Study of Clouds over the Sea, Brighton, oil on canvas by John Constable, 1822 Like my distant relative, the English landscape painter John Constable, I find myself increasingly looking skyward. Along the Sonoma Coast, the sky is alternately either clear blue or opaque gray for most of the year. But as winter approaches and the […]
Category Archives: aesthetics
Russ Dotter Designs Houses with Gusto
recently framed Guest House in Marin County, designed by Russ Dotter My friend Russ Dotter designs houses that both anchor and enliven a site, as though the house and its surroundings grew up together through generations of mindful co-habitation. He has a gift for combining contemporary construction methods and a California modus vivendi with the […]
Ene’s Winter Garden
Most people know Ene, my wife and wowhaus partner, as one of the sunniest people they’ve met, and rightfully so. Our wowhaus compound has been blessed by her love of planting, harvesting and saving seeds, as she eagerly scouts out patches of sun throughout the year, populating them with seasonal flowers and vegetable gardens, battling […]
Space Chairs for Becoming Independent
three of eight Space Chairs for Becoming Independent, ready for finishing I’ve really enjoyed collaborating with artists with developmental disabilities in the design of my Space Chairs for the new playroom at Becoming Independent (BI) in Santa Rosa. The eight chairs are made from locally-milled Monterey Cypress, and their backs frame panels lovingly painted by […]
Geodescic Greenhouse and RV Topiary
Wherever I travel I try to document roadside, vernacular architecture. Often times a journey to another region refocuses my attention when I come home to the Pacific Coast of Northern California. ??? ????? ????? ivermectin oral solution for humans I was struck by these two structures over the past week, which pretty much typify the […]
Gehry and Madoff: cosmic twins?
After finally seeing the Pritzker Pavilion of Millenium Park in Chicago first hand, I’m beginning to view the work of Frank Gehry as an architectural cousin to the financial mindset of the likes of Bernard Madoff. Both stand out as icons of a gilded era that seemed until recently to be in its infancy but […]
Boat Slicks and Baseball Bats
It’s probably no coincidence that one of my favorite tools is the ‘boat slick’, a huge chisel whose long wooden handle either resembles, or is made from a baseball bat. I first learned about the properties of wood playing baseball as a kid, carefully selecting the bat with the tightest grain before going to the […]