The following text accompanies an installation I made as part of the NOMO Exhibition we’ve designed and curated as the culmination of our residency at Kohler Arts. Over the past few weeks I’ve made fictional, yet plausible sculptural elements that support the idea that surfing has origins on the Great Lakes. I will provide more detail soon about the NOMO Exhibition, but here’s a preview of my “Legend of Lumberjack Surfing” installation:

The Legend of Lumberjack Surfing

“There is a little known legend that surfing has early 19^th century origins on the Western shores of Lake Michigan, separate from its more ancient roots on the islands of the South Pacific.

When timber rafts were floated down Wisconsin’s rivers to be shipped to far off urban centers, large slabs of wood occasionally broke loose along the lake and washed ashore. Enterprising lumberjacks and boat-builders often rescued the timbers by drifting them offshore, standing atop them and paddling them to beachfront workshops, occasionally attaching sails to ease the journey. When the surf was heavy, the maritime lumberjacks beached the timbers by riding waves to shore, steering with a long wooden paddle. Over time, the activity of riding waves became an end in itself, and the ‘lumberjack surfers’ learned to shape the rough sawn planks for better performance in the waves.

By the early 20^th century, the ‘lumberjack surfers’ adapted wooden boards to ride on land by attaching crude wheels to their undersides, thus inventing an early form of the skateboard. Many of these ‘trapper’s skateboards’ were made from stretchers originally used to tan wolf hides. By the middle of the 20^th century, experimental skateboards were commonly made from discarded, wooden alpine and water skis, which were rapidly being replaced by fiberglass.”

Another part of the NOMO Exhibition at Kohler Arts features longboard skate graphics I designed collaboratively, like the Northern Pike Longboard (above) drawn by Mary Whitehall and Zak Worth. The burnt/etched deck is part of a series depicting fish native to Lake Michigan

Tagged: appropriate technology, bike culture, contemporary art, craft philosophy, deep craft, DIY, furniture design, green design, innovation, kohler arts, longboard, public art, scott Constable, skateboard, slow design, surfing, sustainability, tall tale, traditional craft, vernacular architecture, woodworking, wowhaus

These elegant ’sand trees’ are unique to the low tide conditions of Doran Beach

As Ene and I begin to fabricate our relief sculptures for a system of watershed markers we’ve been commissioned to design for the City of Oakland, we’ve been returning to our local beach at low tide for research and inspiration. The way the sand behaves at a certain angle of incline, at very low tides, makes a lovely tree structure that micro-cosmically mimics the contours of drainage patterns constituting the local watershed.

mussels cluster on rocks alongside barnacles, starfish and anemone

The Beach Fleas (Orchestoidea) are everywhere along Doran

To follow the progress of this wowhaus public art project, please click here and scroll down.

Tagged: aesthetics, california coast, deep craft, innovation, phenology, public art, scott Constable, slow design, sonoma coast, watershed, wowhaus

Gullies have been forming at low tides along Doran Beach, where shore birds feast on crabs and clams made vulnerable by the shallow backwash. I was surprised to find sea stars in the sand, their bright red bodies reflecting the morning light like stop signs. Drawn to a particularly bright patch, I was startled to discover a diver’s signal flag, especially before the abalone season officially opens.

A lovely nautical signal flag to add to the collection

Ochre Sea Star (Pilaster ochraceus)

Bat Star (Patiria miniata)

A Red Crab (Cancer productus) as yet undiscovered by birds

I love Doran’s unique drainage patterns

Tagged: aesthetics, beachcombing, california coast, california flora, deep craft, phenology, slow design, sonoma coast, surfing

I’ve always liked to use chalk when roughing things out on wood. Lately I’ve taken to scouring the beaches during negative low tides in search of seashells for making my marks. The Pacific Razor Clam is ideal, softer than the East Coast equivalent, but hard enough to make a clean scratch, and loaded with calcium carbonate to leave a crisp white line.

Tagged: aesthetics, california coast, deep craft, green design, scott Constable, sonoma coast, sustainability, traditional craft, woodworking

I’ve body-surfed all my life and have a natural feel for wave mechanics, but I’m finally getting ready to learn to surf on a board. Being a ‘wood guy’ with access to local mills and several decent breaks within a few miles, my first step will be to shape my own board. Luckily, my first surfboard will double as an integral part of our NOMO (non-motorized transportation) exhibition we’re developing as artists in residence at Kohler Arts over the summer.

