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 […]

Ene’s Winter Garden 2

freshly picked Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana) from Ene’s Winter Garden I never notice our pineapple guava bush, which frames the back entry to our vegetable garden, until the ripe fruit drops from its branches. This morning I picked most of the feijoa, about 2 gallons, which we’ll make into salsa, smoothies and muffins. As always, […]

Wowhaus Interview

photo by Jenny Elia Pfeiffer for the December ’09 issue of San Francisco Magazine I’m already fielding inquiries for dining tables after the publication of an interview with Ene and me in the December issue of San Francisco Magazine, written by Joanne Furio. The interview is called ‘We Gather Together’ and it unpacks our approach […]

Ene’s Winter Garden

Most people know Ene, my wife and wowhaus partner, as one of the sunniest people they’ve met, and rightfully so. Our wowhaus compound has been blessed by her love of planting, harvesting and saving seeds, as she eagerly scouts out patches of sun throughout the year, populating them with seasonal flowers and vegetable gardens, battling […]

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 […]

Kohler Arts Dispatch

 On my final day in Sheboygan I was treated to a Hmong Festival, hosted by the Kohler Arts Center. The Festival featured the traditional storytelling, crafts, costume, food, music and dance of the Hmong culture. Through an epic pageant performed by local children (see video clip above), I learned about the exploitation and eventual […]