Artistic License News

Tiffany's legacy in the Bay Area

2009-07-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

Glass artist Ted Ellison recently guided guild members on a tour around the Bay Area that featured the range of work produced by Tiffany Studios.
Here are some of the highlights of that tour.

<--- Tiffany Studios art glass window at St. Peters Chapel, Mare Island.

When Louis Comfort Tiffany began making leaded glass windows, he wanted to break from the European tradition of painted glass, a fine example of which was featured in the first stop of this tour. The rest of the day was spent visiting installations that featured technical advances in glass production, inspired design and innovative fabrication techniques that would redefine the art of stained glass.

Painted glass windows by Heaton, Butler and Bayne, at St Lukes Church, San Francisco

St. Lukes Episcopal Church , San Francisco
Designed in 1909 by Benjamin Geer McDougall (who also designed Oakland's Cathedral Building, the first gothic revival skyscraper west of the Mississippi in 1914), this Gothic Revival Church is filled primarily with the work of London's Heaton, Butler and Bayne. Featuring installations both intimate and monumental, this is a prime example of the influence William Morris had on leaded glass of the period. The high quality of the painted decorative details can be viewed at eye level in the windows that line the outer walls of the chapel.

Detail of Tiffany mosaic mural, Lake Merrit Methodist Church, Oakland

Lake Merritt Methodist Church , Oakland

In addition to leaded glass windows, Tiffany Studios created mosaics for architectural installations and decorative objects. In 1922, three large mosaic panels were commissioned for First United Methodist in Los Angeles, and transplanted to Oakland in 1990. Each panel, measuring 17' x 8', displays the full variety of iridescent, mirrored, textured, and colored opalescent glass manufactured by Tiffany.

Detail of layered glass landscape panel by Tiffany Studios, Grand Lake Theater, Oakland

Grand Lake Theater , Oakland
Allen Michaan opened the Grand Lake Theater to share the large landscape panel and mosaic panel in the lobby. The landscape is a notable example of the plating technique frequently employed by Tiffany Studios, where multiple layers of glass are layered together to modulate color and suggest depth of field.

Three of the exquisite Tiffany windows in St. Peter' Chapel, Mare Island

St. Peters Chapel, Mare Island
The Chapel was built in 1901 and is home of the largest collection of Tiffany windows in the western United States. An astounding display of fine design and excellent craftsmanship, these windows represent the height of the Studio's output in an accessible and up-close environment. Each window features inspired color choices and employs an array of techniques (including painting, staining, acid etching and plating) to achieve the effects Tiffany sought. A must see for anyone interested in craft, art or composition.

Artistic License would like to recognize the stewardship of these sites, and thank those who graciously opened these spaces to us.
- Ted Ellison

photos by Ted Ellison
click on images to view larger

Jane Powell at "Bathonista"

2009-06-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

A whole blog dedicated to bathrooms? why yes, it's iBath.com's aptly named Bathonista, where this month author and reigning guild president Jane Powell answers five questions about early 20th century bath design.

"This is absolutely the best time for restoring or reproducing a bungalow-style bathroom, as both vintage pieces and great reproductions are available for all the various bathroom parts."
- Jane Powell

Everything you need to know about bungalow bathrooms can be found in Jane Powell's book, Bungalow Bathrooms, which is due to be released in paperback this August.

New Life for Oakland Cathedral's historic artwork

2009-06-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

Artistic License members salvage historic elements for Oakland's new Cathedral of Christ the Light

<--St.Simon, stained glass from the Cathedral St. Francis de Sales, restored by Reflection Studios

Prior to the demolition of Oakland's former cathedral, Saint Francis de Sales, Allen Dragge's Reflection Studios was hired to safely remove all the stained glass windows. CMA Conversion Management Associates, worked on behalf of architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to facilitate the restoration and installation of historic architectural elements in the new building. The stained glass panels have now been reinstalled in the mausoleum of the new cathedral, each one backlit and surrounded by a field of translucent onyx.

