Jack and Willey made a lightweight building jig for their shallow kayaks

We’re at our half-way point in the semester and the majority of the class are on track to complete their projects with time to spare before we make our voyage just before the winter solstice. Everyone was fully focused and hard at work in the benchroom during our last 6 hour session, and the mood remains productive, light-hearted and cooperative. It actually works out well that some students are a little further along because they are able to give a leg up to the students who need it. To keep spirits high, I brought bagels and cream cheese for the students, who quietly munched as we started things off with the first of a series of discussions about Expedition logistics. I plan to make this a regular practice.

Luke and Susan laminating scarf joints on their kayak panels

bamboo fiber cloth is stretched over the scarf seams before resin is applied

Peter has the backbone nearly set up for his ‘Deadrise SUP’

To follow the progress of Micro-Expedition, the Atelier Studio I am teaching this semester as Visiting Wornick Professor of Wood Arts at California College of the Arts (CCA), please click here and scroll down.

Tagged: boat building, cca, deep craft, furniture design, invention, longboard, scott Constable, woodworking

‘Rockfish’, one of two monumental fish sculptures to be installed at a new library in SF

Ene and I have been preparing to install two major wowhaus public art projects we’ve had in development over the past year. ‘Abundance‘, which consists of two monumental, ceramic tile mosaic sculptures honoring the significance of ‘feeder fish’ to the marine ecosystem, will soon be installed at the Ortega Branch of the San Francisco Public Library, sited near Ocean Beach, within view of the Pacific. Ene recently met on site with Mary Chou of the San Francisco Arts Commission, who commissioned the project, to finalize location of the sculptures as the new building nears completion.

Community members help Ene determine the location for our two large fish sculptures

materials used to make patina at Berkeley’s Artworks Foundry

Having selected final sites of significance to Oakland‘s urban watershed, we’re nearly ready to install our ‘Stepping Stones‘ project, commissioned by the City of Oakland Public Art Program funded through Measure DD Bond Program, which was approved by voters for Oakland watershed improvements. We have been working in collaboration with the Environmental Services Department of the City of Oakland. The project consists of five relief sculptures, cast in bronze, depicting ’stepping stones’ one might encounter when crossing a stream. The individual sculptures vary in size, but each one features animals native to the region seeking refuge on or around the stone, which has water flowing around it. The stones will be installed in various configurations on sidewalks with heavy pedestrian traffic, where creeks have been diverted underground. Ene recently met with the incredibly skilled artisans of Berkeley’s Artworks Foundry, who cast the sculptures, to discuss patina before the sculptures are installed.

a sampling of patinas to consider for the ‘Stepping Stone’ sculptures

the artisans of Artworks Foundry cast the sculptures and are now adding patina

Tagged: contemporary art, deep craft, Oakland, ocean beach, public art, san francisco arts commission, scott Constable, wowhaus

Estero Americano meanders westward towards Bodega Bay from Valley Ford.

I’m proud of the progress the students have made in constructing their craft in anticipation of our voyage on Estero Americano. They’ve been working like a true Atelier, dutifully helping each other cut, mill and shape their stock, and the little boats are nearly ready to frame up. As we approach the middle of the semester, we’ll begin to take stock of the final project, a 2-3 day paddle down Estero Americano to the Pacific Coast. Each week for the remainder of the semester, we’ll spend about an hour planning the trip, addressing issues ranging from safety and food, to clothing and shelter, natural history and project documentation.

I’m hoping some of the class will stay an extra night to see the lunar eclipse.

Weather provided, we plan to leave the weekend of December 18, paddle to the coast, set up camp, with the majority of students returning the following day. I’m hoping a core of students will want to spend an extra night to see the lunar eclipse on the full moon of December 20, which rises just before sunset. This week, I plan to make an exploratory paddle on the Estero, which should be navigable after the recent rains.

Tagged: boat building, california coast, cca, deep craft, scott Constable, sonoma coast, woodworking

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

In reverse of the cliche, I brought my students a peck of our own freshly picked apples and pears today, fuel for the challenging work at hand as they begin to construct their boats at full scale. It’s been a bad year for apples along the Sonoma Coast, after an unusually cold and damp spring and summer, but the late, sparse drop has produced some sweet, robust fruit. I’m hoping the warm weather of Indian Summer will hold out at least until next week, when we plan to make an exploratory paddle in rented kayaks along the shores of the Bay near CCA’s San Francisco campus. Before the class progresses too far in executing their craft or planning the actual Expedition, I’m eager to see how they behave as a group on the water, and how they respond to the forces of wind and tide about which we’ve been speculating as the hulls take shape.



Lukas Nickerson, my TA, demonstrates how to tie a bowline knot

Over the coming week, I’ve assigned the class the task of learning to tie a bowline, the ancient, enduring, all purpose loop knot associated with maritime craft, climbing and rescue. The knot is easy to tie, easy to untie, and is virtually unbreakable when bearing a load. I think everyone should be able to tie a bowline, but feel strongly that it is a minimal prerequisite to voyaging on the water in any capacity, second perhaps only to swimming. I left Lukas and Jackson with the charge of teaching the rest of the class, hand to hand, which is the best way to learn the knot. My dad first taught me how to tie a bowline as a kid, and I re-learned when I needed it to survive as a deckhand aboard an Alaskan salmon seiner.

To follow the progress of Micro-Expedition, the Atelier Studio I’m teaching this semester at CCA as Visiting Wornick Professor of Wood Arts, please click here and scroll down.

Tagged: boat building, bowline, cca, deep craft, scott Constable, sonoma coast, woodworking

Willey, Jack, Luke and Sean work together to loft full scale contours

During session 4 of Micro-Expedition, my Atelier class at CCA, most of the students began to loft to full scale, lifting lines from their 1/4 scale models, which they had cut into sections at structural stations. They made battens from thin strips of redwood for tracing curves, and worked collaboratively to hold the battens in position to draw their carefully measured contours. The boat-building is at a critical stage, before the molds are connected, and accuracy is essential. Any changes to the shape of the sectional molds will alter the shape of the hull. At this stage in the project, I’m eager to emphasize the importance of craft, of skilled handwork in assuring safety, durability and functionality, trusting that aesthetics will follow suit.

Before cutting his 1/4 scale model into sections, Peter made minor alterations to the hull of his surfboat SUP after sealing the bottom and making a float test.

To follow the progress of Micro-Expedition, please click here and scroll down.

Tagged: boat building, cca, folding dinghy, scott Constable, SUP design, woodworking

the SW swell has arrived earlier than usual at Doran, bringing steady chest high waves

I’ve tried to spend a little time each day shaping my 10-6, solid wood longboard, and it’s finally beginning to look ride-able. With the early arrival of the southwest swell at Doran Beach, I’m encouraged to speed things up, fair the hull, clear coat it with resin and get out there. There’s been a steady handful of surfers when the tide is right, with reports of overhead waves early last week. Shaping my longboard has been a great way to get an upper body workout in preparation, while both relaxing and focusing my mind.

Life and work seem to require that we switch constantly between being active participants and passive receptors, yet we tend to seek experiences that blend the two into a kind of generative combo- a great conversation, cooking or making something, playing music or sports, etc. Part of what appeals to me about surfing is how it fosters a state of active receptivity at its most elemental level, where the goal is simply to occupy that state.

my 10-6 longboard is almost ready for final shaping and sanding

Tagged: california coast, deep craft, longboard, scott Constable, sonoma coast, surfing, woodworking