Railings


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River of Happiness Railing

I once saw a railing by Joseph Maria Jujol, who was one of Antoni Gaudi's principle assistants. I was electrified! It seemed to move as a living line of energy. It showed what iron could do as music, as dance, as calligraphy. When I had the opportunity to design and make whatever I wanted for a Hollywood client. I chose to create this as an homage to Jujol.

The concept was constantly varying spiral forms linked with triangle forms. By making spirals made of two spirals one inside the other , I was able to infill the space between the spirals with different patterns of lines and forms, making each one graphically unique, as is testified to by the calligraphic shadows.
The actual handrail is a built-up, undulating form which is empty so light passes through it. It is supported by triangular tiled panels in constantly varying blues and greens. Each tile is like a unique painting. As it thickens and becomes the gate post it becomes triangular in cross section. The gate is a five-sided form in honor of the fact that, in nature, five-sided forms are found only as part of living (and therefore entropy-resisting) structures.


This is a detail of the ornament at the apex of the five-sided gate form. It is like one of the little "growing ball" details has grown bigger that the others and is putting out five fractally self-similar "growing ball" forms. It also has a nipple. The border of the gate is a play of triangles again, and another variation on the theme of alternating voids and forms. Its center is a variation on loosely concentric radiating star forms.
This image shows the project after galvanizing, before it receives the patina. In this case the patina produced a variegated rust look that played perfectly with the blues and greens of the tiles and the stone tiles of the dark surface. At the far right end of the middle row you can see the large triangle detail that received lag bolts into the wall of the house. Large triangular tiles then covered the lag bolts. This is shown below in final finished form in the last image of this page.
This image shows a close-up of some details. The latch pin is camouflaged as one of the "growing ball" details. I like to make the latch blend with the design of the gate, when possible, to avoid creating a disruption in the overall form. For another example of this principle, have a look at the "leaf-shaped" handle on the sliding bolt for the closure of the "Tree of Life" gate on the home page of this site. It has tile inlay but it's shape echoes all the iron leaf shapes on the rest of the gate.
Here is another detail showing more of the variegation of the patina. The oranges, yellows, and reddish-browns. Note the "bump details" forming vertebrae forms along the inside of the spiral. See how all spirals taper to a fine point and are uniquely bent by hand, not on a mechanical form. Therefore nothing is a dead, "cookie-cutter" repetition. Everything is making it's own distinct living gesture. Such is the feeling of the aesthetic that I serve.
This final image shows the beauty of the color interplay between the stone deck and the patina of the metal, setting off the blues and greens of the tiles, which in turn relate to the foliage beyond. At far right the railing climbs in height to a finishing detail of a large triangular tile which covers and hides the lag bolts that fasten the railing into the house wall.
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