Self-help gurus sometimes coach artists to “stay in your own lane,” which is a wonderful affirmation of the infinite, individual pathways to success.
Except, of course, that it’s difficult to stay in one’s own lane when everyone else’s lanes are going to vastly better places. The “lane” for many artists is a dead end. Or at least it’s strewn with road blocks. “Speed bumps,” some booster might encourage with a wink, but that’s the kind of “everybody gets a trophy” sentiment that raises expectations to lethal heights when the artist inevitably falls short. And by “short,” we generally mean “short on cash.” There’s a reason there’s a “road less taken,” and trust me, it will “make all the difference.”
It’s not one’s talent but another’s taste that determines an artist’s commercial success in our capitalist society. These days, a succes d’estime rates little more than a humblebrag on social media. (“So grateful to waste a graduate degree on this under-appreciated expression of my withering sense of self.”)
I had a chat with an artist source on background (to protect their brand and the windows of their glass house). I asked, “What’s a starving artist to do? Sell out?”
“Ha! Most artists couldn’t sell out if they tried. There’s a devastating lack of market savvy on one side and an equally devastating lack of self-awareness about what’s actually marketable about them on the other,” this famously successful sell out said while sipping a wine that costs as much as your car. “Also, most people can’t afford what artists do—at least in a manner sustaining to the artist—and competition is at all time high since everyone and their ex-brother-in-law is also an artist.”
A rather jaundiced point of view, I thought, but there are some salient points for those artists still hate-reading this satire. A) Know what differentiates your work from your ex-brother-in-law and double-down on that. B) Aim for a higher market and price your work accordingly. (Those who can afford to be real collectors have benefitted from a system that has disenfranchised you—so take their damn money.) C) Create false scarcity, be aloof and exclusive. Sell to Peter just to piss off Paul.
And most importantly, D) Gin up market awareness by getting and keeping your name in the media. “How?” you ask. “You don’t even have an arts editor.” True. But you got me, and I believe in you and your artsy ideals. Carpool in my lane for a bit—the ride might be a little bumpy sometimes, but we’re going places.
Send properly formatted press releases (Google it) and your high-resolution images (300 dpi at least) to dh*****@*****ys.com.
Let’s be honest…we DO compare ourselves to our peer group and others, and I might argue that’s not a bad thing.
On Reading Obits
I know. What am I thinking? With all the strife, murder and acts of incomprehensible callousness…I search for something more.
And by golly, it’s right there. Waiting to be discovered, by you and me. Knocking on 60, I’m not exactly looking for my classmates in this part of the paper…yet. Or, will it be they who view me? Folly to contemplate. It’s honestly immaterial.
The value I get from reading about the lives I may have had some oblique brush with (Anthony Compagno from Redwood High School…one of those people I saw on campus, didn’t really interact with too much but knew he was a teacher…), or had no knowledge of at all, is actually refreshing. These people who immigrated, married, worked and have multi faceted stories to tell…so much life to understand. It’s kind of like admitting I don’t know anything and getting to learn the things someone I never knew prioritized in their life, what mattered to them…and then putting my own “high powered”* reflection on that same “life well lived”…and the juicy question: “How am I doing?”
Let’s be honest…we DO compare ourselves to our peer group and others, and I might argue that’s not a bad thing. A rising tide raises all boats, so behavior which all helps us zero in on the correct direction on our personal compass…? Valuable. So to the families: it’s a kind gesture to share one tenth of a micron of “who” they were, to you, to others…it’s a gift and reminder. What do we do with the time we have been given? Sometimes the dead speak to the living, imparting wisdom, and it couldn’t be more beautiful.
Nice to listen.
— Joseph Brooke
*I make fun of my own egocentric place here now…
To share a tribute about a departed loved one with our readership, email li**********@*****ys.com
Good morning, loves! How is everyone? May this Wednesday be sweet and surprising. I’m home in Oakland, finally, and yours truly is very grateful.Though there’s a whisper in the winds about a trip to Thailand soon…
On to this week’s “Look”!
As some may know—and certainly will know after reading the North Bay Bohemian feature—the once-postponed North Bay Fashion Ball is back, featuring a lineup of inspiring local fashion designers. I had the pleasure of speaking with one such, the 21-year-old Janet (@7anet7ackson), on their inspiration and creative process. Read on.
Janet—whose work is inspired by Japanese designers like Jun Takahashi and made from entirely second or third-hand material—is a designer and photographer born and raised in Sonoma County. Janet attended high school at Rancho Cotati, where an inspiring teacher, Mrs. Bee, encouraged them to continue with their art. Without her, Janet says, they wouldn’t be here today. After high school, Janet spent a brief period of time at the Santa Rosa Junior College, before deciding in 2020 to commit to their craft full time. They picked up sewing and haven’t looked back.
