Dale Chihuli creates works of glass that evoke a sense of amazement. The scale of these organic worlds of glass and colour are definitely not part of the average man's daily experience.

Maxfield Parish used blues and ocres like nobody else.

The calligraphy by Burhan Zahrai is outstanding. This one repeats six times "He is God".

Vasarely produced the kind of work my Art teachers were talking about when I studied Fine Arts. There is a Museum dedicated to him in Southern France.

The man knows what to do with colours. This Cézanne work is called "Carrière de Bibemus"

This Lotus shaped House of Worship is magnificent. It is also the people's temple - millions of people come and visit the Lotus of Bahapur. It was quite a challenge to build - the concrete was mixed with ice to slow the curing in the hot Indian climate.

The Getty villa is based on the design of a Roman dwelling. The combination of white marble and open courtyard, set on the flank of a mountain, facing the Pacific, in a Mediterranean climate, is just exquisite.

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The kind of ingenuity that went in this building is quite extraordinary. The glass alone was tested for wind pressure, temperature variations and earthquakes. It has to be done with walls of glass of this size.

The work of the Maxwell brothers is not that well known, but they produced some grandiose city and country homes for the rich in the early 20th century. This one was for Richard B. Angus. I particularly like to country homes they designed.

When Moshe Safdie designed new buildings for the then Ottawa City Hall he really took in the natural setting. I particularly like the curved walls over the river on the East side. Whoever sits in those offices has a gorgeous view directly overlooking the water. Brilliant!

These organic patterns folded into the metal create a simple but beautiful piece.

Frank Frazetta is an illustrator of fantasy who had a lot of natural and precotious talent. He set the tone for a whole genre. He really could draw!

Frank Gehry is a bit of an original. I don't know what kind of dreams he has... But this is certainly a unique piece of architecture- The Giggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

There is fluidity but there is also a depth of colour and definite shapes. How it is done I don't know. That is part of the fascination. This one is called Phenomena near Baber Woods and is dated 1967.

Bob Peak was a great movie poster illustrator. He also created Art. His work oozes with talent. He has the qualities of a virtuoso always creating magnificent images. He was famous and was driving around in a Rolls-Royce. He died in 1992.

Carol Evans is an amazing water colour artist. I met her by chance at a Bahá'í National Convention in Regina a few years back. I am glad I was bold enough to approach her. Her work is incredibly beautiful, filled with light and depth.

Art and Architecture

Human ingenuity, creativity and sense of beauty and style can transform the ordinary into a thing of beauty and enjoyment. This, of course, occurs in many fields of human endeavour from Art to Architecture to Graphic Design to Industrial Design.

When we see an object created with intelligence and thought, humour and a sense of esthetics there is a quiet dialogue between author and beholder, as though one said to the other: "Let me show you a beautiful thing you'll enjoy." And the other responds by thinking quietly, "Wow! Hmm, hmm!"

But before industrial design and graphic design there is art. Art leads the way probing the esthetic frontier.

There is a wealth of art to study and cherish as part of the human heritage. I admit I am as ignorant of these things as I am of ornithology. But I know something beautiful when I see it.

Note: click on the links (below left) to see more information about the artists.

When I was in Art school I was fascinated by some of the artists I could read about in the library. One of them was Paul Jenkins. The fluidity and richness of colours are fabulously beautiful. Years later I found the same book in the Chicago Public Library.

Left and right images