Cartographic Collages by Val Britton

Mile High City by Val Britton

These collaged drawings by Val Britton are the artist’s attempt to connect with her deceased father who was a truck driver. Using the visual language of cartography, the collages fuse the facts of his journeys with the aspects that cannot be known. Britton was born in Livingston, NJ, studied in Providence and Oakland, and is currently based in Berkeley.

Earth Print by Jane Kim

Artist Jane Kim was born in Chicago and now lives and works in Oakland, CA. This limited-edition print is her collaboration with Berkeley-based letterpress studio Olive-Route, which designs and prints lovely work, including stationery, art prints, and event invitations, sometimes in collaboration with other artists. See more examples of the studio’s work in its online shop.

Back from the Wrong Coast

I just got back into town from a vacation on the Wrong Coast. After that much-needed break, I’m very slowly getting back into the whole Interweb scene. While I get my bearings, enjoy this funky little map of the Bay Area, courtesy of the always informative and entertaining Strange Maps. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting some of the visual awesomeness I found on my trip.

Elsewhere

Cincinnati PARK[ing] Day Locations: go out and meet your neighbors over fresh-squeezed lemonade or a game of cornhole.

Wind Damage in OTR: CityKin documented the aftermath of Sunday’s winds, including damage to beloved Grammer’s.

How Berkeley: a passive aggressive note found in San Francisco; pot, meet kettle.

Fading Ad Blog: hurray, a fellow lover of ghost signs and other vernacular forms.

The American Experience: Coney Island: a PBS documentary that I now have to see.

Pictures of Walls: says what it is, is what it says — “a gallery of walls with stuff written on.”

Spa Town Erects Enema Statue: oh, my goodness.

Cometbus: Punk Philosophy

A couple of weeks ago, I found issue #50 of Cometbus at Shake It. Cometbus is a rare gem among punk zines, in that it’s been in existence since 1983 and, in that time, its creator Aaron Elliott [a.k.a. Aaron Cometbus] has grown up and into a strong, insightful writer.

Topiary Utopia

Logically, I should harbor the same dislike for topiary that I do for lawns. Both phenomena seem wasteful and silly. Yet, topiary fascinates me. Where a good-looking lawn seems to be merely the product of patience, well-trimmed topiary takes an artful eye and an amount of patience that seems to border on OCD.