Larry Lagin describes working on nuclear fusion like “trying to create a star on Earth.” But when the scientist and engineer left his job in 2014, he knew he was going to be working on creating something else. “I retired from Livermore Lab in 2014,” Lagin said. “And when I retired I decided I was…
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Art
Passover
Why this S.F. man’s seder features a Pharaoh piñata
To say that retired San Francisco lawyer Al Rosen is a fan of Mexican folk art would be an understatement. The Inner Sunset home where he and his wife,…
Photography
Globe-trotting exhibit shows portraits of local survivors at S.F. Civic Center
When San Francisco resident Anne Marie Yellin, 90, opened the door to her visitor, it took her only a moment to switch into a fast-paced, accented German.…
Art
From Camp Newman’s ashes, photos of devastation and hope
Making sense of tragedy, and moving on, is difficult for anyone. Lily Gottlieb chose photography as a way to help herself and others process the loss of…
Art
Gift for Pittsburgh: S.F. rabbi’s ‘Weeping’ painting
Rabbi Me’irah Iliinsky rarely parts with her paintings. “They’re like my babies, you know,” she said. The artist and community rabbi at Rhoda Goldman…
Jewish Life
Ketubahs for survivors of natural disasters
After living through Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, fine artist Anna Abramzon and her husband left Houston and moved to San Rafael — arriving just in…
Bay Area
After fires consume graffiti art, daughter finds way to honor mom
As the walls of flame approached her Santa Rosa home, Melanie Carlston frantically grabbed her mother’s paintings off the walls. She tossed a couple of…
Culture
How immigrants' 'Memory Objects' survived
Refugees persecuted for their religion often carry with them, from country to country, continent to continent, those cherished possessions that have…
Art
Spanish artist Samanta Tello left her ‘heart’ in San Francisco
Like many immigrants — maybe all — Samanta Tello can feel her heart beat, metaphorically, in two places at once. The artist born in Spain came to San…