the underside of this pallet reminds me of a Mayan city At some point when making a sculpture or piece of furniture, my job is simply to convey a load to the ground. The perennial challenge is to invent or interpret a structural program that gets the job done but adds something new in the […]
Category Archives: project dispatches
The Value of Apprenticeship
the house I built with George Smith, Germantown, NY, 1988-89 I’m a strong believer in apprenticeship as a paradigm for learning anything. Much of what I have put into practice in woodcraft and architecture I owe to my friend and mentor, George Smith of Tivoli, New York, with whom I worked side by side building […]
Boatbuilding the Fish Sculptures
Boat-Building on the Stour, oil on canvas by John Constable, 1814-15 People who know me well are not surprised by my obsession with wooden boatbuilding. Though I’ve completed just one actual boat, each year I’m gripped with boat fever, especially during the winter months, when I scan plans and dream of the perfect cruise, surveying […]
Sunnyside Conservatory Opens
SF Mayor Gavin Newsom loves our Sunnyside Menagerie project (photo: Bill Wilson) Sunnyside Conservatory officially re-opened to the public over the weekend with a bang. People crowded into the conservatory’s historic, octagonal building, hundreds spilling onto the paths of the tiny, botanical jewel of a park. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom joined other state and […]
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 […]
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 […]
Wowhaus Haps
I hit the ground running upon my return from the first leg of our Kohler Arts Residency in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Our plate will be quite full over the next 6 months while we develop a project focused on non-motorized transportation for Kohler, which will begin to take shape in earnest when Ene, Aili and I return […]