Dianthus love: back in the garden

Sir, the year growing ancient,
Not yet on summer’s death, nor on the birth
Of trembling winter, the fairest
flowers o’ the season
Are our carnations and streak’d gillyvors,
Which some call nature’s bastards: of that kind
Our rustic garden’s barren; and I care not
To get slips of them.
– William Shakespeare, English poet, playwright, and actor, from The Winter’s Tale

This past Memorial Day weekend was filled with research, youth baseball, and gardening – a healthy balance of all three. On Saturday, I took a break from watching my son play and focused on reading my research materials. I then took a break from research and made a bouquet for my friend Raissa.

Different kinds of flowers abound in this bouquet: the first gladiola, Bird of Paradise, hydrangea, alstroemeria, dahlia, scabiosa anthemifolia, and fern.

Different kinds of flowers abound in this bouquet: the first gladiola, dianthus, Bird of Paradise, hydrangea, alstroemeria, dahlia, scabiosa anthemifolia, a succulent, and fern.

I was so enthralled with my dianthus caryophyllus (otherwise known as a carnation) “Chomley Farran,” which has given me such beautiful blooms this spring (in fact, I don’t think it gave me much of anything the last number of years), that I was obsessed with planting more in my garden. I only have two dianthus flowers in the side yard.

Welcome to Annie's Annuals!

Welcome to Annie’s Annuals!

So off Isabella and I went to Annie’s Annuals (740 Market Avenue, Richmond, CA 94801, 510.215.3301). I made a beeline for the dianthus alley and scooped up six varieties: more “Chomley Farran,” dianthus caryophyllus “Ric Rac”; and dianthus perpetual carnation “John Barrington’s Bliss,” “Mad Hatter,” “White Rabbit,” and “Queen of Hearts.” Of course, we had to linger and check out the chickens, the other flowers, the garden ornaments, and compost.

A concrete structure decorated with found art at Annie's Annuals.

A concrete structure decorated with found art at Annie’s Annuals.

One of the women working at Annie’s Annuals told me I may see a few blooms from my tiny dianthus plants, if I’m lucky. More likely, my flowers will bloom next season. I’m an impatient gardener, but there will be plenty of other flowers to tend to this summer.

You can literally get lost in the rows and plants at Annie's Annuals.

You can literally get lost in the rows and plants at Annie’s Annuals.

My friend Lauren Ari's artwork throughout Annie's Annuals.

My friend Lauren Ari’s artwork throughout Annie’s Annuals.

I spent Sunday afternoon moving concrete pots that had been empty for years from various points in the backyard to a corner of the yard, filling the pots up and amending the soil, and finally putting the new plants in their new homes. I call it my dianthus garden. As I turned the soil over, mixing compost with clay soil, I felt refreshed. It has been a long time since I spent this much time working on the garden, planting plants as opposed to weeding and tidying up the side yard. Garden fever has struck. Dianthus love erupted. I look forward to my new favorite flower. I’ll get a few this season, but anticipate bouquets upon bouquets next summer. Welcome dianthus garden!

My new dianthus garden in a corner of the backyard, with poppies and an unknown plant.

My new dianthus garden in a corner of the backyard, with poppies and an unknown plant.

Overcoming overwhelmed

To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.
– Leonard Bernstein, American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer, and pianist

A comfortable outfit to ward off feeling overwhelmed: cropped sweater over a high-low flowing blouse, dark-rinse jeans, and platform sandals.

A comfortable outfit to ward off feeling overwhelmed: cropped sweater over a high-low flowing blouse, dark-rinse jeans, and platform sandals.

The other day I was reading an online article on the financial planning site LearnVest. I stopped dead in my tracks upon reaching this quote: “I kept waking up in a panic at 4 A.M. worrying – not only about all of the stuff on my to-do list that I hadn’t done that day and how much more there was to do, but also whether I was missing my life even as I was living it.” Wait! Did LearnVest interview me? That was me to a T, I told myself. Maybe I wasn’t waking up in a panic, but for the past month, as I have attempted to go to bed earlier in the evening, I have been waking up earlier. It’s as if my internal clock cannot program more than six hours of sleep. I open my eyes and am wide awake anywhere between 4 and 5 in the morning. And I’m conscious of what I need to do, what deadline is before me that day. Some mornings I wake up with a mental check list of what is going to happen that day; other mornings, I am filled with panic about a deadline.

