How patient are you? Imagine facing a two-year project that involves arranging fourteen million tiny pieces of Venetian glass into an 18,299 square foot mosaic. Then imagine a whole huge basilica full of wall and ceiling mosaics.
On a recent visit to the Bascilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the Brookland/Catholic University neighborhood of Washington, DC, I was simultaneously craning my neck and exercising my sense of wonder. The main part of the massive church, and every nook and cranny, it seemed, was covered with millions upon millions of these tiny glass squares arranged into massive, yet intricate, art works.
Having, during the pandemic, gotten into collaging, putting mere dozens of small pieces of cut up magazines together into something approximating art, I just could not get my head around the creation of these mosaics. Luckily, a little research lead me to this short but very informative video which gives a behind the scenes view of the artists and craftspeople at the Travisanutto Mosaic Studio in Spilimbergo, Italy creating the most recent dome mosaic for the basilica. Thence to the Travisanutto Studios web site with more information.
This is the sort of rabbit hole that us folklorists love going down. And while I don’t have time to pursue learning more about the tradition of mosaic art right now, I am still marveling at the basilica’s examples, and urge anyone living in or visiting Washington, DC to check them out. If you are Catholic (which I’m not) they will have more spiritual significance. But, even if you just like art or want to spend a couple of hours pondering human creativity, this is some special stuff.
Exercise your patience and don’t rush through. Think about how every tiny piece of glass contributes to the whole, and make it your own metaphor.
Long view of the main portion of the church showing domes. Think not only of creating this art in a studio, but then installing it hundreds of feet in the air. Crazy!My favorite chapel was the one devoted to the Virgin de Guadalupe. Not sure about the authenticity of the clothing of the worshippers that flank both sides of the image of the Virgin, but the multicultural variety was interesting. The range of colors used overall, and the expressive nature of the faces of the people is quite amazing. Even the “minor” domes in the chapels are dazzling. This one had a lot of sparkly gold. (Who doesn’t like sparkly gold?) and I liked the incorporation of the stained glass as well.Down the street in downtown Brookland, there is an Arts Walk, also worth checking out, although most of the artist’s studios and shops are only open on the Saturdays. We found this mural across the street from the Arts Walk, but as the mosaics put me in a state of wonder, I liked the sentiment “to all who wonder” and its subtle double entendre.
Sometimes, we forget that the Washington, DC area has so much to see and do. We get complacent in our own immediate home spaces, or think we need to get far away to “get away.” This late summer and early fall, I’ve been trying to prove that theory wrong by being a tourist in my own town (or city in this case). Here’s some of the places worth a visit.
Green spaces are particularly abundant in the DC area. The National Arboretum off New York Avenue has over 400 acres and “9 miles of winding roadways” to explore by foot or by car. There’s always something blooming throughout the growing season, and even in winter you can go “forest bathing” apparently. (That is not a bath in the woods, but some sort of guided nature walk.) You can walk all the way down to the Anacostia River and sit contemplating life. If you are into growing your own food, my husband and I discovered there is also an extensive vegetable garden with educational programs.
While the Arboretum is free, to enter Dumbarton Oaks garden in Georgetown you have to pay a reasonable fee. My visiting sister and I thought it was highly worth the admission. We took a guided tour with one of the docents, who imparted interesting information, like how the vegetation, walls and lawn furnishings create “garden rooms” all around the grounds. Then we wandered up and down the multi-level property admiring the late summer blooms and hidden spaces. If we’d had more time, we could have also visited the historic house/museum, which is free.
Speaking of Georgetown, the C&O canal runs through its downtown. Its pathway makes for a pleasant walk, although until recently a lot of it was choked with weeds and not particularly picturesque. Now, for the first time in years, a new semi-accurate historic canal boat is available for tours, with a costumed guide. My “Lunch O’Clock” work buddies and I took a ride on the revamped vessel on a lovely day in late September. I’m still not sure I understand how locks work, but that’s okay. It was fun to go through one.
Historic houses also abound in the Washington, DC Metro area. My husband and friend Janette stumbled upon the Clara Barton House near Glen Echo Park one day after attending a festival at the park. Run by the National Park Service, this spacious house was built for Civil War nurse-hero and founder of the American Red Cross by the guys who built the park – sort of a long story, but anyhow, she designed it and used it for a home and headquarters. It is kind of sparsely furnished right now due to some renovations, but very atmospheric, and interesting to learn about this phase of her life.
Being a tourist in your own town/city is fun, economical, and can cause you to look at things from different angles. As we ease into the late fall and winter, we will no doubt be cocooning at home more, but I look forward to exploring more DC sites in the future. It’s a good time to start making a list!
View from a bench along the Anacostia River at the base of the Asian Garden, National Arboretum. A tour of Dumbarton Oaks begins in the Orangerie not far from the entrance. The greenery running along the top of the walls and over the beams, we learned, is all part of one indoor tree which is over 100 years old. Crazy!Every corner of Dumbarton Oaks has structures, walls and walkways accentuating the gardens. The fall colors were gorgeous. This non-historically-dressed helper kept the Georgetown canal boat from hitting the sides of the canal during our ride, which was quite breezy. (Gave us the illusion of being on a very large and unwieldy gondola.)Opening the lock gate to let in the water! Or was it let out the water? To me, this whole process still defies physics and logic. But it has worked for hundreds of years, so no matter. Inside the Clara Barton house, looking up the levels. You couldn’t go above the first floor, so just had to sort of imagine the rooms up there.All along the hallway on the first floor, Barton designed ingenious hidden closets. They just look like panelling from the outside, but from the inside reveal storage space for medical supplies, training materials, and office items. I got out on the water kayaking, seeing familiar sites from new perspectives, as well. The DC boat houses sell season passes, and there are five of them along the Potomac and Anacostia. The Potomac can be a challenging paddle sometimes due to currents, and you have to watch for everyone else in (usually bigger) boats plying the waters!
