Two views of an unidentified bone, presumably from a large fish or a sea mammal

While running on the beach early this morning I was surprised to find a large, C-shaped bone in the sand, measuring about 8″ x 4″. My first thought was that it resembled part of a skate, a familiar inhabitant of the surf off Doran Beach. I don’t know much about bones, but its symmetrical shape suggests either part of a jaw or pelvis, and the tapered ends imply connection to some flexible part or hinge. I’d love to hear if anyone knows what it is.

Doran Beach is often loaded with colorful sand dollars at low tide this time of year

Tagged: beachcombing, california coast, deep craft, phenology

Freshly harvested kelp drying on the garden fence

For a while after the recent tsunami in Japan, Californians were aflutter about iodine, the primary antidote to radiation exposure. In researching sources of the element I discovered that the Japanese consume about five times more than most of the rest of the world, largely because seaweed and fresh fish figure so prominently in their daily diet. Interestingly, there is a strong correlation between the Japanese consumption of iodine with both their decreased rates of cancer and increased lifespan. I also learned that the production of the chemical element, iodine, was a cottage industry in Ireland and other coastal regions in the nineteenth century, where kelp was prevalent and abundant throughout the year.

Because our local beaches yield heaps of kelp, I’ve experimented over the past few years with using it as a material for making things, with varying degrees of success. I’m now more interested in kelp as a food source, and have been foraging the flat strands and drying them in the sun for cooking. Eventually, I’d like to make a batch of pure iodine as an experiment, perhaps as a way of staining/preserving wood. Historically, iodine has be extracted from kelp by reducing it to ash, boiling and filtering the ashes, and extracting the pure element by mixing it with hydrogen peroxide.

Tagged: appropriate technology, deep craft, iodine, kelp, tsunami

It’s been a bumper year for wild plums, and our few trees, bent to capacity with ripe fruit, have been feeding the birds, raccoons and a solitary bobcat, who harvests from our rooftop at night. We’re eating our share as well, and Ene has already prepared a few gallons of ‘plum brandy’ that should be ready for Christmas.

On or way to the beach we pass the Pozzi Ranch, some of Straus Creamery’s grazing meadows, and several smaller family farms, all of who have been cutting hay over the past few weeks. Just as the grasses turn gold, they’re cut into rows where they sit for a week or so before being baled. I love the haphazard architecture of the bales as they cure before being collected and loaded into barns. The ride to the beach smells of sweet cut grass drying in the sun.

Salmon Creek and the Russian River are still feeding the Pacific at high tides, so the surrounding beaches are loaded with driftwood. This year I’ve discovered some surprisingly sophisticated structures built of driftwood. I’m not sure if it’s due to an abundance of good material after later than usual rains, or to an increase in leisure and anxiety given the current joblessness crisis.

Tagged: aesthetics, california coast, deep craft, phenology, pozzi ranch, slow food, sonoma coast, straus creamery, wowhaus

I typically paint or wax the ends of green logs/slabs to ensure a slow and even curing.

I’ve begun to harvest some of the holly trees on our property in anticipation of making small bowls, spoons, candlesticks and other tableware for our inaugural Secret Dinner scheduled for this fall. The trees were probably planted about 30 years ago as an ornamental and they’ve grown to an unmanageable height, blocking light and clogging our gutters with their spiny fallen leaves. We’ll continue to make winter wreaths from branches of the remaining variegated shrubs, but I’m eager to try my hand at turning, break in an excellent set of Sheffield chisels and learn a valuable new skill.

In Celtic folklore, the holly tree symbolizes protection, and it’s an ancient tradition to plant them close to dwellings to ward off evil spirits while providing food and shelter for seasonal bird migrations. A healing tea can be brewed from the leaves of certain holly trees, and it was believed that throwing a stick of holly towards bears, wolves and wildcats will ward them away. The tree has also been thought to protect people from threat of lightning and severe weather. I will consider these themes as I turn the wood over the summer for an autumnal feast featuring foraged foods from the sea.

Tagged: california flora, deep craft, green woodworking, scott Constable, slow food, sonoma coast, sustainability, traditional craft, woodworking

the 30′ long table returns home, after weathering 5 years at the Sonoma County Museum

When we first moved our home and main studio to West Sonoma County five years ago, Ene and I were commissioned to participate in an exhibition called Hybrid Fields at the Sonoma County Museum, curated by our friend Patricia Watts. We had been milling several storm fallen Douglas Fir trees on our property at the time and proposed installing a 30′ long harvest table constructed of rough timbers for the exhibition, to be sited on a lawn adjacent to the museum. We called the project Tree Trust True and organized a public feast featuring local foods that all grow on trees for the exhibition’s opening. The event lasted just one afternoon and evening, but the table remained at the museum for the next five years, becoming a popular spot for lunches and impromptu gatherings, weathering like a giant piece of driftwood.

