Architecture

Lucia Eames – Film Strip for Cutting Room Floor Series

Caroline Scott Low Image Architecture, Art, Artifacts, Film, History, Sculpture Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

My husband and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary at Auberge du Soleil in Napa. (Yes, I was a child bride. Ha! ;)) On Saturday, we wandered around their sculpture garden after our al fresco breakfast. They have 120 original pieces of sculpture, each one denoted with a metal cutout number. We decided to choose our two favorite pieces. We didn’t tell each other which our favorite ones were until we saw them all. It was a fun exploration to see if we had similar taste. In the end, we chose different pieces, but we also liked each other’s choices.

After lunch, we visited some art galleries. By great luck, we came across Ma(i)sonry, unbeknownst to us the partners of Auberge du Soleil sculpture garden. We learned more about the artists, and one in particular whom I was captivated by. It turns out it is Lucia Eames, the daughter of Charles Eames and step-daughter of Ray Eames. They were the very influential architecture and furniture designers of the 20th Century. The Eames Lounge and Ottoman circa 1956 is one of the most recognized pieces in furniture. Also, equally renowned is their case study home in Pacific Palisades – which was built as an experiment to develop new kinds of housing (in collaboration with Arts & Architecture Magazine 1945-49). It is still maintained by the Eames Foundation.

That foundation was set-up by Lucia Eames. She, along with her daughter, Llisa Demetrios, has continued their family legacy of artistic creations. They are both sculptors. Lucia designs for garden and landscape settings. I was drawn to her Film Strip for Cutting Room Floor series because of the symbols – hearts, stars and doves – integrated into the film strip. The juxtaposition of the red color (she also does black film strips) in the garden setting makes the sculptures stand out. It looks a bit awkward, but at the same time enchanting.  She also does a series of chairs and tables. I find them just as compelling. It was a treat to see her works in the garden setting and in the galleries, and to learn more about her lineage.

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo

Caroline Scott Low Architecture Tags: , , , Leave a comment

Studying the California Missions is standard fourth grade curriculum in northern California. My son, Nicholas, studied the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo. Since kindergarten, he was eager to create a diorama of a Mission. For four years he observed with keen intensity the dioramas on display in his school library. So when it came time to design his own, he knew exactly how he wanted it to look. The process was a group effort with our family. I loved being a part of his creation and sharing in his enthusiasm. Three years later, my daughter, Emma, studied the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. However, her teacher had the children work in small groups to create the missions together in class. The team collaboration helped the children learn how to work together on projects. There were certainly some conflicts, but all in all the kids enjoyed the process. Emma had some very original ideas, like using press-on nails as the clay tiles for the roof. It turns out that was cost prohibitive. Two of the children from the group were picked to bring the missions home. Emma was one of them. We had the huge diorama on display in our home for two months, then, thankfully, we gave it to her classmate for safekeeping.

Our family spent the past weekend in Carmel for the 4th of July holiday weekend. The ubiquitous Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo was full of visitors and hosted a wedding on Saturday. My husband and I have been to two weddings in the beautiful chapel. It is a romantic and ethereal setting for a wedding ceremony. The mission is considered to be the most beautiful of all the California missions. It was founded on June 3, 1770 and was the second in the mission chain. Father Junipero Serra made it his headquarters, and was laid to rest there in 1784. After secularization, the mission was abandoned and stood roofless until 1884, when the process of restoration was started. In 1931 Harry Downie was appointed as curator in charge of the full restoration. In 1933, it became an independent parish, and in 1987, Pope John Paul II visited the mission. It remains an active church today.