I have to admit that I am just a apprentice when it comes to Frank Lloyd Wright. But what started as a raised eyebrow back in college, turned from a fascination into more of an awe. I am envious when other friends and acquaintances tells me with delight about a site in Tulsa or Springfield they had the opportunity to visit, and I have not.
My first brush with Wright came when I was going to College in Elmhurst, Illinois. Every day I would drive by these very nice houses, and one of them really stood out. I don’t even remember how the subject was broached, but my mother mentioned to me that the home was a Wright home. As I researched this very modern looking house, the Henderson House, I came to realize that it was one of the oldest homes on the block, yet was built in 1906. How could this be. It’s one of the oldest, yet looked newer than any of them. Thus, the beginning of my quest!
I moved to Seattle in 1975. In 1976 I drove by the Tracy Home in Normandy Park (Seattle). Studying this home from the street, what struck me was that this Usonian home seemed to just grow from the landscape. It didn’t just sit on the lot like most other homes, it blended.
Touring Fallingwater 1991 was almost a spiritual experience. I have not been able to come up with another term to describe the experience. The merging of interior and exterior mediums was remarkable.
It took me 25 years to realize that what I was experiencing was art. I love hanging artwork on my walls. It touches the soul. But walking into a Wright home is like walking into a piece of three dimensional art. It surrounds you.
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