Depth Finder Newsletter
The Estess Art & Science Newsletter
Depth Finder
The Estess Art & Science Quarterly
Issue No. 2 • July 1, 2026
Hi All!
The first half of 2026 flew by but it's been a great run of projects!
I spent the first few months of the year finishing up my new studio renovation and I'm excited to open it up to the public for Santa Cruz Open Studios this Fall (October 11-12 and 17-18)!
Since then, it has been a whirlwind of fun projects and travel! I built a coral sculpture out of marine debris for an event at the Ritz Carlton on Maui with the Mega Lab and Reef sandals! I flew with my family to Japan for an exhibition and printmaking workshop at Ron Herman's beautiful boutique on the beach near Kamakura. After that we took a bullet train and jet foil to Sado Island to catch up with our colleagues from the local art festival, and I made some art in a makeshift harborside studio.
We flew back to California through Honolulu, where we picked up a new stash of marine debris rope from our friends at the Center for Marine Debris Research. We hit the ground running back in California putting together an exhibition titled Intertidal at the Sarah Shepard Gallery in Marin, CA. Last weekend we hosted a printmaking workshop outside of the gallery in partnership with Outerknown, and it was great to meet lots of new folks from the community and catch up with old friends! The show runs until July 6th so check it out if you're in the area, or reach out to [email protected] to see which pieces are still available!
Hope to see you at Open Studios in Santa Cruz in a few months- very grateful for your support on this wild ride!
All my best,
Ethan
The first half of 2026 flew by but it's been a great run of projects!
I spent the first few months of the year finishing up my new studio renovation and I'm excited to open it up to the public for Santa Cruz Open Studios this Fall (October 11-12 and 17-18)!
Since then, it has been a whirlwind of fun projects and travel! I built a coral sculpture out of marine debris for an event at the Ritz Carlton on Maui with the Mega Lab and Reef sandals! I flew with my family to Japan for an exhibition and printmaking workshop at Ron Herman's beautiful boutique on the beach near Kamakura. After that we took a bullet train and jet foil to Sado Island to catch up with our colleagues from the local art festival, and I made some art in a makeshift harborside studio.
We flew back to California through Honolulu, where we picked up a new stash of marine debris rope from our friends at the Center for Marine Debris Research. We hit the ground running back in California putting together an exhibition titled Intertidal at the Sarah Shepard Gallery in Marin, CA. Last weekend we hosted a printmaking workshop outside of the gallery in partnership with Outerknown, and it was great to meet lots of new folks from the community and catch up with old friends! The show runs until July 6th so check it out if you're in the area, or reach out to [email protected] to see which pieces are still available!
Hope to see you at Open Studios in Santa Cruz in a few months- very grateful for your support on this wild ride!
All my best,
Ethan
Current Exhibition
Installation images courtesy of Josef Jacques
Naruto SeriesMy exhibition Intertidal at Sarah Shepard's Gallery includes the first piece from my new Naruto series. This body of work is inspired by the whirlpools of the Naruto Strait and the Japanese creation myth of Izanami and Izanagi. The Naruto series juxtaposes the divine quality of water to give life with plastic pollution’s ability to take the lives of marine wildlife.
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Naruto No. 1 35 inches wide x 24 inches tall x 4 inches deep |
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2026 Spring Highlights
Ron Herman Japan x Ethan Estess
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I was working and traveling in Japan last October with my family and one morning we stumbled upon a Ron Herman store right on the beach near Kamakura. The store staff was incredibly friendly, and I noticed there were a few places on the wall that could use some artwork. We'd had a successful show at their Waikiki store in 2025, so I asked the Ron Herman team about doing another show at their beautiful boutique in Shichirigahama and they said yes!
After months of planning, we hosted a youth printmaking workshop and beach cleanup with the Ron Herman team and local community. Ron Herman provided some really cute tote bags, and the kids printed their own design using one of the custom marine debris stamps I created. One of the stamps was made from surf fins that my good friend Mark Cunningham had collected off the reef in Hawai'i, and the other stamps were made from bottle caps and fishing rope collected during several family walks along the beaches in Kamakura.
The event was a blast- we loved working with the Ron Herman team and meeting so many wonderful families! It was also great to see the artwork find new homes in Japan. We even got to catch a typhoon swell and hang out with my friends at Surfrider Foundation Japan; we're excited to donate a portion of the art sales from the exhibition to their cause. We're still buzzing from the whole experience and are already planning future collaborations!
Here's a fun interview I did for Ron Herman's web journal! Interview link
After months of planning, we hosted a youth printmaking workshop and beach cleanup with the Ron Herman team and local community. Ron Herman provided some really cute tote bags, and the kids printed their own design using one of the custom marine debris stamps I created. One of the stamps was made from surf fins that my good friend Mark Cunningham had collected off the reef in Hawai'i, and the other stamps were made from bottle caps and fishing rope collected during several family walks along the beaches in Kamakura.
The event was a blast- we loved working with the Ron Herman team and meeting so many wonderful families! It was also great to see the artwork find new homes in Japan. We even got to catch a typhoon swell and hang out with my friends at Surfrider Foundation Japan; we're excited to donate a portion of the art sales from the exhibition to their cause. We're still buzzing from the whole experience and are already planning future collaborations!
