Tourtoise

A new footrest, take III (or IV?)

2011-11-08T21:43:00.000-08:00

I'm using a big Jet milling machine at Techshop to fabricate a new foot rest for the tall chair. I started with a brass bar 5/8" x 7/8", and milled a 2" portion to 5/16", then I heated that patch with a blow torch, to brick red, let it cool, and bent it. Then I milled coves into the two "wings." Sometimes, I'm surprised at how my experience with classical architecture influences my designs. After polishing, I'm pleased with this test sample. I'll start to work on the full foot rest tomorrow.

Occupy Oakland!

2011-10-11T08:37:00.000-07:00

How could I pass this up? :-) Very moving. The arc of my life from NYC to the Obama campaign in Florida, to here... a lot to get comfrtable with.

I'm going to Santa Cruz later, to see the open art studio tour, and to see a 40 acre intentional community with a barn that needs renovation.

Networking, and...

2011-07-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

I played at the Stanford jazz jam. It was fun, and pretty good. Some faculty play as rhythm section, so it holds together quite well. Think I'll do this some more, but I'd really prefer some one on one with some of them. Got a call from PJ, a tasty conga/tambourine percussionist/singer whom I heard in a street trio back in Oakland, and to whom I had given my card. Now, a few months later, she is contacting me to play. Our schedules conflict 'till after I get back from Lexington, but I'm looking forward to it.
A few days ago, Pearl, computer wiz recently turned architect for a 2nd career, asked me to comment on a house project she is designing. I did so, over lunch, and sent a follow up e-mail sketch, which she liked sufficiently to draw up and present to her client. Last night I received an e-mail from Allen, a mechanical engineer proposing a system for the Magic residence, asking me if I'd be interested in consulting on a project that's gone a bit off the rails, ie. been through a few architects, and is partially built with some bad decisions. I said yes, of course. Sounds like a fun opportunity to be a know it all, and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat (I hope :-) Today, David and Hillary introduced me to Tony Carrasco, a local architect and friend who consulted on an earlier iteration of the Magic project. He's a very nice, gentle, smart guy, and we hit it off. He liked what I was proposing for the project, and I had a chance to show my nice chair, etc.
Little Hill, one of the two daughters here, and I planted 4 tomato plants and 18 garlic cloves in the garden beds I have been preparing the last few weeks. Tomorrow Harper and I will take a bike ride around "the loop." This weekend, Andrew's girl friend Zoe will come and visit and we'll probably all do something. Tomorrow morning Esperanza and I will work on her reading.

I've grown a lot this year.

* * *

More stuff

2011-06-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

Josh and I will update the CAD drawings for the house project, to incorporate my designs, and we planned to give the files back to the architect of record, a big mucky muck here in Palo Alto. But he reacted badly and e-mailed David that he wouldn't work with us and David must choose. David choose us. So now I have an architectural filing set to produce. It's paid work! Josh is an architect with California registration, so he'll seal the drawings. I've also looked into what I need to do to get my NCARB certification recognized here; there is a California supplemental exam, for which I will need to do a bit of studying, and I need to pay some fees to NCARB, and catch up on continuing ed credits (listening to 36 hours of Marvin Windows lectures and the like, ugh..) The process will take 6 months or so. I'll get this in motion for the next project :-)
I met a friend of David's, Jim, who is well connected to the Stanford music department and who was very impressed with my keyboard. He mentioned me to the head of the department, but he's to busy to take on another project now, as the Stanford summer jazz festival and workshops are just starting. So Jim also mentioned me to the fella who runs the Stanford Monday night jams at the COHO, and who will watch out for me if I want to attend. I'll do that tomorrow night.
I'm going to Massachusetts 7/8 to 7/31 to visit my sisters and attend M&B's music party. I'll try to finish the vibraphone I built with B, and try to dipose of some of what I have in storage, and get a physical.

Activities

2011-06-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some household repairs, like getting doors to work, and kitchen cabinet doors and drawers, too. Biking and reading, and practicing vibes. Played vibes w/fellow resident Jeff and two of his friends at the neighborhood block party. Meeting folks in architecture/construction biz related through Josh, who will be building the project here. I pitched in to help Josh meet his deadline for an open house marking the completion of his present project; I installed door hardware ($20/hr, woo,hoo! Josh really appreciated the help.) Went to the open house, too, and met a dozen folks in the local "green building movement" as they refer to themselves. I produced two dimensioned floor plans for Dave and Hillary, which Josh will input to CAD. We've met with a few HVAC folks to evaluate their approaches to the project. I've been on a few bike and hike day trips with Harper, my 7 year old friend from here. We pack a lunch of a couple of apples, some cheese slices, a couple of chicken sausages, and we bike about 5 miles or so to a little creek, with Harper showing me the way. Then we explore the creek, perhaps 200 or 300 feet in one direction or the other, and have lunch. Harper pokes stuff with sticks, we toss rocks, and slice apples with pocket knives. It turns out we have similar wilderness skills. Then we bike back. I am nostalgic for the time I spent with my younger brother Jeff when he was Harper's age and I was a teen. (Jeff is a remarkably kind and great guy, always was, with two daughters of his own, now. I visited them at the beginning of my trip. His wife Kate leaves comments here from time to time. Hi Jeff, Hi Kate, Hi Meg, Hi Jenny! :-) I started helping Esperanza learn to read in the mornings here, now. She's 24, from a small village in Guatemala, married to Clark, 39, from Florida, who went to South America to find a wife. Esperanza wanted to see more of the world, has some courage, and jumped at the opportunity. She speaks some English. She's reading at about 2nd grade level, I'd say. It's very moving to help her. A fellow resident here said I was a mensch, but I think I get a lot out of it; so much of my angst this year comes from feeling devalued.
I've really relaxed these last several weeks. I don't know if I'll stay here, or in California, or return to Massachusetts, where M & B have recently again offered me welcome. All I know is that I have made some peace and simply want to continue to be creative. Sorry to be so brief. There are many, many stories here, but I just can't focus here to get them down. Maybe eventually, but not now...

Noam Chomsky

2011-05-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

A departing resident, Jess, just recently married and wonderfully matched to also departing Chris, made available some used books. I requested a copy of The Chomsky Reader. In it, I found one essay, the first of his writings I've ever read, so relevant to my personal reaction to recent circumstances, that I searched for a copy on line to post here. It's thick reading, but great. The fact that philosophers have been thinking for hundreds of years about the debilitating effects of capitalism, with it's attendant loss of freedom, and the exultation of the artist/craftsman's relation to his work, made me tear up. It's writing that made me feel both profoundly validated and lonely. Here is the link: http://www.chomsky.info/books/state02.pdf

A little more...

2011-05-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

Refining

2011-05-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

Living in Palo Alto...

2011-05-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

I'm staying in a collective of some old time commune dwellers/ philosopher teachers at Stanford University, consisting of a family of three parents with three children, plus a couple of friends, and about a dozen Stanford students. It's quite a pleasant, intelligent community, with a scientific bent, a penchant for doing good in the world, and no new ageyness. There are 3 dwellings here, two quite old, one recently renovated. The family unit is about to embark on a tear-down and rebuild of the next. I am recommending improvements to their plans, mostly tweaking and finessing the spaces without changing topology. I am being provided with food, shelter, good cheer. I hope to network a bit as the project progresses. Click the pics for blow ups.

Pleasant meeting...

2011-02-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

Nice meeting. No job available now, just a pleasant meeting.

Now, I have another response to a resume I sent to another firm that does very good work, and they do have a job coming up and indicated my portfolio and resume look like what they do.

Gulp!

Sonoma

2011-01-31T20:54:00.001-08:00

Going to meet with a high end residential architect in Santa Rosa tomorrow afternoon.

Balls in the air...

2011-01-27T06:23:00.000-08:00

I've registered for three one-night classes Feb 2, 7, and 11, about CNC router fabrication.

After a performance of Avant-guard music by the head of the music department at University of California at Berkeley, I introduced myself and showed him a picture of my keyboard. He said it was interesting and I should try to reach him this week.

I was given the names of a few architectural firms in Sonoma, that do "traditional" work, to whom my portfolio from the east coast might be relevant.

3rd Chair Flyer

2011-01-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

Click the pic for a larger view, and then click what comes up for a much larger view.

Tall Chair trial footrest

2011-01-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to rework the footrest on the tall chair. The original broad sweeping arc cantilevers out a good ways and the slightest touch of the foot when getting off the chair, levers the whole thing forward and would inevitably lead to it's flipping forward and crashing to the floor (agghh!)

The modified footrest in this photo substantially alleviates the problem, but a) I'm not as happy with it visually, compared to the semicircular original, and 2) it's still a little tippy. I still have other ideas...

(Click the pic for a larger view, and then click what comes up for a much larger view.)

The 3rd Chair

2011-01-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

The mahogany of the frame finished very nicely. I used a blend of two Minwax stains, then 2 coats of gloss polyurethane, each sanded to 400 grit, a final satin coat sanded to 1200 grit, and a top coat of paste wax rubbed in with 0000 steel wool and buffed.

I've given notice at the shop, the month of January will be my last. I'm trying to find a way to stay down in Menlo Park, where I can get access to a CNC router table and wood shop, where I can experiment with modern fabrication.

The Tall Chair

2011-01-09T20:27:00.000-08:00

(Click the pic for a larger view. Click what comes up for an even larger view.)

Hi Voyagers!

2010-12-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

I'm delighted to learn some of you are following! I'm in Lexington right now, visiting MP, BS_N and the lads. Hope to see some of you while I'm here 'till Tuesday (the 4th)

The Tall and the Short of it.

2010-12-24T23:30:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics of the finished tall chair, and some pics of the third and possibly final in the series, another low chair, nearly complete.

More on the Tall Chair

2010-12-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

Almost done! I like this one better. I plan to build one more, normal chair height, with simpler detailing, and hopefully a viable production product.

I am job hunting now, too. Going to Lexington, MA for New Year's.

Remember when I used to write a lot?

Busy....

A re-do due to doo-doo

2010-11-21T18:01:00.000-08:00

The foot rest was a ring of wood held between the four legs' ankles, wider at the front for your feet to rest upon. The whole time I was working on it, mitering four pieces of wood together into a frame from which the foot rest would be cut, building a beautiful jig to precisely guide a router as it made the eccentric circular cutouts, and then making the cuts themselves, the whole time, I kept wondering if it would look like a toilet seat, if that would come to anyone's mind beside mine.

It occurred to Jeff Tiedeken in about 3 seconds, he managing only to slightly soften the blow by saying "I hate to say this, but it looks a little like a toilet." I do love honest friends. He scores consistently high on this measure.

I have moved on. Back, actually, to a previous design, in which the brass cross bars of the original chair are present, and an additional 5/8" brass rod encircles the front half of the chair, held aloft from the front three legs by nicely made brass stanchions. This alteration will be easy to accomplish as I have already received all of the necessary components from internet sources, having ordered them and other components for even other alternatives, all while I was sketching variations on the foot rest and trying to finalize my choice. I tried the toilet. Looked ridiculous. Now I'm making the cantilevered foot rail. I've modified the wood as required. Monday, I will get some 5/8" solid brass rod, having slightly crushed the 5/8" brass tube I had as it went through the tubing bender, enough so that it no longer passes through the stanchions. 3 days lost. Oh well.

Today I saw two rooms available for rent in two share houses. Not happy with either.

