A Castle in the Air

Have you ever dreamed of having a castle in the air, a castle of your very own, perched high above the clouds with panoramic views to behold? I have not had that dream, but I have seen that castle. It is a castle high above the ocean on California's Central Coast. From a simple hill-top family campsite at the onset of the 20th century to a marvel of grand opulence; from an extraordinary 27-year collaboration of a publishing magnate and an accomplished architect, I came face to face with this Castle in the Air. Moments away from the small town of San Simeon and the Pacific Ocean, and so superbly located on The Enchanted Hill, I discovered Hearst Castle.

Folly, decadence, and lavishness overlap in this grand setting of mixed period styles with acres of manicured gardens, marbled terraces, majestic views, intricately designed pools for leisure afternoon dips, visions of intimate soirées with legendary guests in rooms dripping with spectacular European antiques and collectable oddities - as far as the eye can see.

I have caught but a glimpse of this estate via a tour of the Main House, and a brief walk through the grounds. I looked up, I looked down, I looked behind me, and everywhere I glanced, minute details of elaborate design and textures caught my eye. There were filigree lines woven through marble; there was a luminous vibrance to the mosaic walls of the indoor pools that I wanted to etch on the walls of my mind. There was astonishment. It was over-the-top. It was Hearst Castle.

 

 

In my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined such a  castle. With its gargantuan scale, its luxurious opulence mixed with a good dose of folly and eccentricity, it was one man's truly extraordinary dream. That man was William Randolph Hearst. 

I usually close my blog posts with.. "It's good for the soul" - this time, after this bit of folly, I will quote my dear artist friend Ted Emrick: DREAM big ~ live LARGE; to which I will then add… "It's good for the soul.

Enjoy as always, Adeline

And then there's TALENT ~ the art of Ted Emrick

I suspect we have all fallen in love at some wondrous point or another. I, for one, can easily fall in love with a lonesome tree on a hillside as it reaches for the sky; I can fall in love with a thick luscious apricot home-made jam; I can fall in love with the soft moves of a sensuous gesture; and I must say that falling in love with the art of Ted Emrick was not hard to do at all. Ted Emrick and I go back to our college days at the San Francisco Art Institute in the mid-eighties. It only took us a mere 27 years to get back in touch. 

The time had come.

Back then, his reverse glass paintings were on a scale that blew me away in their effortless and mind-boggling intimidating creativity. I knew he was not done. I knew then he would go on to great things. 

I was right. I held on to a secret. Today there are sculptures in Ted Emrick's world made of unique materials that seem so stunningly unrelated. 

He molds and shapes these materials. 

He blends colors into them that dance joyously together. 

He slices glass with undulating grace. He stacks it.

He paints between the lines. 

He sees what we do not see. 

He inspires the textures he touches to reveal themselves. 

Twisting Orion's Belt ~ the first photograph he sent me after 27 years...no wonder!

The power of the glass. The power of the waves Ted sees in the glass.

I am moved beyond words when I look at art like this ~ the stacked glass, the sliced shells imbedded like fossils of long ago; the human body standing strong against the ripples in the ocean.

Ted's front yard at his home on the Central Coast. 

~ even there he creates in the light of all that sea of glass. Does he see it as I see it?

Ted's latest reverse glass paintings are something for the eye of the beholder. 

The technique might be a secret. I know I must find it out.

Ted's most recent artistic endeavor ~ life size pods - seed pods, light dancing from within, the female figure eager to reveal itself ~ all floating in an ethereal world. 

Deep breath... these leave me in awe.

Ted Emrick's world is before anything else a world of surf. Back in the 80's, he would often disappear from the Art Institute for days on end. He would look at Alcatraz from the balcony of the Institute and the waves would call his name; the waves would call him home. He would then head south to the energy of the rolling waves of his Central Coast, only to return invigorated, ready to release new gemstones of art, new gemstones of incredible art.

After 27 years, in our very first correspondence,Ted sent me two photos. The first one is at the top of this blog - divine to say the least; the second one is this one of him surfing - to me, they epitomize the man I can truly call my friend ~ an amazing artist, an amazing inspiration. 

Reach out to him you must ~ at tedemrick.com

These are the words he attached to this last photo.

"Sometimes you just have to let go, close your eyes and let life flow from around you!"

 By now you must know my closing line ~ take a deep breath and repeat after me:

"It's good for the soul"

Create ~ Adeline