pounding mochi

The Oakland Museum presented a multi-faceted celebration for the Lunar New Year.  There were many activities for children, Chinese dances, calligraphy and ichibana demonstrations, taiko drummers, and this mochi pounding ceremony.  Happy Lunar New Year to all.

Day of the Dead

Yesterday was the Day of the Dead.  In some countries it also is celebrated on November 2.  This small tableau can be found in the Oakland Museum's gift shop.

ABC Wednesday: P is for Pomo Indian

Last week I showed you the special Ohlone basket recently brought into the Oakland Museum's collection.  As part of the ceremony and celebration, a group of Pomo Indians performed sacred dances prior to the basket's presentation.   Linked to ABC Wednesday.

O is for Ohlone

The Ohlone Indians lived along the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay for thousands of years before Europeans came to the area.  Ohlone baskets are extremely rare, in part due to the tribal practice of burning personal possession upon death.  The Oakland Museum commissioned Linda Yamane, a Rumsien Ohlone of the Monterey area, to make a basket for the museum's vast collection.  Featuring 20,000 stitches, several thousand feathers, and 1,200 handcrafted Olivella shell beads, the extremely rare basket took Yamane nearly three years to create.  It is believed that it has been 250 years since this type of ceremonial basket has been made.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Monday Mural: Peralta hacienda

The Peralta Hacienda Historic Park is the last remaining parcel related to a vast land grant that once included most of the East Bay.  As part of their education program is a series of murals showing the annual cycle of life on the rancho.  They were painted by Maren Vanduyn and installed in 2007.   She collaborated with the Friends of Peralta Hacienda Historical Park’s executive director and Ohlone culture bearer Linda Yamane to conceive the murals.

While there are too many to present here, this close-up gives you a feeling of the detail included in the mural sequence.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

Skywatch Friday: Peralta Rancho

What's left of the vast Peralta Rancho, a land grant of originally more than 44,000 acres, is this Italianate House built in 1870.  The previous adobes were successively torn down.   A few adobe bricks associated with a Peralta house can still be found in Dimond Park.  Luis Maria Peralta, with his parents, was a member of the de Anza expedition of 1775 that established Mission San Jose, the Precidio, and Mission Delores.   Ultimately, he was granted a large tract of land in 1820 that covered much of the East Bay from Albany to San Jose.  Although initially a productive and profitable operation, over time the land was subdivided amongst his children.  Eventually much of it was sold, some of it was grabbed by Anglos after the Gold Rush, and eventually the land was reduced to a handful of acres around this 'modern" house.   The home remained neglected for many years until renovated by the city and turned into an education center and museum.  The center educates the public about the rancho period and the part it played in the area's economy and general history.   Linked to Skywatch Friday.

Weekend Reflection: museum pond

The Oakland Museum pond features both a sculpture and a bale of turtles.  The turtles especially draw the attention of children.  Considering the museum hosts over 30,000 school children a year, that's a lot of turtle watching.  For more reflective shots, visit Weekend Reflections.

Weekend Reflection: at the museum

A friend and I went to the Richard Misrach and John Muir exhibits at the Oakland Museum.  Afterward, we had a quick nosh in the restaurant where I saw this reflection.  Seemed perfect for the holiday season  and for James' meme Weekend Reflections.

Camron-Stanford House

This fine Italianate house is the only remaining private home of many that once dotted the shores of Lake Merritt. The lake is behind the house.  It was built in 1876 by Samuel Merritt and was subsequently owned by a number of other families.  In the early 20th century it became a museum, the first such public museum west of the Mississippi.  By the 1970s it was falling into disrepair and in danger of demolition until a citizens group rallied to save it.  It is now a museum of the victorian home.  It is also available to rent for weddings and other events.

Weekend Reflections: USS Potomac

The USS Potomac was Franklin Roosevelt's yacht during his presidency.  It is now berthed at Jack London Square.  In the late afternoon, the sunlight reflected off the water shimmers on its port side; and the water shimmers with the ship's reflection.  Cool, huh?  For more photos with reflections, check out James' meme Weekend Reflections.

día de los muertos

The Day of the Dead has a big presence in the Bay Area due to our large Latino population.  Oakland has an annual street festival in the Fruitvale District and a special show at the Oakland Museum where local artists are invited to build altars.  Associated with All Saints and All Souls Days, the Day of the Dead has it's roots deep in Aztec culture.  They believed that at this time of year the veil between this world and the next lifts and the spirits of the departed can once again visit the corporal world.  In Mexico families use November 1st and 2nd to clean and decorate the graves of their loved ones and bring favorite food and drink as ofrendas to the spirits.  They also make temporary altars to pray, remember, and honor the dead using photos, flowers, candles, and personal artifacts.  Perhaps you have a similar tradition where you live?

A few years ago I decided to participate in the spirit of this tradition and create my own altar.  Every year since it has become a little more elaborate.  It's not at all traditional looking but it is filled with symbols that mean something to me.  It is a very emotional process for me that usually involves a fair amount of tears.  Every year I plant the flowers I use, and every year so far they bloom again at this time.  Having no pictures yet of the public events around this day, I thought I'd share a little of mine.  It's not a great photo, but you get the idea.

The Pardee House

Welcome to the Pardee Home and museum.  Enoch Pardee came to California for the Gold Rush and ultimately served in the state legislature.  His son George served as governor and was particularly well respected due to his leadership after the 1906 earthquake.  The family home, built in the late 1860s, is considered to be one of the finest preserved Italianate homes in the state.  Lucky for us, Oakland is rich is Italianate architecture.  George's wife was a collector extraordinaire of many things including Chinese altars, Alaskan scrimshaw, and Mexican rosaries, which are displayed in the home along with many of the original furnishings.  In the 1970s the home was slated for destruction for the building of the 980 freeway.  Oaklanders rose up in protest and ultimately had it declared an historical landmark, thereby preserving it and its furnishings.  Though saved from the wrecking ball, it is now cloistered in a less than beautiful part of downtown where two freeways converge.  You can actually see it from the freeway where it glows despite its surroundings.

ABC Wednesday: A is for African-American Museum

The African-American Museum is housed downtown in what was Oakland's original main Library from 1902-1951.  It is a beautiful Beaux-Arts building with a frieze inscribed with the names of the most celebrated writers of Western Civilization.  The museum is dedicated to preserving the history and experiences of African-Americans in the Bay Area and Northern California.  It contains an extensive archival collection of such artifacts as diaries, correspondence, photos, and periodicals and is well worth a visit.  For more "A" photos from around the world, visit ABC Wednesday.

Oakland Museum reopens

The Oakland Museum has just reopened after 2 years of renovation to the Art and History sections.   The natural history gallery is now closed for its turn at renovation.  The front has been relocated to Oak Street, as seen above.  The displays are well done, but I couldn't help wish the rich history of Oakland had a more prominent position in the telling of California history. That should not stop you from coming by for a visit.  You'll be glad you did.

FYI:  I'm on a 3-week trip.  My wi-fi is only occasionally allowing me to post pictures or leave comments.  Sorry about all this.