Progress on the Tall Chair

2010-11-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

My friend and shopmate Jeff Tiedeken took some pictures with his phone, of me working on the tall chair. The whole frame is cut, shaped, and joints cut. Tomorrow, I will make the foot rest which also serves to tie the legs together at the "ankles". I will probably have it all glued together by Friday, and make the seat and back rest over the weekend. 1st chair: 3 months. 2nd chair: perhaps 8 days. If I make multiples at the same time, I can probably do several per week, and can justify a helper. Its starting to sound viable! I have one more sample I want to make, from a beautiful piece of mahogany I got yesterday, and then I've got to start selling some chairs!

Pressing on

2010-11-13T22:16:00.000-08:00

After a few days rest, I worked out a few improved jigs and so forth, and started the tall chair. In two days I have completed what took me a few weeks the first time! I see some additional streamlining I can do to get this much down to 1 day next time. Interesting. To-do list: rent room in share house (saw one from Craig's list, e-mailed another), look for part time work (met a "famous" stair builder, showed my pics and got some leads to high end contractors, met a great woodworker and showed my pics, etc.), do some back taxes, get a check up (I've let some maintenance slide a bit).... and MARKETING.

Improved photo

2010-11-01T04:54:00.000-07:00

CNC may be too expensive, I'm talking with two more firms. Meanwhile, I've designed jigs to make the parts by conventional means, if necessary. I made a drawing for a taller, bar stool version, which I like a lot. I wish I had another completed one without the arms... maybe I can do it in Photoshop!

A very good friend from New York visited me yesterday. It was a terrific visit, but I was surprised by my sentimentality, contrasting my life back then and now. He pointed out that what I'm doing is new to me, and that if I am truly pursuing art, I should expect the work to evolve, slowly over time. Great advise. I have to get out of the emergency and panicked way I am trying to proceed.

Fabrication coming up...

2010-10-22T16:25:00.000-07:00

Dan is drawing the computer model. I meet with Mike Wednesday at 10 to see if his firm can make my parts.
Everyone has sent me such encouraging e-mails, it's really wonderful. Special thanks to folks here in the shop for advice and help, with very special thanks and well wishes to Andrew Isley, who is recovering from heart surgery. Also huge thanks to John and Mary Kathrine for their unbelievably generous hospitality and support.

First pic..

2010-10-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

I shot this this morning so I can have something to show to talk with people. I'll find a home or a theater with a grand piano for the background and set up more carefully lighted marketing photos. But meanwhile, I'm excited to talk to all the people I've met up to this point, and to start looking for galleries and outlets. I need to talk to the CNC fabricator, of course. And then a few of the people I met up in Fort Bragg, including Dan Heman, a terrific sculptor and gallery owner. Also, Bruce Mitchell, the well established sculptor Sandy and I met on Point Reyes. Maybe he'll have suggestions for me. And the woodworkers I met at College of the Redwoods... Oh, John Castl used to live in SF, I wonder what he's up to these days...

I called the furniture fabricator today, and the CNC computer modeler. I also drew up a few ideas for variations. So much to do!

Done!

2010-10-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

Pictures coming..

Making Glides

2010-10-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

I made glides for the bottoms of the legs. I used a black plastic cutting board for material, a very hard, layered plastic. I built a platform to clamp to the legs to support a trim router which I used to cut the plastic to fit the legs. Click here for the Flickr pics.

Tomorrow, when the shop is relatively empty, I will take the chair into the relatively dust free bathroom and apply the final finish coat of polyurethane.

Sunday, I will sit down. :-)

Hi to M.I.T...

2010-10-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

Hi Fab Lab! Keep up the amazing work, and thanks for looking at my pursuits :-)

No such thing as "The Bottom"

2010-10-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

A project like this demands attention to the bottom details. To fasten the seat, I first got little zinc coated steel L brackets which would be screwed to the seat and the rails. But the color doesn't match the brass cross ties. I thought finding brass parts would be a real pain so I resolved to paint the zinc brackets and screws black. However, at the hardware store today, to my surprise, I found brass L brackets and brass oval head screws, and nicely dimpled brass finish washers. I also found brass shelf pins which I thought might work. I bought 4 L's and 4 shelf pins, a box of the screws, and 8 washers. I ended up using the shelf pins which worked very elegantly. Between the frame and the seat, I had planned to lay in a felt weather strip. Previously, I had only been able to find a foam rubber strip, which I bought, but today I spotted an old timey looking felt strip and I snatched it up. It's been like that on much of this project, buying multiple choices of materials, and then finding the perfect thing later still. Oh, well, that's product development biz.

I installed dowels to mount the back rest and arm rests, then sanded all the Zebra wood parts with successively fine sandpaper up 400 grit. I made some stands for the parts and applied a first coat of polyurethane. Tomorrow, I will install the Zebra wood parts, do a final sanding on everything and be ready for a final coat of satin polyurethane. Click here for the pics :-)

Attaching the Back Rest

2010-10-11T17:01:00.000-07:00

I used the plywood back rest from the mock up to make a dowel hole drilling jig for the final pieces. Click here for pics.

Testing the Back Joint and Geometry

2010-10-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I made a simulation of the back support bottom mortise and tenon joint so I could test it. This morning I loaded it. Seems adequate :-)

Today, I made the connection for the back rest cross bar and test assembled the seat and backrest for a trial sit. It felt very good, but I decided to trim the mating surface of the back support bottom joint, to raise the angle to be slightly more upright, about half an inch forward, which required just an eighth of an inch trim at the joint. This is done now, including tweaking the pre-tensioning lag bolt at this support's weak spot. Nothing left but to install the Zebra wood parts and apply final finish.

Click here for the Flickr pics.

Hi Hart Howerton

2010-10-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hi BR, JM, RR, CP, and anyone else looking in from time to time :-)

Hope all is well. I do miss NYC and HH from time to time. But California is great, so eat your Harts out, lol.

Cheers

Gluing up

2010-10-09T17:13:00.000-07:00

Click here for a Flickr show. It's getting exciting :-)

Staining

2010-10-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, I glue.

Ready to go,... wait, ONE MORE TEST!

2010-10-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

Last night, I finished sanding all my wood parts to 400 grit. I am ready to apply finish.

I went to sleep knowing that I can not make this any better.

But I woke at about 6, with a start; will the arms and back really work??? These are single pieces of wood sticking up, doing the work normally done by at least two vertical pieces on every chair I have ever seen. I have a good sense of the strength of materials, but the little nub I was able to snap off so easily the other day, made me very nervous about the brittleness of this wood. As I dressed (in my truck outside the shop, where I have been staying most nights, with visits to my friends John and MK every few days) I already started contemplating a test of the arm and how I might redesign it if it proved inadequate. I imagined a connection tieing the arm to the back support... but ugh, I don't want to have to do this.

Now in the shop, I found the old arm I had made when I started making the pieces, and secured it in the vise in a position where I could subject the weakest section to the greatest leverage. I leaned lightly and shook the upright arm. Then I threw my weight into it, not with all my strength as in a football tackle, but a good sturdy body thunk, well more than anything I can imagine might happen in the chair's daily use. It held, much to my relief. Ok, then I replicated the two small "finger" buttresses that will be on the final piece, and I joined them to the top of the arm, and then attached my plywood mock-up armrest using a biscuit joiner and glue, as I will on the final piece. After just an hour of clamping time, I could not stand to wait any longer, so I put the arm back in the vice, and loaded the arm rest with my toolbox, which has become my default testing weight. Again to my relief, it held. And the backrest? You may remember I have already installed a bolt through the weak point, so I'm pretty confident in that member.

Only a man who cares has doubt. (proverb)

Will my mortise and tenon joints attaching the arms and back be sufficient? Am I using the best glue, the yellow woodworking glue? Should I use Epoxy, which is better able to fill voids as I have around my not so perfect m&t joinery? Or the new polyurethane glues, like Gorilla Glue, which can expand to fill voids? Each of these have problems, too; the epoxy is runny and messy and very hard to clean off if it gets on an exposed surface, and the polyurethane glues lose strength where they have room to expand, and the squeeze out from the expansion can make a mess too. I looked over my joints again. They're not so bad. One could use a touch up. I think I'll do that and stay the course with the old reliable yellow glue.

On to pre-finishing and prep for glue up.

Installing the Cross Ties and a Partial Assembly

2010-10-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

Today I assembled the bottom half of the chair to test fit the cross ties. Click here for a Flickr show. There is a sketch of the anchoring of the tie deep into the leg and a sequence of photos showing the execution. I shaped the tip of a large screwdriver to accurately seat a brass insert deep inside the hole, at the middle level of three concentrically drilled diameters, the smallest of which is at the bottom and allows the threaded rod to over run when it is inserted. The smallest diameter also provides a shoulder against which the brass insert stops. The middle diameter is sized for the insert to screw into, and the upper largest diameter allows clearance for the insert to drop down to the beginning of the middle diameter, and also provides clearance for the screw driver.

There are also several photos of the bottom half of the chair assembled to test fit the cross ties. (You may notice little pieces of wood in the middles of the arches that resemble keystones. They are simply there to protect what will be smooth arches from being marred by the clamps.) This is the first time I have seen this much together, and is the first confirmation that all of my geometry works and that all of my joinery and metal connections are correct. Whew! I think about 400 hours have gone into this project (including all the figuring out of things, building jigs, testing, creating mock-ups, remaking parts, and a lot of research and self teaching of general woodworking techniques.) Still, I am relieved that it all worked and I am now, for the first time, confident to proceed to glue up the chair!

By the way, I think it looks amazing.

Metal parts

2010-10-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

Making the Brass Cross Ties...

2010-10-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

Click here for some photos of the fabrication of the brass knuckle for the center of the cross ties between the legs. Also, a test of the strength of a mock up of the wood nub, to which the cross ties will attach. The nub held fine with the weight of my tool box, even when I bounced it up and down. But, when I applied a very small bending force to the nub, it snapped right off. I am sure this is a property of the Afromosia, and will not be a problem with other wood species. To complete this first chair, however, I decided to run the rods deep into meat of the leg, rather than simply into the protruding nubs. The last photo shows the ball with one rod fitted and a terminus at the opposite end. This terminus is too elaborate, and I will replace the knurled nut with an acorn nut, with a 1/4" hole drilled through it's crown to allow the rod to pass through. The nut will retain the large, thick brash washer at the end, finishing the round end of the wood nub. The edgers of the washer and the nub will be sanded together for a perfect fit. A fine point on the ball is that in order to assemble the cross between the legs, I have made one hole in each direction with a reverse thread, and a mating thread on the end of the rod it receives. This will allow me to twist the rod with one revers thread to shorten the length of the whole assembly, so that I can get it between the rigid legs, and then twist the rod the other way to lengthen it again, and position the ball correctly in space, before backing the apposing rod into it's normally threaded hole.

I love Berkely..

2010-10-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

I asked a shopmate metalworker, Steven, how I could blacken and tarnish my brass parts. He said "Why don't you throw them in this bucket? They'll blacken in a few hours." I'd found on the internet 4 oz bottles for $9 ea. from hobby suppliers, and Steven had a whole Rubbermaid vat of the brew.

The Last Pieces!

2010-09-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

I finished fabricating the last pieces today.. Wooohooo!

Click here for a Flickr show of the last couple of days, and today's grand finale: the arm and back rests.

All that's left now is final sanding, pre-finishing, glue-up, final finishing, and the metal tie rods between the legs.

Then, I turn to sales, while I get CNC fabrication going.

