interesting fruit

I was checking out the downtown area of Santa Cruz and looking for somewhere to get a bite to eat when i came across a great Thai place. The food was delicious and there were some interesting photographs of carved fruits and vegetables on the walls. It turned out that the owner, Petcharee, gave classes on the thai art of fruit carving and there was a class coming up. So i booked a place.

There were four of us taking the class, the others, local ladies, one was on her second class, another had been sent from work to learn and the third another complete novice. We sat round a table in the restaurant for three hours, carving fruit and vegetables with a handy little knife, that we got to keep. Starting with small easy pieces to get used to handling the equipment we soon progressed to more intricate work, culminating in the water melon. I managed to go wrong part of the way through, so improvised much to the amusement of everyone else. The three hours passed quickly and we all had great fun. I just need to practice a bit to make sure that i keep my new found skill.

To keep in the artistic theme for the day i joined up with Stephanie, who had also taken the class, and spent the afternoon touring around some local art studios. Artists coordinate and open their studios once a year to promote their wares and share their passion for whatever type of art they enjoy. I ended the day more than inspired, having visited over 30 studios, some for a matter of minutes if they weren't to our taste, and a few more in depth,if we found things that caught our eye.

I was caught again, this time by glass work. Small intricate designs formed by heating glass in a flame rather than a furnace. The artist gave a demonstration which was fascinating and i have signed up for a class with him too later in the month.