May 25, 2012 - Design Intent

A family pauses at a bench above the water and the representation of a boat launch and below a stone lantern at the Japanese Garden in Seattle's Washington Park Arboretum.   The stone lantern, a fixture in any Japanese Garden, began finding their way into the gardens in the 16th century.  Originally, they had been used to line the paths at Buddhist temples.  The lanterns had five primary components that aligned with Buddhist cosmology - chi (earth), sui (water), ka (fire), fu (air) and ku (spirit or void).  Here coins lay in the opening where the flame (ka) would be lit.

The Japanese Garden was designed by Kiyoshi Inoshita and Juki Iida and overseen by Tatsuo Moriwaki of Tokyo Metro Parks.  It is a stroll-through garden of the formal type that one would find in Japan in the late 16th and early 17th century.  Incorporated into the 3 1/2 acre garden are some 580 granite rocks and boulders from Snoqualmie Pass hand selected by Juki Iida. 

Kiyoshi Inoshita describes his design intent :

"The flow of water, which originated at the high mountain ranges, transforms itself as it continues its way through the landscape; first it turns into a waterfall, then into a stream, washing the bank by a tea hut, and finally becomes a lake. At the lakeshore are a variety of features such as a rock promontory, an inlet, and steep slopes, through which water continues its way, until it reaches a village (an image of the village symbolically represented by a cherry grove, iris paddies, and a moon viewing hill). At the village, there appears an island connected to the shore by two different bridges. At the end of the lake is a stone paved boat launch, which symbolically represent a fishing village. There, the water disappears from one’s sight, leaving the expectation that it will be joining the greater ocean."

  

May 25, 2012 - Framed Framer

A fellow camera-armed visitor to Seattle's Japanese Garden is caught in the act, framed by one of the many stone lanterns found in the 3 1/2 acre park.  The park is located within Seattle's Washington Park Arboretum east of downtown near Lake Washington.  It opened in 1960 and was designed by Kiyoshi Inoshita and Juki Iida.

May 12, 2012 - Peak Season

The Mukilteo ferry dock is a busy place as 'peak season' began May 1st.  A sunny holiday weekend, like Mother's Day, typically means waiting in line for a boat, or two...or sometimes three!  But "keep clam" as the crossing to Whidbey Island is brief and a ferry departs every half an hour.  So if you miss a boat, there's probably time to get something from Ivar's!

 

Meanwhile, out in Puget Sound, things are a little less crowded.  Mount Baker can be seen in the background.

May 9, 2012 - 1962 Type 14

The hubcap and tire of a 1962 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia reflect the lobby of Tacoma's Hotel Murano.  Hotel Murano effectively incorporates artwork throughout the building.  The hand-shaped and smoothed body of the Karmann Ghia stands next to Karen LaMonte's "Pianist's Dress", a delicate sculpture of cast glass.  The car is part of the LeMay collection of automobiles.  In the mid-90's this amounted to over 3,500 vehicles.  On June 2, 2012, the LeMay America's Car Museum will have its grand opening.  The 165,000 square foot building located adjacent the Tacoma Dome has the space to show 350 cars and will be one of the largest such facilities in the world. Cars in the collection include a 1906 Cadillac, a 1926 Ford Model T, a 1953 Citroen 2CV, a 1965 Studebaker Avanti, a 1983 DeLorean and a 1968 Pontiac Firebird.  

As the name suggests, the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, or Type 14, was a collaboration of sorts between three firms.  The chassis and mechanicals come from Volkswagen, the styling by Ghia and the bodywork by Karmann.  The result was a beautifully designed coupe based on the foundation of Volkswagen's extremely successful Beetle. It was in production from 1955-1975.

May 1, 2012 - Needle as a Top

After an early evening shower, the Space Needle seemed to appear as a spinning top in a parking lot.