Frank Lloyd Wright architect

Interior of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

September 24, 2011 by Bo Mackison 1 Comment

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church - Iconostation

These photographs of the interior of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church were taken during the Wright and Like tour, June 2011.

This photo was taken from the back of the church and shows the entire Iconostasion, including the screen which shields the altar from full view. The sanctuary is only open during services when the priest is present.

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church - Altar Behind Iconostation

Here is another view of the sanctuary behind the iconstasion.

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church - Icons, Pulpit, and Lights

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church is very unusual in that it’s interior is circular. Pews from a semicircle around the sanctuary. The pulpit from which the priest speaks is on the left side of the sanctuary.

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Celebrates 50th Anniversary

September 23, 2011 by Bo Mackison 2 Comments

Brass Doors and Stained Glass Entrance to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

The entrance way of Annunciation Greek Orthodox has four brass embossed doors surrounded by stained glass windows. The windows depict the story of the Annunciation. If you look carefully, you can see a small red square to the lower left of the doors. This is the famous red tile with the engraved initials of Wright, signifying this is an authentic Wright design.

On either side of the church are stairways leading to the lower level garden with plantings, flowers and trees. There are also entrances to the lower level of the church, once used for offices and classrooms. The church has built a second building for most of their offices, but the downstairs space continues to be utilized for small group functions.

I love the repeated curving lines that Wright uses at the entrance to the church. The dome’s lower concentric circle, the circular arch protecting the entrance doors, the circles of the stairway and the large circle planters all repeat the same geometric pattern.

There are more photographs, including the full exterior view of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, in the previous post.

Photos of the interior begin in the next post.

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Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: 50th Anniversary of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Architecture, Bo Mackison photographer, Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Frank Lloyd Wright architect, National Register of Historic Places, Photography, Wauwatosa Wisconsin, Wisconsin

Journal Writing at Seth’s Cottage

May 3, 2011 by Bo Mackison 10 Comments

Wright Inspired Accessories at Seth Peterson Cottage on Mirror Lake, Wisconsin

I spent several hours writing by the light cast from this small lamp while I was staying at the Seth Peterson Cottage. Whenever I paused, I could look out the many windows and gaze at Mirror Lake, which wasn’t much of a “mirror” while I was there. It had a slate gray appearance that evening, no resemblance to a reflective mirror.

While I was there, I photographed some of the details of the interior. These particular photos do not show the rooms so much as the accessories in the rooms. (In the next and final post on Seth’s Cottage I’ll include photographs from the individual rooms.)

I also wrote and sketched in my journals while I was there. A few excerpts follow:

Flickering Fire, Fireplace designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Seth Peterson Cottage

A lesson learned from lighting the fire. When lighting a fire with a full box of matches at your disposal, one doesn’t pay much attention to the number of matches it takes. If the fire doesn’t start with the first two or three matches, just keep trying until the fire catches. But when there are only six matches in the only box of matches, one plans carefully for the lighting of the logs. The kindling is laid just so, I stuff a bit of paper between the twigs for a bit of insurance, choose the smaller logs from the woodpile outside. Lots of planning goes on before I strike the first match.

I think of an analogy, comparing the starting a fireplace fire to caring for the earth. While the natural resources of the earth seem inexhaustible, there seems little need to use the resources wisely–lots of matches in the box to start the warming fire. But when the resources become threatened, endangered, the prudent thing to do would be to use them wisely, carefully, with great planning–don’t want to run out of matches before the logs are burning.

Star Floor, Radiant Floor Heating System, Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Seth Peterson Cottage

I spent way too much time trying to find patterns and pictures in the random lines of the flagstone floor. Above is my interpretation of a “radiant” star — radiant because underneath these flagstone slabs are hot water pipes that provide floor heating. There were also pennies embedded in several cracks. I fully intended to get down on my hands and knees and check out the dates on the coins, but I never did find a flashlight and the areas were rather dimly lit.

From my journal:

I am quite loving this hard stone floor. Not because it is a comfy surface to stand upon in stocking feet, but because it is toasty warm. Even though it has dropped to the low 40s and will probably hit 35˚F by early morning, the warm floor is quite special in that it is so unexpected. There are no rugs, only this unending expanse of carefully matched stone slabs.

It is so quiet. Now, nearly six in the evening, and the skies are dark with heavy, threatening rain clouds. I expected to see and hear birds, but the birds are silent. There is no radio, no television, no neighbors, no motor boats on the “no motor” lake, no internet. It is quiet, except for the popping of the fire and the occasional cloud burst.

One gets lulled by the quiet. I intend to write, but instead I find myself passing long periods of time watching the logs burn, watching the raindrops plop in the puddles on the back stone patio, listening for sounds that don’t exist. We have learned to live in a noisy world, and often pay little attention to the constant background noises that surround us. But when there are no sounds, only silence, then I notice the silence.

I hear the silence.

——————–

This is the second part of a three-part series written and photographed while I stayed at the Seth Peterson Cottage.

Filed Under: Photography, Travel, Writing Practices Tagged With: Frank Lloyd Wright architect, journal writing, Mirror Lake State Park, nature reflections, Seth Peterson Cottage, Wisconsin

Seth’s Cottage

April 30, 2011 by Bo Mackison 13 Comments

Seth Peterson Cottage, Mirror Lake, Frank Lloyd Wright architect

I have visited the Seth Peterson Cottage, the last commission that Frank Lloyd Wright did before his death in 1958. (There are tours of the small cottage every second Sunday of the month in the afternoon.)

And ever since I went and toured this cozy, secluded cottage that stands on the bluffs overlooking Mirror Lake, I’ve had a deep desire to spend the night there. (The cottage is one of only a handful of Wright designed buildings available for public rental.)

