is an amazing international effort. Also in that session were reps from DIYLILCNC and Upverter. It was really great to hear different perspectives on document & version management, and to get some tantalizing glimpses of how the approach chosen here will affect the user communities.

I met Glyph, the founder of Twisted http://twistedmatrix.com/trac/ a few years ago, and got to pick his brain on how they built a vibrant community around that open-source project. Glyph said that the project has to give users something that works before they will get excited about it. It's interesting to note the differences between what this means for a hardware vs a software project. The prototype milestones we reached in time for this conference put the Pants Interface tantalizingly close to a point where we can publish, and start this dialogue with an actual user base.

Maker Faire New York was the same weekend as OHWS, and it was really fun to check out such a wide-open field of makers at the faire, after the intense focus at the summit. I presented the prototype at both events and got lots of interested questions and feedback. My Maker Faire presentation seemed to inspire a lot of people to consider getting involved with wearables, which was super exciting for me. I also got a couple of really great tips on solving specific problems, and more detail on how certain aspects of the project work. It is great to find such an engaged group of people that are interested to see our project, and give feedback on it.

Special highlight for me was meeting up with Clothbot http://clothbot.com/wiki/Main_Page one of our Kickstarter supporters - and getting awesome experimental 3d-printed fabric circuitboard connectors to try out. You can see them, and lots of other goodies, in this photo of my swag from the weekend. Lots of notes on everything if you click through!

Pants Interface - last call!!

2011-06-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

There are just over 48 hours left in our kickstarter fundraising drive for the Pants Interface. Read on below for more information on the project, or check out the videos and other materials online!

http://kck.st/iyusM4

Here is a little breakdown of how the fundraising drive works - people can pledge money, a lot or a little, towards the Pants Interface project. Different funding levels come with different fabulous prizes, starting with the launch party for this crazy control device, including experimental supplies for people who want to make their own soft circuits, including art prints of the schematics and your very own pants controller if you want one bad enough! BUT if we don't reach the target amount, nobody gets charged and the project doesn't get funded! We are very very VERY close, and only need $212 to get to the minimum. Don't you want to help make sure this science project gets off the ground?

Now that you are all jazzed up about it, before you head over to pledge a little cash, just fix that excitement in your mind - and if you go over there and see that we met our goal, oh please put the money in anyway! Every bit we raise over the bare minimum raises the stakes and saves a little stress.

http://kck.st/iyusM4

And oh, endless gratitude to all who have supported this project already! I am humbled by the amount of belief others have had in my dream.

<3

Pants Interface is a family of wearable technology projects that are completely open-source and aim to make it easy to install wireless interface devices into any garment or costume. This project is the brainchild of artist and designer Rachel Lyra Hospodar.

Right now Pants Interface is focused on something very simple - making fabric buttons. These soft circuit momentary switches use arduinos and wireless radios to allow anyone wearing the device to trigger, well...anything a piece of electronics can do. The device can speak USB to a computer and control computer software as well as speaking MIDI to sound, video, and lighting equipment. A performer could trigger projection cues, lighting cues, sound effects, audio loops, anything at all. A home user could advance songs on computer playback, control volume, or play games without being tied to a desk chair.

Next will come a full computer keyboard and mouse embedded in a pair of pants - so that users can get up from office chairs and work from more ergonomic (and varied) positions. It will also represent an interesting direction in the conception of computer interface devices - by attaching the devices to the users themselves, Pants Interface can change the way we relate to and use technology objects.

Some links to find out more about the project:

Our kickstarter fundraising drive - ends in 48 hours!
http://kck.st/iyusM4

A four-minute video about the kickstarter project
http://www.vimeo.com/24525501

The project website, listing more info about the project collaborators, the mouse touchpad project, and the philosophy behind it all.
http://mediumreality.com/pantsinterface.html

Pants Interface!

2011-06-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

Pants Interface is a family of wearable technology projects that are completely open-source and aim to make it easy to install wireless interface devices into any garment or costume. This project is the brainchild of artist and designer Rachel Lyra Hospodar.

Right now Pants Interface is focused on something very simple - making fabric buttons. These soft circuit momentary switches use arduinos and wireless radios to allow anyone wearing the device to trigger, well...anything a piece of electronics can do. The device can speak USB to a computer and control computer software as well as speaking MIDI to sound, video, and lighting equipment. A performer could trigger projection cues, lighting cues, sound effects, audio loops, anything at all. A home user could advance songs on computer playback, control volume, or play games without being tied to a desk chair.

Next will come a full computer keyboard and mouse embedded in a pair of pants - so that users can get up from office chairs and work from more ergonomic (and varied) positions. It will also represent an interesting direction in the conception of computer interface devices - by attaching the devices to the users themselves, Pants Interface can change the way we relate to and use technology objects.

Some links to find out more about the project:

Our kickstarter fundraising drive - ends in 1 week!
http://kck.st/iyusM4

A four-minute video about the kickstarter project
http://www.vimeo.com/24525501

The project website, listing more info about the project collaborators, the mouse touchpad project, and the philosophy behind it all.
http://mediumreality.com/pantsinterface.html

Two openings, one on each side!

2011-04-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

April? Are you kidding me? I'd say I don't know how it snuck up on me so fast, but I do know: I have been hiding out in the studio, working furiously and trying to slow the passage of time. Coming up are two very different openings: one in San Francisco, showcasing my mixed media acrylic collage paintings, and one at the St Vincent de Paul donations warehouse in Oakland. Conveyor belts... baling machines... reclaimed textile art. No Problem. Both feature works made using laser etching and cutting. Read on for details!

1. Relics of Memory
Art opening: mixed media acrylic collage

Thursday april 7th 8pm-???
Cafe Royale: 800 Post St
@ Leavenworth, San Francisco
refreshments 8pm
Sweet Trade music 9pm
wine, beer, and pool till they kick us out!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=156352244423883

2. St Vincent de Paul Fashion Artist-in-Residence Showings
Art opening: Garments, Accessories, and Photographs

Saturday April 9th 6-9pm
SVdP Urban Eco-Park Warehouse
9235 San Leandro Street
Oakland, CA
live music from Casio Beat Scene
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=121249354618677

Boat Hulls, Haute Frills, and Faux Bills

2010-11-13T13:33:00.000-08:00

Fashion designs (and until recently, boat hull designs) are not protectable under copyright law, or really any law at all. Companies who make piles of millions from selling mass-produced consumer goods (which can get kind of indistinguishable anyway, let's be honest) are reduced to protecting their trademark, which is the reason behind all those purses covered in logos. Infringe this, bee-atch!

I have always enjoyed this freedom, not to copy or to be copied, but to just not worry about it. The only thing you can protect is the structure you have built. Ideas must be flown from it like paper flags, to be torn to pieces by the wind and replaced anew. Here are some reading materials so you can decide for yourself. Make no mistake, this ties in very closely with the protection and fair use issues that have shackled modern musicians & media artists even as they try to break away from traditional major label distribution and promotional structures.

Free your art, the rest will follow.

opencongress.org bill info

washington post writeup
"Too often, copyrights are used to protect profit. It's no coincidence that the rise of the Internet -- which led to an explosion of low-cost distribution networks, new forms of competition and unexpected types of innovation -- has also led to calls for new and stronger forms of intellectual protection."
"Consumers have been told this is all for them. But it isn't. There's a reason we're skeptical of monopolies, and we shouldn't forget that even when they're dressed up as "copyrights." "

fibre2fashion industry writeup
"...this legislation will for the first time allow creative American designers to benefit from legal protections and at the same time continue to ensure the competitiveness of the U.S. apparel and footwear industry as it delivers fashionable and affordable clothing to consumers."
"As we move forward, AAFA (American Apparel & Footwear Association, supporters of the bill) will continue to seek the strongest trademark and copyright protections for the U.S. apparel and footwear industry competing in the global market for the benefit of their brand reputations, employees, and consumers."

Who do you believe? who is talking about artists and individuals, and who is talking about global market share?

Tiny laser collage painting

2010-10-05T18:52:00.001-07:00

Tiny laser collage painting
Originally uploaded by rachelyra

Tiny laser collage painting

Touchpad Pants at Maker Faire NYC

2010-09-24T15:42:00.001-07:00

I am onsite right now at the NY Hall of Science. I was here yesterday for the Open Hardware Summit which lit my brain on fire... but it was a calm and quiet lull before the storm compared to what is happening now. There is the sound of power tools and a smell in the air of cut lumber, machine oil, and spraypaint. Tons of familiar faces from Maker Faires past. I already ran into two guys from Techshop, and am sitting a few feet from the Life-Size Mousetrap. My friends are frantically bolting together a giant mobile squid and I am left wondering how much RF interference there will be tomorrow, and how much it would take to sink the project. I had to repair the video connector with pliers but the LCD screen they have on the stage where we will be presenting works with my machine and is bigger than I am.

It has been crazy getting ready for this, and there is some functionality that we had to give up on, but I am overall feeling very calm and pretty much ready. It has been a crazy journey of about two months since I conceived and began working on this project and despite the protesting murmurs of my inner perfectionist I am really pleased with how far it came and what we were able to accomplish. I wanted to take a few moments and shout out to everyone who helped me with it because it sure took a village! Without people promising support it is a lot more intimidating to start something so far outside of what I normally do.

Touchpad Pants

"by" Rachel Lyra Hospodar / Medium Reality

in collaboration with:

Jon Ferran - concept and circuit design

Jason Asbahr / Monstrous Games - concept, application, and software

Christine Hodges - software

Michael Shiloh - Arduino instruction

R. Miloh Alexander - electronics assembly and Zigbee troubleshooting

Mitch Thompson - Zigbee expertise

D. P. Chang - lending expensive hardware

Rich Humphrey - general hackery and awesomeness

Tara Ocon & Liz Carena - wearing the silly thing while I talk about it!

Noisebridge - source of amazing and supportive people and environment. and soldering tools. and distractions.

Of course I also owe amazing thanks to Sherry Huss, Dale Dougherty, and O'Reilly in general, for providing an awesome venue for crazy projects and believing that I would pull it off.

Now who wants to help me make a pants keyboard?

see what people wear

2010-09-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

Whenever I feel stuck I like to see what people are doing Out There in the World. Sometimes the studio feels like too much of a vacuum. A friend just turned me on to this style blog:

http://jakandjil.com/blog/

which inspires me to share my favorites as well.

http://facehunter.blogspot.com/ all over the place, london-centric

http://www.hel-looks.com/ helsinki

http://stilinberlin.blogspot.com/

http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/ all over the place, new york centric

http://nymag.com/nymag/strategist/look/archive/ i don't want to like it but i always do.

Touch Me!

2010-08-18T12:10:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. I am a genius. No, that's not quite it. I had a lot of help. I am a genius at asking questions, way past any point of propriety, until I really do understand. With tons of help from my friends (extra thanks due to Jason Asbahr, Jon Ferran, and Michael Shiloh), I have made a working soft circuit prototype that is an XY positional sensor. Meaning? I made a wearable computer touchpad out of fabric.

I will update this page with video links and more information as I get all that media together. Yeah baby!

(first update: here are photos of the mostly-assembled prototype. I am hoping to film a video walk-through before I sew it together.)

(second update: here is the video walk-through! check out the photoset linked above for photos from our trip to new york as well.)

I am hoping to show this project at Maker Faire New York on Sept 25-26. I was afraid to submit my proposal until the project actually worked, and while it is far from done it officially works. Now it's time to get out of the workshop and back to the desk and start telling people about it.

You heard it here first, kids.

Web Store & Summer Events

2010-07-22T16:12:00.001-07:00

Hi all! I hope everyone is enjoying the sun/fog/summer to its utmost. Medium Reality is still rockin it sustainable style. We have a bunch of SF events coming up, *and* want to announce the soft launch of our little web store.

1. website stuff - store, new pages
2. Prepare for the Playa
3. Beyond the Fence
4. Chic Fashion Week

1. website stuff
You can check out our new mini web store at http://mediumreality.com/shop/shopindex.html. We built it ourselves, super ninja DIY style, and are still evolving it so check back for updates, new photos, and more items. Any feedback you have about the site itself, the store, the things in it, or the way we look in these pants, feel free to send it on! LOVE hearing from you guys. Artists, performers, foodies, health workers: we support you! Please contact us for discounts and trade options. Customers, got a garment that needs some love? Some repairs are free! We want you to keep loving us.

Also just a rundown of some things we changed lately, for those playing along at home:

-updated our main clothing page, with more photos, new text, better code. We know that deep down inside you care about our HTML just like you care about shirts.
http://mediumreality.com/clothing.html

-have you checked this out? we published a rundown of all the ways we are sustainable as hell. We strive for transparent operations.
http://mediumreality.com/aboutproduction.html

2. Prepare for the Playa
Sunday July 25th & Sunday August 15th

Double Trouble! This huge show holds a dear place in my heart because, years ago, it was at this show that we produced our very first very own runway segment. Oh, how far we have come! It is so nice to return to the super nurturing environment of "everyone can do it!". In that spirit, we are putting out a call for models. This event happens twice, July 25 and August 15, but we are only doing the runway in AUGUST. If you want to model for Medium Reality in the August show, email me. We mostly need men but could handle a lady or three. No, you don't have to look like Vogue magazine. We think you are sexy just the way you are. Yes, you, bankers, computer programmers, punk rock cyclists. Bring it on. Clothes credits for modeling!

Prepare for the Playa

Sunday July 25th & Sunday August 15th
Time: 12pm-7pm
****FREE ENTRY****
http://www.preparefortheplaya.com/

@ Cafe Cocomo
650 Indiana Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
**
*Funky Playa Inspired Fashion shows* at 2pm & 5pm Showing all the latest and greatest Burner Couture for Burning Man 2010!
Burner Marketplace * Fashion Shows * Playa University * ARTist Benefit!
*Playa University How to Clinics* and Demonstrations on not just surviving on the playa... but THRIVING ON THE PLAYA!!
http://www.preparefortheplaya.com Playa wear strongly encouraged!

3. Beyond the Fence

Also a sale oriented towards prepping for burning man (or any other fabulous costume event. I think they have one or two of those around here at other times of the year...;) this one is different, they are both free, so check em all out or pick a date to find us that works best for you. We promise to bring everything that is too weird for retail. Tons of new hand-dyed shirts too!

Beyond the Fence
August 21st, Saturday
2:00 - 8:00 pm
Mighty - 119 Utah, SF
FREE Admission

4. Chic Fashion Week

http://chicfashionweeksf.com/
August 1-8, San Francisco

we are not sure where we will be in the schedule for this week yet but we are super looking forward to a week of full-force downtown style fashion events featuring Medium Reality (and a bunch of other talented designers...) to help fight AIDS.

As always I hope you are doing well, recycling your ass off, and having fun doing it.

R.
http://mediumreality.com
sustainable as hell menswear

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Pandora's Trunk & Medium Reality
http://pandorastrunk.com
http://mediumreality.com

Thanks for listening! if this was forwarded to you, maybe you want to subscribe. send an email to mr-subscribe@pandorastrunk.com

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Studio Event: Garment Rehab & Sample Sale

2010-06-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

Medium Reality & Miss Velvet Cream Sample Sale and Garment Rehab

Sample Sale: including amazing deals on last season's goods as well as first dibs on this summer's hottest new men's jackets, vests, and shirts from Medium Reality, also featuring special guest Miss Velvet Cream for maximum deliciousness for ladies and gentlemen (and everybody in between).

Garment Rehab: BRING YOUR favorite boring old GARMENT and commission some custom alterations, surface design, dyeing, rehabilitation of all sorts available a la carte commission style.

Entertainment:
Pandora's Trunk in video projections,
live music by house band The Sweet Trade,
French press coffee by Farm:Table,
food and drink.

free admission
916 Natoma St @ 10th, SoMa SF
June 22nd, 6-9pm
http://mediumreality.com/
http://missvelvetcream.blogspot.com/

photo by del geronimo

School's out forever!

2010-06-09T17:17:00.001-07:00

Stone fruit is starting to come in with a vengeance, and even in the perpetual summer of California there is nothing that lets you know what season it is like fresh cherries and peaches. Mmmm! Time to put on your best convertible shirt, roll up the sleeves in the afternoon sun and then button the cuffs when the fog rolls in, lounge on a hillside in a cool clean wind, eat something that will stain your lips red. While you are at it I want you to think about art and technology, how to implement them in your life, and what their implications are. Then come and talk to me about it.

#1. It's All True Art / Orson's / June 10
#2. Thread|Bare / The LAB / June 11 (&12-13)
#3. Wonderland art opening / June 12
#4. Forever Never Comes at Boxcar Theater / open NOW through June 26
#5. Oil spill coverage (no, you can't stop thinking about this yet)
#6. Satan's Angel / burlesque class / Monday June 21
#7. Medium Reality studio sample sale / Tuesday June 22
#8. The Dynamite Show! / Fou Fou Ha / Brava Theater / June 17-26
#9. Emrg N See / Oregon / July 16-18

whew! Is that enough stuff for ya? I know I am sleepy. Maybe it has to do with laying in a sailboat in the sun while I write this, but I'd like to think it's because of how hard I work. I'd like you to think that too, ok?

see you later, my lovelies. Be careful out there.

R.
Medium Reality: sustainable as hell
http://mediumreality.com

#1. It's All True Art / Orson's / June 10

7:00pm - 10:00pm
Orson Restaurant + Lounge: 508 4th St, SF, CA 94107

Mister WA presents "It's All True Art" Happy Hour at ORSON's

Our Featured JUNE Artist Rachel Lyra Hospodar
Designer and Founder of 'MEDIUM REALITY' Producer of 'PANDORA'S TRUNK' (Fashion In Performance)
Live sewing, live and remix video projection madness

Every second Thursday of the month, 'It's All True Art' invites YOU to meet the artist and participate in the live creative process while sipping perfect cocktails. Your host Mister WA is proud to bring to ORSON the creme of his transdisciplinary Arts peregrinations and celebrate Life and Art as ONE. An homage to Mr WELLES, the live wall cinematically magnifies a rich sensory encounter unique to beautiful San Francisco.
Great Place for a Drink, an Appetizer or Dinner. Admission is Free. http://orsonsf.com/

#2. Thread|Bare / The LAB / June 11 (&12-13)

Runway show and live auction:
Friday, June 11, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.
$10 – $20 sliding scale admission
2 tickets free to the first emailer!

