James Hubbell- Artist, Philanthropist, Humanitarian
"James Hubbell is a national treasure in our midst. An artist and designer, humanitarian and environmentalist, he is internationally revered for inventive, ecological buildings and uplifting public parks constructed with volunteer collaborators from many cultures. Nine intimate and unique structures house his renowned, vibrant home and busy art studios on a hilltop near Julian. Rustic, imaginative, and uncommonly beautiful, these curvy buildings comfortably hug the death and dance with the sky with undulating roofs and sculptural accents. Hubbell and his assistants embellish them with cascading mosaics, rich stained-glass windows and whimsical arcs of iron, all in harmony with nature. San Deigns mourned when the 2003 Cedar Fire damaged four of the beloved buildings, but Hubbell, his wife Anne, and many friends quickly mobilized to rebuild them, with some improvements such as solar panels and a new kitchen. Another addition is a sparkling, sculptural sellouts big enough to shelter one to three people in quiet contemplation..." -Courtesy 'The Most Interesting Man in the Backcountry.' 2011
James Hubbell and Beth McCormick at the Onion House, where , over 50 years ago, he created an extensive series of stained glass windows and the mosaic dining room table.
This mosaic dining table is one of James Hubbell's contributions to the Onion House, along with many stained glass windows.
Chapel at Sea Ranch, California
The International Pacific Rim Parks
James Hubbell, with a team of Organic Architecture students and volunteers, constructed a series of "Peace Parks" around the world, including this one in Vladivostok.
James Hubbell and artist Beth McCormick at the Onion House, December 2012.
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James Hubbell's innovative compoundJames Hubbell designed and built, over a period of 40 years, a magical place known as Ilan-Lael, consisting of eight structures located on 40 acres near Santa Ysabel, CA. Ilan-Lael currently serves as the home of James and Anne Hubbell, and is the location of Hubbell art studio. It is also home to the Ilan-Lael Foundation, which has built an art education and nature center as a gathering place for artists and friends.
Trial by Fire... Disaster strikesIn October, 2003, Hubbell's compound in Julian California, Ilan Lael, suffered nature's harshest test. The Cedar Fire roared through the compound, severely damaging four of the structures. Firefighter Steven Rucker died fighting the fire on a neighbor's property. 2
"He took the fire in stride, and made it part of his art," says former Union Tribune architecture critic Ann Jarmusch, who visited Hubbell at the property a few weeks after the fire. "He was in his studio, painting watercolors of what others may have dismissed as devastation." 2
"Before the fire I had never known the and, the mounds, the valleys, the fascinating boulders and texture of the earth, as it was so covered with chaparral. It is like living with someone for 40 years who finally took their clothes off," Hubbell wrote in a small book. "It is to that the Cedar Fire was not and still is a great tragedy. It is, but tragedy is part of what we accept when we come into this world, as well as joy." 2
Chapel built after the fire
Newly built Ilan Lael Center for the Arts, 2015.
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Multi-disciplinary artist James Hubbell was commissioned by and Arabian Sheik to create a series of 18 stained glass doors for his palace in Abu Dhabi. This book may expand your concepts of both 'stand glass' and 'doors.'
Sources:
1. Hubbell and Hubbell.com
2. San Diego Union Home/Garden Lifestyles Tribute to Local Artists and Craftsmen 2011
3. Voice of San Diego, "The Most Interesting Man in the Backcountry 2011
4. San Diego Union Tribune, Masterful compound: The Hubbell home. 2011
1. Hubbell and Hubbell.com
2. San Diego Union Home/Garden Lifestyles Tribute to Local Artists and Craftsmen 2011
3. Voice of San Diego, "The Most Interesting Man in the Backcountry 2011
4. San Diego Union Tribune, Masterful compound: The Hubbell home. 2011
