Cartrippin' to Cactus Gallery and the "Dollmakers" Show

Dropping down into LA, we sidetracked to Eagle Rock to check out Cactus Gallery. This little gem is off the beaten LA track for galleries and it's brightly colored exterior only hints at the art inside. The owner, Sandra Mastroianni was a sweetie pie, showing us around with obvious enthusiasm for her space and artists. The inventory in the shop and gallery includes a plethora of hand made items, folk art & crazy local flavor, Day of the Dead objects, mosaic works and fine artisan crafts. Definitely a place to shop for gifts and yourself. The current exhibit - "Dollmakers" features art dolls by many artists, some which are very familiar to Eclectix visitors and readers - Christine Benjamin, Sheri DeBow, Kurtis Rykovich and Carisa Swenson and some wonderful new discoveries. All were fantastic, felted, sewn, carved and/or ceramic, each with their own individual style and footprint on doll making.
The place was packed wall to wall and floor to ceiling with eclectic art, every little nook and cranny. Even the tiny back rooms had killer pieces. A great place to explore and support. Below are just a few tasty nibbles - from the exhibit and the shop, enjoy!

Carisa Swenson

Sheri DeBow

Kurtis Rykovich

Christine Benjamin

Sheri DeBow

Christine Benjamin

Cactus' next upcoming exhibit looks promising as well, a tree themed show which opens April 9th.

Jammin' Johns: Do Your Dirty Deed in Style

From the Incredible Things blog comes a great link to some musical toilet seats. Beautifully done accents for that musician who thought they had everything... The artist and maker is Marvin Maxwell, a Kentucky music store owner. They're music to your rears.... 

Link to Jammin' Johns

The Best Eclectic Shopping in the San Francisco Bay Area

Eclectix is all about eclectic - with something for just about everyone on your list. One stop shopping with artful, one-of-a-kind, unique and different gifts. Specializing in recycled, green and locally handmade. New & vintage: clothes, jewelry, kid’s stuff, Mid-Century, furniture, Elvis items, lamps, Day of the Dead, housewares, Isabel Samaras, Tiki items. Fun and strange, Tim Burton, lava lights, rock and roll, Emily the Strange, cards, Mark Ryden, lunchboxes, Hi-Fructose, folk art and masks. Art-related items galore...

And the two galleries exhibit creative, exciting, alternative fine art; really worth the trip! They are chock full of great original art and prints, starting at just $35.00 and up.

Here is just a tiny bit of the specific gifts EclectiXmas has to offer:

Warm, vintage wool coats with satin linings, perfect condition for that fashionable woman. Guitar pick earrings. "Accordian Babe" locally made calendars for that musician dude. A Robert Crumb "Devil Girl" lunchbox for the comic lover. Beautiful 1950's table top lamps. Tattoo design onesies for the hip little baby in your life. A Michael Jackson candle to light on New Year's Eve. Soaps sculpted into little hands for the dirty. A set of vintage crystal martini glasses for the couple that needs a housewarming gift. Miriam Wosk, Camille Rose Garcia, Rolling Stone, Todd Schorr, Annie Leibowitz and Eric Joyner art books for that artist friend. Hand made, artisan fine jewelry. A Fender jazz bass scale model for your desk. Hand painted skeleton plates & figures from Mexico for folk art collectors. Pirate and Cupcake bandages stocking stuffers for little ragamuffins. A 1940's rhinestone and jet Art Deco style necklace for New Year's Eve. Or a "Boss Lady" re-cycled shopper. A set of Caran d'Ache pencils for the doodler. A pair of 1950's china pink cows for the collector. Hand painted Frida tables for the Frida Kahlo fan. Silk scarves of every color for anyone. A "Tweet" artist tee for the Twitter fan. Pool ball ornaments. An emerald green silk dress from the 1960's for that holiday party... or a striped skinny tie from the 1950's, all cleaned & pressed, ready to wear. And there is so much more!

By shopping Eclectix you help support local the local art & business community. Skip the mall, keep the X in your Xmas and make it an EclectiXmas!

For more on the store go to: http://web.me.com/eclectixp/Eclectix/Eclectix_Store.html

For more on the gallery go to: http://web.me.com/eclectixp/Eclectix/Exhibits_News.html

Eclectix Store & Gallery

10082 San Pablo Ave. El Cerrito, CA

(just north of Berkeley, at Central Ave.)