I ‘dropped out’ in 2014. Traded in home in LA for a life in the woods. I bought a commune founded by idealistic hippies in 1971 on California’s Mendocino coast. Eleven handcrafted cabins clinging to logging roads carved into a south-facing slope of second- and third-growth redwoods. I wrote a letter to the 13 remaining shareholders and expressed interest in continuing the legacy and spirit of the place. I offered to preserve their archive, which included correspondence, weekly meeting minutes, documents, maps, plans, press clippings and photographs. It offered a fascinating window into the social structures and stories behind the buildings that remain.
I gave up my previous life as a nomadic artist to be rooted in one place. An extended community of friends, friends of friends, and whoever showed up, pitched in during the early years with building, repairing, digging, gardening, decorating and documenting. Salmon Creek Farm is now emerging as a long-term art project shaped by many hands, a sort of queered commune-farm-homesteadsanctuary-school hybrid.
We host workshops and retreats, and will soon start some sort of school. A non-profit has been formed to offer a ‘sanctuary for fostering and cultivating a new kind of artist in the world’. I consider myself a steward of a sacred place that existed before me, and will continue after me. Here are some excerpts from a memoir I’ve been writing about my time on the land:
POLE POSITION
A compact Melbourne house with a small footprint is big on efficiency and experimentation
URBAN OASIS
At an art-filled Mexico City residence, New York designer Giancarlo Valle has put his own spin on the country's traditional craft heritage
WARM FRONT
Designer Clive Lonstein elevates his carefully curated Manhattan home with rich textures and fabrics
BALCONY SCENE
A Brazilian island hotel offers a unique approach to the alfresco experience
ENSEMBLE CAST
How architect Anne Holtrop is leaving his mark on the Middle East
Survival mode
A new show looks at preparing for a post-apocalyptic landscape (and other catastrophes)
FLASK FORCE
A limited-edition perfume collaboration between two Spanish craft masters says it with flowers
BLOOM SERVICE
A flower-shaped brutalist beauty in Geneva gets a refresh
SECOND NATURE
A remodelled museum in Lisbon, by Kengo Kuma & Associates, meshes Japanese and Portuguese influences to create a space that sits in harmony with its surroundings
Guiding light
Designer Joe Armitage follows his grandfather's footsteps in India, reissuing his elegant midcentury lamp and creating a new chandelier for Nilufar Gallery