Last week I listened to a show on Wisconsin Public Radio regarding the activities planned for this year in honor of Wright’s home in Wisconsin. Taliesin is reaching the century mark. And the conversation about Wright’s houses rekindled my dream of staying in Seth’s Cottage. What better way to commemorate this Wright year? But when I went to the site to check on availability, there was only one night available – the next evening — or the cottage wasn’t available until mid-November.

I made some hasty arrangements and then made my reservation.

I was going to spend a whole day and night at the Seth Peterson Cottage. A mini-Wright retreat in the woods, on a bluff, above a lake–in a Wright designed cottage. Yes!

Entrance to Seth Peterson Cottage, Mirror Lake, Frank Lloyd Wright architect

I’m sharing the photos I took of the cottage when it was nearly dark because these are the kinds of photographs you can only get if you spend the night. I have taken many of the cottage’s exterior and interior during daylight hours while I’ve been on the tours. Those were taken a few years ago when I was a true novice with the camera. This time I spent quite a few hours photographing the cottage, both the inside and outside, in daylight and at night. I had the huge advantage of being able to set up my shots, and I was able to use a tripod and long shutter speeds without interfering with a tour in progress.

What a dream come true!

Interior, Dining Area of Seth Peterson Cottage, Frank Lloyd Wright architect

The cottage was designed to include much in a very small space. The bedroom is small but very functional with built ins and closets. The dining and living area is almost spacious. When dining, one can gaze out at Mirror Lake and watch the water fowl. In better weather–it was drizzly and in the 40s–the lake is popular with canoeists and kayakers, too. There is an outside porch for relaxing and outdoor eating. The flagstone floor has a radiant heating system underneath the surface and the floor is toasty warm for bare feet. Nice touch!

View from Entrance, Seth Peterson Cottage, Frank Lloyd Wright architect

Wright knew how to make the most of lighting and windows, and the cottage has plenty of both. The western exposure is a wall of windows set on a short stone base. The rear wall also has windows and insures a great view of the lake and the wildlife.

Central Fireplace at Seth Peterson Cottage, Frank Lloyd Wright architect

He also employed stone in his exterior design and in the mammoth, central fireplace. The kitchen walls, located immediately behind the fireplace, are also entirely of stone. Modern appliances complement the warmth of the small alcove.

Seth Peterson never lived in the cottage he talked Frank Lloyd Wright into designing for him when Wright was 90 years old. Seth committed suicide before its completion, and the home was sold and finished by another party. In 1966 the state of Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources acquired the building and property as a part of the adjoining Mirror Lake State Park, but due to its remote location, the building fell into disrepair.

In 1989 a non-profit group formed to save the building which was in near ruins. After much fund-raising, the cottage was fully restored. It has received numerous architectural awards and recommendations for the stunning rehabilitation. The mission of the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy is one of preservation and education. But even more, it is one of opportunity, for it provides the opportunity to experience this unique building in an intimate setting, perhaps the exact setting Mr. Wright himself envisioned.

As I sat in front of the fire on my first afternoon there, I wrote and sketched in my journal. It was a serene experience. Silent, except for the pop and sizzle of the wood fire, the scratching of my pen upon my journal pages, and occasional chatter from the squirrels and birds nearby.

I wouldn’t have been a bit surprised to hear a quiet voice whisper in my ear — “Welcome to Seth’s Cottage, Bo.”

And I might just have replied, “Why, thank you, Mr. Wright.”

~~~ I’ll share a few daylight photos and some journal entries written while staying there in a future post. I am back home after spending the first part of 2011 in Arizona. This is my first “explore” since returning to the Midwest.

Filed Under: Photography, Writing Practices Tagged With: Baraboo Wisconsin, Frank Lloyd Wright architect, Mirror Lake State Park, overnight stays at Seth Peterson Cottage, Seth Peterson Cottage

Taliesin – Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home

July 11, 2008 by Bo Mackison 17 Comments

View of Taliesin in the distance and the surrounding countryside.

Jump on this bright red bus, Frank Lloyd Wright’s favorite color, BTW, and it takes you to Taliesin, Wright’s home in Spring Green, Wisconsin. This hillside was Wright’s favorite spot as a child when he lived and worked on his uncles’ farms – he would come here to hide and escape his chores. When he was an adult, his mother bought the property as a bribe to get her son to return to Wisconsin from a long stay in Europe. The bribe worked and FLW returned and built his home there.

These are the interior gardens; the main house in behind the camera. The long row structure to the right was originally a long string of barns for the family’s animals. They are now apartments for the architectural students studying Prairie Architecture at the school housed nearby.

Wright designed his buildings so that there was not a direct route to the entrance. He wanted you to “have an adventure” before you even stepped into the interior. In the case of Taliesin, one has to go through the garden, around the string of student apartments, and then past his studio, to find the front door. The windows to the left are in the main room of the house, one of the first “great rooms” – a combined living room, dining room, study.

A view of the garden. Wright bought innumerable Asian artifacts to Taliesin, and decorated the interior and exterior with these treasures. No photos of the interior were allowed, though the home tour was in depth and included all of Wright’s living areas and studio. Filled with wonderful Wright designed furnishings, Oriental rugs and Asian art.

Spring Green is about 30 miles west of Madison and Taliesin is truly a national treasure, worth the visit if anywhere in the area.

Filed Under: Photography, Travel Tagged With: Frank Lloyd Wright architect, Frank Lloyd Wright's Home and Studio, Spring Green Wisconsin, Taliesin, Taliesin bus

Interior of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Journal Writing at Seth’s Cottage

Seth’s Cottage

Taliesin – Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home

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