Jigs and splines

2010-09-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a jig I made for gluing the book matched triangles together to make the 4 diamond shapes that comprise the seat. Thin wedges fit between the pieces and surrounding stopping blocks to apply pressure to the pieces. In this photo, I'm still using test wood, Zebra wood will follow. I also made a jig to glue the diamonds together to make the seat. I made that from one of the test seats, which was already of the correct geometry for a jig of this sort. I cut some holes in the bottom of it, though, so I could keep an eye on the seams from both sides. Finally, I tested a spline cut from Afromosia, cut with it's grain going the long way. It split too easily, so I cut all the splines I will need for several chairs, with the grain going the short way, so that the grain bridges the joint. The tricky part was to handle such small pieces safely on the table saw. Click Here for a Flickr show.

Another test seat...

2010-09-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

Click here for a Flickr slide show. I laid out the pieces on some MDF the same dimensions as my Zebra wood, so that I could confirm the book matching of the grain and the efficiency of the layout. Then I cut the pieces to rough size and used my tablesaw jig to make the finish cuts in about 20 minutes. Then I used my router table jig to cut slots in the edges, 90 degrees at the flat connections, and tilted at the dihedral angle connections. I put the new seat together with splines. Sweet! Since these photos, I've laid out and rough cut my Zebra wood. Then I tried to cut the Zebra wood on the table saw in the jig, but the blade is not sharp enough for a clean, unburnt cut through the very hard Zebra wood. I have to get a good crosscutting blade before I continue. Drat. Plenty to do 'till Monday; sand all the frame pieces to prep for finish (I have to find a dust free space to do the actual finishing), cut splines from Afromosia, build a clamping jig for gluing the seat components, cut out the back rest and arm rest pieces... Still lot's to do, but I can see the end. I'll post pics tomorrow of the book matched Zebra wood seat. It's great :-)

Adding a pretensioning member (lag bolt), and making the seat

2010-09-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

Click Here for a Flickr slide show. I added a bolt through a potential breaking point at the bottom of the back support. Then, I completed a revision to the profile of the "elbos" which had been bothering me for a while. I had to hand carve the rounded bottoms of the arms to match the machined round shape running up the outside of the arms. It came out very clean.

Also, after a failed attempt to build the seat with angles measured from the mock up and used to cut 8 triangles on the table saw, I got a terrific suggestion from shopmate Andrew Isley; build a jig that holds the seat component off the saw table at the correct finished orientation, and let the saw cut straight and the geometry can take care of itself! I built such a jig and it worked perfectly on some test wood. I also tested rounding the edges of the pieces on the router table, and discovered that the unsupported ends had noticeable "tear out" when the router bit emerged from the piece. I'll solve this too, and also try splining together some of the panels, before I make the final seat out of the very expensive Zebra wood I milled from 2" lumber yesterday.

Meanwhile, in the shop's finishing room, I have prepared several finish samples on scraps of Afromosia, combinations of sealers, pore fillers, stain, and polyurethane or Tung oil; I need to get a beautiful finish I am certain I can produce on the 20 parts of this first chair, and be sure it dries correctly and so forth. I am pretty sure I have a good recipe, but before I proceed, I will check in with Sandy's brother, a professional antiques restorer.

I've ordered a variety of little brass components from which I can make the tie rods across the bottom of the chair legs. If these are problematic, I can do something with bicycle spokes and some of their fastening components. We'll see.

More Chair Progress

2010-09-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

Lots of construction progress. The frame is essentially complete, with just some joint fitting and sanding left to do. I still need to make the seat, back and arm rests out of the finish material, which will be Zebra wood. It has a strong grain that will be arranged to radiate from the center of the seat. (In the photos, those parts are mocked up from plywood.) The tops of the arm rest supports will be trimmed smaller and the arm rests will be tilted back a bit, parallel to the seat. I also need to make the brass rod tie rods between the legs. Click here for a Flickr slide show.

I've located CNC furniture fabricator 3 blocks from my shop, who I think will be able to make parts for the chair at a reasonable rate, time and money wise. I also have discovered that one of my shopmates can do the CAD modeling for me in a day.

Tons to say...

2010-09-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

I have lots of pictures and a lot to say about Burning Man... but not now :-) I have been working steadily on the chair and must stay on task rather than spend a day or two editing photos and writing about "the Burn." I'll get to it soon...

Off to Burning Man...

2010-08-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

so I'll have no cell or internet 'till the 7th!

Cheers :-)

And more...

2010-08-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

I finished rough shaping of the parts and then drilled some square holes (mortises:-) To handle my pieces, I disassembled the machine and reassembled it with the head hanging over the edge of the work bench. Then I bolted it in place and built jigs on the side of the work bench to hold my parts rigidly, in precise positions.

Click here for a Flickr slide show.

More...

2010-08-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

Moving along,..... slowly but steadily. One brainstorm today was to attach a 1" washer to hold the circle accurately when I worked the wood around it.

Curving the inside surfaces of the legs...

2010-08-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

I drew circles and parabolas on the ends and then drew tangent diagonals at the corners. Then I extended these as longitudinal guidelines for the initial chamfers, or bevels.
Tomorrow, I'll take the corners off the bevels, or bevel the bevels, so to speak. Then a final sanding will be enough to create a nice curve around the backs of the legs.

Some oil applied to a rejected test part to see the default finish color.

Tapering the pieces...

2010-08-22T00:09:00.000-07:00

A few shots from today. First, one leg in the tapering jig I built. This holds the piece at a very precise incline as it runs through the thickness planer, which results in a piece that has more wood removed on one end. Flip it over, adjust the incline (double the angle), run through the planer again, and voila, a tapered piece! (Working out the fine points took some time, like getting the angles just right for the different lengths, adding the sacrificial blocks at the ends so that the machine's start and stop dips did not ruin the piece, and so forth.)

Cutting piecese and shaping the outside surfaces..

2010-08-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

Click here for a Flickr slide show of some more progress. the frame pieces are cut and machine shaping has begun. They are still full thickness and appear quite heavy. Tomorrow I will thin them down and taper them. Exciting!

I bought wood

2010-08-13T21:57:00.000-07:00

I bought wood for legs and a beautiful veneer for the seat, arm rests, and back, as well as wood for patterns and jigs. Ordered a router bit for shaping the fronts of the legs, laid out the shapes on the wood, and then picked up my truck from a brake repair place. I'm looking into going to Burning Man August 30 to Sept 6, so that's a good deadline for the finished prototype. I'm trying to locate a shop in Fort Bragg/Mendocino for September. I have a few leads from my visit to the College of the Redwoods in Fort Bragg. I've got to move the prototype forward a bit, first...

fUn! :-)

New Patterns...

2010-08-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

I made paper patterns for the revised chair today.

details to follow..

I have an idea...

2010-08-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

I made a sketch accentuating the anthropomorphic forms, and have a great marketing tag in a high end niche. It has great commercial potential. I have been advised to remove it from the blog site, so....

DELETE!

details to follow :-)

Chair Refinements..

2010-08-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

I added a back rest and arm rests. I trimmed back the corners of the seat, and lightened the upper members, so I'm feeling a lot better about the lines, though I'm I still not satisfied with the arm supports. I have an idea for an ogee shape for them that might be better. Also, I still have arch the bottoms of the seat stringers.

Tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a fellow named Paco is helping me add some plies to the leaf springs on my truck, to firm up the suspension, and to cure the lean to the right by adding an extra ply on that side. We went to a junk yard today and bough a suitable leaf spring to cannibalize. The junk yard folks were true-to-form crude people, but very helpful none the less.

Design is an evolutionary process

2010-08-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

I love pencil and paper; it's interactive. I put down a sketch, and immediately see alternatives or the next step. Tracing paper goes over and a new sketch goes over the first, and so forth. If a sketch is good to suggest the next idea, then a 3-D mock up is fantastic. Maybe this will be a series of evolutionary models. I installed arms and the back bone today, but I'm not happy with the marriage between the top half of the chair and the bottom half. Now, the arm rest supports are not yet trimmed at their tops, I left extra wood to be able to tweak the arm rest positions, so what's there now looks a bit heavier than it will when the tops are trimmed. But, I am also thinking that maybe the arms and side legs should be all one continuous shaped piece, and the front and back legs as well as the back rest support could also be all one piece. I have to try some things. I am certain the corners of the seat should be less aggressive. I like the forward motion implied by the angles of the legs and will try to emphasize that. The back is leaning to far back....

I did sit on this for a few seconds, even though there is no glue in the joints and there are no ties across the bottom. It felt pretty good... :-)

Chair Progress 2

2010-08-07T23:48:00.000-07:00

Click here for a Flickr slide show of the work in the new shop here in Oakland. I made a lot of progress on the chair mock up this week. I rebuilt the seat armature twice more since the first try from Jerome, each time getting the angles more accurate. The joints are looking pretty tight, now, and the only way I knew to achieve that was by honing in on successive tries.

Where I can, I am taking some liberties with the mock up for expedience, for example the finished chair will not have the screws used in the mock up. Also, the stringers under the seat will have arched bottoms, the seat itself will have rounded edges, and so forth.

I tried sculpting one sample leg. I'm undecided how much contouring I will finally do; I may just shape the backs of the legs and keep the surfaces facing outwards crisp.

I'd hoped to finish this this week, but it will go into the middle of the coming week. I still have time to select materials before I start the real piece. For the structure, I'd thought a light hard wood, like ash or hickory, and for the seat, back, and arms, a darker, precious species. On the other hand, after another fellow in the shop made something nice out of plywood, letting the edges show, I thought sculpted plywood legs would be amazing as the layers would show off the contouring. We'll see, there is still time.

I am having the most fun I've had in years, absolutely loving this. I wrote to an unemployed friend today, "I felt like I'd hit rock bottom, like I'd lost everything, and I had no desire to get back in the design business, to again beg people to 'pick me.' But now, I've embraced my situation and I'm going all in, betting on myself and only doing what I want. If someone likes it, fine, if not, they can find the door. We'll see if it works." Another friend said "So, you are a teenager." So be it, I'm alive! At the end of the day today I found myself looking at the chair and thinking, "I'm glad this exists, I'm glad I did this."

Something is coming...

Hopland, Ukiah, Willits, Fort Bragg, Mendacino...

2010-08-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick update of my touring in this area. I spent a day in Hopland, which is approximately a dozen stores along route 101, plus some surrounding residential areas. I met Parti, who runs a little antique and crafts store. She showed me a small house she's renovating and asked me for a price to prepare some filing drawings. My bid was triple what she thought a local service would charge. I looked at a sample of their work, which she had from a previous project, and I told her they already had most of the boiler plate stuff in the computer for local code requirements and that I couldn't be competitive. I said I'd meet her half way on the price, but of course that didn't do it. There were no hard feelings. She told me about more local towns and what rentals might be available.

I moved on to Ukiah and then spent the night in Willlits. Two depressed and not so picturesque towns. I don't remember talking with anyone.

I spent three or so days in Fort Bragg, a town built around a now closed huge logging mill. I befriended Dan Hemann, proprietor of the Green Door Gallery, and an amazing sculptor. I played vibes for the Farmer's Market one day and met all sorts of folks, including Tasha, a former cellist and now student of woodwork. The next day, I went to visit the world famous College of the Redwoods School of Woodwork, a wonderful community of amazing craftsmen, and I saw Tasha again. I also met much of the faculty and some other students, including another architect pursuing alternative careers. Tasha directed me to Mahout, a collaborative of three alumni woodworkers who might take another into their shop. I met with Isaac and later Andrew, and I may get an opportunity to join them in September. Georgia Pacific owns the closed mill. I met with the fellow directing the field efforts to clean up toxic waste from the old plant area, mostly spilled oil and wood preservative, some buried batteries, careless remains from an era when nobody thought of such things. The mill site occupies several hundred acres along the ocean front, blocking the town's access to the spectacular Northern California sea shore. When this land is restored, the town could boom. I looked at the redevelopment master plans which include a lovely central park and water's edge nature trail, as well as commercial and residential areas. It looks like there will be work here for architects in 5 or 10 years. The necessary cleanup first, however, will be of unknown duration and litigious complexity.

