You can’t rain out a great party
Gail and I took a drive all the way to Big Sur Saturday, to attend the annual bash at the Hawthorn Gallery, right across the highway from Nepenthe. Yes it was raining, but that doesn’t matter to the dedicated art lovers and hard core partiers. Many of the attendees fit both categories.
Sheltering under the tent in front of the bar.
Cars jammed both sides of Highway 101 and all up the driveway to Nepenthe, but I tend to think that red cones mean “Reserved for Mr. Pisarra” and managed to stuff the little car into an imaginary parking place right up front, but I can’t really do that since in reality the space is occupied by many vehicles from this new company which decided they needed all the vans in the market.
After we checked in and found our names on the list, we joined the revelry. There is a full bar in front, as well as a bandstand with live music. People were dancing in the rain, including our friends Ted and Mary.
A little downpour doesn’t stop the seriously fun loving–this was Mary after that dance:
Plenty of other people were having their fun in the non-sun as well.
I saw some footwear that I will have to have, if I can find it on the internet. Nordstrom doesn’t carry these:
Light up tennies for grown ups. Or at least in adult sizes….
There was so much rowdiness in the air that I even had the bartender put 1/8 of a shot of bourbon in my Diet Coke, just for the flavor. I’m rowdy enough without the help of Mr. Jack Daniels.
Then we went in to the gallery, which was just jammed with wet people.
Even the balcony had some people, enjoying some very un-California weather.
The crowd at this party is a strange mix of aging hippies and art world hip. People were dressed to go hiking for a week, people were dressed for a Manhattan gallery opening. You could get dizzy checking them all out.
This couple sitting on the bench with Gail were typical–the man looks like the LL Bean catalog exploded all over him, the woman is in a dress with heels and hosiery. Do they even talk before they go somewhere together?
Gail demonstrating her folding chair to the odd couple.
These women were most decidedly dressed for the scene, not the weather.
The Hawthorn Gallery features mainly the work of the family Hawthorn. Founder Greg Hawthorn is a painter. Brother Chris is a glass worker. Sister in Law Julie is a ceramacist. There are other sculptors, painters and woodworkers, almost all of whom are family members. We did find one artist who is not a family member, just excellent.
Michael Gustavson, ceramic artist
I’m a big fan of glass. Gail, not so much. Even so, we both appreciated these plate that Ted and Mary purchased. The got the ones on top: the lower ones are a different set.
I’m not sure what food you would want to serve on blue plates, but they look good in any case.
Eventually we stumbled on the art work we were looking for–this year’s production from Julie Hawthorn. We have 3 of her pieces already, and are always interested in the new work she creates.
All new work. The one in the middle is coming to live at our house.
It isn’t hard to find Julie–just look for the six foot tall, drop dead gorgeous, woman in white.
She’s ready for her closeup, too.
Julie and her husband Chris live in Port Orford, OR, about 60 miles north of the California border. They have a northern branch of the family gallery there, too, along with a restaurant and a few luxury suites to rent out.
Having negotiated the purchase, talked with friends, observed the new and the outré, danced a bit in the rain and even tasted some bourbon, it was time for us to hit the trail back to Monterey for an abalone dinner on the wharf and the drive home. That’s about all the fun you can have in one day, at least until this time next year when the party rolls around again.
Totally Unauthorized 