Reflection Studios also salvaged a sculptural ceramic mural which had been mounted on the wall at St. Francis de Sales. This ceramic panel resided in storage crates from 1993 until 2008. CMA contracted with guild members Diane Winters and Riley Doty to restore and install this colorful piece of ceramic art. It consists of thirty pieces, many sculpted in high relief and weighing as much as fifty pounds. Some pieces suffered damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and from the removal process. (One section repaired by Diane had been broken into fourteen separate pieces!)

Diane Winters working on repairs to the tile mural

This artwork dates from 1962, executed by the Rambusch firm, commissioned for installation at St. Francis de Sales at the time of its consecration as the cathedral for the diocese of Oakland. The artwork seems to express that time in history, immediately following Vatican II. Several historic changes were initiated then, including saying Mass in many native languages instead of universally in Latin. The spirit of reaching out to diverse cultures seems reflected in this ceramic piece, which features traditionally executed scenes from the life of St. Francis de Sales, but with background patterns that suggests ethnic arts such as weaving or basketry. As a whole this lovely piece truly is a relic of the church's history, even though its origin is relatively recent in the larger scheme of things.

Riley Doty, working on repairs to the tile mural

In its original configuration the entire piece measured 10.5 feet high and over 5 feet wide. When Doty and Winters laid out the mural "dry" on the floor of the storage warehouse the architects from SOM were initially disappointed to observe these dimensions because the space they had in mind for it had a nine foot ceiling. SOM, working with Father Paul Minnihan from the cathedral, developed a wonderful solution to this problem. The restored mural was installed as a relic, with the main body attached to a specially constructed backing which hangs a few inches away from the back wall. The remaining sections sit adjacent, artfully placed on podiums, and the whole makes up a lovely composition.

Restored tile mural fragments, displayed in the new cathedral.

This composition is displayed as part of the Donor Wall. Both this and the stained glass in the mausoleum reside on the ground level, one floor below the cathedral. A visit to the sanctuary above is a must-see for first time visitors. The space created by architect Craig Hartman of SOM is breathtakingly beautiful and at the same time calm and serene.

--- Riley Doty

2009 Alameda Museum Lecture Series

2009-03-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

Photo by Dennis Evanosky / Alameda Sun

The Alameda Museum has announced its 2009 Lecture Series, as part of Historic Preservation "Season" in Alameda

In April, May, and June 2009, look for events, tours, and lectures about the rich history of this island town!

The season kicks off Saturday, April 25, 11:00 AM with the "Webster Street Walkabout," a walk led by architect Richard Rutter.

Upcoming Lectures include:

Thursday April 30: "A.A. Cohen and Old Fernside," by architect and historian Hank Dunlop. Underwritten by Michael Studebaker and Cynthia Audet, owners, Gallagher & Lindsey, Inc., Realtors.
Thursday May 28: "A Home in Alameda," by local author and historian Woody Minor, based on his new book about Victorian era development. Underwritten by Ginger Schuler, member, Alameda Museum Board; Realtor, Harbor Bay.
Thursday June 25: "Alameda: An Architectural Treasure Chest," a look at the Island City’s domestic architecture from the Gothic Revival to the Bungalow, presented by Dennis Evanosky and Eric Kos. Their talk is based on Alameda: An Architectural Treasure Chest written by Evanosky and published by Stellar Media of Alameda. Underwritten by Patricia M. Sahadi as a birthday present to herself.
Thursday July 30: "Winslow Homer and the Post Civil War Era in America," Art historian Colette Colester returns with another dynamic lecture. Underwritten by Peter Fletcher, Real Estate Broker, Windermere Real Estate.
Thursday August 27: "Just Across the Pond: Oakland Point and the West Oakland Marsh," by architectural historian Betty Marvin. Underwritten by Robbie Dileo; member, Alameda Museum Board.
Thursday September 24: "Alameda Album" an illustrated talk by Paul Roberts based on two recently discovered vintage photo albums from the 1890s. Underwritten by City Council Member Frank Matarrese.

