Opening the Door To Life, Art, and Creative Courage with Artist James Hubbell

The Finest City

In this week’s episode, we continue our journey through C3’s oral history interviews, in collaboration with the San Diego History Center. Former C3 President Kate Goodson spoke with renowned San Diego artist James Hubbell at his unique home in Santa Isabel. James is the principal creative force behind Ilan-Lael. We speak to James about becoming an internationally renowned artist, poet, designer, and teacher, along with his reverence for nature’s gifts and using materials from the natural environment. James dives deep into the early years of C3 and recounts his advocacy work for civic beauty in San Diego. James also talks about the Pacific Rim Park Project, which connects people through art and architecture, and his vision for the future.

Timestamps:

[3:04] James walks us through some of his varied and wild life experiences, from hitching, taking care of polo ponies, serving in the army, to a trip to Africa with the great-grandson of Darwin.

[9:57] James talks about influences in his education and personal partnerships that have influenced his craft and worldview.

[14:20] James discusses the collaborative building process behind the Pacific Rim Park Project. How did it deepen the relationship that participants had with the project that they were literally building this by hand?

[17:11] They are called Peace Parks for a reason. A large part of James’s mission is to make peace and connect the community.

[18:56] How did James and Ann discover C3? What attracted them to the organization, and keeps them engaged decade after decade?

[20:40] Lloyd Ruocco evangelized civic beauty, so what is James’s perspective on how you scale beauty from nature to an object, building, and a whole city? What does he think is true civic beauty?

[24:46] James discusses his advocacy work and the series of pastels he donated to the C3 office.

[30:04] Diane Coombs joins in to talk about events that come to mind when working with C3.

[35:19] What advice does James have for the next generation of artists and architects? Don’t take yourself so seriously, celebrate diversity, and know that we are all connected.

[36:11] How can one develop even more courageousness when it comes to creativity?

About C-3

In its 60 years of existence, Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 (C-3) has brought together local thought leaders from planning, design, policy, academia, community development, and more to address our region’s distinctive and pressing land use challenges. In founding C-3 almost 60 years ago, architect Lloyd Ruocco’s vision was to bring together our region’s most creative minds from the arts, sciences, academia, and government to share ideas, learn new perspectives, and build fellowship around the idea of creating livable communities.

Opportunities for Advocacy and Engagement:

C3sandiego.org

Diane Coombs

James Hubbell

Pacific Rim Park

Lloyd Ruocco