Boat Slicks and Baseball Bats

It’s probably no coincidence that one of my favorite tools is the ‘boat slick’, a huge chisel whose long wooden handle either resembles, or is made from a baseball bat. I first learned about the properties of wood playing baseball as a kid, carefully selecting the bat with the tightest grain before going to the […]

Update on Furniture for Becoming Independent

1 of 16 painted panels by the artists at Becoming Independent Late last week I received the first batch of panels painted by the artists of Becoming Independent, exploring the theme of ‘space’. There will be a total of 16 panels (2 per chair), all painted in acrylic on plywood boards, to be mounted in […]

Back to the Studio

a satisfying pile of offcuts accumulate as I make chairs for Becoming Independent Getting back to the studio this week makes me grateful that my work as an artisan requires such a range of activity. After a couple of weeks of project-related proposal-making, site visits, speaking engagements and interviews with the press, I’m delighted to […]

Wishing Wands Dedication

detail of one of three Wishing Wands crystal-embedded ‘heads’, approx. 32″ d. Wowhaus was honored yesterday at the dedication ceremony for our Wishing Wands project at Berryessa Creek Park in San Jose, California. The three 13′ high sculptures are sited adjacent to a playground in a paved seating area frequently used by children with physical […]

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 […]

Radical Board Boat

the lateen-rigged ‘jangada’ of Northeastern Brazil Over twenty years ago, Ene and I built our first and only boat together one winter on the porch when we lived in a one room cabin perched over the Hudson. The cabin was built atop a sea wall on a narrow spit of land to the west of […]