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.”

From Martha Stewart to MacGyver

SPOTLIGHT - November 2013

By Lauren Anderson, Sophie Barron, Erin Fernwood, Alexandra Kitze, Julia Kudler and Maddie O’Hara; from The Bay School, Branson, Marin Academy, Sir Francis Drake High and University High Schools

Do you believe in fate? Do you believe that every person has one central calling? Alison Lewis, inventive fashion designer, does. “This is what I was supposed to do,” she said, in an interview with FastForward at her studio in San Francisco.

Nestled in a bright, bubblegum pink room, wearing a sparkling gold shirt like the true fashionista she is, Lewis is renowned for her ability to bridge the gap between art and science through her innovative and cutting-edge fashion designs made especially unique through the technology she incorporates within the clothing.

Living a Life of Magic

SPOTLIGHT - November 2013

By Gemma Calandra, C.C. Clark, Adam Epstein, Luca Evans, Dean Griffin, Spencer Hao, Sarah Knopf, Hawke Lenihan, Luke Rudy, Cole Summers, Sari Wisoff and Christine Watridge; from Bacich, Davidson Middle, Del Mar Middle, Kent Middle, Lycee Francais International de San Francisco, Marin Country Day School, Mill Valley Middle, San Domenico, St. Mark and St. Rita Schools

What do you think of when you hear the word magic? Do you dream of knights and dragons, of Camelot and Merlin, of the never ending battle between the two great forces of good and evil, the fairies versus the witches and the prince rushing to save the princess with the help of some magical, all-powerful being? Do you picture the fantastic world of Harry Potter, the great Hogwarts castle, a blood-red Sorcerer’s Stone, which can grant immortality or vanquish a Dark Lord by the fandom-nicknamed “Golden Trio?” Or do you imagine magic in its true sense, a complex simplicity of hidden logic and crafty magicians bending reality with stupefying tricks of light and mind? This last category was the type of magic we experienced today.