Trunk show:
Saturday and Sunday, June 12 – 13, 12 – 6pm
Free admission

Your emcees: Michelle Tea and Danyol Leon
DJ: Warm Leatherette
Performance by: SF Boylesque
thread | bare is a celebration of Bay Area independent fashion spirit. Local designers innovating in form, material, and interpretation create one-of-a-kind works and are brought together with performers to showcase their fabrications. The clothes are auctioned right off the models as they walk the runway, while scores of outfits and accessories are available in the concurrent trunk show.
http://www.thelab.org/
2948 16th Street

#3. Wonderland art opening / June 12

Have you checked out this new independent design boutique in the Mission yet? It is a refreshing blend of fresh local urban designers with a Mexican flavor.

Romanowski with Peasants and Travelers presents
Artists without Boundaries for Doctors without Borders
Art showcase charity auction
Sunday June 12 6-11pm
Wonderland Gallery 2929 24th st, SF
http://peasantsandtravelers.com
http://wonderlandsf.com

featured and resident artists including
Ferris Plock
Paul Hayes
Mars-1
Medium Reality
...and many more

#4. Forever Never Comes at Boxcar Theater / open NOW through June 26

Super excited to have done the costume design for this Neko Case-inspired story. Heading out to the opening tonight!
Wracked by guilt over her brother’s death, Sandra makes a deal with the Fox Confessor, a mysterious and mythical figure who watches over the small, rural town of South Boston, VA. When the Fox Confessor demands payment, secrets are revealed and family sins are not easily washed away. Not even the hope of sweet new love with Dylan, a young trans man, can keep Sandra’s nightmares at bay.
http://www.crowdedfire.org/FNC.html
Boxcar Theater
505 Natoma St
(yes, you can lock your bike to that black metal gate.)

#5. Oil spill coverage (no, you can't stop thinking about this yet)

I'm afraid we're going to stop paying attention to this as if it has gone away... it hasn't! Gobs of oil are washing up near Pensacola, the feds are closing down all the fisheries. Think about a little harm reduction, and come up with a way to reduce your petroleum usage a little bit. A little bit more. I'll go along!

"Is rounding up undocumented workers and potheads more important than cleaning up the #BP #oilspill? Apparently.http://mojo.ly/8YrA2q"
http://twitter.com/MacMcClelland

Yes you can watch streaming video of the seafloor 5000 feet down. For some reason there are no little fishes anywhere in sight.
http://globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam
http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html

#6. Satan's Angel / burlesque classes / Monday June 21

These classes are with Satan's Angel, a visiting luminary of the burlesque world.
Two Burlesque Classes. $25.00/each (discount for both classes).
Please contact Stephanie@LadyMonster.com to reserve your space.
916 Natoma @ 10th Street. SF

Bump and Glide: 5:00 – 7:00pm. Movement with Costuming, Props and Advanced Techniques.
Spinners and Tassels DIY: 7:00 – 9:00pm. Learn how to make pasties and fringe tassels with spinners.
http://www.satansangel.com/TOUR.html

#7. Medium Reality studio sample sale / Tuesday June 22

There are no details on this bad boy yet because I just decided to do it, today! It's been a while since I opened the studio doors to the public and I want to bring in all my favorite people (that's you!) and give you first crack at summer stock, and last crack at some old things that I have marked down to move. Snacks and wine, naturally. Music? Most likely. Video? If we're lucky. Circus? If we're really really lucky.

Mark your calendars and gird your loins
Tuesday June 22, after work oclock
916 Natoma St at 10th
http://mediumreality.com

#8. The Dynamite Show! / Fou Fou Ha / Brava Theater / June 17-26

Sporting a clown-based mashup of costumes including a heavy Medium Reality flavor. Making you laugh till you pee yourself. You know you love Fou Fou Ha. Don't miss this show.
THE DYNAMITE SHOW!!!
~A song and dance extravaganza~
Phenomenal performance by Fou Fou Ha!
Accompanied by the live music of
The Gomorrans Social Aide and Pleasure Club
June 17th - 20th and June 24th - 26th
Brava Theater
http://foufouha.com/

#9. Emrg N See / Oregon / July 16-18

It's outside Eugene, and while I have never been to there, this laid-back party full of really diverse music and people who are there to have a good time (and love buying my clothes) makes me want to check out the town as well. I'm still working on travel logistics and have an extra ticket.. so anyone who has been craving a little road trip, drop me a line!
http://2010.emrgnsee.com/

Anti/Surveillance Fashion at Maker Faire!

2010-05-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

5.17.2010 16:32
Getting ready for the Anti/Surveillance Fashion Show (rehearsal)

This show is going to present the work of scores of different people from all over the place. We have scoured the internet for examples of fashionable inventions meant to thwart – or aid – in surveillance. Everyone we have contacted is super excited about the idea, and we have been getting the most exciting things in the mail! Today we got a pair of mirrored underwear, designed to protect against upskirt photography. I haven't seen them yet, but to judge from the emails coming out of headquarters they are very effective. Hopefully I can take a photo at our rehearsal this evening, but the technology may thwart me. The TV suit is coming tonight, along with platform shoes designed to keep streetwalkers safe. ----Bzzzt! Both of those items are designed to increase -bzzzzt----- surveillance.

5.17.2010 19:01

eric boyd's northpaw belt

TV suit prep

shoe phone open

shoe phone closed

Watching prototypes come together for a presentation is so exciting! Problem solving on the fly, fixing those last little things, and figuring out why the systems that worked perfectly in the workshop DON'T anymore... last year for Pandora's Trunk storytime runway show, we had to sew a microphone into a dress five minutes before the show started, because the audio pickups weren't loud enough on their own over the crowd noise. The TV suit is definitely my favorite from the Anti/Surveillance show, it's kind of an unexpected way to execute the idea but sure to please the crowd, it was good for many smiles in the rehearsal! We spent some sewing time securing all the wires to the garment. I love it when needle and thread meet electrons. Trying the TV jacket onto smartypants model Meredith while she tries to show us how she pulled off an entirely unrelated electronics project, why yes we would like to include that as well. So many WIRES a-flyin! Looking for an extra RCA adaptor or 6. Female to Female?? The TV signal is shielded black and white so you can get away with murder.

Putting together a fashion show is an exercise in imagination. Without all the bodies in a room it's just a few little boxes with wires poking over the top. At NoiseBridge, even with everyone in the room, it just looks like a group of geeks sitting around. It takes an act of supreme imagination to co-ordinate all these little bits together into a presentation set to wow the socks off a crowd who has had their eyeballs stuffed with science and mayhem all weekend. A lot of these projects aren't exactly garments, either – lots of accessories, additions to your own wardrobe. Belts that can help you think or move, shoes that you can use covertly to communicate, or to send an alarm. Constantly under the lens of the camera, fashion is a natural form in which to explore the relationship between surveillance and culture. How are we watched? How do we watch? How do we present ourselves to the eyes of the world?

City Circus is HERE!!!

2010-04-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

Just a few more days till we open Echo's Reach at Brava Theater.

(edited to add awesome review from our opening night. tons of photos, technically no rhinestones since we added them all in later)

I am super excited about this show. It is a full blown circus featuring youth and adult performers that have amazing skills. check out this video from last year

and then know that you have to see this circus yourself. It's got amazing skills, a compelling story, and the most fabulous costumes you have ever. seen. in your. entire. life. Why do I know this? Because Medium Reality did them, natch.

http://www.citycircus.org/

april events update

2010-04-06T14:04:00.001-07:00

The weather is blowing back and forth like crazy in San Francisco! Our trusty bike couriers have kept up with a smile, trekking Medium Reality garments back and forth across town and up crazy hills to all of our stores and theaters. (and bringing us snacks.... thanks TCB!) We have been churning the clothes out as fast as we can but it is an uphill battle to keep up with demand. Keep asking, though, we love you too and are growing our production capacity this spring. Keep the curveballs coming!

1. Sense & Sustainability - April 9 Medium Reality New York runway debut TICKET GIVEAWAY
2. The HUB - San Francisco! april 8th
3. SFestival April 8-13, especially April 11th
4. Red Hots Burlesque - School of Shimmy
5. Yuri's Night April 9 & 10
6. Alchemy May 1

[1.] Sense & Sustainability - April 9
This amazing opportunity in downtown New York fell into our laps super last minute but Medium Reality is always ready to rock it when needed. This sustainable runway show is being produced as a fundraiser to help finish a documentary about India. There are tons of amazing people involved and I have been hearing the buzz all the way from here! If you will be in New York, check it out!
On Friday April 9th, Joya Dass (former business anchor with ABC and CNN) and Aiden Murtagh of Eyes Wide Open Productions is hosting a "green" fashion show at the Aicon Gallery, 35 Great Jones St, between Lafayette and Bowery.
Their event is called “Sense and Sustainability” and features four designers with a focus on furthering the sustainable fashion movement: Swati Argade, Helen Asir, Rachel Lyra Hospodar (Medium Reality) and Marcus Hicks (Sarah Dixons Nova). Urbandaddy.com is the project sponsor. The event runs from 6-9 pm with the runway show beginning promptly at 8 pm! All proceeds from this event will go towards the post-production of her first documentary, called First Sight, investigating the world of curable blindness in India. To buy your tickets go to: http://www.firstsightthemovie.com/Fashion_Show.htm
Come by for a hot night of fashion, open bar, a silent auction offering you a chance to win a trip to a sustainable resort in Baja California! Editors and reporters from Vogue Magazine, Martha Stewart's Body & Soul Magazine and Time-out New York are attending, and are scheduled to do a story for their respective publications.

[2.] Global Action through Fashion - at the new SF HUB
Medium Reality will be joining a bunch of other local sustainability-oriented businesses to present information about our processes as well as showcasing tons of new work!
http://www.globalactionthroughfashion.org/events.html
FIRST BAY AREA ETHICAL FASHION NIGHT
Date: April 8th, 2010
Time: 6-10pm
Location: The Hub SoMa, San Francisco
Hub SoMa will open May 3 at The S.F. Chronicle Building - one block south of the Powell St BART station. The 8600 sq/ft space will feature an art gallery, offices, and large events spaces for members.
Address: 901 Mission St, Ste 105 San Francisco, CA 94103

[3.] SFestival April 8-13, especially April 11th
This little-festival-that-could put the roots in grassroots with its totally underground, forreal hip hop flavor. Impresario organizer Baraka Noel Mumbles has put together a straight week of dope hip-hop & poetry influenced artists working in all genres in venues across the bay area and beyond...
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=376884398131&ref=ts
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=352860822&blogId=531567273
http://myspace.com/codeoctopus
http://barakanoel.com/

SFestival SUNDAY featuring: pandora.s trunk fashion showcase
Little Baobab 3388 19th St San Francisco
SF april 11 SUN 7:30pm $5-$15 (suggested)

Shawn Franco from Modesto: myspace.com/trueedgeshawn
&
Jen Genius and Shakespeare & Cody Giannotti and Shye Powers & Stellar and meg.s ukelele

with the rabid fashion of mediumreality: mediumreality.com
& the oakland birds: myspace.com/aimeeamparo
plus Vigilante Nakedist & PANHANDLERS

[4.] Red Hots Burlesque School of Shimmy
Medium Reality is hosting everything-friendly anything-goes burlesque troop's saucy workshop series coming up at our studio - it culminates with performances at el Rio!
http://www.redhotsburlesque.com/

[5.] Yuri's Night April 9 & 10
We're travelling down to NASA on thursday to hang up some paintings, how often does one get to do that? Looking forward to an amazing science-oriented party at Moffett Field!
http://ynba.org/

[6.] Alchemy May 1
Mark your calendars now for this amazing interactive art party. Last year was an amazing packed experience of high- and low-tech fun. This year promises even more of both, with lots of in between too. Liquid nitrogen and finger puppets. And electronics. What could go wrong?
http://www.false-profit.com/2010/05/01/alchemy/

Fancy Integrated Measurement Form

2010-03-14T22:30:00.001-07:00

I have gotten so frustrated with trying to keep track of people's measurements! i usually scrawl 'em on a napkin and then add it to the heaps. no more, i say! I have made this nifty form. Any input on what should be on it is welcome. Maybe you have been sent here to fill it out. Yay! thanks for doing it. You can click through to the fully rendered form here or scroll down for the embedded version (with slightly odd formatting, because nothing is ever perfect).

Loading...

MR on newsstands and in your heart

2010-03-02T12:36:00.000-08:00

It seems like things are speeding up and spring is rolling forward with its own plans for renewal and revitalization! We're excited to tell you about quite a few things we've been cooking up for the occasion:::

-Medium Reality feature in Altered Couture magazine
-save the date - Debra Walker March 11th
-added email lists for super loyalists
-Trunk n Swap March 5th
-Debra Walker statement

********

ALTERED COUTURE is a nationally distributed magazine about reconstructed clothes! We landed a five page color spread with photos of tons of work as well as instructions and guidelines for patching your own clothes. We love sharing our trade secrets! Come to the studio and we will show you in person. You can pick this magazine up at tons of major newsstands... I have heard of Borders sightings. Better yet, contact your local newsstand/bookseller and ask them if they carry it or can get it. If you want, you can also buy it online at Atomic Books.

********

DEBRA WALKER, coming out in favor of FUN.
at Medium Reality & Boylesque studios
916 Natoma St (near 10th betw Mission & Howard) 6-9pm March 11th
Debra is a painter and longtime SF resident who has been up to her elbows in warehouse zoning issues and is sharp as a tack. She is running for supervisor of District 6, which includes South of Market and parts of the Mission. If you don't know much about the Board of Supervisors, well, now is your chance to find out in a fun and laid-back way. (The movie Milk also has a pretty great little intro to this uniquely powerful aspect of San Francisco politics and what makes it special.) Debra is running for the seat that Chris Daly is vacating due to term limits, and I think this is a great chance to get an ear on this board that is sympathetic to the arts and small businesses alike. If this all sounds very boring to you, then remind yourself and district 6 is the epicenter of the War on Fun and your interest in this race could help determine whether your favorite DJ's laptop gets confiscated (again) and how freely legal and underground venues alike may entertain you in the future. Welcome to our neighborhood! Won't you help us keep it open? We promise music, drinks, entertainment... and all the freak-friendly local politics you can handle. Page down to the end of this email to read a word from Debra, or check out her websites:
http://www.debrawalker.com/ - paintings
http://votedebrawalker.com/ - political

********

INNER CIRCLE
This is a one-time-only announcement about a very special email list, freshly configured and ready for your love! The Inner Circle is a place where we will announce special deals for our most loyal lovers. Things like: exclusive passwords for secret discounts on goods at events, periodic semi-private warehouse sell-off events where we make back stock available in our studio for super bargain purchase, and notices about new production. This last one is very exciting because we will tell you when we do a major production run, what the goods are like, and where we are stocking them to. This will make it easier to get them into your hot little hands! The list will be pretty low traffic, just 1-2x/month. Both lists combined won't exceed 3-4 emails a month. Feel free to invite anyone you think may be interested! to join, send an email to innercircle-subscribe-at-lists.mediumreality.com (and yes, it's freshly configured so even though i have tested it please let me know if you have any problems!)

********

TRUNK AND SWAP March 5th

It's time to clean out your closet. Help mother earth, recycle and save money. Meet new friends. Trunk & Swap is part trunk show, part fashion swap, social networking event and dating experiment with FASHIONABLE SINGLES

Attendees are allowed to bring up to 20 items in great condition (accessories, clothing, jewelry, art pieces, etc's) to exchange with fellow swappers. The swapper will receive one (1) ticket per: 5 items he or she brings. Each ticket will enable the swapper to receive one item that he/she likes from another swapper. Ten (10) local fashion vendors are on hand to show and sell their products. Presented By: San Francisco Fashion And Merchants Alliance, Inc. - http://www.sffama.com/

March 5th, 2010, Friday, 5-10pm
Sliding Scale $5-$10 Donation At The Door

ETIQUETTE LOUNGE
http://www.etiquettelounge.com/
1108 Market Street
San Francisco, CA

Fashion Showcase By:
LINZEL COUTURE - http://www.facebook.com/linzel.couture
CHIMOWITZ CLOTHING - http://chimowitz.com/?cat=4
with SF FASHION CO-OP - http://www.sanfranciscofashioncoop.com/

Live Art:
NATALIYA TYAGLO - http://nataliyatyaglo.blogspot.com/
IVAN LOPEZ - http://ivanlopezart.blogspot.com/

Music By: DJ SWORDS, spins mash-up, hip-hop, pop, early house, 80's

Vendors:
CHIMOWITZ CLOTHING - http://chimowitz.com/?cat=4
JUDY INDY - http://www.etsy.com/shop/judyindy
INTWINED - http://www.etsy.com/shop/intwined
MEDIUM REALITY - http://mediumreality.com/
MY HOMEBOY GAVE ME THIS SHIRT - http://myhomeboygavemethisshirt.blogspot.com/
PAPER GIRL DESIGNS - http://www.papergirl.vpweb.com/
ROYAL REDNECK- http://www.etsy.com/shop/royalredneck
SQUISHY SUSHI - http://www.squishysushi.net/

Happy hour is 5-9pm. Event ends at 10pm. We have live art, fashion installation and dj beats as entertainment. Attendees are encouraged to donate their left over items to The Pajama Project.

