Category Archives: Stained Glass

Portland

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Christ The Teacher Chapel / University of PortlandThe one on the west coast. I was there for a long weekend and in traditional limestone fashion wanted to draft a top ten…

(1) The Hollywood Theater at PDX. My favorite shorts from the Summer Program are Oregon: Only Slightly Exaggerated and The Famished Frog. I also liked The Water’s Fine because it reminds me of the work we’re doing on the Bike and Pedestrian Committee. 

Tip: The Fish & Chips at Mo’s Seafood and Chowder at PDX is delicious.

(2) Bikes, bikes, bikes! There are bike lanes and bike shops everywhere. Bike culture is thriving in Portland. If cycling had a patron saint it would be Elly Blue.

A couple of notable shops are North Portland Bike Works, Community Cycling Center, Upcycles, and Clever Cycles. 

Tip: Don’t miss the mural at the Community Cycling Center and stop for a cup of coffee at the Fresh Pot if you’re at the North Portland Bike Works.

(3) Union Station.  The ‘Go By Train’ neon sign beckons would be travelers / adventurers.

(4) The Chapel of Christ the Teacher at the University of Portland. The chapel/campus is on a bluff overlooking the Willamette River. 

“Slowly the procession advances, across the meadows and over a bridge…

Bonus: Ed’s story: Lose a dream, find a life

(5) Boys Fort, Powell’s Books, and the Portland Outdoor Store. You could get a one-of-a-kind journal at Boys Fort, a travel guide at Powell’s, and a coat at the Portland Outdoor Store before heading to Union Station to start your adventure in the Pacific Northwest. 

Tip: Budget plenty of time (and pack a really comfortable pair of shoes) since there is some amazing (and unique) retail in Portland like Chrome Industries.

(6) Pearl District. You could spend a full day with just a camera immersed in the architectural detail of this developing area. Visit the Bridgeport Brewing Company when you’re thirsty. 

(7) St. Johns / Cathedral Park. Stand in the shadows of St. Johns Bridge before enjoying the neighborhood retail/restaurants.

“…Finally, we enter a vast forest, and the branches of its trees interlace in the likeness of gothic arches…”

Bonus: Dinner at Wood Fired Eats.

(8) Portland Saturday Market. Impressive array of arts/crafts/food along the Waterfront Park Trail. 

(9) Bridges. A trestle of delights for bridge enthusiasts like the Broadway, Steel, and Fremont.

“…Soon we emerge into a blaze of morning light. Once again, the powers of life and death have triumphed over the hosts of death and despair.”

(10) Entrepreneurialism. The industriousness and creativity of Victor Atiyeh endures in so many Portland businesses (everything from breweries to messenger bags). There is a statue of this former governor at PDX.

*Photo is from the marble tabernacle inside the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. Quote is from The Legacy Collection: Fantasia.

Weekend 350.0

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“On earth we are wayfarers, always on the go. This means that we have to keep on moving forward. Therefore be always unhappy about what you are if you want to reach what you are not.” – St. Augustine

(1) China’s Ghost Cities (YouTube)

(2) Light, time, legacy: Francis Towne’s watercolours review – the romance of Rome in ruin (The Guardian)

(3) The Millennial Mindset and America’s Productivity Crisis (Fox Business)

(4) David Gilmour – Rattle That Lock (Official Music Video) (YouTube)

(5) The Most Stunning Stained Glass Windows In The World (Huffington Post)

(5a) Rainbow Chapel by Coordination Asia is a multi-coloured wedding venue in Shanghai (Dezeen)

Weekend 346.0 (Aloft from earth’s far boundaries)

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Ave Maria(1) A quote from David Pryce-Jones:

“For centuries, the character of Christian nations was formed and maintained by church architecture, stained glass, missals and poems like The Song of Roland, icons and frescoes, and statues and depictions of biblical motifs that even the greatest sculptors and painters concentrated on. Without such common belief and purpose, art in this secular age is reduced to “doing your thing.” Very few people have a thing worth doing, which is why the bogus, the ugly, and especially the transgressional have become modern standards.”

(1a) Discover the intricacies of this wonderful miniature tabernacle

(1b) A quote from the Song of Roland:

“Throughout all France terrific tempests rise,
Thunder is heard, the stormy winds blow high,
Unmeasured rain and hail fall from the sky,
While thick and fast flashes the levin bright,
And true it is the earth quakes far and wide.
Far as from Saintes to Michael-of-the-Tide,
From Besançon to Wissant Port, you’d find
There’s not a house but the walls crack and rive.
Right at high noon a darkness falls like night,
Save for the lightning there’s not a gleam of light;
None that beholds it but is dismayed for fright,
And many say: “This is the latter time,
The world is ending, and the Great Doom is nigh.”
They speak not true, they cannot read the signs:
‘Tis Roland’s death calls forth this mighty cry.”

