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GUEST POST: The A Cappella Handyman "January Orange"

January Orange

   Up through the roots come the nutrients, met by the bee’s kiss, the pollen of the flower becomes the fruit. The summer sun does its magic, the previous winter’s melting snow quenches the thirst of the growing fruit. A neighbor rings our bell and then knocks on the door at 8 am last week and presents a gift of their backyard tree’s abundance in a shopping sack. I stand in my shorts at the door and thank him. They go into a colander on the counter. Today after work and a nap, I slice down through the fruit on our breadboard, peel back each quarter and eat all the summer’s sun, melting snow, and bee’s pollinating kiss while standing at the sink and thank the neighbor once more for this lead-in title, orange poem in black and white in the local paper.
©Peter Bray 1/23/2018
All rights reserved

Waterfront Blogger

I was gonna do another chapbook 
or CD of my stuff, but why?
I upload daily to Facebook,
do a newspaper column and a BLOG weekly,
a Taproot & Aniseweed
Newsletter monthly,
and have way too much of me
already on youtube.com.
A concert from the waterfront
or from The Naked Oyster is already here
to be found elsewhere:
www.peterbray.org
or its brothers and sisters at:
www.peterbray.org/pedro 
and www.handymanservicespeterbray.com.
©Peter Bray 1/22/2018
All rights reserved

The Naked Oyster

Old shipwrights and ghosts of 
ferry captains used to be found here, 
along with cousins of early Pony Express riders, 
foggily or in the clear imagination of my mind – 
A combination of sea salt and old ship timbers, 
waves lapping against support pilings, 
aromas of grilling seafood and garlic ever-present, 
vodka-tonics sliding down shiny bars 
where lipstick and roses out for the night
meander in darkened corners.
– The Naked Oyster  
©Peter Bray 5/6/2017 
All rights reserved

Wingman

I fly parallel to the Mother Ship, 
I am the wingman. 
I fly parallel to the adult child 
in the hospital ward, 
two months, three months, four months, 
24 years of Crohn’s Disease. 
I take the notes, 
have questions for authority, 
contest the maneuvers, 
the policies, procedures... 
I am the medical historian 
and the lay researcher; 
the nurse with questions in training, 
the right doctor not on the floor, 
the resident seemingly behind the door – 
I am not here to suppress symptoms 
or to sell you pills for my stockholders’ 
ungodly profit margins, 
but to heal and cure and nothing else. 
I am not here to blame it 
on the immune system 
claiming everything unresolvable
to be an “auto-immune” disease: 
no other profession hides so easily 
under that bed... 
How much have we NOT learned 
and applied in the last 4,000 years? 
Ask yourself why and you are
halfway to a cure for everything. 
I am the wingman. 
You may not want me 
on your team, 
but you don’t want me 
as an adversary either. 
I’m counting on you. 
If I fail or fall, 
you can be my wingman too.
©Peter Bray, 6/9/2011 
All rights reserved

Peter Bray lives works, and writes in Benicia
and has written this column since 2008.

Annual Arts Benicia program returns to bring local artists together

Suzanne Long's figurative piece of a squirrel's head on a human body is one of several works featured in Arts Benicia's "Art of a Community" exhibit. (Photo by Suzanne Long)

   The biggest gather of Arts Benicia’s member artists’ works will return to Benicia on Saturday, with one of the gallery’s longest-running annual exhibitions “The Art of a Community.”

   Since its inception in 1995,  “Art of a Community” has been a means to showcase the work of Arts Benicia member artists from the community and beyond. Artists hail from Benicia, of course, but also come from as far away as Sacramento, Napa, San Francisco and even Brentwood. Some artists are from other local galleries but are still members of Arts Benicia. Mary Shaw, retiring exhibitions and programs manager, estimates that between 400 and 450 artists are showcasing their work this year. One thing Shaw likes about the work featured this year is the variety of forms used.

   “The range of work is amazing,” she said.

   Every form under the sun is represented at “The Art of a Community,” from paintings to photography to ceramics to mixed media. Some of the notable pieces by veteran artists include an interactive hand crank designed by former Arts Benicia Director Larnie Fox, a dog made out recycled wood by Bob Nelson, an assemblage work by Jeff Snell of a warship and octopus tentacles made out of reclaimed cardboard, a ceramic sculpture by Pam Dixon inspired by Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” and a figurative piece of a squirrel’s head on a human body designed by Suzanne Long. 

   The exhibit is also a showcase for the works of new member artists, including photography by Chayton Marino, paintings by Geri Arata, textiles by sisters Holly and Anita Jessop, and Hannah Haywood who designed a mixed media garden chair. 

