First thing first...i went searching for a martini glass for use in the evening after a long day of creating. Funny that the residency program didn't supply me with one....
The walk provided me with some more interesting sites:
I stopped into
Raux Hyde (417 N Broadway St.) to buy coffee after purchasing my martini glass (A Touch of Yesterday, 409 Broadway, hand blown, $2). There was a little neon sign that suggested the store sold coffee. What I entered into was a different reality.
I was blown away by the art hanging on the walls. The paintings were hung where ever there was blank wall space until every inch was covered. I noticed a book on a table about the work of
Rex Ray, a SF local who
passed away recently. It turns out, that Cissy Hyde, the proprietor of this business was in the book! She was friends with Rex Ray and seemed to be his muse during their days at the San Francisco Art Institute in the 1980s. She had several of Ray's pieces including a very large painting (6 ft X 8 ft maybe?) She also had paintings done by her father that were very beautiful. She has a background in sculpture and displayed some of her "dress" pieces and her finger nail polish paintings. She spoke non stop about her days in San Francisco, her life with Rex, her life in Germany, her parents and I am not sure if it was the art, the stories or the incense she was burning, but I felt dizzy. She had an odd shop. She sold coffee, a few snacks and
jewelry and showed amazing art.
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| Cissy's sculpture |
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| Cissy's nial polish painting |
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| nail polish painting |
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| Cissy's father's self portrait |
After my experience in the Raux Hyde vortex, I retreated to
Xochi's, an antiquarian book store across the street. It was the messiest bookstore (or any store) I've ever seen. I couldn't stand being in that chaos so I left almost immediately.
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