Dec 2017 ~ Feb 2018
The East Bay Monthly 45 Years Anniversary Party
Celebrating 45 years of artists, writers, editors, publishers and founder Karen Klaber, focusing on a life force of culture and commerce in the East Bay in eloquent and striking art and voices. Terrific people and a terrific anniversary party at the Berkeley Art Center in Live Oak Park, October 24, 2015.
Founder Karen Klaber and Publisher Stephen Buel
URBAN HERON AND EGRET PHOTOGRAPHS FOR OAKLAND MAGAZINE
GREAT BLUE HERON IN BAY AREA SHARED PROTECTED HABITAT
In an east bay parkland habitat that includes stunning sunsets over SF Bay and coastal mountains, renowned dog parks, a kite festival, a Japanese lantern festival of peace and remembrance and children, birders, bicyclists, runners, frisbee golf, parks for Rx, a celebration of life and why we live here ~ here wildlife rules. When wildlife thrives, we thrive. As the indigenous Bird Dancers chant: "We are the Birds."
POND 9 - BERKELEY'S AQUATIC PARK
May 4, 2015, on a cold windy noon hour over 12 egrets patrol the lagoon next to 8 lanes of freeway on the Pacific Rim. Here in Pond #9 egrets roost, patrol and fish the original tip of the SF Bay, once abundant with wildlife under a sky filled with birds. For thousands of years the egrets return to this node and others on 6 continents. From the inner city they extend the presence and voices of world wildlife.
A MIRACLE OF EGRETS IN ALAMEDA
From March 19th to April 19th a colony of egrets grows in numbers from 14 to 40 egrets, with near 20 nests of chicks, in the suburban lagoon neighborhood, on Alameda's Bay Farm Island. Snowy and great egrets repopulate and hold forum from the same single pine tree each year, communicating in an elevated language of glyphs and rhythms.
MARCH 2015 EXHIBIT ON FOURTH STREET BERKELEY BESIDE APPLE STORE
AS NATURE SPEAKS EVERYWHERE, THE EGRETS AND PELICANS REACH INTO THE URBAN SETTING WITH AN UNDENIABLE MAGNIFICENCE AND ELOQUENCE.
THIS LUMINOUS MOMENT IS IN A LAGOON BESIDE A MAIN FREEWAY ENTRANCE TO BERKELEY AT NOON.
•
Joining the Egrets and Pelicans is BUDDY IN A HARLEY HAT by ELLIE FIDLER. ELLIE's tea towels, that double as fine art wall hangings, are exhibited on the south wall.
On-view at Au Coquelet Restaurant Gallery, the Egrets in the urban setting of Alameda, Berkeley and Oakland
Joining the many voices of wildlife that are speaking, the majestic egrets bring the message to cities, holding a forum from within, in a language of fine art tableaux, symbols, dance and inspiring percussive rhythms worthy of the spirit of the universal ecosystem.
Egrets in Berkeley 15 at the lagoon, 15 at Au Coquelet and 2 at Anthropology.
The majestic egrets have returned to Berkeley with the New Year. They begin their ceremonies at Aquatic Park. Their photographs, offering viewing stations into their world, are at Au Coquelet. By perhaps chance, two more egrets are represented in a store window at Anthropology where the Ohlone village once stood, a block from the water, where the egrets continue to return to roost.
Egrets Return to Berkeley Lagoon ~ New Year's Eve
New extended Exhibit Date~January 31, 2015 The Egrets at Au CoQuelet
New Exhibit_THE EGRETS at Au Coquelet in Berkeley
2000 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA
EGRETS
Recurring dream image as a poster for peace
Calligraphy of Love
An enchanted world of dragonflies
CORMORANT JEWELS
Like black jewels nesting in woven trees, Oakland's cormorants are an island unto themselves on Lake Merritt. Their colony is abundant with chicks.
AU COQUELET EXHIBIT - Nov 2 through Dec 31, 2014
Recent Alameda photographs of the egret family mix with Berkeley and Oakland photographs in a holiday celebration leading to a new year, 2015.
Egret Power~A look at the egret family in the Alameda island setting. The egret colony adds a natural spirit of romance.
Composers respond to the rosetta stone language of the egrets
The egret photographs, valued as a fragment of nature's planetary rosetta stone, are responded to by three composers using the language of music to explore the physical-glyph-symbolic language of the egret. Egrets are creatures of earth, water, air and reflections. The egret studies reflections and seems to engage and, to varying degrees, live in the reflected world, as if it is a part of consciousness and "the Present". To better understand the egret, it is of value to look into the reflected world in which the egret lives.
Oulipo, by Joan Jeanrenaud, is a music that invites thoughts and feelings to float in a reflected world, allowing the projected photographs of the egrets to touch, move, discourse with and dance with the human psyche and the human heart.
Trance Orpheus ~ A line of Light, by a 12th Century anonymous composer and by soprano Adria singing poem-lyrics "A Line Of Light" by Gerry Traucht, transports the listener to the world of the egret through the influence of the music and Adria's voice melded with and musically lime-lighted by the classical flute of Diane Grubbe.
Palace of Birds, by Jim Alexander, is an experience like the magical reality of Bali surrounded by wind-like chimes, created by thumb piano, until the birds are the reality. The dreamer becomes the dream and the egret is allowed to visually speak.
Egrets With Us, by Douglas McKeehan, samples the voices of egrets. The egrets form the vocals and rhythm tracks in the first movement of a ballet, that explores the egret on five continents, weaving folklore of many nationalities with our larger planetary drama. It is a type of Swan Lake crossed with ethnic dance and visual poetry devoted to the egret.
The story of the egret observes the story of our humanity and our stewardship of the earth's ecosystem in a tapestry of light and dark, and luminous celebrations. The egret is a symbol of Peace. The McKeehan ballet, taking its inspiration from the photographs, suggests that the story of the egret contains our future.
The egret is presently entering urban settings around the world. It seems the cities and villages that are welcoming the egret and sharing with it are prospering, with the romance of a palace of birds as the egrets are with us on a great journey.
Alameda Exhibition poster Sept 28-Nov 1, 2014
Egret photographs responded to by musicians and scientists
Gerry Traucht ~ Egret Parkland, presentation and reception, on Wednesday, October 8, 6:30 pm at the Alameda Free Library, 1550 Oak Street, Alameda, CA. The photographs in the exhibit explore egrets as they live among and reach out to us. In Alameda, Berkeley, and other waterfront areas of the East Bay, egrets are colonizing and reproducing in the human habitat, bringing luminous moments from nature to our urban doorstep. Polar bear, whale, tiger, gorilla and other iconic species may not be our neighbors, but the egrets are, and with this exhibit and its photographs, they are reaching out to our cultural institutions.
Complementing the photography exhibit will be original music chosen specially for this presentation. Joan Jeanrenaud (cellist known for her longtime association with the Kronos Quartet) contributes her composition Oulipo, a beautiful recording featuring Joan on cello and William Winant on vibraphone. Jim Alexander’s composition Palace of Birds finds its inspiration in the inherent musicality of birds and wonderfully complements the photographs. Douglas McKeehan premiers the first of his egret ballet compositions, Egrets With Us, combining field recordings of egrets with sampled African percussion and live classical and tribal flutes played by Diane Grubbe.
Printed Science Commentary in response to the photographs is by John P. Kelly, PhD, Director, Conservation Science, Audubon Canyon Ranch, Cypress Grove Research Center.