The person being interviewed was, in fact, Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post journalist and mother of two, who wrote what she calls an “accidental” book, Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When No One Has Time, because she wanted to research why she and many of us are running ourselves ragged. In her interview with LearnVest, Schulte said the rise in overworking ourselves began in the 1980s. She referenced Katrina Alcorn, author of Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink, who said that society expects us to work as if we have no children and to have families as if we have no work. I won’t go into the health consequences of being stressed out; we intuitively know the correlation between stress, overwork, and lack of sleep to chronic illness – we don’t need our fears to be validated with research and studies.

Abacus earrings (Portland, ME), Luxe Revival reclaimed vintage necklace (Uncommon Objects, Austin, TX), Kate Peterson Designs stack of rings (El Cerrito, CA), and beaded bracelets.

Abacus earrings (Portland, ME), Luxe Revival reclaimed vintage necklace (Uncommon Objects, Austin, TX), Kate Peterson Designs stack of rings (El Cerrito, CA), and beaded bracelets.

Schulte pointed out that in our rat-race society, we look down on the pursuit of leisure, which she says we equate to being lazy. “We clearly have lost all sense of its value as we’ve gotten wrapped up in busyness and the feeling that we always have to be ‘productive’ and ‘doing’ something,” she lamented. I slunk in my office chair, guilt warming over me. I’m one of those people touting always being productive. In my defense, I don’t believe in always doing something for the sake of being in motion, for the sake of not being at rest (on the couch, that is). After all, motion is only worth it if it enables you to check something off of your to-do list. Insert self-conscious laughter here. I’ll admit that for the longest stretch I could not sit down and read because there was way too much to do and I couldn’t bear for the world to keep moving on without me. As I have gotten older, the notion that I have less time to do what I need to do, which results in me going into overdrive, has interfered with what I actually need and want to do. Reading is an activity that makes me a better writer and enriches my mind on so many levels, but the act of sitting down and not producing something, not having something tangible to show for being at rest, if you will, was unacceptable to me. Thankfully, I have overcome that silliness, but it points to the affliction that we can’t seem to find a cure for.

Play with lengths, height, and color. You can venture into cropped top territory with sheer blouses.

Play with lengths, height, and color. You can venture into cropped top territory with sheer blouses.

Defining leisure
Schultze makes the case for embracing leisure, which is connected to creativity, problem solving, and the birth of civilization – the creation of art, philosophy, science, history, and so on. She wants us to recapture the value of play and break the bonds of stress and overwork. That to-do list? Don’t do it. In fact, don’t make a to-do list. That’s what I got from the interview. I’m sure the book has other tangible best practices. But I don’t have time to read it. I already know why I’m overwhelmed. I understand what I can and can’t change, even if that understanding doesn’t bring full-blown serenity. I have to work full-time for the time being, but I don’t have to let job demands kill me. If sleep deprivation negatively impacts my productivity and quality of my day job, then I make the decision to get more hours of sleep. It took a while to come to that realization and it took failing health to get to that point, but I learned my lesson. Telling me to chuck my to-do list is not an option. Now that I’m well rested most of the time, I get a lot more done. When I see all those check marks on my to-do list, I am buoyed and the sense of being overwhelmed is greatly mitigated. And I end up having “free” time, otherwise known as leisure time.

But let’s define leisure. If you had free time, defined as time in which you are not doing work for your day job, whatever that may be, what would you do with it? Some people may not think weeding is leisure, but when I am in my side yard weeding and pruning, I enter a Zen-like existence that actually insulates me from the worries that are waiting for me in my home office. It’s just me and the garden, which offers me both singular focus and an openness that allows my mind to wander. I welcome physical activity, and I feel a sense of accomplishment when I stand up and survey my tidy yard.

Tie colors together with splashy platform sandals and bring in vintage touches (reclaimed vintage matchbox necklace and my own early 1990s vintage Talbots equestrian-style crossbody bag.

Tie colors together with splashy platform sandals and bring in vintage touches (reclaimed vintage matchbox necklace and my own early 1990s vintage Talbots equestrian-style crossbody bag.

