I use all of may favorite hand tools to shape my first surfboard. These late summer evenings I’ve been enjoying dropping into a state of loose focus as I shape my first surfboard from a slab of air-dried cottonwood. An aroma reminiscent of farm animals wafts up as my plane curls ribbons of excelsior. I […]
Tag Archives: california coast
A Year in Surf, Preamble
Whether you consider it precaution or precognition, sometimes it makes sense to change things up just when they appear to be running smoothly. I feel very fortunate that my hard work over the years has earned me the luxury of making a living doing pretty much exactly what I want to do, some of which […]
Nicasio
satellite view of the village of Nicasio, CA, built around a baseball diamond Driving the back way from our studio on the Sonoma Coast to Marin County to install a project over the past few months, I’ve fallen in love with the village of Nicasio. Its tiny town center consists of a church, a general […]
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 […]
Fish Sculpture Progress
Our hand-printed wedding invitations were an auspicious omen of the fish theme Chance is always powerful. Let your hook always be cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be fish. ????? ??????? ?????? -Ovid The theme of fish has been a constant touchstone for Ene and me since we first met […]
Micro Expedition
traversing Greenland, 1930 (image: public domain) I am truly honored that Russell Baldon, acting Chair of CCA’s Wood/Furniture Program, invited me to be the ‘Wornick Visiting Distinguished Professor of Wood Arts’ for Fall 2010. I’ll be teaching a studio-based ‘Atelier’ course for the semester that will give me an opportunity to share my studio and […]
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 […]