A Man Impossible to Classify: photo: r. whittaker One of my first experiences in San Francisco was of being flagged down by a stranger as I drove toward the intersection of Frederick and Stanyan Streets at the edge of Golden Gate Park. My friend Malcolm Hall and I, both college students, had driven up the coast highway from Los Angeles in my 1953 Plymouth. The year was 1965. We were headed toward the Haight-Ashbury.        Maybe forty yards short of the intersection, I saw him standing on the curb, a disheveled young man, not quite in the hippie mold. He was looking ... Dec 21, 2007, 748109 reads

The Dumpster: by Meredith Sabini       “We can’t use these. They look like heirlooms!” Gina, a guest at my holiday gathering, holds up one of the elaborately embroidered napkins from the buffet table. “Where’d you get them?”      “Out of a dumpster. The tablecloth and those candleholders were in there, too.”      “You can’t be serious! Why would they be in a dumpster?” The shock in her voice carried across the room, and others looked up.      It’s common that women ask ... Dec 5, 2007, 160136 reads

Say Grace: I am deeply delighted to live on a planet that is so big and varied that I can confidently say that right this very minute somewhere in the world a crossword puzzle is being completed, a fortune cookie is being snapped open and a song just brought someone to tears. I love knowing that while I am fast asleep in California, a crowd is gathered around the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum, a marriage proposal is taking place and a leaf-cutter ant somewhere in Costa Rica is carrying a leaf piece back to its nest. It’s not at all unlikely that as astronauts eat dinner in zero ... Jan 4, 2018, 12402 reads

Cotton and Silk: Vorbeck quilt, detail I’m working on the last panel of a pair of drapes for my client, Kelley, a young, talented designer. She and her husband bought a house designed by Julia Morgan, the break-through woman architect who gave us Hearst Castle. They’ve been restoring and remodeling the house for over a year.      I’ve been working for at least nine months on my contribution of custom window treatments, and am looking forward to our next installation, which will take place two days before Christmas. Now we can walk around in the almost ... Nov 8, 2017, 13802 reads

A Conversation with Silas Hagerty: Dakota 38 photo: r. whittaker I met Silas, a young man in his twenties from New England, at a servicespace.org retreat. He was a filmmaker, I’d heard. Over the next few days many stories were shared. Silas’ filmmaking was done on a shoestring. He carried his gear in a bag and stayed at friends’ houses when he traveled. I remember Silas telling us about meeting a Native American elder at his home. I wondered how that had happened. The elder talked about a dream he’d had, an important dream, one that he’d tried to ignore. But finally he understood that ... Jul 28, 2012, 83880 reads

An Interview with Betsy Damon: Living Water I first heard about Betsy Damon from Sam Bower of greenmuseum.org. Water is Damon's passionate subject. She was studying sacred springs in China when she began meeting individuals interested in water from many different angles. Amazingly, this eventually led to an invitation to review a major water project in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan. Due to her critique, the project was scrapped. Even more amazingly, Damon, in spite of not being affiliated with any institution or group, was asked to design a new project. And it was built! According to her it's the first ... Dec 25, 2009, 47497 reads

A Conversation with Jim Brooks: The Right Stuff I'd come to Elko to take in their annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering. A first-timer, I was neither a cowboy nor a student of cowboy poetry, but I'd been enjoying the performances and the friendly atmosphere among the ranchers, cowboys and the friends of cowboy culture.       It was the second day of the festival and I'd taken a break to visit Capriola's, a place I was told not to miss. It was full of all kinds of cowboy gear. Looking around, I almost wished I owned a horse or two.      Someone walked past me carrying ... Jan 2, 2005, 43041 reads

The Power of Giving: Conversation with Ehren Tool, Fariba Safai, and Ashley Smith Fariba Safai and Ashley Smith were still students at CCA when they decided to do something radical. They decided to prepare a large batch of home made soup (from a favorite recipe of Fariba’s mother), to construct a cart able to wheel a very large stainless steel pot along a sidewalk, and to make their way to Union Square in San Francisco on Black Friday[the day after Thanksgiving and largest shopping day of the year] where they would offer free bowls of soup to any and all.       Ehren Tool, a marine who served in Iraq, upon finishing his tour of ... Oct 21, 2004, 127161 reads

Remember to Remember - Nicholas Hlobeczy: I got to know the late Nicholas Hlobeczy over a period of several years. We often spoke about our mutual love of photography. He had the gift of seeing things with fresh eyes, almost like a child. And yet he was a thoroughly trained photographer having studied with the legendary Minor White. They were close friends right to the end of Minor’s life. The interview that follows is a testament to a wisdom born of experience and a long quest. We met at Nick's home in Corvallis, Oregon.   Richard Whittaker:  In one of my notes I have a quote you gave ... Oct 22, 2003, 103595 reads

A Conversation with Taya Doro Mitchell: Keeping Your Hands Moving Taya Doro Mitchell's home July 3, 2007 Oakland CA photo, R. Whittaker I heard about Taya Doro Mitchell from Phil Linhares and Michael McMillen. “You’ve got to go see her place!” they told me. The artist, I learned, had been working for many years in isolation. She’d just come to Linhares’ attention. It happened in an unusual way. On a piece of mail soliciting donations to the Oakland Museum, she’d checked the box to donate real estate. In short order, perhaps even in record time, two women from the museum were at her door. What ... May 18, 2008, 116978 reads