If I didn’t have my blog and my fiction writing, I would have more time to garden and to organize my disorganized home. I’d go to more of my kids’ sporting events. I’d be able to watch television – these days mostly just Major League Baseball games – but without multi-tasking – ironing, paying bills and reconciling check registers, responding to e-mails. I would just sit and watch. Am I sad that I can’t do that? I sneak in singularly focused activities every once in a while. But as Robert Frost, one of my favorite poets, wrote in his famous poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, “But I have promises to keep/And miles to go before I sleep.” So long as they are the things I really want to do, I am okay with staying up a little longer than I should, multi-tasking to get them done. So long as what is overwhelming me is about what I want to do – in my current case it is feeling overwhelmed at starting a new novel – and I take it as a call to action, I can live with that. By all means, mitigate being overwhelmed at work, but  make sure that what you are doing with the rest of your day, your life, is what you want to do and what brings you joy.

Bouquet time!

A flower blossoms for its own joy.
– Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright, poet, and author

We may have had a drought this past winter, but the strange weather has resulted in some of my flowers blooming earlier than usual. My alstroemeria, or Peruvian lily, which was a gift from my friend Raissa’s mom – a prolific gardener in her own right – has exploded this year in our front yard. Both hydrangea plants have gotten much larger and are also blooming like crazy, whereas in previous years they have been stingy with their flower production. Some of my dahlias, which don’t bloom until June, are already budding. I usually don’t start my weekly delivery of bouquets – my donation for my son’s middle school auction – until next month, but I figured why not share my bounty with the winning bidder, who happened to be last year’s winning bidder and was looking forward to another summer of an explosion of color in a vase.

This past weekend, in fact, I had enough flowers to create three bouquets – for my Portola Middle School auction winner, my friend Tana’s open studio (which was extremely successful!), and my friend Soizic. Now that is a bountiful week!

Variation on a theme: all three bouquets offered Bird of Paradise, alstroemeria, hydrangea, scabiosa anthemifolia, dianthus plumarius, and ferns.

Variation on a theme: all three bouquets offered Bird of Paradise, pink alstroemeria, pink hydrangea, brilliant blue scabiosa anthemifolia, magenta dahlias, pink and magenta dianthus plumarius, and ferns.

Spring offering: a bias cut mermaid-hem dress sprinkled with tiny flowers.

Spring offering: an old favorite of mine from years ago, a bias-cut mermaid-hem dress sprinkled with tiny flowers.

A spring breeze ruffles my comfy spring dress.

A spring breeze ruffles my comfy spring dress, which is complemented with strappy platform sandals and structured Cole-Haan handbag.

Details: Satya Jewelry earrings (NYC), Sundance cuff and stack of rings, Eskell fan ring (Chicago), and antique document holder-turned-necklace (Kate Peterson Designs, El Cerrito, CA).

Details: Satya Jewelry sterling silver earrings (NYC), Sundance cuff and stack of rings, Eskell fan ring (Chicago), and antique document holder-turned-necklace (Kate Peterson Designs, El Cerrito, CA).

Sandal weather!

Sandal weather!

The ‘Delano Manongs’ and the importance of historical accuracy

The most effective way of destroying people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.
– George Orwell, English author and journalist

Filmmaker Marissa Aroy introduces her documentary to a standing-room-only crowd.

Filmmaker Marissa Aroy introduces her documentary to a standing-room-only crowd.

Having missed the “Delano Manongs” at the CAAMFest 2014 (Center for Asian American Media Film Festival) in Oakland in March, I was so happy to be given another chance to see Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Marissa Aroy’s documentary about the Filipinos’ contribution to the Delano grape strike of 1965. The Manilatown Heritage Foundation hosted the screening of “Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farmworkers” at the International Hotel Manilatown Center (868 Kearney Street, San Francisco, CA 94108, mfg@manilatown.org) last Saturday afternoon. Marissa brought to the forefront the “buried” history of the manongs, a term of endearment for the older Filipino bachelors who came to the U.S. in the 1920s to work in the agricultural fields and subsequently struck for higher wages and better work conditions in the Delano vineyards in September 1965, in the heart of the Central Valley of California.

