Let there be light

Another happy sketcher here from a visit to Sue Johnson Lamps in Berkeley last week. For over 48 years, Sue's been creating beautiful lampshades of pressed layers of mica and other materials. She combines them with most wonderful sculptural elements imaginable, creating one-of-a-kind lamps that are a joy to own and to sketch.

Thanks, Sue, for a most enjoyable opportunity to sketch your creations.

Takara Sake Museum, Berkeley

Tools of the trade.

Sake-making tools, 19th century   ~Susan Ford

Longbranch Saloon, Berkeley

~Susan Ford

Ohmega Salvage on election day

Relevant.  --Susan Ford

Loard's Ice Cream, Orinda

Welcome to the twilight zone. From the old-school decor to the super sweet air-conditioned aroma as you push through the door, Loard's Ice Cream in Orinda takes you back, way back in time.

Loard’s ice cream recipes have not changed since 1950, when founder Russ Salyards opened the first of nearly a dozen of his East Bay ice cream shops. He won the Gold Medal in the Ice Cream and Dairy Products category at the 1952 California State Fair.

You can also still enjoy Loard's ice cream in Oakland, Alameda, Castro Valley and Livermore. Keeping the sweet dream alive. 

Sibley Volcanic Preserve, Oakland

The quarry, the maze

John Muir Laws & young naturalist

Visit to the University of California Botanical Garden

Mendocino County in July

Old pickup ('37 Chevy?), Philo

Truck Stop Ahead: Rusted metal road sign in the weeds, Philo

Mini paintings while touring Digging Dog Nursery, Albion

Strandbeests at Exploratorium, S.F.

Animaris suspendisse, watercolor, gel pen, white gouache

Dutch artist and engineer Theo Jansen builds large walking sculptures called “Strandbeests.” They self-propel along the coastline of Holland, feeding on the winds and fleeing the tides.

Now through September 5, 2016, six Strandbeests are on display at Exploratorium. Catch them if you can. 

Animaris suspendisse 

The latest and largest Strandbeest, 43-foot-long Suspendisse borrows design features from its forebears: legs, outrigger skis, sweat glands and nose feelers. Sails help Suspendisse gulp the wind, directing air toward pistons that squeeze the air into recycled plastic bottles, or wind stomachs. If the wind dies down, Suspendisse can use this stored energy to retreat from the rising tides.

Animaris umerus segundus, watercolor, gel pen, white gouache 

Animaris umerus segundus 

Nose to the ground, this beest pushes itself forward using energy stored in a row of wind stomachs—plastic bottles along the beest’s shoulder. Despite highly evolved pivoting feet and strong legs, Umerus proved too unstable for life on the beach.

See Strandbeests in motion on Theo Jansen's site: http://www.strandbeest.com/

The New Yorker Magazine's article about Theo Jansen and his “new forms of life:”      http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/09/05/the_march_of_the_strandbeests