Back in May, Fort Mason held the first international San Francisco Art Fair in almost a decade. It featured art work from over seventy international galleries and work from more than 500 hundred artists. There was a wide range of work including photography, sculpture, and paintings. There was work from famous artists like Picasso and Butterfield along with newer, more contemporary artists.

One of Deborah Butterfield’s Horse sculptures (mixed media).

A portrait made from recycled newspapers. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to write down the name of the artist. The gallery worker was watching me very closely and made me nervous.

Alyssa Monks “Circles” oil on linen.

I noticed two popular themes amongst the different works. One was the use of repeating patterns and complex textures.

This work by Teo Gonzalez (acrylic on canvas) was far more impressive in person but it had layers of paint in an complex geometric pattern.

Another popular trend was the use of red like in these two paintings.

Jun Kaneku Acrylic on Canvas

Painting by unknown artists, however I do remember the title as “Blue”.

In a separate building they held a free exhibit of the graduate works of MFA students from the San Francisco Art Institute. The majority of the work was conceptual art with an emphasis on large pieces.

These three were my favorite of the graduate work. Rachelle Youk’s work was very linear with beautiful repeating patterns.

I liked Margaux Macallister’s organic shapes and colors.

Lastly was an artist that used a unique medium for portraiture. Sadly, I forgot to write his name down. When looking at the piece head on you see the caricature of different faces.

However when you view it from different angles you see layers of transparent materials each with a different feature of the face.

African Marigold

Chrysanthemum

Marguerite Daisy

Nicotiana Robert Johnson

Most of sunflowers have bloomed and are being enjoyed by the birds and critters. However, there are a few late bloomers.

August is when the dahlias take over their little section of the yard. This giant purple one is my favorite.

The vegetables are going strong. I’m finally able to start harvesting a good amount of eggplant and beans.

Rotonda Bianca Sfumata Eggplant

Blue Lake Bush Beans

You can view more Bloom Day posts at May Dreams Gardens.

Update my friend at A Succulent Life was able to share her expertise and provide me the names of these beauties.

Jade Plant or Crassula Ovata

Spoon Jade or Gollum Jade, or Crassula Portulacea

Haworthia attenuata

Elephant Bush, or Portulacaria afra
I think this one is my favorite. It originates from Africa and is snacked on by elephants.

Faucaria tuberculosa

I received this dwarf Kniphofia from Carrie at Read Between the Limes She received a number of rare plants from Fitzgerald nurseries. She gave me three dwarf varieties of different colors. It normally doesn’t bloom it’s first year. I mistreated this plant horribly by planting in partial sun and dry soil next to the compost piles. Once I saw it was blooming I moved it to the community plot.

This year I grew several different sunflowers along the side of the house. This portion of the yard doesn’t get a lot of attention. It is the location of the stray pots and our compost bin. Surprisingly, they are doing quite well here. The house seems to protect them from the wind and they get plenty of sun.


What’s funny is there is a volunteer sunflower right in front of the compost bin. It’s huge it has a thick, sturdy trunk and endless flowers on it. It’s nice because you can see a few flowers peeking over the fence when you pull into the driveway.