Sand Patterns 5

Tagged: deep craft, sand pattern, sonoma coast

Simple ingredients that pack easily and combine well make for an ideal picnic.

As much as I love to cook, some of my favorite meals are simple assemblages, preferably packed as a picnic for a day of hiking or paddling. Nothing tastes better than a few simple ingredients carefully chosen to complement the season and the destination.

Beginning by the coast where Willow Creek drains to the Russian River, Ene and I hiked inland along the marshes that flank the stream, making our way up to where willow, cattail and cottonwood give way to oak and bay. We found an abandoned barn and spread our larder of goat cheese, smoked salmon, walnut baguette, radishes and cress, finished off with steaming hot tea and dried apricots. We sat in the sun listening to the creek gather itself, Ene cut some willow’s catkin and we made our return, energized by the tea and our delicious picnic at Willow Creek.

Cattails and willow grow in abundance in marshes flanking Willow Creek.

An abandoned barn is the perfect hiking destination for a picnic.

My Swedish military backpack has plenty of room for picnic gear and spare clothes.

Tagged: california coast, picnic, sonoma coast, willow creek, wowhaus

portion of a diorama of 19th century Calistoga, at Calistoga’s Sharpsteen Museum

California place names often have colorful origins and Calistoga is no exception. Founded as a spa resort in the late 19th century by the visionary San Francisco millionaire Samuel Brannan, the name of the town comes from his famous drunken mis-fire, “I’m going to make this the Calistoga of Sarifornia” (meant as, “the  Saratoga of California”). Blessed with abundant natural hot springs, excellent weather and easy access to both the Napa Valley and Clear Lake, the town is well situated for vacation.

We’ve been taking the waters at Calistoga Spa Hot Springs a few times a year since we moved to California 20 years ago. It’s an old-school, family-oriented place where you’re likely to hear Russian, Polish and Japanese spoken in any of the soaking tubs any time of day throughout the year. People come here for the healing waters, period. After our most recent visit, we spent time in the town’s most excellent Sharpsteen Museum, founded by Ben Sharpsteen, the Academy Award-winning Disney animator. Filled with beautifully crafted dioramas, artifacts and historic exhibits telling the story of Calistoga, the museum is well worth a visit and sets a high standard for small town museums.

photo of an original cottage from Calistoga’s early days as a spa resort

Tagged: calistoga, disney, samuel brannan, sharpsteen museum, vernacular architecture

Sand Patterns 4

Tagged: california coast, deep craft, sand patterns, sonoma coast

colorful condos characterize Capitola, where Soquel Creek drains to Monterey Bay

Ene and I spent the other day exploring the seaside town of Capitola, CA, where wowhaus are finalists in a public art competition. Situated where Soquel Creek drains to Monterey Bay just below Santa Cruz, the town is known as the oldest beach resort on the West Coast, dating to 1869. With its own estuary, pier, promenade along a stretch of sandy beach and two world-class, right hand point breaks, it’s easy to fall in love with Capitola. The project is to be sited on a string of median strips along the commercial corridor where the PCH exits into town, a hub where people from all over the county do their shopping. Over the next month, we’ll do our best to design a project that resonates with the spirit of the town while adapting to the exigencies of California Car Culture. We’re truly honored to have been chosen as finalists, and look forward to spending more time in Capitola whether or not we are awarded the project.

Tagged: california coast, capitola, Monterey Bay, public art, surfing, wowhaus

For the past several years, our preferred way to greet the New Year has been to indulge in a few days’ soak in the Calistoga hot springs at the tip of Napa Valley, just 30 miles east of the wowhaus studio on the other side of the Mayacamas Range. The annual ritual gives us a chance to recalibrate and slow down, modulating our body temperatures as we shift from pool to pool and follow the sun on its low arc across a clear winter sky. The days pass in pace with the conduction of heat and the evaporation of mineral-rich water, leaving us feeling like much simpler, happy organisms.

Tagged: calistoga, hot springs, napa, new years, wowhaus

Walking our favorite local beach after a New Years Day gathering, Ene and I happened upon an odd young couple standing in the dunes, staring off into the distance, oblivious of their immediate surroundings. The guy was wearing what looked like ‘virtual reality’ goggles, and was manipulating a box studded with meters and toggles. His companion held a white plastic box up above her head like an offering to the sky. They appeared to be from the future. It was an oddly still day too, with many more people on the beach than usual, which added to the futuristic feeling as we made our way towards the rocks. Approaching the end of the beach, I noticed something flying in the distance, about 20 or 30 feet above ground, moving faster than the birds that frequent that shoreline. As Ene and I tried to spot it again, it whizzed by us in the dunes, and we realized it was being controlled by the cool young couple.

When we returned, the pair were still in the dunes where we began, so I asked about the whirligig, which had now landed and sat idly next to them in the sand, a kind of giant mechanical dragonfly. I asked if they had built it and the guy, who’s name is Francis Aitken, said he had and let me try on the goggles while he explained how it worked. Turns out it’s an open source ‘quadcopter’, which is essentially a remote-controlled, flying camera, and he was making a test flight. I gave Francis my card and asked that he keep in touch and send me the link to his test flight should he post it. He kindly obliged, and I was happy to see the footage the next day.

Tagged: california coast, deep craft, doran beach, francis aitken, open source, quadcopter, robotics, sonoma coast

Tagged: california coast, deep craft, seascape, sonoma coast, wowhaus

When it comes to making things, I’m drawn to systems over routines. As a craftsman, my default system is tradition. It’s simply easier to keep one foot in the patterns of the past, especially if tradition is viewed as a very malleable template, a set of parameters as opposed to outcomes. Studying the grain of wood tells me just how best to put it to use.

I’ve been trying to make pictures the same way. Walking the beaches each morning I devote about as much time to studying the patterns of waves, sand, light and fog as I have to studying wood. I want my pictures to capture the ‘grain’ of these temporal interactions, which I distill into succinct categories depending upon the conditions of the day. I think of every wave as a cant cut from a fresh log, and relish the immediacy and simplicity of reporting on its rawness, everything reduced to just being present with camera in hand. Making pictures should be like catching a fish, or catching a wave.

Fog Studies 2

Foam Studies

Sand Patterns

Tagged: aesthetics, craft philosophy, deep craft, scott Constable, sonoma coast, surfing, woodworking

Nine Pelicans

Foam Studies 4

Tagged: california coast, deep craft, seascape, sonoma coast, surfing