At Mezcalito Oaxacan Cuisine in Rocklin, the mole takes two days and nearly two dozen ingredients to complete. The recipe reads like a catalog of the Mexican state of Oaxaca’s agricultural bounty: plantains, green apples and raisins; warm spices and half a dozen kinds of chiles; a liberal dose of sparsely-sweetened chocolate.

In 1991, Gregory Perkins was a Sacramento corrections officer struck by a calling to make a difference. He realized that most greeting cards lacked representation of the African American community. Perkins worked with his cousin, an artist, to develop three Afrocentric greeting card designs in an effort to create what he calls an “uplifting product that African Americans can take pride in.”

Bill Wagman greets 25 guests at the front door of his Davis house, then sits quietly at a dining room table while his featured musician of the mid-September evening, Florida’s Grant Peeples, entertains in the living room with folk songs and reciting his offbeat poetry.

Comstock’s sat down with Tony Natsoulas to talk about creating and collecting in the Capital Region.

Crocker Park is three acres of unimproved land at 2nd and O streets adjacent to Interstate 5. Prior to the construction of the freeway and the redevelopment of Sacramento’s west end in the mid-1900s, this land once had housing on it.

In an increasingly crowded digital space of bloggers and influencers, Melissa Johnson, founder of the Sacramento-based lifestyle blog Best Friends for Frosting, knew she had to create a thumb-stopping moment to stand out.

Lisa Taira at Kiyo’s Floral Design has practiced ikebana — traditional Japanese flower arrangement — for nearly 50 years. 

When Alejandra Calderon narrowly escaped failing her ceramics class as a fine arts major at Sacramento State, she never imagined that seven years later she would co-own a ceramics business. At the time, she found the discipline to be frustratingly difficult compared to her primary passion, painting.

The success of the film Lady Bird brought Sacramento into the national limelight and local leaders want to incorporate the creative community into its branding efforts. But artists and business leaders can be strange bedfellows. 

Emily Baime Michaels, executive director of Midtown Association, offers her insight into Sacramento business and arts partnerships in the Capital Region.

With the June opening of its Downtown Commons Medical Office Building, Kaiser Permanente has reimagined what a doctor’s office can look like.

Traditional butcher shops are making a comeback in the Capital Region.

Comstock’s caught up with Feathered Leopard owner Jenn Hall to discuss carving out a living as a nomadic artist, and the pros and cons of selling art online.

This gallery started with a peek into the Torch Club’s “green” room, located down a few stairs back behind the stage and hidden from public view. Between sets at a Ray Copeland Band show, I caught singer Marilyn Woods on a piano bench looking at some video and I snapped a couple of photos before going back out to the bar area.

As a Core Member of the National New Play Network, the B Street Theatre has produced over 100 new works in the last 30 years. However, out-of-the-box ideas like the New Comedies Festival underline the need for theaters to continue evolving to meet shifting customer demands.

Alexander Suelto has always been inspired by street art. As a teenager coming of age in Stockton in the ‘90s, he admired the local graffiti artists whose art brought the city to life. Back then, street art was widely stigmatized.

Not far from the historic district of Folsom, inside a quiet strip mall, a ballroom dance studio has set the stage for a timid 13-year-old to find her groove, retirees to reinvigorate their marriages, and a widower and a divorcee to find love. It’s also helped owner Kate Gonzalez prove to her parents that the arts can become a lucrative career.

A father and son duo are lighting up the Central Valley with handmade neon signs.

Anne Bown-Crawford, executive director of the California Arts Council on the arts as an economic driver. 

Growing up in South Korea, Jeannie Johng-Nishikawa would dream of being a fashion designer as she watched her mother spin yarn and make fabric.