On bookstores

I used to be an avid reader. And I suddenly realized that I'm not anymore. I used to devour books. I read them on the bus, during lunch breaks, curled up on the couch. I probably averaged a book every two weeks or so. But in the last year, I've stopped reading like I used to.

When I first moved into my neighborhood thirteen years ago, there were two independent bookstores within two blocks of each other. A couple of years later, a third bookstore joined the neighborhood. This meant that, while running errands or waiting for a table at a local restaurant, I could stop into a bookstore and check out the new releases. I could look in the used section to see if the novel I'd been wanting to read was finally available at half price. I could ask for recommendations on new nonfiction. Or I could sit and read a chapter of a book (which inevitably led to my purchase of that book).

But now, none of those bookstores remain. They've been replaced by a yoga studio, a shoe store selling the ugliest shoes I've ever seen, and a resale clothing shop. And I don't read as much. How many communities still have independent bookstores? Most people, I suspect, buy their books from Target or Wal-Mart or Costco. A few may have access to a Borders or a Barnes and Noble. But all of these stores tend to promote blockbuster fiction rather than literary fiction. And Amazon is great if you know what you want, but web shopping is just not the same as browsing through a bookstore. There's no real thrill of discovery, no sitting down to read a few pages and realizing three chapters later that you're completely engrossed in a book. No instant gratification of seeing a book, buying it, and settling in for a night to read it.

Studies have shown that the consumption of fresh produce in a community is directly related to its availability. Residents of poorer neighborhoods eat fewer vegetables, not because low-income folks don't like them, but because the few stores that are around don't stock them. As soon as a farmers' market or a produce store opens, the residents' fruit and veg consumption increases. And food banks report that when they offer fresh produce alongside junk and packaged food, the produce disappears long before everything else.

I think it's the same with books.

I was listening to a segment on NPR in which one of the commentators remarked that holiday blockbuster books tend to be more "popular" fiction than literary fiction. It seems that most Americans would rather read a Dan Brown novel than, say, a Margaret Atwood novel.

Or would they? Maybe most of us are just picking from what's available. Maybe what we need are more choices - not only blockbuster books from mega chains, but also quiet novels from neighborhood stores. I'll take my junk on the side. What I really want - need - is a healthy dose of intelligent, engrossing, thought-provoking literature.

The show

Rosie and Tim, muertos faces, and my print.

Glass skull, mirror, silly poses with Sami, Steph and Bjorn

Huh. I looked on my camera this morning and saw that I only took four photos of the show opening last night. Four! That's a sign of a good night. Many of my friends stopped by. I ate tamales. I even ate crickets (or were they grasshoppers?) - they were quite tasty, and were lightly flavored with lime and salt. There was poetry, as well as a little memorial service (which reminded me so much of the Catholic Lenten services of my childhood).

I might go back some time this week to take a few more photos. All of the other work was pretty great and I felt honored to have been included in the group.

Also, Dia de los Muertos in San Francisco is way cooler than Halloween. Yes, there are costumes and face paints and parades, but there's also still a real connection to tradition - a celebratory solemnity, almost.

Belated Happy Halloween-All Saints' Day-All Souls Day, everyone.

Day of the Dead 2009 Print

I finished my Day of the Dead print last night and am pleased with it. It looks better than I'd anticipated, and my last-minute, gut instinct decisions about color worked.

Creating this print was not an easy project for me. In the beginning, every time I started sketching, I heard Tim Gunn's voice in my head, saying, "You don't want the judges to say you're a one-note." I'm not kidding. I've been drawing shoes and purses and animals for so long that I wasn't sure I could do something using someone else's theme. And yet, I wanted my work to look like "me," so I decided to forgo the skeleton imagery and try to capture death and peace.

A little about Day of the Dead - in the West, it's a holiday celebrated primarily in Mexico. It was celebrated long before the Spaniards arrived and Christianized the holiday. It then somehow made its way to the Philippines - probably thanks to those same Catholic missionaries - where it is one of the big, religious holidays. Much of the symbolism is the same - according to my mom, skulls, orange flowers, and shrines to deceased loved ones dominate.



So, in a way, this is a little shrine to my grandmother. Any of my cousins who see this may notice that the image doesn't look much like Lola. But I tried to capture her spirit a bit, as well as her love of color (and the way she always parted her hair).

I'll drop the print off at the gallery tomorrow. My only regret is that I didn't give myself more time to experiment with the printing. But now I know that I can do something a little different than my usual, and I'll make the time to experiment more in the future.

More info about the show can be found here.

Day of the Dead Show

Image by Calixto Robles.

I will be participating in a Day of the Dead group show at the Back to the Picture Gallery. I'm excited about this show because (1) it's my first gallery show, and (2) I will be showing a print that doesn't feature shoes, purses, or smirky animals.

After I, um, finish my print sometime this week, I'll post a photo or two. Or, better yet, you can stop by the show to check it out. I heard there will be tamales served on opening night. Tamales! And I also heard that that whole stretch of Mission turns into a Mexican-style DotD party. Really, how can you resist?

Ninth Annual Day of the Dead Exhibition 2009
Back to the Picture Latin American Gallery
Opening Night Reception: Monday, November 2nd, 7 pm-10pm
934 Valencia Street, San Francisco
www.backtothepicture.com

How to repurpose stuff that's just lying around

I've had a flurry of orders this week (thanks, decor8 and Craft blog!) and ran out of the tissue paper I usually wrap my orders in. I just happened to have this elementary school manuscript paper lying around (bought for a project that I'll probably never do) so used it to wrap my 2010 calendar orders.

I keep meaning to do a post about creative ways to wrap packages, but other things keep popping up. One of these days, I'll write it. Possibly even before the holidays.

Four people years...

... equals 28 dog years. And that's how long Jake and I have been together.

We didn't do anything special for our anniversary this year - for our first anniversary I made him a boiled potato and a carrot but he didn't get me anything - and I've decided I don't like his surprises anyway.

I found a bunch of photos of him on my iPhone. Am I taking them, or is he doing the weird, self-portrait-using-an-outstretched-arm thing? Hmm...

Thanks, decor8!

I noticed that my Galoshes calendar was suddenly getting a lot of hits and found out that it had been included in decor8blog's calendar roundup. That makes me very happy.

It's always nice to get validation from other people! So, thank you decor8blog - and thank you, all of my customers and supporters. I couldn't do it without you.