Event Site:
http://www.trunkandswap.com/

FASHIONABLE SINGLES
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=309739999157 .

********
A word from Debra...
As a resident and artist living in District 6 for over 25 years, D6 Supervisor and Democratic County Central Committee candidate Debra Walker loves San Francisco's active artist and nightlife community. Debra has been working with residents and nightlife to resolve what the SF Bay Guardian calls the "Death of Fun." The Death of Fun has shaken down some of the City's most beloved clubs and music venues, including DNA Lounge, Slim's, and Bottom of the Hill. Debra wants to work with neighbors, law enforcement, club owners, and promoters to prioritize safety while protecting San Francisco's diverse nightlife scene. Come meet Debra and learn how she is working to keep San Francisco fun, vibrant and livable for all!

Altered Couture - Medium Reality Nationwide!

2010-02-28T16:00:00.001-08:00

Check out our five page color spread in Altered Couture, a recent nationwide publication. we even got a cover mention, nice! the article is all about how to repair your own clothes. Buy it near you or online
at atomic books!

happily sharing our business secrets since day 1!

two birds one stone sounded good at the time...

2010-02-05T01:21:00.000-08:00

Today was a whirlwind! We are in the thick of it getting ready for boylesque's season opener on tuesday (free at the door, PS) which Medium Reality is styling, as well as two runway shows: the Economics of Art *and* Lovesick3 next week. We have healthy segments in both. Prepping an insane amount of blazers, 10-12 looks in each show, and trying to keep all the models organized in my mind. So many things i have seen this week, in fittings... the things i could tell you! But no, you must come see. Lovesick staged a crazy whirlwind of a fitting in the posh Etiquette Lounge on market st... Watching Jasmine Zorlu and all the other designers prep their models, I am getting really pumped at the level of quality we will be showing!

1.........
[sfboylesque]: PUSH at INFUSION LOUNGE this Tuesday, Feb. 9th. Doors open at 6pm. We've nearly 40 performers scheduled to entertain you with 22 acts spread throughout 5 different shows beginning at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00pm. There is absolutely no cover charge to enter this uber-swanky venue. Happy hour-priced drinks and food specials go from 6-9pm.
Infusion Lounge
124 Ellis Street
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=267604703996&ref=mf

2.........
The Economics of Art
This event will benefit the ground works for the new San Francisco Fashion Week, a fashion industry product to be produced by San Francisco Fashion And Merchant’s Alliance, Inc., a California non-profit corporation.

With a seven panel of industry professionals. We are going to examine the challenges in how to sustain a successful business in the arts, media, luxury, fashion and beauty industry.

FORUM SPEAKERS:

1) Bacca DaSilva – Bacca Da Silva Atelier - http://www.baccadasilva.com/
2) Corinne Phipps – Urban Darling - http://www.urbandarling.com/
3) Greg Griffin – The Barber Lounge - http://www.barberlounge.com/
4) Kari-Ann Frerichs – Altitude Promotions - http://www.altitudepromotion.com/
5) Leo Madrid - Linearis Institute of Fine Art - http://www.linearisinstitute.org/
6) JT Paradox - The SF Style - http://www.thesfstyle.com/
7) Deborah Paulino - Eco Couture TV - http://www.ecocouture.tv/

MODERATOR: Lorraine Sanders of 7X7 Glam Watch SFIndieFashion

FASHION DESIGN SHOWCASE by:
- Blanche Consorti - http://blancheconsorti.com/
- Joy Fan - http://vintagejoy.com/
- Medium Reality - http://mediumreality.com/

Art By: Hilary Williams, Georgianne Fastaia, Matthew Colaguiri, Jack Androvich, Matt Mullin, Carlos Michael Finn, Serge Gay Jr., Jim Winters, Erin McElroy, Jason Austin, Christine Kesler, Jana Blankenship, John Waguespack

MUSIC BY: DJ Diego Rockwell http://www.myspace.com/djdiegorockwell

February 11, 2010, Thursday - 6pm to 10pm
THE BARBER LOUNGE
854 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA

3.........
LoveSick 3
If you can’t cure the sickness, treat the symptoms this February 14th at The Mighty. You won’t find a cure for your broken heart, however, if you drag yourself over to 119 Utah Street at 7p.m. you will find a plethora of palliative pleasantries.
LoveSick 3 will have a live musical performance by The Goldenhearts, DJ’s Irene Hernandez & Martin Collins, special performance by Bad Unkl Sista, trunk show, art exhibition, kissing/photobooth, and a raffle - all supporting the main even: A smoldering fashion show of the latest in lingerie and fashion from designers such as Alexandria von Bromssen, Miss Velvet Cream, My Dirty Dishes, Medium Reality, Kayo, Invisible Hero, Ghetto Goldilocks, Tamo Design, Gelareh Designs & more. There will be special performance by Bad Unkl Sista & Collaboration Project with Alexandria von Bromssen. The evening’s Master of Ceremonies this year is Emily Morse of Sex With Emily. Come get LoveSick! www.lovesick3.com

Come get LoveSick it’s fun
2.14.2010
The Mighty - SF 7pm event starts

swankety swank is amazing! check it out this weekend...

2010-02-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

February 6, 2010
seven to eleven
The House of Swankety Swank cordially invites you and yours to Dark heARTs, an Atmospheric Convergence of Music, Fashion, Art & Magick! Join us as we celebrate the romantic meeting of imagination and intelligence. Our interactive environment will explore the positive change that comes from facing the shadows within.
See!
Artwork, Live Art, Fashion and Performance:
Phoenix
STORM
Kathryn Bernard
Eartha Goodwin
Stephanie Mufson
Selene Gibbous
Oliver Lowe
Bleu Loo
Toy Surprise
Hear!
Live Wind Player Justin Timothy
Live Electronic Music with Stevedood
Taste!
Cocktails for the night:
"The Dark Heart"
"Do What Thou Wilt"
"Light As a Feather"
Experience the Magick of the House of Swankety Swank!
Dress in Your Dark heARTs Best!
Art on View until February 28, 2010
289 Divisadero St. @Haight

Sexy Man Style Love

2010-01-19T09:35:00.000-08:00

We recently started stocking our shirts and a bunch of other goodies at Swankety Swank on Divisadero at Haight. Yay! This store is HUGE and chock full of super fun playtime goodies, even furniture. Yabette is super nice and I bet this is the perfect place to spend a rainy afternoon. check out this recent post they did pairing our shirts with some of the other designers' menswear!

Circus Ignite!

2009-12-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

Circus Ignite! A Benefit for the Dreamtime Circus Peruvian Tour
Saturday, 12/19
at Siberia (formerly Fat City)
314 11th St., San Francisco

9pm-4am
Doors at 9, Cabaret 10-11, Silent Auction 9-2, DJ's 11-4

http://dreamtimecircus.org/events/
$12 online presale
$15-20 sliding scale at the door

DJs, Dancers, roving performers and surprises! Cabaret 10-11pm, silent auction 9pm-2am, djs till 4.

Tim Barsky beatbox storytelling costumes, Dalva fine art

2009-12-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

I was a recent finalist in Style Wars, where we had to make fashion do-or-die onstage in five minutes or less, out of trash, onto live models. That scissorfight was the only thing that could have prepared me for the frantic energy of working on Tim Barsky's piece, The Bright River. The show is opening at Climate TODAY and running there for a few weeks in a sort of concert version before heading to Brava for the fully produced theatrical version in the new year. Don't worry, ALL versions are chock full of fly-ass costumes... which I am hacking and chopping together right now (eek!) on the bodies of real live beatbox boys. Stars, splatters, swirls, sparkles, hack/slash/style. Check below for full promo info! Make sure to come out for the lobby party, you know we know how to rock it. You might see me doing last minute embellishments, hunched over a pile of sequins, giggling.
http://thebrightriver.com

Meanwhile, also mark your calendars for next Tuesday, December 8th. I am hanging a ton of paintings at Dalva, including some seldom-seen rarities from the vault, along with amazing Bay Area stalwart Jeffrey Thompson. $2 Trumer Pilsners 7-9pm
http://mediumreality.com
http://homepage.mac.com/jeft/art/index.htm

Climate Theater, anonEvents & 37 North present:

The return engagement of 2005's critically acclaimed hit

THE BRIGHT RIVER
A mass transit tour of the afterlife

Written and performed by Tim Barsky
featuring
Kevin Carnes (Broun Fellinis) – drum set and samples
Alex Kelly (Mark Growden band) – cello and electronics
Carlos Aguirre (Felonious) – beatbox and live looping

"Imagine imagination was a thread, imagine that these words were writ upon water. What if everything after death is just as messed up as it is in life? The rich are still getting richer, the poor are still getting prison -- and everyone still has to rent to pay. So to pay the bills, Quick became a fixer. A missing persons specialist. He brings the dead back to life. And he wants to know: ARE YOU READY to cross over to the other side?"

More info: thebrightriver.com

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=178793017734

Tkts: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/90981

Directed by: Jessica Heidt
General Manager: David Gluk
Set Design: Mellie Katakalos
Lighting Design: Heather Basarab
Costume Design: Rachel Hospodar/Medium Reality
Music Director: Jessica Ivry

"Hop a subway to a restless hip-hop underworld.... A curious and often transfixing amalgam of Jewish, Greek and other folklore, film noir narrative, adventures in mass transit and riveting, beatbox-driven rhythms." - Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle

"Concert" version in the month of December:
Climate Theater
285 – 9th Street @ Folsom, San Francisco, 94103

December 3 - December 27, 2009
Thursday through Saturday @ 8pm; Sunday @ 7pm
Doors open one hour before showtime

Enjoy the Bright River social experience before and after the show with
djs, live music and light fare.
Tickets: Thursday/Sunday $15-20; Friday/Saturday $20-25
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/90981
Easy street parking, close to Civic Center BART/Muni
__________________________________________________________________

"Theatrical" version in January and February:
Brava Theater Center
2781 24th Street @ York, between Bryant & Potrero, San Francisco, 94110

January 8 - February 20, 2010
Thursday through Saturday @ 8pm; Sunday @ 7pm
Doors open one hour before showtime

Experience the Bright River's San Francisco noir underworld environment before and after the show with unique decor, djs, live music, refreshments and light fare. Socialize early and stay after the show for unique live culture in the heart of the city.
Tickets $17-35

Easy Parking located 2 blocks away, right next to SF General Hospital
2500 24th St., San Francisco, CA, 94110
(415) 206-8770
open 24 hours
$1.50/hr, max. $12

More info: thebrightriver.com
Ticketing: brownpapertickets.com, 1-800-838-3006
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/90226

Empty nightclub, getting ready for style wars

2009-11-21T20:57:00.001-08:00

Empty nightclub, getting ready for style wars
Originally uploaded by rachelyra

Tonight at mezzanine ! Running with scissors and chopping with abandon....

Rachel Lyra Hospodar

mediumreality.com
sustainable as hell menswear

pandorastrunk.com
independent artists producing narrative entertainment

11/14 Workshop: Fashion as Protest and Inspiration: Punk, Queer, and Freak Fashion

2009-11-10T16:21:00.000-08:00

Saturday, November 14th, 2-4pm

Art as Propaganda Workshop
Presented by Rachel Hospodar and Rachel Steinbeisser of Pandora's Trunk

We'll discuss political, environmental, and creative reasons for dressing uniquely, and how we can effect change through the language of clothing. The workshop will cover some basic handsewing and creative patch techniques, and resources for further learning. Please bring any clothes you'd like to creatively patch. We will have reclaimed fabric patches available to work on. Clothing in the service of radical propaganda!

Location: New Valencia Hall, 625 Larkin St, Suite 202, San Francisco. The fee is $10-20 sliding scale, materials included. For more information, please call 415-864-1278 or email baradicalwomen@earthlink.net

In tandem with this workshop, there will be a "Clothes Kitchen" the following Sunday, Nov 22 from 12-4pm - it's a clothing swap with sewing machines and teachers to help you make old clothes into new creative ones. That will take place at The Caretakers - 848 Divisadero @ McCallister, San Francisco.

About the Art as Propaganda Workshop:

Radical Women hosts a revolutionary workshop series that explores the interconnections between art and activism. Each month we'll learn a different skill and history of a radical movement, with an opportunity for participants to create art for a specific community action. Newbie and experienced artists and activists all welcome.

Fall 2009 Series:

Oct 10: Radical Media: The Heresies Collective + Political Zines (Paulina McFarland and Lex McQuilkin of Art XX Magazine)

Nov 14: Fashion as Protest and Inspiration: Queer, Punk and Freak Fashion (Rachel Hospodar and Rachel Steinbeisser of Pandora's Trunk)

Dec 12: Communal Craft and the Suffrage Movement: Banners for Protest and Public Space (Hannah Blair)

garment maker's oath - engineers of style

2009-10-30T10:22:00.001-07:00

(with apologies to the veterinary oath, which i am shamelessly adapting here)

I solemnly swear to use my fabulous engineering knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of human health & style, the relief of suffering at the hands of poor fit and bad design, the conservation of human resources, the promotion of the public good and the advancement of knowledge.

I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity and in keeping with the principles of cultural and business ethics.

Sales and Marketing Essentials workshop, bay area

2009-10-23T12:21:00.001-07:00

Fashion Business Inc. - Bay Area Presents:

Sales and Marketing Essentials

For start-up and growing apparel and accessory companies, come learn how local star, Sheila Moon, owner of Sheila Moon Athletic Apparel, has built her company from the ground up to include hundreds of accounts and become a household name in the active wear industry.

You will learn about:

· Building Your Brand

· Working With Sales Reps

· How To Choose And Work A Trade Show

· On-Line Selling

· Closing Accounts

· Getting Press

Presenter: Sheila Moon, owner of Sheila Moon Athletic Apparel. The mission of this Portland native and Oakland resident, is to bring fashion to the world of cycling. Sheila combines 15 years of bike experience with a lifetime as a fashion designer to create cycling apparel that is both fashionable and functional. Sheila is in the cutting edge of cycling fashion, offering tailored wool britches and lined jackets that travel from bike to boardroom. She also creates some of the finest cycling basics in the industry. Sheila Moon Athletic Apparel is a woman owned business and every item is created in artisan sewing factories in San Francisco.

When: October 28, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Where: The Small Business Administration, 455 Market Street, Sixth Floor, San Francisco.

Cost: $30/$15 for FBI members.

Register at www.fashionbizinc.org.

Sunday Oct 25 Pandora's Trunk presents Runway Storytime Adventure

2009-10-22T01:16:00.000-07:00

Pandora can't be contained inside of her trunk any longer! She is rolling out the red carpet and splashing around the gold paint because the thousand and one fabulous nights are upon us at last. Sunday October 25th at Brava Theater, this group of independent artists is coming together again to present multimedia storytelling like it's never been done before. Advance tickets are available at a discount on our website http://pandorastrunk.com/events/index.html. There are lots of different pricing options so that rich and poor citizens alike can experience the wonderment of our storytime adventures in high style.... buy multiple advance tickets for even greater savings (and shared good times)! We just put up all the artists' photos and links so check em out so you know what you are in for, ten times as much performative amazingness as ever before. http://pandorastrunk.com/conspirators/index.html

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Pandora's Trunk 1001 Fabulous Nights

a runway storytime adventure in three acts
multimedia fashion performance, live music, & lobby bazaar with indie clothing, art, micro foods, and more!

at Brava Theater
2781 24th St near Bryant
Sunday October 25th
7-11pm
8pm showtime

$6 poorboy special 6:50-7pm
$12 in advance
$15 at the door
http://pandorastrunk.com/events/index.html

Brand new narrative fashion adventures are coming, from the cutting edge of Bay Area sustainable artistry.
featuring designs by:

medium reality :: sustainable as hell menswear
miss velvet cream :: for tomorrows urban nomads
ghetto goldilocks
tamo design
dollymop
tj hooker
gelareh design
curiouser & curiouser
...and many others!

including performances by:

fou fou ha :: animated slapstick cabaret
sf boylesque :: re-imagining vintage burlesque
dreamtime circus
...and a special surprise guest!

live video and other wizardry :: ammo sf
live music :: surly, diana mccullough, phantom power

lobby music :: rostam (bibisf) & audiobird

http://pandorastrunk.com

As always, the designers of Pandora's Trunk could not do what we do without your amazing support and love. Thank you for checking out the links below, and forwarding the event to any friends you think might be interested!
Our Facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=156925004798&index=1
become our fan!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-CA/Pandoras-Trunk/147473945721

Ten pounds in a Five Pound Bag, a-hey!

2009-10-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Things are falling into place for Pandora's Trunk upcoming October 25th event!! Last night the musical director and I took ourselves to a warren of rehearsal spaces off of 6th st in soma, counting rats and junkies on our way in. We watched Michael play a gourd with a saxophone reed jammed onto the end of it and brainstormed ways to shoehorn some more magic into our Trunk. scroll down for some cool links on our fashion ancestry.

Tickets on sale now!!

Pandora's Trunk presents
1001 Fabulous Nights
a runway storytime adventure in three acts
multimedia fashion performance, live music,
& lobby bazaar with indie clothing, art, micro foods, and more!

at Brava Theater
2781 24th St near Bryant
Sunday October 25th
7-11pm
8pm showtime

$6 poorboy special 6:50-7pm
$12 in advance
$15 at the door
pandorastrunk.com

featuring designs by:

medium reality :: sustainable as hell menswear
miss velvet cream :: for tomorrows urban nomads
ghetto goldilocks
tamo design
dollymop
tj hooker
gelareh design
curiouser & curiouser
...and many others!

including performances by:

fou fou ha :: animated slapstick cabaret

sf boylesque :: re-imagining vintage burlesque

dreamtime circus

live video and other wizardry by:
ammo sf

Today on the inspiration train we are having tea with Paul Poiret. "Poiret was notorious for throwing lavish parties, and plays featuring his designs. Such famous parties, as, "The Thousand and Second Night" (based on The Arabian Nights), on June 24th, 1911 hosted over 300 guests required to dress up in 'Oriental' costuming. In cases in which guests attended improperly attired, they were requested to either outfit themselves in some of Poiret's 'Persian' outfits, or leave. "
images:
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/Poiret/king_of_fashion_images.asp
wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Poiret

Let's hope that our Thousand and One Fabulous Nights designers can avoid Poiret's sad fate. We promise not to run off and serve the military.

