Snowy Winters

Snow has little to do with Winter in California, but it's a different story elsewhere - especially this year, it seems. I was in New York City recently and had the luck to be at Central Park, that picture perfect work of environmental art, when snow was coming down in fairy tale fashion. My circuit by the Park coincided with twilight, a moment of the day that is always magic in New York - something about how the changing light filters through the towering buildings and turns the sky a certain blue - so the effect was even more otherworldly. The softened light, the city contrasts of fluffy white against dark stone and bare branches, the muffled sound of passing feet on padded sidewalks, horses pulling carriages topped with new snow crowns - it all set New York City back in time, bringing to mind Edward Steichen's iconic 1904 image of a foggy twilight in Manhattan. London is experiencing an extraordinary amount of snow at the moment as well, recalling a famous 1842 work by Turner - Snow Storm - Steamboat Off a Harbor's Mouth. A period of snowy winters in France in the late 1800's is attested to by paintings by Monet and Gauguin, among others, and on the subject of snow, it's impossible to leave out Hiroshige, for he was a master of weather, no matter what sort - this is his Snow at Nihonbashi from 1837.

Landscapes Real and Perceived - Sea Ranch and Maya Lin

There are few places where nature and human come together with more drama and more ease than at The Sea Ranch on California's north coast. The story of The Sea Ranch as architectural and environmental utopia is well known (see a recent article in The New York Times Sunday Travel section for history and pictures) and part of the wonder of the place is that after nearly 50 years the original dream is so clearly in evidence and working. Every season, every type of weather, every day, every time of day and night, presents a feast, blessedly free of ubiquitous modern visual and aural static, of sky, land, and sea. We owned a house there once; our teenager used to yawn at the 'boring' architecture, but of course, it's restrictions on design - only natural wood, hide the cars and garbage pails, etc., - that make the houses simultaneously settle into and get out of the way of the natural world. Parts of The Sea Ranch coast are protected havens for wildlife such as seals, brown pelicans, and tidepool creatures, but life is everywhere. On a recent visit we had days full of songbirds and hawks, and twilight sojourns with foxes, rabbits, and deer (three of which plunked down in front of our windows and watched us like television for an hour or so.) It was a hard place to leave after four idyllic days. On my return to San Francisco I went to the De Young Museum to see the show entitled "Systematic Landscapes" by Maya Lin, and was struck by the similar synchronicity of her ideas, which also marry human intelligence with the natural landscape, and are marked by an urge to 'get out of the way' of nature at the same time she exhibits and enhances the significance of it. The Sea Ranch is alive with textures - a side of bark, a mass of wind and waterworn rock, a screen of branches, all adding up bit by bit to a magnificent whole. In one of Maya Lin's pieces, a topographic sculpture made of thousands of cut ends of boards, small individual textures combine into a grand statement of form that makes a monumental rise and spill across the DeYoung lobby. In both cases we get a good reminder to notice, respect and appreciate nature in its detail and its grandeur.

Open Studios 08

I've been so busy with Open Studios (and with Jury Duty - interesting if not very creative) so I've neglected my blog - I apologize. I've been doing Open Studios in Berkeley California for the past couple of years, but this year I'm part of the Sawtooth community, a group of artists of all types and disciplines who work in an interesting old industrial building. Here's a look at a few of these very creative individuals in their 'natural habitats.' I've included a shot of my own space, part of a studio which I share with Barbi Jo, a jeweler who makes colorful, charming treasures, and is fun to hang out with when things get slow! Alison is a jeweler who does beautiful, elegant things with metal and stones. My favorites are the ones she does with beach glass set like precious stones. Cordelia is a visiting artist in a friend's studio. She's one of those amazing individuals who can take bits and scraps and turn them into eye-popping marvels, like her enchanting, sexy, irreverent Gizzy dolls (note 'Frida' shown here.) Susan Brooks and her husband Rick are the force behind the Berkeley Artisans Open Studios. Susan, who works in various media and techniques, including drawings and jewelry, was recently honored by the mayor of Berkeley for her contribution to the local art scene with the designation of 'Susan Brooks Day'. Curtis is a master craftsman in metals; he makes jewelry as well as extraordinary one of a kind furniture pieces that 'grow' out from existing furniture. Wherever you are, in Berkeley, CA and elsewhere, there are artists working, doing incredible things with paint, paper, fabric, wood, metal, clay, etc., etc., and especially with their imaginations. Visit any time you get a chance. Support artists with your interest and your respect; it takes courage and a lot of strength to be an artist. Buy something if you can - you can't go wrong if you love it!