Los Gatos sculptor David Middlebrook has two pieces in the show, and so does his son Jason of New York. Middlebrook senior's works emphasize site-specificness and endurance. Middlebrook casts a real branch in bronze so that it retains its branch-ness and yet has durability.

Public art should fit into the landscape, be a natural outgrowth of the site where it's viewed, Middlebrook says. The materials in "Gondola" are carved basalt stone (Jurassic in age and incredibly heavy) and cast bronze. The branch arching above the stone embraces the sitter.

Middlebrook's other bench is "Clutch Performance." He calls it a paradoxical piece, and terms it one of his finest. "The rock is a metaphor for the planet, with the tree hanging on for dear life. Clutch Performance means it comes through at the last minute. We're hoping to make it." The sculpture reflects the perilousness of life as the tree roots appear to be growing out of the rock, in a contradiction of nature. Middlebrook calls it "very gestural," as it barely clings to the rock. The piece speaks to global warming and the overwhelming calamity of something like Hurricane Katrina.

The bench work of such famed artists as Roy deForest, with his salacious dogs flanking a bench, are also on view. Peter Shire's work is "Couch Potato Sofa," promising humor that doesn't deliver.

However, humor is rife in Victor Cicansky's "California Bench," what with apples and oranges dangling on the branch backing; and also in the piece called "Cane Chair" by Kyle Reicher, which is made of gunmetal steel accompanied by a walking cane, upright, and affixed alongside.

Brad Howe's "Haiku Bench" is made of aluminum and has several haikus etched thereon. My favorite: "A world of dew and within every dewdrop a world of struggle." Randy Shiroma's work speaks of a Japanese ritual and is constructed of wooden bench and rock-like terrazzo. You can rest on either.

The most lyrical piece is "Spirit Song Bench," the work of designers Barbara and Robert Tiffany. As we left the show, an admirer was sitting in Middlebrook's "Gondola," arms outstretched, embracing the bronze branch. That image remains as the ultimate revelation of the show--its accessibility, beauty, grace and humor.

SEMESTER AT SEA: Carol L. Schmid was the sociology professor on the Semester at Sea program sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh this summer. The MV Explorer Cruise sailed to eight European ports--from the Bahamas to Nova Scotia, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Poland, Belgium, England, Ireland and Spain.

Schmid is a Saratoga High grad who teaches on dry land at Guilford Tech University in Greensboro, N.C. The much-honored Schmid has written two books, earned two law degrees and received two Fulbright scholarships. The law degrees are in constitutional law from Stanford and international Law from Paris.

The book that resulted from one of her doctoral degrees is Conflict and Consensus in Switzerland. It examines how Switzerland can have four languages and two major religions and yet produce a common civic culture that transcends ethnic boundaries.

Canadian officials have been especially drawn to the book for help in solving its French/English conflicts. The other book, which Schmid wrote for classroom use, is The Politics of Language: Conflict, Identity and Cultural Pluralism.

This one postulates that language is much more than a communication tool, that it ties together power and politics to claim psychological demands for group worth. Schmid is the daughter of Bill and Martha Thomas of Saratoga, who were both teachers. She is married to retired Swiss chemist Peter Schmid, who speaks six languages, and they have a son Michael, 14.

OPENING VOLLEY: The local chapter of AAUW invites college grads to join its September social on Sept. 17, 10 a.m.-noon, at the Terraces and to hear highlights of coming activities, one of which is an afternoon at the opera at the Saratoga Retirement Center on Oct. 2, 2 -4 p.m.

Soloists from the Opera San José will present the program. The contact for tickets at $25 is Jean McNamara at 408.351.7391. Money raised will help support the Georgia Travis Center for homeless women and children.

New officers for AAUW are Barbara Nesbet, president; Yvonne Mendy, program; Wendy Babb and Sharon Kelkenberg, membership; Virginia Turner, educational foundation; Tina Hubbard, legal advocacy fund; Joan Kjemtrup, financial; and Linda King, recording secretary.

GARDEN PARTY: Saratoga Historical Foundation's annual Garden Party and membership drive will be held Sept. 25, 2-5 p.m., at the North Campus, 19848 Prospect Road.

Got a tip for Saratoga Sampler? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.