Montalvo Arts Center asked me to re-activate the teahouse for our previous socially engaged project “Rolling Counterpoint.” The wooden teahouse had been situated on the edge of the hill behind the Villa Montalvo. Responding to their request, I started having my desire to create a gathering space instigated by an object outside of the teahouse, and possibly at another location on their land.

This time, I wanted to integrate many aspects of my everyday life and thinking, some of which were common threads with “Rolling Counterpoint,” and some others of which were recent practices or thoughts after the project.

1. Collecting stones and seashells
2. Focusing on an aspect of the construction of our identity, where a person seems to be defined better by what they have lost than by what they have
3. Paying tribute to the quality of California Redwood - Material Intelligence
4. Integrating 池坊 (Ikenobo Ikebana)- for listening to found natural materials around me
5. Setting up a porous border between the inside and outside - creating an object that creates an expanding space where various layers of human life converge quietly and naturally

And the initial framework I set up to myself was:
In a public space, how can I create a private and intimate space, a place where people can sit quietly with something deep in mind, together?

Exhibited in “The Art and Architecture of Maybe” at Montalvo Arts Center in 2026 with the following suggested instructions.

Always, take a deep breath.

You may do this activity with someone you know well, someone you want to know more, or by yourself.

• If you have a stone that speaks to you, please bring it. If you don't, that's all fine.
• Sit at the installation and begin with a few deep breaths. Just relax.
• Hold your stone, or find one you like in the box. Then, strike the bell with the accompanying mallet.
• As you listen to the sound of the bell, feel what or who you have lost. Feel the weight, texture, and temperature of the stone, as if you are embedding your loss into it, so that it stays there.
• Talk with whoever you came with, or someone sitting nearby, or anyone at all, after this experience.
• You may leave your stone in the box, or not. You may keep a stone from the box, or not.