It’s here! You know, that time of year when all the white folks decide it’s OK to come over to our side of the tracks…. OK,  so that’s not exactly true. There are all kinds of people living on the East Side, but it’s sort of funny to me that everyone still seems to be wary of living in our neighborhood, but they sure do come out for freebies like the East Austin Studio Tour. This seems to be one of the major events that really “resurrected” the East Side for many non-residents. As for us, this will be our very first E.A.S.T. and we are rearing to go! We picked up our booklet and map at Whole Foods last weekend and have been perusing the pictures and the Web gossip in an attempt to make some sort of plan of attack. We have decided to share our infinite wisdom with you, fellow readers, in hopes that we can be of some assistance in your very own E.A.S.T. plan. We will probably hitting the streets via bicycle, and we encourage you all to do the same! Many of the locations are pretty close together, so biking just makes sense. Obviously, art is an incredibly subjective thing, so please don’t get all up in arms with us if we lead you to something you aren’t all the impressed with. Our goal is to get out and enjoy our neighborhood and our neighbors and their work. That said, here are some spots we will be attempting to stop by. You can see all of these on their interactive google map!

#4 Bright Studio! 1301 Garden Street: Described in the booklet as “printing, sculpture, mixed media,” but the Web address takes you to printed textiles, t-shirts, and notecards of a crafty nature a la Etsy, which you all know we enjoy. So we’d like to know what else these folks can pull off. And they have an exclamation point at the end of their name. We are intrigued.

#7 Domy Gallery/Bookstore: We just like these guys and have been meaning to stop by lately. No time like the E.A.S.T. Last we heard they have an exhibit of monster drawings up. Monsterific!

#12 Okay Mountain, 1312 E. Cesar Chavez St: Seems their current exhibit features a collective of artists from Kansas City. with an edgy, of-the-wall style, and some wild looking installation pieces, this place looks like it might be an interesting pit stop.

#9 Big Red Sun: If you still haven’t been here, stop by already! Buy a plant or something.

#14a Cesar A Sylva: A local up-and-comer working in oil and acrylic on canvas. Something about his work caught our eye. His paintings have a narrative feel that we are drawn to.

#20 Margot Herster/ flexspace: Photography. We like photography, and her stuff looks interesting. The end.

#25 Jeffrey Swanson: This guy does a bit of everything, from mixed-media, to painting, to photography, and we hear he’s pretty good on the drums too.

#26 Germaine Keller Studio: Um, what??!!  This stuff looks fantastic. Installations, sculpture, architecture/industrial meets nature. It’s blowing my mind right NOW.

Willow Arts, 1617 Willow Street: Looks like a multiple-artist space filled with everything from paintings and photography, to writing and ceramics. Artists include Deanna Miesch, Carrie Kenny, and Jaqueline May.

#31 Jacob Borshard: Cartoons! Of a fantastical  nature, no less.

Artists, I’m sorry if I misspelled your names! I tried my best. For now, feast on these, you art-hungry readers. More to come tomorrow. Maybe.