David Gullassa by Paco Prieto
(read at St. Alberts Priory)

David and I started out in renaissance school, Like many of us here today when we were 12-13 years old. That school, thanks to those brave new teachers like: Kathy Porter, Pat Krick, Jim Hart, Stan Cohen, and with the luck of getting to attend pushed by our parents for a chance to try a new way of learning. Well it seems that for better or worse not much "usual learning" took place but a lot of doing happened, a lot of the teachers and parents showed us how instead of teaching us a lesson. We grew up by learning through example, surrounded by artists, craftspeople in our large and extended families. It was after we had all left school some 7 or 8 years later with only occasional contact with each other that David and I met again. I remember both of us being startled to find that we had aged a little (I could see it in his face). We approached each other a little cautiously, inquiring what each other was doing, not expecting to find out that we were both building, creating and practicing our new found trades. I had been setting up a woodworking shop for a few years and David needed a couple of doors. So that was the beginning. With a handshake and 50/50 split we sped most of our time working on the shop buying tools, fixing tools, scrounging tools, trading tools even stealing a few tools or borrowing on permanent loansÉ (This habit escalated for David in Seattle) We began work. Back then jobs where few and far between as with the pay checks but we were happy to come to work and flex these new muscles of creativity and skill. So with a handshake and the 50/50 split we started our business together-Gulato studios (our names Gulassa and Prieto) quite proud of ourselves we ran this buy DavidÕs brother Brian for approvalÉ well after Brian stopped laughing he encouraged us to use the name Pacassa Studios instead, as it would be more fitting for artists such as ourselves. Well to this day we still use that name and no one gets it right but thatÕs another story. A year or later, Jeff had joined our shop with his metal shop and the three of us began landing larger jobs combining metal and wood. I donÕt think anyone was working like that then. David began a relationship with a foundry in Seattle and got a month long apprenticeship with them, he started to bring back pattern making jobs that we found to be quite challenging for us. His attention to detail and his capacity to visualize 3D was remarkable. It was this that eventually took us both to Seattle. David testing out his hand at designing and I working building them in the filthy foundry. A reversal from our Oakland days, were I had to tolerate his messy ways, now he looked at me anxiously dressed in a clean shirt with sharpened pencils as I leaned over his desk to discuss a detail! It took me about 8 months to figure out that I had a nice big empty shop waiting for me in Oakland. Jeff starting his shop in San Francisco and David eventually starting his shop in Seattle, combining metal and wood and building some beautiful pieces that anyone would have been proud to have made. Again we drifted apart occasionally working together but that was pretty rare. Passing through Seattle 5 years ago we stayed with David. Renu and I proudly showed our new daughter, he was very good with children. I think I caught a hint of interest, he was moving slower than usual. It took him 5 years to finally get the idea with the help from almost beautiful woman, Tracy. It was these children of ours I believe that was to be the start of another long relationship. It is this that makes me the most sad. But to sum up the highlight of David and our time together in Oakland, the time that I fall back on, to bring me out the sadness, is this day. It started out like any other day; we needed a couple of 6 x 6 posts and 6 x 12 headers for a remodel, well. Why buy them when there were lots of 12 x 12 down by the police station under the freeway. we picked up a small 16 foot one with a tremendous amount of straining we pushed it into my station wagon, in doing so we dis-engaged the parking brake and sent the car down Washington across 5th street with us still hanging on to the beamÉ why none of the officers noticed IÕll never figure out. Laughing out of pure dumb luck we made it home. We were feeling pretty invincible. We went off to BrennenÕs for our usual "Turkey neck dinner" (money was lean back then). Upon our return we found a payment for work previously completed. Things were different for us this day we could tellÉ after admiring our newly acquired beam we went to our regular bar as we did back then. We battled it out on the pool table, as we did every night.We were unbeatable and quite cocky due to the days good fortunesÉ we set out for the city in his sunbeam, top down, cool night heater full blast, young men quite high and feeling very lucky! A few passes at more pool tables, we further tested our luck by driving down the sidewalks in Union Square. Yes! We were completely invincible. We wandered to Coit tower to try our climbing skills and have a look at the beautiful clear night in the city. It was from that point that David had seen our last adventure for the night. We drove to Marin county overlook, to the Golden Gate Bridge and hiked down and around climbing up to gain a shadowy vantage to the main cable of the North tower of the bridge. We ran like hell up the cable with many cars still passing next to, and then below us we had made it up to the shadows invisible and invincible. ItÕs a long way up that cable and it gets steeperÉ only now Harriet, can I tell you this; he was wearing cowboy boots! But that whole day and night kept getting better. At the top, the air became still and warm, the moon brighter and the ocean sparkled more as we sat there looking over it all without speaking, for more than an hour, knowing. Knowing we would always be lucky. When I become sad about David this is where I go to be with him. Sitting up there together É being lucky.

Paco Prieto