Light shaping space
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Because I now live across the water from Seattle, I ride the ferry a lot and look out the window at a beautiful space called Puget Sound. One late afternoon last week this play of light happened as I made my way home. The sun shimmering white on the dark gray of the water.
An easy way to bring this beautiful play of light into a space would be to print it and hang it on the wall. As an image. This would give us something to look at but how can we experience it more directly as space?
In my case, it happened in my stairwell up to the attic.
For practical reasons, I went with Benjamin Moore cheating heart 1617 on the steep steps, a dark charcoal that would hide scuff marks. But the magic is the light from a window at the top of the steps painting a luminous white along the edge of each step. And just like the light on the water of Puget Sound, the white light is the most intense closer to the source. The further away from the light source the more diffuse the white becomes. Not quite a stairway to heaven but that touch of white light that is slightly different on each step engages us more fully in this space than the sparkle of any costly metal or gem.
When you are out and about, study how light is shaping spaces. Take a picture, jot down some thoughts. You will be surprised how quickly these observations will find their way into your thinking about your own space. Here are a few of my observations. Share yours!
SOUND
Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy. Listen to a piano recording. You can hear the repetitious sparkle of light.
Diamond in Your Mind sung by Tom Waits. Look at the pictures again and see how much dark there has to be for the light to shine. Waits has a voice that is so dark his singing of light is especially evocative.
SIGHT
Van Gogh. Look how he imagined waves of color from objects. Setting them vibrating and expanding beyond their physical selves. Just like the the light on Puget Sound and my stairs.
Mayan Blue Genuine Watercolor by Daniel Smith. An amazing color that brings together the ocean’s dark depths and the light in its reflections.
THOUGHT
Waves by Virginia Woolf. Yesterday was her birthday. Her novel, The Waves, is unspeakably beautiful in describing light and shadow. Here is just a small tantalizing sentence, “Now, too, the rising sun came in at the window, touching the red-edged curtain, and began to bring out circles and lines.”
IMMERSION
Washington State ferry ride between Seattle and Bremerton. One hour (two if you turn around and do it again!) of losing yourself in the beauty of space and light.
Really cool. I never would have thought about how sunlight hits the water and how to replicate that in a home. Very interesting, and good succinct explanation for design concepts I hadn’t thought about before.