June 30, 2010

Dallas Gets a Calatrava Bridge


Santiago Calatrava is a Spanish architect most famous for his sweeping bridges.  Here are a few examples of his work: 


In an effort to bring attention to its plans to develop the Trinity River corridor, Dallas hired Calatrava to design them a bridge to cross the Trinity at Woodall Rodgers.  After years of waiting the main arch is now up and in my opinion makes a fantastic addition to the Dallas skyline.  Here are some pics I took this weekend:


The most lyrical elements of the bridge, the cables, are not yet attached.  Here are some images of what the completed bridge will look like:
 
And a link to the website:

June 18, 2010

IF – Paisley

To be honest I had to look up paisley.  Apparently it is the tear drop shaped used in fabric patterns.  The only place I can think of seeing it is on handkerchiefs which of course make me think of western outlaws.
“Who’s the dirty dog that called me a Paisley Parading Pansy!”

June 17, 2010

The Makers

Every now and then I run across something that feels like it steals the thoughts out of my head and conveniently scribes them on paper.  Laura found this commencement speech given to a class of craftsmen.  I cannot recommend enough reading it (though some will find it more enjoyable than others).  It is located here:


Some of the highlights:

-“A durable and beautiful built environment provides the best physical and spatial context for human life, and thereby supports the different kinds of inventiveness and daring that modern life demands.”

-“You, however, know that matter is real; you know and respect its properties; you know what good work is.”

-“Beautiful things judge us; they change us, and make us want to be better than we are. Beautiful things elevate us.”

And finally I’ll end with the poem by Dorothy Sayers:


“The Makers”
The Architect stood forth and said: “I am the master of the art;
I have a thought within my head, I have a dream within my heart.
Come now, good craftsman, ply your trade with tool and stone obediently;
Behold the plan that I have made—I am the master; serve you me.”
The Craftsman answered: “Sir, I will, yet look to it that this your draft
Be of a sort to serve my skill—you are not the master of the craft.
It is by me the towers grow tall, I lay the course, I shape and hew;
You make a little inky scrawl, and that is all that you can do.
Account me, then, the master man, lay my rigid rule upon the plan,
and that which serves the plan—the uncomplaining, helpless stone.”
The Stone made answer: “Masters mine, know this: that I can bless or damn
The thing that both of you design by being but the thing I am;
For I am granite and not gold, for I am marble and not clay,
You may not hammer me or mould—I am the master of the way.
Yet once that mastery bestowed then I will suffer patiently
The cleaving steel, the crushing load, that make a calvary of me;
And you may carve me with your hand to arch and buttress, roof and wall,
Until the dream rise up and stand—serve but the stone, the stone serves all.
Let each do well what each knows best, nothing refuse and nothing shirk,
Since none is master of the rest, but all are servants of the work—
The work no master may subject save He to whom the whole is known,
Being Himself the Architect, the Craftsman and the Cornerstone.
Then when the greatest and the least have finished all their labouring
And sit together at the feast you shall behold a wonder thing:
The Maker of the men that make will stoop between the cherubim,
The towel and the basin take, and serve the servants who serve Him.”
The Architect and Craftsman, both, agreed the Stone had spoken well;
Bound them to service by an oath and each to his own labour fell.

June 11, 2010

IF - Ripple

Today’s IF is in response to the oil spill in the gulf.  Kelly Light over at http://ripplesketches.blogspot.com/ is organizing a illustration sale with all proceeds going to help clean up the gulf.  Basically she is asking artists to donate a small sketch pertaining to the oil spill.  These sketches are then bought by people when they donate $10 and she sends the artist their info and the artist send the sketch with a thank you on the back.  Anyway, it is not often visual artist get to use their talents for community service.  So here is mine which you will find for sale over at ripplesketches: