After making a fairly complex Argument for Simplicity I’m faced with the task of devising a corollary. That is, either clarifying what I mean by simplicity in design, or attempting to make an inverse point, a simple argument for complexity. The latter seems a little facile, bordering on absurd, so I’ll attempt the former. Simplicity […]
Category Archives: aesthetics
Bull Kelp Harvest
Each winter since we’ve lived on the Sonoma Coast and made a daily practice of walking the beaches, I become mildly obsessed with the bull kelp that washes ashore in great heaps after storms. I’ve tried weaving the kelp into seat blanks, drying it as an iodine-rich jerky, and brewing it for a savory stock. […]
Squalls of Fall
November morning over Bodega Bay The first squalls of fall spiral ashore in waves from the open ocean, lending drama to the sky and purpose to our stores of dry wood and kindling. The whales have begun their migration past Bodega Head. American Coot bob in tight clusters like black shadows in the surf while […]
Trim the Sails
What’s tried and true is just that. While training in any tradition might lead to a skeptical outlook, leaving one resistant to radical change, innovation can often be the result of baby steps, so there’s always room to trim the sails once a course is set.
Learning from the Murmur
I was lucky to catch the last rays of early September sun glistening off the ornately glazed tiles and finials of downtown Oakland’s deco treasures; the building facades just drink up this light, colors saturated against a deep azure sky. I had arrived on bike just as the Murmur was setting up, bought tickets at […]
5th Avenue Marina
I first discovered Oakland’s 5th Avenue Marina when we moved to the city in 1991. I’ve always enjoyed exploring a new city’s wild edges, especially when they involve boats and waterways. The ramshackle marina is tucked away at the end of lower 5th Avenue west of the Embarcadero, on a narrow spit of unincorporated land […]
Drawing Seascapes
Point Reyes from Dillon Beach