   Shaw said “The Art of a Community” can be a good showcase for new member artists to make a name for themselves.

   “It’s difficult for a new artist, amateur artist or unestablished artist to show their work,” she said. “It’s a difficult process responding to calls, it’s sort of expensive going to art fairs and things like that, so this is an opportunity for them to show their work.”

   Additionally, Shaw said it is a good opportunity to see what member artists have contributed so they could potentially be showcased at other venues like The Rellik Tavern, Olson Realty, Estey Real Estate and the City Council Chambers, all under the “Arts Benicia Presents” banner. 

   “If you are an Arts Benicia member and you have something of a body of work, we have curators for each site and they can come in during ‘Art of the Community,’ and they can look and see what member artists are doing and think about if that work would be good for a venue that they curate.”

   Returning this year is the Ekphrastic Poetry Reading, in which members of Benicia First Tuesday Poetry Group come to the gallery, look at the work, write a poem about one of the pieces and read them to the artist that created the piece.

   “It’s a really nice, full circle event,” Shaw said.

   The reading will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24. The event is being coordinated by Poet Laureate Johanna Ely and poet and Arts Benicia member Thomas Eric Stanton. 

   Shaw hopes that viewers will enjoy the depth and breadth of the artistic work in Benicia, which she views as a true art community.

   “Benicia is a destination town,” she said. “It’s sort of a hidden gem, and we have been very involved in the tourism department. We want visitors to come see the art in Benicia, and this is a great start to the year. It’s basically paving the path for Open Studios in the first week of May.”

   This year’s “Art of a Community” is a rather bittersweet one as it is the last exhibit that Shaw will be handling before she moves on. Shaw was promoted as exhibitions and programs manager before Open Studios in 2011 and has had a hand in more than 70 exhibits, including a current exhibition at the Benicia Historical Museum titled “Drop By Drop: A Brief History of Benicia Water Through the Eyes of its Artists,” which she curated solo. Jean Purnell, Arts Benicia’s development associate, said Shaw had left an indelible legacy during her time in the position.

   “She’s been directing hands between all the other programs that Arts Benicia has coordinated,” she said. “Some of them are collaborations with other organizations, some with the schools, some with other nonprofits, maybe even some other galleries. It’s a huge treasure of cultural enrichment.”

   Shaw will be succeeded by Lisa Jetonne Quintero. 

   “The Art of a Community” will open on Jan. 27 through Sunday, Feb. 25. A reception will be held Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. The Community Open House will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 3, where nonmember artists and the general public can see what Arts Benicia is all about. Doughnuts and coffee will be served, and art demonstrations will be performed. All events will be held at Arts Benicia’s gallery, located at 991 Tyler St., Suite No. 114. gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. For more information, visit artsbenicia.org. 

   

Mary Farmar students taking part in kindness challenge all week

Mary Farmar elementary kindergarteners Oscar Caballero, Aspen Harris, Malena Castellanos, Dylan Olech, Kate Fernan, Cameron Bohacek and Roy Bernards and teacher Kellie Barragan take part in the Great Kindness Challenge, which is being celebrated at thousands of schools across the world this week. (Photo courtesy of Tammy Harley)

