June Art Walk

Jun, 01 2012
By Erica
Events
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I always come alive in the summertime sun and thought June’s Art Walk would be a perfect time to jam at Rare Bird. So, I’m super excited to host live music by local musicians Bax and the Pretty Ass Birds. I recently had the pleasure of camping with these talents at the Strawberry Music festival and was blown away by their passion for their instruments and dedication to sharing the music. Join me for a dance and check out our amazing featured artist and designer as we welcome in summertime fun at Art Walk on Thursday, June 21 from 6-9pm.

For all those stylish men out there, we’ve asked the three sisters of Rattana Designs to bring their collection of handmade bow ties, pieced from vintage fabrics. Featured artist Ryan McJunkin’s art depicts otherworldly swarms of intricate butterflies that are enchanting Rare Bird throughout the month of June. Come by anytime in June to see Ryan’s installation and Rattana Design’s handmade bow ties.

Looking forward to jamming with you on Thursday, June 21st, from 6-9pm at the Art Walk. For all of you dedicated fans of DJ SOB, not to worry, he will also be at The Bird, spinning tunes between live music sets. Plus, we welcome back Featherluxe to the scene, offering feather hair extensions.

What: Piedmont Ave Art Walk

Featuring: Butterfly installation art by Ryan McJunkin and handmade bow ties by Rattana Designs

When: Thursday, June 21 from 6-9 pm

Where: The Rare Bird – 3883 Piedmont Avenue – Oakland, CA

About Ryan McJunkin:

Ryan’s primary medium is screen printing, a versatile medium that allows him to transfer images from a drawing or a digital print onto a surface, usually cotton paper or wood panels, with acrylic inks. The ability to use the same image multiple times has greatly influenced Ryan’s work, and has allowed for a great amount of experimentation within the medium of screen printing.

Butterflies are a frequent subject of the artist. He has printed thousands of them in various species and colors, often cutting each one out with scissors and displaying them together in dizzying swarms attached to walls and objects, casting intricate shadows that overlap and change with the light. His new butterflies are printed randomly with overlapping patterns, so the resulting butterflies are all at least slightly different in terms of color and pattern, making each butterfly unique amongst the swarm.

Ryan has lived most of his life in the Bay Area and graduated in 2004 with a BFA in General Fine Art from Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Ryan is a full-time artist and director at Faultline Art Space, a new warehouse space in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood, which he is working on with past and future Rare Bird artists thomas christopher haag and David Polka.

About Rattana Designs:

Rattana Designs, located in San Leandro, CA, was founded in 2010 by three sisters, Olivia, Ponnie and Ellen – although the person who made it all possible is their mother, Somphane Rattana. Growing up in Oakland, the Rattana sisters learned how to construct clothes at an early age by watching their mom make wedding and prom dresses, They spent after-school hours and summers designing, cutting patterns, sewing their designs. Now, through Rattana Designs, the sisters’ love of fashion, music, and art inspires an endless stream of imaginative style options for custom bow ties, neck ties, fair trade accessories and one-of-kind dresses.

About Bax and the Pretty Ass Birds:

Bax and the Pretty Ass Birds were born under a tent in a hailstorm at the 2011 Strawberry Music Festival. Baxter Bell, Trish Johnson and Kristina Ryan bonded around their love of music and jamming and they look forward to sharing their favorite old-timey, bluegrass, and rock n’ roll tunes with the Rare Bird gang.