A new month and a lot to share.

This past week, San Diego County hired a new Creative Manager to support the County Arts and Culture Commission. She is Christine Jones, formally the Chief of Civic Art Strategies for the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, i.e. super well-qualified and ready to hit the ground running at the countywide level. She starts on February 2^nd.

In keeping with my experience that The World is Run by Those Who Show Up, please consider calling in or attending in person

San Diego County Arts and Culture Commission meetings for 2026

• February 4, 2026  - Room 302
• March 18, 2026
• May 20, 2026
• July 15, 2026
• September 16, 2026
• November 18, 2026

Meeting location: 1600 Pacific Hwy, Room 402A, San Diego, CA 92101

Phone: +1 669 444 9171 
Webinar ID: 833 2424 4450 

Feb. 28th with the San Diego Emerging Museum Professionals

Media Matters: Engaging Strategies for Museums with Michael Rocha of the San Diego Union Tribune. For more info and to register, go tohttps://sandiegoemp.org/event/media-matters-engaging-strategies-for-museums/

Today begins Black History month. Check out all that’s happening at Worldbeat Cultural Center https://www.worldbeatcenter.org/events/, including but certainly not limited to

February 14, 10-1800, 2026   Black Comix Day  

WOWZA!!!  BANG!!! BOOM!!!

February 22^nd, 2026  And then, there's this in Oceanside

https://sandiegoblackfestival.com/

February 1-27 at the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center

The Ric Todd Collection, including Keith Haring, Steve R. Allen, Jaimee Todd, and Ric Todd

https://bonitahistoricalsociety.org/ric-todd-collection-at-the-museum/

Saturday, February 28^th, 5:00-10 p.m.

The Del Dios Chili Cook-Off! I’m competing with my famous duck chili—yum! You be the judge. whose chili is the best?

Tasting begins at 5:30, awards at 6:30pm, followed by all-you-can eat chili until they run out.

Where? Del Dios Community Center (aka “The Ol’ Firehouse”)

20155 Elm Ln, Escondido, CA 92029

This Spring Runway events. Images now, info to come.

 

Nature’s most incredible palate was in the desert this past week.

I took Rocket-the-Dog and we went camping in Big Red—not Rocket’s first road trip, but the first for Big Red in her new life as a camping van. They both did great.

Big Red in Borrego Springs. We had perfect weather.

Rocket living the good life, and keeping my feet warm. Good boy! Good, good boy!

The World is run by those who show up. Plenty of showing up will soon be ours.

The Alliance Française of San Diego has art and cooking classes! Learn a little French, make a little art. Get down all right. Get down all right. 

I’ve enrolled in the candle-making workshop. Hot diggity!

https://www.afsandiego.org/events-1/candle-workshop 

I love print-making. I’ll go to an exhibit about making, viewing, collecting prints any chance I can. I will certainly be checking this out next month:

Oceanside Museum of Art

Matrix multiplied: hybrid approaches to printmaking

February 21–August 2, 2026

Curated By Danielle Deery

https://oma-online.org/exhibitions-oma

Paste paper print by yours truly

Have a great week. Until next Sunday

 

Another beautiful day in paradise!

I’m taking Big Red camping in the Anza Borrego tomorrow for a 5-day art and nature retreat. Hot diggity!

Big Red has morphed into a minimalist campVAN, i.e. cute and comfy, but not crowded. There's even room in her for making art. Of course there is.

The weather is expected to be perfect for making paste paper, and as I am running low on mine, I’m bringing plenty of colorants, wallpaper paste and paper bags---they make great art paper. There will be book-stitching, too, Corkbot making, really great meals. Do I know what makes a sweet art retreat, or what?

What’s coming soon that I hope you’ll attend:

January 24-March 7^th at the Fallbrook Arts Center

Baja Art Exhibition https://www.fallbrookartcenter.org/2026calendar

February 1-27 at the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center

The Ric Todd Collection, including Keith Haring, Steve R. Allen, Jaimee Todd, and Ric Todd

https://bonitahistoricalsociety.org/ric-todd-collection-at-the-museum

February 24^th 09-1pm:

San Diego Art Matters is bringing back Creative Conversations, co-hosted with North County’s newly formed Arts and Culture Alliance.

The event is free, with RSVP required:
https://sdartmatters.org/creative-conversations-2026/

Event details:
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (lunch included)
California Center for the Arts, Escondido

 

Good Sunday, everyone.

I’ve been off Face-Too-Much for a month. I can attest that I’m not missing it. 

So much more time, so much more art.

Today and this month, I’ll be posting important Arts and Culture events…repeatedly…hey, sorry, but these events matter and I hope you’ll attend. Just scroll on past if you’ve already registered/signed up.

February 24^th 09-1pm:

San Diego Art Matters is bringing back Creative Conversations, co-hosted with North County’s newly formed Arts and Culture Alliance, it will focus on the opportunities, challenges, and creative assets of rural and unincorporated communities across the region. Please attend! You won’t be lectured at; you will be listened to. Plus, you’ll have a great time.

