Fluke Opening Ceremony in Santa Cruz

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Fluke presides over the crowd at the new Monterey Bay Exploration Center.

Yesterday evening’s opening ceremony honoring our Fluke project at the new Monterey Bay Exploration Center in Santa Cruz was proof positive to Ene and me that this has been our most rewarding public project to date. It has been privilege enough to realize a large public bronze for such an esteemed client (NOAA) at such a spectacular site (by the beach in view of Monterey Bay), but the warm and appreciative reception attended by the project’s major stakeholders was the icing on the cake. It’s rare in contemporary life for such a diverse cross-section of institutions and individuals to share common goals, let alone reach consensus on their public expression, so it’s truly thrilling to see such unanimous enthusiasm and action when it comes to protecting the health of our marine ecosystems.

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The Monterey Bay Exploration Center is across the street from the Municipal Wharf.

To read more about the development of Fluke for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center, please click here and scroll down.

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Sand Patterns 9

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Sand Patterns 8

Made in Jupiter

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‘Jupiter’, my recently completed hydraulic press, forms two Deep Deck blanks at a time.

I first started calling my new hydraulic press ‘Jupiter’ when I was forming up the concrete blocks, knowing its compressive force would exceed that of the planet Jupiter, whose gravitational pull is about three times that of Earth’s. The planet Jupiter is named after the ruling god in Roman cosmology, the god of sky and thunder. As the press took shape I realized it evoked the ancient stone alters dedicated to Jupiter, so the name stuck.

I can now press two Deep Deck longboard blanks at a time, doubling my production capabilities and eliminating a complex clamping procedure. ‘Jupiter’ will be central to my Deep Craft Atelier, to premier at Storefront Lab in San Francisco’s Mission District this summer. My longboards will now sport the distinctive stamp, ‘Made in Jupiter’.

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The planet Jupiter has roughly three times the gravitational force of Earth.

Continue reading “Made in Jupiter”

Deep Craft video

I’m proud to post the final episode of Kirsten Dirksen’s three part documentary she filmed in one day this past winter when she was visiting from Barcelona, home base for her company, faircompanies.com. This is my favorite one and I think it does a wonderful job of presenting the core of my Deep Craft philosophy. I especially appreciate her featuring my Deep Deck so prominently, which I’m poised to launch this summer at Storefront Lab in San Francisco through a three week pop-up store project I’m calling Deep Craft Atelier (more about this soon).

To watch the video on Kirsten’s site, read her commentary and link to her other video productions featuring “community and access to tools on sustainable culture”, please click here.

Wowhaus video

When Kirsten Dirksen, founder of faircompanies.com, visited our studio compound this past winter to talk about wowhaus, Deep Craft and House of Tree, I had no idea she’d produce a trilogy of mini-documentaries about each. I was even a little worried our rambling conversation over the course of an afternoon was too far-ranging to make a cohesive whole. I’m grateful for Kirsten’s ability to think on her feet as she interviewed me while filming, and even more so for her deftness as a story-teller in editing for both sound and image. I hope you enjoy the second installment of her trilogy, focusing on some of the ideas behind wowhaus. I’ve been asked so many times about how wowhaus came into being, it’s wonderful to have a lovely little video to do the explaining.

To watch the video on Kirsten’s website and read her excellent commentary, please click here.

Fluke Unveiled

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We designed the hardscape to complement Fluke, our bronze whale tail sculpture.

Though the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center has yet to officially open in Santa Cruz, the City has unveiled our Fluke sculpture to satisfy public curiosity. It’s been great fun to see images of people interacting with it, coming up from the beach just across the street to climb Fluke, peek in the windows of the new building, and hang out in the courtyard. This may very well be our most public public project to date.

KIDS WITH FLUKE

It’s a welcome surprise to see kids hanging out under the sculpture, lending purpose to the curb, which we reluctantly added as an ADA requirement.

To learn more about the development of our Fluke Project, please click here and scroll down.