Esoteric Survey

  This past weekend AMOCA hosted a Panel discussion as part of the  Architectural Pottery: Ceramics for a Modern Landscape exhibition. It was a packed house. Someone from the museum said it was the most people they've had for an event like this. The first panel included three people who were personally connected to the Architectural Pottery.  Jo Lauria on the far left curated the exhibition and moderated the talk. To her right is Lee Whitten, then Marilyn Kay Austin in the middle and Damon Lawrence is on the right. Lee Whitten earned a master's degree in 1964 at UCLA under Laura Andreson and Bernie Kester. His first job in ceramics was at Architectural Pottery working under David Cressey. He was recommended to David by Andreson. This photo is a planter Cressey let Lee buy for $1.50, his hourly wage at the time. Lee said he liked the process of pushing the clay out from the interior of the form. Earth Cells were another favorite of his.  Although he was only at ...

James Lovera birdhouse and Jens Quistgaard Rare Woods tray  Harrison McIntosh tile top table.  More about these Interpace Tiles here . Sven Petersen kinetic tabletop sculpture  

Completed in 2022, Roy McMakin designed Punta Paloma to serve as his home and studio in the Banker's Hill neighborhood of San Diego. He calls it his Postmodern love letter to California. And yes, that face is on purpose.    Although not a native San Diegan, Roy received his B.A. and M.F.A. from UCSD. Also, I learned from Roy that most of his Domestic Furniture was made in San Diego. An ode to Irving Gill. The massing hints to 1950s apartment buildings. The diamond window pane is a reference to 1940s California cottages.  Early Bauer Pottery A cabinet and Heath vase, both designed by Roy. I love this detail. Going along with the California focus, there's a John McLaughlin print. You might recall, his Slatback chairs were used in the galleries at  John McLaughlin (1898-1976) Paintings: Total Abstraction at LACMA in 2016. More about that, here .  A number of years before that, in 2011, Quint Gallery in San Diego mounted an exhibition they called  Roy McMakin ...

  The Bailey Residence by Kendrick Bangs Kellogg (1983-1989)  Dave Hampton took Dung Ngo and I on a Kellogg outing this week. The first stop was in the northern tip of San Diego County to visit a project on a 40 acre avocado ranch in Valley Center, CA After seeing Kellogg speak at a lecture in Balboa Park, Joe and Barbara Bailey asked him to design a "simple house" for their hilltop property. Kellogg responded with the design we see today.  The Baileys managed and took part in much of the construction. This labor of love started in 1984 and took 6 years to build. It is still owned by the Bailey family. John Vugrin did the door. The kitchen skylight One of the downstairs bedrooms. Ranch workers used rocks from the site to do all of the masonry work. More about the house and short-term rentals and photo shoots can be found on their website:  https://www.baileykelloggresidence.com/about