The Act of Creation

by Joe Mathews

This one-of-a-kind photobook takes a look into the methods used by well-respected bladesmith Taylor Mathews, while also inspiring retroflection on the importance of handmade items.

Paperback

Published April 28, 2023

About the author

Mark Paul, senior scholar at the New America Foundation and a visiting scholar at the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, is a leading expert on California policy and politics, with three decades of varied experience as a journalist, policy thinker, and state official. He is the co-author, with Joe Mathews, of California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How It Can Be Fixed.

Mark is formerly deputy editorial page editor of the Sacramento Bee and deputy treasurer of the state of California. His recent work on California issues has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, and The American Interest, and in leading California blogs, including Calbuzz, California Progress Report, and Blockbuster Democracy. He is co-author, with Micah Weinberg, of Remapping the California Electorate, in R. Jeffrey Lustig, ed., Remaking California: Reclaiming the Public Good (Heyday Books: 2010)."