AMY IN ELLE
elle magazine used this shot of james rowland shop co-owner and lifetime buddy amy blaustein in an article about how great she is.
WE’RE BUILDING A HOUSE!
for the past two years, i’ve been working with a small but dedicated group of artists to build a house. in the spirit of what this house will eventually become – a center for learning – we’ve been learning as we go. very few of us are actually skilled woodworkers, but this building process has become part of our practice, as detailed in our teacher’s book, zen architecture.
jesse schlesinger, who organized the class, is far from a novice with wood. maybe you’ve seen his greenhouse behind the general store? while i’m still figuring out how to correctly sharpen my chisel, jesse has become one with this project. his dedication and focus made it possible.
lead by paul discoe, we’ve been using the same traditional japanese joinery techniques that he uses in his joinery structures (notable bay area examples include the green gulch zen center and ippuku). all of the major work was performed off-site, then the pieces were brought to the site for assembly. as i imagine any barn raising would be, it was an all-hands-on-deck situation, and after such a long time coming, a truly joyous event.
here’s a time lapse of day 1.
paul arrives with our hand mortised and tenoned beams and posts.
groundbreaking ceremony.
with a gift of a tapa cloth from papua new guinea.
the building begins.
this is jesse. insert your own dedication metaphor here.
the walls were first laced with a grid of bamboo, then covered with clay harvested from the land.
there was plenty of other fun to be had. here hannah leads a rag rug workshop. these beauties will line the floor of the tipi.
awesome people everywhere.
charlie made the food.
felix made the mess.
josey baked endless loaves of bread in this wood burning oven, another recent edition to the property.
did we mention the sauna? eli making it happen.
as unevidenced by this photo, drew is doing design/build for an entirely separate and simultaneous project, the residency space. break time!
it’s always break time when you’re 7.
dave invited some kite-makers.
and some kite watchers.
a glimpse of the clay bowls that jessica made for the occasion.
no rest for the weary … eating on the roof, so as to finish it before sundown.
unless of course, you had better things to do.
stay tuned for a time lapse of day 2…
KIM GORDON FOR MERCY VINTAGE
i recently shot a lookbook of the treasure trove that is kim gordon’s closet. she’s selling her stage-thrashed (and gently-used) items at mercy vintage now in oakland. the shoot was a bit of a school girl’s fantasy for me, having looked to kim for inspiration in my early music-making days. the launch party was sponsored by refinery 29. more details on MTV style and huffington post. there are still plenty of pieces available, online and in the shop. when you head in there, check out my photos on permanent installation.
A LITTLE JOY IS RIGHT
such a nice surprise today: photographer spotlight from justalittlejoy. thanks, tessa!
VORTEX
a scene from chris duncan’s first year MFA show at stanford. chris recently threatened that he might not make these vortex paintings for much longer. i really hope that’s not true, but at least i’ll forever be tied to one this way. there’s some wonderful insight as to just how colorful chris’s world is here.
NATURAL SELECTION
cheryl dunn made this great video for the NY times about the creative growth beyond trend fashion show. a few of my photos from the event will be on display at creative growth through june 21 as a part of their annual home show. the opening is tomorrow night during the oakland art murmur.
Creative Growth Art Center
355 24th Street, Oakland, CA 94612
Exhibition Opening:
FRIDAY, MAY 4 during Oakland’s Art Murmur
LIVE MUSIC BY SOUR MASH HUG BAND + TACO TRUCK!
BAR BY B RESTAURANT, OAKLAND
PHOTO AND SOUND SPACE
above is a shot of me and mine taken by my friend and constant source of inspiration, douglas adesko. it is best viewed in his new photo and sound space, since you’ll get a taste of what the dinner conversation is like around our place.
doug feels like the brother i never had. below is a shot i took of him in his native environment, making something awesome, as usual … a cabin with a roof that opens wide. one day i will be this good with wood.
© Terri Loewenthal Blog.