Bartalos

Join me for Passport 2012 today in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. Passport is the San Francisco Art Commission Gallery‘s annual fundraising event that invites interaction between Bay Area artists and the public to create a limited-edition artist’s book. Ten artists and I have each designed original rubber-stamp images that art enthusiasts can collect in custom edition Moleskine “passports” by visiting us at our stations throughout North Beach from noon till 4 PM. My post will be Goorin Bros. Hat Shop, 1612 Stockton St. between Union and Filbert Streets.

This year’s event features stamps by Bert Bergen, Lauren Dicioccio, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jeremy Fish, David Huffman, Walter Logue, Stephanie Syjuco, Kelly Tunstall, Jenifer Wofford, Chelsea Wong, and myself. Washington Square Park at the corner of Powell Street and Columbus Avenue will serve as the event’s home base where people can check in, pick up passports, and obtain event maps.

I designed my rubber stamp to be stamped twice to create an overlapping image. The second impression is applied at 90 degrees to the first without re-inking to create the greys that complete the image’s set of 16 icons. The art references books, printmaking, type, publishing and graphic design, all of which have a rich history in North Beach.

Passport offers residents and visitors an affordable, hands-on art-collecting experience while discovering or re-discovering one of the city’s most celebrated historic districts. The proceeds from Passport go toward the SFAC Galleries’ Programming Fund, which supports artist honoraria and exhibition costs.