A Super Great Birthday Day

I had a super-fun birthday day, and thought I'd post a little record of my adventures here for posterity, and because you might want to do some of this stuff too, on any old day. It was basically an art and food extravaganza - two of my very favorite things. Here's the list of events in order of occurrence:

• Birthday Waffles at Jacé Gacé - holy toledo, those are yummy. Mine looked like the one in this picture, except it also had chocolate sauce.



• Elizabeth Leach Gallery to see Gee's Bend Quilts. I only really liked the one in this picture. It's more about the colors for me than anything, I guess. But I also do like the primitive, willy nilly abstract patchworking effect. Oh, by the way, this one cost about $16,000. So I'm totally getting it. Right.




• Blackfish Gallery - I liked the Karen Ehlers pieces in her series "Under the Dogwood Tree." Unfortunately, no images from that series are available online. I grabbed this one from her Web site - apprently it's untitled.


• PDX - I had a great conversation with the docent about the pieces they were showing by D.E. May. You really do need some context to appreciate them. My spin on it is that May has created "templates" - objects that refer to the kinds of paper tools we handle all of the time. These documents become useless as tools when taken out of context, but still have beauty and a character that comes from the touch of so many hands. Or something like that : ) I was really drawn to them, felt lucky to be in a room alone with them, and have such a knowlegdeable and enthusiastic person on site to talk about them. I will definitely keep an eye on May's work in the future.



• Pulliam Deffenbaugh had a Matthew Picton - who lives in Ashland, Oregon, by way of London - show of maps whose features are made from cut pieces of brightly painted enamel that are raised up from the surface with pins. They are humongous and stunning in that "I cannot believe how much time this must have taken" and "Crikey - how much patience and precision would be required" kind of way. (The one in this picture is of Portland and measures roughly 5' x 4') They sparked thoughts about what maps are, why cities look the way they do (how form/planning impacts function), how maps relate to reality, etc. They really should be seen in person.

I also saw in a little catalogue pictures of Picton's "Road Surface" drawings. Self-explanatory, and very beautiful. This one was done in Medford, Oregon.



• Relish Design: Lots of neat things in there, many of which are quite affordable. I especially liked these necklaces from Danish ceramacist Anne Black - they're really lovely.


• Gallery 114: Some nice Vuillard-inspired work by Gillian Holbrook who was just starting her shift as the docent for the day (the gallery is a co-op). It was nice to talk with someone who also liked that somewhat-obscure French guy.


• Took some pictures walking back to my car:

• Quick lunch at Pastini, then off to see The Bourne Ultimatum - finally!! Good times.

• Then off to a stunning and wonderful (as usual)dinner at Park Kitchen. The flavors of each of the dishes are so delicate and layered - I have loved everything I've ever eaten there. Ben and I shared:
- Bocce: Maker's Mark Bourbon, a splash of maraschino liquor, Campari and fresh orange
- Salt & Pepper: Gin, Peychaud's Bitters, fresh grapefruit and lime, served up with a salt rim
- Crazy good bottle of French wine
- Fried green beans with an aioli dipping sauce
- Octopus salad
- Terrine of the day - country pork
- Roasted chilies, beets and walnuts
- Lamb deliciousness
- Plum nocello ice cream in chocolate walnut cracker

Now that was one happy birthday!