Leafbox

Song by P.K 14

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:12:49 -0800

Song by P.K 14

“Youth is a disease cured by age” “Bernard Shaw said that.” ...

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:33:07 -0800

“Youth is a disease cured by age”

“Bernard Shaw said that.” Pausing my Grandpa for me to reflect.

My Grandpa is 91. His name is Heinz. He’s lived through a lot. Born in a hospital on the entrance of Valpariso, an important, central, and global port. He moved to a rural upbringing in La Serena, a beach city edging the desert.

The son of a German railroad engineer and 2nd generation German - Chilean mother. After school he went to Germany to learn how to operate and build factories, knowledge he would take back one day to Chile. He met my Grandmother just as Hitler and the Nazis rose into power. He could pass as German, but Chilean at heart, neither a Jew, nor Pole - something else he was useful and forced to manage a chocolate factory; a ridiculous bittersweet irony to an early confusion of the war and his new marriage.

Sensing danger, he somehow convinced his directors in need of a trip to Italy for new materials and machinery. Under practical disguise of business, they crossed through Switzerland and escaped to a less complex nightmare: fascist Italy.

There he found work at a rennet factory, learning to dry stomachs, mixing acids and other mysteries to create the necessary fermentation for ancient and beautiful cheeses. He found hope in rennet, seeing its demand even in war as sign enough of its potential. He would bring these ancient recipes to Chile one day telling himself, calming himself. He was lucky for life there was paradise compared to what he could only imagine had become of the former chocolate company north.

At the end of the war he hugged Americans, serving as a translator with his limited English. He waved as the tanks rolled through, my grandma amazed. awing at sight the first black troops she had ever seen.

He traveled by land to Barcelona boarding a steamer and found return to the Americas.

Buenos Aires, the Andes snowcapped distant and majestic popped in his eyes promising a new future. He vowed never to return to old Europe, to a place of hell and confusion. At heart a Latin American he settled in the outskirts of Santiago, starting his factory of rennet (which today still runs), calm in rural life laughing as he forgot, rearing Children and moving on.

“Youth is a disease cured by age…”

“Bernard Shaw said that.” Pausing for me to reflect.

Nasreen Mohamedi’s Lines Female Indian artist Nasreen...

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:41:00 -0800

Nasreen Mohamedi’s Lines

Female Indian artist Nasreen Mohamedi’s (1937–1990) drawings are mystic, modernist, utopias? that contradict the daily life of India and Pakistan. An early and solitary pioneer of the modernist movement in India, her sketches are untitled, and unnumbered.

I can’t help but think how “unIndian” her art is; leading me to question if her work was imposing some order on the chaos of Delhi where she lived, or reflecting it. Did she see some clarity in her daily experience? Does her surroundings even matter in the context of her work? Questions for art-historians.

Some answers and a review of her recent showing in UK The MILTON KEYNES GALLERY UK in Frieze Magazine

Cleaning out an old draw, I found a misplaced ring, the first I...

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:47:22 -0800

Cleaning out an old draw, I found a misplaced ring, the first I ever made over 10 years ago as a senior in High School in Ki Nimori’s Metal Working and Jewelry class.

A stereotypical Karate-Kid Miyagi-san type of teacher - I remember he snapped fingers, scolded with questions and practiced karate before throwing pottery. He was a master ceramist and teacher. He taught for 40 years at the American School In Japan, and I was lucky to have taken one of his classes.

While I wouldn’t say he was the most important teacher in my high school experience, looking back I can’t but help think that the ring is a good reflection of who I am (and I think he would be pleased with this even if its aesthetic and craft are amateur). A mix of alloys, dimpled, scoffed, yet durable and quietly gleaming. The ring is a bronze, silver, iron mix of residue alloys made from old student wastes, flattened into a flat sheet, welded together and dimpled with tools. It still slides on perfectly and shines in silver and bronze streaks.

