As the story goes, some years ago guerrilla artist Banksy was visiting Sonoma with some artist friends who took him to the Epicurean Connection in Sonoma. Sheana Davis, who knew Banksy's friends, didn't think much of the hooded young man spray-painting a stencil on the wall in her back room—after all, there are crows and other images painted by local artist Jonny Hirschmugl in the front of the store, so why not give the back a little love? Only later did she find out who Banksy was, but instead of fawning over his celebrity she was just excited that an artist had been inspired enough to leave a mark in her shop.
"I didn't know who he was at the time," says Davis, taking a moment from finalizing plans for her 11th annual Sonoma Valley Cheese Conference taking place next week in Sonoma. "He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and didn't say much."
Davis' connection to the famous British street artist is not as unlikely as it may seem to those who know her. She's a champion of local artists, and each month shows a different artist's work in her shop. She buys one new piece a month, but mostly reserves space on the Epicurean Connection's walls for the rotating gallery. Davis runs a cheese shop, makes 500 gallons of the stuff each week and founded a conference dedicated to the craft of making the curdled-dairy delight—what the hell does her art collection have to do with cheese?
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Bohemian
