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March 13, 2016 by tomdalzell

Sisters Two on Walnut

 

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

There are three sidewalk benches on the 1300 block of Walnut Street in North Berkeley.  This is the oldest of the three.

Penny Brogden lives here.

Penny Brogden

Penny Brogden

She built the bench, featuring tiles she made.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

Tiles leaning against the house line the driveway leading to the gate to the back.

Quirky Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif. on February, 11th, 2016.

1309 Walnut

Quirky Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif. on February, 11th, 2016.

1309 Walnut

Brogden made these tiles as well.  They are inspired by Coptic textile design.

Brogden sent me this explanation from and old notebook of hers: “The original inspiration was found in Coptic textiles from 4th century AD or so. I saw a book on textiles from the Metropolitan Museum and a few postcards of Coptic design. In reading around about the Copts, who were subjugated by Romans when Rome conquered Egypt, I found it moving that a small minority of artisans from the indigenous mass could manage to make their way artistically under most unfavorable conditions. In fact, any other example of an enslaved people which succeeded in forging an art of its own would be hard to find.  But it was really the images themselves, so distinctive, with the big eyes and oversized heads surrounded by animal and floral motifs in exquisite detail, that captured me.”

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

Through the gate is a courtyard.

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut, rear courtyard

A brightly painted courtyard, filled with art.

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut, rear courtyard

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut, rear courtyard

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut, rear courtyard

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

Mary Murchio chicken, 1309 Walnut, rear courtyard

The main events of the courtyard, for me that is, is a series of three tiles:

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut, rear courtyard

And a bright convex niche.

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut, rear courtyard

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut, rear courtyard

Who is the mermaid?  “Just some mermaid” says Brogden.

The small building is Brogden’s studio.  Two dogs that she made guard the door.

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut, rear courtyard

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut, rear courtyard

Brogden works in this studio.

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut

1309  Walnut, rear courtyard

1309 Walnut

1309  Walnut

1309 Walnut

This is the niche in the inside, the corresponding concave niche to the “just some mermaid” protruding niche outside.

Quirky Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif. on February, 11th, 2016.

1309 Walnut

Penny Brogden (2004). Photo: Misako Akimoto

Penny Brogden (2004). Photo: Misako Akimoto

These two photos – the same tiles, today and 12 years ago.

Quirky Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif. on February, 11th, 2016.

1309 Walnut

Brogden started as a photographer.

Penny Brogden. Photo: Misako Akimoto

Penny Brogden (2004). Photo: Misako Akimoto

Here she sits in front of a cyanotype photograph that she made.  Cyanotype is, as every schoolboy knows,  a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print.  Here is that photograph today, hanging in the main house:

Cyanotype photograph by Penny Brogden

Cyanotype photograph by Penny Brogden

These cut-out women are another example of Brogden’s cyanotype photography.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

Brogden made these as part of a window installation for a friend’s costume shop on Mission Street in San Francisco in 1986.

In the 1990s Brogden started working with ceramics and tiles. Her tile work is stunning. Brogden studied under Mary Murchio, a ceramicist and life guide.

1998 2

Mary Murchio (1998). Photo: Dorothy Klein

Murchio learned to throw clay in Mexico and knew what a lot of what there is to know about pueblo pottery in the southwest – and the rest of the world.  She taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts, was a member of the Chimney Potters collective, and was around Cal when Peter Voulkos disrupted it all, shoving aside production potters and making art of clay.

1998

Mary Murchio and Penny Brogden (1998). Photo: Dorothy Klein

Penny Brogden and Mary Murchio. Photo courtesy of Penny Brogden

Penny Brogden and Mary Murchio. Photo: Dorothy Klein

Brogden met Murchio in the 1960s.  In the early 1990s Brogden started spending Thursday afternoons with Murchio, learning about clay and tiles and pottery, and life.  When Brogden speaks of Murchio, you know that it was a very special relationship with a very special teacher.

Before leaving tiles –

unnamed

While I was writing this post, random conversation led me to know that Brogden had made some friends a tile table. The tiles depict a hyena, hawk eggs, and a rattlesnake,all of which my friends saw on or about the day that their youngest daughter was born.  My friends say: “We’re still working out the cosmic riddle.”

Brogden sent me three production photos of the table.

Screen Shot 2016-02-26 at 5.12.45 PM

Water colors of possible designs.

Screen Shot 2016-02-26 at 5.13.07 PM

The final design.

Screen Shot 2016-02-26 at 5.13.30 PM

This shows the installation by Phylece Snyder and Doty Riley.

Amazing, at least to me.

On top of that, said friends told me about a Brogden project in progress:

Photo: Penny Brogden

Photo: Penny Brogden

Women artists.  How cool is this? Where should it go?  Somewhere special.