Now I'm in Mendecino, the quintessential postcard modest coastal town. So much so that it was chosen as the location to shoot "The Summer of '42". The lush theme for that movie keeps running through my head, and I vaguely hope to bump into Jennifer O'Neil somewhere... oh yeah, it was a movie 40 years ago. I'd love to live here.

I visited the Highlight Gallery which features high end woodwork. Spectacularly well crafted pieces, and very high prices; now we're talking! Owing to the presence of the College of the Redwoods, and the natural resources here, this is the woodworking craftsmen capital of the world. I spoke to Owen Edwards, a stellar artisan who's number I got from Dan Hemann. Owen spent half an hour on the phone with me and was very helpful, with suggestions of where to look to live, and names of other folks, other schools, etc. I also got the clear impression that he was really struggling. Gulp. He's an established superstar and his business has really dropped off. He offered to build my chair on commission.

I'm heading back to Oakland later, will stay at John and MK's and try working in Joshua's shop down there for August. Then, I may head back east.

Point Reyes, Oakland, and..

2010-07-25T21:37:00.000-07:00

I stayed a few nights at Sandy's house in Fairfax. She showed me some of the surrounding towns, including San Rafael and a few marvelous places on Point Reyes, which include some spectacularly well preserved little villages with shops and galleries, surrounded by luxurious hill houses. "This is the gold standard for what you are looking for," she explained. With a phone call or two, she managed to find and introduce me to Bruce Mitchel and his wife Nancy. Bruce, a big bear of a man, is an established woodworker, turner, and sculptor, who welcomed us into his home and studio. After a few days, I went to visit my friends from NYC, John and Mary Katherine, who relocated to Oakland perhaps 10 years ago (time flies!) While here the last two days or so, I went to a wood shop collaborative in Berkeley that I found some time back on Craig's list, and arranged to be able to rent access for the month of August. Then I went to the Richmond Art Center and saw an exhibit in which Bruce had a small piece, and saw Bruce and Nancy, too. Tomorrow through Thursday, I'll go to Mendocino, Fort Bragg and Willits to see if those art communities might offer what I'm looking for at a price I can manage. If not, I'll come back here to Oakland and rent the shop in Berkeley to make some stuff, and take it from there...

30 miles to Reno

2010-07-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

Pavement everywhere, again. Malls. Autozone, Lowes, and Walmart. Ugh.

When I was in Mississippi, a friend said I was a runaway, I'd just waited a long time to do it. At the time, I thought that that sounded right. But now I think the opposite is true. I was a runaway for the 30 years I spent in New York City, an angry runaway from an earlier life I loved, but where I had been hurt.

I hate it here, now, in Fernley, NV, 30 miles east of Reno, after having roamed freely these past months in remote areas, and in quirky towns with people inventing their lives. Coming back into this more conventional realm feels like putting on a straight jacket. I am looking forward to seeing my friends Sandy, John, and Mary Katherine, in Fairfax and Oakland, but I can't wait 'till I get a few hours further north of San Francisco, back out to where there isn't so much pavement.

I'm concerned that I don't have enough money left to pull off my plan to build a creative workshop, but I'm feeling more and more certain it's the right plan. Some two and a half years ago, when I was first describing the idea for this travel adventure to my shrink at the time, he said "Not only do I think it's a good idea, I think it's important you do this." (My eyes welled up writing this) "You don't want to sit around in your 'shitrock box.'" (Him, quoting the term that I used for my apartment when I was angry at "the system" in NY) "This is a great country for driving around in..." (I remembered then my surprise when he once mentioned that he had spent years traveling in Nicaragua, which I'd never have guessed with the crew cut, buttoned down shirt and thin neck ties he wore when I knew him.) He added successively, encouragingly, until he was sure I'd heard, "Don't worry about the money... You have skills... You'll think of something...", finishing with a light hearted pursed lipped smirk and a final affirmative nod. He was always, always, on my side, and time and again I benefited greatly from my certainty of this. And yet, I later realized that in my entire experience with his otherwise non-interventionist method, I believe this is the one time he'd ever endorsed a particular course of action for me.

I have a feeling he would like my current plan, too... will like; I'm thinking of calling him to say "Hi" and catch up on the last couple of years.

Here's the first floor of the "shitrock box", the modest Greenwich Village rented studio I converted into a duplex and in which I had built my short lived architecture studio. It wasn't all that bad :-)

I'm in Ely, Nevada

2010-07-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

300 miles so far today, Friday, and it's 4 p.m. I'm taking a northern route, Highway 50, through the Rockies. One lane each way. It offers a shorter drive from where I was in Utah, and it avoids the desert drive on the popular route through Las Vegas and Death Valley. 500 miles more to N. Cali region. :-)

As I pulled into Ely, I stopped at a police station and asked about the State and local rules about parking a camper. "In Nevada, just don't park in traffic." I smiled and asked "How about something like that gravel lot over there?" "On the weekend, it fills up with campers."

:-) !

Looks like I didn't go back to Jerome. I will call Tim McQuen to keep in touch, and who knows, if Ca doesn't work out, I could try Jerome again on the return trip.

Bryce Canyon

2010-07-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

Off the charts!

Zion

2010-07-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

A chaotic hodgepodge of too many ill proportioned mountains crowded too close together. Sorry God, nice try, but, it looks like the storage room for movie sets. I did get some nice photos and have many more to post.

Two small encounters; a twenty-something fellow offered me a seat on the park shuttle bus. "You are being very nice, now I will have to kick your ass" is what I didn't say. It was more like, "Thanks, I'm ok."

On the other hand, among the many, many French and Swiss tourists I overheard talking, several of whom I met, was Stephanie, a lovely recent journalism graduate from Switzerland, who said "Oh your the guy who's been traveling in a mini school bus for eight months! Your the second famous person I've met!" She wanted to see the bus and we exchanged e-mail and blog addresses. :-)

Mystery solved: Odelia and Axel, from France, described me to Stephanie (see "comments") I ran into Odelia and Axel at the Grand Canyon, at Bryce, and at Antelope Canyons, too!

Antelope Canyon

2010-07-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

Beautiful little canyon carved in soft sandstone by wind and water. Lots more photos to post.

The Trials of Job (what a whiner)...

2010-07-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

I'm still angry about the disastrous end to my adventure in Jerome. I've endured a lot of losses in the last couple of years; my apartment in NYC, my great job, the shut down of the construction industry, and with the difficulty of finding a new appropriate job at 54 even in good times, the possible end of my career as an architect (there may still be private commissions), the house I was going to buy in Fleetwood, and with my savings dwindling, possibly the opportunity to ever buy a house... And yet, I remain optimistic and light hearted most of the time, I'm fortunate that that is my general disposition, even though I have suffered from an underlying chronic depression for many, many years... But now, with so many good possibilities in Jerome obliterated by the irrational action of the landlord, I am pissed... I drove off to the Grand Canyon and enjoyed that marvel, then Antelope Canyon, then Zion, and now Bryce, and I intend to push on to Northern California soon to see if I can find another arty town where I can afford to start my Creative Workshop. M&B have generously offered their hospitality if I want to go back to Lexington, Ma, and join a local wood working guild half a mile away and use that shop, and also pursue my musical invention at MIT and Berklee, and possibly build a new shop with them further north if B gets a new job he is hoping for... All amazing, but some time away, and I am so impatient to start. Jerome still has a quircky, neat community in a beautiful setting, lot's of artists and crafts folks, a foundry, a firm that sells exotic wood species, many houses that need renovation, and I have made friends with two folks on the Architectural review board, and a gallery owner who would show my work.

Sigh...

I wonder if I can still arrange to work with Tim McQuen, CEO of Heritage Woodworking, to design them a collection of my furniture, working out an arrangement to also use their shop facilities for my private explorations. If that was available, would I go back to Jerome? I felt a pang of relief when things fell apart there; I did worry that the town was so isolated, and it's 450 residents are mostly retirees, who's businesses need not make money... The market and social opportunities on the west coast attract me, even with the unknowns. I have some phone work to do to see what's out there and to see if Tim is still interested in my designs.

Ok, I have almost no time to work on the computer right now, and internet access is very slow, but I'll try to post some pics of these last few amazing places...

Some Grand Canyon Pics

2010-07-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

Click here for some pics from the south rim, today.

I've been evicted!

2010-07-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

I've been working 12 and 14 hour days in the wood shop. The first day, I called the landlord, Bob Athelier and introduced myself, and as Lonnie had suggested, I asked if we could adjust the position of his camper in the driveway next to the building in which Lonnie's shop is located so that I could pull in my camper, too. The landlord, asked "Are you living in the camper?" I said I was for the moment and he said "I can't have you living there." I said OK and he said I could park in another spot slightly up a hill, "next to the tractor", and I said OK. So, for the next few days I parked where he had told me, and went away at night, parking in a gravel lot at the defunct Old King Mine (which is now a tourist attraction,) and also in compliance with the town ordinance against sleeping in a camper in the town of Jerome. Now, working 12 and 14 hour days means I would arrive at 8 and leave at 8 or 10. Tonight at 8, I was hemmed in by a police car, whom I soon learned Bob had called with a complaint about me.

I was not allowed to ask any questions of Bob, or the officer, Charles, whom I had met a few days ago and with whom I had a very friendly chat at that time. Now Chuck asked for my license and registration, which I latter realized was strange because I was parked, not driving, but of course I gave it to him. I said, "Has someone complained? Chuck said "I'm not here unless there is a complaint, buddy." This was the only touch of friendliness in an otherwise icy cold, professional exchange. I was instructed to remain in my camper and not talk to Bob during what turned out to be a lengthy check of my papers via radio, but I stood in my bus doorway and overheard Bob saying that I had been rude to ask him to move his camper, and that I would arrive at 4 a.m. (not true) and leave at 10 p.m. (true,) and I was therefore living there (I'll leave the determination of the truth of that to the reader.) Then Chuck made me listen to Bob say he owned the building and the road and the whole area and he wanted me out now and that the officer would watch me get my belongings from the shop. Lonnie was there and he had had a lengthy conversation with Bob, but I was not permitted to ask one question or make any comment.

I collected my stuff from the shop, which took about 45 minutes, while Bob, Charles, and Lonnie chatted and watched. Lonnie's wife Renee came in and helped me, and informed me that Lonnie had also been evicted because of this "incident." She said "If it's any consolation, we've been evicted, too." I said "That's just another bad thing, making two wrong things, and it only makes me feel worse. I'm sorry." Lonnie had been losing money on his wood shop business for some time, and has no savings whatsoever, and had been counting on the sale of the shop to me to pay the mortgage on his home, etc. I hauled my tools and chair prototype parts out to the bus in about 15 or so trips. About mid way I managed to say to Bob, "I'm sorry for any misunderstanding, and I won't try to change your mind because you are within your rights, but I was just trying to start a business and move here. It would help out Lonnie and it would help me out, and 'man to man' it's too bad it's not working out." This got no comment in reply, so I kept packing. Well there was some comment actually, about me watching TV... I said "I don't mean to contradict you, but I was doing e-mail, to promote my business. I don't have any TV." But, this got no where.

About mid way, I asked Renee to ask permission for me to pee, and to say I have an enlarged prostate, "May I use the bathroom?" This, of course, was to emphasize the humiliation of the situation. I apologized to Renee for putting her to it, but I had to pee. I was given permission.