After the 30-minute screening, two local social justice organizers joined Aroy on a Q&A panel. Audience members wanted to hear Aroy’s take on Diego Luna’s biopic, Cesar Chavez, which was released in March. I haven’t seen the feature film, but many in the audience had. I trust the reports that they reported – that the Filipinos were pushed to the background and that the plucky, straight-shooter Filipino labor leader, Larry Itliong, was also relegated to second-class citizen status in the movie despite the fact that Itliong organized the original strike and convinced Chavez to join. In particular, Filipinos were outraged that in the pivotal scene in which the growers finally sign the union contracts Larry Itliong was in the crowd witnessing the signing and not being recognized as one of the negotiators who got the growers to sign in the first place. In reality, Itliong was seated at the table, alongside the growers and Chavez. Critics responded that the Filipinos were being petty, quibbling over an “insignificant” detail as the placement of Larry Itliong in a movie that was, after all, about Cesar Chavez.

Marissa addresses questions about historical accuracy in films.

Among other topics, Marissa addressed questions about historical accuracy in films.

Here is where I call foul. If the detail is inconsequential, why bother deviating from historical truth? When a historical movie deviates from the truth several times, viewers, especially those knowledgeable about the events and the time period, begin to distrust both the person telling the story and the story itself. And those who don’t know the history subsequently accept what they see as the truth. Marissa was asked about that particular scene in which Itliong was placed in the crowd and not at the table. She said she could only conjecture, but from a filmmaker’s perspective, she thought that a stronger, more outspoken character like Itliong – who was sporting a goatee, dark-rimmed glasses, and a cowboy hat at the signing – would “take away” the spotlight from the quieter figure of Chavez and therefore would not be placed prominently in the scene.

Critics again say it’s not about Itliong or the Filipinos. And again, indeed, the movie Cesar Chavez is not. They say, tell your own story. And so Marissa has – she spent five years making the documentary. That’s why it’s important to have a movie like the “Delano Manongs” in circulation. It demands to be seen with a greater distribution. Luckily for us all, Marissa reported that the documentary, which has been shown in limited engagements thus far, will be aired on PBS stations in 2015. But we can’t wait until next year to talk up this documentary and its insistence on recognizing the contributions of the Filipinos to the UFW. Those of us know the truth need to relentlessly educate those who don’t. For me, that’s part of the reason I wrote my novel, A Village in the Fields.

There has been talk of systematic and subtle – to the unassuming public, that is – erasure of the Filipinos from UFW history. It’s sinister in its subtlety. It shows that the gatekeepers of the legacy of the UFW and Chavez feel threatened by the legacy of the Filipinos, which shouldn’t be the case. When we are united against an evil, as was the case with the farm workers fighting against human rights violations, we win. When we break down within, we all lose. So it is with the retelling of this period in time. It’s a disservice to American history to rewrite any part of our national history. Think of Orwell’s words. Give credit where credit is due. The Filipinos started the Delano grape strike and they were instrumental in the creation of the UFW and in the victories gained at the bargaining table. Do your own research. Watch the “Delano Manongs” and spread the word. The truth.

Ripe Ribier grapes in September - the jewels in the fields.

Our own grapes of wrath.

Artist Lauren Ari: ‘perfectly imperfect’

We have all been expelled from the Garden, but the ones who suffer most in exile are those who are still permitted to dream of perfection.
– Stanley Kunitz, American poet, from The Collected Poems

Lauren's sculpture of woman on a chair.

Lauren’s sculpture of woman on a chair.

Through the end of the month, the work of artist Lauren Ari, whom I profiled last year, will be featured at FM (483 25th Street, Oakland, CA 94612), a gallery and studio founded and directed by a group of Bay Area artists in the burgeoning Oakland Arts District.

This Thursday, May 15th, a reception at FM will highlight Lauren’s artwork and a poetry reading by Alison Luterman and Daniel Ari, Lauren’s husband. FM is open Saturdays 1PM to 5PM and by appointment Sunday through Friday through directors@fmoakland.com.

More of Lauren’s work can also be found at Mua Bar & Restaurant (2442A Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94612, 510.238.1100), a fun and lively restaurant that David and I have been to once with our friends, Soizic and Ric. Have lunch or dinner at Mua and enjoy viewing Lauren’s artwork.

You can also purchase high-quality prints of Lauren’s paintings below. The sizes and prices are 9″ x 12″ ($65), 12″ x 16″ ($70), 15″ x 24″ ($95), 24″ x 36″ $140), and 30″ x 40″  $175). Order by contacting Lauren here on her website. My favorite? The Woman with flowers, which is the first one in the series below, and one which will be gracing our home shortly. Lauren’s energy, sense of humor, and vision are not only evident in her work, they are part of her wonderful personality. Get to know Lauren and her artwork this beautiful month of May in vibrant Oakland.

