A wax section of the base of the whale tail is released from its mold at Artworks Foundry in Berkeley Piero Mussi helps me make final adjustments to the base before it is prepared for casting in bronze The other sections have been reinforced and coated in a silica/ceramic slip to keep their shape when […]
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Flotsam of the Day
Two views of an unidentified bone, presumably from a large fish or a sea mammal While running on the beach early this morning I was surprised to find a large, C-shaped bone in the sand, measuring about 8″ x 4″. My first thought was that it resembled part of a skate, a familiar inhabitant of […]
Fluke Waxes
Wax sections of our Fluke sculpture hang by a window at Artworks Foundry in Berkeley Something about seeing the Fluke waxes for the first time, hanging backlit by the foundry windows like curing hams, signaled the arrival of autumn. Maybe it was the lower angle of the sun, or the sweet smell of wax melting, […]
Kelp and Iodine
Freshly harvested kelp drying on the garden fence For a while after the recent tsunami in Japan, Californians were aflutter about iodine, the primary antidote to radiation exposure. In researching sources of the element I discovered that the Japanese consume about five times more than most of the rest of the world, largely because seaweed […]
Vaka Moana
One of eight vaka sails into the harbor of San Francisco’s Treasure Island Last week I attended the welcoming ceremony for a fleet of vaka moana that had just crossed the Pacific from New Zealand, where the eight craft were built. Using traditional sailing rigs supplemented by solar-powered electric motors, the craft and crew made […]
Dory Revival
The mouth of Tomales Bay As a lifelong student and enthusiast of small boat design, my tastes lean towards working craft, which I define as any boat whose primary goal is to reach a destination, either as transportation or in the seasonal pursuit of a fishery. Working craft adapt and evolve over generations of trial […]
Donald’s Whittling and Scrimshandering Soiree
Pippa Murray, Donald Fortescue and John Randolph, a-whittlin’ at the Headlands Craving both a mental vacation and physical challenge, I decided to embark on an impromptu four day bike trip down the coast, eqipped with the barest possible essentials of food, clothing and shelter. My destination would be the Headlands Center for the Arts near […]