Family Room for Thanksgiving.

I'm participating in Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch. Thanks to Susan!

I'm eating a breakfast of champions: deviled eggs and pecan pie and I'm feeling very sentimental about family and home at Thanksgiving. Grandpa Joe arrives with pies (they brought 2 pumpkin, 2 pecan, and 2 dozen deviled eggs - 48 halves):


But this is about architecture and design, so I'm thinking about and thanking Bill Harrison and Gordon Stringer who gave our little house a big, flexible, comfortable, practical space for enjoying family.

We bunched our seating and brought in a expandable table from the laundry and were good to go. (20 years ago Gordon picked this table for our laundry and said we could expand it for eating.)




This week The Skirted Roundtable interviewed Alessandra Branca and Velvet and Lenin interviewed Windsor Smith. Both Ms. Branca and Ms. Smith emphasized rooms that get used, where people want to be.

That's what Bill and Gordon gave us: Space f0r families to cook, serve, entertain, converse, and collapse: Den, breakfast room, kitchen:


Here is the Russian Tea assembly line the night before:


Cheese puff extraction and testing (boy were they good this year). Wait a minute, maybe this was the sausage muffins.


Larry and his humans Deb and Dave came all the way from Florida. Our big room had enough space for his bed.


Grandson offers cheese puffs to Joe and Zella. You can't even tell that we bunched the furniture.


Young Nathan had plenty of space and was running out of the picture:


Emily took Nathan out for a cool-down:


There were little conversations everywhere




Michelle and JoAnn apply love to the dressing


JoAnn and Zella seem pretty pleased.


Some impromptu boyfriend/girlfriend dancing


Cooking space became a 2-sided buffet. David does the final inspection:




Chairs came from every corner (we did turn the TV off). Katherine is taking an early test bite while Nick rolls up his sleeves:


We ate until it hurt and ate some more...


Nathan finally had to take his mom and dad home; they needed a little nap:


The survivors finished with Scrabble, football, and G.I. Joe on the tube:


I tried to take this when they weren't looking:


Then they posed (your host in the red shirt). Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.


Thanks so much.
Terry

P.S. Did you know that Rachel did a 1/2 marathon on Thanksgiving? And still made the cheese puffs?



P.P.S. The menu and Cheese Puff recipe (click to make them bigger)



The Cheese Puff recipe is odd. We didn't cook them long enough and had to put them back in the oven. We nearly had fights at the serving bowl trying to eat them. If you want to try these, call for insider advice. Click here to make the recipe BIG.



Thanks to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Angel Cannon Chapel Column Capitals

My post about Pitts Theology Library at Emory University said I'd get back the Emory's Cannon Chapel. It's a brutalist building that doesn't seem brutal, a complex building that easy to navigate, a big building that's not intimidating, an odd building with gentle delights around every corner. (Christa suggested I mention my post about Agnes Scott's new Julia Thompson Smith Chapel by Maurice Jennings architects. I haven't been inside yet.)

It's covered in abstract concrete angel wings.













It's interesting that the downspouts appear to be columns, very skinny ones. Notice the angle pattern on the barrel roofs.





I think these windows have angel details too:



It's well worth a walk-though if you are near Emory University.



Thanks and best wishes for your family for Thanksgiving.

Terry

David Huff paintings at Mattress Factory

Here is David Huff (with hat) in his studio from last week's Mattress Factory Studio Tour post.



He was kind enough to invite me to his solo show last Friday night (11-20-09). It was perfect for Architecture Tourists: Seeing original art in one of Atlanta's original loft conversions. The building deserves it's own post. Right now let's see some of David's hyper vivid colors. These 2 could light up a stadium.



In fact I wanted to see them from a distance as with this Zen View:



I don't know the moment when abstract art started to appeal to me. From the first I guess. I haven't studied are so I don't have words for the art. But they communicate fine without them. And David printings reward deep looks and repeated visits.



This is an arch but...


David Huff is working with plastic sign board and outdoor sign paint to produce works like this. He said these could be heated and bent and applied to curved surfaces.



This one isn't so curvy. I only notice from the picture.



Hardly anyone I know has been to an artist's reception. I'd urge you to go to one. The artist will appreciate it, there is food and drink, they don't demand much time, and have a very flexible dress code. Nice folks from all stripes are usually just as mystified as you are about the art and the artist, mystified by how the art affects.



They might even think you are cool in your red sweatshirt taking pictures from a tiny tripod. See if you can spot me in the picture.





Thanks to David Huff for inviting me to his solo art show.

P.S Check out this 3-story neon sculpture in the Mattress Factory lobby.



Here are all the pictures:

Alexandro Santana artist reception at Besharat

My camera is not worthy of Alexandro Santana's breathtaking pictures; I can't "get " the colors. You'll just have to see them for yourself at Besharat Gallery in Atlanta. While you are there, sign up to find out about more receptions.

We walked in to see this wall of stunning colors:
















Purple sweaters looked great with the art:


Alexandro could not have been nicer. From Spain, now living in Savannah, Rhode Island School of design. He told us how he did it and signed books for Architecture Tourists Katherine on the left and me (Terry) on the right.

We met some really nice folks from Big Canoe, New York, Paris and... Right: Katherine, Center: Adrian Dannatt


Left: Adrian Dannatt


Oh, how did he do it? "Action Painting" Think colors, mix the colors (turpentine is involved), canvas flat on floor, pour blobs of paint, once the colors set up a bit stand them up, more thinking, more coloring, more knifing...

There are more pictures, see them here slide show. Click the little box on the lower left corner to see it full screen; you'll be glad you did.


Thanks,
Terry

P.S. The Besharat stair is a work of art itself.