Wednesday, October 31, 2007

[fashionable] architecture

i was coming home late from work this week, making my usual trek, not really paying attention, when i nearly ran into the largest spider web i've ever seen. i flipped out, i really did. i hate spiders.

i took a step back, and shook off the "willies". staring back at the spider's web, i'll call her charlotte, i noticed it wasn't complete, but she was in the middle of making it! i was amazed! the precision, the delicacy, the accuracy. it was beautiful. before long i found myself standing and watching for a while.

my mind must have still been in "architecture mode", because as i sat there, i started to critique the web. it was very minimalist. she only used one material, silk, which seemed natural, and it was only placed where it had to be. it seemed to be extremely functional. the structure is primarily used to catch food, and it would appear that a "web" is the right shape and style to use. it seemed to be incredibly sturdy as the blowing wind didn't have much effect on it. the scale seemed to fit for the size of occupant, it wasn't one of those "mcwebs" you see being built in the suburbs. it wasn't gaudy, but instead blended into it's environs very well, yet still stood apart. i'm not sure if she was going to apply for LEED certification or not, as it seemed to be pretty self sufficient.

it wasn't all praises, however, as i did want to question her and ask if this was just "fad" architecture. i mean really, with halloween being so close, and the structure's originality, come on, couldn't she have though a little outside the web, just a little...

but those critiques fell by the wayside as i realized that i was witnessing instinct at work. charlotte was born with it. she wasn't thinking of any of that when she started out, she was simply doing what she knew how to do, and it was beautiful.

of course this whole story would have been much shorter, and less inspirational, if i would have stumbled upon her in my closet.

i woke up the next morning, almost hoping that she had written "happy halloween" onto the web, but when i went down and checked, it was gone.......

probably found a better site.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i love this post! very funny and very thoughtful.

js

Luke said...

I love it.