Late summer events announcement

2009-09-25T10:53:00.001-07:00

Summer's over? Are you kidding me? I'm not sure where it went! We're getting ready for San Francisco's hot and sunny fall and excited for our upcoming October 25th multimedia fashion extravaganza. Yes, you're invited. Can't wait? Sneak peeks this weekend and throughout October. Hope to see you there! Can't make it? stay tuned to the website for our videos and photos! check out this photo shoot from this summer: http://pandorastrunk.com/events/2009july.html

This weekend:

Summerland street fair at mint plaza
http://www.summerlandmintplaza.com/
Saturday, Sept. 26 11am-5pm

The 10th Annual Expo for Independent Arts!
http://artsandmedia.net/expo/
Saturday, Sept. 26 11am-6pm
Golden Gate Park Music Concourse (between the De Young Museum & Cal Academy of Science) .... the Bay Area's only grassroots connection fair for independent arts, music & culture

catch us at these other events coming up:
Castro St Fair - October 4th
Decompression - October 11th

.....and.......
Pandora's Trunk presents
1001 Fabulous Nights
a runway storytime adventure in three acts
multimedia fashion performance, live music,
& lobby bazaar with indie clothing, art, micro foods, and more!

Sunday October 25th
7-11pm
8pm showtime

$6 poorboy special 6:50-7pm
$12 in advance
$15 at the door
pandorastrunk.com

featuring designs by:

medium reality
sustainable as hell menswear

miss velvet cream
for tomorrows urban nomads

ghetto goldilocks
tamo design
dollymop
tj hooker
gelareh design
curiouser & curiouser
...and many others!

including performances by:

fou fou ha
animated slapstick cabaret

sf boylesque
re-imagining vintage burlesque

dreamtime circus

live video and other wizardry by:
ammo sf

at Brava Theater
2781 24th St near Bryant

Upcoming events

2009-08-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

1. Dreamtime Circus August 14 & 15

2. Homo a GoGo August 15 & 16
(runway performance August 16th 6:30pm!)

3. Beyond the Fence August 15

4. Prepare for the Playa August 22
(runway performance Aug 22nd 5pm!)

5. I take a nap.

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The Dreamtime Circus presents "Corpus Cabaret"
August 14th & 15th at the Garage Theater
~ a benefit for the Dreamtime South America tour ~
Music, acrobatics, contortion, clowning, juggling, burlesque and oh so
much more!

~ performances by:
Dreamtime Circus Clowns - Clown Magic
Snakred Booty- Balkan Booty Burlesque
Tara Quinn- Contortion
Calypso- Character MC, Magic, & Juggling
SuDoNu- Pirate Burlesque
Skyler Fell- of Accordian Apocalypse
Coi Coi- Comedy Juggling
Kurt Bodden & Michael Michalske- Improvisation and Clown
Caitlin and Summer- Acrobatic Duo
Chris Dunn- "Treacherous" Knife Juggling
Tallen Sturm- Masquerade Clown Dance
Christine Cali- Dance and Poetry
The Monkey Banana Band- Music you can laugh to
Steffy Sue- Ukulele
and more..

~ and a few extra treats in the midway ~

Tea Ceremony by Om Shan Tea
Face Painting
D.I.Y. Clothes & Craft Sale

What, when, where, & how much...
Dreamtime's Corpus Cabaret
Garage Theater ~ 975 Howard St. @ 6th St. in San Francisco
Two Nights! ~ Friday, August 14th & Saturday, August 15th
Doors open @ 7pm, Show starts @ 8pm sharp
$10 - $20 (and it all goes to support free shows and circus workshops
in Peru & Ecuador)

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http://www.homoagogo.com/

SOMArts
August 14-16
Noon-7:00PM
Craft Fair featuring DIY designers, crafters, haircuts and community organizations.

Fashion Show
SOMArts
Sunday, August 16 7:00 PM

Saturday, August 15: plenty to dance and sweat to from electronic to Homo Hop to Riot Grrrl. Featuring Coachella 2009 artists, Glass Candy performing at 9:45 PM. Glass Candy’s recent SF appearance packed the Rickshaw Stop with their dreamy, Italo disco via Portland sounds. Other featured performers include local faves such as Katastrophe, Jenna Riot and Chelsea Starr, along with SGT. Sass (HomoHop from Philly), Tender Forever (K Records, Portland via France), Tim'm West and Torri Fixx (Minneapolis). Lil’ Miss Hot Mess, takes on emcee duties and presents drag (kings and queens) and burlesque performers between acts. SOMArts, 934 Brannan

VISIT OUR ONLINE FESTIVAL GUIDE AND SCHEDULE FOR A FULL LISTING OF ARTISTS ON AUGUST 15

Sunday, August 16: the sweet sounds of Mirah (K Records), who recently packed Bimbo’s with a well-behaved audience of revelers. Other highlights include Nomy Lamm (Olympia/SF), The Casual Lust (featuring the prolific, local dreamboat, Yes Alexander) and Lovers (Portland). Local comic duo, Tara Jepsen (K’vetch) and Beth Lisick emcee as their alter egos, Carol and Mitzi. The SOMArts program wraps up with a fashion show curated by local designer, writer, artist, DJ and promoter, Chelsea Starr. Starr was recently named, “Most Fashionable Person,” by the SF Weekly’s Best of 2009. Fashion and theater come together for the festival's centerpiece and SOMArts closer at 6:30 PM. SOMArts, 934 Brannan

Cheap, Cold Drinks served by Hot Girls, Boys, Trannies & everyone
in between - Visit the Gaycation Lounge

SOMArts, 934 Brannan St. August 14-16. Including Bloody Marys and Mimosas (11AM-1PM) and drink specials during our afternoon happy hour (5-6PM).

The film portion of the festival takes place at Artist Television Access (992 Valencia) and features three full days (August 14-16) of screenings including the locally produced feature, Maggots and Men, which recently screened to a full-house at the Castro Theater during the Frameline festival. This gorgeous film is an experimental historical narrative set in post-revolutionary Russia. Other screenings include Homocore icon, GB Jones’s Lollipop Generation, music videos programmed by Silas Howard, experimental shorts, themed shorts programs, porn shorts programmed by NoFauxxx.com’s Courtney Trouble, documentary shorts and Mike Upton's, Patent Fever, which addresses the controversy surrounding the recent Gold Rush of Pharmaceutical patents and its impact on access to treatment for HIV/AIDS. Mr. Upton will be on-hand following the screening for a more in-depth discussion. ($5 per screening without a Homo For A Day pass or Big Homo (or higher) pass.

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Beyond the Fence
A Playa Inspired Independent Designer Trunk Show

August 15th, Saturday
Noon - 7 pm
Mighty - 119 Utah, SF

FREE
21+ over indoor

Over 40 of San Francisco’s finest independent designers are gathering together to bring you the freshest design for both on and off the Playa! There will be fabulous DJs from all your favorite camps:

Opulent Temple
Deep End
Space Cowboys
Green Gorilla Lounge
Dustfish

Have fun! Bring your hoops, poi and staff for community practice.
Isa Glitter Girl is performing. Indoor at 4pm and outdoor with FIRE at 6:20pm!
Costumes encouraged. Live photo shoots by renowned photographers!
Food by “What’s Up Dog”. Regular and veggie dogs!
Drink specials: $5 pineapple lemonade spritzers!
http://blog.nicolepresents.com/?p=260 for complete designer list.

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Prepare for the Playa

FREE ENTRY

Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 12-7pm

Artist Grotto and Courtyard of the Sports Basement
Street:
1590 Bryant Street
City/Town:
San Francisco, CA

Funky Playa Fashion Show at 5pm

Prepare for the Playa is a community event focused on offering the most unique, quirky, playa specific BURNER PRODUCTS & SERVICES from BurnerPrenuers! Playa Specific products and fashions from BurnerPreneurs!! Fashion shows, Playa U clinics, Live performance Plus a Playa Artist Benefit!! The ultimate selection of FAUX FUR, Lights, Sexy Fashions, Funky Fashions, Crazy Costumes, PLUS Sunscreen, camping gear, headlamps, camp chairs, tents, BIKES... you can even buy your ticket to Burning Man HERE!!

Playa University
Clinics & Demonstrations

Artist Benefit
100% Donation Bar
5% of store sales to
Chimera Sententia
Bootiesattva
Museum of UnNatural Selection

Donation Bar goes directly 100% to the Artists
15% Discount on Sports Basement Purchases Day of Event!

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while everyone else is at burning man, I will be taking a nap. Ahhh.

Clothing Is a Technology (whether it lights up or not)

2009-08-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here is the gist of a speech i gave on the Cypress Stage at Maker Faire, at the conclusion of the Pandora's Trunk runway storytime show. It is a topic I feel very passionately about!

It occasionally seems a little funny, right, robots and steam engines and fire and machines all mixed together with knitting, and sewing, and clothes. Garments are a technology, though, turning flat sheets into close-fitting three-dimensional shapes with subtle engineering. This isn't just about design. Garments trap a small quantity of air near your body; their close fit allows this amount of air to be small enough that you can regulate it with your body heat. This innovation is what allowed mankind to leave Africa and settle the temperate zones - without clothing, even here in San Francisco, you would die from exposure. Energy expenditures necessary to heat buildings and public spaces enough for naked people would bankrupt us all. Sorry, nudists. When the wind blows, we need jackets.

This technology has become so ubiquitous that it's unremarkable, like some kind of black box magic that just always works.

This industry that is so basic to our survival, like all modern manufacturers,is now faced with problems of scale and accountability that need innovation to solve them.

We are the designers of Pandora's Trunk and we assert that all manufacturers should be accountable for their ecological footprint, and that communities function best by marshaling their resources locally whenever possible.

Tiny Sewn House

2009-07-28T17:37:00.001-07:00

Day two
Originally uploaded by Plusea

Gearing up for the winter half of the year (headlog rush to Christmas) and building some little tiny projects into the schedule that will give me sheer art joy. It's fun to layer things on top of each other, connecting disparate projects and finding venn-diagram ways that they overlap and are relevant to each other. Art can be better at marketing marketable goods than feeding me directly! So, what fun marketing can i make?

Funk n Trunk this Saturday

2009-07-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not doing many straight-up trunk sales any more, but here is an oldie-and-goodie. Many of Pandora's favorite designers will be at Funk and Trunk this Saturday, including Medium Reality sustainable menswear, Pieces, and Tamo.

Summer with a vengeance

2009-06-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, the first half of the year really flew by! June's almost over, the longest day of the year has come and gone, and it's gay pride season in San Francisco. What's happening right now? Working on plans for Pandora's Trunk fall season and about to launch a line sheet offensive on an unsuspecting fashion world. I'm actively looking for suggestions of stores that might fit in with my work! Check out these awesome photos of Pandora's Trunk at Maker Faire.

The long-stalled SF bike plan is finally up for review right now. It was on hold for ages because they had perform an environmental impact review for the impact of installing bike lanes. I wish i was kidding. That part's over now, anyway. yay bikes! Ride one to one of these events tomorrow:

Funk n' Trunk
Independent Designer Trunk Show
Funky fashions, eats & beats!

Sat June 27, 2009
2pm - 7pm
Triple Crown 1760 Market Street, SF
No Cover.

20 Independent Designers
Adornments by Daria
Music by DJ4Life (dj4life.org)
Massage
Full Bar and Champagne Specials!
Delicious Tapas Style Bites

AND....

KöNIG [king of boylesque] is a pageant unlike any other.
Saturday, June 27th @ 8pm.
SOMArts Cultural Arts Center
934 Brannan Street
$15 only.
1-800-838-3006

The Gentleman and the Clown

2009-05-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

Here you can see a gentleman demonstrating the Omnidimensional transfragmentary oscillosextant. Maybe this nice lady will show us how it works at Maker Faire.

Stilts, clowns, lots of men running around in tight clothes, and a space invader of some kind. I think. Speaker dresses, or something, and a lady inside of a tiffany lampshade? The bellydancer said yes but we don't know yet if it's to bellydance or not. It's always an adventure putting together the script for Pandora's Trunk storytime. We will use whole parts of it over again from show to show but it sort of...evolves... over time as different designers get involved or their presentations change, and the story must adapt. It lives! first Maker Faire rehearsal this Friday night, thank bejesus that Bad Unkl Sista is directing the show this time, won't that make a difference!

Here is your host, mad, quite mad.

Ties for Deano the Hockey Superstar

2009-05-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

Deano wanted a tie like the one in my promo materials. That one is gone, daddy, gone but lucky for him I've got two left from that batch. Show & tell!

Rachel Lyra Hospodar

mediumreality.com
sustainable menswear

pandorastrunk.com
art, design, and performance events

craftcon.org
indie craft business conference

Dark Garden Ties!

2009-05-04T15:26:00.001-07:00

Sending off a batch of ties & vests to this amazing corset shop in hayes valley, Dark Garden. What they don't know yet is that we used some scraps that I dug out of their trash to applique these bad boys. Can you say reCYCLEd?

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

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Louise Bourgeois Retrospective

2009-05-02T05:50:00.001-07:00

This crazy lady is responsible for the creepy spiders that were/are along embarcadero in san francisco. I did not love the entire show the way I did with lee bontecou but the emotional response these spiders elicited is only *maybe* matched by bontecou's earlier vietnam-era works.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Growing Pains / Boylesque / PT photos

2009-04-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

I have started meeting with a branding consultant. We are developing a logo and some ideas to drive progress for Medium Reality. We talked a little about the differences between that project and the Pandora's Trunk project, and the trouble that many poly-project people have with putting the focus in the right place at the right time. I created Pandora's Trunk because I needed it as a promotional engine for my own work, and wanted to join forces with other artists to work together on those things. It is a great way for creators, who often do their work alone, to have co-workers and peers to interact with professionally on a regular basis.

Ernesto and I have declared that project complete. Not that it's over, just that it has been fully developed, is an awesome independent entity of its own, and has a huge and vibrant community of artists galvanized to produce work with each other. Hooray! Now it's time to focus on my work as one of those artists.

Medium Reality is a men's clothing line produced in San Francisco using recycled materials & sourced by bicycle: sustainable as hell. Look for these clothes to star in Pandora's Trunk runway shows at Maker Faire in San Mateo May 30th and Re-Compression in San Francisco June 6th. Keep your eyes on this space in the next 30 days. We are cleaning house, airing out the warehouse, and due to popular demand putting Medium Reality menswear for sale ONLINE for your international concealing-your-nakedness needs.

If you are in San Francisco check out Boylesque, featuring the debut of our new partnership with them - yes - Medium Reality produced costumes for a troupe of hot male burlesque dancers, stilters, chanteuses, and showmen.

Monthly, next showing tomorrow! April 28th & Wednesday April 29th at 11th & mission in SoMa San Francisco.

San Francisco Boylesque - official website

Wherever you are, check out this awesome slideshow from SF weekly from Pandora's Trunk April 18th in San Francisco.

Medium Reality Sustainable Menswear official website

Pandora's Trunk

Boylesque Jackets: vagabond in tails

2009-04-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

These snappy ragtastic jackets are a set of costumes for a vaudeville act here in san francisco.

The full set will hit the stage for boylesque's Das Kabarett: Recess-I$-on April 28 & 29 but you can get a sneak preview tomorrow, april 18th, at Cabaret Deconstructiv. http://pandorastrunk.com Http://mediumreality.com

xoxx
R.

Pandora's Trunk & Medium Reality - upcoming events incl. Cabaret Deconstructiv April 18th 1-5pm

2009-04-14T12:10:00.001-07:00

This is the last cabaret runway storytime we will be producing for a while so come and check out this amazing format! Read on for more info on this show as well as several others – an art opening in the Mission, a whole troupe of male burlesque performers (yes you heard me) wearing hot new designs, and of course Maker Faire on May 30th, where Pandora will return to the runway Science Style.

*****
Pandora’s Trunk presents Cabaret Deconstructiv: the Clown Edition!
Saturday April 18th 1-5pm

In the cutthroat world of runway design, there isn't a lot of room for levity, or playfulness... BZZZZT! THHHHBT! Pandora's Trunk is blowing a raspberry in the face of tradition. Presenting afternoon runway storytime series Cabaret Deconstructiv, *The Clown Edition*! Each designer's models represent thematic characters in our remixed runway show, where fashion and design is at the center of storytime. Set to a live original score, local designers showcase their best new and reconstructed garments, which our narrator TJ Hooker spins into a mind-blowing clowntastic fairytale. Yes, with free sangria.

Pandora's Trunk presents Cabaret Deconstructiv
Saturday April 18th
http://pandorastrunk.com
Design microbusiness showcase, show-off, and sale 1-5pm
Cabaret runway show & sustainable storytime at 2:30&4pm
Climate Theater
285 9th St., climatetheater.com
cover charge by sliding scale from $4
Refreshments * Live music

Delights for the eyes and various other body parts presented in a microbusiness show-off, where cleverly & sustainably operating folk are hanging out with trunksful of goodies to show and tell, and sell. Keep your ass and your money local and find out how your neighbors are building the future with... fun! Don’t forget to grab a free back issue of Craft Magazine to celebrate the upcoming Maker Faire!

