Gift Guide: Crocker Gift Shop

Next to buying a piece of locally made art for a friend or loved one (an excellent gift idea!), the best way to support the arts while you shop for Christmas presents might just be the compact but chockfull Crocker  Museum Gift Shop.  The Sacramento area is known for funk art, and you can purchase a piece of it at the Crocker: they have chunky, rough ceramic cakes and pies made by Jeff Nebeker ($25-100), and whimsical, sometimes naughty pieces by Clayton Bailey, the Port Costa-based funk artist who is being exhibited in the museum until January 15th ($50-4000).

Also in honor of Bailey’s robot-themed artworks, the Museum Store is currently stocking a wide array of kitschy robot toys ($2-80) that are sure to delight both kids and adults.  For the toddler on your list you can pick up an adorable pair of Mary Jane socks or teeny silver penny loafers made by Trumpette ($15-24) – a company that’s a major supporter of the arts in Sacramento – and for the artistically inclined school-age kid how about a Hundertwasser sticker book ($10).  Kids still like sticker books, right? Other, Crocker-branded options include a colorful selection of Crocker Museum t-shirts ($14.95) or the ultimate: “The Crocker Art Museum Unveiled” ($75), a coffee table-sized coffee table book with more than 500 hundred color reproductions of artwork in the Crocker Museum collection. –BG

Crocker Gift Shop. 216 O Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, 916.808.5531