 Elementary schoolers already have a tendency to be kind, but this week at Mary Farmar Elementary School, students are taking it to a whole new level. 
   For the second year in a row, Farmar is taking part in the Great Kindness Challenge, an international bullying prevention initiative in which students spend the last week of January trying to perform as many acts of kindness as possible. The Great Kindness Challenge is presented by nonprofit group Kids for Peace and has had more than 15,000 students in 91 countries participate.
   The challenge was brought to Farmar last year by Tammy Harley, a Special Day Class teacher with the Solano County Office of Education who instructs special education students at Farmar. In its initial year, Harley said participation was pretty minimal and primarily involved her class. Students would address the school through the intercom with such chants as “When I say Mary, you say Farmar!” or “When I say kindness, you say matters!” Harley’s class also decorated hearts and placed them on the windshields of teachers’ cars, and they distributed “Kindness Matters” fliers to their peers. What started out as a modest event was well-received enough that Harley was able to get the entire school involved this year with even bigger events. 
   One of the biggest features this year is Kindness Stations set up during recess, where students can perform different activities. On Monday, the station had pieces of paper where students could write notes to their teachers.
   “The template said, ‘My teacher makes me feel special when…’ and the students were drawing a picture and writing a sentence to give to their teacher,” Harley said. 
   On Tuesday, students made paper chains which are now hanging in the school’s hallway.
   “I had students write their names and an act of kindness that they have participated in,” Harley said. 
   On Wednesday, students made hearts to give to their friends. Today, kids are designing bookmarks, and the week will all culminate Friday with a schoolwide aerial Living Kindness picture featuring 600 participants. 
   Harley’s class has also taken part in collecting data on each smile, high five and fist bump they receive from students walking in each morning. On Monday, students received between 25 and 45, more than 80 on Tuesday and over 100 on Wednesday. 
   “Once kids got involved with it, parents got involved with it having a lot of people walk by my classroom in the morning,” Harley said. 
   Harley said parents have been a major help, volunteering their time to cut out hearts and bookmarks for the students to build their designs on. 
   “It has really been overwhelmingly amazing,” she said. 
   The primary goal, Harley said, has been to reinforce the notion to students that kindness matters. 
   “Every single act, no matter how small, can build upon and make a difference to people,” she said. 
   Harley is also grateful for what special education students have been able to accomplish.
   “It’s important for me to let everyone know how amazing my students with disabilities are and how kind they are and that they can make a difference too,” she said. “I have already seen this week an increase in the peer interactions between my students with special needs and the general ed population. They are already joining in with them, coming by with our high fives and our fist bumps. Kindness is showing at Mary Farmar this week.”
   SCOE is one of four county offices of education to be designated as Kindness Certified, and Farmar Principal Wendy Smith has registered for the school to receive that title. For more information on the Great Kindness Challenge, go to thegreatkindnesschallenge.com.

GUEST POST: City staff go through ethics, sexual harassment prevention training

By George Johnston

Sexual harassment prevention and ethics training were on the agenda for the Benicia City Council and staff at its Tuesday meeting.
Every two years, government employees and officials are required to go through AB1825, sexual harassment, and AB1234, government ethics, training. The meeting, which ran from 6 to 10 p.m., was split into two parts: AB1825 training first, then AB1234. 
Sam Zutler, an attorney from Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP, lead the training for sexual harassment prevention. She explained that there are two types of sexual harassment recognized by the law: quid pro quo, the promise of work benefits for the exchange of a sexual demand; and hostile work environment, employees subjected to unwelcome advances, sexual innuendos or offensive gender-related language on a regular basis which make the person feel uncomfortable. Zutler said hostile work environments are not limited to huge events but are a thousand little incidents that build up. She used an example of the first female fire fighter of different cities’ fire departments who faced a hostile work environment and eventually had to sue the city
“Courts are not interested in regulating the individual interaction of people,” Zutler said. “Your workplace has more of an interest in doing that. Your workplace has an interest in you being respectful and productive at work.” 
Leah Castella, a litigation attorney from Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP, lead the training for government ethics. She went over rules on transparency, conflict of interest and receiving gifts, and also gave examples of other ethics rules like another city’s employees who misappropriated more than $40,000 dollars in funds. 
“What these ethics rules are about, the conflict rules, transparency rules, the gift rules, they are all about ensuring the public believe you are acting in their best interest because, at its foundation, that is your responsibility as a public official to act in the best interest of the public and not your own interest,” Castella said. 
She would end the presentation with a slide that "Don't end your career this way” in the reference to all the rules and rule-breaking examples she spent the previous two hours discussing. 
The council will next meet on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

Arts Benicia to host After School Art program at Farmar in February

Arts Benicia will host a series of painting and drawing workshops at Mary Farmar Elementary School in February. The classes will be taught by Les Overlock. (File photo)

While a school day is not always enough time to learn the basics of art, Arts Benicia is here to make sure creatively inclined students have additional opportunities to hone their craft. After School sessions will be held at Mary Farmar Elementary School throughout February.
   Arts Benicia’s After School program, sponsored by Benicia Unified School District, aims to give students an opportunity to explore the arts and develop new interests. The classes are inspired by the principles of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math), encourage critical thinking and problem solving and are taught by experienced art instructors.
   The February session will be taught by Les Overlock, a painter who taught in school settings for 37 years, including a long stint as Liberty High School’s art instructor. Overlock paints everything from animals to human faces to planes to automobiles, utilizing different colors and encouraging painting outside the lines. For the past decade, Overlock has contributed “The Buzz” and “The Buzzard” to the Benicia Herald, which provide clear examples of what his work is all about. Overlock’s workshop at Farmar will focus on drawing and painting.
   The workshop will meet from 3 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, Feb. 7, 14 and 21 in Farmar’s Multi-Purpose Room, located at 901 Military West. The class is open to all BUSD elementary schoolers in grades 1 through 5. The cost is $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Space is limited. To reserve a spot, go to artsbenicia.org/arts-benicia-after-school-2 and download the form.