*****
*Also coming up*….

*****
Opening Reception
Secession Art & Design gallery/boutique/workspace
Friday April 17th 6:30-9:30
http://www.secessionsf.com/
3361 Mission St (across from 30th St Safeway) SF CA

*****
Announcing a splash first hit in a whole new style of collaborations! Pandora’s Trunk designers have started a new program of costume sponsorship for SF Bay Area performers who we think need to be rocking a cutting edge style to go along with their world-class performances. You’ll barely have time to miss Cabaret Deconstructiv. Be sure to check out advance and discount tickets!

Sf Boylesque's monthly DAS KABARETT is now presenting its fourth episode, Das Kabarett: RECESS-I$-ON on April 28th & 29th. In a time of budget cuts and global economic crisis, Boylesque is throwing caution out the window and staging their largest show yet. More dancers, more singers, more musicians, more flesh, and more laughs add up to more fun for all! Free wine, giveaways, and complimentary treats are de rigueur complements to the debut of Das Kabarett’s newest family members, The Barnaby Sisters, styled by Medium Reality. Surprise musical guests are sure to delight at the vagabond arcade begining @ 7:30.

This show will act as a benefit for Food Not Bombs (http://sffnb.org/), a 28 year-old, world-wide organization dedicated to the principles of nonviolence, providing free vegetarian food and literature to anyone without restriction. Every dollar collected provides 4 meals to the hungry.

Tuesday 28th & Wednesday 29th @ 8pm.
Mama Calizo's Voice Factory
1519 Mission Street
$20 discounted advance tickets
save an additional 10%
www.sfboylesque.com
1-800-838-3006

*****
Pandora's Trunk in May

Pandora's Trunk is happy to announce a trip to San Mateo for Maker Faire, the biggest & bestest showcase of all things patched together, hacked on, welded up, soldered to, folded from, and made out of every kind of cool thing you can imagine. This special runway storytime presentation will follow immediately after the traditional Swap-O-Rama-Rama remade fashion extravaganza, and present top-notch professional design talent from the Bay Area and beyond in a narrative fashion storytale set to live music. Keep your eyes peeled for the return of one of SF's prodigal designers - Lara Grant will be taking a break from hacker school in New York to create and showcase a pair of sonic dresses. Prepare to be amplified!

Saturday, May 30 5:45 pm
Maker Faire
http://makerfaire.com
San Mateo

If you’ll think back way back when, you’ll remember all the ticket and special magazine giveaways we have done in years past… we love Maker Faire and Maker Faire loves us! Be sure to check out this awesome event; it’s a nexus of love, support, and idea generation for all sorts of bay area folks who are, very officially, Up To No Good.

Till next time,
xoxxxxx

R.

Maker Faire & Urbanography

2009-04-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

Just posted up a bunch of photos from a shoot this past weekend. Check out this amazing location! I was a model this time. This was hard for me but loads of fun. It was helpful to have such an easygoing group.
medium reality & urbanography

Also save the date! We are confirmed to perform Pandora's Trunk Storytime Runway Showcase at Maker Faire in San Mateo on May 30th. It's going to be an amazing event - get involved and get in for free! send me a message if you want to help make the runway show happen.

Interlinkocity

2009-03-30T23:17:00.000-07:00

I am experimenting with syndicating myself using free webtools... Interlinking everything so that, for example, when i upload files to flickr, it posts them to facebook for me. When I tweet on twitter it shows up in four different places on the web - including to your left if you are viewing this in its original form. I am trying to find all of the ways that i can to tell people about things all across my internets at once, posting all my juicy content in as few keystrokes as possible...leaving more time for the making! sometimes it's a delicious way to share event photos and artistic products, sometimes it can slip over into self-referential madness.

I'm experimenting with using internet widgets across all my different websites! I want YOUR feedback - tell me if it helps you to find out about stuff, or is annoying and repetetive, or even worse dysfunctional.

Pandora's Trunk Spring Save the Date

2009-02-25T17:49:00.001-08:00

Pandora’s spring series is once again bringing you storytime fables told in fabulous style, with fashionable morals and immoral fashions all tied up in a canvas sack with a bow on top. Design and performance from a whole host of humans including powerhouse Bad Unkl Sista and newcomer Aradia Sunseri as well as Surly on viola and our inimitable narrator TJ Hooker, otherwise known in certain circles as Khadijah from the House of Salad.

Pandora's Trunk presents
Cabaret Deconstructiv
pandorastrunk.com
Saturday March 14th
& Saturday April 18th
Design microbusiness showcase, show-off, and sale 1-5pm
Cabaret runway show & sustainable storytime at 2:30&4pm
Climate Theater
285 9th St., climatetheater.com
cover charge by sliding scale

Refreshments * Live music

Delights for the eyes and various other body parts presented in a microbusiness show-off, where cleverly & sustainably operating folk are hanging out with trunksful of goodies to show and tell, and sell. Keep your ass and your money local and find out how your neighbors are building the future with... fun!

pandorastrunk.com

Bad Unkl Sista
TJ Hooker
Aradia Sunseri
Surly on viola
GhettO GoLdiLOcKs
Medium Reality
Estar
Miss Velvet Cream
Curiouser and Curiouser
Pallas Ravae
Domini
Cotton Candie Couture
Tamo Designs
Re:Finery
5733

Runway & Walkabout Models
Val Cunningham (Modeinstyle)
Jade Rivera (Curiouser & Curiouser)

March's show will be about growth and exploration, disasters averted. April is clown month at Climate and we are going to take part with clowns, monsters, an evil force and overflowing joy. At one of these two shows we are going to premiere the Medium Reality fashion/music/art video that Aharon Bourland (of happy red robot fame), Totter Todd, and Fkir Elderfae have been working on - featuring TJHooker esq. as well as Medium Reality and GhettO GoLdiLOcks clothing. hooray! Let's all make more awesome art-love together, hm?

New photo shoot complete sets!

2009-02-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

some recent photo shoot sets have finally been processed and I actually have time to post them! here are a few, check out them all!

http://mediumreality.com

medium reality clothing
revellray photography

Compostmodern conference this weekend - and beyond!

2009-02-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

Compostmodern is fertile ground for sustainability. Presented by the San Francisco chapter of AIGA and the AIGA Center for Sustainable Design (CFSD), this interdisciplinary conference explores the range of design thinking necessary to create a socially and ecologically responsible society. http://www.compostmodern.org/

Compostmodern 09 will be held at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco on Saturday, February 21. The event will be webcast live and will be available for 90 days following, encouraging online participation and satellite events at AIGA chapters and educational institutions everywhere.

LoveBOMB & Harold & Maude

2009-02-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

It's been a quiet start to the year at Medium Reality & Pandora's Trunk, focused on moving the studios again (back to our old digs downtown!) and producing a video project. I wanted to let you know about some upcoming events, fresh goods, and all the usual amazingness, both flash and substance.

LOVEBOMB: A lover's soiree.

Join us for swanky beats, sexy clothes, lingerie, burlesque dancers, and a whole lotta hubba hubba.
Also featuring a day spa for all your pampering needs and cute little gifts perfect for the occasion.

Saturday, February 7th @ Club Mighty | 119 Utah Street
2:00 pm - 7:00 pm

...and when the mood gets swanky and everyone is feeling sexy...
Burlesque ~~ from 4:00 to 6:00.
Performances by:
Les Moquettes Coquettes
Cheese Puffs

---
Edible Love Chocolates - ediblelove.com
S&G Clothing - sandgclothing.com
KAYO - www.kayoanimeclothing.com
Ellamental - www.ellamental.net
Hipsterr Belts - hipstirrbelts.com
Caraucci - caraucci.com
Silver Lucy Design - silverlucydesign.com
Miranda Caroligne - mirandacaroligne.com
Sarah McAlister Jewelry - goblingblinggo.com
Minerva's Attennae
Ghetto Goldilocks
MoDA Sandrita
Medium Reality - mediumreality.com
Lucid Dawn - lucidawn.com
Phoenix Rising - phoenixrisingartists.com
Kiyumi Jewelry - kiyumijewelry.blogspot.com
Tamo Designs - tamodesign.com
Danielle DeRoberts (Onerary)
Kucoon Jewelry - kucoondesigns.com
Curiouser and Curiouser - curiouserandcuriouser.vpweb.com
Refinery
Wee Hats by Justin Credible
Alkemy Designs - www.godessalchemyproject.com
Booty Boutique - www.bootyboutique.com
....
and more.

DJ's..
Haj (Subswara, NYC)
Robb Green (Shameless)
Mozaic (Glimmer of Dope)
Obi-J (False Profit)

I will have some rad new clothes there, the leading edge of my own personal embroidery revolution. Send some vector graphics my way if you want to see 'em on the clothes.

Also if you are feeling feisty, or even a little curmudgeonly, Harold and Maude might be for you. If you haven't seen this hilarious 1971 cult classic, come see it at Brava Theater, the fabulous restored vaudeville house where we held our December runway show. They are opening their doors for us to invade again. Join me!

Harold and Maude
Thurs, Feb 12th
Brava Theater Center
2781 24th St, at York near Bryant, SF
$5 suggested donation
doors open at 7:30, show at 8.

Harold and Maude, one of the weirdest and most inspirational classic love stories about an unusual love affair, is a fabulous way to beat the February blues, connect with your loved ones, and I promise you won't be squicked out by it if you're not feeling the loving spirit. Well, maybe a little, but not by butterflies and sunshine and googley bedroom eyes, just by effing weird awesomeness.

fractal wood burning pt1 of 3

2009-02-05T00:16:00.001-08:00

fractal wood burning pt1 of 3
Originally uploaded by Æther

Stuff like this seems so embryonic but compelling... This spring seems to be shaping up to be all about art/technology intersections and fashion/music intersections. In my spare time this summer i want to make a music server that you can cuddle with.

Happy Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

Let me first say, before erupting into (mostly) unqualified joy at what is happening, that for the last few months I have been unable to stop thinking of the one-drop rule. It's ironic, understandable, and a more than a little sad that this racist rule invented long ago to increase the reach and human properties of slave owners would continue to inform the way we imagine identity in this country. I am a huge proponent of self-determination, and believe people should be able to draw their own identities. It is no small wonder that anyone growing up brown in this unequal nation would want to ally themselves in identity with others suffering from the same depradations. I deplore the divisive nature of this conception, though, where I as a mongrel american am supposed to be somehow 'other' from people who fit this same description. I have no doubt that I have benefited from looking like those in power in this country. I have also repudiated these benefits wherever I can, dressing in rags and with my blond hair chopped and raggedy and teeth gnashing.

In the last century, a people I consider my people were gathered up and wholesale slaughtered, a full third of this diasporic nation erased. What shocked me a few years ago was finding out about the boatload of refugees that was turned away from every nation, wandering the seas until they sank. And yet, in claiming myself a one-drop jew, I alienate myself from my father's Catholic family, coming to this nation in their own way to flee persecution and poverty. (And where does this leave the Latino contingent of my family, emigrated in 2008 tto Miami?) I honor all these parts of my heritage but even as I do, I cast them away as a way of defining myself.

I think of the urban public schools I attended in Pittsburgh, and the books we read by Richard Wright and Chinua Achebe. I thought of The Women of Brewster Place when painting black ladies' faces on brick walls for Song For Coretta, a play about Coretta Scott King's funeral I am working on right now at Brava Theater. I am reminded of my travels across the US, and reminded of the time in Portland in 2001 when I found The Men of Brewster Place in a book store, sitting down right then and there to read the whole thing.

I just watched G Bush get into a helicopter and leave the White House. I see a new man, a good man, standing there.

This is the year I will finish editing my book about America, and I tell you here and now that I honor my past but cast off these other mantles of identity and declare myself, simply, an American. Call me or yourself what you like but we are also this thing together.

Oh what a thing to be on this day!

A Little Bit More!

2008-12-16T13:12:00.000-08:00

The musical explorations of Surly's viola alongside electronic elements will continue at this last show of the season. Fashion trunk sale du jour, of COURSE! Get yourself some goodies before it's too late!

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

winter trunk show
Wednesday Dec 17th
6pm - 10pm
the Bus Stop Gallery
135 Dore St

featuring:

Bad Unkl Sista
Callibug Designs
Cotton Candie
Dida Jewelry
Domini
Faernworks
Fati Beloved
Ghetto Goldilocks
Gibbous
Interplanetary Craft
Jasmine Zorlu Millinery
Kayo Anime Clothing
Kittinhawk
Kiyumi Jewelry
Medium Reality
Minerva's Antenna
Orelafay Metalwork and Jewelry Design
Palace
Tamo Design
Tooth Gems Refinery
Venus and Velvet

with music by:

Pym and Surly
F'kir Elderfae
and guests!

plus:

snacks, refreshments, living art, hot pants, and you.

Pandora's Trunk announces Success in all endeavors!!

2008-12-05T14:29:00.000-08:00

Last night Pandora's Trunk presented Visual Vaudeville & Built Burlesque at Brava Theater Center to resounding cheers, thunderous applause, and the clickety flash of cameras. Hooray!

Kyle Hailey (wetribe.com) wins the prize for super speedy photographer guy of the evening. Here is a photo that he took of Bad Unkl Sista performing the beautiful dream sequence. You can see more of his photos of our show here. Updates coming soon on dates for our cabaret series at Climate Theater this spring, Feb-March-April. Clowns in April!!

Visual Vaudeville December 4th 6-11pm

2008-12-02T01:46:00.000-08:00

Coming up this Thursday is the biggest, baddest show ever produced by Pandora's Trunk! We're doing a full runway show with live music in a gorgeous space, with a theatrical twist - the designs and models will tell a narrative story! We debuted this compelling format in cabaret style at Climate Theater to great success, and are excited to bring the show to the next level. Check out the ever-changing Conspirators page on our website to get a glimpse of some of the artists that you will be able to meet on Thursday.

Pandora's Trunk & Brava Theatre present
Visual Vaudeville & Built Burlesque

Thursday December 4th 6-11pm
Floor Show at 8 & 10pm
2781 24th St (at York near Bryant) SF
FREE admission

Storytime Runway Show
Holiday Design & Craft Sale
Live Music and Entertainment
Refreshments

flyer

Pandora is taking over this enormously gorgeous vaudeville theater and filling it with built burlesque - the freshest indie craft and design will be presented by its makers in the historic lobby. The beautifully restored theater itself will be a house of performance delights, with live music acts opening for an innovative narrative fashion presentation: a storytime runway show at 8 & 10 pm.
Pandora is bringing you a fashion show turned on its head, a costumed storytime in high style. Drag performers and captured princesses mix with bad banker men and jeweled birds, set to viola and saw music. Check out a fully produced stage show, performed to live music, and meet and greet with the clothing and costume geniuses behind it all. Buy the fashions that you see onstage off the rack, fresh from each designer's hot little hands.
Fashion designers in the floor show will include local design & performance powerhouses Bad Unkl Sista, Miss Velvet Cream, Medium Reality, Ghetto Goldilocks, and many more!! Wine by Patz & Hall, beer by Lagunitas.

pandorastrunk.com

Cabaret De(con)structiv - total success!

2008-11-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

The cabaret show this weekend was a fantastic success! People came and watched the show, clapped and loved it. Everyone involved had a great time, and amazing friends kept appearing to solve problems almost before they could happen. We are already in discussion with the venue for a series of three dates this spring, you can be sure we are going to do that again!

check here for more images etc, and keep us on your mind!! Coming up we have our holiday blowout event at Brava Theater on Thursday, December 4th. I have been in steady communication with the theater and all the designers, and everybody is getting on board! it's going to be an amazing show. Stay tuned to the Pandora's Trunk website to find out details on all of the artists involved... that web update will be coming in the next few days!

It is a busy and crazy time but man I kind of love it! I hope you are all doing well!

New Urban Exploration Photos: SF Bayview

2008-11-25T15:14:00.000-08:00

I went photo-strolling this morning with some friends and got to see some spooky-silent grey and beautifully decrepit parts of town. Beautifully toxic too, I am sure.

Check out more photos here, and stay tuned for another post about Cabaret De(con)structiv, our amazing success last weekend!

Cabaret De(con)structiv Nov 22nd 1-5pm

2008-11-18T15:40:00.000-08:00

This event is really shaping up! Chatting with all the different artists involved is really reinvigorating my creative energy! Everyone has so many great ideas, it's making me really excited to carry them out. That's good, because it's a lot of work!! Come and see what we're working on! We're making sangria :)

Pandora's Trunk presents
Cabaret De(con)structiv

Climate Theater * 285 9th St at Folsom SF
1-5 pm, Saturday, November 22nd
Free Admission * Live Performance * Free Refreshments

Cabaret De(con)structiv is a fashion show turned on its head, a costumed storytime in cabaret style. Drag performers and captured princesses mix with bad banker men and jeweled birds, set to viola and saw music. Check out a fully produced stage show, performed to live music, and meet and greet with the clothing and costume geniuses behind it all. Buy the fashions that you see onstage off the rack, fresh from each designer's hot little hands.

pandorastrunk.com

De(con)structiv is really coming together!!!

2008-11-13T17:03:00.000-08:00

Whew. After having to - very unexpectedly - temporarily relocate Medium Reality Studios, I was stricken with The Flu. It's become a pattern: anytime something super stressful happens to me, when it's over, I get sick. This spring I kept the flu at bay with vitamin C but wasn't as successful this fall, ending up laid up in bed for almost a week. I am on the mend, though, and my new studiomates have been very kind in putting up with my pathetic attempts to get work done while hacking like a victim of the Black Plague. Charming, I know. Now that my head, and lungs, are clearing, I am able to put some thought to November 22nd's Pandora's Trunk. Eeek! That's pretty soon. The event is coming together in fits and starts, although I do sorely miss the previous week. The violist called me today and I sent her the script to take a look at so that she can maybe get a chance to, oh, practice the music she will use for the show? She is very relaxed about the time situation and is prepared to wing it a little! Bless my friends and their indulgence of my crazy visions. A few days ago someone emailed me asking to help manage december's show. Yes please! Now I just gotta get butts in the door to see what everyone's been busting ass on!!

