Monday, April 30, 2012

I've been building bridges (out of fiber)

My brother in law and I are both "bridge nerds" but while for him it is all about cards and trumps (and who knows what else) for me it's the other (dare I say real) kind of bridge - the kind that takes you from one place to another, and takes you over water. I have favorite bridges (do you? does everyone?) and recently I decided to memorialize them in fiber. There are currently 3 pieces in this series and a fourth an potentially last in the works (my most favoritest). Here are some photos I took of them at West Medford Open Studios this past weekend along with a brief bit about how they each made the list. Hope you enjoy them.



Zakim Bridge or the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (for long)
A beautiful relatively new (2003) bridge crossing the Charles River in Boston.  With 10 lanes it is the world’s widest cable stayed bridge.  It is one of my favorites both for the design and because it was named to commemorate Boston civic leader and civil rights activist who championed “building bridges between peoples”.


Bridge of Flowers, Shelburne, MA
A former trolley bridge, it is covered in with an exuberant flower garden from end to end.

Tapan zee Bridge
When traveling between New England and New York, there several ways to cross the Hudson River.   If I am travelling in daylight I always choose the Tappan Zee because it crosses at one of the widest points.  It is a cantilever style bridge spanning 16,013 feet and carrying 7 lanes. It is scheduled to be replaced by 2017 and judging from some of the photos viewed while researching this series, that seems like a good idea :).