After I was packed, I motioned for Lonnie to come over from the group and I gave him a hug and said "I'm sorry," and "You are a great man," I chose "man" instead of the more common and milder "guy", he had treated me wonderfully these last few days and was still being classy even through this, "and I want to be your friend." He understood and smiled and said "we'll talk."

A few moments later, he came over to the bus and handed me my rent check and noted with characteristic gentle humor "good thing I hadn't cashed it yet!"

I drove out of Jerome and down to the Cottonwood WalMart, where I am now.

Bottom line is, I've been evicted for having a good work ethic and parking 12 and 14 hours.

I think it's unlikely Jerome will work out; without the shop, there is no point. But I know what I want now, I just have to find a place to do it.

Sigh.

Chair Progress

2010-07-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

Click here for a Flickr slide show of my full size mock up construction progress.

(Lots of compound angles in that seat, and especially because the front of the seat will be higher than the back, but the plinth blocks must come out vertical... I calculated a lot of Pythagorean triangle solutions.. using the calculator in my cell phone!)

Americas Favorite Chair...

2010-07-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

Here are our three finalists. First sketch has a square seat, but imagine it has a seat the same shape as the other sketches. The differences are in the way the legs are attached (Click the pics for larger view) Please pick your favorite and let me know... 1, 2, 3

Studies for Two Versions of a Chair

2010-07-02T20:31:00.000-07:00

One is hard to build (first drawing), the other a lot easier (second drawing). I bought inexpensive wood at Home Depot to build a full size test mock up of each.

(click the pics for larger images)

I rented a Wood Shop in Jerome, AZ

2010-07-02T00:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I rented a wood shop!

$300/month. 40 x 40, great machines, table saw, drill press, band saw, lathe, 8" jointer, 30" wide sander, all excellent industrial grade, cast iron, 220 volt 3hp and up, super dust collection system.

I have first right of refusal to buy the equipment at estimated $15,000 (negotiable?), with up to 3 year lease at $550/mo for the 40 x 40 room.

Let's see if I can make anything that sells in the next month or so!

The town is adorable, full of galleries and artists; painters, potters, leather workers, glass blowers, iron workers, a foundry (good for furniture parts :-)

The houses that have been renovated go for $600k and up. 20% of the town has not been renovated. Nothing under construction now. A lot of wrecks available for about $100-120k, so in a year or so,... I met two people on the Arch review board so far, and they loved my portfolio.

Met with a local furniture manufacturer and offered to design a "Roy Pertchik, Signature Collection", the CEO likes the idea.

Going to a town party tonight.

(click the pics for larger views)

Shiprock, Redrock, Curtis Green Blacksmith, Canyon De Chelly, Two days with Two Hopis in the Navaho Nation, A Risky Canyon Shoot, Beautiful Flagstaff Woman Mystic, Sedona (uggh), My Friend Red Sox MVP Dwight "Dewey" Evans, and Great Good Fortune in Jerome AZ

2010-06-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

Under construction (Can't keep up! :-)

Crestone, Part 3

2010-06-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

"I like your hat!" I had exclaimed, when I saw her get off the bus in the parking lot, near Guadalupe Church, in Taos. I was bringing Lindsey and Heather to my parked bus, to give them the ride they wanted back to Talpa Gardens. They had come to hear me play my vibes on a corner near Taos Plaza, where I had told them I'd be busking, and so I was feeling pretty good, and when I spotted Jodi, I just said what came into my head. "Thanks," was her natural reply and she beamed an enormous grin. I was lock eyed goofy while I asked whatever,.. "Know what this is?" I provoked, gesturing to the triangular "gurney" I was wheeling with little effort, and I followed quickly with, "The largest xylophone you have ever seen, called a vibraphone, ...very mellow, or vibes." "Ohhhh...!", came out of her perma-grin. "Where are you from?" popped out of mine. "Crestone." "Crestone! I'm heading there in a day or so!" "Well, I won't be back 'till Saturday. I have a woofing farm." "I know what woofing is, I'm at one now. I'm giving them a ride back..." I mugged and mimed a little about wanting to play vibes for her right then and there, and having to fulfill my promise to Lindsey and Heather, who were waiting patiently 50 yards away at the bus, and we laughed. I said "Can I look you up then?"   She gave me two cards, one for Dreamweavers, her weaving company, and one for Grassrootscaregivers, her healing retreat business, both with the same number and e-mail address. "See you then." "Ok." Smile. Smile.

From Crestone, Part 1

I love Crestone. I was 5 in 1960, when my parents, artists, moved us to a charming brick and stone Tudor house in a 200 year old village on Long Island. I remember the excitement and optimism of the move, and in the years that followed, the excitement of the times, my parents love and admiration for the Kennedys, the Smothers Brothers gentle but clever,poking political wit... Our house was full of painting, music, puppets, drums, and I bonded to the make-the-world-better zeitgeist of the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, The Mommas and the Poppas, over the nihilism of the The Rolling Stones and the Doors. In '65 my father, possibly influenced by the free-love atmosphere, got involved with my best friend's mom, and his marriage to my mom, his true love, went downhill from there, raging on in fits and spurts for the next thirty years or so. But one enduring legacy I have, possibly heightened by contrast with the chaos in my life that followed, is a soft spot for the idealism of the '60s and Hippies, and even the naive spiritualists.

And so I love Crestone because I love the reverberations of ancient long lost longings it stirred for me, and I stayed there, entranced, for what I can now hardly believe was only two and a half weeks.

From: Roy
To: Sandy
Sent: Wed, June 2, 2010 4:30:25 AM

Subject: Hi!!!!!!!

Hi Sandy,

Getting a chance to talk with you has been impossible here. My phone works not at all, and internet access is very, very sketchy. It seems to be working now, a bit, it’s 4:30 am Wednesday. I miss you! Hope you are well. I’ll keep trying to borrow a phone that works.

Here is a preview of a blog post I’m working on, don’t miss the part about the “debate”!

>     I have had no phone reception since Wednesday. I’m in Crestone, Co. It’s an adorable hippie town at the foot hills of the Rockies. I went to a Full Moon drum circle a few nights ago. It was great, about 20 people playing hand drums around a fire into the night. Pot, dancing hippies, and I have enough drumming chops to have made an impression.

I played vibraphone for the town’s Saturday Farmer’s Market. Made $35, woohoo!

I’m staying now at Jodi’s farm here in Crestone. I met her in Taos. She’s really cute, sort of Julie Christie looking, 40’s I think. The farm is sort of a religious commune; hippie, Indian, Buddhist, Gayan etc. We did an authentic Indian ritual cleansing prayer sweat lodge the first morning, Sunday. It’s sort of a Yurt completely covered in several layers of blankets, with a fire pit in the middle into which the leader, a local guy who knows the ways of the elders, used elk antler pitchforks to place 12 rocks heated to a red glow, after which the door is sealed, water is occasionally poured over the rocks for steam, and in total darkness the 10 participants sitting around the perimeter listen to the leader’s Hopi prayers, and they chant, sing and sweat for a few hours, the hot rocks and steam being replenished periodically.   It’s Hot! I heard 120 to 150. Actually, it was quite moving. The participants pray and sing and speak too, and I heard the woman next to me crying in the darkness. At my turn, I told the story of Mike H whom I befriended at the Mississippi Katrina Relief place where I worked for 3 months this winter, who at 10 years of age saw his dad murdered, saw his wife blown to bits in an explosion at their warehouse in '92, lost everything to Katrina, including all of his front teeth, now has severe diabetes, and yet in all, remains cheerful, generous, and funny. I made no religious reference, just expressed my well wishes for my friend.

After the sweat, two attendees, nationally known experts in Hopi prophesy, debated their views for an hour or so, including what will happen to this sacred land when Halliburton gets permission to steal the water beneath it, (apocalyptic volcanic eruption of the Rockies to put Mount Saint Helen to shame), how the CIA has continuity of government shelters built into the sides of the Taos Gorge, unreachable except by their stealth helicopters which only enter at night unseen and in silence, disappearing herds of cows and the 10,000 cow mutilations discovered in the last few decades (the remains of UFO experiments), what the Obama’s think of the info one of them sent them and their appreciative private reply and why they are maintaining public silence, Henry Kissinger’s secret survivalist retreat in the mountains just “over there”, how quantum physics explains the prophesies, what one of them wrote to Obama about what he should tell Netanyahu (“We know you did 9/11), how the gov’t is keeping the friendly UFO’s away and is keeping the bad UFO’s a secret, what Obama should do about the UFO’s, how the couple who crashed the Obama’s party last year were really the CIA telling Obama that they could get to him at any time, like JFK, how Obama’s down fall is predicted by the prophesies in one of the multidimensional history timelines we are on, Obama’s lack of a birth certificate and how the Hopi prophesies predict when his Islamic fundamentalist programming will kick into action, despite his being bought and paid for by BP and Halliburton…

One of the listeners, a healer from Taos, kept saying, “That’s exactly right!” and “The same thing happened to me!”

I’m looking forward to levitation lessons ;-) But first, some Mystic Mango. It’s a Synergy drink.

Were building a green house, so far we are making it out of matter.

(end of draft post)

Sandy, now an Adonis of a mountain climber has shown up. Great personality, interesting, nice guy, gorgeous. I hate him, he’s foiling any hope of my crush on Jodi coming to anything. It’s revolting to watch her going ga-ga. I hope the Rockies do erupt.

I think I’m leaving on Friday.

I’ll try to borrow a phone. Hope this e-mail connects… Write back.

A few days later...

I had made made my feelings known to Jodi a couple of days after I arrived, but it was way too soon, awkward, because I knew she would be leaving at the end of the week, and so I made a little pass and was rebuffed laughingly, but with out more flirting... Then I fumed over Adonis, I mean Andy, but despite my worst paranoia, nothing happened between them (such a Victorian phrase, "nothing happened"..) Since then, I photoed Jodi and her kids and the farm house (click here), did some hanging around, and even went to a hot spring with her and the kids (no clothes), after which, we actually had a great conversation about our feelings, plans, and so forth...

The fever has passed... sigh, but probably a good thing, a narrow escape from what seems a very difficult situation (single mom, 3 kids, almost no money, starting a farm ["medicinal"], religious retreat, creative center) We're so different, and yet the thunder clap hit hard.... she is a very sensitive creature, and the scene is so romantic....

I hope we will stay in touch, I'll digest this a while longer, still not completely settled... thunder claps are rare.

*****

Meanwhile I have come to some conclusions about what I want; a creative workshop. I don't want a job, I want to make things and sell them; furniture, lamps, birdhouses, puppets, I almost don't care or know what it will be, I am inspired by what I have seen people in Taos and Crestone start from nothing.

First step: proof of concept, build Table 1, which I have designed, and sell it. I visited three woodworkers in Crestone, but none of them nor their shops are up to the job I need. Perhaps I can borrow shop space or commission what I need near San Francisco, sell it, and then with proof of concept, look for land I can afford, 3 hours north, and over time, build my creative workshop.

A plan. First time in a long time.

Erik lives in the Grants..

2010-06-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

A friend took me to see a workshop Erik and some friends built in the Grants, where he builds and fixes fun vehicles, and also where he previously built "his cave." Click here for pics!

Crestone, Part 2...