Janet’s fashion is playful and dimensional; an impasto-like line featuring beanie babies, fabric scraps and bright colors. They are inspired by making the best out of what they have in the moment, and transmuting the harm that’s been done to the planet into something potent and wearable. Janet’s work process is also a form of meditation and healing—a way they’ve survived extremely challenging experiences in the past, including a Temporal Lobe Epilepsy diagnosis which, when undiagnosed, was causing extreme symptoms.
“Sewing,” said Janet, “Helps me piece everything together and heal. Especially the style I’m beginning to cultivate. It’s very reflective of what somebody who struggles with metal health and spiritual hardships might be going through.”
Janet sees an alchemical quality to their work. Repurposing garbage, “transforming the lesser into something hopefully greater” is a lead-into-gold sort of process that they hope inspires other people to do the same in all areas of life.
Janet’s work—unique, spiritual and environmentally conscious—will be on view at the North Bay Fashion Ball May 28 at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma. Don’t miss it!
Looking phenomenal, everyone.
See you next week!
Love,
Jane
Jane Vick is an artist and writer currently based in Oakland. She splits her time between Europe, New York and New Mexico. View her work and contact her at janevick.com
I’m afraid the decision was erroneous by the inexperienced Trump-appointed Florida Judge Kathyrn Mizelle, who as an appointee was given the rare ABA evaluation of “not qualified,” as was the case with many of Trump’s judicial appointees (far more than that of any other U.S. president in history). Her error, which will doubtless result in condemning probably thousands of Americans to death from the latest omicron BA2 subvariant of Covid-19 (which will certainly not be the last), was based on her misinterpretation of the 1944 Public Health Service Act, which mentions “sanitation,” but doesn’t define it. She opted to select the “clean something” definition and ruled that since wearing a mask “neither ‘sanitizes’ the person wearing the mask nor ‘sanitizes’ the conveyance,” the CDC mandate was overturned. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
As a biologist who has taught bacteriology, virology and biotechnology at high school and university levels, and who was involved in doing DNA research at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, I know of no actual “expert” who would not agree that wearing a good KN95 or similar mask isn’t one of the best tools available for preventing transmission of aerosol-spread viruses.
Larry Lack
Marin County
More Train Pains
Absurdly expensive to actually use instead of driving five days/week, [the SMART train has] no stop at the actual destination. Are you kidding me? But life goes on and down the tubes for all but the richy-rich.
]A one-night utopia and the next wave of fashion culture in Sonoma County
The North Bay Fashion Ball is back. Brainchild of artist, writer and all-around significant human being Cincinnatus Hibbard, along with a group of fellow artists and creatives, The North Bay Fashion Ball, coming May 28 to Petaluma’s Phoenix Theater, is a significant event for Sonoma County’s arts and fashion scene, and the Sonoma County LGBTQ community. It’s an event the likes of which Sonoma County hasn’t seen before.
It all started in fall of 2021, when Hibbard found himself looking around at his group of friends, admiring their myriad skill sets and wanting some way to showcase and promote the creative energy in which he found himself immersed.
“I was sitting between Alejandro Salazar and Ammon Sigur,” Hibbard said. “Two artists who represent different schools of fashion and sensibility—Alejandro is a Gen Xer coming from museum and gallery world who has started to paint clothing, and Ammon is a Gen Z artist who’s been wanting to put together a fashion house—House of Ammon—for quite a while. Fusing these two creatives and their styles together in my mind, an idea began to percolate.”
Fast forward, and that initial impulse has resulted in a kind of a three ring circus, as Hibbard refers to it. A fashion show, ball-type event filled with vibrancy, color, joy and love: The North Bay Fashion Ball. The night is a hybrid runway show and queer ball or pagent, with elements of performance throughout which promise to create a lot of spontaneous, unexpected moments. Think German dinner theater meets RuPaul’s Drag Race meets Project Runway, with the inimitable flair of Sonoma County and a whole lot of loving intention. Hibbard and co have centered The North Bay Fashion Ball around movement, vitality and a sense of inclusion for those participating in any capacity.
“Ammon really brought the spontaneity of the open ball form. Alejandro brought the runway sensibility.” said Hibbard. “And this desire to showcase the talent of my social circle has turned into a chance to magnetize Sonoma County fashion talent.”
Hibbard, who specializes in the what he calls the Broader Human Potential Movement—a self-identified term for utopian writing, or writing for the purpose of broadening human potential—got into event and party planning because, as he puts it, events are “one-night utopias.”
