Year: 2018

May 7th, 2018

A Taste of Place: A Tongan Feast and Giving Thanks

By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), Montalvo Culinary Artist   Tongan visual artist Kalisolaite 'Uhila and his daughter Nia. Tongan artist Kalisolaite ‘Uhila has family at the center of his practice. “The importance of family in my work signifies being grounded and community,” he told me recently. Before leaving Montalvo at the end of April, after a three month stay at the Lucas Artists Program (LAP), Kalisolaite, who prefers to be called Ite, invited his extended family and LAP residents for a Tongan feast. This meal of sandwiches and barbecued chicken took place at his studio, which was filled with…
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May 14th, 2018

A Taste of Place: Edible Flowers with Kija Lucas

By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), LAP Culinary Arts Fellow ​ Visual artist Kija Lucas came for a visit last week. We have been working on a project for over a year, documenting the seasonal ingredients I use in my meals, with the goal of creating a unique Montalvo-centric book with recipes and stories that play off her incredible images. Those special ingredients come from my travels to the farmer’s markets, from excursions into the woods, from dives into the sea, from walks on the beach, from my garden, and sometimes from the side of the road or plucked from a tree…
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Jun 4th, 2018

A Taste of Place: Eden’s Greens

By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), Montalvo Culinary Artist Ten years ago, Eden Israel started growing salad greens for the culinary artist at the Lucas Artists Residency. The little leaves she grows thrive in the Santa Cruz mountains at her home garden, hugging the side of a steep mountain. It was former Lucas Artists Culinary Fellow and Chez Panisse alum Michele Fuerst who found Eden, and a lasting relationship between Montalvo, a farmer, and the land was born. “The idea at the time was to know your farmer,” Eden told us at the lunch table when she visited this week. “It’s important…
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Jun 18th, 2018

A Taste of Place: Eating Outdoors

By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), Montalvo Culinary Artist (Clockwise, left to right): Monica de la Torre, Nina C. Young, Lori Wood, Howard Hersh, Gregory Sale, Mrugen Rathod, Julian Talamantez-Brolaski, and Sandhya Bordewekar Gajjar ​Why do we enjoy eating outdoors so much? What is it about eating beyond the confines of the dining room? The first thought that comes to mind is the feeling of freedom ; the cool air of dusk, the gentle breeze, the sound of crickets and the relaxed mood that naturally comes when sitting at a picnic table. The day’s work is done. The insects come out…
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Jun 26th, 2018

A Taste of Place: Distilling Redwoods

​ By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), Montalvo Culinary Artist Students from the Crafting Hydrosols & Essential Oils class ​Photo: Andrea Blum The redwood is my absolute favorite tree in so many ways. It’s a powerful symbol and a living, breathing organism that defines a place. Oh California, how I appreciate you. It’s the tallest tree in the world that only grows in the coastal foggy climate of the west. It’s not only a pleasure to gaze at in all its wonder, but it also has a scent that brightens the dark forest. Last week, I invited Alice Duvernell, an ethnobotanist…
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Aug 20th, 2018

A Fruitful Year: Ciderhouse Cookbook + A Baby

By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), Montalvo Culinary Artist ​It’s been over a year since I started working on my first cookbook, Ciderhouse Cookbook , and a lifetime of learning to make it happen! It’s also been a year since I gave birth to Lucienne Claire, a revelation of inspiration and happiness. The two together became the reason why I wanted to write this book—to make simple recipes that let the seasonal and special flavors of my family’s ciderhouse shine and to celebrate the love one feels when one shares a delicious meal with friends and family. This is also…
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Feb 9th, 2018

In the Studio with Henry Threadgill

By Lori Wood, Lucas Artists Residency Manager   Artists Monica Sok, Danez Smith, Kalisolaite 'Uhila, David Benoit, Dario Robleto, Kio Griffith, and Yasuhiro Usui in Henry Threadgill's studio. After dinner this week, the LAP artists visited jazz great Henry Threadgill’s studio, where Threadgill spoke in his musical cadences about his creative process.     Holding a sheet of arcane notations of notes and intervals, Threadgill explained his exploration of five-part rhythm. Poets, visual artists, and other musicians leaned in. He demonstrated with dance steps: Two long steps, two short, one long, and invited poet Monica Sok to try it next.…
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Dec 2nd, 2018

RADIOEE.net AUTOPILOTO

In February 2018 RADIO Espacio Estacion, RADIOEE.net (consisting of Sebastian Bellver, Stephanie Elyse Sherman, and Agustina Woodgate), a mobile, multilingual, online radio channel broadcasting conversations about mobility and movement while on the move, joined us at the Lucas Artists Program and began work on developing a new 24-hr broadcast exploring self-driving vehicle technology and other automated mobilities while on the move. ​On November 15 and 16 they presented AUTOPILOTO, a marathon 24-hour radio transmission on all things self-driving broadcast live while on-the-move from a semi-autonomous vehicle looping the Bay Area. Transmitted in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, the broadcast explored how autonomy and automatic movement are transforming…
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Feb 20th, 2018

Endoscopic Sound: Yasuhiro Usui & Kio Griffith

By Lori Wood, Lucas Artists Residency Manager Above: Entering the studio of LAP Fellow Yasuhiro Usui. When the Lucas Artists Fellows entered Yasuhiro Usui’s LAP composer’s studio, they were confronted by a massive white sail strung tightly across the large studio in a diagonal. ​Floor pillows welcomed the artists to settle in and explore sound. Poets Monica Sok and Danez Smith took up pillows to the left, forming the poetry zone. Tongan visual artist Kalisolaite 'Uhila stretched out prone to the right. Musicians David Benoit and Henry Threadgill took seats, Threadgill next to a small table with its top covered with…
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Nov 2nd, 2018

Bruce Munro at Montalvo: Stories in Light

Featuring 10 light-based works ranging in scale from immersive to intimate, Bruce Munro at Montalvo: Stories in Light is an ambitious outdoor exhibition that has transformed Montalvo’s historic Villa and its extensive public areas into a spectacle of light. The exhibition includes existing and new works conceived and developed by Munro while in residence at the Lucas Artists Program. 
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