A beautiful ceremony, heartfelt toasts, great music, and a wild party -- the wedding was a fabulous melding of Joines, Veldman, and Aquila families! Congratulations, Brian and Ashely!!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
What a delinquent!
I have been very remiss in posting to my blog. It is hard to find time when playing with friends and creating our own Tour de France (while chasing --at high speeds -- the real one) to sit down and write something halfway interesting, much less edit pictures for posting. Good lesson!
Tomorrow is my last full day in Europe -- I have some shopping to do, but will try to put up some of the 1000+ photos!
Oh, and by the way -- Sabbaticals ROCK. Totally and completely.
Tomorrow is my last full day in Europe -- I have some shopping to do, but will try to put up some of the 1000+ photos!
Oh, and by the way -- Sabbaticals ROCK. Totally and completely.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A different prism for the Sagrada Familia
Learning about the fundamentals of mosaic art, my trip to Sagrada Familia focused my eyes on the cathedral's elements in a different way. Instead of ogling the immensity and complexity of the structure, I looked really closely at how the mosaics were structured, how tiles (or broken plates, or bottles with the corks still in them) were placed to trick the eyes into seeing something whole, or something sparkly, or something curvy.
The cathedral has lots of trencadis (broken tile) elements throughout the structure, mostly external now. Spires with piles of trencadis-covered fruits, huge textual elements, and mosaic rays of light became even more fascinating when trying to see the techniques used to make an "S," for example, or how they used color to create the appearance of "shine." It makes me even more excited to get home and try out some of the techniques.
It remains an amazing experience to be inside a structure of this magnitude while it is being built, or rather "formed," around you. Because there are so many curves, obtuse and acute angles, and non-standard elements, it seems the workers have to move slowly, keeping close tabs on each element, ensuring the puzzle pieces are catalogued, organized, and retrievable. I watched two metal workers on the new roof drawing and measuring angles for twisted and convex structural elements, and the enormity of their task made my head hurt. In comparison, the broken tile mosaics are a snap. We'll see if I still think that when I'm working on my own little pieces.
While the cathedral is indeed an impressive display of ingenuity, art, and construction talent, it became very clear to me while looking up at the ceiling with approximates of sun rays amidst a colonnade designed to mimic towering ancient forests that his supposed love of and emulation of nature in his work is in fact counter to nature. For all Gaudi's professed admiration of the natural world, the piles of lumber, the millions of tons of cement, the enormous amounts of stone and marble, all have severe negative consequences for his object of inspiration. Nature can't be captured by man without desecrating nature itself. Give me real ancient forests with real sunlight streaming through the real canopy for my inspiration any day.
The cathedral has lots of trencadis (broken tile) elements throughout the structure, mostly external now. Spires with piles of trencadis-covered fruits, huge textual elements, and mosaic rays of light became even more fascinating when trying to see the techniques used to make an "S," for example, or how they used color to create the appearance of "shine." It makes me even more excited to get home and try out some of the techniques.
It remains an amazing experience to be inside a structure of this magnitude while it is being built, or rather "formed," around you. Because there are so many curves, obtuse and acute angles, and non-standard elements, it seems the workers have to move slowly, keeping close tabs on each element, ensuring the puzzle pieces are catalogued, organized, and retrievable. I watched two metal workers on the new roof drawing and measuring angles for twisted and convex structural elements, and the enormity of their task made my head hurt. In comparison, the broken tile mosaics are a snap. We'll see if I still think that when I'm working on my own little pieces.
While the cathedral is indeed an impressive display of ingenuity, art, and construction talent, it became very clear to me while looking up at the ceiling with approximates of sun rays amidst a colonnade designed to mimic towering ancient forests that his supposed love of and emulation of nature in his work is in fact counter to nature. For all Gaudi's professed admiration of the natural world, the piles of lumber, the millions of tons of cement, the enormous amounts of stone and marble, all have severe negative consequences for his object of inspiration. Nature can't be captured by man without desecrating nature itself. Give me real ancient forests with real sunlight streaming through the real canopy for my inspiration any day.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Pride -- In the Name of Love
Today is the 40th Anniversary of Stonewall, and as Frank Rich said in today's NYT: "Gay Americans aren’t just another political special interest group. They are Americans who are actively discriminated against by federal laws." My neighborhood was the starting point for Barcelona's Gay Pride Parade in a overwhelmingly catholic country (73%) that recognizes the Jeffersonian concept of the necessity of separation of Church and State and has legalized same-sex marriage. Last year, 3% of all marriages in Barcelona were same-sex couples. While of course discrimination and prejudice has not disappeared, the parade and party felt particularly joyful -- it was the first Pride parade in the city, and caps off a week of festivities.
There were families, freaky people, beautiful people, non-freaky people, old, young, gay, straight, and lots of dancing! I positioned myself at the point where two streets diverged to get some good shots of the "floats" and the parade. They were supposed to go down Calle Sepulveda, but people started lining up on Sant Antonio, until there were a couple thousand people standing on the sides of the wrong street. Oh, well! So the police just changed the route, and they headed down Sant Antonio, instead. The parade scene was so wonderfully chaotic. There was really no separation between the crowd and the parade: people just filled in all the spaces between the "floats," which were basically buses and cars filled with people dancing. What a riot! It really was a party. I was standing next to three really nice guys that I started talking with, they gave me a beer, and we toasted to the beautiful day and the beautiful feeling of peace and acceptance. Visca Catalunya!
After the last float passed (amazing Brazilian samba drums), how could I not join in and follow the parade, dancing with Spaniards and Catalans in celebration of freedom and love?
There were families, freaky people, beautiful people, non-freaky people, old, young, gay, straight, and lots of dancing! I positioned myself at the point where two streets diverged to get some good shots of the "floats" and the parade. They were supposed to go down Calle Sepulveda, but people started lining up on Sant Antonio, until there were a couple thousand people standing on the sides of the wrong street. Oh, well! So the police just changed the route, and they headed down Sant Antonio, instead. The parade scene was so wonderfully chaotic. There was really no separation between the crowd and the parade: people just filled in all the spaces between the "floats," which were basically buses and cars filled with people dancing. What a riot! It really was a party. I was standing next to three really nice guys that I started talking with, they gave me a beer, and we toasted to the beautiful day and the beautiful feeling of peace and acceptance. Visca Catalunya!
After the last float passed (amazing Brazilian samba drums), how could I not join in and follow the parade, dancing with Spaniards and Catalans in celebration of freedom and love?
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