“Events are miraculous; they’re one-night utopias, one-night communities. They’re ephemeral, and they bring people together under a new form of organization, a new set of rules. I’ve found and selected people from disparate scenes in Sonoma County, and I’m bringing them all together to create this singular, unifying event. From there, my more esoteric or energetic role sets in, as a behind-the-scenes facilitator of an unfolding potential utopia. Everyone I’ve found is very charismatic and vibrant—and they all relate deeply to healing, non-toxicity and kindness. These are fully therapised, loving people, brimming with compassion and brightness.”
The event is structured in four parts, like a ziggurat or a wedding cake. In the zero hour or arrival hour, which Hibbard refers to as Presidential Level, attendees will be met at the door by two drag queens, La Brea Tarpit and Courtney Amore, welcoming them into a high fashion dance party with music by DJ St. Rose Disco (@saintrosedisco), dancing led by dance master April “Space” Walker (@spacewalker92) and drummer Phil Cole (@clown999), live spray painting by artist Malcolm Stuart (@malcolmstuart)—who was featured recently in North Bay Bohemian’s “Look” column—and baked goods provided by the Neighborhood Garden Initiative, a nonprofit providing food-based community gardens to under-served communities.
Hour one, which Hibbard calls Princess Level, has an open runway and seven categories of competition: Tarot Card, Pop/Rock Star, Gender Queer, Met Gala, Recycled/Upcycled, Y2K and Festival Ware. Attendees can sign up to walk the runway during the Princess Level hour, and Princess Boutique from Santa Rosa will be there with tiaras, distributed to the winners of each category. Ticket prices are reduced to $7.50 for those daring enough to walk.
“The MC for the runway competition is Justin Howard, who started his career writing for Joan Rivers’ Fashion Police. He’ll lovingly and compassionately be MCing and rating the looks,” said Hibbard. “Think of who-wore-it better type vibe, but in a radically inclusive way. This is the democratization of the runway, loving all ages and body types.”
“And note, with this portion of the event,” said Hibbard, “that it’s really about being adored. There will be winners for each category, yes, but everyone will be loved and appreciated. The competition will be judged by noise, and the loudest applause received will result in a tiara, but everyone is a supermodel. This part of the night is all about opening up the runway, giving everyone a turn and a great photograph. It’s also an opportunity for younger stylists to debut, or to take a small chance. The overall winner will be invited to be a designer next year, which is also great incentive.”
The third hour, Queen Level, will honor the featured local fashion professionals and showcase their collections, as well as giving a shoutout to local designers and organizations like Trashion Fashion from the Sonoma Community Center and Disguise the Limit in Santa Rosa. Designers featured will include fashion designer Janet (@7anet7ackson), artist and clothing painter Alejandro Salazar (@alejandro_salizar_g), upcycled fashion makers Joshua + Mathilde from BigMouthUnique (@bigmouthunique)—who also recently featured in a North Bay Bohemian “Look” column—and Buck Lucky Collective founder and director Lena Claypool (@bucklucky), daughter of musician Les Claypool. It’s a star-studded lineup.
The fourth and final hour, which Hibbard didn’t name but I’m calling the Goddess Level, will feature music from headliner Korean popstar Yozmit, who will start the set with dance pop and close with celestial ambient music to send the night off on a sparkling, stylish cloud. The entire event is going to be a sparkling, stylish cloud, built on creativity, inclusivity and the power of fashion.
“We’ll have two local photographers, Carlos Chavez and Eric Molyneaux, roving around and turning the place into a sort of open photoshoot throughout the night. We want people to come dressed as their fantasy, and be ready to be photographed.” said Hibbard.
For North Bay Fashion Ball, this is just the beginning. The event is meant to draw out creatives, encourage people to take a step towards becoming designers and to generally ignite and inspire connection.
“We want to meet the creatives and support them,” said Hibbard. “The fun and exciting part is that we’re not sure who the ball is going to bring out. We’re just excited to meet them, whoever they are. And as this goes forward, we’re hoping the scene will get bigger and more vibrant. And as it grows, so will these events.”
As if the ethos of the event weren’t inspiring enough, 100% of the proceeds from the North Bay Fashion Ball will go to Face2Face, a Sonoma County nonprofit formed during the original AIDS crisis, which provides ongoing and unbiased care, testing services and prevention methods to those with AIDS.