While you are waiting, on tenterhooks, to hear more about the show, check out this awesome director lady's post about a tie I sent her... sending product through the mail reminds me of glue sticks and zines and high school. I try to come off as more sophisticated now but it's the same basic itch being scratched, don't kid yourself.

Putting together a show like nobody's ever done before

2008-11-11T15:43:00.000-08:00

What a funny feeling! Innovation is always dangerous, both to the status quo and to the innovator. So much could go wrong! You have to keep explaining what you are doing!

November 22nd Pandora's Trunk is going to be amazing. We are producing a runway show like nothing you've ever seen before - it's not just a series of talented designers, it's also a storytime fable narrated by a spooky awesome drag performer. December 4th will be that, x10.

Come on over!!

Pandora's Trunk presents
Cabaret De(con)structiv

1-5 pm, Saturday, November 22nd
Free Admission * Live Performance * Free Refreshments

Cabaret De(con)structiv is a fashion show turned on its head, a costumed storytime in cabaret style. Drag performers and captured princesses mix with bad banker men and jeweled birds, set to live viola and saw music. Check out a fully produced stage show, performed to live music, and meet and greet with the clothing and costume geniuses behind it all. Buy the fashions that you see onstage off the rack, fresh from each designer's hot little hands.

http://pandorastrunk.com/images/flyers/pandorastrunk_fall08season_forweb.jpg

Van Orlax: urban vinyl

2008-10-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

We are putting on a production of Friends, by Kobo Abe, at Brava Theatre. It opens November 6th. I am the set designer. The play, written as a commentary on society's control of the individual, is being presented as an absurdist take on gentrification and the present times. The main character is a grown man with a toy collection. Today I met with our wonderful props artists at Kid Robot in the upper Haight and we looked at toys, threw around ideas, and picked a bunch of things out! We bought this one (and a bunch of others... we each went home on the bus or skateboard with arms teeming). It is 20" tall. Here is another color scheme of the same sculpture:

Van Orlax

Lineup confirmed for Pandora's Trunk this Saturday!

2008-10-24T01:10:00.001-07:00

Pandora's Trunk
Oct 25th, 2-8pm

Music & Performance

3-3:45 Diana McCullough - variously saw, guitar, vocals

5-5:45 Diana McCullough - variously saw, guitar, vocals

6-7 Jesse Roadkill - audience interaction accordion clowning

7-7:30 Diana McCullough - variously saw, guitar, vocals

Art & Design

Medium Reality

Reconstructed Menswear

Bad Unkl Sista

Mistake Media Amazingness

Miss Velvet Cream

Neo-Archaic Madness x2

Paper Organics Jewelry

One of a Kind Wearable Sculpture

Ghetto Goldilocks

Reconstructed Sweater Ragamuffin

E-Star Hats

Hats and Headpieces for All Occasions

Recover Your Thoughts

Blank Books made from Recycled Materials

Pallas Ravae

Romantic Found Object Jewelry

Minerva's Antennae

Tribal Clothing, Costume, and Adornments

Kelsey's Creations

Confections Dripping with Lace

+++ More artists, info, and images coming soon for October 25th.

Hobo Hyphy Location Photo Shoot

2008-10-23T23:20:00.001-07:00

This photo shoot was quick and dirty and fantastic, climbing all over the rickety piers. I wish the photos showed me trailing desperately behind with a wheeled suitcase full of shirts.
All these photos were taken at 5th Ave Marina in Oakland. It's ragged and dirty and coming apart - the opposite of South Beach, where I usually go sailing. I love it there and was thrilled to see these sneak peek photos from the shoot.
It was hard to manage the different aspects of the location - it's amazing the difference in location shoots and studio shoots, both in what has to go in and how it can come out. I don't think any clothes got ruined on location - although i did put iron marks on two of them rushing to get ready. Doh!
View the rest of the photos.

RevellRay Photography
Medium Reality Clothing

October 25th and Full Season Card

2008-10-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

Pandora is ready to drop this weekend! We have a confirmed lineup of awesome performers, playing the saw, accordion, and guitar, singing, dancing, and even a little clowning. We have an entire season planned of unprecedented design entertainment. All we need is you.

As always any help telling your awesome friends about our awesome free party is super appreciated! Looking forward to seeing you all and showing you what we have been up to!
*******************

Pandora's Trunk
Indie Arts and Fashion: sale, salon, and performance!

October 25th, Saturday, from 2-8pm
BUS stop, 135 Dore off Folsom at 10th
http://pandorastrunk.com

free admission
live music
free drinks

As the sun orbits away from the center of our city, keep the chill out of your bones with a brand new warm jacket and a story told by the visionary who made it! This fall and winter Pandora's Trunk is opening anew, letting loose a wandering group of designers. Like minstrels or troubadours, they are traveling from venue to venue with trunks and bins loaded full of clothing and secrets in equal measure. Events this fall will take indie arts to a whole new level, blending fashion runway, storytelling, drag performers, accordionists, chanteuses, clowns, musicians, fine art, functional objects. Indie arts producers will also be demonstrating, interacting, and showing their work.

Engaging performers, live music, free refreshments, indie arts & fashion sale. These shall be our watchwords. Check out the website to keep up to date on
artists, performers, and mayhem.

And while you're at it check the rest of Pandora's winter season:

November 22nd, Saturday, from 1-5pm
Climate Theatre 285 9th @ Folsom
Come and hear the makings of our tale at Cabaret De(con)structiv. Climate Theatre is giving us a cross between a runway and a cabaret stage. We'll look inside your pants and tell you where they came from... telling a story using our ideas and our artifacts.

December 4th, Thursday, from 6-11pm
Brava Theatre 2781 24th @ York near Bryant
Watch the magic of our whole splendid story! We will settle into a luxuriant restored vaudeville theatre, using its gilded proscenium to frame a fully produced fashion design storytale.

Announcing Pandora's Fall Season!

2008-10-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

I worked hard to put together all three shows for this season! I will officially release all the information soon, there is just one last event time to set and then all three shows are totally booked and at least sketched in, and the season promo materials can go to print. I feel so fancy!

Now I need to somehow post all this information to the pandora's trunk website. Alice Lin, my awesome web designer, made me a website and showed me how to update it, because i think i can i think i can! we'll see how I do!

Later today I have a production meeting for Friends, a play we are producing in November at Brava Theatre. I finished the design, let's hope they like it! I will try to post some scans of those drawings.

Chillin until Pandora's Trunk returns

2008-10-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

This awesome event is tonight. Check below or at Chillin's website for more info. Also, take note! Pandora's crawling out of her own trunk this fall for some awesome dates. October 25th we'll be doing a sale in a warehouse venue south of market, and December 4th we'll be producing a holiday sale and runway spectacular at Brava's swanky restored vaudeville theatre. get in touch to get involved, thinkers, artists, musicians, makers... bored people. we want you!

Chillin' Productions bring you:

Over 50 FASHION DESIGNERS!!!

Live Music by:
Little Yellow Perfect (www.littleyellowperfect.com)

DJ's
DJ Felina (www.djfelina.com)
Rondo Brothers (www.rondobrothers.com)
Russell Vargas (www.myspace.com/russellvargas)
Dave Madix (www.kingkeymusic.com)
DJ SCHATZ (www.chillinproductions.com)

Visuals by:
www.amovertone.com

Art exhibit by:
Captain And Commander
New Works By Henry Lewis and Keli Reule
(www.111minnagallery.com)

* 944 Magazine will launch it's first addition of their Arts and Culture
Issue! (www.944.com)*

When: Saturday October 4, 2008
8:00pm-2:00am
Where: 111 Minna Gallery (www.111minnagallery.com)
$6 at the door
Must be 21+ ID

For more info go to:
www.chillinproductions.com

Also Check out our favorite t-shirt blogg
www.tcritic.com

Thank you to our great sponsors:
944 Magazine (www.944.com)
SF Weekly (www.sfweekly.com)
UNSCENE urban navigator (www.unscene.com)
SF Station (www.sfstation.com)
Yelp (www.yelp.com)
Nitevive (www.nitevibe.com)
Vanderkitten (www.vanderkitten.com)
Breast Cancer Emergency Fund (www.bcef-sf.org)
This Old Bag (http://tob.bcef-sf.org)
AIDS Emergency Fund (www.aef-sf.org)
Ipling (www.ipling.com)
LatinLounge.tv (www.LatinLounge.tv)
111 Minna Gallery (www.111minnagallery.com)
Spork Restaurant (sporksf.com)
Addiction Hair Salon (www.addictionhairsalon.com)
Lucid Beauty (www.lucidbeauty.com)
Hair Play (www.hairplay.com)
Access Institute for psychological services (www.accessinst.org)
The Innovative Fashion Council of San Francisco (www.ifcsf.com)
Style Industry (www.styleindustry.com)
Mosio (www.mosio.com)
Ladybrille (www.ladybrille.com)
Legend Magazine (www.legendmag.net)
Red Poppy Art House (www.redpoppyarthouse.org)
Mars Bar (www.marsbarsf.com)
Ovahere (www.ovahere.com)
Thread Show (www.threadshow.com)
RAG (www.ragsf.com)
Stitch Lounge (www.stitchlounge.com)
Dirtyhertz (www.dirtyhertz.com)
Primo Promotes (www.primopromotes.com)
Nofu ( www.nofu.com)
House of Dolores Moore
Hope Flight Foundation (www.hopeflightfoundation.org)
Nomadika (www.nomadika.com)
Fashionbliss (www.fashionbliss.com)
Jules Beauty (www.julesmakeupsf.com)
Blowfish Sushi (www.blowfishsushi.com)
Little Yellow Perfect (www.littleyellowperfect.com)
Porcelynne (www.porcelynne.com)
Ibarra Knight Photography (www.ibarraknight.com)
Monavie (www.monavie.com/%5F/controller.html)

Here are the designers involved in the October 4 show:

1. Tucky Mama (www.tuckymama.com)
2. Gytha Mander - www.gythamander.com
3. REVL - www.REVL.net
4. Booty Boutique www.bootyboutique.com
5. SAAZ DESIGNS (www.SAAZDESIGNS.com)
6. "Recover Your Thoughts" (www.recoveryourthoughts.com)
7. Heathen ( www.myspace.com/wearheathen)
8. Life Clothing
9. La Plata, designed by Madlene (www.laplatadesigns.com)
10. Vanessa Salazar (http://thedb.com/vanessa_salazar)
11. Integrity Fashions (www.integrityfashions.com)
12. Kucoon (www.kucoondesigns.com)
13. RH: Original (www.cavecreation.com) (www.unique-gift-art.com)
14. Cara Lyndon Designs (www.caralyndon.com)
15. Mad February (www.madfebruary.com)
16. Invisible Hero Industrie (www./myspace.com/invisibleheroindustries)
17. Slutz Get Jealous(www.slutzgetjealous.com )
18. Medium Reality (www.mediumreality.com)
19. Solsis (www.solsis.net)
?20. OdileOdette (www.odileodette.com)
21. Revel Industries (www.revelindustries.net)
22. Tessa Kemp Jewelry (www.tessakemp.com)
23. O'Lover Hats (www.oloverhats.com)
24. Mison (www.misonlee.com)
25. Strydye (www.strydye.com)
26. Taryn Lin Design (www.tarynlin.etsy.com)
27. Amanda Lynn (www.myspace.com/amandalynnpaintings)
28. Flame Angel Design (www.flameangeldesign.com)
29. Sondra Osuchowski (www.funkyandfabulous.com)
30. Silvana Danies (www.silvanadanies.com)
31. Kevin Harris ( www.kevinharristextile.com)
32. Callou (www.callou.com)
33. Maducca (www.maducca.com)
34. Rajput Designs
35. IBISS (www.ibiboutique.com)
36. Beth Bloom designs (www.bethbloomdesigns.com)
37. Gypsies and Lords ( www.gypsiesandlords.com)
38. Kaatje design www.kaatjedesign.net
39. Spiritjoy Designs (www.kayasattva.com)
40. Threads by Cho-Cho (www.threadsbycho-cho.com)
41. Sophistafunk Hats
42. Honeycomb Jewelry (www.honeycombjewelry.com)
43. fuffy j (www.fuffyj.com)
44. Harlequin (www.harlequinfeltworks.com)
45. Mikobella Designs (Http://gallery.mac.com/tabella1)
46. Lynn Eye Style (www.Lynneyestyle)
47. Mixerfriendly (www.mixerfreindly.com)
48. Engracia Jewelry
49. Pink Voodoo Jewelry
50. Artefacture (www.artefacture.com)
51. 2.7.9 Designs
52. Tenacious Little Monkey (www.tenaciouslittlemonkey.com)
53. Taste O' Brazil (www.tasteobrazil.com)
54. Bound
55. REPLIKA (www.replikawear.com)
56. Palm Creations (www.palmcreations4u.com)
57. Monica Chey
58. 1228 (www.twelvetwentyeight.com)
59. Faze Apparel (www.fazeapparel.com)
60. Lady Bird SF ( www.ladybirdsf.com)
61. Liliana Swearingen

Back to Schoolish

2008-09-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

This time of year is always for fresh beginnings, i think. Time to really buckle down and start a new year at ... well, what are you up to? Tell me all about it! Medium Reality is trucking along, showing clothes and gearing up for an event-packed fun-filled fall and winter season!

If you are looking for a retail clothes experience check out Resident Apparel Gallery, a co-op in Hayes Valley where Medium Reality is the newest member! You can browse and buy local artisan works to your heart's content.

If what you are looking for is a more heart-to-heart experience, or simply feel a burning need for clothes still warm from the sewing machine, check out these upcoming sale events. They are always so much fun for me, a chance to meet my audience and get feedback on what i am doing right and wrong! Please come out and let me know what works and doesn't work for you - I really do listen and use your advice in my work!!

Coming up:

Truffala Trunk
THIS Wednesday Sept 24th 6-10pm
BUS stop gallery
135 Dore (off folsom at 8th)
San Francisco

Chillin
Saturday October 4th 8pm-2am
111 Minna
San Francisco

Check out my paintings at Cafe International while you still can!

Article about the iceberg

2008-09-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

I just found this awesome little article about the construction of the iceberg. I was really shocked at how much putting it together was like garment construction. Click through to my flickr sculpture set to see more images of the installation and read more details about it!

Wired Blog!

2008-08-20T02:39:00.000-07:00

I don't really think of myself as a 'burning man fashion designer' although there is a way in which that does describe me. This wired blog mention and photo of medium reality (at the very end of the article) is pretty sweet regardless.

Also check out the new Pandora's Trunk website! Pandora's Trunk is once again an event, an all-new and badder than ever showcase of indie arts masters of all kinds. There will be four shows this winter, and keep your ears open to find out about the hot-ass venues we will be at! The event will be at a new venue every time.

Portrait & Landscape - Aug 2nd opening

2008-07-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

I am really proud of the show that Alfonso and I hung last week at Cafe International. It was touch and go for a while but our disparate work is hung together in a way that makes coherent sense and is pleasing to the eye. I love hanging out at Cafe International, have a great relationship with the owner, and LOVE the two musicians who were awesome enough to play for us! I hope you can make it.

Portrait & Landscape - art opening at Cafe International
508 Haight St @ Fillmore

New and recent works by

Alfonso Kellenberger &
Rachel Lyra Hospodar

Opening Reception Saturday August 2nd 7-10pm

featuring John Arns on sitar &
Sandra B on guitar

promo shots for christmas wholesaling

2008-07-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

it's funny but so crucial to think about christmas right now.

these shots came out great, massive thanks due to the awesome photographer (chuck revell, revellray) and model (larkin donley, also a photog).

Pandora Opening 7/11/08

2008-07-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Paintorama mama

2008-07-01T17:07:00.001-07:00

Lately I have been focusing on finding ways to have other people help me produce the clothes so that I have time to paint. It's been working, although the learning curve for managing people in ever-new environments can sometimes distract from focusing on creative and intensive work like painting. I've been making it, though... and produced two runway segments in the last month to boot. a photo shoot later today ought to make it possible for me to share those clothes with you... meanwhile, check out the paintings I hung at Mars Bar last month

and the piece I am desperately trying to finish in time to hang at Cafe International in two weeks!

more images of this painting are available here.

Re-Cover-Ry

2008-04-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

Whew. Craft Con was a blast. We are slowly posting wrap-ups and ongoing information on the website, still working out what happens next. Upcoming is Maker Faire, where Autumn (one of my main honchos on the project) is going to be presenting the Crafting Green information she shared at Craft Con. Since she's coming back, Lz and EJ (the weebley force behind Your Mom's from the Pittsburgh area) are too so we're going to represent Craft Con at Maker Faire, tabling and even I believe presenting onstage about the project. Maker Faire is May 3 and 4 and I hope to see you there, either when I am wearing my Craft Con hat or when I switch to Pandora's Trunk organizer. Whew.

Meanwhile, this weekend I am taking part in Alchemy, sure to be a rockin good time.

~aLchemy~
http://www.false-profit.com/2008/04/26/alchemy/
Saturday, April 26th
9pm-2am
CELLspace
$15
full bar

featuring...

-Styles of Magic fashion show by Missing Piece at 10pm
-Phantoccino, a magic show by Keith Boudreau
-Art Gallery by Will Chase Arts
-Alchemical Afforestation, an interactive steel sculpture by Shira Loa -Digital Paint Mash-Up by Dangermarc
-Pyrocardium, a heartbeat-powered candelabra by False Profit Labs
-Web of (de)Construction, a live textile piece by Medium Reality
-Identity Tapestry by Mary Corey March
-Flame Tree Building Workshop by False Profit Labs
-Phoenix Aviary, a reactive video installation
-Writing Photos, an intersection of writing and photography
-Altered Paintings, reworking thrift-store finds
-Interactive Lights & Magnets, Photo Booth, Lego Robots, origami, and more.