Woman with flowers.

Woman with flowers.

Woman with lion.

Woman with lion.

Blue woman.

Blue woman.

Woman and man.

Woman and man.

Woman with bird.

Woman with bird.

Woman with horse.

Woman with horse.

Woman with owl.

Woman with owl.

Yellow woman.

Yellow woman.

 

Tana Hakanson, artist: forthcoming open studio and a bright future

A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some fantasy.
– Edgar Degas, French artist in painting, sculpture, printmaking, and drawing

Tana in her studio talking art.

Tana in her studio talking art.

Last May 2013, I profiled my good friend and artist Tana Hakanson, who had her second showing in as many years with the East Bay Open Studio, sponsored by Pro Arts, in June. Tana sold 21 of the 24 paintings she had on display. “I was really surprised and pleased with the response from last year’s Open Studio,” she said. Going out on her own this year, she will be hosting her 3rd Open Studio the weekend of May 17-18, 2014 (1633 Mariposa Street, Richmond, CA 94804) from 10AM to 6PM.

Tana came away from last year’s event with rave reviews from all who came to view her art. “People were really responding to the work that I most enjoyed doing, which was working with fluid paint,” she pointed out. “That’s what I wanted to do more of, so I’m very happy.” Tana is doing more of this type of painting – working with “liquidy” paint that focuses on harmonization of colors and natural forms occurring as part of the process. Tana paints layer upon layer of oil paint, manipulating and working with the wet paint and then letting each layer dry. She works on up to six paintings at the same time. While the process sounds straightforward, it’s quite challenging. When the composition isn’t working to her satisfaction, Tana paints over the canvas and starts from scratch.

A close-up of one of five paintings in Tana's sidewalk cracks series.

A close-up of one of five paintings in Tana’s sidewalk cracks series.

Last year, for example, she started a series of five paintings based on a photograph she had taken of sidewalk cracks. The photograph itself was framed to create the composition. On the canvas, however, the cracks – made by squeezing paint from the tube in thick lines created such a stark composition that it overtook the piece. Departing completely from her original idea, she added more layers until the colors of three of the paintings resembled rust or corrosion, natural processes that Tana seeks to emulate in her paintings. “I really love the texture of natural processes such as oxidation and patterns created by the movement of water and wind,” she explained. “The painting process makes me feel connected to the energy of natural processes, which makes me feel so alive.”

Strong colors smolder on the canvas.

Strong colors smolder on the canvas.

Big ideas, big plans
While Tana carves out time for painting – Fridays are her days off from her administrative day job so she can paint within a block of uninterrupted time – she has started thinking about marketing plans. She plans to eventually seek out gallery representation, and is working toward creating a website to reach a wider audience, as well as putting together an Etsy site. There are also other online venues to pursue.

Close-up of textures in Tana's painting.

Close-up of textures in Tana’s painting.

The problem for any painter who is also a mom with a day job is trying to find the time to not only paint but market. Since selling most of her paintings last summer, Tana needs to build up her inventory again before she can host open studios and offer up paintings for an Etsy site or other e-tailer. So while most of her time is devoted to painting, she doesn’t have time for marketing. While having to deal with that Catch-22, Tana remains optimistic.

Waves and foam.

Waves and foam.

While she continues to paint and get ready for her open studio, Tana is getting her artwork out into the public. Check out Well Grounded Tea & Coffee Bar (6925 Stockton Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530, 510.528.4709), where some of her paintings are currently on display until May 15. She is also working to get her paintings exhibited in other local venues as well.

A close-up of Tana's painting reveals palpable texture.

A close-up of Tana’s painting reveals palpable texture.

Tana hopes to gain more time for her artwork in the future. “I really need to disconnect from everything and have large blocks of time – time that is hard to come by,” she said. When she’s in the throes of painting, Tana is in her element: “When I paint, it makes me feel so alive. I’m enthralled by color and texture…the vibrancy of these elements resonates inside like a moving piece of music, forming an internal landscape – a garden of feeling from which to nourish.”

One of Tana's fluid paintings.

One of Tana’s fluid paintings.