Artist, Surfer, Shaper

+The girls of shaper studioashley lloydhaley gordon& glass beach

SURF \ ART \ TRAVEL \ CULTURE

CONTENTS ED NOTE

THIS IS MARGAUXSurfer, artist, shaper, and all around badass.

THE GIRLSThe girls of shaper studios take over the San Diego Surf Film Festival.

ON ASHA day with suerfer, shaper, and musician Ashley Lloyd.

GLASS BEACHThe dump you’ll want to visit.

DEPARTMENTS 001 Ed Note002 This Is Margaux010 The Girls016 On Ash022 Glass Beach028 Short Stories

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Editor’s Note

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MARGAUX ARRAMON-TUCOO SHARES THE

I N S P I R A T I O N

B E H I N D H E R A R T A N D

P H I L O S O P H Y

O N T H E I N T E R P L A Y

B E T W E E N

S U R F I N G , A RT, N AT U R E , A N D T H E

H U M A N S P I R I T

MARGAUX ARRAMON-TUCOO SHARES THE

I N S P I R A T I O N

B E H I N D H E R A R T A N D

P H I L O S O P H Y

O N T H E I N T E R P L A Y

B E T W E E N

S U R F I N G , A RT, N AT U R E , A N D T H E

H U M A N S P I R I T

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You have been designated a traveler, surfer and painter. What other identities would you claim? Are there any that take priority?I think the one that makes it all would be an optimist and being persistent. I have believed in everything I’ve done until now, and that’s what has taken me where I am with what I had. As I say, the fact of traveling to surf, and surfing to draw, and drawing to surf again – and traveling through that – makes a whole, constant balance in my life. I have to follow my mind, and being an optimist is the reason why.

Where do you find inspiration for your art? Do you draw from your head or from what’s in front of you?I draw from what I read, what I hear, and what I see. It could be anything: some people inspiring some people’s creativity, or old art movements. I listen to people, watch them; I think I just get it all from the living I hold.

What mediums do you work in?Mostly pens and inks. I’ve been enjoying painting lately. I work on canvas, fabrics, woods and resin. I like to change mediums, but I like to make some series of the same drawings in different colors or backgrounds. I’d love to make some murals someday.

It seems you mostly do symmetrical, cylindrical designs. Do you ever play with portraiture or still life?I love geometry! I have been learning about the golden ratio lately, and it takes me to another dimension. Since I have been painting some faces. I can’t tell if that’s realistic or portraiture, but it looks more like still life than any other thing I’ve done.

How does your artwork parallel your surfing? What does your artwork say about you as a person? Is it a reflection of your mind, or an observation of something around you?My art helps me to stay active, besides my surfing. I love being social, but I need loneliness, and drawing gives me that same satisfaction as when I enter the water. That way I always am productive, whether there are waves or not. It keeps me happy differently than any other thing I do. Its not better – it’s complementary. My artworks show some of my inside, of course. The mandalas (Sanskrit term for “circle”) I draw are meant to represent balance, as well as the woman and nature. The rest is for what I can create with my own mind. I could not live without my imagination. It keeps me so aware of what’s going on around me. I like to enjoy every detail I see and be happy about it.

Living in your “second homeland,” as you titled one of your blog entries, what parallels can you draw between life in France and life elsewhere? Any major differences?I was born and raised in Biarritz, France. I have been going places overseas with my family. We spent major time in Morocco, which also is home to me. But as for my grown life, I have been traveling alone. I go to California each time I need to. I feel good there. I love the people, I love the waves, and I can stay creative at the same time. It feels like home for sure. I love France, and I miss it when I am away.

What place(s) inspires you most?Everywhere I go inspires me! From the best experience to the worst one, I get inspiration, from the end of my street to the far-out of the Australian forest (: I have some places I love to go, like gardens or empty beaches – the places you can find everywhere you go, and where you can feel the same feeling. I think it is amazing.

