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paintings. Lee became a father in 1962 when Paul was born. Wanting to raise their son in the country, they bought a house in Lagunitas (1963) on the slopes of Mt. Barnabe where they lived the rest of their lives. A well known artist, Lee was an annual participant in the Spring Art Show from its inception. By the 60s, he was creating collagraph images by printing flattened- out objects such as metal war toys, tin cans, and other artifacts along with his etchings, serigraphs, linocuts, and drawings. In 1981 he took a year “sabbatical” and studied petroglyphs. He discovered a rare solar-lunar calendar petroglyph atop Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon. His artwork includes images from his personal experiences with the natural environment, studies of Native American philoso- phies, and petroglyphs and pictographs of the American Southwest. Lee’s work has been exhibited at Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, Brandts Klaedefabrik Museum in Denmark, Yerba Buena Center and de Young Museum in San Francisco. One of his pieces was accepted in the Smithsonian’s permanent art collection. His col- lagraph “Coyote and White Man Looking for Bent Heart” was awarded to the Library of Congress permanent collection. Discovering children were not getting outside enough, Lee co-founded Wilderness Way with Jean and Paul in 1999, a family run non-profit Environmental Education Center in the Valley. Lee has always been Wilderness Way’s “go-to-guy” for native crafts and art projects. A strong, quiet family man, Lee had a soft supportive presence, never seeking the limelight, because what he did was not for himself, it was for others. He was always there, whether it be an exciting family event, community project, or politi- cal meeting to help preserve his beloved Valley. He was a great mentor and role model to Paul and Tina. He was a proud spouse with Jean for 67 years, and a proud father to Paul for 61 years.
Lee will be best remembered for his wonderful smile, consistent encouragement of artists, tireless dedication to his artwork, and lighting up the Community Center with amazing colors and images on countless occasions. He always encouraged artists to be their best, and had a unique ability to turn their “mistakes” into key parts of their art by suggesting altering them creatively into a positive aspect. He would say, “There really are no mistakes in art.” Lee loved being outdoors hiking, gardening, and supporting the family. He was proud not to have missed any of Paul’s Little League baseball games or college decathlons, often filming them. When Paul learned to pitch Lee was his catcher, and the two often invented deceptive pitches together. Lee loved Native American flute music. Paul’s “Kokopauli Callings” CD was Lee’s favorite and it often could be heard echoing through the studio as he worked on his beloved images. A great artist, teacher, visionary, husband, and father, Lee is survived by his sister Margo, son Paul, daughter-in-law Tina and nephew Shad. There will be a celebration of life for Lee at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center Saturday May 4th, 2-5pm. In lieu of flowers, per Lee’s wishes, we hope you will donate to Wilderness Way, specifically for restoration of the salmon mural he created and future art projects. These funds will also support the continuation of Wilderness Way now and for future generations. Make checks or money orders out to “Wilderness Way” (PO Box 286 Lagunitas, CA 94938). Under notes please write “WW donation: Lee’s art”. As Grandpa “Santa” Berensmeier said, “Lee lived life to the fullest!” May we hear him in the babbling brooks, remember him through his magnificent imagery, and see his spirit dancing in the wind, colors and light as they caress the golden rolling hills of his beloved San Geronimo Valley.
Cloud Shaman Calling Back The Red Fish
Old Man Image Maker Contemplates Genetic Incarnations
Raven Dancer
Tonight’s Sky by Rich Lohman March-May 2024
Moving to the right of the Pleiades and upward, you’ll find another object worthy of binocular viewing. It is called the Perseus Double Cluster. This is another open star cluster….actually two of them very close together. In a very clear, dark sky you might be able to find this cluster with your naked eyes. To find it with bin- oculars you’ll need to scan very slowly between the end star of Perseus and the end star of Cassiopeia. The starry clusters will fill your binocular field with sparkling jewel-like stars. At the end of March we have a comet paying us a visit from the outer solar sys- tem. Named Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, it will be most visible on or around March 30th. About 8:30 in the evening point your binoculars low in the west, below and to the right of Jupiter and very near the lower star in Aries. Scan very slowly and look for a smudge in the sky. This comet last visited us in 1954. Let’s hope we have clear skies to view its visitation!
The winter/spring night sky in the southwest will con- tinue to be dominated by the constellation of Orion, accompanied by the constellations of Taurus and Gemini. You will also see Leo to the east of Gemini (not shown on
the sky map). Other constellations nearby: Auriga, pentagon-shaped above Taurus, and Perseus and Cassiopeia (the W on its side) toward the northwest. The map shows an area of the sky between southwest and northwest. The more familiar Big Dipper you’ll find in the North. The two stars on the cup of the Big Dipper will point you toward Polaris, our pole or North Star. I’ve personally found that I can remember and identify an object in the sky if I know a story or something more about it than just its name. I’d like to use that practice in talking about the Pleiades, the beautiful open star cluster now located in the West, about halfway up from the horizon and a bit above very bright Jupiter. Just with your eyes you’ll see a fuzzy blob in the sky. With your binoculars you’ll see a beautiful array of a dozen or more stars. The brightest of these stars form what is often mistaken as the Little Dipper. Surrounding the stars you may also notice a wispy veil, remnants of the gaseous nebula from which the stars were born about 100 million years ago. All stars are born out of very dense clouds of gas and dust, but it’s unusual to see the remnants of that cloud. This constellation is also called The Seven Sisters who, in Greek mythology, were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. The 9 brightest stars in the cluster are named after the 7 sisters plus their father and mother. The brightest star is Alcyone. “Google” the other sisters’ names if interested. The story goes that, to protect them from the pursuits of Orion the hunter, Zeus converted these 7 sisters into stars and placed them in the heavens. In Japan the cluster is called Subaru, mean- ing “gathered together”, and the auto company uses the 6 brightest stars for its well-known emblem. The current company is a merger of multiple companies.
Feel free to email me if you have questions: richneal@pacbell.net
SGV Community Center Stone Soup Page 5
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