The North Bay Fashion Ball is 6-10pm, May 28 at the Phoenix Theater, 201 Washington St., Petaluma. Tickets are $7.50-$15, available at eventbrite.com
1 San Francisco is the only city that’s home to a moveable U.S. National Monument. What is it?
2 What large industrial equipment is named for a small insect that lives only one-four months before changing its appearance?
3 According to Nielsen Music’s 2020 report, who were the Top 5 best-selling music artists of the decade 2010-2020, based on album and record sales, excluding streaming?
4 A most disastrous accident occurred on April 26, 1986, at what nuclear power plant, located in what country at that time?
5 If all the Pixar movies were listed in alphabetical order, the top of the list would be what popular 1998 film?
6 What political leaders from the U.S., Egypt and Israel signed the 1979 Camp David accords that led to a signed peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, which still stands today?
7 Depending on its current location, what’s the maximum number of nearby squares that a chess knight (horse) could possibly move to on its next move?
8 About 4 million tourists each year visit this 265-acre zoo that’s home to about 6,000 species of animals, located where in New York City?
9 What musical website/app is named after the first woman created by the Greek gods?
10 Over its long history from 1947 until today, the NBA team called the “Warriors” has been named for what three geographical locations?
BONUS QUESTION: When shoppers at Harrods department store in London first experienced this new invention in 1878, some people felt woozy and had to be restored with a shot of whisky. What was it?
Want More trivia for your next party, fundraiser, school or corporate event? Contact ho*****@********fe.com.
Lights, camera action as the eighth annual AVFest returns, in person for the first time since 2019. A film festival that originated from a collaboration to promote film between Cloverdale and Healdsburg, AVfest regularly showcases and hosts new emerging talent from around the world, and provides an opportunity for the community to gather together, appreciate film and connect with one another. This year, the festival starts with feature film Calendar Girls, a documentary centered around retired Florida dancers, in support of the natural and gracefully aging woman. There will be an accompanying Block Party opening night, on First Street in Cloverdale. AVFest is all over, with events in Cloverdale, Windsor, Healdsburg and a new expansion into Santa Rosa at Lost Church, with a Live@LostChurch screening featuring upcoming Asian-American filmmaker H.P. Mendoza, who Buzzfeed has referred to as one of 28 Asian-American filmmakers to watch. There are multiple screenings in multiple locations; visit avfilmpresents.org for all event details. Live@LostChurch is Friday, May 6, at Lost Church, 427 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. Doors open at 7pm; event starts at 7:30pm. Individual tickets $25, student tickets $5. www.avfilmpresents.org
Oakland
Dream Pop/Folk
Kalinders is the music project of Sonoma County-raised, Oakland-based singer/songwriter Holly Tzeigon-Whitaker. Kalinders has a dreamy folk meets pop sound, built from Tzeigon-Whitaker’s years of playing on her own and reflecting on her sound while spending time living on a goat farm in Sebastopol. In Fall 2021, Kalinders recorded their debut singles, Convenient Hell and Evidence Now, at White Whale Studios in Santa Rosa, with additional support from Maryam Qudus at New, Improved Studios in Oakland. Convenient Hell dropped this Friday, accompanied by a music video available on YouTube. Kalinders, Mac Cornish & Ha Vay will play at Amado’s San Francisco, 998 Valencia St., San Francisco, Thursday, June 2, at 7pm. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. www.amadossf.com
Healdsburg
Sip n’ Sculpt
This weekend, celebrate International Sculpture Day in Healdsburg at Savor Sonoma Sculpture with nine Sonoma County sculptors and their artworks. Hosted by the T Barny Gallery & Sculpture Gardens, this event invites you to savor local sculpture in stone, wood, bronze, fabricated metals, bone, ceramics and electronic parts. According to T Barny, “The idea of bringing nine Sonoma County sculptors together creates a feast for the senses. To ‘savor’ sculpture, you need to see it, touch it…” The T Barny Gallery & Sculpture Gardens are the home of sculpture T Barny, who has been creating with stone for over 40 years, and has taught stone carving in California, Kansas, Washington and New Mexico. His sentiment around sculpture is informed by over four decades of relationship with the craft. Along with his staff, which includes several very reliable dogs, he curates a significant selection of work. Savor Sonoma Sculpture will be held at T Barny Gallery & Sculpture Gardens, 4370 Pine Flat Rd., Healdsburg. Event is 9am-4pm Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 and is free. www.sonomacounty.com
Sonoma
Catskills Comes West
Presented by Sonoma Arts Live and directed by Jaime Weiser Love and Larry Williams, with musical direction by Sherrill Peterson, Saturday Night at Grossinger’s is a representation of the once-glorious 1,200 acre resort—complete with its own post office and airstrip—frequented by artists, writers and actors from New York City. The stage is set on a Saturday night in the early ’60s in the Catskills. When the regularly scheduled stars don’t show up to entertain the full house, the founders of Grossinger’s Resort gather around to share how it all happened—how the Catskills came to be the East Coast entertainment retreat. This kind-of-true tale of fame, fortune and fun is an excellent activity for a Saturday night. Saturday Night at Grossinger’s is playing at the Rotary Stage in Andrews Hall, Sonoma Community Center, 276 E Napa St., Sonoma. Showtime 7:30pm April 30, with other times available through May 8. Tickets range from $25-$42. www.app.arts-people.com