From skateboarders and surfers, to artists and videographers, you have an array of creative, athletic friends. What has drawn you to the friends you have made and other artists you work with?Surfing is the main reason. I have been surfing in front of my house since I was little. They used to have the Biarritz Surf Festival, which hosted the longboard world title at the time, so I was already into that scene. Then so many people started to come every summer to visit, and I grew and made friends like Kassia Meador, Leah Dawson and Joel Tudor. They used to come and surf with us sometimes. You are meant to follow; you learn and you hear so much when you have these people around you because that’s what they live. Then they invite you over to surf their waves, and you meet so many people, get some amazing surf, and do so many things.My art fit perfectly into this kind of lifestyle.

You are young, yet you have already dabbled in so much. What do you see yourself doing in 10 years? In 25 and 50 years?I dont see haha… I go with the flow. I organize myself in case, but I like to

think about what’s next in this life first to make it con-tinue. I don’t think I will be sad. That’s the only thing I can say (: Then everything will be what it will be. I dont see haha… I go with the flow. I organize myself in case, but I like to think about what’s next in this life first to make it continue. I don’t think I will be sad. That’s the only thing I can say (: Then everything will be what it will be.

ON THE COVER

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I could

not live

without my

imagination.It

keeps me so

aware of

what’s going

on around

me.

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ON THE COVER ON THE COVER

“i like to enjoy every detail i see

and be happy about it.”

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ON THE COVER

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T H E G I R L SHaley Gordon and the girls of Shaper Studios take over the San Diego Surf Film Festival.

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THE GIRLS

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It’s a year of firsts for surf film festivals in San Diego, from San Diego Surf Ladies hosted Board Shorts: Short Films by SoCal artists, Inspired by Women to the inaugural San Diego Surf Film Festival taking place this May at Bird’s Surf Shed. 13 feature films and 22 shorts will be screened over the weekend of May 11 – 13th and there are some familiar faces in the line up! San Diego Surf Lady, Hayley Gordon blew us all away with By The Way back in February! At just shy of fifteen minutes long her film is a refreshing look at a crop of talented women surfers with the right amount energy and fun that makes you immediately want to grab your board and run out of the door.

Thoughtfully edited with an awesome soundtrack Hayley’s film has gained world-wide attention in the past couple of months with 33k+ views on Vimeo and posts on many a surf site including Surfer Maga-zine. By the Way is being screened as part of a triple dose of women’s surfing goodness in a 2 two hour block where you can also see Clare Plueckhahn and Fran Derham’s lat-est piece So It Goes & much loved feature documentary The Women and the Waves. Australian filmmaker Clare Plueckhahn and Fran Derham’s last piece LunchBreak won ‘best short’ at the New York Surf Film Festi-val and was featured as a guest ‘global short’ at the Board Shorts Festival. So it Goes contrasts the tongue in cheek high energy of LunchBreak and features 19 year old Billa-bong surfer Felicity Palmateer exploring her thoughts on life and the pressure she faces as a competitive surfer. First released in 2009 The Women and The Waves, a documentary by Heather Hudson and features a cast span-ning multiple female surfers including the pioneering Linda Benson and professional surfer, shaper & musician Ashley Lloyd. Uplifting interviews and inspiring surfing throughout the film provide a great commentary on what it means to be a wave-loving woman!Not to be missed over the weekend another film screened at the Board Shorts Festival and chosen by the San Diego Surf Film Festival as an automatic selection is Margaux. Shot and edited by Michael Weybret of Shaper Studios in San Diego Margaux takes us on a beautifully crafted four-minute journey as we watch the French surfer shape and glide on a recent visit to California.

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THE GIRLS

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“Thoughtfully edited

with an awesome

soundtrack Hayley’s f ilm

has gained worldwide attention

in the past couple of months.”

THE GIRLS

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“Her f ilm is a refreshing look at a crop of talented women surfers with the right amount energy and fun that makes you immediately want to grab your board and run out of the door.”

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THE GIRLS

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“UPLIFTING INTERVIEWS

AND INSPIRING SURFING

PROVIDE A GREAT

COMENTARY ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A

WAVE-LOVING WOMAN.”

