Pictured is Eli Andersen of Portland, Oregon, with a 15′ redwood paddleboard. Eli makes his own paddleboards and kayaks on which he does long, solo paddling adventures. This board was made from wood salvaged from his mom’s deck. It weighs about 50 pounds. Eli made it for a solo circumnavigation of Haida Gwaii in British Columbia that he will attempt this summer. He will paddle about ten miles a day. At this pace Eli will complete his trip in two and half months, his window being June 1st to August 15th.

Eli has already paddled the entire Oregon Coast—which also took him a full summer to complete—and solo kayaked the length of the inside passage from southeast Alaska to Washington. On his Oregon coast trip he paddled about fifteen miles a day, carrying four or five days of supplies and camping gear. Then he would hitch hike back to his truck, drive back to his board, camp for the night and re-supply and then do it all over again. There are very few roads in Haida Gwaii, so he will have to talk fishermen into dropping off supply packs at various locations on the islands.

Eli says he gets in rhythm when he is paddling about two miles from shore. There’s less current out there and it seems to be where he gets his best glide. He said that whales, dolphins and birds seem to prefer traveling along this watery thoroughfare as well. Eli does these paddling adventures for no other reasons than to see a place. No cause, no fanfare-he just really loves being out there.

Here are some photos of the East Meets West show at The Surf Gallery in Laguna Beach last weekend.

All of the prints are traditional fiber and c-prints made from the original negative. The Rincon panoramic is a cibachrome print. I made the Africa collage with about 70–80 traditional prints and the frames from tiger-striped myrtlewood from Southern Oregon.

The show should be up another two weeks at The Surf Gallery

Hours: 12–6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and by appointment.

911 S. Coast Hwy. Laguna Beach, CA 92651

949–376-9155

Here’s a sample of some of the framed prints I donated for the Art Benefit tonight in Irvine.

These are 8x8” fiber prints made from a Lomo toy camera, all of them are number 1 in an edition of 10. I made the frames from salvaged redwood and finished them with teak oil.

This is a frame I made recently for one of my Rincon prints. It went to a friend in Santa Barbara. It’s made from reclaimed redwood and Port Orford cedar.

I still have a few copies left of both regular and limited edition versions of my book ONE, a compilation of photos taken 2000–2007 published by Bueno! Books, Japan.

About One:

“One is a visual odyssey  that celebrates a life less ordinary, lived in search of moments and experiences akin to sun-soaked rainstorms and flowers blooming through a crack in the sidewalk.“

–Ethan Stewart, The Independent

“Surfer/Photographer Joe Curren’s first photo book collects together his most treasured images from destinations like Ireland, Taiwan, and West Africa. A true natural, Curren evokes the raw feeling of searching for waves, beauty and humanity“

–from, Surfing Magazine

Sao Tome Surfers, 2006-walnut

Central California, 2004-walnut

Here’s shots of frames I made for some of Andrew Kidman’s silk screen prints. In January he came up from Australia to promote his beautiful new book “Ether”. This show was at the Surf Gallery in Laguna Beach which had great live music by The Matson Two. The frames are made from solid maple and walnut.