The event is free, with RSVP required:
https://sdartmatters.org/creative-conversations-2026/

Event details:
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (lunch included)
California Center for the Arts, Escondido

This past week I put in some serious time wearing my commissioner nametag for the San Diego County Arts and Culture Commission. We will be out in the County, meeting folks, listening to folks, applying your feedback as best we can. Each County District will host an event, starting next month in District 4 (think south), followed by District 3 (think North County Coast) in March, District 2 (think east county, Julian to way south) in April. All are open to the public no matter what County district you live or do business in. I’ll keep posting details as I know them.

Inspired By III is coming back to the Rancho San Diego County Library on June 3^rd, in time for the County-wide summer reading program. Below, a sample of what you’ll see there.

                         "Valadon", inspired by Utrillo's Mother

"La Diva Nicotina" inspired by How Tobacco Seduced the World

"12 Steps" inspired by The Gambler

Until next Sunday

 

Happy, happy new year! 

May 2026 bring us daily opportunities to be the Creatives that we are.

So much is coming down the pike this coming year. Below is a sampling of hands-on art and culture happenings that I hope you can attend. I’ll be attending them, too.

January 22nd (3pm)-25th (12pm) the West Coast Glampers are holding their annual rally in Borrego Springs, about as far north-east as you can get in San Diego County. I’ll be staying nearby at the Anza Borrego State Campground in our new camp-and-make-art van, "Big Red". The glampers will be at 221 Palm Canyon Dr, Borrego Springs, CA 92004.

February 24^th 09-1pm: To all the creatives in rural and unincorporated San Diego County, this one is for us.

San Diego Art Matters is bringing back Creative Conversations, co-hosted with North County’s newly formed Arts and Culture Alliance, it will focus on the opportunities, challenges, and creative assets of rural and unincorporated communities across the region. I participated last year, the key word being participate. You won’t be lectured at; you will be listened to. Plus, you’ll have a great time.

Event details:
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (lunch included)
California Center for the Arts, Escondido

Let our voices, thoughts, concerns be shared. Please attend this with me.

The event is free, with RSVP required:
https://sdartmatters.org/creative-conversations-2026/

Saturday February 28^th 5:30-9p.m.

Mark your Calendars for the Del Dios Chili cook-off FUNdraiser.

Yes indeed, I will make my delish duck and white-bean chili. So, so yummy. The tastings and voting by Y.O.U.  will be held at The Old Del Dios Firehouse, aka the Del Dios Community Center, 20155 Elm Lane, Escondido, CA 92029 starting at 5:30pm. Awards at 7p.m. followed by all-you-can eat of the remaining chili until 10 p.m.

Music, food, drink in support of a great non-profit. Life is good. $15/person. Free parking.

March 5 and 6, I’m teaching a 2-part hardcover stab-stitch workshop at Front Porch Gallery in Carlsbad. FREE

March 13th also at Front Porch Gallery I bring back the accordion book format, this time we'll add a hard cover. FREE

FPG requires pre-registration through their website. All the ones I taught last year filled. Go to their website and sign up for their email notices to get early alerts on registering:

https://www.frontporchgallery.org/programs

O.k. New art for 2026 as promised! Starting the New year with fused glass sushi plates and small wasabi bowls. Perfect for SPAM musubi. That’s right, SPAM musubi is a thing. Don’t knock it until you try it. Which you can easily now because as I said, it’s a thing. Getting to be almost as popular here around Escondido as it is in Hawai’i.       

Until next Sunday

   

 

I’d like to share one thing that's on my 2026 bucket list: to support more publicly and/or privately funded art events. Art saves lives. I believe it.

That typed, put seeing this on your calendar: an exhibition by Judith Christensen, recipient of the Genie Shenk Excellence in Book Arts Award. I LOVE her work.

 

I made a good deal of creative progress over the past year, not the least being ending my social media addiction and turning the time saved into my studio. That also gave me much more time for serving on the San Diego County Arts and Culture Commission, which has been an honor and a blast.

You can sign up to be sent updates by going to the County website:

https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/cao/edga/arts-culture-commission.html

I have 2 solo exhibits next Spring. Nearly all of the art for both is ready to be photographed, because I got the hell off Facebook. (Seriously, I was clearly scrolling way too much with META). More exhibition details next week. Promise.

Please support your local non-profit arts organizations. And if you don't have one, make one happen!

Until next Sunday

Tis the season that finds me daily in my studio and the kitchen. 

Do any of you take pleasure in listening to music while working on a project? My long-time standby has been to put on The Best of Talking Heads or some Kate Bush. Lately I might play Billie Eilish.

I was scrolling for Billie on YouTube and hit the music jackpot of jackpots: Tiny Desk Concerts from NPR. They are FREE, terrific fun, and intimately showcase musicians without Big Studio b.s. A creative’s trifecta. You can check the series out at

https://www.npr.org/series/tiny-desk-concerts/

Below, more art images of my past work. You who saw these already on Facebook, here’s another look. And you who didn’t, I hope you enjoy them.

Until next Sunday.

Three book formats, L>R: folds and figure 8 stitch, accordion book with pockets, classic stab-stitch. I’m all set to teach each of these in 2026. When I have the exact dates, I’ll let you know.

Stone Water Air is on display right now at Front Porch Gallery in Carlsbad, CA until January 8^th. Check it out. Entry and parking are free.

This is a detail from Nimrod’s Tower which will finally get a display of its complete 6-foot-tall installed self for the first time since its one and only showing at the California Center for the Arts Museum before COVID. It will be at the Fallbrook Arts Center during all of May 2026.