Can you feel it?

There is a lot going on in Ojai right now. It seems if you give creatives a little time and space, or maybe just a weird, new reality — for I dunno, a year or so — they might blow your mind. Our town is blooming.

We've centered this issue's VORTEX on Taft Gardens and Nature Preserve. We'll follow our adventures with this amazing place, first exploring their South African and Australian gardens.

Life is a picnic (I mean, it's not but let's pretend)

Cassandra C. Jones, Taft's first-ever artist-in-residence, invited us to meet new friends in the South African Garden, under an outstretched oak. The most obvious picnic spot at the gardens is the grassy Lily Grove Lawn but a mulched floor is just fine when you have Ojai Picnic Moments' amazing collection of comfy pillows, sturdy rugs, and handmade tables. We asked Holly Vesecky of Hollyflora to create the arrangements which burst with the same protea varieties as our surroundings.

Ashley Woods Hollister of Santa Barabra brought her family's Oso de Oro Vermouth, a bottle of red and a bottle of white, covering all the bases. We brought Sanders & Sons sorbetto in a very new-friend-friendly vegan strawberry lemonade. Ojai pixie tangerines, of course, spilled off the table in abundance. Satya Twena lent us one of her heirloom-quality hats. Louise Sandhaus, Cassandra C. Jones' friend and feature, brought her wit and Abigail Napp came to tell the tale.

Culture

Gallery shows thru June:

GRAYSPACE SB

OJAI VALLEY MUSEUM

THE BASIC PREMISE

CANVAS AND PAPER

PORCH GALLERY

TAFT GARDENS

CAROLYN GLASOE BAILEY FOUNTATION

And since we're no longer constrained by time or space, I threw in Louise Sandhaus' newest project The People’s Graphic Design Archive.

Stream This: Spring

This season we have an extra helping of online offerings from Ojai creatives. In MUSIC, local duo Expandards’ (Mikael Jorgensen, Isaac Koren) newest release Cycling, the video for which was shot at Taft Gardens by Nicholas Weissman last fall. Shelter Social Club put out an Ojai Rancho Essentials Spotify playlist. There is a music video by Marc Alt. We have two timely documentary FILMS. From cover artist Joel Fox is Bogalusa Charm about how a small town on the other side of the country deals with changing social norms and racial issues. We the Power created by Ojai filmmakers David Garrett Byars and Nicholas Weissman for Patagonia Films explores the possibilities for sustainable energy by following activists from European Energy collectives. Last but not least is Bret Bradigan’s riveting interview with Cassandra C. Jones in his PODCAST Ojai: Talk of the Town, the interview that inspired this season as well as an incredible interview with Julie Tumamait-Stenslie.

Living

LEFT: Meet Jo O’Connell, the woman who came all the way from Australia to help plant and develop Taft Gardens, fell in love and returned to create a lovely Australian Nursery in Casitas Springs. You can practically hear the birds chirping and interviewer Kirsten Stoltmann chewing.

RIGHT: If the onslaught of in-person events have you needing a little “me” time, or you're still looking for a way to ease yourself back into society, keep your eyes peeled for one of Elena Rios’ Nature Immersion Experiences at Taft Gardens (you can still catch the Bloom!) or elsewhere in the Ojai Valley. Look out for the play button to hear Mikael Jorgensen’s spring sounds of Taft while you read Jessica Pregnolato’s words.

Hollyflora X Smile Mountain

We asked Holly Vesecky of Hollyflora to create a floral design for The Picnic inspired by Taft Gardens. She nailed it and went home to design and create arrangements that became part of the most fun and productive photoshoot I have ever seen. Fabricator Josh Beckman built a spiral structure to support flashy birds of paradise. Joel Fox and Jennifer Jordan Day of Smile Mountain produced, styled, and then blew up the scene. Nicholas Weissman was there filming and I haven't even seen that footage yet. Our Spring cover image, titled "The Vortex" is a product of that evening.

It was pretty decadent, you guys.

Next up: Summer!

Til then: