dacarc

riot of flowers

dacarc — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:00:03 +0000

early spring

washed in brilliant streaks of flowers

lightning riot of color, striking awake the gloom of winter

city of bridges

dacarc — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:07:54 +0000

floating over the willamette, shuddering steel trusses

steel bridge 1

trembling under trains, railcars, trucks, cars, bicycles, runners and walkers

steel bridge 2

100 years of resonance – plates and bolts, straps and rails, pulsing synchronicity

steel bridge 3

100 years of rain, sun, wind, ice, heat – tracing a history of time in steel

steel bridge 4

steel bridge 5

steel bridge 6

one, of eight, in this city of bridges – “bridgetown” – the defining structures of the city of portland

burnside bridge 1

framing and connecting the city – east and west

steel bridge 7

steel bridge 8

steel bridge 9

steel bridge 10

steel bridge 11

beauty rediscovered, after decades past – seeing that, just now

desert vision

dacarc — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 17:13:26 +0000

“one breath of juniper smoke, like the perfume of sagebrush after rain, evokes in magical catalysis, like certain music, the space and light and clarity and piercing strangeness of the american west. long may it burn.”
― Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

buckskin gulch 1

buckskin gulch 2

buckskin gulch 3

buckskin gulch 4

buckskin gulch 5

drifting in red sands before the edge of the longest and deepest slot canyon, the landscape is full of magic. rock formations hold ancient petroglyphs, telling the story of the land and people that have lived here for thousands of years.

petroglyphs near buckskin gulch

sandstone formations 1

sandstone formations 2

sandstone formations 3

sandstone formations 4

sandstone formations 5

large swaths of this land were at the bottom of the ocean that divided the continent. now, it is rich with sage, juniper, scrub oak, and cacti – even moss.

tumbleweed 1

tumbleweed 2

tumbleweed 3

tumbleweed 4

tumbleweed 5

the colors, otherworldly – the designs of nature, striking.

desert cacti

desert flower

desert seed

desert cacti

flowering shrub

climbing deep into the slot canyon, the temperature drops, shadows slide over liquid stone. echoes of the floods – walls of water and debris, their markings left as tree trunks and branches held by the narrow walls, high overhead.

slot canyon 1

slot canyon 2

slot canyon 3

slot canyon 4

slot canyon 5

“men come and go, cities rise and fall, whole civilizations appear and disappear-the earth remains, slightly modified. the earth remains, and the heartbreaking beauty where there are no hearts to break….I sometimes choose to think, no doubt perversely, that man is a dream, thought an illusion, and only rock is real. Rock and sun.”
― Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness

the stones

dacarc — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 03:55:33 +0000

the wonder began, with the first lesson in the history of architecture

stonehenge 1

culminating in this walk - into the circle, at sunset – just past the equinox

stonehenge 2

sometime between 4 and 5 thousand years ago, how did they come to be..

stonehenge 3

standing in waves of wind and rain, holding the heat of the sun, reflecting moonlight, for millennia

stonehenge 4

what has happened, here — spiritual ritual, time-marking, sacrifice, burial..

stonehenge 5

more wonder

stonehenge 6

the stones are us, we are them – shaped by our hands, placed by our force

stonehenge 7 – sunset

they breathe, and watch the stars, clouds and moon arc across the sky

stonehenge 8

what source

stonehenge 9

the power of our being

stonehenge 10

and theirs, these living stones

stonehenge 11

a mystery

stonehenge 12

my hometown

dacarc — Sun, 20 May 2012 05:53:55 +0000

this anniversary, i’m remembering the power – destructive, and life-creating, of the mountain i lived next to and climbed. I watched her crystalline reflection float in spirit lake from my earliest memories. mt. saint helens is still a lesson for me, the power of the life giving and life taking force of nature, the beauty and grace and challenge of that power. always remembering.

5.18.1980 – mount st. helens

quest in peru

dacarc — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:00:02 +0000

a few week back, i joined a convergence of people exploring the creative edges of retail – and talked with them about the idea of a creative quest. without this quest, we lose our way in the mist that clings on the mountainside.

closer to the top, there is a long view over the horizon, and the risk of volcanic confluence – drawing deep from the center of the earth both violent destruction and the essence of new life.

the questions

i will keep looking for the insights, under these..

time architecture – spain.6

dacarc — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:07:28 +0000

i’ve considered the theory that time isn’t real – that it is simply our perceptive distance from the energy imprint of an event, a construct of our human condition that places us in this world in a way that we can comprehend, that it is simply a human limitation, not a reality.

the narrative time confluence that we frame our world and our lives around is simply a fabrication.

the concept of flow is interesting in it’s relationship to this reflection – that we are part of this flow, the vast confluence of an infinite number of occurrences, all interwoven – like an unfathomable cosmic river that we are dropped into, in our present moment, and if we could simply swim upstream or leap downstream, we’d still be in that flow, just in a different place.

is that why those structures that manifest layers of imprints become magnetic to so many of us? why thousands or millions continue to be drawn to those places - generation after generation? is that where we can see this flow and sense the echo of those events that occur upstream or downstream? is that why we want to create that physical imprint – so that we can re-discover it, generations later? i wonder..

light architecture – spain.5

dacarc — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:59:52 +0000

it is striking, how architecture has transformed with the use of artificial light

in spain, there are many structures (more than a century ago) created with only considerations of natural light

created in relationship to cycles of day to night, season to season, and the interplay of light with materiality

places for meditation, prayer, contemplation, retreat, and community congregation have light imbedded into their structures

transformational it is, to be considering the natural and ever-changing source of light, the form that will be sculpted from that light, and the surfaces to be illuminated

how memorable to the eye, and to the deeper experience of those who are held within?

ecstatic architecture – spain.4

dacarc — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:33:13 +0000

the spirit of celebration is embedded in the architecture

in the richness of colors, textures and curving forms

the intricate details of carved wood, cut tile, plaster stalactites

from the spirit of the people – the flamenco moves

children parading in costume, ascending angels

dreamscapes of vibrant hues and waves of structure

from gaudi in barcelona

to the alhambra in granada

the ecstasy of being alive

into the essence of architecture

silence architecture – spain.3

dacarc — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:19:39 +0000

in the convents and monasteries of spain

the architecture speaks of silence

a shelter from the noise of life

for quiet reflection

for living in the silence of being

still