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ON ASH

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ON ASH

Much of Ashley Lloyd Thompson’s life has revolved around surfboards. A surfer since age 8, Lloyd Thompson began competing at 15 and eventually rose through the professional ranks as a longboarder, all the while teaching surfing on the side.But Lloyd Thompson’s expertise isn’t just limited to what she can do on a surfboard. She began shaping boards in 2002 and founded Ashley Lloyd Surfboards in 2005. As fellow surfers and shapers frequently tell her, Lloyd Thompson is the only female surfboard shaper in Santa Cruz County and is one of a few in the world. “People tell me I’m the only female surfboard shaper in the world doing it as a business,” Lloyd Thompson said.

“I have met women who have shaped one board, but I don’t know of any other women who are in business doing it. I met a sculptor in San Diego named Desa Kirk who makes boards, but I don’t know if it’s a business for her. I’m sure there has to be more women out there.” Born and raised in Southern California, Lloyd Thompson, 32, said she was approached in Malibu in 2002 by a surfboard shaper who was specifically looking for a woman to teach how to shape. “Danny Tarampi was my mentor,” said Lloyd Thompson, who moved to Santa Cruz in 2005. “He had taught men how to shape, but he and everyone else hadn’t ever heard of a female shaper. I was interest-ed in boards he was making, and one day he asked me if I might be interested in learning how to shape.”

the intentions that you put out seem to be what return to you in this world.

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With much trial and error as well as Tarampi’s guidance, Lloyd Thompson honed her craft. Known for her longboards, Lloyd Thompson also produces mid-range boards and is learning how to do high-performance shortboards. Two of her designs are produced by Bing Surfboards in Encinitas: the Ashley Lloyd Signature model and the Dear and Yonder model -- but the majority of her work is through custom orders with prices ranging from $600-$1,200. She has her boards glassed at Stretch Boards in Santa Cruz and considers a number of shapers in the area as mentors including Steve Coletta of Natural Curves Surfboards.

She married fellow surfer Alex Thompson in June and shares songwriting and lead vocal duties with him in their band, The Shapes. A Pleasure Point resident with a shaping studio on the Westside, Lloyd Thompson estimates her clientele at 50-50 in terms of gender. “I love boards that are pink and have flowers on them and think they’re fun, but that is definitely not what I do with a lot of my boards,” Lloyd Thompson said. “I think women seek me out be-cause I am a woman and I’m relatable and approachable, but more and more men are ordering my boards because they like the shapes and the aesthetics. “Just think about it: You don’t enjoy food more just because a man or a woman cooks it -- it’s about the food.”

“Just think about it: You don’t enjoy food

more just because a man or a woman

cooks it -- it’s about the food.”

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ON ASH

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G L A S S

B E A C H

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GLASS BEACH

All people who walk slowly down the beach, hunched over, peering down at the ground are not looking for shells. These days, many beachcombers are looking for sea glass. Defined as glass that has been tumbled by natural wave action to the point where there are no sharply-defined edges and all surfaces exhibit a frosted or etched appearance, sea glass is created when debris from glass objects end up in the ocean, breaks into pieces, and is smoothed by the action of waves and sand.

In the days before environmental laws prohibited such actions, some of this glass came from trash dumped off ships. In other cases, the source of debris was old garbage dumps located near the ocean. Over the years, wind and rainstorms caused trash to migrate toward the shore, tumbling until it disintegrated, leaving behind only the more durable glass. In areas where perfect geography, wave action, and wind combined, sea glass deposits grew deep and were left undisturbed, since the glass was still regarded as useless trash. Gradually, people began to notice the beauty of this delicately etched glass.

They marveled at colors ranging from frosty white to deep turquoise, cobalt blue, and even blood red. Initially collected as pretty baubles to be displayed in a glass bowl, jewelry makers eventually began creating pieces from the unique material. Today sea glass is in such demand that it is growing scarce; many of the beaches that had contained thick beds have been thoroughly picked over.

