The Space Between
He smiles, but she just doesn’t see. In the original Portuguese version of Garota de Ipanema, men simply watch her pass. They marvel at her beauty, her sway, her lightness. …
Why My Wikipedia Page Got Rejected
While getting ready for a trip to Shasta Lake, I noticed something strange. Our favorite spot on the lake had a new name: Sulanharas Creek. That name caught my attention. …
The Creativity of Nothingness
One of my favorite books is The Wisdom of Not Knowing by Estelle Frankel. It’s one I return to again and again, especially when I feel creatively blocked or too …
A Few Pics From Our Houseboat Stay on Shasta Lake
We just got back from a trip to Lake Shasta and it was awesome. Mid-April is my favorite time to go. The weather’s a bit of a gamble, but this …
The Art of Nam June Paik
Back in October 2021, I went to see the Nam June Paik exhibit at SF MOMA. And wow, it was one of the most fun exhibits I’ve ever been to. …
The Hobby Store I Grew Up With – Franciscan Hobbies
When I was a kid, one of my favorite outings with my dad was visiting Franciscan Hobbies. Back in the 1960s and 70s it was tucked into an old 1920s …
In Service Of Others
I’ve been spending time up at Shasta Lake, and one of the places I always find beautiful is Sulanharas Creek. On a recent trip, I got curious about the origin …
Surrender
Lately I’ve been thinking about surrender. Not in the “give up” kind of way, but more like letting go. Letting go of self-stories, other people’s stories, the need to be …
Coaching on Demand: How I Use ChatGPT to Get Unstuck
ChatGPT isn’t just for generating content. I use it for coaching. I much prefer talking to my real coach. But those calls are scheduled, and sometimes I get stuck in …
The Artist as Shaman and Healer
I often wonder about the deeper why of making art. Not just the technical or aesthetic reasons, but the spiritual ones. What role does the artist really play in society? …
What Is The Kindest Thing You Can Do For Yourself Right Now?
I’m trying to break the habit of reaching for YouTube or Instagram when I take work breaks. So I created a series of prompts to ask myself whenever the urge …
How Far Away Is A Star?
I spent some time over the weekend in the wilderness looking at the stars at night, thinking about how far away they must be as suns, yet barely visible to …
Floor to Ceiling Scenery
I grew up with my dad’s model railroad. It was classic. Tracks on a flat table, loops within loops. Neat but predictable. But when I was ten, I discovered John …
Why Friction is Sometimes Desirable
Smooth is nice. But in art? Too much ease can be a trap. When everything flows, it’s easy to cruise on autopilot. Friction stops you. Makes you pay attention. Forces …
Taking The Streetcar To School
I never rode a yellow school bus. Didn’t need to. My elementary school sat on the same block as our house. When busing kicked off in the ’70s, I got …
The Victorian Obsession That Changed California’s Landscape
Back in the 1800s, Victorians had a thing for moving nature around. They called it acclimatization—the idea that plants and animals could, and should, be transplanted into new territories. Like …
Try Something New (Even If You Fumble)
A couple of years ago, I joined my friend Michael Tarnoff on the You and I Make a Thing podcast to create self-portraits in the style of Chuck Close. It …
Embracing Multipotentiality: A Personal Reflection
For most of my life, I carried the guilt of starting too many things and finishing too few. Every time I switched gears, the inner critic showed up. Was I …
Solar Panels in the Fog Zone
I live near the ocean in San Francisco. Foggy summers might make solar panels seem like a bad idea. But ours have worked great. Installed in 2008, and we haven’t …
The Rainbow Trout of Sulanharas Creek
Sulanharas Creek flows into the eastern end of Shasta Lake. Before the dam, it joined the Pit River and fed into the McCloud River. For thousands of years, the McCloud …
Growing Up With Model Trains
Grew up with trains. Not the real kind, though. Not at first. There’s a photo of me at age one, playing with a push train on the floor. Brio-style. Plastic …
My First Earthwatch Trip: Leatherback Turtle Conservation
Back in the early ’90s, my friend Bruce told me he’d volunteered on an Earthwatch trip to study black bears. He showed me his photos. I was hooked. I’d wanted …
My Comet Photos
In 1976, a blazing visitor lit up the morning sky. Comet West. I was in high school, just getting into photography. That comet? It hooked me. I grabbed my mom’s …
The Art of Shigeko Kubota
Shigeko Kubota was a visionary. She didn’t just work with video. She sculpted with it. Blending personal memory, Fluxus irreverence, and electronic media, she created powerful hybrid works that felt …
That Time I Had a Pet Starfish
Back in the early ’90s, I had a pet ochre starfish. It lived in a 50-gallon tank in the garage. Room temp, nothing fancy. It was one of the weirdest, …