Volume 4, Number 3
Neighbor Lady Community Art Project
www.kitchensinkmag.com
(subscriptions $25/year; $5.95/issue)
On a recent window-shopping trip to a big-name bookseller, I spotted a rarity among the shiny, happy magazines and slick, sterile journals: a locally-produced arts publication. Although the promise of articles about being green on a budget and biking in Los Angeles intrigued me, it was the slogan, “for people who think too much” that prompted me to buy Kitchen Sink. And I’m glad I did.
This Oakland-based publication is a forum for community poetry, short fiction, arts and art criticism, and essays. It’s the kind of regional magazine that’s good to have. It functions as a support mechanism for the local arts community and is an ambassador for the area, spreading information beyond those artificial boundaries created by art walks and second Saturday events.
True to its name, Kitchen Sink is an interesting hodge-podge of information and writing as well as illustrations by Bay area artists. There are interesting essays about sustainable art installations and a photographic portfolio highlighting an artist who uses recycled items by repairing broken objects – enveloping a non-functioning toaster with a quilted cozy or sheathing a broken crayon with fabric and bold stitching.
The magazine is rounded out with thoughtful personal essays and whimsical music reviews loaded with footnotes. Quirky, and worth a read, if not a subscription.
Linda Dailey Paulson is a Ventura-based freelance writer with a penchant for reading and contributing to quirky and thought-provoking magazines and ’zines.