However, many beaches still do offer many of the beachcombers a good selection of quality sea glass. For many years the people in this town dumped their trash over the bluffs and onto a strip of beach owned by the Union Lumber Company. Locals simply called it “The Dumps.” In 1967, city leaders closed the area and various cleanup programs were begun, but by that time, much of the glass had been washed down to the shore, becoming the small, smooth, colored pieces that coat the beach today. Although much of the material has been carted away by collectors, there is still a good deal left.

A few years ago, this beach was taken over by the California State Park Department, which voiced concern over disappearing sea glass. Rumors soon began circulating that sea glass could no longer be taken. While it is true that the Parks Department discourages the collecting of sea glass, California beaches are public up to the mean high water mark, thus collecting cannot be banned.

Current opinion seems to be that it is perfectly legal to collect glass on any of the beaches in Fort Bragg, although care must be taken not to trespass on surrounding private properties to get to any of the three collecting sites. Of these, the best known is Glass Beach, located inside McKerricher Park, which is said to holds the highest concentration of sea glass in the world.

Although, many beaches are generally depleted of the larger specimens, great quantities of small pieces are abundant and larger pieces can still be found after storms churn the beach. The path to Glass Beach is located at the end of Elm Street.

F o r t B r a g g , C a l i f o r n i a

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SHORT STORIES

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SHORT STORIES

This exclusive collection of stories was put together by Ron Croci. ‘Beach fights’ is an unfortunate part of surf culture, a simple consequence of passionate surfers, protective of ‘their’ spots, waves and honor, with alcohol only making things worse. This series of short stories, accompanied by illustrations, chronicles the events he’s witnessed.…

Wander Inn Demolition

During the late 1960’s, when I surfed Pedro Point, a cove 20 miles south of San Francisco. There was a lively scene in front of the Wander Inn bar and restaurant. The surfers were kind of like scrapers and delinquents, instead of the Southern Californian beach boy archetype. One day a kid moves there from Malibu with his parents. He was about 18 years old. This kid had the perfect Beach Boys look. Blonde, Prince Valiant hair, Pendleton, faded jeans and Purcell shoes. When he showed up and tried to be friendly that summer, he immediately became the scapegoat for all the hostility between the Northern Californian and Southern Californian surfers. Things went like this for him that summer…Week one. His name is John, so everyone starts calling him “Malibu John”. Hardly calling, but jeering really.Week four. Although he tries to be friendly and can surf good, no one gives him a wave.Week eight. Then one day, the biggest guys, who were by the way, drunk college football players, champion wrestlers and loved fighting, began to hassle him. They crowded around and started with the “why don’t you go back to Malibu,” right in his face and then ripped up his shirt.Week ten. He foolishly returns with his board. The ruffian surfers were hanging out at the beach, feeling bored and getting drunk, when Malibu John shows up. As I’m watching I see these guys spring to life. They began to accost him right there, took his board and laid it over a parking lot telephone pole. Then one guy stood on the tail, as the football player, in a drunken spasm, jumps on the nose and breaks the board in half. The poor kid was aghast and feared for his safety. Then, unfortunately the guys began to really shove him around. Even hit him a couple of times. He ran away and I never saw him again.

Ano Nuevo Knockdown

R. was one of the first people to surf the beach break called Ano Nuevo, about 45 miles South of San Francisco, in 1963. Naturally feeling possessive of the spot as he was one of the first to discover it’s potential, he would occasionally drop-in on newcomers. This break was very much like Velzy Land, with a sand bottom. A short intense peak and barrel. These were the days before Ano was a park, before sharks and before the sea elephants returned. Just a wild, wonderful, wind swept and grassy farmland.

One day while surfing the peak, a perfect A Frame comes right at R.… and one of the newcomers. R. casually looks to his left and drops right in. R. gets the perfect barrel and the newcomer gets creamed and loses his board. R.’s ride ended up on the sand and he see’s the newcomer standing next to his board on the beach. R. walks over to him to see if he is alright. The newcomer was seething. R. graciously asks if he is okay and squats down to see if his board has any dings, which it did. While R. was looking at the board, the newcomer (idiotically) spit a huge lunger on his head. R. was not an explosive person, however that spitting enraged him. From the squatting position, I saw him fire his fist upwards at the newcomers’ jaw, while launching off his legs. The guy was hit so hard that he flew up and backwards, ending up on his back. Then R. stood over him like the Rumble in The Jungle. Well, that was that. Funny thing though, I saw the newcomer actually try to be friends with R. in the days that followed.

