grasses/

ok. So I am not sure why I am posting this image beyond the fact that I really love it right now. I am always attracted to how grasses  look after a wind storm. They are laying down horizontally among all the standing grass. Or maybe it is the color, too, that makes me attracted to them - the dried older grass lying among the new green grass. I am still trying to figure this one out but I think it is a texture thing. Any thoughts?

ocean beach/

I have realized lately that I spend an inordinate amount of time staring out my window just watching the world go by. It is a part of my creative process. When I have been working a lot and I finally get a break, sometimes that is all I have the energy to do, but it seems to help replenish the well. Happy weekend, friends. Enjoy the rain (or snow? In San Francisco?).

Heath Ceramics/Bailey & Petravic Residence

All this talk of Heath Ceramics makes me think about Cathy Bailey and Robin Petravic's wonderful home.
I shot it awhile back and this is still my favorite image from the shoot. There is something about their living room that says modern Victorian drawing room to me. And the wallpaper choice is inspired! I believe it is Josef Frank.

heath ceramics/sausalito factory

On Sunday, I got really caught up in the cast shadows in some parts of the Heath Factory. I have no idea what these two images are of, but I love the quality of light happening here. love, love, love.

heath ceramics/sausalito factory

Plates awaiting their turn in the Heath kiln this past Sunday. The second shot is of one of the kilns open. They are so impressive when they are open like this. I wonder how many pieces are fired at once...I bet you learn this on the official tour.

heath ceramics/sausalito factory

I still have not finished editing through all the images from my first day of shooting at the Heath Factory and I shot there again yesterday. Most of my time was spent photographing a new portrait of Cathy and Robin, which was a lot of fun.  But there is so much more factory I have to cover. These two images are from day one but the top on is a favorite and I knew it the moment I shot it. The light reminded me of some of the images Constantin Brancusi shot in his atelier in Paris in the early 1900's. The little bud vases in the second image are what hatches out of these molds.

heath ceramics/sausalito factory

More from Heath to finish out the week. Obviously these are the molds for the pitchers. I think they are beautiful. I would love to have one just sitting on my table as an objet d'art.

heath ceramics/sausalito factory

A few more images from the Heath Factory -these from the mold room. The first one made me think of Brancusi's studio...

heath ceramics/sausalito factory

As I mentioned yesterday, I have begun shooting the Heath Factory in Sausalito. It is a magical place. I found myself wondering that a factory of this type still exists. Bells ring for break times and lunch, each worker has a natural light work space and they all are working to create a beautiful craft that is born of the earth. Afterall, each piece of Heath begins as a little pile of dust.  The first place I shot was in the clay making room where they mix up the clay from which all the products are made. I was caught up in the mystery of what happens in this room. In my mind, the guy in there was mixing magic potions.

heath ceramics/sausalito

So excited! Today I am going to photograph the Heath Factory in Sausalito, CA. I have been wanting to shoot the factory for about 2 years. This shot is from a tour eons ago. Should be a fantastic two days!

early work/homage to andrew wyeth

last week there was another lovely review of Handcrafted Modern, this time on the 1stdibs website . One of the nice things that writer Erika Heet said was that the results of my shoots for the book were "painterly photos almost reminiscent of Andrew Wyeth's depictions of austere, haunting rooms." I happen to love Andrew Wyeth so I was well pleased by the comparison. It started me thinking about this image I shot early on in my career. It was completely inspired by an Andrew Wyeth painting. I found this old cutaway jacket in a costume shop in Burbank and it instantly made me think of Wyeth, so I decided to make an homage to him. I love how one object or article of clothing can flood the mind with ideas and memory. Glad I was able to find this image and share it today. I still really like it and it still makes me think of that beautiful Wyeth painting.

Sea Ranch/

Seriously craving a return visit to Sea Ranch some time very soon.

the grandma project/drawers

while I was documenting my Grandmother's home I began to just pull out drawers and shoot what they had inside. Her slip drawer was one of my favorites.

the grandma project/empty garage

I was in the darkroom yesterday and I printed this image from the Grandma Project. Like a lot of artists, I have a few projects going on at once. When Handcrafted Modern (then called "the book project") really started getting some interest and attention, I was also working on "the Grandma Project". My Grandmother and I had an extremely close relationship. When she passed away in 2006, I found myself compelled to document her house and it's contents. I really couldn't stop myself. In fact, I think this is where Handcrafted Modern began in a lot of ways. My grandmother's home was the first home I shot in the detailed manner that you see in Handcrafted Modern. I am just beginning to take a look through what I have shot for the project and what still needs to be done. Printing something from it every time I am in the darkroom is my way of treating myself. I'll share more soon...I'm getting really excited about it again.

handcrafted modern/outtakes/eames

This is one of those pictures at the Eames house that I shot for myself. I was wondering what the story was with these two wood poles (they look like old telephone poles) that are outside on the patio. Lucia, the Eamses granddaughter, told me they are actually a couple of the old pylons from the original Santa Monica Pier. They were getting rid of them, and Charles and Ray grabbed a couple and they have been in the garden ever since.

handcrafted modern/outtakes/eames

one more from the Eames House. This is at the top of the spiral staircase on the second floor. I found that white milk glass finial (lower left) a bit of a surprise...

handcrafted modern/outtakes/eames

I am still going through all the Eames film, prepping all the images for their archive. I'm trying to make them all exactly how I think they should be...cropping, color adjustment, etc. I ran across this one today. I never noticed it before, but I think this one is really nice! You get such a good look at the way Ray and Charles layered so many different types of fabrics. And I think the tiger hide is super sexy!

erica tanov, berkeley, ca

finally tackling the backlog of shoots I have to edit through. I shot fashion designer, Erica Tanov's beautiful home in Berkeley last October, right before the book was released. This morning, I was finally looking through them and I ran across this one. I really like her kitchen. No surprise that she has beautiful objects, but that blue science lab counter really makes the room for me. And I love the jumble of cups from the mornings coffee. true to life.

havens street, san francisco

When I want to sit in a quiet little piece of nature in the middle of San Francisco, I often go over to Havens Street off Leavenworth near Union. It is one of those pedestrian streets with a little pathway and a bench at the end. What many don't know is that the garden at the front (right near the Leavenworth entrance), called "Tova's Garden", was designed by famed landscape architect, Thomas Church late in his career.  I always wander slowly through the garden all the way to the end of the walkway and sit on the lone bench with a book for awhile.