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I recommend you adopt a limitation that will enable you to claim more freedom. For example, you could de-emphasize your involvement with a lukewarm dream, so as to liberate time and energy for a passionate one. Or you could minimize your fascination with a certain negative emotion to make more room for invigorating ones. Any other ideas? You’re in a phase when increased discipline and discernment can be liberating.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Imagining anything is the first step toward creating it,” wrote author and activist Gloria Steinem. “Believing in a true self is what allows a true self to be born,” she added. Those are excellent meditations for you to focus on right now, Taurus. The time is ripe for you to envision in detail a specific new situation or adventure you would like to manifest in the future. It’s also a perfect moment to picture a truer, deeper, more robust version of your beautiful self—an expanded version of your identity that you hope to give birth to in the coming months.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini author William Butler Yeats won a Nobel Prize for Literature, so I conclude he had considerable talent and wisdom. But he cultivated interests and ideas that were at variance with most other literary figures. For example, he believed fairies are real. He was a student of occult magic. Two of his books were dictated by spirits during séances. In the coming weeks, I invite you to draw inspiration from his versatile repertoire. Welcome knowledge in whatever unusual ways it might materialize. Be eager to accept power and inspiration wherever they are offered. For inspiration, here’s a Yeats’ quote: “I have observed dreams and visions very carefully, and am certain that the imagination has some way of lighting on the truth that reason has not, and that its commandments, delivered when the body is still and the reason silent, are the most binding we can ever know.”
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You know what’s always good for your well-being? It’s helping people who are less fortunate and privileged than you. To enhance your health, you can also fight bigotry, campaign against the abuse of animals and remedy damage to the natural world. If you carry out tasks like these in the coming weeks, you will boost your vigor and vitality even more than usual. You may be amazed at the power of your compassion to generate selfish benefits for yourself. Working on behalf of others will uplift and nurture you. To further motivate you, here are inspirational words from designer Santiago Bautista: “I am in love with all the gifts of the world, and especially those destined for others to enjoy.”
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “There is a moment in each day that Satan cannot find,” wrote author and artist William Blake. Here’s how I interpret his poetic words: On a regular basis, you become relatively immune from the debilitating effects of melancholy, apathy and fear. At those times, you are blessed with the freedom to be exactly who you want to be. You can satisfy your soul completely. In the next six weeks, I suspect there will be more of these interludes for you than usual. How do you plan to use your exalted respite from Satan’s nagging?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Poet Louis Little Coon Oliver (1904–1991) was a member of the indigenous Mvskoke people. He declared, “I do not waste what is wild.” That might mean something different for him than what it would mean for you, but it’s an excellent principle for you to work with in the coming weeks. You will have more access than usual to wildness, and you might be tempted to use it casually or recklessly. I hope that instead you harness all that raw mojo with precision and grace. Amazingly, being disciplined in your use of the wildness will ensure that it enriches you to the max and generates potent transformative energy.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I suspect you will have the skills of an acrobat in the coming weeks—at least metaphorically. You will be psychically nimble. Your soul will have an exceptional ability to carry out spry maneuvers that keep you sane and sound. Even more than usual, you will have the power to adjust on the fly and adapt to shifting circumstances. People you know may marvel at your lithe flexibility. They will compliment you for your classiness under pressure. But I suspect the feats you accomplish may feel surprisingly easy and breezy!
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A Tumblr blogger named Af-70 gives copious advice. From his wide selection of wise counsel, I have selected six tips that are right for your needs in the coming weeks. Please study the following counsel. 1. “Real feelings don’t change fast.” 2. “Connect deeply or not at all.” 3. “Build a relationship in which you and your ally can be active in each other’s growth.” 4. “Sometimes what you get is better than what you wanted.” 5. “Enjoy the space between where you are and where you are going.” 6. “Keep it real with me, even if it makes us tremble and shimmer.”
