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When people ask me how long it takes to create one of my sculptures, I sometimes like to answer, "My whole life." I've always loved art and started collecting it while still in high school, but I never imagined in those formative years that I'd become an artist myself. After all, I have no formal training, and to this day I can't draw - not well, at any rate. My first career was as a computer programmer, my second as a marketing consultant - both distinctly sedentary occupations that led me to seek something physical to do in my spare time. For whatever reason, I decided to try my hand at sculpting stone, crafting a few rough pieces and taking pleasure mostly from the hard work they involved. Right from the start, however, people
When people ask me how long it takes to create one of my sculptures, I sometimes like to answer, "My whole life." I've always loved art and started collecting it while still in high school, but I never imagined in those formative years that I'd become an artist myself. After all, I have no formal training, and to this day I can't draw - not well, at any rate. My first career was as a computer programmer, my second as a marketing consultant - both distinctly sedentary occupations that led me to seek something physical to do in my spare time. For whatever reason, I decided to try my hand at sculpting stone, crafting a few rough pieces and taking pleasure mostly from the hard work they involved. Right from the start, however, people
When people ask me what I do for a living, I like to tell them I'm a Texas-style maverick in the world of watershaping. That's a lighthearted way of characterizing what I do, but it speaks the truth when it comes to describing what I think this industry is really all about. Indeed, I see the best watershaping as being defined by a pioneer spirit and an appetite for innovation - a drive and hunger that convincingly overcome the all-too-common fear of trying new ideas, technologies and approaches. In my 37 years in the business, in fact, I've seen the process of shaping water change radically from what I witnessed when I started out in the 1970s. All those years of change and experience have helped me look at the art of watershaping in new ways: As have many other opened-minded artists in this business, I've
For a long time now, clients and prospects have been asking me about exterior facilities that will enable them to cook, dine and entertain in their backyards. It's been so prevalent, in fact, that I've mentioned the trend in this space on a couple of occasions - noting once or twice my frustration about the lack of books available for me to use in meeting the need. The sheer demand for these features seems to have arrived several steps ahead of publishers' being able to put books on the shelves. In the past year, however, that picture has changed. Just recently, in fact, I picked up four
For a long time now, clients and prospects have been asking me about exterior facilities that will enable them to cook, dine and entertain in their backyards. It's been so prevalent, in fact, that I've mentioned the trend in this space on a couple of occasions - noting once or twice my frustration about the lack of books available for me to use in meeting the need. The sheer demand for these features seems to have arrived several steps ahead of publishers' being able to put books on the shelves. In the past year, however, that picture has changed. Just recently, in fact, I picked up four
In the last several of these "Details," I've covered what happens in my projects before construction begins. Now we're ready to shift gears and look at what happens on site - the place where design and execution meet. Before we look at the way I build things, however, I want to take a hard look at common practices in the field. What I write here may seem harsh, but it's not intended that way: To establish a baseline for doing things in what I would term the right way, I need to point to practices in our industry - particularly the pool/spa sector - that
In the last several of these "Details," I've covered what happens in my projects before construction begins. Now we're ready to shift gears and look at what happens on site - the place where design and execution meet. Before we look at the way I build things, however, I want to take a hard look at common practices in the field. What I write here may seem harsh, but it's not intended that way: To establish a baseline for doing things in what I would term the right way, I need to point to practices in our industry - particularly the pool/spa sector - that
Recently, much has been written and discussed in our local Los Angeles media - newspapers, magazines, television - about an influx of architectural styles to our area that "just don't fit in" and are generally thought of as being a blight on our collective landscape. This isn't anything new, of course. I recall similar dustups in the 1970s and '80s when the stylistic serenity of old, established neighborhoods was being disrupted by the insertion
Recently, much has been written and discussed in our local Los Angeles media - newspapers, magazines, television - about an influx of architectural styles to our area that "just don't fit in" and are generally thought of as being a blight on our collective landscape. This isn't anything new, of course. I recall similar dustups in the 1970s and '80s when the stylistic serenity of old, established neighborhoods was being disrupted by the insertion
Pioneer Pride