--------------------------------------------------

San Francisco – Activity erupted the floor of the Stock Exchange and the Artsy Index soared as False Profit, LLC and Missing Piece announced the second incarnation of Alchemy. This flood of activity, however, was not the usual buying and selling.

Several men in business casual were spotted making origami while a large circle of traders watched a walk-off between representatives from several Fortune 500s. Easels sprouted up in the atrium while fortunes built on towers of Legos rose and fell. One bewildered Exchange administrator was heard shouting, "Ok. Who here brought the arc welder?!" It was the most activity the Exchange has ever seen.

"My mind is melting like a Dali clock," observed one trader, overwhelmed by the unprecedented rise in the Artsy Index. "So I guess that's what I'll be painting at Alchemy."

When asked to describe Alchemy, Stephanie Tholand, Lead Structural Engineer at False Profit, LLC offered this explanation: "It's really a collaboration built atop a series of collaborations which are themselves collaborations. I assure you, it's quite unstable and vulnerable to unexpected quakes of artistry."

Some people are indeed expecting the unexpected: "I've heard the Missing Piece fashion show is basically magic," said an anonymous source from deep within the fashion industry.

Both False Profit, LLC and Missing Piece declined to comment on the details of Alchemy, citing the impossibility of predicting what the attendees will do.

Alchemy, an interactive art event, is commencing on April 26th at
CELLspace in San Francisco and a great flurry of artiness is expected.

http://www.false-profit.com/2008/04/26/alchemy/

Here Goes Nothin

2008-04-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

We're over budget (hellloooo, credit cards), I've been sleeping 4 hours a night, it's too late for me to get my dry cleaning done, and I think I've already committed to doing this again next year. Am I crazy? Probably. Come see!

Craft Con and Pandora's Trunk present
Saturday, April 5 8-11:30pm

Crafty Style Gala

Urban Art Farm SF
1345A 17th St @ Connecticut
MUNI 19/22/T
http://craftcon.org/gala

Live Music - Cake and Sake - Live Art
$4 formalwear or costume / $7 general admission

Live art and fashion construction by Onerary and Architect G from Pandora’s Trunk

Magical realist paintings by Alfonso Kellenberger

Live ambient soundscapes quartet with Mika Pontecorvo
electric cello, guitar/flute, electronics/percussion and drums

Photobooth (play dress-up)

DIY craft station (make yer own souvenirs)

Food and drink

Meet n Greet indie artists from nationwide
Savvy indie artists and artisans from all over the country are visiting in town to attend Craft Con, http://craftcon.org, a business development conference for the craft community. The Crafty Style Gala is an opportunity for San Francisco's unique local arts scene to meet the nationwide leaders of the recent craft resurgence and show them what is unique about our culture!
http://craftcon.org/gala

Craft Con: one week

2008-03-28T02:26:00.000-07:00

I said the phrase out loud two different times today before I believed it "The conference is in one week". The second time, when I let myself realize it was true, my voice went a little hoarse for a second. It is getting close and things are coming together beautifully in places and falling apart all over the place elsewhere, although that second part is amazingly diminishing. Tonight I massaged and trimmed the budgets and spreadsheet columns to a place where, with the people who are already registered, if i put my thumb over what is left in the contingency budget (not much at this point) the numbers match and the project breaks even. Let's have a happy moment of silence for that one; its not the end but I can sleep a little at night. Well, it's 2:30am but i will go to sleep soon i am pretty sure.

Not everyone who has committed to pay and come will do the former or the latter but I figured out a way to leave registration open for much of next week so hopefully we will get a few new people in to tip the scales back again. Making and arranging budgets is not as cut-and-dried as people would think. It's really interesting to me to take the budget management skills i learned in school for lumber and steel and welding and apply them to a myriad of different kinds of projects... everything seems to track. Biggest baddest rule demonstrated in this project? The less you know the bigger a margin for error you leave yourself. Thankfully i got that one right... so far.

Craft Con o Rama

2008-03-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

Craft Con is less than two weeks away now and the hours are just evaporating out from under me! I feel like a juggler, and if I only drop every third ball I have to think I'm doing ok. I've been fielding very interesting phone calls lately, from faythe levine to the american craft council... and that's just today!

Here you can read on etsy's blog about Craft Con. Hopefully the word has spread far enough that the numbers in my spreadsheet are accurate. This in a lot of ways has been a far riskier proposition financially than any of my previous endeavors... with my phone number in the hands of the vendors and much of the event resting uneasy on the backs of volunteers... it's nearly that time, though, close enough to the culmination of such a large project that it feels like jumping off a cliff with your eyes closed. when you open them you'll be there, for better or worse.

Swept Away

2008-03-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

We're two weeks out now, wow that was fast! Tons of interest in Craft Con, the business development conference for the craft community that I am hosting here in San Francisco April 4-6. Everything is coming together and falling apart at the usual rates, I don't know why I am surprised each time by both things occurring. Having a few good level heads to work with makes almost all problems go away. Well, diminish in importance.

I just got a phone call from Velvet Da Vinci and am all excited now about the high vs low craft debate coming to roost at our conference. Maybe you didn't know about this divide? as if it weren't enough for 'fine art people' and 'craftspeople' to be split from each other, there is a divide also between fine craftspeople and uppity internet crafters who yes, sometimes use hot glue guns. some of them.

Me and (oh god, uh... Mike?) from VdV had a great conversation about the ways that good (and bad) things can be found everywhere you look and the way that hacker-craft can enable fine-craft in all sorts of awesome ways.

March with a Vengeance!

2008-03-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

Spring has come upon Mediumrealityland full force! Craft Con is less than a month away but in between now and then I'll be putting on a runway show. Opel's 5th anniversary was a barrel of fun last year; I am looking forward to this one. My work has evolved a lot over a year.

The Hare and the Hounds went really well; by the time I stopped by the show my map had been purchased and my hidden piece found! It was really fun to make something map-oriented and kind of intentionally ephemeral for this concept show... I hope I get invited to do more things like it. This spring is bringing a renewed focus for me on my career as a painter. Not that I have the fashion world all figured out but I feel a little bit more comfortable there and am freeing up some time to focus on neglected areas. Spring cleaning my studio, too. I've got lots of things squirreled away that I don't see any need for anytime soon. It's a fine line between expert recycler and those people who die in musty apartments surrounded by yellowing bundles of newspapers.

Defense of something

2008-03-04T13:12:00.001-08:00

A rare political post here... I was walking the dog today and came to demonstrations outside of the state building. Today was a hearing on the gay marriage issue here in California; it's been bouncing around in the court system since 2004 when that smart (and slimy) man Newsom made/exploited a loophole in marriage law and got a bunch of gays married. Don't misunderstand me, i am alllll in favor of gay marriage. I think that he made the move as a political act but I'll take what I can get.
I was led to the demonstrations today by a pickup doing loops around Civic Center with rickety aftermarket wooden sidewalls all tarted up with bible verses and dire warnings. "The truth seems like hate to those who hate the truth."

At the state building the crowd was small and tepid. Mostly trucked-in bible thumpers with god-love and god-fear signs that were a little bit well-worn. A giant yellow banner declaring "sodomy is sin" which, when I was walking up, appeared for a moment to say "sodomy is in". There were a few signs which i wanted to string together in silent conversation with each other. First, the one quoting MLK Jr saying "Christianity sets for a system of absolute moral values" then "stop ignorance homosexuality is not a choice" then "moral wrongs cannot equal civil rights" then "your religion is not my government".

I tried to explain to an englishman the difference between marriage and domestic partnership. i stuck my tongue out at the eastern european men from sacramento who had come out for jesus. There was a jolly effeminate brown man on a bicycle who went down the line of them, asking questions and demanding to see the passages of the bible they were quoting.

Creepiest was the smiling grey-haired grandma in an understated black outfit with a sign simply declaring marriage = 1 man + 1 woman. A few kids walked up to her to ask what was going on and she began explaining her sign and the crowd. After a few minutes the girl grabbed both guys and declaring "i hope they make the right decision" over her shoulder they all fled giggling. A MUNI bus roared by with a cell phone ad on the side. The series of ads is all about how this new kind of phone can let you say more; the ads consist of a first half that says something simple, the second a complex concept. this particular bus said "wassup" and "support gay marriage".

It's Aliiiiive!

2008-02-26T15:22:00.001-08:00

Craft Con is a business development conference for the craft community. That's our tagline. i say it a lot. i write a lot of emails and make a lot of phone calls, because that's what this planning job is all about. I have felt recently a little like a cheerleader, helping people who are quite literally spread across the globe to figure out what tasks they want to do and ways to do them. We've done most of the planning to date live in full view on a wiki. Yesterday I was handed the reins to our website, being made and made pretty and most importantly made gloriously functional by Autumn in St Louis, who I met last year at Craft Congress 2007.

I started plugging in bits of text written by various helpers, editing language to be more uniform and cramming different bits together to help make different statements. Now it's a website, viola! What an amazing and humbling experience. Thanks everyone, from australia to england, new york to los angeles. Autumn of course says it's not done, and going to look even more fabulous, and be even more gloriously functional. I might plotz.

February Report

2008-02-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

This had been a head down, ploughing through sort of month. Pandora's Trunk is standing up; it's been really amazing to watch the group of artists that we brought together take initiative and leadership. The community feeling is pretty amazing. It's been shaky in a lot of ways too, since we are building an organization from the ground up in a pretty organic fashion... totally on the fly. I wish I had more time to spend at the library, and a bunch of money to spend on consultants. Heh. I suppose if I had that bunch of money I'd spend it on employees and contractors.

Amidst all of that trying to focus anew on myself as an artist. It's hard to be a businessperson also; it usually feels like one or the other. Business has been winning.

The photo above was included in a guide to San Francisco - go me!
Schmap Guide

Sampler Interview

2008-01-24T22:45:00.001-08:00

Belatedly, oh dear reader. This interview happened to me as I was on my way out of town and I am now shocked to notice I never properly linked it. So much has happened since then, in Samplertown, Medium Reality, and Pandoraland, that it almost feels like finding a time capsule. The latest update from HGTV (remember when I filmed in November of 06?) looks like July. What a time capsule that will be!

Medium Reality visits Samplerland

Art, Business, and Marketing (the place where they meet)

2008-01-07T12:37:00.001-08:00

I have been working a lot lately, hunkering down and shoveling out old messes, while also trying to strike a balance in my life between work and, well, anything else at all. Over New Year's I went camping in a place called Slab City; it wasn't really like anywhere I've ever been before.

Craft Con, the business networking conference for the craft community that I am hosting here in SF this april, is making slow but steady progress. We have a venue and that means we have dates... working on getting the money. I recently read this article in the new york times about the conference that happened last year, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that one of the unattributed quotes was me! I found a friend blogging about the article and left her the following response which, on further reflection, i thought was content-worthy enough for you, dear starved readers of this sporadic publication.

I have been making a living as an artist and craftsperson for two years now. There are some people who are able to simply click with their audience and the work that they produce sells like hotcakes regardless of price or setting - these people are mostly i think making work whose target demographic is themselves. There are people like me and (i suspect) your mom who aren't necessarily making work for themselves as a target customer - and then it becomes a little harder to a)find your audience b) gauge their price range c) make a community connection with them. The idea of building community works to sell any kind of art, as a great deal of the art- and craft-buying public really loves to feel a connection with the person who has made the work - this humanity, after all, is a lot of what they are paying that 'handmade' premium for.

The business sense of how to market your work, how to identify and find your audience, and how to become a sustainable commercial enterprise is usually not discussed in the craft circles of our generation - except for the internet! Everyone loves to market on the internet! Craft Con, the conference I am throwing here in SF this april, seeks to address these issues. Last year 50 crafters got together in pittsburgh and *didn't* talk about knitting - we talked about marketing and health insurance. It's hard to make a living making things outside of a factory setting, because that is not the prevailing mode of our culture. It's not impossible though, it just means there are fewer total opportunities. I sold two paintings out of my store just this weekend. I think success is about a)quality of goods b)access to market. Representation just means that you don't have to do any of that pesky marketing stuff.

Viajando

2007-12-14T00:23:00.000-08:00

Our grand opening was a smashing success! I got interviewed and photographed for the guardian, and although none of that material made it in there yet we did get a kind mention in one of their blogs - before the cut!

I know, I know, pictures. I was hoping the newspaperman with his fancy camera would save me the trouble. Working on it.

Tomorrow morning I am leaving for a trip to Baja with some friends. The store is open and running but there's still some messes under her skirts; the conference I am planing for this spring in woefully behind. I could really use the break, though, and am looking forward to a trip that I've been planning for some time. They've been, I should say. Pretty much all I will do will be show up. I'm looking forward to abdicating decision-making for a while.

Doors Wide Open

2007-12-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

Holy whew. The list of things still to be done never does shrink. The store has been standing on its own for a little over a week now. Stress levels are lowering even as problems don't stop (leak in the newly patched roof, anyone?) because by gum it's working. I sold some paintings, i think the first capital-A Art to sell out of the new space. I feel like some sort of mad scientist with a stitched-together frankenstein twitching to life on the table even as a toe or two falls off from rot. I hope she can be tamed!

This weekend brings a special opportunity to celebrate
the opening of a sustainable local art & design space,
Pandora's Trunk. This shop turns retail on its head
with a visual and interactive experience you won't
want to miss!

PANDORA'S TRUNK
grand opening party
Saturday, December 8th
6 -10pm
544 haight btw steiner/fillmore
www.pandorastrunk.com

Meet the Artists:
Alfonso Kellenberger * Architect G * Dida Jewelry *
Fati Beloved * Medium Reality * Miranda Caroligne *
Missing Piece * Nome Edonna * Onerary * Rachel Jordana
Jewelry * Swirlspace

Live Music:
BYOInstruments for an interactive jam at 7pm!
***
Circus Clownery featuring members of the Hobo
Gobbelins
accordion, ukulele and juggling feats!
www.myspace.com/hobogobbelins
***
Jesse Wilson on guitar
She is also our visiting artist this month, showing
paintings in the front window!
***
moman
www.asiwouldsay.com
***
TOTTER
"TT of Heavyweight Dub Champion & Cochrane Mcmillan"
www.myspace.com/tottermusic

Free drinks and edibles:
BYOCup to reduce waste!
Catered by Sterling
Interactive activities & antics galore!

Had fun at one of our events in the past but can't make it out for this one? Please forward this listing on to anyone who you think might be interested - we'd love to meet your friends!

Here Goes Nothing

2007-11-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

this morning i woke up slowly to a silent house. Today was different than what has become usual - the last week is a fog of hauling myself weary out of early bed, slinging my overalls heavy with tools across my shoulders, and heading off towards the hardware store with two notebooks under my arm, plans buzzing in my head and the cell phone already ringing. Today I let myself sleep in. When I woke up, i fed the dog and we walked out into the sunny and strangely quiet day so i could buy a packet of tobacco and an ice cream sandwich. What a great holiday. What a great life.

This simple joy led me back, even in my momentary vacation state, to thinking about the American disease of plenty and the way we are all trained to seek out excess as a way of life. Seeking to sell my work and entering a world of commerce so fully has only served to sever me from the idea of monetary value. This is of value, this peace, this time. Everything else is just a dance, being clever.

The last month+ has been a frenzied whirlwind and I haven't been keeping up this record. Miranda Caroligne and I have entered into a business partnership and re-launched Pandora's Trunk as a collective storefront/studio space on Haight St in San Francisco. It's amazing how fast the project has come together, and how many hands are now pitching in to heave forwards towards the opening.

We are opening our doors to the public on Friday but not beginning sales until Saturday. Come again? We are throwing a party on Buy Nothing Day, also known in the retail industry as Black Friday - it's the single biggest shopping day of the year. We'll be installing artwork and stocking indie fashion into our newly constructed store (made out of almost all salvaged materials and elbow grease) and would love to show you our work and talk about the store - but if you want to buy something you'll have to come back Saturday. It's Buy Nothing Day!

It's a strange way to enter the retail community but we are excited about the effort.

In progress pictures of pandora's trunk construction

what else have i been up to? I went to new york and saw dear friends get married, punched a boor in the face, made new acquaintances and renewed old. In the process of starting the store i have finally learned how to Act Like A Businessperson and am doing ok at it. I am an official grownup. I made an impossibly beautiful pair of wings out of metal using computers. you can see some pictures of them in this photoset.

you know, the usual.

Medium Reality in the Chronicle

2007-10-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

I met this guy at Balazo Gallery at a show I was doing a month or three ago. Yesterday his photo was on the front page of the Chronicle Datebook wearing one of my ties!
Thanks, Todd!

Got them Under the Overpass Blues

2007-09-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

It's a truism of the blogging world that whenever someone's posting activity falls off, they are up to the most fevered activity. Lots has been going on since the discussion salon I produced earlier this month, and not much has come to enough fruition for me to talk about it yet. Just sent off a draft for this hat (remember it? that TV segment is set to air in February or March of 2008, giving us a total 1.5 year turnaround from filming to air. Is that normal? Makes me love the instant gratification of theatre even more.) to be a project in an upcoming Random House felt craft book. The salon on the 13th went off incredibly well. Not one but two musicians came through at the last minute, and there was a lively discussion that highlighted some of my concerns and illuminated some issues that drive me nuts. A success!