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Consider putting a sign on your door or a message on your social media that says something like the following: “I’ve still got some healing to do. While I’m making progress, I’m only part way there. Am open to your suggestions, practical tips and suggestions for cures I don’t know about.” Though the process is as yet incomplete, Sagittarius, I am proud of how diligent and resourceful you have been in seeking corrections and fixes. My only suggestions: 1. Be bold about seeking help and support. 2. Be aggressive about accessing your creativity. Expand your imagination about what might be therapeutic.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “To uncover what is hidden in my soul might take me a week or two,” my friend Allie told me. I told her she would be lucky if her brave and challenging exploration required such a short time. In contrast, some people I know have spent years trying to find what is buried and lost in their souls: me, for instance. There was one period of my life when I sought for over a decade to find and identify the missing treasure. According to my astrological analysis, you will soon enjoy multiple discoveries and revelations that will be more like Allie’s timeline than mine: relatively rapid and complete. Get ready! Be alert!
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A Thai cook named Nattapong Kaweenuntawong has a unique method for cooking the soup served in his Bangkok restaurant. At the end of each night, he saves the broth for use the next day. He has been doing that daily for 45 years. Theoretically, there may be molecules of noodles that were originally thrown in the pot back in 1977. In accordance with current astrological omens, I urge you to dream up a new tradition that borrows from his approach. What experience could you begin soon that would benefit you for years to come?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Pisces-born Casimir Pulaski (1745–1779) was a Polish nobleman and military commander. As a young man, he fought unsuccessfully to free Poland from Russian domination. Driven into exile, he fled to America, arriving during the Revolutionary War with Britain in 1777. General George Washington was impressed with Pulaski’s skills, making the immigrant a brigadier general. He distinguished himself as a leader of American forces, exhibiting brilliance and bravery. For that excellence, he has been honored. But now, over two centuries later, his identity is in flux. DNA analyses of Pulaski’s remains suggest he was an intersex person with both male and female qualities. (Read more: tinyurl.com/PulaskiSmithsonian.) I bring this to your attention, Pisces, because the coming months will be a favorable time to question and revise your understanding of your identity. May you be inspired by Pulaski’s evolving distinctiveness.
Long ago, when I was a youngster in the 1980s, my bookish older brother brought home an unusual literary magazine he’d scored at City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco. It was narrow and long, this lit mag, made of stapled white paper with no real cover, and absolutely packed with avant-garde poetry and experimental prose. It was called Exquisite Corpse: a Journal of Books and Ideas.
At that time all I knew was that in a stultifyingly plastic and soulless time and place, Exquisite Corpse was a literary magazine of notable content and quality, one that superseded my own intellectual ability to fully understand. That situation never actually changed, for what it’s worth— I remain perpetually unable to grasp all cutting-edge intellectual content—but I found out many years later that the experimental lit rag was the brain-child of an internationally famous man named Andrei Codrescu.
Codrescu—American-Romanian poet, novelist, NPR commentator and one-time local Monte Rio resident (1973–1977)—immigrated to the United States in 1966 and proceeded to take the literary world by storm, writing more than 20 books, including two due out later this year, as he rotated through various cities and locales around the country. He also achieved some high degree of notoriety and fame by accruing several literary awards, including the Ovid Prize for Poetry and—twice—the Pushcart Prize, and by publishing work in The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Harper’s and The Paris Review.
Many not-quite-so-bookish people will recognize Codrescu from NPR’s All Things Considered, where he has been a commentator since 1983 and where many of his essays are now stored in a digital archive. He has also taught poetry and literature at Johns Hopkins University, Louisiana State University and the University of Baltimore.
TheNew York Times has called Codrescu “one of our most magical writers,” while Lawrence Ferlinghetti said he “creates a craving for the subversive.” It is safe to say that Codrescu has worn numerous creative and intellectual hats during his dynamic lifetime, all of them culture-changing. His latest books, a poetry collection, Too Late for Nightmares, and a fantasy fiction novel, Meat from the Goldrush, are both slated for publication this fall.
Next Thursday, May 5, at 7pm, Codrescu will return to his one-time home in West County to roil the air with a solo poetry reading at our very own Occidental Center for the Arts. Be forewarned: This one-night stand will comprise the entirety of his California tour. Refreshments will be provided and books will be available for purchase. Tickets, which are limited in number, are available for $25 for general admission and $20 for OCA members. To mark the occasion, ticket-holders will receive a poem by Andrei Codrescu in a limited handset letterpress broadside edition of 100, designed and printed by Pat Nolan and Eric Johnson at North Bay Letterpress Arts.
