SEARCH: Author Spotlight Sumiko Saulson

Author Spotlight on Sumiko Saulson

Location: Oakland, CA

What’s an article you’ve written for SEARCH that you enjoyed? And why did you enjoy it?

I really enjoyed writing a Black History Month article about Marian Anderson. She was my great grandfather’s first cousin, and my mom always talked about wanting to meet her as a child. Marian Anderson used to invite my grandmother and other relatives to her ranch. I am very proud of being related to her and was thrilled to highlight such an important historical figure for African American History Month.

What was your favorite thing to do as a child?

I loved roller skating and drawing, probably drawing more, though. My mom said I used to throw temper tantrums at the grocery store if she didn’t buy me new crayons and paints every time we walked past the toy aisle, so I guess I was a prima donna artist at a very young age. I still paint and draw quite a bit and even have acrylic paintings in art galleries. I write a comic book called Mauskaveli.

Do you have a hot tip for us? (What is a product/ app/food/store/website that you use right now that you can’t do without or that you like right now? And why?) I just finished reading the last of  … continue reading in the Spring 2019 issue of SEARCH.

 

 

Advertisements

SEARCH: Brian and Patricia Dake

SEARCH Author Spotlight
Brian and Patricia Dake

What’s an article you’ve written for SEARCH that you enjoyed?
The Angel Hair with Garlic, Ricotta and Fava Beans recipe is my absolute favorite because I grew those favas in my garden. Brian is the inspiration behind all the recipes. They are primarily his creations so being part of the process in its earliest stages was immensely satisfying for me.

What was your favorite thing to do as a child?
Brian enjoyed doing projects with his father, some of his favorites being woodwork, metalwork, artistic welding, and of course, cooking. I was, and still am, a voracious bookworm. Now I read mainly romance, but growing up, I delighted in historical fiction and learning how people did everything for themselves from building their own homes to growing and preparing their own food.

Do you have a hot tip for us?
Brian owns many knives. Some are expensive and many are “high-end culinary brands.” In cooking for himself, he finds the knife he uses most is a Victorinox 8 Inch Swiss Classic Chef’s Knife. It handles well, is not too heavy, and rarely needs sharpening. At $40-$45 dollars, it is quite affordable … continue reading in the Winter 2018 issue of SEARCH.

SEARCH: Author Spotlight Elliot Thorpe

Elliot Thorpe

SEARCH AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

Location: Essex, UK

What’s an article you’ve written for SEARCH that you enjoyed? Summer 2016’s Music Snapshot in Time: San Francisco 1959. It allowed me to be creative in emulating an era of music that I really adore and to (hopefully) describe—as best I could—San Francisco of the past. Even reading it back now makes me long for warm evenings and cool jazz vibes, but then I am sitting in my apartment watching the torrential, freezing April rain pour out across where the River Thames meets the North Sea.

What was your favorite thing to do as a child? Rappel my GI Joes on pieces of string out of my first floor bedroom window. The toy line was called Action Man in the UK.

Do you have a hot tip for us? Amazon! I’m a big collector of movie scores and unfortunately many of the larger music stores in London that used to sell imports closed down many years ago. Because movie scores are still something of a niche market, finding rare releases … continue reading in the Fall 2018 issue of SEARCH.

 

 

SEARCH: Kalamu Chaché

Kalamu Chaché
by Kim Richards

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Poetess Kalamu Chaché has lived and worked in East Palo Alto, California since the 1960’s.

Since her residency, Chaché served the East Bayshore community of East Palo Alto and the Belle Haven area of Menlo Park in numerous professional, executive, administrative, advocacy, and artistic areas of employment and volunteer services. The Poet Laureate of East Palo Alto since 1983, she authored three volumes of poetry: Survival Tactics (1975), A Change of Interest (1983), and Survival Interest: A Collection Of Revisited Poems (2013). Her poems appear in several book anthologies, newspapers, calendars, event programs, social media, and a wall exhibit at the East Palo Alto Library.

Her Kalamu Productions is dedicated to creative arts works to bring The Arts closer to peoples’ hearts.

Thank you for visiting with us. What brought you to California?
It was a family decision. My Dad came to work for Flying Tigers Airlines in the San Francisco Bay Area. I suffered with Asthma for many years. The doctors advised that a better climate than Brooklyn might be better for me. My Dad brought me and my … continue reading in the Fall 2018 issue.

SEARCH: Author Spotlight Michele Roger

Michele Roger

What’s an article you’ve written for SEARCH that you enjoyed? 
I’m really blessed to live in the Motor City. There is so much revitalization going on right now in the city of Detroit. While I’ve loved traveling and writing about my adventures in the Cayman’s, New Zealand, and Canada, I have to say the article that has meant the most to me is the Empowerment Group article. A Detroit based Wayne State University student studying art accepted a challenge made by her textiles professor. In a very short time, she went from full time student to homeless advocate and eventually founder of a non-profit organization. One part of her solution gave locally made, warm winter coats to the homeless while the other part of her vision employed working poor parents trying to get themselves and their children out of homeless shelters. Some of the first people they employed have finished college and have gone off to start their own businesses. I’ve never been more inspired than I was after completing that interview.

What was your favorite thing to do as a child?
While I loved reading and playing piano, my absolute favorite time as a kid was the annual fishing trip to northern Canada with my grandparents. No phone, no computers, limited electricity on generator, we went to a camp called Lac de Mille Lac (Lake of a Thousand Lakes). There, we fished all day and photographed wild moose, eagles, and bears.

Do you have a hot tip for us?
My new favorite….continue reading in the Summer 2018 issue.

