I had a really great day yesterday — I spent it all at the deYoung Museum in San Francisco, wandering through the galleries and soaking in all the amazing artwork. There is so much to see that although I spent a few hours, I still missed out on some wonderful stuff — namely, the current showcase, Ramses the Great and […]
Here are more of my sightings from a recent Saturday at Denio’s Market in Roseville. It’s probably a good thing that I don’t live in a bigger house; I would be more seriously tempted to buy all the wonderful things on sale!
A few of the items seen for sale recently at Denio’s in Roseville.
I always enjoy driving through the small coastal towns along Highway 1 in Sonoma and Mendocino counties; you can often spot weathered old houses and other cool details without even getting out of the car. But on this occasion, a foggy midmorning in September, I had the chance to walk along a back road parallel to the main highway. There […]
One final look inside the Gladding McBean factory during Feats of Clay XXIII, March 2010.
Here is the rest of my around-the-house collection of images from our recent trip to the Mendocino Coast.
I don’t do this very often, but this week I’ve decided to repeat an episode — one that I originally featured way back in May 2017. For the past few Mondays I’ve been sharing photos with you that I found in the Hicks Album from the Feats of Clay XXIII exhibition, one of the last years the event was held inside Gladding McBean. The images have raised a few questions about the terra cotta factory; and the fact that the company no longer offers tours to the public makes this look inside all the more wonderful. I hope you enjoy seeing Huell’s visit to Gladding McBean as much as I have. My original post: Lincoln is a little town not too far up the road from my house, and I’ve never spent much time there at all. So I was very surprised when I first saw this episode of California’s Gold to realize there is such an important and historical company located there. From the Brooks Brothers emblem to light standards for a bridge in Moosejaw, Canada, these guys create art for public spaces, and every piece is created by hand. Step back in time with Huell to the olden days of making pottery the Gladding McBean way. The 118-year-old company in rural Lincoln, near Sacramento, is the nation’s only remaining major manufacturer of terra cotta. From decorative to functional, McBean’s terra cotta is acclaimed for its distinctive style which graces […]
The Gladding McBean company has a long and fascinating history. Over many decades of the factory’s existence, their artists have created miles of clay sewer pipe, tons of decorative tableware, and countless pieces of architectural ornamentation in terra cotta. To walk through the factory even today is to discover bits and pieces of history lying about in every room.
As the Small Feats of Clay exhibit continues in Loomis during the month of March, here are a few more images from Feats of Clay XXIII, located at the Gladding McBean terra cotta factory in 2010.