A typical conversation with the artist Grbich bounces around from his art and other projects to the loss of his wife in 1989 and his home in the 1991 Oakland firestorm, to his love of his grandchildren, dance, tight-rope walking, and tennis.

Grbich refers to the words of Edgar Degas, Walt Whitman, Zen philosophers and the Beatles. "We've all got a ticket to ride ... We all come with a roll of tickets. Some people just don't know how to use them," he said.

This retired art teacher, who taught at Miramonte High School from 1966 to 1990, intends to get the most out of his tickets. His home is filled with his art -- large bright or muted canvasses with objects he's found over the years, usually made of metal. Some items, like the twisted pieces of metal, were picked up on or near the freeway by friends.

Some of his work includes phrases like, "This moment is as it should be."

"My friends know that I'm a collector. So, they'll see me in the doughnut shop, bring me stuff and say, 'I found this, and I thought of you.'"

Grbich takes the pieces and "reworks" them by running over them with his truck and grinding them down. He then bolts the metal to the canvas, "listens to what it's saying" and responds to it by painting around it. He might add stucco or concrete before he's finished, Grbich said.

"I can't take credit for the artwork. I'm like a stylus. I didn't write the song, but I'm the instrument to hear it by, and without it there's no music ... Well, I take a little credit," Grbich said. A reception for Grbich will be held from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 14, at the Montclair Gallery, 1986 Mountain Blvd. in Oakland. Reach Tricia Caspers at 510-748-1682 or tcaspers@cctimes.com.