Students and graduates of The California College of Arts and Crafts and alumni of the fine woodworking program of the College of the Redwoods, Ft. Bragg, CA, founded the Cricket Engine Gallery in 1996 as an artist collective.

Many of the current artists are MFA graduates of CCAC. The Gallery is housed in a former military infirmary .It is located in the 5th Avenue Marina, near Oakland's Jack London Square. Phoenix Iron Works is right across the way, as are numerous artists' studios and businesses. Going to a reception at Cricket Engine is less like the traditional white wine experience you may know from the galleries in SF and more like crashing your neighbors barbecue. The most recent show they had on view was part of Bayanalle: International Art Exhibition: "Scenes from the Bay Area." The opening featured a miniature golf course that covered the length of the 5th Avenue Marina. Here is a link where you may view a golf course that looks as if it may have been constructed by Fat Albert and his friends.
http://www.fecalface.com/blogs/the_eastsider/archives/2005/07/fore.html

The place has a very homey feel that is quite conducive to wondering about with a nice beverage and jawing with the gentry and or rapscallions of the area ( I rather like the word "rapscallion" ). One such rapscallion is an extremely impressive artist who is known simply as Shultz. Shultz occasionally shows at the Cricket Engine gallery and has an incredible sprawling studio space just a short walk down the Marina. If I thought I could pull it off I would kill Shultz and assume his identy. That is how much I admire him. He works with found objects to create non-functional vehicles that would have both Joseph Cornell and H.G. Well's mouths watering. A photo of his piece titled "Cyclops" may be viewed at the above link. His studio looks like a cross between the Adams family's living room and the Smithsonian's attic. It is just jammed with every sort of red velvet covered, rusty, dusty, parchment yellow object you can imagine. Shultz's studio is not generally open to the public but if you happen to be an attractive young woman or if you are just traveling with one he can be quite accommodating.

The next show rumored to be coming up in October at Cricket Engine is a showing of sculpture by Michelle Kern one of the founding members of the gallery. Her web site is http://www.geocities.com/mpkartist/ .And the site of the Cricket Engine Gallery is http://www.cricketengine.org/ .