Before I begin this post, I want to share a kind of important blog that was posted yesterday by Debby at Life's Funny Like That. Some good information, both her personal experience and her review of the Weisel book, "Night."
Court of Lions, Alhambra Spain
Hypostyle hall, Great Mosque at Córdoba, Spain, begun 786 and enlarged during the 9th and 10th centuries.
The columns and two-tiered arches in the original section of the Great Mosque of Córdoba building. The columns and capitals are spolia from earlier structures. Its hypostyle hall, reused columns, double tiered arches, alternating red and light voussoirs, horseshoe arches, and elaborate mihrab zone produced a visual identity specific to al Andalus.
A Google earth view of the apartments which I have applied for in Durango CO. The one which is open is on the other side of the building, overlooking the town.
The western face of the apartment building overlooks the Durango-Silverton narrow gauge steam train rides, as well as views of the mountains beyond.
Cliff Palace - making a home where it's safest - then leaving when it's not.
It all depends upon what your goal in life is...I guess.
by Eva-Živa Blažková, ‘Sovereignty’
My grandson, Michael's home when they first purchased it in Florida.
How practical can you get, building a sod home with a place for the cow to graze on the roof, while growing watermelon which is featured with the family and the horses! No date.
Architecture today - in honor of Frank Gehry who recently died
It felt, for quite some time there, like the age of Frank Gehry would never end. But now that the latest defining figure of American architecture — or technically, Canadian-American architecture — has died at the age of 96, the time has come to ask when, exactly, his age began. Or rather, with which building: Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles? The Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris? The radical renovation of his own humble Santa Monica home often cited at the origin point of the metallic, deliberately incongruous, often nearly alien aesthetic now recognized around the world? According to the B1M video above, it is to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao we must look to if we wish to understand the architecture of Frank Gehry — and much else besides.
And, like most architects, Gehry is survived by not just his built legacy, but also a series of projects not yet complete — including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, scheduled to open its doors next year.
Incidentally, I recently read Dan Brown's book "Origin" as an audio book (read by Tom Hanks.) It took place at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao as well as other Spanish places. As fiction it was another Brown page turner, but not what I'd give 5 stars...maybe 3-1/2.
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Today's Goddess:
Venus of Parabita is a goddess figurine dated ca 17,000 BP. It is 9cm high and made from a splinter of bone from an aurochs or horse. Found in the Grotta delle Veneri (cave of Venus) in Puglia, Italy.
Thanks The Mother Goddess on FaceBook
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12 days till Winter Solstice - the returning light following the longest night.
Brú na Bóinne - Newgrange and Knowth - year unknown
Colossal just posted some photos from a house in Mexico. Casa de los Milagros, or House of Miracles.
"On the outskirts of Xalapa, Veracruz in Mexico, a striking terracotta-colored dwelling sits among patches of trees.
This "... architectural wonder’s construction process began in 1955 and took place in stages over the course of 47 years until its completion in 2002. In 2021, Mexico-based Kurdish photographer and architect Naser Nader Ibrahim captured photographs of the unique creation. Designed by the late Danilo Veras Godoy, the project’s jumping-off point was simply asking [owner, Rosalinda] Ulloa what her wildest dreams were."
I'll let you go to the site to see the wonderful interiors. It's incredible! Well, you can tell I like some of the out-of-the-box architecture in the world. I was so glad to see this home.
And then there is this charming house in France:
ICASSIETTE HOUSE, Chartres, Department of Eure-et-Loire, Region of Centre-Loire Valley, France
The house was built by one man, Raymond Isidore (1900-1964) and is an example of naïve architecture made up of earthenware and glass mosaics cast in cement.
He was municipal employee of the city of Chartres for which he worked as a roadmender, then sweeper of the cemetery. In 1929 he purchased a plot of land and began construction on a one-story house for his family. Once his house was built, he had the idea of covering everything little by little. His life was totally devoted to the construction and decoration of his house and the garden. Over the next thirty years he covered the entirety of his house with mosaics. Isidore drew inspiration from Christian symbols and characters as well as his own dreams. He also built several smaller structures, including a chapel, throne, and a wall to enclose the site. Raymond Isidore's name is on the windowsill in the middle gallery.
The site was actually visited by Picasso in 1954. Isidore is seen as one of the pioneers of the trencadis style of mosaics, which is also referred to as pique-assiette.
Isidore's house has been declared an Official Monument of Historic Importance. It is now part of the Chartres Museum of Fine Arts.
(Photos credit: 1. Photo by Michael P Chang, MD, via Flickr; 2.3.4. by Author Zairon for wikimedia commons)
There are many many more homes that are either built in flowing shapes, or decorated with all kinds of things from bottle caps to glass beads!
Today's quote:
Every moment is unique, offering its own way to connect to what is deepest within us, to the wonder and mystery of being fully alive.
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