 

SEARCH: Author Spotlight Tim Reynolds

Tim Reynolds

What’s an article you’ve written for SEARCH that you enjoyed? And why did you enjoy it?
I enjoy them all, because I’m the lucky one who gets to write almost all of the humor articles for SEARCH. People may not believe this, but my articles are all based on true stories in my life, and there is no hyperbolic exaggeration for effect. And because they’re true, I have great fun remembering the incidents and getting them down on paper, to share with the readers, rather than just friends on the deck. One of my favorite stories, though, is the one about Santa, Seniors, and the Goat, mostly because it revolves around my favorite time of the year, Christmas, and one of my favorite places on the planet, Lake Louise in Banff National Park.

What was your favorite thing to do as a child?
Make believe. Whether, making up covert ops for my G.I. Joes or creating plays for my two sisters and I to perform for our parents, it was all about make believe.

Do you have a hot tip for us?
I’m an introvert. I’m really not a big fan of listening to conversations I’m not part of or hearing other people’s music pulsing out of their headphones, but I spend so much time on public transit….continue reading in the Spring 2018 issue.

 

SEARCH: Abie Ekenezar, Actress

Abie Ekenezar, Actress
by Emerian Rich

Actress and writer Abie Ekenezar grew up in Clapham, England. She knew she wanted to be an actress in secondary school and although she was nervous in her first play, the acting bug caught her and has not let go.

As a child, she was inspired by William Shakespeare, Tim Curry, David Tennant, Angela Bassett, and Halle Berry. She’s appeared in recent TV Series such as Grimm, Z. Nation, The Librarians, and Twin Peaks.

SEARCH had the pleasure of chatting with her about acting, writing, and what keeps her going.

What is the first creative thing you remember writing?

My poems. I thought I was an actual badass poet.

What books did you enjoy as a child?
RA Salvatore, Drizzt series, Goosebumps, Fear Street from RL Stine and Harlequin, yes I read Harlequin growing up!

What television series were your favorites?
Voltron, ThunderCats, and Are You Afraid of the Dark… continue reading the Fall issue of SEARCH Magazine.

SEARCH: Kenny Cowan, Artist

Kenny Cowan, Artist
by Emerian Rich

Kenny Cowan is a Bay Area artist who’s lived in San Francisco for the past twenty-four years. He has been featured in many Bay Area gallery shows and is donating sales of his SF AIDS Memorial Grove prints to the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park.

The painting featured above is called Land’s End, inspired by a picture taken by his friend Nina Bell. “I seem to constantly ask if I can use a photograph that one of my friends have taken,” Kenny says. “My painting, Golden Gate Bridge, was inspired from a photograph taken by my friend Andrew Smith.”

Although Kenny paints Bay Area Landscapes now, that’s not how he started. Kenny grew up in the small township of Dadeville in Southwest Missouri, population 249. “I had what I consider a wonderful childhood. Can’t say I was ever without anything I needed. I’m from a large family with lots of love.”

The person who most inspired him to create as a child was his art teacher…continue reading the Fall issue of SEARCH Magazine.

SEARCH: Empowerment Plan

Empowerment Plan
by Michele Roger

The Empowerment Plan manufacturers
and distributes coats to
homeless communities around
the globe. Workers are also offered
free classes which help employees
like Tia (pictured above)
complete their GEDs.

“Capitalist Renewal” was the catch phrase for Detroit and it’s booming automotive business after World War II. Many farmers struggling in the south headed to Detroit in the early 1950’s due to its plentiful jobs and thriving economy. Soldiers returning from war also found jobs and $5,000 in grants to build a home in Detroit’s suburbs. The automotive industry was inclusive of all races and faiths. It was the shining example of the American Dream. Work hard and your job will provide you with high wages, security, and a good life, but something changed drastically from 1980 to 2007.

European markets began aggressively competing with the U.S. automakers. Shareholders in Detroit, accustomed to large profit sharing, made bad decisions. Wages for employees across the board became stagnate, and the hardest hit was the average line worker. Thousands of people lost their jobs and moved away. The tax base of Detroit became the very young or the elderly; neither of whom could support what was once a World Class city.

The Detroit City Council tried program after program to bring the city back. Mayors came and went, some with valiant effort but leaving never the less, defeated. By the middle of 2008, the State of Michigan had to take over. There seemed no solution to Detroit’s crippling decline, leaving many of its residents to deal with high crime and murder rates, abandoned homes turned into drug dens, gang violence, and homelessness. …continue reading the Summer issue of SEARCH Magazine.

SEARCH: Pilot, Susan Grant

Pilot, Susan Grant
by Emerian Rich

“Really, when you look back at
my life, it’s no surprise I ended up
being a jumbo jet pilot who loves
writing science fiction and romance.”

United Airlines pilot and writer, Susan Grant, knew she wanted to be a pilot at three years old.

“I can remember the defining moment,” Susan says. “I was with my dad on the beach and fighter jets flew over. He picked me up and put me on his shoulders and pointed to them. I’ll never forget the roar they made that I could feel in my belly.”

Being interested in space, she also entertained ideas of being an astronaut. When she was a teenager, she wanted to attend the United States Air Force Academy, but women weren’t allowed to enroll in pilot training then. Susan didn’t let that stop her. She fought to be accepted and after four grueling years, received her degree and a commission as second lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

“I was in the third class in history to include women. At most my class was approximately 10% women. It’s a lot better now at 25% women.” Once she was commissioned, she was able to… continue reading the Spring issue of SEARCH Magazine.