Believe it or not, Sheboygan, Wisconsin has one of the best fresh water breaks in the world. So I’ve conceived of my surfboard as a freshwater longboard indigenous to the shores of Lake Michigan, modeled on the early surfboards native to Hawaii, which were shaped of local Koa and Balsa. Because freshwater is less buoyant than saltwater, I’ve been researching the specific gravity of Lake Region woods, looking for large trees with straight, clear grain and low specific gravity for maximal flotation and easy carving. I’ve discovered that American Cottonwood (Populus freemontii) still grows prolifically in the lowlands of Wisconsin, and with a specific gravity of around 0.31, is ideal for shaping a surfboard. The tree grows equally well along the Pacific Coast of Northern California, so I’ll make a prototype and test it locally.

To follow the development of our wowhaus artist-in-residence project at the JM Kohler Arts Center, please click here and scroll down.

Tagged: california coast, california flora, deep craft, innovation, kohler arts, longboard, scott Constable, specific gravity, surfing, woodworking

In West Sonoma County, early signs of spring are typically in sync with the arrival of a huge south swell, epitomized by the epic surf at Mavericks, about 100 miles down the coast. With more daylight and warming temperatures over the past few weeks, our hens have begun laying eggs, the acacia trees are in flower, the willow’s catkin is giving way to leaf, and the wild plum trees are beginning to blossom along exposed slopes. Yellow mustard flowers fill grazing meadows, vineyards and apple orchards, the clover beginning to recede. As we pack for the coming week of vacation on the beach north of Puerto Vallarta, I anticipate returning to a flood of fruit trees in full flower.

the acacia trees are in bloom along the Sonoma Coast

the willows are looking lively along the streams

To read more of my postings on cyclical, seasonal events, please click here and scroll down.

Tagged: aesthetics, california coast, california flora, deep craft, longboard, mavericks, phenology, skateboard, sonoma coast

Like B Movie aliens readying for invasion, a mysterious crop of giant ‘beach tubers’ have blown ashore after the last string of storms and unusually high tides. I’m tempted to plant one to see what grows, but have seen enough bad movies to be wary.

Tagged: B movie, california coast, california flora, deep craft, scott Constable, sonoma coast

Black chanterelle (Craterellus cornucopioides)

The Late Season (text and photo by Josef Szuecs)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, mushrooms generally fruit in species dependent windows of time.  The exact timing of these windows vary from year to year, affected by a number of factors.  In the SF Bay area, we can start looking for a few wonderful late season mushrooms in December and January.  Namely, Black chanterelles (Craterellus cornucopioides), Hedgehogs (Hydnum repandum  and H. umbilicatum), and the Yellow-foot chanterelle (Cantharellus tubaeformis or Craterellus infundibuliformis).

Individually, these are relatively small specimens.  Caps are typically under 2 inches in diameter. (Except for H. repandum, which can get pretty big.)   Though small in size, they like company.  When you find a patch, they can number in the hundreds.  The three types also like the same habitat, Tan Oak woodlands, so you’ll find them growing in close proximity.

I’ve noticed that the black chanterelles like very wet locations, more so than the hedgehogs.  Look for drainages and small basins where water tends to flow and collect.  Another admirable feature of this group of mushrooms: no insect infestation.  For some reason, the little maggots that fiercely attack porcinis and other species have no interest in these.

The black chanterelles are hard to spot.  They are dark brown to black in hue, and look ‘leafy.’  Just like the bed of decaying leaves where they are

found.  You really have to find the appropriate habitat and then look hard. The trick is looking for holes.  The open trumpet shape, when viewed from above, looks like a round pitch black hole.  The flavor of black chanterelles is earthy and fruity.  Absolutely delicious.  They dry very well. Oh, make sure you tear or cut each one apart lengthwise.  The mushroom is a trumpet shaped tube.  Bits of debris, small slugs, pill bugs and other undesirables may be hiding in there.

