Michael is a new friend who moved here recently from Berlin partly for a relationship and partly for a new life. He's a fine artist sculpting objects out of clay. Shortly after arriving in San Francisco, he landed a job at a local interior design firm but once business slowed--around the time the economy did--he was let go and now he's looking for work like several other friends who have lost their jobs over the past month. It's a scary time and it's hard to know where people will go to find work.
So, what does an unemployed artist do? Head to Open Studios, the country's oldest and biggest art event of its kind, to see what other starving artists are doing.
Today, we visited over 100 studios at one of the city's defunct military bases, Hunter's Point. Along with others seeking refuge from the storm--it's raining--we made our way in and out of the various ateliers. Little was truly inspiring except for a handful of artists. Two that come to mind are Monica and Robin Denevan, a sister and brother duo; the former a photographer and the latter, a painter. She photographs seamen in Burma in graceful poses with their boats or on their way home. He paints with beeswax oil and natural resins haunting yet beautiful images of marshes and rivers and seascapes blending into the atmosphere. Abstract yet somehow literal, like Turner. I can't really remember much else besides them.
I'm hopeful that this time next year, Michael will be gainfully employed and displaying his wares in an open studio for all the world to see.
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