Esoteric Survey

Ray Eames: A Century of Modern Design A collaboration between the Eames Office  and the California Museum in Sacramento.
Bernice "Ray" Kaiser was born in Sacramento in 1912. Here she is in the Class of 1931 Sacramento High School yearbook. She would have been 100 this year. Source: California Museum
This 1941 Drawing by Ray Eames is hung at the entrance of the exhibit. The inscription on the back reads..."To Hoffman, Love Buda" Buda was Ray's nickname while she was studying under Hans Hoffman
The Eames Office really opened up the archives wide for this one.

I think most of these were from the late 30s. 

Fashion drawings by Ray
She designed her own clothes too..
and here they are.

Ray's kicks. She she was obviously into little bows and ribbon. Those are my kicks in the reflection. This exhibit is amazing but I do have one criticism...this stupid glass!
A bow in her hair too.
Sea Things fabric swatch

A Handbook of California Design, 1930-1965: Craftspeople, Designers, Manufacturers This new publication by LACMA is a compendium of 140 profiles of California designers and manufacturers. It serves as a companion piece to their PST exhibition catalog, California Design, 1930-1965: "Living in a Modern Way". Edited by LACMA curator Bobbye Tigerman with contributions by Staci Steinberger, Jennifer Munro Miller and Lacy Simkowitz.
The handbook is set up with a short biography and photo for each entry. Here is the one Doyle Lane.
Barney Reid's photo
The elusive Hawk House
A great photo of La Gardo Tackett
Olga Lee and Milo Baughman  This is one of my favorite images in the book. 
 Connections and Collaborations inforgraphic from the handbook.  
This chart illustrates the common institutions, organizations and publications the designers in the handbook were associated with.  The most common linkage is the Pasadena Art Museum's California Design exhibitions. This really does attest  to t…

In Search Of Shadows: James Hubbell Sculpture at the Oceanside Museum of Art

Paul Evans: Designer & Sculptor Architecture and design writer Jeffrey Head has a great new book out on the east coast designer-craftsman. The foreword is by Adriana Kertzer, with an introduction by longtime Evans collaborator Dorsey Reading  and the afterword is by Richard Wright. Jefrey has put together a tremendous amount of research into the  exploration of the life and work of Evans. The 220 photos are pretty great as well. 
Evans, the metalsmith craftsman. Rochester Institute of Technology Brochure, 1952
The showroom Paul Evans and Phillip Lloyd Powell shared in New Hope, Pennsylvania
Paul Evans, Phillip Lloyd Powell and Jens Risom for Designer's Inc. I'm down for that.
Paul Evans and Phillip Lloyd Powell stereo cabinet
Sculpted panel, 1965 
Sculpture 
Sofa, 1964

Door knocker for Directional, 1964 Jeffrey does a great job exploring Evan's relationship with Directional, which began in 1964 when he replaced Paul McCobb.  
Directional, Patchwork, 1969
In the 1970s Evans was doing t…