OVERCUP BLOG — the tall trees of paris

At the recent launch party for Matt Wagner’s Tall Trees of Paris at Gigantic Brewing (a great success, by the way!) we were honored by not one but TWO of Portland’s premier champagne sabreurs: Michael Ecker and Christopher Graham. Champagne sabering, or sabrage, is a delightfully ostentatious technique for opening a bottle of champagne with—you guessed it—a saber! Sabering dates back to Napoleonic times, but artisans like Michael and Christopher are carrying on the legacy with panache. You can see a snippet of Michael in action here.Michael embarked on the path to mastery at his wedding, where an official champagne...

Sunlight streamed through the open garage door of Portland, Oregon's Gigantic Brewing Company’s Tap Room and Champagne Lounge last Saturday, illuminating gorgeous stacks of books, delicious hors d’oeuvres, and a multitude of prints from several artists featured in Matt Wagner’s newest book, The Tall Trees of Paris. Gigantic Brewing is a true gem, off the beaten path but well worth the trip, and familiar faces as well as new friends came to celebrate contemporary French art with us. Some of our readers who already own Wagner's The Tall Trees of Portland and The Tall Trees of Tokyo came to complete their set, while others...

Quick, name five artists. For most people with even a cursory arts education, five artists should come relatively easy. For those with a more intense fine arts education, you can probably name at least five artists just from one period in art history. Do you have your five? Okay, so how many of them are women? Probably none of them. As we celebrate Women’s History Month this March, we’re reminded of just how often the contributions of women get pushed to the background.   In an effort to bring the conversation back to the enormous contributions women have made to...