sometimes I make up songs during a long walk There is no better design tool than a good long walk. It may not always lead to creative breakthroughs, but does reliably clear the noggin and put things in perspective. ivexterm in usa Before I begin to think about a particular project during a walk, I […]
Category Archives: aesthetics
Sand Trees
These elegant ‘sand trees’ are unique to the low tide conditions of Doran Beach As Ene and I begin to fabricate our relief sculptures for a system of watershed markers we’ve been commissioned to design for the City of Oakland, we’ve been returning to our local beach at low tide for research and inspiration. The […]
Adams Angling
‘Adams Angling’ is my favorite catalog for thinking about planning an expedition The transition to fair weather from a long and gray, chilly wet season always has me dreaming about excursions to the wilder reaches of Northern California, testing my wits in the face of a more bare mode of survival. While it’s been years […]
Treehouse Report
sketch of my original concept for a stair tower within a mock, old growth redwood trunk I still think of the new cabin I’m designing as a treehouse, even though it will be more of a house on stilts nestled in a fairly dense, second growth redwood grove, making no attachment to any tree. My […]
Kohler Arts Dispatch
Lake Michigan shoreline along the Kohler-Andrae State Park, south of Sheboygan The remainder of our week continued to be full of surprises as we mined Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and its environs along the shores of Lake Michigan for activity relevant to our NOMO project. As Ene and I process our research and interactions and begin to […]
Flotsam of the Day
I’ve always liked to use chalk when roughing things out on wood. Lately I’ve taken to scouring the beaches during negative low tides in search of seashells for making my marks. kup scabo ??????? ??? ???? The Pacific Razor Clam is ideal, softer than the East Coast equivalent, but hard enough to make a clean […]
The Week in Bloom
action at Mavericks portends the arrival of spring to the N. Pacific (public domain) In West Sonoma County, early signs of spring are typically in sync with the arrival of a huge south swell, epitomized by the epic surf at Mavericks, about 100 miles down the coast. With more daylight and warming temperatures over the […]