Frank Lloyd Wright - Taliesin West

My lifelong friend M. came to town last weekend. It's always a refreshing reminder of priorities when you have dear friends come back into your life. I always feel a little less caught up in the mindless, unimportant details of  life. I can focus on looking for the best in each day, laughing, reminiscing, having fun... It's a time to put the top down on the convertible, driving around in our incredible 80 degree February days, with the sun shining on our Vitamin D deprived skin. It's a time to let the wind mess up our hair without caring. To turn up the music, enjoy the fresh smell of the desert, and admire the cacti "scenery". 

We headed to Scottsdale to tour Frank Lloyd Wright's beautiful Taliesin West. It is still a functioning architecture school, with interns on campus every winter season. Their flat screen computers showing architecture drafts being manipulated electronically, were a stark contrast to the rest of the campus' retro look and feel. 

To say Taliesin West is eclectic doesn't do it justice. It's eccentric, eclectic, beautiful, minimalistic, and even weird. Frank Lloyd Wright was heavily influenced by Asian architecture and decor, which was an unexpected find for me. 

 

  

  

We weren't allowed to take photos in alot of the common living areas, which pained me!! The decoration, attention to detail, woodwork, art etc... It was all so beautiful. I was able to take one undercover stealth shot. This is a simple storage room. When you see the beauty Mr. Wright took the time to design into a storage space, you can only imagine how he detailed his more commonly seen living spaces. Such beautiful woodwork! The guide said this room also doubled as a movie room where uncut versions of Wild West films were played... This meant they were up to 8 hours long!!! And I thought 3 hour movies were snoozers....

 

He appreciated perfect acoustics, and made sure the rooms he and his wife threw parties in gave them the benefit of this feature. Unbeknownst to anyone else, Wright and his wife would stand at the back of the room and hear every word (for better or worse) that left their guests' mouths. Tricky!!!

The grounds were meticulously kept, the grass thick, soft and green, the pool a sparkling blue, flowers beautifully blooming, sculptures adorning every corner. Anywhere we looked, there was incredible beauty. What a beautiful place to live while attending school! 

 

Phallic like cacti growing out of the main house? Check. 

(Sorry... it was just too funny)

 

  

  

  

These brightly colored berries brought back childhood memories of when I ate a handful of them, thinking they'd taste like blueberries. All I got was a mouthful of Ipecac syrup, and two hours worth of heaving it all up in the bathroom.... Lovely.

  

 

 

I loved this piece of art. It was entitled "Inner Path". It is such an appropriate visualization of real life... Always a struggle, but surmountable. 

 

The reality of the building does not consist in the roof and walls but in the space within to be lived in.

~Laotse