f romArtthe Headl<strong>an</strong>dsDesigns <strong>an</strong>d Cappuccinoby Heather SmithAs a teenager, I spent countless hours at Headl<strong>an</strong>dsCoffeehouse, drawing on napkins, filling m<strong>an</strong>y sketchbooks<strong>an</strong>d drinking copious amounts of coffee. Naturally,this m<strong>an</strong>ifested in my c<strong>are</strong>er. After working at Headl<strong>an</strong>dsfor a few years, I noticed my boss, Dave Gealey, etching adesign on<strong>to</strong> a cappuccino. I liked the way it added his owncreative <strong>to</strong>uch <strong>to</strong> his cups.So for a time I switched my c<strong>an</strong>vas from paper <strong>to</strong>foam. My designs evolved from simple swirls in<strong>to</strong> flowers,<strong>an</strong>imals, <strong>an</strong>d faces. Mary Gealy suggested turning my coffeeart in<strong>to</strong> a Headl<strong>an</strong>ds pho<strong>to</strong> exhibit. A friend <strong>an</strong>d cus<strong>to</strong>mer,John Griffen, offered <strong>to</strong> take the pho<strong>to</strong>graphs. Hiskeen sense of design <strong>an</strong>d composition gave t<strong>an</strong>gibility <strong>to</strong>my perishable medium. Greg White further refined,cropped <strong>an</strong>d printed the final results. I couldn't have doneit without them.Because of the combined support of the entireHeadl<strong>an</strong>ds family, I have realized a new outlet of expression.31
Not Writingis Worse —The Art ofJerry Juhlby Michael PottsJolly, quiet, <strong>an</strong>d brilli<strong>an</strong>t: it’s hard <strong>to</strong> imagine <strong>an</strong>yMendocino Coast resident bringing more joy <strong>to</strong> morepeople around the world th<strong>an</strong> our Jerry. He elevated playfulness<strong>to</strong> <strong>an</strong> art.Jerry came <strong>to</strong> California from the Midwest as ayoungster, <strong>an</strong>d found his art as a puppeteer before highschool, when he earned money writing <strong>an</strong>d performinghis own puppet shows. His father was a scoutmaster, butJerry, ever <strong>an</strong> individualist, was <strong>to</strong>o busy “wiggling dollies”<strong>to</strong> join a troop. He <strong>to</strong>ok his inspiration from Kukla,Fr<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>d Ollie (the TV show) <strong>an</strong>d especially Walt Kelly’sPogo (the comic strip). He found his writing talent early,as edi<strong>to</strong>r-in-chief <strong>an</strong>d head writer for his high schoolpaper. While studying speech <strong>an</strong>d drama at S<strong>an</strong> Jose Statehe also produced <strong>an</strong> hour long, five-day-a-week showSylvie <strong>an</strong>d Pup on S<strong>an</strong> Jose’s NBC-TV ch<strong>an</strong>nel. Jerry metwife <strong>an</strong>d working partner Sus<strong>an</strong>, there. Both decidedagainst getting the teaching credential that usually goeswith being speech <strong>an</strong>d drama majors, despite p<strong>are</strong>ntalurgings: they didn’t w<strong>an</strong>t <strong>to</strong> “fall back on” <strong>an</strong>ything.After graduation, Jerry did puppetry with Oakl<strong>an</strong>d’sRecreation Department. As that job wound down, he performedat the national puppetry convention at Asilomar,where he met Jim Henson, who was seeking someone <strong>to</strong>help with his nightly network show Sam <strong>an</strong>d Friends, aforerunner of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, onlywith puppets.Jerry lived in the Hensons’ basement, <strong>an</strong>d did everythingon the show, building sets, writing scripts, makingpuppets, <strong>an</strong>d performing. Jerry <strong>an</strong>d Jim beg<strong>an</strong> assemblingthe comp<strong>an</strong>y of gifted puppeteers, writers, <strong>an</strong>d staffthat still works <strong>to</strong>gether.He had <strong>an</strong> unc<strong>an</strong>ny ability <strong>to</strong> capture a puppeteer’spersonality in a puppet. The immortal Kermit the Frog,for example, was written by Jerry, but personified JimHenson. Asked if Jerry had a favorite Muppet, Sus<strong>an</strong> firstdemurred, saying “No, he didn’t. That wouldn’t be fair <strong>to</strong>the others,” but then admitted that Jerry loved writing theSwedish Chef’s gibberish.Jerry had a simple but dem<strong>an</strong>ding program forartistic success. Learn your Craft. Spend m<strong>an</strong>y lonelyhours practicing <strong>an</strong>d polishing – for puppeteers, this isspent in front of a mirror. Then, crucially: Be in the rightplace at the right time.32