Albion News

Winter in CA

It's hard to believe that I haven't posted for almost a year but here are some current exterior pics of the rock I have been rolling up this hill. Now its winter again and we move inside to actually do some of the fun stuff (as soon as the heat gets fired up). Yesterday morning was 29 degrees and fog.

The true face of this piece won't be revealed till we attempt to further "physicalize" the architect's intentions but we are working with a minimal pallette of concrete, VG douglas fir and glass. No trim, no tolerances and no excuses. At the end of the day, what most visitors call "is that going to be a school?", will become a family's home in the midst of pristine CA rolling farm land.

Right now, its still a skeleton but the interior shapes will start to reveal and warm themselves. This collaborative process of design (architect) and builder (janitor) has been a conundrum since before the pyramids of Giza... hey Pharoah, you wanna build what out here?? Regardless of where one enters the conversation (design, environment, politics, morality), this dance goes on.

For me, its about the HOW. How do we share ideas, how do we work together, how do we do no harm, how do we make meaningful choices, how do I afford more wine to cope with this madness, how, how how...

Desert Rats

   
 
So my wacky musician/builder friend, Gizmo, his beloved Dr. Catherine along with cats Harry and Whit, have retired and moved to Joshua Tree in the heart of the Mojave Desert. Yes, that 110 degree Mojave. Against my sage advise, they have decided to create their sustainable lizard ranch. Spending their days building a passive solar house, writing books, recording music, howling at the moon ... what are these knuckleheads thinking? Get a real job!!!

Conchita Cintrón

 
 
OK ... I'm drinking albarino, reading Hemingway and jonesing for Le Sud. But here's a reprint from Bruce Weber at the NY Times:

A headline in The New York Sun on Sept. 4, 1940, captured accurately, albeit with amused condescension, the startling anomaly embodied by Conchita Cintrón:  She’s a Timid Blue Eyed Girl But — She Kills Bulls Without Qualms.

Nashville Jazz

 

In 1989 I met Steven McRedmond. He was fighting to refocus a family property which was once the 1,000,000 sf Neuhoff meat packing facility on the banks of the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville. Long shut down, his vision was to bring in architects and create an arts centered community. A little backstory ... Nashville is a huge US transportation hub, a major university center, the state capitol, the country music center, etc. In any other US city, this site (with a panoramic view of the downtown skyline 10 minutes away) would have been scooped up years ago for development. Some of us were excited.

Nashville G'tar Town 2009

     

A dear friend, David Hart, who owns Nashville Wine and Spirits in said Tennessee city, called out of the blue last week and put me on a plane to "the Athens of the South". They actually do have their own full size replica of the Acropolis with manditory Athena statue. When David calls, its bound to be challenging but I will always dive in because I don't want to miss out on something interesting. But I digress...

The Treasure of Sierra Keller

 

We have demented friends, John Keller and Leslie Harrison, who live on a pristine Sierra ridgeback. Leslie is a renown, pastel artist specializing in unique portraits of animals. John, on the other hand, is harder to describe. I first met John when he was a talented marketing professional in Monterey, CA; his side passions were music and sculpting. He created the first and still successfull Dixieland Festival, played country music on the side and loved horses and fine wine.

Building as a Path

   

Buddhist teaching, as expressed through Japan, has formed a large part of my world view. I have written here about growing up under the influence of Tassajara Zen Center in Carmel Valley, CA. That's half true, as that special place served as a strong focal point in my teenage years. The other, earlier part is that I grew up on our family's ranch (my mother's side) in the house of my inspired uncle. Click on either photo above for a slideshow.

Design Shifts

Lately, I have been in the myopic focus of work. Imagine my surprise when I lift my head and see the plethora of great design going on outside my bubble. Do I need a vacation?? Innovation is alive and well despite absolutely no support from our government. Maybe that's a good thing.

Santa Cruz Guitar magic

Growing up in a farming town breeds strange fruit. My childhood friend, Richard Hoover, and I struggled to express ourselves in the midst of limited possibilities. Now, he is one of the foremost luthiers in America with his 30 year old company, Santa Cruz Guitars and I am grateful to sit on my porch and play the wonderful guitar he made for me so long ago.

Legends of the Fall: Stowitts Museum, Eugene James Martin and the Monterey Jazz Festival

Eugene J. Martin

Sep 12, 2006 - 12 Photos

Note: Click on the graphic above to see a brief slideshow and gallery of some of Eugene James Martin's wonderful artwork.

Our friend, Anne Holliday, a writer, art historian and avid blog watcher serves as senior curator of the Stowitts Museum & Library (www.stowitts.org) in historic downtown PG.

The permanent collection features the work of namesake H.J.  Stowitts (American 1892-1953) and other 20th century artists who made significant contributions to art and culture yet were overlooked – or worse - neglected by mainstream critics and scholars of their era.

This Thursday, September 14th, the Stowitts Museum opens a new retrospective on the art  of the late American painter, Eugene J. Martin, (1937-2005). His widow, Dr. Suzanne Fredericq, a marine biologist at the University of Louisiana, LA, will be the guest of honor at the exhibition celebrating the life and achievements of the artist. Holliday told me: “We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Fredericq-Martin as our special guest on this opening weekend. The artist was born in Washington, D.C. In 1938 and completed his formal art education at the Corcoran School of Art in 1963. The new retrospective of Martin’s paintings and drawings represents the first west coast venue for this highly acclaimed American artist.”

Holliday credits the artist’s widow for her dedication in making sure we have his wonderful work available in galleries and on the web. The retrospective at the Stowitts Museum, titled “All That Jazz” opens on the eve of the 49th annual Monterey Jazz Festival and will be on view through the end of October. For a preview glimpse of Martin’s paintings and drawings online simply google  “Eugene Martin artist”.

Having grown up on the Monterey Peninsula, since 1960, attending the Monterey Jazz Fest was a life changing event for me. I was able to see Thelonius Monk and Charles Mingus one year, when I was about 12. They changed my life and so to have this lovely opening of a gifted African American artist like Eugene James Martin on this weekend, touches me once again. Join us! Support the Stowitts Museum and the work of artists like this.  NP

PLEASE JOIN US AT THE OPENING CELEBRATION AND RECEPTION AT THE STOWITTS MUSEUM ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 FROM 5 TO 8 P.M., 591 LIGHTHOUSE AVENUE
(THE GILES BUILDING) DOWNTOWN PACIFIC GROVE.