Here's a fun interview I did for Ron Herman's web journal! Interview link
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Harbor Studio on Sado Island
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In early June we visited my friends from the Sado Island Galaxy Art Festival and set up a makeshift studio in the local harbor. This is the exact place where I first started exploring many of my current bodies of artwork 9 years ago while on a tuna research trip with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was surreal to be back on the island running into fishermen friends and playing at the seaside park with my kids. I was anxious about finding enough old fishing rope to work with, but my friend Takahashi-san pointed me to a giant pile of harbor trash and said it was all available to me. I used the contrast of some black and grey lines to further explore my Uzumaki/Whirlpool series, and I made some new rope spiral prints as well. I'm grateful for my friends who helped me source tools and materials and enabled me to reconnect with a place that continues to be one of my deepest sources of inspiration.
From left to right: Uzumaki No. 8, Morito-san and Izumi-san are the power duo who run the Sado Island Galaxy Art Festival, the endemic Tobishima Kanzou flowers in full bloom, and a fisherman friend I ran into that showed me an oar fish print I had gifted to their fishing company in 2016 that is still hanging in their break room! |
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Check out our 2026 Collector's Guide
Kuroshio No. 87
60 inches wide x 45 inches tall |
Kuroshio No. 87 ComissionI enjoyed collaborating with an awesome client who commissioned Kuroshio No. 87 this Spring! This client was interested in a custom walnut frame but also requested a white mat, which I had never included on a rope panel before. We were both really happy with the final result, as the matboard added a nice pop to the piece. It's a great example of why I love commission work as it pushes my boundaries and generates new ideas. We went ahead and added "custom matting" to our Commission's Request Form!
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Nonprofit Spotlight:
Center for Marine Debris Research
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We flew through Hawai'i on our way back from Japan and I was stoked to catch up with our friends at the Center for Marine Debris Research! This team is amazing and they generously let me access a dumpster of marine debris fishing rope. Like most of Hawai'i's trash, this rope will eventually be incinerated on the island- so I'm always stoked to intercept it beforehand! CMDR conducts a forensic analysis of Hawai'i's marine debris to try to understand the sources of plastic pollution, and they are also working on developing local recycling infrastructure for plastic fishing nets. Importantly, they are collaborating with foreign governments to help hold fisheries accountable for illegally discarding this material. I brought home 6 full tubs of rope and am excited to start working with it! I donated to CMDR for the opportunity to use their material, and I sincerely hope you consider making a charitable contribution to their cause as well! Donate here!
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Upcoming Exhibitions 2026
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Depth Finder
Issue No. 1 • Jan 5, 2026
Happy New Year!
I'm starting 2026 at a major inflection point for my art practice. My wife, Laura, recently left her corporate job to run the business side of my studio—a shift that allows me to dive deeper into my creative work while connecting more with those who have supported my journey.
This transition feels especially meaningful as I prepare to move from my Westside Santa Cruz studio to a new 1,200 square foot space behind our house in downtown Santa Cruz. I've spent ten formative years in my Westside shop exploring printmaking, assemblage, and sculptural works, but working in a custom built space so close to the family is going to be awesome. The new studio has dedicated rooms for fabrication, framing, inventory, surfboard shaping, and a showroom for finished works. I promised the kids they would get their own creative spaces as well!
I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to work alongside my best friend, stay close to my family, and follow my dreams!
To everyone who has been in my corner over the last decade: thank you! The best way I can honor your support is to keep working my tail off to create my best work. Stay tuned and we’ll let you know when the new studio is ready for a tour!
I'm starting 2026 at a major inflection point for my art practice. My wife, Laura, recently left her corporate job to run the business side of my studio—a shift that allows me to dive deeper into my creative work while connecting more with those who have supported my journey.
This transition feels especially meaningful as I prepare to move from my Westside Santa Cruz studio to a new 1,200 square foot space behind our house in downtown Santa Cruz. I've spent ten formative years in my Westside shop exploring printmaking, assemblage, and sculptural works, but working in a custom built space so close to the family is going to be awesome. The new studio has dedicated rooms for fabrication, framing, inventory, surfboard shaping, and a showroom for finished works. I promised the kids they would get their own creative spaces as well!
I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to work alongside my best friend, stay close to my family, and follow my dreams!
To everyone who has been in my corner over the last decade: thank you! The best way I can honor your support is to keep working my tail off to create my best work. Stay tuned and we’ll let you know when the new studio is ready for a tour!
2025 Highlights
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O'ahu Commission w/ Studio Shaolin
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Rope, Rubber, & Rudders
Closer to home, I had a ridiculous amount of fun putting together an art show for Earth Day 2025 at Minnow Arts in Downtown Santa Cruz. It was a group show with my friends Mark Cunningham and Jonathan Steinberg who are some of the most spirited and interesting creatives I know. It was awesome getting the community together for a hometown party. I pushed my reclaimed fishing rope technique to its limit for the show to create some of the largest "Uzumaki/Whirlpool" pieces I have made to-date. As an aside, back in October we were able visit the Naruto whirlpools in Japan which is the source of inspiration for that body of work and it gave me some new ideas...!
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Galaxy Art Festival Sado Island, JapanOne of the highlights for 2025 was showcasing a reclaimed fishing rope whale tail sculpture titled Renketsu-Sei/Plastic Sea as part of the Galaxy Art Festival on Sado Island, Japan. I used to work on Sado every summer as a marine biologist, and it was really special to reconnect with the wonderful friends I have made there while sharing my artwork in this beautiful corner of the world. Having my family along for the adventure made it even more memorable!
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Ron Herman Waikiki
Another highlight from our Japan trip was meeting up with the creative directors at Ron Herman Japan, a boutique fashion company that I connected with through my partnership with sustainable fashion brand Outerknown. I was lucky to have a sold out show in Ron Herman’s Waikiki store in May 2025, and we’re planning another exhibition at their beachfront store near Kamakura this summer!