All lectures start at 7:00 p.m. at the Alameda Museum, 2324 Alameda Avenue, Alameda, CA.

for more information, visit the Alameda Museum website

Who's going to bail out craftspeople? You are.

2009-02-08T16:08:00.000-08:00

Jane Powell makes a case for hiring local in the latest article for the San Francisco Chronicle.

"there will be no bailout for the many craftspeople, designers and suppliers who depend on construction, remodeling and design for their living. They need your kitchen remodel, landscape project, paint job or room addition in order to stay in business and pay their employees. You can't save the autoworkers in Detroit, but you can keep people working locally. In addition, most of the money you spend recirculates in the local economy - to suppliers, to subcontractors, even to the local sandwich shop where the workers buy lunch."

Stow-icism: The Legacy of Arts & Crafts Built-Ins

2009-01-14T16:57:00.000-08:00

"Built-in furniture reached new creative heights during the Arts & Crafts movement. A study of its myriad forms will help yours to soar once again."

Read the latest article by Guild President Jane Powell in this month's Old House Journal.

photo courtesy The Crafstman Home.

The Best Decorative Painting in the Bay Area

2008-12-26T15:08:00.000-08:00

This week the results of the local competition "The bAy List" featuring the best of the San Francisco Bay Area were announced at sfgate.com

Our own Adrian Card won First Place, with 33 glowing reviews of his work posted by clients and fans of his work.
Second Place in this competition was awarded to fellow guild member, muralist Lynne Rutter.

You can see even more of Adrian's work on his newly redesigned website at adriancard.com.

AL members featured in Old House Interiors

2008-11-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

Cover Story!

Check out the December 2008 issue of Old House Interiors on newstands now, which features the work of a number of Artistic License artisans.

In this cover illustration the art glass windows by Theodore Ellison, fireplace tilework designed by Paul Duchscherer, tiles made by Diane Winters, tilework installed by Riley Doty.
Elsewhere in this same house are built-ins and furniture designed and built by Debey Zito, and interior painting by Robert Dufort of Magic Brush.

Children's Mural at Burlingame Public Library

2008-11-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

Muralist Lynne Rutter's recently completed major commission for the Burlingame Public Library.

The Burlingame Library is a charming Spanish Revival style building, designed by architect E. L. Norberg and completed in 1931.
The storybook mural was commissioned by the Burlingame Library Foundation to commemorate the centennial celebration of the Library. The Children's Wing is a large space with soaring, beamed ceilings, textured plaster walls, and a lot of odd angles. This presented a challenge as there is no one focal point to the room, nor is there an uninterrupted space where one might normally site a mural.

Design consultant and guild member Michelle Nelson brought Lynne Rutter into the project to create a site-specific work that would incorporated the room's architecture. In Rutter's design, the grates, arches, and doors were integrated into the painting, so that the architecture became part of the composition of the mural.

Faraway Castles, approx. 9 feet wide
"The room becomes a story; its walls the pages of a favorite book."

The Burlingame Library is located at 480 Primrose, Burlingame. It's a wonderful building well-supported and well-used by its community, and a well worth a visit from you.

above: The north wall mural with life size-figures was painted on canvas and finished after installation on site. photos by Lynne Rutter.

Amazing baths in Old House Journal

2008-11-05T13:35:00.001-08:00

Beautiful Bathrooms for the Period Home

Master tilesetter Riley Doty is featured in this well-illustrated article in Old House Journal.

"The bathroom in Becky Waring's 1906 Berkeley, California, brown-shingle cottage—a house some attribute to Julia Morgan—was dingy, with linoleum on the floor and unappealing 1970s white tile set in stained grout. "I wanted the bath to look as nice as the rest of the house, while maintaining historical authenticity," Becky explains. So she researched period bathrooms everywhere she could, and did extensive product scouting. "It didn't matter if the fixtures were cheap or pricey," she says. "They had to look right." She also found Riley Doty, a master tilesetter with the San Francisco-based restoration group Artistic License, to help guide her."