Hedgehogs are easy to spot.  Light tan/yellow and almost always atop the duff.  Just make sure that your specimens have ‘teeth’ instead of gills.  The spore bearing surface of a hedgehog is made up of small spines that hang from the underside of the cap.  There are a few small Lactarius that I’ll find growing near them, and these should be avoided.  The flavor of hedgehogs is mildly nutty.  When cooking them, make sure you brown them nicely to bring out this nuttiness.   When I collect a bounty of them, I simply pan sauté them in olive oil, pack in jars, top with more olive oil and freeze.

Finally, the Yellow-foots.  A fine mushroom, although mildly flavored.  I use them to stretch a pan of hedgehogs.  They actually dry well. Yellow-foots are also trumpet shaped tubes, so watch out for stowaways.

Here’s a great side dish made with hedgehogs.  Clean and cut a pound, more or less, of fresh hedgehogs, into a very rough chop.  Mince a shallot. Toss the shallot into a pan with some olive oil.  Cook until translucent.  Add the mushrooms.  And salt to taste.

In a minute or so, the hedgehogs will release an impressive amount of moisture into the pan.  Simmer until evaporated, and then sauté until the mushrooms are well browned.  Add 1 ½ cups of Arborio rice. Saute for a minute or two.  Add 2 ½ cups chicken stock, (preferably homemade).  Cover, drop heat to simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.

Serve with, well, almost anything.

Tagged: california flora, deep craft, josef szuecs, slow food, sonoma coast, wild mushroom

I’ve asked Ene to write an occasional post for Deep Craft, and am proud to share her first story (all text and images by Ene Osteraas-Constable):

I greet the deluge of the season’s first heavy rains with relief and contentment, knowing that all the bare root trees I planted are securely in the ground, benefiting from the deluge. Cherry, peach, plum, pluot, fig; the trees all look the same when bought in this juvenile, leafless state; bare branches with a flurry of fine roots beneath. This is, however, the ideal time for planting, while the small trees are dormant.

There is a sense of excitement and exuberance in the nurseries during January’s grey, wet days. Gardeners converge for this eagerly anticipated event: the bare root trees are in! As we mill about the saplings, I smile happily at the elderly couple that proudly share their bare root plum tree: “Isn’t it beautiful? We may not make it long enough to harvest the fruit,” they say, “but isn’t it a beauty?”. Planting a tree is truly a gesture of hope; an investment in the future that I can understand better than any stock or bond.

bare root trees, shipped while dormant, ready for planting

I leave the nursery thinking there should be a holiday, a national day of planting trees. Then I remember Arbor Day. Julius Sterling Morton had the prescience to establish this holiday in 1872. While each state has their own date for Arbor Day, I advocate a National Holiday, allowing everyone a single day off from work to plant or tend to trees in their community.

“I can’t live without the green trees, and nor can you. I’m humbled by the understanding that they could get along without me though! They sustain us, not the other way round.” -Wangari Maathai

Click here to read more about the revolutionary impact of planting trees in Africa.

Tagged: arbor day, bare root, california flora, deep craft, Ene Osteraas-Constable, gardening, phenology, slow design, Wangari Maathai, wowhaus

During our morning walk along Doran Beach, Ene and I were greeted by a friendly sea lion, who watched us from the surf before proceeding to briefly beach himself within yards of us as if to say hello. We’ve made hundreds of trips to this beach over the past few years, but have never seen this kind of behavior. Of course, this would be the one time I forgot to pack my camera- luckily, I had my trusty cell phone. As a corollary to the Murphy’s Law adage, anything that can go wrong will go wrong,  I would add, be equally prepared for when things go right.

As any crafts person can attest, there are occasions in the course of making that deliver uncanny coincidences, yet we most often do not prepare for success with the same ardent fervor that we do calamity. I’m not advocating unbridled risk-taking when it comes to safety or security, but suggest making room for the little successes that share equal probability with failure.

the sea lion returns to the sea after about ten minutes of staring us down

Note: After some thought, my theory about why the sea lion would behave this way is that he thought we might have food for him, mistaking me for a Bodega Bay fisherman, whose boats the sea lions are known to trail. Bundled up in my yellow slicker and ‘Sitka sneakers’ for a chilly morning hike, with a two week beard, I kind of resemble those ‘old sea captain’ carvings (see below). I’d love to hear if anyone has had a similar encounter.

I’m beginning to make an image archive of ‘old sea captain’ carvings

Tagged: california coast, craft philosophy, deep craft, murphy's law, phenology, sonoma coast