(2) A quote from Ave Maria: an interpretation from Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”:

“One of the greatest pieces of devotional music ever composed, Schubert’s Ave Maria has been inspiring singers, orchestras, and music-lovers for more than a hundred years. When it was selected as a concluding number in the first Walt Disney Concert Feature, Fantasia, it offered an exciting challenge to the finest creative minds of the Disney organization. Hundreds of paintings and sketches were prepared in an endeavor to explore various ways of visualizing that glorious music—of translating its spirit and meaning from sound to sight.

(3) A quote from Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton:

“Bells are meant to remind us that God alone is good, that we belong to Him, that we are not living for this world. They break in upon our cares in order to remind us that all things pass away and that our preoccupations are not important. They speak to us of our freedom, which responsibilities and transient cares make us forget.”

*Scan is from Ave Maria: an interpretation from Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”

Weekend 277.1 (…goodness which gives extras)

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(1) Book Review: ‘Secrets of Disney’s Glorious Gardens’

(2) Ancient art form enjoying a revival (Middle East Interiors)

“Stained glass adds an unparalleled sense of art, peace and history, something to complement today’s architecture.

It may also have some literature or figurative motif, an episode created from life or literature, cartoon characters and so on, as used in churches, schools, colleges, museums, restaurants and hotels.”

(3) How LEDs Are Changing Design (WSJ)

(4) Book Review: ‘The Signature of All Things’ by Elizabeth Gilbert (WSJ)

Weekend 277.0 (Autumn Biking Adventures)

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Resort Hotel Lighting(1) This App Will Help You Find A Quiet Space In The Loud, Bustling City

(1a) Metro-North Commuters Slog to Work: After Power Outage, It Could Be Days Before Normalcy Returns to New Haven Line (WSJ)

On the plus side, diesel locos from Stamford!

(2) A quote from The Blue Riband (The Piccadilly Line) by Peter York

“Everyone, I learnt, was fascinated by the Tube, and everyone knew more than me. There’s something for every kind of nerd and wonk. And fogeys (fogeys particularly like the Tube’s inter-war Modernist architecture).”

“Medieval Modernists were an important group of influential British arts patrons, curators, collector and administrators operating in the first half of the twentieth century. They were typically born in the late nineteenth century, outsiders, often Northern and Non-conformist, brought up on Ruskin and Morris (the ‘medieval’ grounding). They then developed into proselytizers for a particularly English kind of Modernism in the early twentieth century. A toned-down, commercially practical, socially useful, improving kind.”

(2a) Charles Holden’s Southgate Tube Station

(3) Lindsey Adelman :: BB.14.05

(4) In honor of National Coffee Day (September 29) some stop-motion coffee animation by Rachel Ryle

(5) 150 great things about the Underground: the stained glass at Uxbridge.

(5a) One last quote from The Blue Riband (The Piccadilly Line) by Peter York

“Uxbridge, at the Western end of the line, is another Charles Holden station that doesn’t look much from the street. But inside — and I’ve got the photographs to prove it — the long hall and concourse, the unlikely set-back, stained-glass windows, the late thirties arcade of shops and the elegant ranks of raw concrete pillars supporting the platform roof could be in Germany or Sweden. It’s that good.”

(6) 50 Creative Ideas To Make Better Cities, Presented On Gorgeously Designed Posters

Weekend 265.0 (Ponte Santa Trinita)

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The Burning of Fairfield 5Bit of a creative rut lately (and very busy) but optimistic upcoming bike events (and coffee) will provide inspiration.

(1) Album review: Daft Punk, Random Access Memories

(2) Meditation on Mortality (WSJ)

“In 1759, on the night before the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City, British Gen. James Wolfe either recited the poem or listened to it read aloud (accounts vary). ‘I would rather have been the author of that piece than beat the French tomorrow,’ he is reported to have said. Wolfe defeated the French the next day, but he famously perished in the effort, providing a testament to what may be the central truth of Gray’s ‘Elegy’: ‘The paths of glory lead but to the grave.'”

(3) A Stained-Glass Update for Westminster Abbey (WSJ – Registration Required)

“‘The decision was made at the start not to do anything jarring,’ he said, adding he chose lilies and stars because they are symbols of the Virgin Mary, to whom the chapel was dedicated by Henry VII.”

(4) Feting Summer Music With Gutenberg’s Help (WSJ – Registration Required)

(5) Florist Mark Colle Springs Into Fashion (WSJ Magazine)

(6) Considering an Underground Park in New York (WSJ Magazine)

“Their work reflects the politics and aesthetics of their generation’s sensibility, which is all about being green, recycling, repurposing and community building through technology. But the connection to my generation—and to all New Yorkers, both permanent and transient—is that Ramsey and Barasch’s inclination toward technology, green space and community stands tall, but not so tall as to cast in shadow their dedication to art, the urban and the gritty.”