As for my brother’s mid-1980s copy of Exquisite Corpse, it ended up in my possession and now resides somewhere in one of my 40 boxes of books. If I can mine it out by Thursday, I’ll flash it from my seat in the OCA and see if I can get it signed during Codrescu’s brief stopover in our tiny, but magical, corner of the world.
The ground was wet from a light rain on a recent afternoon drive through Dry Creek Valley below Lake Sonoma. Passing the endless rows of green vineyards that cloak the valley, it appeared as though water was plentiful here.
However, this is not so. Pulling up to a look-out beside Lake Sonoma, the water sat 30 feet below the tree line, a stark marker of how parched the lake is.
Warm Springs Dam, which created Lake Sonoma in 1984, was built to control flooding in Dry Creek Valley. Today, it provides water to 600,000 residents of Sonoma and Marin County and is the largest recreational lake in the North Bay.
However, Lake Sonoma is currently only at 58% of its total capacity, the lowest April water level ever recorded.
“This time of year, we’re [usually] seeing Lake Sonoma anywhere [around] 80 plus percent,” said Brad Sherwood, assistant general manager of Sonoma Water.
“Because of winter storms, it’s pretty full by this time of year,” Sherwood explained.
Although storms in December 2021 swelled water supplies, Sonoma County then experienced one of the hottest and driest Januarys on record. This, coupled with little rain in February and March, greatly reduced the water supply of Lake Sonoma.
The problems didn’t start this year, however. The past dry years are still affecting Lake Sonoma and Sonoma’s water supply at large.
“When we’re looking at Lake Sonoma, it is a multi-year water supply,” Santa Rosa Water Department director, Jennifer Burke, said. “We’re really looking at trying to save as much water as possible so that we can get to and through another dry year if that were to come.”
With lower water levels in Lake Sonoma and elsewhere across the Russian River Watershed beginning to strain resources, many municipalities that depend on this water are beginning to reintroduce drought restrictions. Windsor, Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa are requiring residents, businesses and public agencies to reduce water use by 20% from 2020 levels. In Marin, where some towns receive water from Lake Sonoma, the Marin Municipal Water District has mandated a 40% reduction of water use across the county.
North Bay governments aren’t the only ones implementing new constraints. This January, the state of California reintroduced water restrictions to ensure that water conservation is maintained as a high priority across the state. While these restrictions are less straightforward than local mandates, they make it clear that the drought is a great concern at the state level as well.
For many water agencies, water is usually pumped out of a reservoir and then passed to a water treatment facility, where it is filtered several times. After that, it is treated with chlorine and other chemicals to ensure it is potable. The water from Lake Sonoma is cleaned with a more natural approach.
“We’re not like your average water agency,” Sherwood said.
Take the Sonoma Water’s water-cleaning process as an example. The agency pumps water from Lake Sonoma to Dry Creek below the reservoir which then flows into the Russian River. From there, the water is filtered through the Russian River’s naturally-occurring sands and gravels, cleansing the water using the ground itself.
After this, the water is treated with chlorine, and the acidity is adjusted to ensure no bacteria or viruses have contaminated it.
Now, the agency is experimenting in order to better survive periods of drought.
“We’re seeing more droughts, more often,” Burke said. “As we continue to look at the modeling and climate change impacts, we are probably going to see more of this increase in frequency.”
This means that residents need to start using water less. These mandatory reductions are created to ensure this occurs. If a household or business were to use too much water to irrigate over a prolonged period of time, government agencies might issue citations or even shut off an offender’s water.
Luckily, according to Sherwood, Sonoma County is well prepared to conserve water, because droughts are so common in the region.
Sonoma County is “using less water than we were 20 years ago… Our community is very conservation minded,” Sherwood said. “But at the same time, you’ve got less water to squeeze out of the sponge, right?”
While residents and businesses across Sonoma should reduce their water consumption, agencies and cities are also looking to new solutions to the growing threat of climate change driven droughts.
One option Santa Rosa is considering is groundwater recharge. This involves studying parts of the city where officials could pump water into the ground for backup storage to use in hotter and drier months.
Sonoma Water is currently doing something similar in the Santa Rosa Plain. After installing a promising groundwater storage project in 2019, Sonoma Water decided to expand the project by storing water from heavy winter storms in the Santa Rosa Plain for use in the summer. This new groundwater system effectively raises the water table, making pumping from a well easier. When fully implemented, it will expand the groundwater system storage capacity. This plan is currently in its second stage, awaiting assessments that will ensure the safety of the project.
The Santa Rosa Plain Project is similar to proposed ideas by the Coho Partnership, spearheaded by Sonoma County resident and watershed expert, Brock Dolman. In addition to benefiting humans, increasing groundwater reserves is critical for fish in North Bay rivers and creeks, since many species, including coho salmon, need groundwater-fed streams in order to thrive.
