By KC Badala, Joe Blair, Alec Douglas, Nathaniel Friend, Taylor Galla, John Hassen, Charlie Ludlow and Cole Thompson; from Branson, Marin Academy, Marin School of the Arts, Marin Catholic High, Sir Francis Drake High and Tam High Schools

SPOTLIGHT - December 2013

Up above the city line, tucked into the hill, overlooking the green landscape of Marin County, appears a quaint home. “An artist lives here?” Those thoughts raced through our minds as we approached the forest green 1954 Chevy truck, and glanced at the Andy Goldsworthy-esque rock wall. Then, out of nowhere, popped out Joe Brubaker, acclaimed sculptor and artist. “Hiya guys!” he excitably exclaimed as we gazed out over the 360 degree landscape with million dollar views.

Although Joe Brubaker’s house did not scream artist, the internationally acclaimed sculptor and ex-teacher, himself certainly did. He worked at UCLA, teaching art and design and became a freelance sculptor, mainly focusing on figurative work. His inspiration behind all his faces is that he is a people person, he said. “Personality drew me to work on human faces.”

Dressed in a paint-splattered plaid flannel shirt, work pants with plaster stains and blotted with paint from many sculptures, his outfit, his voice and his expression epitomized the laid-back environment around us. “Step into my office”, joked Joe, and we gladly obliged, finding ourselves walking into a garage turned workspace. He emitted a welcoming and open-minded spirit before the questions began, lightly joking around, asking us about our lives and passions. Joe wasn’t here to talk about himself; he wanted to learn about us just as much as we wanted to learn about him.