The WC in Becky Waring's circa 1906 bungalow, tiled by Riley Doty
photo from Old House Journal.

Madonna della Guardia Rises from the Ashes

2008-10-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

Guild members Phil Diers and Adrian Card restore a beloved sculpture

The Madonna della Guardia a treasured icon for three generations of Italian-American Catholics at Corpus Christi Parish, San Francisco, has been restored after a devastating fire. The sculpture was acquired by Corpus Christi Church in 1941, when a small group of church members traveled to Genoa, Italy, with the intention of procuring such a statue. The church brings it out once a year for the Feast of the Madonna della Guardia in late August.

In 2006 an arsonist broke into the church and doused the blanket-wrapped statue with gasoline and set in on fire. In the course of beating out the flames, the firemen inadvertently broke off lots of pieces such as arms, hands, and heads. Through a very circuitous route the church was finally able to connect with sculptor Phil Diers who has faithfully recreated all the missing pieces, sculpting several of them from scratch, relying on old photos of the statue for reference.
Decorative painter Adrian Card then used the old photos to repaint the statue to look the same as it did before the fire. He also restored the crown which is encrusted with 128 Swarovski crystals.
Matthias Gordon-Murer, a San Francisco-based woodworker built a hardwood plinth with concealed wheels for the statue which will make it easier to move around the church.

The Corpus Christi Church held a special mass and festival to celebrate the restoration on Saturday, October 18.

Never Do Plumbing on Sundays

2008-10-17T23:14:00.000-07:00

"... #1 rule of fixing: Never Do Plumbing On Sundays. Even if you think you won’t need some specialty part, I guarantee that you will...
A corollary to this rule is that any plumbing repair will require at least TWO (if not more) trips to the hardware store. "

you can read the rest of Jane Powell's advice for lovers of hardware in her latest article for the Berkeley Daily Planet: "A Rude Survey of Local Hardware Resources"

Bruce Aidell's Ultimate Craftsman

2008-09-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle Magazine features an article by Jane Powell about Bruce Aidell's Craftsman-style wine country home, designed in the manner of a Greene and Greene "ultimate bungalow" by Emeryville architect Greg Klein of John Malick and Associates.

Leaded Glass door detail, via www.jmalick.com

This marvelous house displays some amazing leaded glass work by current guild President Ted Ellison.
Bravo Mr. Aidell for this splendid effort, and to everyone who worked on this incredible house.

Read the article by Jane Powell here.
More about Charles Greene and Henry Greene here.

Tiles and Terra Cotta in "Uptown Oakland"

2008-08-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

Check out this cool event with our own Riley Doty

You are invited to join Riley Doty and the Oakland Heritage Alliance for "Tiles and Terra Cotta in Uptown Oakland"
Sunday August 24, 2008
A Walking Tour and Benefit for Oakland Heritage Alliance *
Time: 2 - 1/2 hours; Fairly easy walking

<---- the Howden Building, Oakland, photo by Daniel Martinez

We will survey Oakland's glorious legacy of architectural ceramics, viewing about 20 examples dating from years 1914 - 1931.

Particular attention will given to the preservation needs of terra cotta. Some buildings have been treated very well and others rather badly; we will learn by example about some of the problems of maintenance and
restoration of this wonderful material.

Meet at the Howden Building at 17th St. & Webster St. in Oakland
Tour begins at 10:00 a.m.
Come early to register and to view the Howden Building's tilework. We will try to have the entire interior open - not just the restaurant space.

Cost: $15.00 / * $10.00 for OHA members.
Free admission to anyone who joins OHA on the day of the tour.
easy street parking on Sunday / 5 minute walk from 19th Ave BART station.

