Novelist Aminatta Forna said it well when she explained that “to me there is no more pressing concern today than maternal health, and the global failure to save women’s lives is a human rights disaster. The IMOW’s timely exhibition highlights both the wonders and the terrible tragedy which motherhood can be.”

Christy Turlington Burns’ organization Every Mother Counts is partnering on the exhibit, but the body of community work is by no means intended only for new mothers. Instead, it’s created to be a resource for anyone who cares about mothers and children, who’s concerned about the health and leadership of women globally, who has a child, or who has been a child.

I am jealous of Wendy MacNaughton, and not just because she uses pen and color so well, but because she is more incredibly perceptive. Her phrasing and observations about people–and our own psyches–makes her work feel familiar and positively pleasurable. What began as a daily routine of sketching fellow commuters in the Bay Area has launched into a more-than-full-time career of commissions, installations and other lovely “things” (as you’ll see if you carve out time to explore the work on her site; having been there more times than you might think possible, I promise that your time clicking will be worthwhile). San Francisco has been the lucky benefactor of illustrations about local outdoor swimmers, library goers, winemakers, cartographers, and other groups that inspire MacNaughton, and I’m hopeful for many more.

Pepper’s talk–Monumentality, A Life in Art–at the B’Way Theater focused on her “amphisculpture.” It includes very large scale sculptures with watercolors (“Sol y Ombra,” Spain, top right), cast iron, stones (the Italian “Omphalon,” top left), and steel. She’s as humble–”when I think about bodies in conjunction with my work, it’s mostly how I can’t get hit by it during the construction”–as she is visionary.

How does she know when one of her large scale pieces is complete? “When you step away from it and the only reaction is ooooohhh.” The same went for her dialogue with local lady artists.

Thanks to a friend who’s new to the Bay Area, I got back on the high fashion train this week to find that the presentation of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s styles isn’t better–it’s just different. More items–from tunics to gowns and bolero jackets–are presented this time around, and you’ll want to give yourself a while to study the folds and fabrics. The show’s themes were curated by Vogue’s European editor at large Hamish Bowles and include Spanish Art, Regional Dress, the Spanish Court, Religious Life and Ceremony, the Bullfight, and Dance. It was the first time since seeing Ms. V’s work that I went into a museum wishing I could walk out with a bag of goods off the mannequins–Balenciaga’s geometry and craftsmanship are that good.

• Today is the first independently organized tech, entertainment and design conference around learning paradigms in SF;
• The deep dive into inside/outside classroom learning is focused on re-imagining education with bright folks from (more capital letters) MAKE and IDEO
• And it’s sold out, but you can catch the livestream and #tedxsfed feed.

A collaboration between the Contemporary Jewish Museum, Gil Gershoni and Ken Goldberg, the new Are We There Yet? takes an audio approach to understanding the nature of inquisition. Visitors–including those shown in photographer Molly DeCoudreaux’s images from a Thursday exhibition event–are introduced to a sound installation that provides unique experiences based on their movements. Consider it intelligent cameras + acoustics + algorithms + religious and cultural questioning = custom interactions x exhibit interaction.

You have until the end of July to see it, but why wait?