Burned

2007-09-07T18:20:00.001-07:00

Whew. My older brother dragged me to Burning Man last week for the umpteenth time (his first) but, like every time, it was new all over again. I usually focus on seeing the art and my friends but I made a concerted effort this year to meet new people and talk to strangers. It's not my strong suit. It turned out well, though, and I feel re-energized to enter the fall season and network, network, network.
I have spent all of 2007 trying to find some additional direction with Medium Reality - things keep moving forward but in a way that sometimes seems random and erratic. I began the year with barely a mission statement but now have lots of documentation to help me guide my philosophy and what things I say yes and no to. Working now on fine-tuning spreadsheets for all of my scattered data, and entering everything into The New System. I am simultaneously juggling some larger scale unpaid efforts (a couple radically different book projects and an event at CELLspace next week, details following), freelance theatre work (Expedition 6, theatre with trapezes and OUTER SPACE!), and a menswear line that is really taking off. I am facing a real and serious likelihood of a solo show in a gallery here in SF. I am also slowly finding ways to balance personal time with a business that I love and desperately would like to watch flourish. I continue to chase after my own sanity.
Things, overall, are going very well. I feel like there is a way in which I am on a plateau, considering the next leap upwards. This fall is about finding more fancy people to work with and cementing relationships to build bigger projects on. 2008, look the fuck out.

So that's the long view. What's the short view? A lovely smoky voiced radio DJ just played me some Ruth Brown and Little Milton songs, and i am working my butt off to put together a discussion salon at CELLspace next week. It will focus on the production of arts and media in a non-profit and a for-profit business model, and the different things that can be accomplished in each framework. I'm trying to rustle up a few more panelists, a musician, and oh yeah some attendees. I'm really interested in the subject matter, and am really looking forward to hearing so many smart people talk about it. My friend Melissa, the new Executive Director of Black Rock Arts Foundation, will be there, along with two of my favorite genius local businesswomen (Marie from The Sampler and Miranda Caroligne) and lots of other old and new faces. See you there?

Burned

2007-09-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

Whew. My older brother dragged me to Burning Man last week for the umpteenth time (his first) but, like every time, it was new all over again. I usually focus on seeing the art and my friends but I made a concerted effort this year to meet new people and talk to strangers. It's not my strong suit. It turned out well, though, and I feel re-energized to enter the fall season and network, network, network.
I have spent all of 2007 trying to find some additional direction with Medium Reality - things keep moving forward but in a way that sometimes seems random and erratic. I began the year with barely a mission statement but now have lots of documentation to help me guide my philosophy and what things I say yes and no to. Working now on fine-tuning spreadsheets for all of my scattered data, and entering everything into The New System. I am simultaneously juggling some larger scale unpaid efforts (a couple radically different book projects and an event at CELLspace next week, details following), freelance theatre work (Expedition 6, theatre with trapezes and OUTER SPACE!), and a menswear line that is really taking off. I am facing a real and serious likelihood of a solo show in a gallery here in SF. I am also slowly finding ways to balance personal time with a business that I love and desperately would like to watch flourish. I continue to chase after my own sanity.
Things, overall, are going very well. I feel like there is a way in which I am on a plateau, considering the next leap upwards. This fall is about finding more fancy people to work with and cementing relationships to build bigger projects on. 2008, look the fuck out.

So that's the long view. What's the short view? A lovely smoky voiced radio DJ just played me some Ruth Brown and Little Milton songs, and i am working my butt off to put together a discussion salon at CELLspace next week. It will focus on the production of arts and media in a non-profit and a for-profit business model, and the different things that can be accomplished in each framework. I'm trying to rustle up a few more panelists, a musician, and oh yeah some attendees. I'm really interested in the subject matter, and am really looking forward to hearing so many smart people talk about it. My friend Melissa, the new Executive Director of Black Rock Arts Foundation (http://www.blackrockarts.org/), will be there, along with two of my favorite genius local businesswomen (http://homeofthesampler.com http://mirandacaroligne.com) and lots of other old and new faces. See you there?

Why I don't bother trying to make it perfect

2007-08-20T16:22:00.001-07:00

I always find myself trying to explain my philosophy on this to people at shows while hubbub murmurs and drinks slosh around us. I spoke with Jamie once about the yarn-spinning world; she explained to me that handspinners used to look to uniformity as a measure of quality but with the cheap ubiquity of machine-spun yarns the handspun world has turned to character and variations as things you can't get elsewhere. On some level this is true of all goods I think as manufactured perfection is easier and easier to access (for us on this end, at least). I don't see much point in trying imperfectly to emulate processes that I can't hope to actually match. If perfection is no longer the goal, then, what is? How can you aim for "authenticity"? Is that even a real thing? The pictures above are from a stellar series that takes you inside an apparel factory. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I also found myself this weekend again stuttering through an explanation of why apparel manufacturing is just like engineering. I fell short there too, maybe this series can help make that connection clearer.

The sale this Sunday was packed and I made lots of good connections. More clothes made from recycled materials and lasers wandering their way off through the world. Sarah Lowe came in her truck and saved me and what was left of my merchandise from the show as the light failed.

She brought me some little nuggets of delightful trash. I have given myself part of today off and am sorting through them and searching the internet for the original owner of the dog tag. Considering doing more sketches for the Chinese Health Center Window Design That Wouldnt Die in the hopes that in return its german ringleader will translate my vial for me. It came sealed in a metal cannister with a large explanatory text on green tissue crammed inside. More pictures and the backside on my flickr.

Old Boot Dress

2007-08-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite (and so far only) use for old shoes - this is the third piece like this i've done. They are always lent so much character by the material. I can't wait to get this dress on someone with boobs this weekend - It's lovely but too big for me.

Rincon Hill Tower

2007-08-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

I have been digging through some strange flickr photos since last I posted. It's undeniable that the tower has fantastic views. I think this view of the financial district from the tower is a little strange and disturbing. Maybe if they would leave it low around the tower I'd be happy - lots of tall thin towers surrounded by tree-filled plazas.

yeah, right.

I do indeed love you, San Francisco

2007-08-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

Here is an industry-meets-sky image from a recent sailing trip around the bay. I have been trying to capture the edges and transitions from civilization to sky to use in my laser etching work. All this joyful-grim civilization notwithstanding, what I love most about sailing on the bay is the swift and total transition from bustling city to peaceful smooth and empty beauty. It is amazing what calm exists so close to this shrieking city machine.There is a new tower going into South Beach; if you are in San Francisco you've seen it. It's easy to spot from anywhere that you can see the bay bridge, and loads of places where you can't. It's big, and sticks out so much partly because it's much taller than all the buildings around it.

Today I read this article about new Transbay bus terminal plans. They put a skyrise on top like whipped cream. Funny how none of the people lounging on the lawn in the only outdoor street-level rendering they gave us look like homeless people.

This is the gaping pit on my streetcorner. I've started a photoset documenting its fall and high-rise - two towers coming, 2-300 units. Double parking garage, hold the trees. The wind on this wind tunnel is already bad enough to knock you off your bike when you pass out of the lee of Fox Tower.

I keep saying to anyone who will listen, as a form of watery complaint, "If I had wanted to live in Manhattan I would have moved there." We laugh about condos like they are the new in-joke and sip our drinks at parties. Occasionally I'll meet someone at one of those parties, usually older, who is a little rabid in the eyes and is actually Doing Things about it. They usually tell me to keep doing what I'm doing although I don't know that it's anything. Sure as hell going to vote against Newsom again; maybe you will too? My new roommate Graham told me that he thinks these new paintings - made with the laser etchings! - are reminiscent of earthquake photography. Tons of photos exist of the wreckage of the 1906 quake, all sepia and mottled, full of smoking heaps of rubble and bewildered people wearing voluminous clothes. City deconstructed and crumbling all about. I often feel when I am making these sparse and wandering works on wood like I am sort of dealing out a hand of scraps, scattering like a handful of acorns across the table. Little scraps of our city, being burned away from within.

Let's end on a happy note. See how the fog rolls in over the mission? Living here (especially sailing here!) makes the patterns of weather apparent and very fascinating. Blue sky persists beneath. The night before this picture was taken I walked past the same cross street all dark and echoey late night and heard a theremin echoing down from across the boulevard to curl around my ankles like a cat.

They like us, they really like us!

2007-07-31T19:26:00.000-07:00

A friend told me recently that Pandora's Trunk was mentioned in Readymade Magazine; I called them up and they sent me a lovely copy super fast. They made a spread about shows around the country and Pandora's Trunk is the only event mentioned for the whole Bay Area! I feel so fancy!You may have been wondering to yourself, what's going on with the next Pandora's Trunk? Details ahoy! It's going to be an awesome co-production with cool dance party kids NK7 productions. I met Nicole doing volunteer work for Room to Read, I am looking forward to working with her again. I am excited to be a part of a big professional event like they put on, lots different than the normal Pandora fare. Variety is the spice of life! The most exciting part is that there will be a fashion show where members of the audience will model clothes that they've bought.

NK7 Productions Presents:

Inspriration for the Playa

Sunday, August 19th
2pm - 10pm

Over 20 fashion designers and DJs that inspire us on the playa!

Featuring Music By:

Deep End
Kramer Vs John Early

Deep End/Opulent Temple
Jeffrey Allen vs Hoj

Green Gorilla Lounge
M3 vs Antonio

Space Cowboys
Kapt'n Kirk vs Mancub

House of Lotus
Shissla vs Neeziack

Seismic/Opulent Temple
Murphstar vs Melyss

Independants
Sol vs Smoove

Gravity Point
Eric Sharp vs DJ B

Pink Mammoth
Trevor vs Greg Smoke

Pandora's Trunk and Funk n Trunk present

Playa Designs by:
AYYA
Ceiba
d:luxo
Domini
Eion 2013
Get a Headcase
Glowfur
Greengirl
Jan Hilmer
JR Reforming Fashion
Medium Reality
Miranda Caroligne
miss velvet cream
Mythica Masks & Adornments
Sandrita
Shawna Hoffman
Silver Lucy Design
Steam Trunk
Super Sugar Ray Ray
Wendy Darling Design
Wild Card
and many more....

Checks and cash preferred for designs

Performances by:
Auberon Shull
Marlowe
Yaan

Sound by:
Alchemy

Scrumptious BBQ on the patio!

Bring your hoops, toys and fun furry things and play!

Cafe Cocomo
650 Indiana Street
415-824-6910

www.cafecocomo.com

Free Before 3pm
$10 w/RSVP to info@nk7productions.com
$15 at the door.

pandorastrunk.com
www.nk7productions.com
www.sfhousemusic.com

Sense of Place

2007-07-22T14:22:00.001-07:00

Sense of Place is the new working title of my book. The .pdfs below are the first two chunks; they aren't polished perfect but the meat is all there and cooked. The rest is written but has two major hangups still. It is formatted right now in spreads of 6"x6" pages; you may need to rotate the view in your .pdf viewer (I use foxit, wayyyy sleeker program than acrobat). It is formatted to print easily if you are so inclined. Please make sure your printer is set to high quality so you can see the images - they are an important atmospheric part of the story. It's an exciting time for artists like me as high quality image reproduction becomes incredibly accessible and affordable even for simple low-budget projects. I also draw with a nib pen; it sometimes boggles me the aeons of time worth of tools that I have all stockpiled in my house and there at my fingertips for me to use.

Chapter One of my illustrated travel memoir - in final edits now.

Chapter Two of my illustrated travel memoir - in final edits now.

Please, oh please, leave comments or email me if you know how.

Inverse Proportionate

2007-07-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

It's a funny feature of this style of publication that the deepest silences often indicate the most frenzied activity. I have been trying desperately to soak up the summer sun, take a little time to have some fun before the clouds roll in, and trying to move some beloved projects forward. Lots has been in the works. First, Pandora's Trunk on June 30th was a big success. People left a bright and perfectly sunny day to hang out with us in our (admittedly airy and sunlit as well) gallery of delights. New musician friend Sandra B was a big hit (see her for free Monday night at Blondie's! I'll be there, 8pm) and my new cowboy shirts practically flew off the rack. My extra-special favorite was the man who turned the girliest pink-and-purple shirt ever into the manliest pink-and-purple shirt ever.

The book is almost complete - I've scanned lots of old negatives (in the process, learning just how unstable that information storage medium really is...) Now just have some auxiliary edits and agreement issues to work out. Look here for .pdf chapter previews soon. Tell all your publisher friends!

I'm throwing an exhibitor reception & artist salon for the Expo for the Artist and Musician and have been putting some ducks in a row for that. I don't want to spill too much till it's solidified but I am getting some really exciting (female! +5 points!) speakers and putting together some really exciting panels. I'm basically getting all my smart friends and business acquaintances to sit together in a room and talk about stuff that's intriguing and confusing to me. How could it go wrong? Especially when that room is CELLspace.

That's it for now. Lots has been going on, too much to write about. More updates soon.

Maybe They're Not So Bad

2007-06-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Etsy.com is a sprawling crafts-selling site, web 2.0's handmade answer to ebay. Their rapid growth, actual funding, and general slickness are a little off-putting, though, and I have not entirely embraced them. I'm not the only one. Their very personable representative Matt was one of the few people who didn't look at me like I was an alien at Craft Congress this spring when I talked endlessly about marketing. Theirs is so effective and standalone that to some (myself not necessarily included) it feels like they are trying to brand words like handcrafted. Shields are still up but this listing I came across recently made my little heart go pitter-pat. I'll be tuning in, wish i could be there.

Pandora's Trunk - June 30th

2007-06-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

Pandora’s Trunk

Bi-monthly arts & fashion showcase

http://pandorastrunk.com

Saturday June 30 2-7pm

Free admission – live music – free drinks

Mina Dresden Gallery

312 Valencia @ 14th

Pandora’s Trunk Presents Versus

Take part in the eternal dualist battle between good and evil!

The audience will be the players in an all-encompassing game exploding the binary notion of the dark and light sides of life. We will all join together in playful and earnest celebration of life beyond a black-and-white worldview, playing with and against each other in a tipsy and joyful rendition of humanity’s battle with itself. Artists from all parts of the spectrum will present to you their work in paint, fabric, metal, wood, string, spit, and bubblegum. Pick sides and put ‘em up – talk the artists into selling you their work and go home with a pocket-sized unique souvenir of one little drunken corner of a revolution. Each transaction will grant you a pass to win or lose in the name of whichever side you are on. Don’t worry – drinks and merriment are for winners and losers alike.

The art and fashion offerings will come in good and evil and all sizes, shapes and colors. Look out for ties, scarves, cowboy shirts, and jackets for boys and girls from Medium Reality. Miranda Caroligne will of course be there telling you snips and secrets from her upcoming Reconstruction Clothing for Dummies manual. Bad Unkl Sista, Fatima, Rose Pistola, Cotton Candie Stockings and more more more rounding out the fashion plate with clothing and accessories for your most delirious opium dream.

Metallurge casting is coming to showcase astounding and functional art-metal castings that you may have seen at Maker Faire. We are welcoming back sitar player John Arns, and of course handmade gourmet chocolates for your eating pleasure!Visit our website for a frequently updated roster of artists and pictures!

http://pandorastrunk.com

Had fun last time? If you want a quick and easy way to support us in our efforts, take a few seconds to forward this to a few friends who you think would be interested. Word-of-mouth is the most powerful force there is, and we would love to have your help.

Anna Bella Eema

2007-06-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

"Cry theater in a crowded fire" -Artaud

Crowded Fire is a standout among SF's scores of young, hungry theatre companies; producing young, fresh, relevant works with a surprising level of polish. Last weekend I had the pleasure of catching Sunday afternoon's performance of Anna Bella Eema at TJT; I decided I had to go see it after a friend said at Zeitgeist "Three women sitting in chairs that they never leave the entire show and it's not boring." This I had to see.

Anna Bella Eema's story coalesces slowly as if out of the scraps of sound with which the show starts; The story is told in fragments that (worry not) slowly cohere to comprehensible language and story. Imagination and reality are interwoven in a meditation on the worlds that we create, choose, and fight against. The show is playing through July 1 at TJT in Potrero, San Francisco. After a brief lull it will be extended July 5-15 in Berkeley. I'm glad I didn't have to cross the bay to see this play but it's one that's worth it. Its exploration of the problematic relationship between wild things and the restrictive but expansive modern world affected me very profoundly.

I stayed after the show for the talkback, not something I normally do. The intimate setting and young company emboldened me; often this can devolve into something very dry. It was disheartening to hear some of the older audience members' confusion about elements of the production which i thought were very well executed. The show interwove reality and fantasy in a very deliberate way, reminiscent of that Latin style of romantic surrealist fiction whose proper genre name escapes me at the moment. A woman asked afterwards about various fluid events meant to blur this boundary, wanting clarity on which had "happened" and which had not. How do you explain the leap she is failing to make here? The (co-)AD who led the talkback was very adroit at handling these kinds of questions. All of the actors came out and were very clearly engaged and invested in the creative whole of the production, which was refreshing. It's frustrating, though, to see a so fully effective (for me) play, and then see it sail right past other members of the audience. Part of me thinks that a play about the modern world caging wild things is naturally going to have more resonance and appeal for a young artist than someone of a certain age in a stable and adult job/life situation. So must artists make work relevant to their audience instead of themselves? Are the concerns and lives of artists necessarily separate from those of their audience? How does an artist compile an audience that they would like to speak to? Ooh, that's a good one. Who do you want your audience to be? What are you trying to accomplish? I make small and populist work because I would like to interact with that audience, I know how to access them, and I understand their needs and motivations the best. It would be nice to reach a broader audience, to spread my thoughts wider than a circle that already believes me. Must an artist create separate works of art for their peers and those who they would like to draw into the fold? How can you present separate works of art, to appeal to a broader array of people, without alienating them into those that 'get it' and those that 'need help'? There is such a real and regrettable social division already between young artists and those who are not artists but educated and mature enough to appreciate their work in a thoughtful way, it's important not to emphasize this.

During the talkback the (co)AD also made a regrettable comparison between theatre and fine art that hangs on the wall. There is a viscerality to a theatrical experience that cannot be paralleled, but there is a pretty clear and delightful way to integrate various levels and styles of work in the visual art world. There is also, I think, something of great value in being able to reference a work over years, through different periods of time in your life. The painting may only sit there over the years, but you can come to it every day and compare your ongoing life experiences with that same (hopefully) soaring, complex vision of reality to see how they change in relation to each other.