2010-06-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

My first morning in Crestone, I parked my bus on a gravel patch across the street from Shambala, got a coffee and a blueberry muffin, and sat down at the picnic table. Soon, I was surrounded by people and found myself chatting easily, telling the story of my trip, my former life in NYC, and meeting some of the town characters I mentioned in the post below (read that first!), Steve, Rev, Will Omega, another Will with a dark penetrating stare who mostly kept quite, and Loni. Loni, in his early forties, had been in Crestone for 12 years, I think I recall, and through his general industriousness had eventually opened a little gift shop on the corner opposite Shambala, in a house he had built from an existing little house plus a trailer home, plus other additions, and the whole, though rambling, still has a coherence. Loni also rents videos at his shop and will pick up odd jobs when the opportunity arises, which I soon learned is pretty much the way of life for many of the residents of Crestone.

Loni sat down on a fiberglass chair near the picnic table, holding a small drum, and after mentioning he had been drumming now for nearly a year, he began to shyly tap out some regular rhythms with his finger tips. Soon his head began to twist in a back and forth exaggerated "no" motion, flaying his red hair, and helping him keep time and get lost in his musical world. I joined in a bit, drumming on the hollow plastic picnic table top, which had a completely adequate resonance. Soon we stopped and smiled at each other. Rev had joined us and I overheard him ask Loni if he was going to the drumming circle. "Drumming circle! Whats that about?" I said. "It's for the full moon, tomorrow night. You should come" offered Rev. "Absolutely," I said and got particulars.

Loni also performs in a band on guitar and has a rather public ongoing "thing" with a woman in the band named Deb, who soon joined us outside Shambala. I knew immediately she was from New York. "Upper west side. Sold my apartment and came here 10 years ago." I may not be recalling the numbers correctly, but people in Crestone often mention their tenure. Banter continued, and people came and went easily. After a while, I met a woman who had been sitting there listening quietly like a Cheshire Cat. But eventually, she joined in, and it turned out she was quite a character herself. Hearing the story of my travels, she unhesitatingly offered "You can park at my place," and I accepted, of course, and gave her half of my blueberry muffin, mentioning that I have to avoid sugar anyway, to be sure that she would accept it.

The next day, I drove us back to town in my bus, we shared another muffin and coffee, gabbed with the Shambala crowd, took an extended tour of the Baca Grande region, which she narrated generously, and returned to the house so I could get ready for the drumming circle. I borrowed a drum and off I went.

I took the road through Crestone up a long hill into the beginning of the forest on the mountain and took the first turn off after the cattle guard, as Rev had described, and parked my bus in a clearing. I followed the sandy trail to a flat nestled between sand dunes and found now as the sun was just setting, a circle of twenty five or so stumps for stools arranged around an already raging fire, with eight or so drummers gathered. Loni was there, and so were Rev and Julie, and some others I had met in town, and some new faces. I picked a stump and settled in. Loni introduced me to the group and quipped that I had no rhythm whatsoever, having played with me a bit at Shambala the day before. The group seemed to know this was a joke, I think, but I felt I had been challenged, in a good natured way, so I joined right in. Now, I play vibraphone, which is fundamentally a percussion instrument, and I play jazz which emphasizes syncopation, so although I had not played any drums with others in years, I felt I quite comfortable. Very soon, I found I could gently help the group establish a good steady pace to a repetitive rhythm perhaps two bars long, and having tons of experience playing jazz solos, I could then slowly depart from the pack and add syncopated accents and tell an even longer rhythmic story on my drum over the pulse of the group. I was a hit. It was exhilarating. And so it went, through sunset and on into the evening, the circle eventually filling with players. Of course, there was lots of pot passed around and I tried a hit, to remember what that was like, but soon found it was distracting and I remained content with the three beers I brought with me. The fire leaped, and a few young girls jumped up and writhed abstract improvised dances, and the drumming went on in half or three quarter hour sessions. Someone would start a pattern, others would join in, and soon the circle would be locked in a spontaneous communal contract, with each drummer contributing, aiding, lifting. I thought of how you can push a swing with gentle touches which, if well timed to the period, accumulate momentum and achieve a great arc of movement, and how much good musicianship can be like this, and in this sense, the musicianship of this group was great.

Soon an Asian/Indian conga player joined us with two congas. He had "chops". Nice long odd numbered rolls that landed smoothly in time to the pulse, interesting departures and phrases, he was great. And though I could do less pyrotechnics, he soon realized I could play too, and we enjoyed a musical conversation through our drumming, taking turns, supporting, punctuating... it was a wonderful dialogue. Ultimately, I feel he was somewhat bound to his knowledge of traditional drum phrases which limited his inventiveness. But he was great to play with and I greatly appreciated his willingness to cede space to me to develop my longer compositional forms. During a break, I introduced myself, complimented his playing, and learned that he was Tony, from New York, and that he had just moved here permanently.

Eventually, the crowd thinned and straggled away, and I found a moment to say goodbye to those remaining. One girl said "Thank you!" enthusiastically to me, which felt complimentary, but also made me feel a bit old and outside, but I thanked them all as well and left.

That night, I stayed in the bus in my sandy spot, and the next day, I explored the town a bit. I met Scott Wheeler, a Brit who was building a restaurant, and I introduced myself as an Architect, and also as a vibraphonist, because I had heard that Scott organized the town Saturday Market. Scott arranged for me to play for the market, which I did the following Saturday, and also thoroughly enjoyed. I ran into some of the drum circle players there, and was greeted warmly and I could see that some took note of the vibes and made the connection to my playing at the circle. I was glad to have filled in my impression in their minds.

After the drum circle night, I spent another few camped at the woman's house, and we talked and ate and drank wine, she gave me a science fiction book, I did laundry and so forth, and we became good friends.

Eventually, though, I prepared to go visit Jodi Tucker, the woman whom I'd met a week earlier in a parking lot in Taos by saying "I like your hat", after which we remained in full goofy eye locked gaze as we chatted awkwardly, exchanging numbers, and arranging to meet again in Crestone in a week. I was looking forward to seeing Jodi again.

Crestone, Part 1

2010-06-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

About an hour and a half north of Taos, at the very foothills of the Rockies, lies the enchanting little town of Crestone where some several hundred people live dreamy, anachronistic lives. The town itself has four or five streets, forming a few rectangles containing at most a dozen businesses, the most prominent of which is the modest coffee shop, Shambala. Built in an old house and painted a dark turquoise, Shambala occupies the first corner you encounter as you enter Crestone via the only road leading to the town. The location and the picnic table outside make this the front door and the living room, and it is the center of daily social life in Crestone for many of the colorful residents. Groups of regulars gather and chat and gossip, some in shifts according to their own personal schedules for work and so forth, and some who seem to center their activities around the table for most of the day.

Among the full timers is Steve, a completely pixilated elf who lives in a yurt in the compound adjoining Shambala, where he tends the garden on the grounds and in the Lexan Geodesic dome. When he gets your attention, Steve rambles on with almost schizophrenic incoherence, but with a watchful twinkle in his eye as he seemingly paces his excursions to the near limits of rational attention. Something is going on in there behind his extroverted, Robin Williamsish free associated preaching about Light and Mother Earth, and the souls of rocks and asparagus. Under the good graces of the owner of Shambala, Steve and half a dozen other people live in the compound, along with some chickens. Will Omega is living in his car nearby, having recently arrived from Flagstaff, and he appears at the picnic table frequently, selling his wooden Indian flutes (five hole pentatonic recorders) and offering beginners lessons to facilitate his sales. Rev, the Reverand, sells pot and is a regular too, his business both benefiting from and aiding the social scene at Shambala. Jullie, a very pretty usually barefooted girl probably in her later twenties, often wearing a rolled bandanna around her forehead, frequently lends her joyful bright smile to the table, and offers home made cookies to friends, noting with a giggle that they, too, have medicinal ingredients (pot). It's a hippie town.

It's also a "Spiritual" town. I resent that that term is often used to refer to any and every far fetched belief system dealing with the human longing for a sense of purpose, with the common and false attendant implication that if you are rational, you are not sensitive to the fullness of life; it makes me feel belittled, and by folks who, in my opinion, are the ones missing the fullness of the "miracle" of scientific reality. In any event, Crestone owes its large proportion of residents pursuing a spiritual life to a number of reasons, including Crestone's seclusion and natural beauty, it's purportedly health giving hot springs, and, most importantly, the beneficence of a wealthy family who long ago began giving land to not-for-profit spiritual organizations. And so the surrounding hills have thirty or more retreats for Buddhists and other groups, including a variety of new age healers and so forth.

Nestled into the foothills and radiating outward from the town itself, is a large flat lands in which an enormous development, Baca Grande, was begun in the '60's. Originally conceived as a residential community for the military at Los Alamos, it was later re-interpreted as a generally populated retirement community, and in the '70s, owing to poor sales, the project lost momentum. What remains is a two tiered region, half of which, the Baca, has two to four acre lots with infrastructure for electricity and water, some with houses, and the other half, the Grants, has similar sized pieces of raw land available. And over the years, some of each portion has been settled on a shoe string by the colorful inhabitants of Crestone. I will tell about my stays with folks in each in future posts.

I love Crestone.

I was 5 in 1960, when my parents, artists, moved us to a charming brick and stone Tudor house in a 200 year old village on Long Island. I remember the excitement and optimism of the move, and in the years that followed, the excitement of the times, my parents love and admiration for the Kennedys, the Smothers Brothers poking political wit. Our house was full of painting, music, puppets, drums, and I bonded to the make-the-world-better zeitgeist of the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, The Mommas and the Poppas, over the nihilism of the The Rolling Stones and the Doors. In '65 my father, possibly influenced by the free-love atmosphere, got involved with my best friend's mom, and his marriage to my mom, his true love, went downhill from there, raging on in fits and spurts for the next thirty years or so. But one enduring legacy I have, possibly heightened by contrast with the chaos in my life that followed, is a soft spot for the idealism of the '60s and Hippies, and even the naive spiritualists.

And so I love Crestone because I love the reverberations of ancient long lost longings it stirred for me, and I stayed there, entranced, for what I can now hardly believe was only two and a half weeks.

I'll post more about this magical portion of my adventure, but for now, here is a link to some pictures of the town. Click here

UFO bait...

2010-06-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

Heading north from Taos to Crestone on 285, I happened across Roy and Ruth's UFO Center. You couldn't miss it; it's in the middle of a long bleak stretch of dusty nothingness. They have erected a metal viewing platform... I guess being 15 feet higher up really helps when you're spotting UFO's. There is also a lot of crap, scrap metal, and UFO paraphernalia laying around on the ground... I suppose it's UFO bait; I spoke with Roy a while, but didn't ask him. We talked about the economy! As a trucker, he had made enough to support his family and set this place up, with dwellings for some of his kids and himself and Ruth. Now in semi retirement, they built and have run this place for about 10 years. They are both fairly tongue in cheek about it, but when I teetered too close to skepticism, they reeled back, so I guess they are believers. I prefer that to thinking they were shameless hoaxers. Roy said business has been off the last two years as tourism in general is way down, and they are hurting a bit. A little bit of reality at the UFO Center. Click here for more pics on Flickr.

Two Cute Girls On My Bus

2010-06-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

Near the end of May, back at Talpa Gardens, I got to know Lindsey and Heather, whom I met by chance a few days prior at World Cup, a coffee place in Taos. The three of us took an 83 mile drive around The Enchanted Circle, which circles Taos Mountain and runs through ski towns and beautiful forest. The two were working as volunteers on the farm as "Woofers", kids who travel and trade their labor for lodging and learning on small farms. No one has to pay me to take a drive like this, either :-) Click here for a Flickr slide show.

