Homemade school lunches were important for our kids. They were taken in a cloth bag designed, crafted, and made by Chris. When that phase of our lives was over, the bag was put aside. I found it recently and the rush of memories of those days came back. Now I'm using the bag. I went to the market today to get MY LUNCH and I looked at the bag with new eyes. The design is still fresh and the lime inner lining cheers it up. It flashes into view occasionally telling you it's still there. Care in details is so important.
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Missed Opportunities5/10/2011 I was at the San Francisco Main Library in the Civic Center recently to pick up a book and saw a photo of the library under construction (left photo). The photo on the right shows the same space today with a glass domed oculus lighting the space. The library was completed in 1996 by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, an architectural firm founded by I. M. Pei -- the renowned Chinese-American modernist architect and 1983 Pritzker Prize winner. Unfortunately I. M. Pei had already left this firm when the library was designed. So San Francisco missed out on an opportunity for a major I. M Pei building. I like to think about what he might have done in San Francisco - something as memorable as the glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris? At age 94, it will probably never happen. Sometimes time and place miss each other. Unfortunate. Yesterday was Mother's Day. In reality everyday is Mother's Day. Once you are a parent you are a parent always - your kids always in your mind and heart. Katie created this arrangement to honor her mother Chris and picked colors she thought would please her. There's a nice range of texture and scale of elements. The large white lilies sets everything off and pulls it together. It's not too self-conscious. That's good. Snap Crackle and Pop5/8/2011 This morning I was taking some wilted flowers out of this vase and I was looking at the celedon green crackle glaze, a glaze that was developed by Chinese and Korean artisans. My cousin calls it cracked glazed and when I think about it, its an apt description. The striking pattern was an accident in the firing process, but it became a desirable quality and potters tried to reproduce this effect. Today you can still find crackle glazed pottery and it is also used as a glaze for ceramic tiles. The ceramic tile on the right is manufactured by McIntyre Tile in Healdsberg, CA. Dore Alley is right around the corner from my office. If you look carefully at the corner of the brick building you will see a steel "bandage" and repairs in the brick walls -- a legacy of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Bricks had crashed down denting the cars below leaving gaping cracks in the wall following the mortar pattern between the bricks. At one time, the "bandage" was black but I guess it was too much of a noticeable reminder of the vulnerability of these unreinforced masonry buildings. This metal handrail in my home has bothered me ever since I first encountered it when I bought my home. It is cold to the touch and the diameter is slightly too large - like an awkward embrace. It's brackets are perfunctory and ungainly. Its been painted several times and I feel the lumps in the paint everytime I go up and down the stairs. I believe that items that form an integral part of our environment should support our well-being and not irritate even at a subliminal level. I've thought of stripping the paint and grinding it smooth and applying a smooth matte black chemical finish like Insta-black. Perhaps I can change the brackets as well. I can't, however, change the coldness of the metal or the diameter of the rail. Cafe Bastille - San Francisco5/4/2011 Is San Francisco is the most European looking city in the US? Perhaps. Left Belden Place, San Francisco Right Rue des Bouchers, Brussels I was in downtown San Francisco taking an all day seminar. At lunch break, I remembered we were close by Belden Place, a place described by some as the most European looking spot in San Francisco. I wanted to check it out myself. I admit it does look like Europe. It reminded me of the street in Brussels where we had dinner at Chez Leon 18 Rue des Bouchers . A tourist area, but still fun and lively. It was a treat to pretend for a moment you are across the sea and thousands of miles away. Back in San Francisco, I had lunch at Cafe Bastille at 22 Beldon Place. Picking Kelly Moore Colors5/4/2011 I like picking colors for buildings. You can only hide flaws so much, but if the basics are there, color can really enhance an already good design by directing the eye to a good feature and gloss over less desirable features. Many people think this is easy, but then most people can hammer out chopsticks on the piano as well. These are Kelly Moore paint chips. Local painters seem to like the brand and I like them because they are locally made in the Bay Area. There's a range of paint quality available. Most of the cost of painting is in preparation and labor. I wouldn't skimp on paint. Most paint manufacturer's can color match pretty much anything. If you like the orange on the pair of scissors above, they could match it. Detail of Wayne Thiebaud Painting 2010 I just talked about Wayne Thiebaud and this morning I stopped at Vega Cafe again and spotted a new magazine, Artillery, and saw this quote by Wayne Thiebaud, "Paintings are visual miracles made by human beings like you and me." Like you and me? Wouldn't it be great if I could do what he can do with brushes and paint! I've seen other painters seem to try and do Thiebaud like colors of purple, orange, green and yellow where you never expect to see them. None challange this California master. AuthorCatagories
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