FLOAT OPENING

Please join the FLOAT gallery for the last art party of the year!

Food - drink - a virtual theater of:

Gesture and Gestalt

Paintings of Albert Hwang and the Glass & Metal Sculpture of Victoria Skirpa

Opening Reception:
Saturday December 16th 06, 6pm-9pm
Show runs 12/15/06 through 01/15/07

What IS Gesture and Gestalt?

A Gesture is a form of non-verbal communication made with a part of the body, used instead of or in combination with verbal communication.

Gestalt: A collection of physical, biological, psychological or symbolic Forms that create a unified concept, configuration or pattern which is greater than the sum of its parts.

The art exhibit Gesture and Gestalt is a meeting place of opposites, an experience that summons you closer. This provocative show is akin to the surreal and evocative of human drama. Together the never before displayed black & white spiral paintings of Albert Hwang and the bodily, organic sculptures of Victoria Skirpa create a virtual theater of gesture and Form/Gestalt.

Who are the artists?

Albert Hwang began drawing from an early age. Hwang majored in studio art at UC Irvine and studied painting in NY before moving to San Francisco in 2005 in order to pursue his career as a painter. Much of his recent work deals with the duality of nature by rendering the tension between opposing pictorial forces. On display will be both his black & white spirals and color paintings. These works will be on public display for the first time.

�There often comes a moment while working on a painting when it seems that the shapes and forms may actually spring to life. If this moment were realized, I may have found myself painting the perfect picture. This cycle of hope and despair is both stimulating and habit forming, acting as an impetus for each successive picture� � Albert Hwang

Victoria Skirpa is largely self-taught, gaining skills through apprenticeship and trial and error. As a result of her incredible creative and material breadth, her skills include glass casting, large and jewelry-scale metal smithing, and restoration.

Skirpas glass-work confronts and explores the tension in attraction and repulsion; the grotesque is a point of inquiry. Her metalwork tends to evoke futuristic universes. She often seeks a playful relationship with work, evocative of feminine iconography and sexual innuendo. However, a continual thread remains: the relationship of forms to living bodies - animal, human, and insect. On display will be glass, metal and mixed media sculpture.

�A Gesture is a form of movement, is something that glides past its motion, resonating in space, moving beyond its initial expression. Gestalt formation is where a gesture stops gliding and is perceived as form.� � Victoria Skirpa

FLOAT, Floatation Center � Art Gallery
1091 Calcot Place, Unit # 116
(located in the front of the historic cotton mill studios)
Oakland, CA 94606

510-535-1702

Give the gift of floatation

A FLOAT gift certificate is an exceptionally unusual gift that says: �try something truly brilliant and out of this world�. It shows that the buyer has put some thought into the purchase. It's also a wonderful present to give yourself during the stresses of the holiday season.

Hope to see ya soon, Cheers!

Allison & Fil

FLOAT

www.thefloatcenter.com

info@thefloatcenter.com

Update and Announcements

After a long break, the Jingletown Oakland blog has returned! Please email any updates, suggestions and requests to be interviewed to: jingletown.arts@gmail.com or to bayarts4u@gmail.com.

Thanks!
Stacy

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Of interest to Jingletown Oakland artists.....

December Holiday Artist Happy Hour

Calling All Contemporary, Cutting-Edge Artists, Writers, Poets,

Gallery Owners, Photographers, Collectors, Actors, Sculptors,

Musicians and those who love the arts!

Thursday December 14, 2006

4:30pm-7:00pm

No Host Bar

Speisekammer Restaurant

****meet inside restaurant ****

2424 Lincoln Ave (at Park St)

Alameda, CA 94501

Parking lot on the right!

Local artists, and those who love the arts, unite. The East Bay art scene is alive and growing; come experience our artist group getting together to talk about art and the local scene at Speisekammer German Restaurant, 2424 Lincoln Avenue, Alameda, CA, on Thursday December 14 from 4:30pm-7pm. Great German Beer, Mixed Drinks, Glogg, Hangar One Vodka and the

best food!!

Bring 15-20 cards or brochures to pass around.

Free to attend.

No-host bar.

Little parking lot on the right of the restaurant.

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The next J.A.B.A. meeting will be held at Institute of Mosaic Art on

December 14, 2006 at 7:30 pm.

Institute of Mosaic Art

3001 Chapman Street

Oakland, CA. 94601

Art in Jingletown

A diverse culture has long been at the heart of Jinglteown life. It has played an especially significant role in the development of what has become a burgeoning arts district. Our active artist population has helped to revilalize and improve the economy of this area and is gaining more recognition all the time. The roles of the Jingletown artists and other creative characters have given this area a positive sense of identity and cohesion. The work helps instill a real sense of cultural literacy and bridges social barriers that span some of the area's most pervasive systemic problems. It is my pleasure to introduce some members of our community:

California native, Darwin Price, webmaster of the official Jingletown web site. lives and works at the famed Ford Street Studios (#2) here in Jingletown. When he isn't organizing labor unions, Darwin spends his time creating spectacular art. Shown here with one of his works in progress, he is a well-known figure in the Jingletown arts scene.

Saundra Warren makes unique and intriguing garden art in her 2908 Glascock Street studio. She works primarily in clay, specializing in beautiful garden fountains. Saundra makes her own ceramic tiles that she uses to create mosaic work also for outdoor use.

Ted Warren, (Saundra's husband) is a bibilophile who collects rare and out-of-print books. Shown here with his expansive and ecclectic collection that is organized in shelves along one side of their loft. The couple is co-writing a novel based in seventeenth century France.

Jingletown Has Something for Everyone

Nestled close to the estuary between Oakland's Fruitvale and Park Street Bridges, the Jingletown art's district has something for everyone.


New businesses such as Gary Boland's Voila! Juice Bar and Cafe at 510 Derby Avenue, have recently opened offering area residents a great place to hang out, have a bite and enjoy an ever-changing display of local art. Gary has plans to host events such as poetry readings and acoustic music concerts in the near future, and a group of Jingletown artists will be having a group show from Febuary through the end of March. (More details to come.)





It is rumored that Jingletown got its' name in the 1930's when the predominantly poor Portuguese population would walk the streets in their Zoot Suits with hands in pockets jingling the little change that they had after they got paid for picking cotton. The area has changed a lot since those days, making it one of the most exciting arts districts currently in the Bay Area. There has been a tremendous growth as the influx of new residential lofts has appeared. The new construction is matched by the strong community spirit of those residents and businesses who have been living and operating in the area for years. This diverse mix of different interests and people gives the neighborhood something for everyone.

Welcome to the Jingletown Oakland blog!

Welcome to the Jingletown Oakland blog!

This is a community blog and gathering place for anyone who is interested in Oakland, California's Jingletown Arts District. My name is Stacy Alexander and I'll be your host for the time being. I am a mixed media artist who lives here in the rapidly expanding Jingletown Arts District, one of the most exciting art districts in the San Francisco Bay Area. The purpose of this blog is to spread the word about Jingletown-related businesses, events and announcements as well as to inform the world about the thriving arts and diverse residential communities that exist here.

Please feel free to jump right in and discuss any topics that are pertinent to Jingletown.

I will be updating frequently with Jingletown news, photos, announcements and hopefully some pieces about Jingletown History and other subjects of interest. I welcome contributions, so please email me at: jingletown.arts@gmail.com with any suggestions that you might have.