Frantiska Terebova: Early Artist of the Mesa

Born in what was then Czechoslovakia, Frantiska (Franciena) June Terebova (1892–1949) studied art in Prague, Sweden, and later in San Francisco after emigrating to the United States in the 1920s. In 1927, she visited Bolinas with her young daughter and fell in love with the wild openness of the Big Mesa. Captivated by the landscape, she purchased property near Agate Beach.

Terebova’s primary sculptural medium was driftwood she gathered from the shore. A forerunner of the 1970s owner-built, handmade house movement, she used recycled and found materials—especially driftwood—to construct her own home entirely by hand. The house featured five rooms, a fireplace, large hand-hewn beams, frescoes, patios, a garden, and an art studio.

Known locally as Madame Terebova, she gained recognition throughout the Bay Area for her sculptures and paintings, which were exhibited widely. Local newspapers not only celebrated her art but also highlighted the remarkable story of a petite female artist who singlehandedly designed and built a functional, comfortable home on the California coast.