I was lucky enough to grow up with things made by both of my grandfathers- some simple furnishings, a fishing tackle box, fly rod and cribbage board. Neither of my grandfathers earned their livings as carpenters, but they did share a generational disposition towards frugality and were clearly raised with more than a layman’s facility […]
Tag Archives: craft
Joe’s Mushroom Report
artist/musician/chef Josef Szuecs of The-Way-To-Go-Joes My friend and neighbor Josef Szuecs is one of the most multi-talented people I’ve ever met. Owner of Renga Arts in Occidental, CA, guitarist/founder of the locally popular, self-described ‘porch jazz’ combo, The-Way-To-Go-Joes, Joe is also an accomplished chef, and his food often features seasonal fare he hunts, grows, fishes […]
Fish Sculpture Progress
1/4 scale, schematic model of the Vermillion Rockfish, carved from pine and redwood Between meetings for new wowhaus projects over the past week, I’ve completed two 1/4 scale models of our mosaic fish sculptures for the Ortega Branch of the San Francisco Public Library, commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission. I’ve borrowed a few […]
Revive the WPA?
display of WPA-initiated crafts (public domain image) What became of the Obama meme-machine? How could the campaign that so vigorously appropriated the viral marketing strategies of such mainstays of youth culture as social networking and graffiti graphics get it so wrong when selling actual policy? Where’s the poetry? “Public option“..!? “Single payer“..!? How about starting […]
The Week in Bloom
stacks of cedar dry in the warm September air I counted five Kestrel perched along barbed wire as I wound down Marshall-Petaluma Road towards Tomales Bay from Evan Shively’s mill. I had been inspecting the deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara) Evan milled for my latest interior design commission, and I was delighted to find the fragrant […]
Dispatch from the ASR in San Diego
early longboard by John Hughes Not surprisingly, I found simpatico with the deans of the old school of skate and surf at the ASR. Carson and Dale Smith of Skate Designs Skateboards staged an exhibition of classic racing boards as a backdrop to their line of contemporary cruisers. I was especially drawn to a vintage […]
In the Studio with Gabriel Russo
Gabriel Russo wearing a Hipari of his own design at his studio in Richmond, CA My friend Gabriel Russo taught me that style is a state of mind, and in capable hands can literally be constructed. What I see as the ‘everyday-special’ style evoked by his clothing design- relaxed, well-made, familiar but fresh- flows from […]