Fantasy Art, Serendipity, and Daniel Merriam
Today was a bright day by the Bay, after a series of rainstorms, and we decided to celebrate by driving over to Sausalito. We thought we might see Bill Dan, the rock-balancing performance artist, who's often there on weekends. (He was, but more of that another time.)
We had the perfect Sausalito afternoon - we stopped to watch the rock-balancing, strolled over to Spinnaker for coffee and a snack, we wandered back looking at the bay. A sea-lion arfed on a jetty, and a harbor seal and a few Western Grebes swam near the shore. A flock of pelicans landed in perfect formation.
We were heading back toward the car when I saw a large sign that hadn't been there the last time I visited Sausalito. Daniel Merriam, it said. Bubble Street.
"Daniel Merriam!" I said, and went in. It was like magic.
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Last September, someone had posted this picture on a Facebook page, with no background or explanation. It grabbed me so much that I downloaded it onto my hard drive. Who, I wondered, was the artist? For some reason, I expected it to be someone in Russia or Eastern Europe.
But it wasn't. With some help from Google, I discovered Daniel Merriam and his website. (I also discovered that searching Google Images for "Daniel Merriam" yielded a page of gorgeous thumbnails. A few were available for sale, but they weren't cheap. I spent an hour or two or three browsing through them.)
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Bubble Street is his new gallery. As I wandered around, admiring the art, the manager told us that the artist was there, right outside.
"Does he live around here?" I asked.
"Upstairs," she said with a smile.
They had a calendar and a couple of books for sale, together with the prints. We bought the calendar and a book, and she asked if we'd like him to sign them. Of course we would, but should we disturb him? She gave him a call, and he came right down I was impressed, especially considering he's a new dad. His twins came home from hospital - yesterday.
He wrote a couple of thoughtful personalized inscriptions. I was delighted.
Serendipity.
We had the perfect Sausalito afternoon - we stopped to watch the rock-balancing, strolled over to Spinnaker for coffee and a snack, we wandered back looking at the bay. A sea-lion arfed on a jetty, and a harbor seal and a few Western Grebes swam near the shore. A flock of pelicans landed in perfect formation.
We were heading back toward the car when I saw a large sign that hadn't been there the last time I visited Sausalito. Daniel Merriam, it said. Bubble Street.
"Daniel Merriam!" I said, and went in. It was like magic.
#####
Last September, someone had posted this picture on a Facebook page, with no background or explanation. It grabbed me so much that I downloaded it onto my hard drive. Who, I wondered, was the artist? For some reason, I expected it to be someone in Russia or Eastern Europe.
But it wasn't. With some help from Google, I discovered Daniel Merriam and his website. (I also discovered that searching Google Images for "Daniel Merriam" yielded a page of gorgeous thumbnails. A few were available for sale, but they weren't cheap. I spent an hour or two or three browsing through them.)
#####
Bubble Street is his new gallery. As I wandered around, admiring the art, the manager told us that the artist was there, right outside.
"Does he live around here?" I asked.
"Upstairs," she said with a smile.
They had a calendar and a couple of books for sale, together with the prints. We bought the calendar and a book, and she asked if we'd like him to sign them. Of course we would, but should we disturb him? She gave him a call, and he came right down I was impressed, especially considering he's a new dad. His twins came home from hospital - yesterday.
He wrote a couple of thoughtful personalized inscriptions. I was delighted.
Serendipity.