2009-10-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

"We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us."
Winston Churchill's words are as true today as they were when he said them in 1943. Our historic architecture stands as a reminder of forgotten ways of life that shaped the way we live today. I believe we should preserve and celebrate our built environment and the architects, artists and craftsmen who created them.

My purpose is to draw the public's attention to the architecture and architectural detail that surrounds them through a medium, pen and ink, that draws the viewer into the artwork. The finely-detailed pen-and-ink drawings that I create entice viewers to come closer. The architectural detail that has been a consistent part of human history satisfies a need for beauty that all people share.

As with architecture, it is the details that make the difference in my drawings. I want people to see the beauty in the details, art work upon art work. I will be preserving and documenting with pen and paper the architecture that so many take for granted and that is disappearing due to demolition or neglect.

My project is to record the architecture and architectural detail throughout Alabama. Alabama's architecture ranges from characteristic folk houses to structures epitomizing the fashionable tastes of their day. From every period, representing both the major stylistic eras--Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate--as well as lesser known developments such as the Romanesque Revival of the 1860s and the 1870s and the Mission Revival of the early 1900s.

Included will be national historic landmarks such as the 1940 Frank Lloyd Wright Rosenbaum house, the 1935 family home at Bellingrath Gardens, the 1918 Ave Maria Grotto, and Gaineswood, a plantation home built in 1861, as well as the lesser known structures such as the 1887 Butler Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, the 1900 Deep South Creamery, the 1894 Cullman Ice Factory, and railroad depots.

I am creating a body of work as a lasting record of Alabama's architectural history with great potential for educating the general public about appreciation for, and a celebration of, our architectural heritage.

It will also provide the opportunity to teach the public about the medium of pen and ink and fully realized pen-and-ink drawings. This will be accomplished through a traveling exhibition of 25 drawings to appropriate venues around the state. Each time the exhibition opens in an area, I will travel to the location to interact with the public as part of the educating process. My long-term goal is to publish the collection of drawings (approximately 100 drawings) in book form with a brief history or description of each architectural subject.

I welcome everyone who would like to participate in this drawing project by supporting it through sponsorship. Sponsors will receive, depending on their level of sponsorship, an original drawing or print from the project, recognition in all written publicity material, recognition and contact information in the book, links to their websites on this page, and an invitation to all openings. If you would like to be a sponsor, please contact me at inkartist@knology.net for details. If you would like to make a donation to the project, please click on the PayPal donation button below.

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."
Edgar Degas

With Attention to Detail