The Taos Pueblo

2010-06-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

Two or three miles from the center of Taos is the Taos Pueblo settlement, the longest continuously inhabited Pueblo settlement in existence. Tourists have access to the central area, the deeper recesses and perimeter are where the inhabitants still live and these are off limits. I learned that actually only a handful of people still live here, but there is additional native population living on reservation land outside this Pueblo construction. These buildings are in amazing shape for mud buildings. That is to say, they are surviving ongoing water damage and decay pretty well. Most of the inhabitants keep their distance and don't want their photos taken, except a few who are running the small souvenir and craft shops, who will pose for a small donation. I photoed one in what appeared to be her home, where she was preparing food on a hot plate for sale on the table outside. I also photoed a woman sitting outside and when I asked her her name, she answered "Susan" in a startlingly American sounding accent.

This is a sad place. One can have all the respect in the world for the history and traditions, but it's evident that this is not working, the tourism is not supporting the community, and it will end eventually, except perhaps for some caricatured version that might survive with government funding. I probably shouldn't go to tourist attractions.

Click here for a Flickr slide show.

The Taos Mesa

2010-06-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

I'd heard about the Taos Mesa a couple of times. The first was from Craig, whom I met at Tannia and Jeff's farm, Talpa Gardens. Craig is a welder from Columbus, Ohio, who had arrived in Taos several weeks prior, fell in love with both the town and a women, and had decided to stake a claim out on the Mesa where he would build a studio and make art, although he admitted he had no experience or training in art, and only a little in construction, except for his welding, at which he was proficient. Craig's ironic sense of humor and enthusiasm for his dream on the Mesa were infectious. He told me it's an area out west on the flat lands, beyond the Taos Gorge, where property is still available for cheap. There is no infrastructure, no water, electricity, or sewers, only unnamed dirt roads. Ownership records of the land are murky. Some large corporation owns a lot of it, and divided it into quarter acre lots long ago, some of which can be purchased for a few hundred dollars, including back taxes. Other larger chunks are available from private owners. Craig was in the process of making repeated trips to the Mesa to identify places he liked, and alternating these trips with visits to the town planning department to find records and then trying to contact the owners. He'd sent out 6 or so letters, but had been told by friends that it often took a hundred tries before success. Craig was boundless in his energy, and we had a good time a few days later when he helped me weld a broken strut on my bus' door opening lever.

The second time I heard about the Mesa was from Clay, the bus traveler I met at the east end of the Taos Gorge Bridge (May 23rd post below.) "The Mesa is pretty cool. Some of the old timers have been there quite a while and they can be pretty weird. It's pretty lawless, though. If you call the police, they will only come and meet you at the edge, because the roads have no names and they can't find anything in there." I of course wanted to know more. "I can take you out there, if you want" Clay offered. "What if I just went out to look around?" "Sure, but just be cool. A lot of people are out there because they want to be left alone. If you pull up to the wrong house and they don't know you, you'll be greeted at gun point." Gulp. "Thanks, how do I find it?" "Over the bridge, out past the water tower, first left, then the first right takes you to TP, (I learned later that's Two Peaks) or straight takes you to a sign that says 'Evolve', and go right there." I figgured anyplace with a sign can't really be trying to keep people away, so off I went.

The only worse roads I have ever driven on were in Coasta Rica, where I cracked a gas tank on a rented 4x4. These are dirt paths with deep ruts at the sides, potholes a foot deep an d 3 feet round, and continuous "washboard" texture hard packed along the surface, which forced me to keep my speed to about 10 miles an hour. I rolled along and looked at an amazing array of odd houses cobbled together out of found materials, shipping containers, abandoned cars, buses, campers, and scraps of wood. Though I remained a bit skeptical about Clay's warnings, as I proceeded I kept my head down, in case of sniper fire. Then I noticed a few of the homesteads were surrounded by stockade fences, with pointed tops, as I remembered from movie westerns, to keep the Indians out... "Don't get out of the bus, don't get out of the bus...", I parrodied to myself from Apocalypse Now's "Never get out of the boat..." I did manage to get a number of photos through my windows and through the open door.

Click here for a Flickr slide show, which includes a friendly encounter.

After a point, I tired of the rough ride, and feared I might damage my suspension, so I turned around and headed back to Taos. Soon, I saw an old bearded man sitting in a derelict car in one homesteaded compound, so I opened my door and waved. He waved back. I felt better. A little further on, a car passed with a woman in her twenties, with a nose ring, and two dogs. She looked like she was going home, somewhere here on the Mesa,... how bad could it be? Finally, an open top Jeep with about 6 twentysomethings comes along, so I slow down and wave, and they stop. I asked "Who lives out here?" meaning, generally. The driver answered "I do", somewhat defensively. So I explained, I'm an architect, and I'm curious who's out her, and what are they building, and I made it sound as chatty and innocent as I could, and the driver said "We're building an Earthship just 100 yards back, you want to see it?"

Ben had saved some money and now was getting help from his friends to build this house. Suddenly it became clear to me what was happening. The Mesa, former exclusive home of loons, outcasts, and malcontents, was being gentrified. As I'd seen Bed Sty in Brooklyn, the East Village in Manhattan, as is happening in Treme in New Orleans, Laptops and I-pods are coming to the Taos Mesa.

I spent an hour learning about their construction, which had been learned by many of them as volunteer's on Mike Reynolds official Earthship projects. One of the kids demonstrated his skill on the slack line they had rigged next to the mess tent where they ate. I learned of another Mesa dweller who could help me convert my bus to run on vegetable oil, possibly doing the conversion for a lot less than I'd feared. I got his number. Then I said my goodbyes, thanked them, and found my way out of the Mesa and headed back to Talpa Gardens.

I tried a short cut, which led me to a road that meandered all the way down to the bottom of the Taos Gorge, and then back up the other side. The short cut added an hour or so to my return trip :-)

Thom Wheeler is having fun

2010-06-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

Back on May 18, I wandered on my scooter along some back roads winding into the foothills of the Rockies east of Taos. There are many galleries and studios tucked in here and there, and though rain was threatening, I took a chance and stopped at Thom Wheeler's place, as it seemed particularly over the top and picturesque.

Click here for a Flickr slide show of Thom's unusual home and studio, which he designed and had built on his income from his art work.

Remember me?

2010-06-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

I've been up in Crestone, Co. It's sufficiently remote that I had no T-Mobile cell phone service and very limited access to internet via my Verizon Broadband dongle. I'm now heading west again, but have stopped in Taos to regroup a bit, so I'll do a few posts to catch up. A few quickees from before Crestone, then I'll try to explain Crestone, which was quite remarkable...

Talpa Gardens

2010-05-23T16:05:00.000-07:00

Jeff and Tania have built themselves a beautiful life; a little organic vegetable farm just south of Taos propper, in a neighborhood called Talpa. He's a painter from Indiana and she's a wonderful cook from Canada, who came here a year ago, speaking almost exclusively her native French, and worked the farm as one of many volunteers Jeff welcomes on his farm. They soon fell in love, I'm sure in no small part due to her exquisite cooking.

Click Here for a Flickr slide show of some of the Talpa Gardens farm life.

I have stayed here now 6 or so nights, perhaps for 3 or 4 a week and a half ago, and now for 2. There are two other volunteers here now, also Canadian, but English speaking, Heather and Lindsey, whom I met by chance near the Taos Plaza two days before their arrival here. I have become good friends with Lindsey, and enjoy her articulate and open conversational style, not to mention her pretty and kind face. She has noted that it's nice to be around two people in love, Jeff and Tania. Talpa Gardens is a little paradise.

The Taos Earthships

2010-05-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

The Taos Earthships are completely sustainable houses. Click Here for Flickr slide show of the present visitor's center, and the new one still under construction.

The Earthships are built from recycled materials, nestled and bermed into the ground on all but the south side, with stacks of earth filled tires forming the retaining walls. The south side has a continuous expanse of glass, directly inside of which are green house planters. The sun's energy is captured by the glass and stored in the mass of the heavy construction of the floor and the back of the house. The roof catches rain water, which flows to a large interior cistern for storage. Water is used in the kitchen and for bathing, and is then reused to water the plants, which clean the air and provide food. The water then flows to the toilets and ends up in a spetic tank, which has a solar window to help the breakdown proceed. Photovoltaic panels charge the house batteries. For cooling, air is pumped through underground ducts where it drops to the ground's natural temperature of about 55 degrees, and then it is then blown into the house.

The designs are ingenious. The models built by volunteers working for architect Michael Reynolds, have a hippie-dippy feel to their appearance, but the technology is made freely available to those who want to give it expression in a truer form. I talked with another local architect, Ken Anderson, who is doing wonderful work along these lines at his firm, Edge

The next day, I found some young people building their own Earthship out on the Mesa, a truly lawless realm of Mad Max characters living in the interstices of Taos. More on that later...

Clay

2010-05-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

At the Gorge Bridge east end parking lot, I met Clay. I made a point of introducing myself because of his bus, which I recognized from a few nights prior at the parking lot near Taos Plaza. The bus had various love themed declarations painted on in multicolored lettering, pleas and instructions on making the world better.

It was easy to engage Clay in conversation, we had buses in common. Clay had been traveling for 9 months, I for 6. We enjoyed showing each other some of the details of our interiors and the solutions we had found for water, power, food, etc.

Clay was also glad to elaborate on his philosophical outlook which included a blend of his own free thinking and a christian upbringing, seasoned with Asian religions as well. He was concerned with choosing moral actions in a corrupt society, not of the "family values" sort, which he would surely find repugnant artificial impositions of control, but rather issues of fairness and decency, sustainable choices re: leaving a better world for the next generation, and so forth. I said I was not a religious person, but had many of the same concerns and reached some of the same conclusions as he, and he accepted our commonalities easily. He suggested I go to "The Rainbow Gathering" on the 4th of July, and he printed a "Declaration of Interdependence" from the 1977 gathering. It is a color print on heavy paper, so I know it meant something to him to give it to me, and I value it.

I was curious about Clay's life before he took up bus traveling, but felt asking about that would be too intrusive, or maybe I didn't want to get into my own reasons, perhaps fearing I might appear spoiled in comparison. I asked Clay about the Earthship sustainable houses up the road, and thanked him for letting me take pictures, and outside the bus, he gave me a hearty hug goodbye, and I headed off to see the Earthships...

The Taos Gorge

2010-05-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

In the middle of the Mesa, the extensive flat lands forming the bottom of the bowl in which Taos occupies only a small corner nestled between the surrounding mountains, one suddenly encounters the Taos Gorge, which remains hidden from view until you are almost upon it. All at once, the yawning maw opens almost at your feet and your jaw drops. The Gorge Bridge provides an amazing view, and also provides a lesson on how much flexibility such structures allow, as the bridge vibrates unnervingly below your feet whenever a car passes.

Why does a sign like this seem like an invitation to me?

A number of vendors collect in the parking lot at the east end of the bridge. Aeriel's long hair caught my eye, and she sold me a tiny stone turtle for my Tourtoise's rear view mirror.

Bandelier, New Mexico

2010-05-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

A magical place, it's hard to tell where the eerie volcanic forms end and the man made dwellings begin. I was there 10 days ago, in the early morning. Some day I'd like to shoot there again at sunset, when the angle of the sun setting in the west will be even better on the cliffs which angle away on the left. Maybe next bus trip...

Click here for a Flickr slide show of a few more shots

I'm in Taos, New Mexico, now, far behind in my postings. There were Jeff and Tania's organic vegetable farm and their party with guitars around a camp fire, me playing vibes in Taos Plaza which was great in itself, but also got me a restaurant gig, a party at Lori's house, where she showed a video she made of her 9,000 mile motorcycle trip from LA to Panama backpacking and camping the whole way (I thought bus travel was tough!), the preacher who lives in his car, the drum lady...

Today I learned that there were only 4 building permits issued in Taos so far this year.