The table is constructed of stacked and pinned timbers, topped off with 6″ thick slabs

We recently decided to bring the table back home, return it to the site where the tree originally grew. With the help of our capable friends Hus, Rob and Angel, we disassembled the table, loaded the parts onto a 16′ flatbed truck and reassembled it back at the wowhaus compound, where it will serve as the primary site for an ongoing series of secret dinners we’ve been planning, featuring guest chefs and handcrafted tableware. The first of these is tentatively planned for October First, with chef Leif Hedendal at the helm.

Angel, Rob, Hus and Scott unload the truck

Angel, Hus, Scott and Rob assemble the table, pinning the timbers with long screws

Installation complete, the crew takes a break to savor Ene’s homemade Pozole

ENE’S POZOLE
• Saute one chopped onion, 1/2 tsp cumin and salt and pepper to taste, in olive
oil. Add to the water in the pot, as described below:
• Place a whole chicken in a pot and add enough water to fill the pot double the
height of the chicken + 8 sprigs of fresh oregano; simmer for at least 2 hours,
preferably longer, at least until the meat falls away from the bone.  Add water
as needed along with 4 cups of canned hominy. Simmer until flavors blend.
• Clean the meat from the bones; add more fresh oregano and cumin to taste, if
desired.
• Squeeze in fresh lime to taste or serve as a garnish

Serve with the following as garnish:
• Chopped Avocado
• Fresh lime slices
• Sliced jalapeno peppers
•  Salsa
• Chips or toasted tortillas can be eaten on the side, but we like to add them to the soup as well….

Enjoy!

Tagged: contemporary art, deep craft, furniture design, innovation, leif hedendal, pozole recipe, scott Constable, slow food, sonoma county museum, wowhaus

I photographed my new Deep Deck overlooking Tomales Bay on my way to SFMOMA

I delivered the first in a series of Deep Deck skateboards to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art yesterday, where they will be on display as part of Stephanie Syjoco’s Shadowshop project, opening on Novemver 20 through May 1, 2011. Below are a montage of images and text that will be displayed alongside the Deep Deck, which I will be custom making to order for the duration of the exhibition:

The Deep Deck is the first in a line of bioregional products by Deep Craft, a hybrid brand-movement-ethos developed by artist/designer Scott Constable.

The Deep Deck concept emerged from Constable’s diversified efforts to create a regional vernacular of sustainability, tapping the unique physical and cultural geography of the Sonoma Coast and San Francisco Bay bioregions. Studio investigations and field research are archived on Constable’s deepcraft.org site, culminating in his ongoing Deep Craft manifesto.

Each Deep Deck is handcrafted according to an individual’s bodytype and riding style, utilizing unique native Californian hardwoods culled from ‘horticultural salvage’.

For Shadowshop, the Deep Deck is being produced as a limited edition, numbered series in American Elm (ulmus Americana) with wood milled from a cache of reclaimed street trees characteristic of the urban forest. Styled after the classic longboard borrowed from surf culture, Deep Deck is designed mainly for cruising and transportation, but is well suited to carving a gentle country slope, or simply hanging on a wall. To discuss a commission, please contact Scott directly at scott@deepcraft.org.

Tagged: contemporary art, deep craft, green design, innovation, longboard, scott Constable, sfmoma, shadowshop, skateboard, sonoma coast, stephanie syjuco

House of Tree is right at home among the redwoods, catching October’s afternoon sun

Ene and I stopped by the site of my House of Tree Project on our way to Occidental’s farmer’s market. Richard and Tom had left for the day, but we climbed up and were excited to see the building’s exterior envelope complete- windows and doors in place, cortens steel roof installed, and rough cut siding nailed up. I was happy to see the quality of wood comprising the siding, tight-grained heartwood, over an inch thick, milled on site from redwood trees felled to build the structure. Richard and I decided to combine vertical, over-sized battens for straight runs, and 10″ wide horizontal clapboards above and below windows, to exaggerate the building’s framing. Next week the guys will focus on building the staircase, which will wind up below the house, making two landings on the way up before finally landing on the back deck. My client returns next week and I’m sure he’s going to be thrilled.

To follow the development of my House of Tree Project, click here and scroll down.

Tagged: architecture, deep craft, design, scott Constable, sonoma coast, treehouse, vernacular