Long Beach and its surrounding area is home to a vibrant and burgeoning art community and we want to do everything we can to help it continue to prosper and thrive. February kicked off our first art showing at Root's. We featured the art of Teresa Downer, a Long Beacher with some serious talent. Her gorgeous handcrafted dimensional collages of cleverly crafted hearts and lively scenes created quite a commotion. We love that she utilizes a variety of environmentally materials including recycled and reused papers, acid-free scrap-booking papers along with various mixed media.You can view more of Teresa's work at http://www.teresadowner.com/

During the month of February we also featured the art of Sassy's Sustainable Gardens who, like ourselves, are also a local mother-daughter team. Gorgeous succulents are planted in a bed of scintillating colored rocks studded with intriguing shells and assorted sparkly objects.The decorative glass they use is recycled, and as the name of their business implies, succulents are sustainable and require very little water. Sassy's is also responsible for the fabulous orange pots on our patio studded with colorful succulents, rock

s and shells. You can view the artful mini-gardens by Sassy's Sustainable Gardens at http://www.sassyssustainablegardens.com

This month we will be featuring the art of Rod Hamby, an emerging artist and immediate family member of Dalet Hamby and Norma Chavez. His paintings celebrate and marry elements of mysticism and science fiction. Rod is responsible for the intricate collage on the counter top of Roots Gourmet. “I am really drawn towards ancient civilizations like the Egyptians and The Mayans. The use of symbolism in their art is so mysterious that it fascinates me," says Rod. You can keep up with Rod's many art projects at http://thealignmentproductions.blogspot.com/

We are excited to feature the art of Chris Tsagakis, a member of the Rx Bandits and the solo artist of Technology, in April. His work primarily consists of abstract pieces with vivacious psychedelic colors and prominent Day of the Dead influences. You can check out more of his art work and music at http://www.myspace.com/technologyrecordings

 

We are accepting submissions for May and the following months, so if you are a skilled artist living in Long Beach or the surrounding area, or know someone who is, please send samples and a short write-up explaining the type of media and philosophies/influences behind the art to info@rootsgourmet.com. We are partial to Latin American influenced and environmentally friendly art. We look forward to getting to know the amazing local art the area has to offer and sharing it with our customers.