(6a) Léger: Modern Art and the Metropolis

Weekend 222.1 (Bike Expo New York)

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Playmobil Bike III attended Bike Expo New York on Saturday and rode the Brompton from Grand Central to Basketball City (Pier 36). This was the inaugural show and the venue/format/programming was good. I also believe this show will look very different (more exhibitors and bigger crowds) in 2013+ because of the growing popularity of cycling.

The biggest complaint- my British Racing Green Brompton was a bit of a show stopper. And this HAS nothing to do with conceit. This is a beautiful machine and I was stopped several times and asked the following:

(1) Did you purchase that here?
(2) Are they exhibiting?
(3) Is it heavy?
(4) How much did it cost?
(5) Where can I get one (NYCeWheels)?
(6) Where was it made?

My only regret? I missed the BE Chic, BE NY fashion show and some of the other programming (A Cargo Course: Packs, Racks, and Baskets). And this was my own fault…I planned poorly because the emails for the event were informative (and sent it perfect volume).

Notable Exhibitors
(1) Nutcase Helmets of Portland Oregon

(2) The Pedal Pushers Club

(3) Loving Life, Rolling Orange

(4) Timbuk2 and Bike Friday also had booths

Sites (the trek from Grand Central)
(5) The Complete Traveller Antiquarian Bookstore

(6) Picture of the Freedom Tower (One World Trade Center) from the West Side. This was taken with an iPad II.

Swag
(7) New York City Cycling Map

(8) A New Version Of London’s Bike Map, Inspired By The Tube

(9) Concept art by Anna Shukeylo. This has a very urban sketch kind of feel

(9a) BONUS: Cathedral by Anna Shukeylo

Weekend 214.0 (Almost)

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The Art of The Secret World of Arrietty(1) The scan is from The Art of the The Secret World of Arrietty. I can’t scan the entire book BUT will add the abandoned gazebo (not tea house) in the garden that was featured in the final shot of the film.

(1a) A Dollhouse Fit for a Queen

(1b) Spoils!

(2) A Bicycle Built For Speed (WSJ)

(2a) ‘Stupid’ and Oil Prices (WSJ)

(3) A Pattern Emerges (WSJ)

“They’re innovating original prints that stand out more than any logo could. And because you must know fashion to recognize a print’s meaning, they have become a secret handshake to an undeniably stylish club.”

(4) On being an Anglophile…

Friend: So why do you seem to always want to be a redcoat? That doesn’t seem very American.

Limestone: Just something about the smell of EMPIRE!

Friend: Eew, OLD empire. Musty!

(4a) Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now–As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It, and Long for It

(4b) A Short History of England: The Glorious Story of a Rowdy Nation

Weekend 213.0 (Arrietty)

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ArriettyMy one sentence review of Arrietty.

“Arrietty is adorable, diminutive, and special and the last scene features a tea house with stained glass windows.”

I can’t draft anything that isn’t biased. I love Miyazaki and small things. The backgrounds were gorgeous and the music and characters were great. I love it (for very personal and sentimental reasons) when she givers her hair clip to Sean.

The benefits of the quiet mind (or my first borrowing):

Found this tiny pin on the train platform this morning. It would fit inside a quarter.

Borrowed time, but time well spent: Animation god crafts ‘Arrietty’ from classic story

Weekend 212.0 (“time stays around us like pools of color”)

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(1) The Pursuit of Presence (WSJ)

“All of his poems are inextricably linked to the places where they were written. For much of his adult life, Mr. Bonnefoy spent his summers with his wife in an abandoned monastery in Provence.”

It’s snowing.
Under the flakes, a door opens at last
On the garden beyond the world. Green Scarf Dispatch Company
I set out. But my scarf
Snags on a rusty nail,
And the cloth of my dreams is torn.
(“The Garden,” 1991)

(2) A Penchant for Dreaming (WSJ)

“Burne-Jones was a founding partner of Morris’s design company in 1861. His specialty was stained-glass windows and tapestries—he did the figures while Morris handled the borders—but over the years he also designed jewelry, illustrated books and made mosaics. All done while continuing his own career as painter and watercolorist. He may have loathed his own age, Ms. MacCarthy notes, but he possessed its work ethic…The purpose of art, for him, is to be a refuge from the coarseness of the industrial world.”

(2a) Fancy some DISNEY MAGIC? (The Moment of Truth Concept Art for The Sword in…)

(3) The glorious sword of authority was given by Lord, / Poems and books are evidences that praise Yahweh in front of Him. / Taiping unifies the World of Light. – Hong Xiuquan

(4) “Light is the measure of everything. It is absolute, mathematical, physical, eternal. There is an absolute speed to it, you can’t outrun it; that’s what the theory of relativity is about. Stand here and remember what you can. What you remember is in light, the rest is in darkness, isn’t it? The past fades to dark, and the future is unknown, just stars.” – Daniel Libeskind