Meanwhile, back at 1309 Walnut:

Dorothy Klein, 1309 Walnut

Dorothy Klein, 1309 Walnut

From the studio we step into the house.  I meet her sister Dorothy Klein.  Klein moved down from McKinleyville a year or so ago.

So here they are, two sisters, living together.  More than that, Brogden and Klein grew up in the house.  Their parents were June and Robert Brogden.

Quirky Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif. on February, 11th, 2016.

Brogden celebrated them with this tile.

Robert and June Brodgen.

Robert and June Brogden.

Klein holds a mounted photograph of her parents made by her father. He made one of their mother alone:

June Brogden

June Brogden

That cut-out was made from a 1938 photograph taken in front of Robert and June’s first house, in Kensington.

June Brogden (1938)

June Brogden (1938)

The parents moved to Napa in 1989.  Brogden moved in, and then Klein.  As I said, two sisters in their childhood house.

Turkey Prep

Dorothy and Penny

D and P Niagara Falls

Dorothy and Penny, Niagara Falls, 1964

Penny Brogden and Dorothy Klein, 1309 Walnut

Penny Brogden and Dorothy Klein, 1309 Walnut

They sit here in their childhood bedroom.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

You can see a childhood wall drawing inside the red rectangle that was never painted over.

What is it like living in their childhood home?  “Lots of ghosts” says Klein.

There are a number of Brogden’s tile projects in the house.

 1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

 v

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

And masks, only some of which she made:

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

The walls and trim are unexpected.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

The kitchen is largely unchanged from the days of the parents  except the chile pepper lights and the combed painting.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

And splattered paint spread with a palm frond.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

The colors throughout are bright. Their mother found it all a little garish.  I don’t.

There is a fair share of Klein’s art in the house as well.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

Klein made these intricate drawings of wildflowers.  She sold them as posters and gift cards until the Park Service decided that it was a great idea and went into the business.

Quirky Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif. on February, 11th, 2016.

1309 Walnut

And she made these paintings of animals, birds, and various species of monkeys who surrounded her when she lived for two years in the Colombian rain forest. They are made with sumi ink on rice paper. The style is known as ink wash painting, an East Asian type of brush painting that uses black ink of various concentrations.  Klein has taken it up as an encore art form.

Klein’s studio is on the second floor.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

The room was their father’s retreat.  Here he tinkered, drew, and planned.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

He made this drawing of a vacuum hose.

1309 Walnut.

1309 Walnut.

In what used to be his retreat – more of Klein’s ink wash paintings.  Klein and her late  husband Lewis were in La Macarena, studying the behavioral ecology of spider monkeys.  La Macarena is about 170 miles south of Bogata.  The five-colored river Cano Cristales runs through.  It is one of the most beautiful rivers in the world.

Dorothy Klein in Colombia (1968).  Photo: Lewis Klein.
Dorothy Klein in Colombia (1968). Photo: Lewis Klein.
1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

Here Klein holds a photo of Margaret, whom she calls her first child.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

Klein here holds a painting of her husband Lewis in a boat on the Guayabero River, which is part of the Orinoco River basin in Colombia.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

Klein holds this self-portrait with a king vulture.  King vultures were popular figures in Mayan codices (folding books) as well as in local folklore and medicine.

Out to the front yard, now fenced in.

When the Brogden parents lived in the house, it was painted white with ivy planted in front.

June and Dorothy Brogden (1943). Photo courtesy Dorothy Brogden.

June and Dorothy Brogden (1943). Photo courtesy Dorothy Brogden.

1309 Walnut in 1989.  Photo courtesy Penny Brogden

1309 Walnut in 1989. Photo courtesy Penny Brogden

Brogden soon painted bright primary colored trim.

Until recently, there was a tall deodar cedar in the front yard.

Photo: Google

Photo: Google

In 2014, two huge branches fell in the driveway to the north, the house of Evy Kavaler and John Lau, tearing down the power and telephone services with them.  Close call!  The arborists who looked at the tree were concerned about the double trunk.  Reluctantly, Brogden had the tree taken out.  Upside: more light.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

The bright colors that Brogden chose when she moved into the house in 1989 are more easily appreciated than was possible with the cedar.  But what to do with the tree lumber?

Cedar table, 1309 Walnut

Cedar table, 1309 Walnut

The Green Waste Recycle Yard milled the tree lumber.  The fence around the yard is from the tree.  The table is from the tree, made by Jim Thornton.

The front yard – lots of art.

Penny Brogden tile, 1309 Walnut

Penny Brogden tile, 1309 Walnut

Penny Brogden (2004). Photo: Misako Akimoto

Penny Brogden (2004). Photo: Misako Akimoto

And, the same tiles today and 12 years ago.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

The glaze for this whale mask was made with kelp ash.

1309 Walnut

Mask by Mary Murchio. 1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

My oh my.  Two sisters.  Two artistic sisters.  Two artistic sisters living together.  Two artistic sisters living together in their childhood home.  In Berkeley,  With art that they made around them.