However, Dolmand said, more of these alternative water source projects are needed in order to better cohabitate with native wildlife.
While these projects have proven effective, government agencies need to invest more heavily in them to meet the challenges of the day, according to Dolmand.
“We have all the solutions we need all laid out and proven—now is the time to push them out towards greater actualization at meaningful scales from ridge to river to reef,” Dolman said.
Another tool Sonoma Water hopes to use in the coming years, provided they receive the necessary grants, is called FIRO, or Forecast Improved Reservoir Operations. Using weather modeling, FIRO helps interpret when is best to pump water out of the reservoir. Effectively this system, based on scientific observations rather than antiquated bureaucratic rules, ensures more water security in a watershed.
Over eight yearsago, FIRO was put in place as an experiment in Lake Mendocino (another essential water source for Sonoma County), and, according to Sherwood, the complex tool has “tremendously saved water” in Mendocino in the past two years.
As a result, Sonoma County officials plan to use FIRO in Lake Sonoma in the next two years.
While options are plentiful in regards to water security in Sonoma, it is only an ever increasing issue as the climate crisis grips the North Bay and the rest of the planet. Looking out to the damp landscape across the reflection of Lake Sonoma, a lake built originally to prevent flooding, it is clear the county is in the midst of a great shift to a drier, hotter, more severe climate.
Self-help gurus sometimes coach artists to “stay in your own lane,” which is a wonderful affirmation of the infinite, individual pathways to success.
Except, of course, that it’s difficult to stay in one’s own lane when everyone else’s lanes are going to vastly better places. The “lane” for many artists is a dead end. Or at least it’s strewn with...
PQ
Let's be honest...we DO compare ourselves to our peer group and others, and I might argue that's not a bad thing.
On Reading Obits
I know. What am I thinking? With all the strife, murder and acts of incomprehensible callousness...I search for something more.
And by golly, it's right there. Waiting to be discovered, by you and me. Knocking on 60, I'm...
By Jane Vick
Good morning, loves! How is everyone? May this Wednesday be sweet and surprising. I’m home in Oakland, finally, and yours truly is very grateful.Though there’s a whisper in the winds about a trip to Thailand soon…
On to this week’s “Look”!
As some may know—and certainly will know after reading the North Bay Bohemian feature—the once-postponed North Bay Fashion...
Mask Up
I’m afraid the decision was erroneous by the inexperienced Trump-appointed Florida Judge Kathyrn Mizelle, who as an appointee was given the rare ABA evaluation of “not qualified,” as was the case with many of Trump’s judicial appointees (far more than that of any other U.S. president in history). Her error, which will doubtless result in condemning probably thousands...
]A one-night utopia and the next wave of fashion culture in Sonoma County
The North Bay Fashion Ball is back. Brainchild of artist, writer and all-around significant human being Cincinnatus Hibbard, along with a group of fellow artists and creatives, The North Bay Fashion Ball, coming May 28 to Petaluma's Phoenix Theater, is a significant event for Sonoma County’s arts...
1 San Francisco is the only city that’s home to a moveable U.S. National Monument. What is it?
2 What large industrial equipment is named for a small insect that lives only one-four months before changing its appearance?
3 According to Nielsen Music’s 2020 report, who were the Top 5 best-selling music artists of the decade 2010-2020, based on album and...
Santa Rosa + Other Locations
Indie Film Festival
Lights, camera action as the eighth annual AVFest returns, in person for the first time since 2019. A film festival that originated from a collaboration to promote film between Cloverdale and Healdsburg, AVfest regularly showcases and hosts new emerging talent from around the world, and provides an opportunity for the community to gather...
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I recommend you adopt a limitation that will enable you to claim more freedom. For example, you could de-emphasize your involvement with a lukewarm dream, so as to liberate time and energy for a passionate one. Or you could minimize your fascination with a certain negative emotion to make more room for invigorating ones. Any...
By Mark Fernquest
Long ago, when I was a youngster in the 1980s, my bookish older brother brought home an unusual literary magazine he’d scored at City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco. It was narrow and long, this lit mag, made of stapled white paper with no real cover, and absolutely packed with avant-garde poetry and experimental prose. It was...
The ground was wet from a light rain on a recent afternoon drive through Dry Creek Valley below Lake Sonoma. Passing the endless rows of green vineyards that cloak the valley, it appeared as though water was plentiful here.
However, this is not so. Pulling up to a look-out beside Lake Sonoma, the water sat 30 feet below the tree...
