Despite ongoing gentrification, the warehouse district surrounding Oakland’s Jack London Square remains a muscular commercial hub. Nestled between a major highway and the bustling Port of Oakland, the waterfront district is a town within a town, an island of urban opportunity appealing to anyone who values the authentic remnants of a working city- barges and trains unloading containers of goods, carried by trucks to be packed and stored and distributed. The working day begins before dawn, modulated by train whistles, clanging bells and the rumble of trucks. The streets empty of laborers late in the afternoon, replaced by walkers of tiny dogs and the myriad ghosts of John Muir, bearded, back-packed and weather beaten.

Oakland’s waterfront is how I imagine old San Francisco must have been, a dizzy blend of optimism and uncertainty, attractive to risk takers and pioneers. All of the signs are in place for Oakland to finally come into its own and I can imagine the Waterfront becoming the City’s crown jewel in the near future. I feel honored to contribute to its visual texture, and am grateful for the high visibility of our Fusion mural, conspicuously sited across the plaza from the train station.

Preparing to install the first batch of panels for Oakland Fusion

I arrived Sunday night and spent my first two days on site getting organized and preparing to hang the first batch of steel panels to support the ceramic tile mural. Everything is falling into place without hitch, and I’m nicely settled into my loft space across the street. The first night I cooked a large batch of chicken curry from ingredients culled around the neighborhood as I biked its contours after a long chilly day on site. This will serve as my readymade lunches for the next week:

INSTALLATION CURRY
In a large skillet, brown 6-8 breasts of boneless, skinless chicken in olive oil over medium high heat, and remove to a dish. De-glaze the pan with a splash of white wine, add more oil if necessary, reduce the heat and add chopped red onion (about one cup), 5-6 cloves chopped garlic, 8-10 fingerling potatoes, halved or quartered. Stir the vegetables around until nicely glazed, then add your favorite blend of curry powders- I prefer more cumin and chili. Return the chicken to the pan, and add about 3/4 cup of coconut or soy milk (I used soy because I could not find coconut, and actually prefer it- lighter, cleaner). Add crowns and leaves of fresh broccoli, reduce heat and simmer until everything blends and the vegetables are just tender.

Tagged: curry recipe, jack london square, Oakland, public art, urbanism, wowhaus

Over the next three weeks I will be installing our Oakland Fusion  project at Jack London Square in downtown Oakland, CA. The project consists of  four consecutive 10′ x 10′ lenticular murals, comprised of over 45oo hand painted tiles, mounted to a custom-manufactured, corrugated steel substrate. Each mural functions like a two-cell animation; the image morphs as the viewer changes position. The eight images are based upon the textile patterns of Oakland’s major ethnic demographics. Mounted to the exterior wall of a new parking garage immediately opposite Oakland’s main train station, the murals are intended to viscerally orient new arrivals to Oakland’s cultural geography.

The project was commissioned  by Ellis Partners, who have played a major role in developing Jack London Square as a robust residential/commercial hub, kind of an alternative/future downtown. We worked closely with Winifred Day of Fine Art By Day to develop the project, and have spent the past eight months transferring images and glazing tiles at the Wowhaus compound, with occasional help from friends and from community members at the Jack London Square Farmer’s Market.

Oakland residents glazing tiles at the Farmer’s Market

Ene and I developed this technique over six years ago, when we wrapped two buildings in lenticular murals in Stockton, CA, for a project called Calaveras Murals, where we hand-glazed over 14,000 tiles. We’ve since streamlined the technique and made improvements in image quality. The major challenge at Jack London Square will be working off the ground in a scissor lift, the murals starting at about an 8′ elevation.

Svea Linn Vezzone, Swarm Gallery, Oakland, CA

To my extreme good fortune, I happened into a dream living arrangement during my three week installation. Through a fledgling artists residency program organized jointly by the nearby Swarm Gallery and Metrovation, I’ve been offered temporary housing in a new, unsold live/work space literally across the street from my site. The space is ample, modern and efficient, at street level and with an enormous glass curtain wall facing West. In a way, I’ll use my time during the installation to prototype how the space functions when visiting artists use it for site-generated projects.

Swarm Gallery Project Space/Residency at 200 2nd Street, Oakland

Tagged: deep craft, ellis partners, jack london square, metrovation, Oakland, public art, scott Constable, svea linn vezzone, swarm gallery, winifred day, wowhaus

The text and images on this post were sent by my friend John Miya, who lives near Chicago, IL. I look forward to posting more tree images and related stories sent by readers as I build an Archive of Old Trees:

“This is an old elm in my back yard. Its mentioned on a landscaping blueprint from 1917 as being 2′, which I assume was diameter.  I’ll try to scan the original blue print and forward it.  I think its safe to assume the tree is over 100 years old (house built 1897). Its been well trimmed over the years and is very healthy, although it is surrounded by paving in the middle of a driveway, with a 4 foot deep skirt of vinca and bittersweet. Lately we have taken the precaution to have it inoculated against Dutch Elm disease. Many of the features of the 1917 diagram still exist, although only a few trees from the orchard part of the yard which were removed by previous owners as apparently they were a “bee nuisance”.  Half of the original yard is now occupied by 3 houses built in the 1970s. Sorry I am too technically  unskilled to make it your required dpi and size. Crop as you will. Just don’t cut it down.  I think old trees in the middle of long developed land is a testament to the patient stewardship of landscape architecture. The view at ground level includes the basketball hoop (not on the tree, next to the tree on wheels) and a variety of balls, skateboards and other yard paraphernalia. happy spring.” jm

Tagged: deep craft, elm, landscape architecture, old tree, tree archive

I’ve always been drawn to old trees. We live on the edge of a redwood forest (Sequoia sempervirens), an ancient species that still dominates the coast of Northern California, despite relentless logging over the past 150 years. We have about 60 second growth redwood trees on our property, some already reaching a height exceeding 200 feet. Most of the trees around us are second growth, but I’ve heard of a few stands of old growth trees still in tact. The majority of these are inaccessible to the public, part of the exclusive Bohemian Grove in nearby Monte Rio. Rumors of their being recently logged have been confirmed in a recent expose by Alex Shoumatoff in Vanity Fair (May 2009).

charred hollow

I recently discovered the Grove of Old Trees, a serene stand of old growth Coast Redwood within biking distance of our compound. The Grove is open to the public, under the diligent stewardship of the non-profit group LandPaths, and has become one of my favorite destinations for a rejuvenating day trip.

I’d like to make a catalog of Old Trees on these pages, and invite readers to send images of any beauties in your neck of the woods. Over the coming months, I will build a database to upload and access images and information on the PARTICIPATE page of this site. Meanwhile, if you send images (saved at 72 dpi, 500 x 375 pixels) and related information to me at scott@deepcraft.org, I will post them on my weblog. Please include species, location and any relevant narrative. Thanks!

Tagged: Alex Shoumatoff, bohemian grove, deep craft, old growth, redwood, trees, vanity fair

This site is an experiment in creating an almanac of contemporary craft practice, and I’m pleased to find a network of like-minded folks who share an interest in reclaiming ‘craft’ beyond its niche as the lesser cousin of art and design. My hope is that this site will grow as a common repository for makers who share common goals regardless of the medium, audience or venue, leading to the kind of dialogue and insight essential to make visible what often happens in isolation. My recent contact with Christopher Robbins confirms my desire to revisit time spent living in a ‘traditional society’ in West Africa, and I find myself looking anew at treasures and discoveries culled from this formative time.

During the relative chill of the Harmattan season in Togo, I commissioned a village tailor to make me a jacket from a wax-died cotton pagne then common in markets throughout the country. The tailor copied a James Dean-style zipper/collar design I bought at a thrift store in the US, but the pagne adds a new layer:

E LA VA TIWO  is an Ewe expression recalling the universal fable of the tortoise and the hare. I’ve heard it variously translated as ‘they will become tired..’ or,  ‘let them speak.. (laissez les dire)’. Fables and parables are still in use enough in West Africa to allow anyone to fill in the blanks when reminded, and pagnes often function as external indicators of an internal state. Regardless of its precise translation, E LA VA TIWO connotes the perennial wisdom of the tortoise, who stays on track despite the apparent obstacles, unlike the capricious and often fool-hardy hare.

Tagged: aesop fable, deep craft, peace corps, textiles, tortoise and the hare, wax dyes, west africa

I’m continuing to feature an ongoing series of interviews and studio visits with other makers/artisans/crafters. If you would like to introduce yourself and your work to a growing Deep Craft network, I invite you to visit the PARTICIPATE page of this site. Meanwhile, allow me to introduce you to artist Christopher Robbins.

DC: Describe what you do as a maker/artisan.

CR: I like to make things that work against themselves, to sidle objects, or crafts, or tools with dreams that aren’t good for them – or me – and then try to realize those dreams for them. Really try.

http://www.christopher-robbins.com
Continue Reading »

Tagged: , christopher robbins, contemporary art, deep craft, INTERVIEW, making

This week I asked my friend Colby Eierman (above) to report on the Week in Bloom from Benziger Family Winery in Glen Ellen CA, giving us a glimpse of a micro climate just 20 miles to the East; all text and images that follow are by Colby (if you would like to report on ‘The Week in Bloom’ from your neck of the woods, please fill out the PARTICIPATE form and send a note):

This week could be considered the season opener for gardeners, as our official frost free date is April 15th.  Of course every garden is different, but it is pretty safe to say that most of us are now free to plant tender annuals.  This also turns out to be a tough week to choose only a few highlights for “The Week in Bloom”.  Here are a few choice selections from this valley, hanging at about 800 ft. above sea level on the east side of Sonoma Mountain, that we call Benziger Family Winery. Continue Reading »

Tagged: benziger, biodynamic, colby eierman, deep craft, gardening, phenology, pinot noir, watusi, wine making