1309 Walnut

1309 Walnut

I showed the photos to my friend.   “Gotta go meet Klein.  I donkeyed in to La Macarena and Cano Cristales in ’68. Bet you I knew her.”  He paused.  “I can’t remember the name of the beer.  Great beer.  A beer and a river with all those freaking colors and no fish.  Heavy.”

I promised to take him to meet Klein so they could compare La Macarena notes.  What does he think of the photos and the sisters two story?

IMG_3677-225x300

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15 Responses to Sisters Two on Walnut

  1. Edie Bruce says:
    March 13, 2016 at 9:36 pm

    Love this story! The mermaids and the monkeys, the tiles, the colors, the sisters! Quirkyness is a wonderful trait. Thanks for sharing their story.

    Reply
  2. Carole Terwilliger Meyers says:
    March 14, 2016 at 5:15 pm

    I feel like I just made a home visit! Great piece. I write about Berkeley also, but more re. what to do and where to eat, join me, http://berkeleyandbeyond.com/Berkeley/berkeley.html

    Reply
  3. Kathy LaForge says:
    March 15, 2016 at 8:31 pm

    Wow! So great to see your house, Dorothy! Am pleased that I have a couple of Penny’s tiles and your lovely Douglas iris painting.

    Reply
  4. Pam Mendelsohn says:
    March 15, 2016 at 11:56 pm

    Terrific story. What a great home and lifestyle those two have created, not to mention their artwork. I would love to see more of Dorothy’s work!

    Reply
  5. Kathy T says:
    March 16, 2016 at 6:06 am

    What a wonderful trip through your house…so much so familiar but with many little details I haven’t seen or haven’t remembered. I’m sitting in my house with pictures by Dorothy on the opposite wall to where I sit and being pleased I have something of you here. You are both amazing and it’s been a pleasure to follow your artistic lives….from the age of 5 (?). Thank you for the lovely journey. I’ll look forward to my next real life journey there.

    Reply
  6. Traycee Klein says:
    March 16, 2016 at 2:01 pm

    Amazing sisters. Thank you for the story, the pictures and for sharing with the world the wonder of these two wonderful souls. Our world is a more beautiful place because of them. I have been blessed throughout my life to receive annual correspondence from Dorothy, and the amazing thing is that her creativity, artistry, and wonder is evident not only in the beautiful artwork of her pictures, but even in the cursive of every letter! An artist through and through!

    Reply
  7. Rick Wise says:
    March 16, 2016 at 11:28 pm

    What a glorious visit with two amazing women, one of whom (Penny) I have known since 1967. Your pictures and sparse words are gems. As are they.

    Reply
  8. Loren Sperber says:
    March 17, 2016 at 4:14 am

    We are so blessed to have these smiling, radiant, and immensely creative women in our lives!

    Reply
  9. daniel kashinsky says:
    March 17, 2016 at 4:26 am

    Thak you Rick for connecting me to these two nuts, one of whom is an old friend and one a more recent one. Penny I can still see the pics of Deborah on Mt. Washington you took in the 70’s. Was it your dad’s large format camera contact prints? And your solorized photos were out of this world. Taka!

    Reply
  10. will says:
    March 18, 2016 at 1:33 am

    I love it all. True artists. Dear Santa, I must have a tile table and 2 guard dogs. Don’t delay.

    Reply
  11. Bernie Lenhoff says:
    March 18, 2016 at 8:45 am

    What a great piece! The photos and sparse words tell more of a story than any longer biographical essay could do. I’ve seen some of Penny’s art, but what a house of treasures!

    Reply
  12. Sylvia Lenhoff says:
    March 18, 2016 at 2:58 pm

    Oh, this is wonderful !

    Bernie is hoping to bring me by when I’m in Berkeley come May. We’re to be in Crescent City again later that month — remember our brief visit there ?

    My admiration & warm regards,
    Sylvia

    Reply
  13. Deborah Kashinsky says:
    March 19, 2016 at 4:46 am

    Thanks for sharing. It was lovely scrolling through the article.

    Reply
  14. heinz says:
    November 23, 2016 at 4:25 pm

    dear penny, dorothydear,
    I should’ve googled you right after I’d met you, penny brogdon, again after so many years,
    and you, dorothy, for the first time on september 26, both of you in travis’ italian course.
    I’m glad that I was quick-witted enough to have lunch with you and a glass of wine.
    now it’s like meeting you again, and your art, fantastic.
    like having been in and around your lovely house. berkeley magic.
    trust in the healing forces for your quick recovery.
    and hope to see soon you in wien.
    heinz

    Reply
  15. Brian Parker says:
    January 28, 2019 at 1:13 am

    I knew Dorothy and (mostly) Lewis Klein back in the 80’s up in Humboldt County. They had a great line of wildflower posters. Makes me sad Lewis passed. Nice people.

    Reply

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