STATE OF GREY

Come in in.....

Hanging around

Crevasse

Not just for Holy water any more

Like an aviary/roost the pediment nods

The side dutifully hangs

A stair model that never was to be more than just a model.....well, maybe not just yet

Her inseam is very sharp

Just finished

OLD BLUE / NEW BLUE

Something found and something blue, or at least just a hint of blue. Lots of work done by all these things; each with a story to tell. Most of these pieces have been sitting in the studio after being "found" someplace, or came with the house, or were buried in the yard. Tool heads, some old barrel base oak, the old barrier boards to the crawl space, part of our old stove, and a great flywheel from ??? No shortage of metal bits around here. A leftover piece of angel wing and an exotic bell. There is something that both stirs and soothes/reassures my creativity in making these "found" objects. It has all come together and is now ready to roll into its next incarnation.....BLUE.

CORNER OFFICE

A tongue,a fig, a tripod and a REAL corner

The way in

Sample trove

Saw blade, hemp, music sheets and Un Hui carving

The reds

The black and whites

The drafting corner Great grandpa Rafaello's red stool from the Bella Vista

My big cup, Wiz's wayward post-it, clay marbles and Chinese feet

Linen and Hemp and African glass

Sample trove behind the curtain

Light at night

Same Rafaello's builders bible, from when there was one.....

Sample trove cabinet

Strays

Madonna gone, Favorite kid pic, my tete a tete bench in St. Remy, confirmed luddite tools of the trade, chain saw Doris

An Oursin (urchin) basket from Cassis, some pipe, a flower frog, and a gear, now a light

Strays up close

At long last? After spending 50 years as a kitchen the last of the cabinets have either been taken to the dump or re-hung in the paint area of the studio. The walls have been patched and painted and the coolest steel windows have been stripped down and cleaned up. The new travertine has replaced the worn linoleum and before I knew it the drafting table and sample trove have found a home. It is a merging of pieces orphaned in too long temporary quarters. All with a view of the young olive grove. A corner office, REALLY?

TICKLE

She was used up. She had laid dormant and still for thirty years, no tune, no touch. She was stationed in the "winery," rumor has it at one time the "casbah." The place she sat was sold and the "winery" became the "studio." She remained and was unperturbed. The artist worked alongside her for three years. Sure, he stacked things upon her. She seemed invisible. He even stripped some of the ivory from her fingers. He did not see her insides. Until one day it was time.....Too much debris, all those pieces and scraps that he would someday use had instead become an obstacle to progress. She got caught up in the storm. He actually took a sledge hammer to her. She wailed in deep vibrating tones. Not so much protest, but a release of stored passion. Then she showed him her insides and he was thrilled, he had rediscovered her. Each finger a work in and of itself. Some ivory left, her small lead counterweights could still swing. Her fierce red felt lining still seared. He made a light of her. Her soundboard still intact, he chopped that free with his hatchet and he hung it on the wall. She beamed.......and so did he.

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Have a gander.

Architect Visit: Daniel Hale in Saint Helena

From Sarah

Daniel Hale studied architecture on the East Coast, lived and worked in St. Remy de Provence, France, for two years, and in 2002 moved to the Napa Valley, where he's worked on projects with notable designers such as Erin Martin, Mariette Himes-Gomez, and Stephen Shubel.

His own house in St. Helena is a work in progress, featuring an organic use of repurposed materials and layered with texure and handcrafted detail. Every piece and surface tells a story: "My inspiration comes from a variety of sources, including ancient art and architecture and modern works—a synthesis of old and new. I like the idea of taking objects and letting the materials shine for what they are, so that the end result is something greater than the sum of its parts."

For more information on Hale's work, go to Daniel Hale (to read his ongoing diary of his house, visit his blog Serendipity Rising). Photographs by Douglas Sterling, copyright 2010.

Above: The travertine floor features pits and natural variation.

Above: Traditional stucco concrete walls and a chair made by Hale.

Above: The sofa is made from the wood crates (which contained the kitchen tiles).

Above: The kitchen cupboard on the right is made from salvaged window panes.

Above: Four poster bed made by Hale with candle holders atop each post.

Above: The light fixture, cupboard, and sliding window panels are all by Hale.

Above: View onto neighboring vineyards from the pigonnier.

Photographs by Douglas Sterling, copyright 2010.

Pictures taken by Douglas Sterling

Copyright 2010 Douglas Sterling

www.DouglasSterling.com

BORN ON THE 4th OF JULY

The most amazing experiment, that was born on the fourth of July 1776, is still a work in progress as it was intended to be. Thank you to those brave and strong and clever men that had laid such fertile ground for us all, and let us not forget those that have suffered to maintain that shining idea.