Art and Carafes

In Brea, there are crocks and there are crocs.

We begin with a view of the former (the artsy kind) at a civic center gallery and end with a view of the latter (the fake kind) over dinner. In between, we pay a visit to some unusual corners of the local shopping mall.

Other kinds of crocks, if they exist in Brea, are not explored on this tour.

Vessels, including crocks from the Middle Bronze period, and quilts dating to the Civil War make up the “Tea & Comfort” show on display through March 15 at the City of Brea Gallery.

Contemporary examples in both genres are also shown: a trompe l’oeil paint can by David Furman, for instance, and quilts by North County residents.

Juanita Swarts of Fullerton contributes several quilts, including “Yesterday’s Memories” (1987), with a hand-appliqued design featuring radiating bands of white, a trim of pink roses and scalloped edges. It’s based on memories of the family farm in South Dakota.

Kate Hershey of La Habra lends a “crazy quilt” made by her grandmother in the 1880s. A “friendship quilt” made by the Pythian Sisters, a charitable organization based in Brea in the ‘30s, is signed by “sisters” Thelma, Lila, Grace, Etta, Nellie, Leda, Hazel and Lucille. “The Wrong Path,” by Cathy Ann Sandhoefner of Anaheim, intentionally makes use of the ugliest possible fabrics.

A “Star Wars” quilt by Cathy Gillette of Brea uses what the artist calls “spacey” fabric signed by “Star Trek” cast members. It took more than a year to collect the signatures, and the project isn’t quite finished. The artist hopes to get one more signature, that of the character Q (played by John DeLancie): “I’m thinking of putting him in a menacing cloud approaching the Enterprise,” she writes.

MID-AFTERNOON: 2

Brea Mall boasts 175 shops and restaurants, but some of the most interesting merchandise can be found at free-standing carts.

Bears Etc. offers hand-sculpted, personalized, plaster bears and pigs. “Bacon in the Sun,” for example, features a pig in a bikini. Add-ons include cellular phones and self-propelled water skis.

Tapestry & Co. carries tapestry shoes, tapestry address books, even a tapestry fanny pack. Popular patterns include cats, dogs, bunnies and children of the world. The least popular fabric, the merchant tells us, offers an actual classic tapestry design.

Denim & Laces offers special-occasion baby outfits; most come with bonnets and are in the $20 range.

Need a gift for a foodie? Check out the specialty store California Orchards. Items include chocolate-and-caramel-covered apricots, flavor-infused olive oils and gourmet vinegars in flavors such as cranberry-orange-vanilla, chili-garlic and papaya-apricot-pineapple.

And if all that gourmet stuff isn’t classy enough for you, check out mall security’s fashionable, Mountie-like uniforms.

EVENING: 3

A visit to the Crocodile Cafe is worthwhile if only to see the huge crocodile para-sailing overhead, hauled by a boat painted into a floor-to-ceiling beach mural.

New items on the eclectic menu include a grilled portobello mushroom sandwich with arugula, grilled red onions and goat cheese mayonnaise on an onion roll ($7.25) and blackened catfish with ancho chili cream and “housemade” bean succotash ($10.50). Among popular standbys are a Cajun shrimp and pineapple pizza and a moo shu chicken calzone ($8.95 each). Sides include sauteed bananas (95 cents).

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1) City of Brea Gallery

1 Civic Center Circle, (714) 990-7730.

Open noon-5 p.m. Wed., Sat. and Sun.; noon-8 p.m. Thurs. and Fri.

2) Bears Etc.

Tapestry & Co.

Denim & Laces

California Orchards

Brea Mall, corner of Birch Street and State College Boulevard, (714) 990-2732.

Open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon. through Fri., 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.

3) Crocodile Cafe

Brea Marketplace, 975 E. Birch St., (714) 529-2233.

Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun. and Mon., 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tues.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri. and Sat.

Parking / Buses

There is ample parking in lots at the Brea Mall and Brea Marketplace, and beneath the Civic Center.

OCTA Buses 20, 29, 41, 49, 49A, 67, 333, 373 and 757, and MTA 470 and 490, serve the Brea Civic Center / Brea Mall area.