Tomorrow, I will go see the "Earthships", perhaps the Taos Inn Bar tomorrow night, I hope Taos Pueblo on Wednesday, and then I'll drive the Enchanted Circle Thursday and Friday. Plus I have a to-do list of a dozen logistical chores, and calls to make to job leads.

I'll post when I can,,,

On again, off again...

2010-05-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

As I was pulling out of Santa Fe, I got a call from my sister. I had been helping her and her husband to decide which of two paths to take with the piece of property in Durham in which they own an interest. My sister told me they wanted to seriously consider the riskier option, to break off their own chunk, rather than go along with a larger group to develop the whole property together. This would be for me, the culmination of a week's worth of intense scuttling to coordinate a real estate appraiser, and a real estate lawyer to help me develop both scenarios in sufficient detail for M & B to make an informed decision, and to be ready to go either way by the deadline on on the 7th. It would also be the conclusion of my own preparations to possibly move there to coordinate the project, a consideration that was decisive as to when I started this trip who's first destination was Durham with the intention of getting to know what kind of life that area had to offer me. It would also be the conclusion of family chatting now and then over the course of 15 years, about what we would do with the land; would I be the developer, would I design some spec houses?

And now, having thought I had taken care of the final info for them to make a decision (after leaping off my sick bed) which I thought would probably be to take the safer course of going with the group, as I now was driving to Bandelier, with plans to meet Cheyenne, African Children's activist, and then Tania and Jeff, organic farmers, and then Lori, world traveler and house builder, all in Taos in the following days... I am called upon to take one more look at the option of breaking off their chunk..

Rather than go back to Marie and Winter's, where I might face all sorts of social distraction, and rather than pressing on to Bandelier where I would face unknown challenges, I instead doubled back to the woodsy RV park I'd visited a few weeks ago, especially because I knew I would have an electrical hook up with which I could run my computer continuously and give my "house battery" a good sustained charge before heading north.

The picture above shows the inside of the bus after my emergency charrette, which I started at 3 a.m. so that I could get a good idea about how the subdivision could work, before making coordination calls at 6, which would be 8:00 a.m. back east, giving the consultants the most time I could to also leap into action doing their work....

There is a ton more to this story, but the glorious sunshine of Taos beckons, and also a chance to play in Taos plaza, where I hope Bonnie, whom I met yesterday, a stunningly beautiful woman with a long grey pony tail, who made me flush and nearly stammer as I attempted to be charming, might come to here me play...

To be continued...

"Hey, 98.6, its good to have you back again!"

2010-05-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

Feeling much better this morning. A little achy in my back, but feeling stronger and pretty clear. I think I will press on to Bandelier later. There are so many departures and goodbyes in traveling, I will miss Marie and Winter, and the three mountain climbers here from Europe now, Couch Surfing their ways through the west.

In Taos, I will stay with Cheyenne, who has traveled extensively and has organized relief work for children in Africa, and then Tania and Jeff, who have a large organic farm.

I think its the Flu

2010-05-04T05:54:00.000-07:00

Not feeling much better today. Most of the nausea is gone, but my body and joints ache, I'm very tired and woozy, and I have some mucus in my breathing, some sore throat, and mild chills. I think it's the Flu. Crap. I had a Flu shot. I'm embarrassed with my hosts, having been here since Friday, I have some consulting to do which is time sensitive and for which I must clear my head, and I'm supposed to be in Taos in a couple of days.

I'm not going hiking at Bandelier today, that's for sure...

Ugghhh, I ate something bad...

2010-05-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

This morning I sent out a few resumes and made calls to two good contacts. Still waiting to hear back from one, and another from last Thursday, but today I talked to the President of the Santa Fe AIA, to get the lay of the land. Great conversation with a fellow New Yorker transplanted here 12 years ago, but a terrible assessment of the situation. There is very little work here, it's all "historical" meaning adobe, and by my description of my interests, I'd be more likely to find "a match" in Colorado, perhaps Denver or Boulder or Loveland, or Fort Collins, but the unemployment rate for architects in Denver is at 35%! And of course, architects younger than I am were the big layoff's and will be the first rehires... ugh...

Then, I got sick from something I ate. It came on over a period of maybe two hours, and I ended up very woozy and went back to bed, then induced vomiting, and in the middle, I did a little consulting phone work for the North Carolina project... lovely day. Actually, it was all interesting, except for the sick part. I feel a little better now and hope to be ok tomorrow and go see Bandelier National Monument, cliff dwellings a half an hour from here, to hike and photo with another Couch Surfer who arrived last night, Adrien Hausmmann, from Switzerland.

Oil Spill in the Gulf

2010-05-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

I immediately remembered visiting Peanut and his son Cele, in Bridge City, at the beginning of May. http://tourtoise.blogspot.com/2010/04/bridge-city.html These two Gulf fishermen are among thousands who were struggling before the recent spill, and who I imagine now will most likely be wiped out.

This organization is coordinating some of the volunteer effort: http://www.oilvolunteers.org/

This organization is coordinating donations:
http://www.gnof.org/disaster-on-the-gulf-coast/

(Or you can contribute to my Diesel to Vegetable Oil Fund at the upper right of this site. It's for the environment too :-)

The Puppet Parade

2010-05-01T23:31:00.000-07:00

Click here for a Flickr slide show of the Santa Fe Puppet Parade mentioned in the post below

Santa Fe continued..

2010-05-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

I am at Marie and Winter's house, a 3 bedroom adobe among a group of varied dwellings clustered around a sandy drive, where I am parked, just a few miles south of the historic down town. These two lovely young women like to take in travelers through Couch Surfing, a great web site via which travelers from all over the world share their homes with each other. Last night, my first here, the girls hosted Atlas, a documentary film maker, David and Felix, blokes from England on a whirlwind 6 week tour of the states before they settle into conventional life in London, and three local transplants to Santa Fe, Gaby with an open a, as in ah, here four years since coming from Arkansas, Hoku, a native of the area, and G-G, also a native who's parents are local artists. Hoku attempted some card tricks. I picked a card, but suspected a force via a slip cut (magician's lingo for a technique with which I have familiarity from my own teenage wizardry), and when instructed to return the card and shuffle with Hoku's back turned, I instead slipped the card into my shirt pocket. Atlas saw me and we silently giggled over our instantaneous conspiracy. Hoku of course could not find my card, and I felt terrible and mugged a bit as I took it from my shirt pocket. Hoku then, somewhat hesitantly, attempted another miracle, and this time I resolved to cooperate and exude wonder and bafflement, except Hoku lost track of what he was doing and the trick petered out with no conclusion... I felt foiled at my attempt to help him out, so I asked for another, anticipating that the third would be charmed. Hoku forged ahead bravely, and somehow I selected the same card as before, and I marveled at that out loud, but he seemed as bewildered at that coincidence as I was. Finally, he brought this last trick to a conclusion and we all laughed and smiled, with some awkwardness lingering in the air. Soon, I played a few rounds of darts with G-G, only managing to get one or two into the target and not the wall, and Hoku stepped in and threw pretty good shots in rapid succession, which seemed to put him back in good standing with G-G. Boys are weird.
Marie and Winter work a few jobs each, at pizza places, plant nurseries, and so forth, to make ends meet. Marie, the older at about 30, and with a resemblance to Jennifer Anniston, holds the lease for the place and is the driving force in the group, without seeming matriarchal. Winter, in her early twenties, with large brown eyes and the kind of lower lip over which wars were waged in earlier times, is exploring her powers and also learning to paint. She also plays drums; her kit is set up in the living room.
I also met a neighbor in the compound, Sherry, who restores tapestries. We had a drink at 8 or so, I showed her my blog, she showed me the line up for the Kentucky Derby, which she and her brother soon started discussing at length on the phone, and I went back to the party at Marie and Winter's.
Morning now. I made eggs, sent out some Couch Surfing requests for Taos, and I'm going with Winter to the Puppet Parade here in Santa Fe.

High road or low?

2010-04-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

I spent the last two days in a nice woody RV park 10 miles north of Santa Fe. With the electrical hook up that was available, I got a good, sustained charge on my battery, processed and posted some photos (still way behind), and ran a Windows service pack 3 update, and backed up 300 gig plus of data on my hard drive which I haven't done for a few months, took a good shower, did laundry, and generally regrouped. I've also been making a barrage of phone calls on behalf of my sister and brother in law, regarding their development project in Durham, NC.

Today, I am in Santa Fe again (Walmart right now) and am trying to hook up with Marrie, a local I found on Couch Surfing, and follow up a job lead I received from my cousin Mark, get Blue Cross to show my bill on line so I can pay them electronically, and other odds and ends.

In a day or so, I hope to head north to Taos, Bohemian land of artists and loons like me (I hope :-) I can take the low road along the Rio Grande and see spectacular country, or I can take the more twisted high road and see small villages noted for Mexican and Native American craftsmen, and their studios where pottery, rugs, and other crafts are made.

Let me know what you think! (comment or e-mail ;-)

Gila Hot Springs

2010-04-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

These Gila Hot Springs are four pools of mineral water drawn from a natural source in the adjacent river. The pools are at about 105 degrees F, which is quite comfortable. The setting is beautiful and mysterious, with high cliffs, the gurgling stream, the sandy bottomed pools surrounded with gathered stones, and most especially because of the eerie ceremonial constructions erected on the site by self taught archeologist Jim Ransom. Jim spent an hour and a half with us, describing his radical ideas about the original use of the nearby Gila Cliff Dwellings, which Jim believes were really more of a monastery than a collective dwelling. He noted the difficult climb for access and the problems of farming or hunting up there, among his reasons for believing the cliffs were more likely occupied by an elite group, probably religious leaders, who were supported by a larger comunity below the cliff. His story telling was endlessly amusing. Jim had fallen in love with the area 20 years prior to actually moving here 10 years ago, abandoning his life in Maine where he had been a building inspector Now he studies the caves, lectures visiting anthropologists and archeologists, and maintains and rebuilds the Hot Springs pools, which are washed out by the adjacent stream every few years. "I can't believe how much I love my life!" he exclaims between paragraphs of his entertaining monologue about his life and theories. Click here for a Flickr slide show of Jim and the Gila Hot Springs compound.

Copper Mine north of Silver City

2010-04-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

The "steps" in the distance are each higher than a house

(click the pics for larger images)

Cooking eggs

2010-04-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

Campin' out is fun, you get to play with fire :-)

Silver City, New Mexico

2010-04-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

Silver City is surprisingly urban. It's fortunes rise and fall with the nearby copper mines, and it's clearly depressed now, with almost a third of it's store fronts unoccupied. But it's a brick town, built to last, and it seems it will survive the downturn and rise again when copper is back in demand. For now, there is a vital Bohemia, with many galleries and lots of twenty somethings on the streets. The fellow to the right had no idea who Denis Hopper is, but his manner echoed any of a number of Hopper characters, particularly the camera man character in Apocalypse Now.

Click here for a Flickr slide show

Hillsboro, New Mexico

2010-04-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Sandy and I visited Hilsboro, New Mexico. We had lunch in a tiny luncheonette that seemed to be authentically from the first half of the 20th century. The waitress made no effort to conceal her contempt for us. I met an old man dressed as a cowboy, who was an excellent photographer, with a poster for his work framed and hung on the wall of the luncheonette. I also met Pat Richardson who was a builder from my home town of Roslyn, NY, and I was amazed by his recollection of many of the families in Roslyn that I knew; the Muffsins, Guy Frost, architect, the Shopes, the Kaufmans, Mr. Moser and his scary property, the "sand pits" where I played, and on and on.

Click here for a Flickr slide show