[wright] here in wichita

well, because i'm a huge "archi-geek", and had nothing else to do saturday morning, i decided to enjoy an open house of the corbin education center which is one of two frank lloyd wright structures we have here in wichita.

now, to say that i only went because i was bored, isn't totally correct. having missed the first year of architecture school, i lost my chance to join in the fun filled tour that takes place that year of wichita. i had driven by the building a number of times but i had never had the chance to get inside.

so armed with my camera, i joined a tour. it was filled with most of the same information you get on every tour of a wright building, hidden entries, courtyards, compression, release....there were however some very unique facts that i really enjoyed. the curved mullion detail on the windows was only use in one other building which is the guggenheim in new york, and the building was finished after wrights death.

after finishing the tour, i did what one is suppose to do in any great space....take pictures. while snapping away, i wondered around, lost in thought, thinking about architecture, the profession, clients, ideas, legacies, details, ...where to place this new information in my personal guided tour of wichita architecture for out-of-town guests.

one thought that kept coming back to me however, was the idea of discovery. in my current job, i work with a lot retail, and commercial spaces, where you want the public to know where the front door is immediately upon exiting the car, usually with huge signage above it. however this building, like so many others of his, discovery of the entry is part of the journey. the front of the building is actually rather boring and you're not really sure where to go, but with a little patience and searching, you soon find yourself in a fountain filled courtyard. you go through the mundane, to find something wonderful. which can be said about the city as well. there's a lot of mundane around, but with a little searching you can find something wonderful, pleasant, and inspiring.

true in life as well....

prairie[fire]

now, i'm very well aware that the start of the new year was over three months ago, but really, when you think about it, isn't that a bizarre time to have a "new year". it's right in the dead of winter. every thing's cold, grey, dark...and cold.

what brought me to this conclusion was driving past a prairie fire late the other night, which is always a sign in kansas that spring is here. what an impressive and powerful image of clearing the old to make way for the new. now i don't know much about maintaining a prairies, since i've never owned one, but i do know that the general idea is that it helps clear the old grass and shrubs to allow newer and healthier grass to take it's place.

driving around late that night, a number of fires could be seen in the distance. seeing one relatively close, i followed a dirt road until i came across it. i got out and sat on the hood of the car and watched it with the same thoughtful look one would have staring into a bonfire. i sat there thinking about life, pondering, wondering, analyzing my place in in this crazy world.....you, know all standard bonfire thoughts....air supply may have been playing softly in the background....i'm not sure....but i digress. the only downside i noticed after getting back into the car was no that the interior smelled like a koa campsite. but that was nothing a little window-down driving couldn't fix.

i suddenly have a craving for some smores...

[spring] in the air [art] on the wall

the temperature is gradually rising, and people are slowly coming out of their kansas winter hibernation. last friday, wichita had it's final friday gallery crawl, and people were out and about enjoying the weather and the art.

it's a wonderful night, and if you ever find yourself in wichita, make sure it's on the last friday on the month. for a town not known for it's urban atmosphere, it really does come to life, with people walking around downtown, jumping on and off trolleys, and strolling in and out of the many galleries, enjoying local art.

get on your [irish] bikes and ride

a while ago i participated in the annual wichita st. patricks day parade. i can't remember the last time i was actually in a parade, somehow i just never found the time in college. perhaps if the college of architecture, planning and design, would have had a float i would have signed up. can you imagine that, a flatbed trailer hauling a bunch of kids, dressed in all black, asleep on drafting tables.

i digress.

on saturday, the vintage bike club, rode in the parade. i woke up early and peddled my way past downtown and into delano, in my best green shirt, which was covered up by my non-green coat, it was freezing out. i met up with about 30-40 other riders, and chatted it up before the parade. when it was our turn, we rode through the streets of the delano district with horns and sirens blazing while waiving at the crowd, the parade route was short but never the less, enjoyable. it was very cool, very americana. upon leaving the boundaries of the route, we all continued down to the "shamrock", our normal starting point for thursday night rides, and enjoyed half price green beer.

although it was a great time, i couldn't help but think that day, as much fun as it is to be in a parade, you end up missing the whole show.....

i'm not exactly sure what that means, but i sounds slightly prolific...doesn't it?


enjoy the pictures.

[me] and the old man

well i did it.

i read a book in one sitting.

i know that i shouldn't be particularly thrilled about making that statement, but i am. i'm just not a "book" guy. the trait that triggers one to pick up and read a book for fun, bypassed me. it's embarrassing to count the books i've read from beginning to end. now i'm not talking about the required reading i had to do in school, that was forced upon me. i didn't want to do it, i would have been perfectly fine in the dark room enlarging photos. i'm also not counting architecture books, that's just not fair...mostly pictures. i'm talking about books for leisure, cover to cover. the total is weak....i am however working on changing that.

while at the library, checking out dvd's, i decided to venture into unknown territory, the fiction section. i walked up and down the isle's, wondering aimlessly among the authors, lost in the lot of literature. i made it to the "h's". i stopped and picked up a copy of "the old man and the sea" by hemingway. i had heard the title and author before, so i figured, if i knew of it, it must be somewhat famous, and if it was famous, it must be good. not knowing anything more than that, i checked it out.

alright, honesty, it was 93 pages and had pictures. .....baby steps...

i took it home, but didn't read it right away. a few days passed, and then about 11:30 one night i was bored, picked it up and started reading. it took a while, but slowly i was taken from wichita to the shores of cuba. i continued. as i read, i got more into the story. as it turns out, it's about an old man and the sea! who knew!

without turning this into a book report, it's about an old man on a fishing trip. but not just any fishing trip, an epic fishing trip. an old fisherman, ventures far out into sea one day, and snags a huge fish, the fish of a lifetime. knowing what he's caught, he holds on, keeping the perfect balance on the line. the old man spends most of the book in this position. possibly a boring plot, but hemingway uses this situation to bring forth thoughts and feelings that reveal the character of the old man.


halfway into the book, i started getting sleepy, but i couldn't leave this old man out in a boat in the middle of nowhere holding this monster of a fish! it might have been my tiredness, but when the thought of closing the book crossed my mind, the old man would look and me and say "hey, where you going? don't leave me out here all alone with this fish!" so unlike howard roark who i've left at the drafting table or sal paradise who i've left on the side of the road, i kept reading. i had to know the outcome!

i don't want to give anything away.....in case there might be someone out there that hasn't read it, but the themes of the book are timeless. who knew a fishing trip could relate so well to countless situations in life.....


classic.

illustrations from the book, by c.f. tunnicliffe and raymond sheppard