Flying Bicycle

T.F is one of the biggest and most taciturn of all the bulls that surf the Kaiser Bowl. He also loves rebuilt classic Volkswagen buses. One day he drives up and parks in his newly painted, turquoise 1963 VW Bus. As picturesque as you can imagine, the blue sea, sky, whitewater and polished turquoise paint. As T.F. goes off to talk with someone, a homeless surfer that we all knew by the pseudonym of “Jaysoon” comes riding up on his rickety old bicycle. He stops, gets off, and absentmindedly leans his bike against the new paint job. As T.F. returned and saw the bike, his rage was instant. Growing almost two times his normal size, with eye’s just melting the bike, he grabbed it and flung it over the rock jetty and into the Bowls lagoon. At least a thirty yard throw. Furthest I have ever seen a bicycle fly. As I recall, the dripping wet homeless surfer was last seen walking his bike across the reef and back to the parking lot.

Court Order

This is not a fight, in the real sense of the word, however, it was so unusual that I wanted to write about it. T. was a huge South Shore Bull, with a sullen, taciturn temper. For some reason he began terrorizing everybody, even his friends, on the strip between Three’s and Ala Moana. By the way, I would NEVER drop in on him. Just one look from those white eyes glowing from that sun-browned face, told everyone, he was going.One day he started hassling his long time friend and surfing companion, A., at the Kaiser Bowl. T. put so much pressure on A. that he could not surf in peace. T. threatened A., violently, so many times that A. got a judge to put a restraining order on him. So for six months, whenever A. surfed anywhere, T. was legally bound to stay one hundred yards away from him. As far as I know, this is the first time a judge has ordered an individual person to stay away from another named individual in the lineup. So in this way, peace returned to the Bowl, and A. was once again able to enjoy the glorious delight of that turquoise barrel.

Drop In

OMG, I saw another beach fight today! I had some markers in the car so I made a quick sketch of what happened along with a description.

I was paddling out at Palos Verdes Cove through the left channel when I see a middle aged guy take off on a beautiful five foot wave. I could see he had the perfect position. As he was tucking right into the curl a young guy, around 25 years old starts to take off in front of him. They both look at each other, and I see incredulity on the face of the Curl Rider, and a complete lack of caring on the face of the Drop In. The guy drops right in and ruins Curl Riders ride.

Many waves at The Cove have two people riding, so I didn’t think much of it, until I see Curl Rider race right up behind the Drop In, leap off his board and grab the Drop In’s wetsuit by the neck collar. They both wipeout and Drop In comes up second only to be greeted by a solid punch to the forehead by Curl Rider. Curl Rider gets up on his board while the Drop In starts screaming at him, all the while keeping his distance. I’m right next to him now and I see Curl Rider aim his longboard and shoot it to about two inches from Drop In’s face. Then Curl Rider says, “We may both go to jail, but I’ll still beat the **** out of you!” He paddles away and shortly there after we are both sitting next to each other in the line up. I say to Curl Rider, “That was quite a rumble over the Left”. Curl Rider turns to me with that blank look of a man with no conscience and says, “I’m not beyond taking a bite out of that guy.”

There have been many stories told on the topic of beach fights. These fights are mostly the underbelly of our beautiful sport. However, here, I would like to explore this topic in a different way. I have stories to tell, along with illustrations. I must be clear that I in no way condone beach violence. I am very disappointed by some of the very events that I describe here. Non the less, these are a few of the fights I have seen.I have recalled here 15 fights that stand out vividly in my surfing history. Some funny, some serious.

I know many of the participants, but here, use only their initials. I have attempted to illustrate my brief descriptions by accompanying each story with a small watercolour painting. I limited myself to 20 minutes per artwork. I am trying to show, quickly, the impression these encounters made on my memory.