San Francisco Arts and Crafts Show

2008-08-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

This Saturday and Sunday, August 9th and 10th, Debey Zito will be exhibiting at the San Francisco Arts and Crafts Show at the Concourse, 8th and Brannan. The show hours are 10-6 Saturday and 11-5 on Sunday.
Look for other Artistic License members there as well!

New Restoration Workshop

2008-07-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

A recent visit to the enormous new shop of Christopher L. Yerke's Restoration Workshop.

Restoration Workshop has recently moved into a huge new space in San Francisco Mission District, where among other exciting projects, several talented carpenters and apprentices are hard at work rebuilding and restoring the redwood paneling and woodwork for an important historic San Francisco home that was damaged by fire.

George Zaffle at the 2008 SALI Convention

2008-07-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

Fans of Decorative Painting will surely want to catch George Zaffle's class at the 23rd annual convention of the Stencil Artisans League, Inc. being held this week in Charleston, NC.

George will be teaching a Decorative Painting Extravaganza as well as demystifying the World of Decorative Painting to eager students from across the country.

Friend or Faux? Examining the Origin of House Materials

2008-05-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

May, 2008

"I don’t necessarily have a problem with fakeness as a concept. Faux finishing has a long and splendid history, and I like a linoleum oriental rug as much as the next person. Okay, more than the next person. But I despair for a world that so willingly sends real old growth timber to the landfill by demolishing old buildings, while building new ones using materials that are often synthetic or composite because that is more “green.” "

Read more of Jane Powell's article for the Berkeley Daily Planet

Understanding the Virtual World of Home Price Fluctuations

2008-04-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

April, 2008

"If your house disappears from zillow.com, does that mean it no longer exists?"

find out more in this article by Jane Powell for the Berkeley Daily Planet

Adrian Card featured in SF Chronicle

2007-08-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

August, 2007

The San Francisco Chronicle ran a wonderful piece on the home of AL member Adrian Card and John Tinker. They've spent years rehabbing one of the oldest houses in San Francisco, with respect for its architecture, and its previous owners.
Lots of great pictures in that article as well.

Erik Kramvik in the New York Times

2007-07-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

July, 2007

Designer Erik Kramvik gets noticed in this article in the New York Times

"And even in houses that would seem to be all about the past, it’s possible to create a period bathroom that isn’t mired in it. Ingrid Weiss, a real estate agent who lives on Belvedere Island in San Francisco Bay, has just finished a two-year renovation that included the gutting and enlargement of the master bathroom in the 1892 Queen Anne-style house that she and her husband bought in 1978.

“It’s been the love of our lives and dear, dear friend,” she said of the house, which is considered a historic landmark on the island. But Ms. Weiss, working with Erik Kramvik, an architectural designer (he is part of a Bay Area collective called Artistic License, which brings together architects and artisans specializing in period restoration), set out to capture the essence of a Victorian bath without giving the room a kitschy bond to the era."

Green Envy by Jane Powell

2007-05-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

May, 2007

"Green building is an oxymoron..." our own Jane Powell debunks the myth of green building. Read her article in the San Francisco Chronicle

2007 San Francisco Decorator Showcase

2007-04-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

April, 2007

Lynne Rutter designed a Vintage Laundry Room for the 2007 San Francisco Decorator Showcase, open April 28 - May 28 at 2901 Broadway Street a spectacular 1927 neoclassical villa designed by architect Henry Clay Smith, in original period condition.

Several guild members contributed to the production of this room.

above photo by David Papas Photographer

Berkeley Hillside Club

2007-03-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

March, 2007
Dianne Ayres has been elected the President of the Berkeley Hillside Club.

Bruce Bradbury voted into AL Hall of Fame

2006-04-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

This portrait of Bruce first appeared on the cover of SF Magazine in January, 1990.

Bruce Bradbury, founder of Bradbury and Bradbury Art Wallpapers, and one of the founding members of Artistic License, retired from business in 2006. The members of the guild have unanimously elected him our inaugural Hall of Fame Member, so that Bruce could found yet another great Institution of Period Design.

Read more about Bruce and his accomplishments on our members page.