Read an interview with Ki Nomori

Another ASIJ Alum Gordon Scott shares more Ki Nomori’s influence on his professional work

First Chat on Omegle - A Conversation with a Stranger

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:04:24 -0800

Stranger: hey
You: hey
You: whats up
You: happy new year
Stranger: yes
Stranger: happy new year too you too
You: thanks
You: i'm thinking about buying some art
You: from a weird japanese manga guy
You: looking for outside opinion
Stranger: not experianced with manga
Stranger: sorry
You: its some pretty werid stuff
You: here is the link
Stranger: cant tell good from bad
You: http://www1.odn.ne.jp/~adc52520/tuuhan/gengahanbai1.html
You: i feel like this guy has some serious talent
You: its very dark
You: but quality of illustration is good
You: warning: its pretty horrifific
You: what do you think?
Stranger: wow
Stranger: i see what you mean
You: very dark, but something about them are great
You: i grew up in japan
You: so i think there is something there
Stranger: oh
Stranger: i from america
Stranger: *im
You: i'm thinking about getting the title called "game"
You: where the 2 kids are playing othello
Stranger: is that like checkers?
You: yeah
Stranger: i appologize
You: but if you see on the tv > they are actually controlling cars etc
Stranger: not familiar with the culture
You: sort of mindblowing in that sense
Stranger: it is

Morning Ride SF

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:53:28 -0800

Morning Ride SF

Pure Luxury: biking to work

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:35:00 -0800

Pure Luxury: biking to work

Dennis Hoekstra, shares a quick preview of his new work - all...

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:59:00 -0800

Peeling

Spots

Old Marble

Grain

Grain 2

Dennis Hoekstra, shares a quick preview of his new work - all painted false textures. His last work was at part of the “Black Acid Co-op” @ Deitch Projects in NYC. The Peeling paint one is promising.

Jo Nagasaka and Shuhei Nakamura collaborate on Flat Project a...

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:42:16 -0800

Jo Nagasaka and Shuhei Nakamura collaborate on Flat Project a woodworking series that uses translucent color epoxies applied on uneven surfaces to create these beautiful salvaged Flat Tables. Available for viewing at Happa Gallery in Tokyo till December 19th.

JIGSAWMENTALLAMA @ DCP SF: worth a peek. Video / Film...

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:58:57 -0800

JIGSAWMENTALLAMA @ DCP SF: worth a peek. Video / Film highlights include Sonja Nilsson’s “Silence of the Lambs,” a mixed media flashbulb powered dollhouse and Keith Boadwee’s print “Berries”. Other random items make up the collection for a quick contemporary visual riot.

What I always love about DCP is how un-San Francisco its collections are: no boring graffiti or politically charged left leaning self affirming rants or positiving consciousness items - instead harrowing items from a dark fantasy world that leave you always a bit shaken. Free. Off the track. Go. More info

Day 6 - Tailblocks, bottom rails, sand, dust and enjoyment....

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:43:46 -0800

Day 6 - Tailblocks, bottom rails, sand, dust and enjoyment. Boards ready for glassing. Sunny days in Maine

Ty Williams paints the barn - snaps from work in progress

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:48:08 -0800

Ty Williams paints the barn - snaps from work in progress

Days 4 & 5 in Surfboard Building

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:24:45 -0800

Days 4 & 5 in Surfboard Building

Chris Waldron’s little film makes mini Alaia’s like...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:29:45 -0800

Chris Waldron’s little film makes mini Alaia’s like madness

build out the edges, higher and higher, sand out the top blanks,...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:45:14 -0800

build out the edges, higher and higher, sand out the top blanks, buildout the nose and tail, set hardware with epoxy, lip out the rails, spoke and fair the lines, steam plane out the rails for the top planks, sand out the rails, fix the cracks, pray and enjoy nature… take a break and start your handplanes..

Me and Henry get down - surfboard building in Maine

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:29:48 -0800

Me and Henry get down - surfboard building in Maine

@ Maine - Learning to Build Wooden Surfboards. Day 1: safety,...

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:32:41 -0800

@ Maine - Learning to Build Wooden Surfboards. Day 1: safety, choosing a template, bottom planks, cnc routing frame, layout of the kiel, chalking, clamps, rocker, tempting, lunch, surfing a paipo in washed out waves

Youtube in B-Flat

Sat, 23 May 2009 09:39:08 -0700

Youtube in B-Flat

Alien Echo - Leafbox - 9 minutes. Droning Loops for work.

Mon, 18 May 2009 13:53:34 -0700

Alien Echo - Leafbox - 9 minutes. Droning Loops for work.

Mollusk SF - Like KioskKiosk NYC but for Surfers - wonderful...

Sun, 17 May 2009 11:45:27 -0700

Mollusk SF - Like KioskKiosk NYC but for Surfers - wonderful new organic surf shop complete with a tree house inside.. quality handmade fishes, eggs, long boards, sting rays and more… expensive.