I only had a day and a half layover in San Francisco on my way to Colorado from Bangkok last week but still managed to cram in some crazy sightseeing.  Checked out the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, drank some Peet’s coffee, hiked up Telegraph Hill and stuffed my face at a Taquería in the Mission. 

I was excited to spot one of Bansky's pieces on Broadway & Columbus, but the best part of my visit by far was checking out the murals in the Mission District.  The Clarion Alley murals were particularly amazing and I could have spent a whole day taking them all in. 

I think it’s important for art be out in the streets where everyone can appreciate it!  I’m definitely adding this to my list of things I’d like to see more of in Canada.

I was in Wollongong the other day (an industrial city near the house I'm taking care of) to pick up some art supplies and decided to walk in to the City Gallery to see if there was anything interesting on the walls.  I definitely wasn't expecting to see an amazing screen print/stencil show like Poncho Army's Fight or Flight.

Trina Collins (Poncho Army is her pseudonym) had put together a series of colourful and beautifully detailed pieces during a 12 month artist in residence program at the gallery.  I spent over an hour looking at the show and the only way I could have been more impressed on site is if I had known that she managed to combine water-based ink over solvent based aerosol to make each piece.  A nearly impossible challenge I can relate to as an artist working to merge three-dimensional sculptures into two-dimensional spaces.

"The works center on themes such as feelings of claustrophobia in an increasingly controlled society, the nightmare of being forgotten and abandoned, and the relief of finding community and of being found." -Poncho Army

I highly recommend a visit to her website to see the rest of the Fight or Flight show here:
http://www.ponchoarmy.com/art/