fountain
Pentair Aquatic Systems (Sanford, NC) makes the IntelliLevel water-leveling system. The units allow for accurate…
As I've gotten better at what I do as a watershaper, I've found that lots of the maturing has been related to getting really good at listening to my clients. Once I figured out how to attune myself to their visions and voices and set aside my ego (however temporary that might be), I found that my designs crackled with new energy I was borrowing from people who wanted my help in expressing themselves. That's the artistic, inspired side of watershaping, of course, and as my listening skills grew and my projects took on new and sometimes
One of my favorite destinations in downtown Los Angeles is the Central Library. Not only is it an amazing resource with the books and recordings it circulates to citizens and scholars, but it also houses wonderful display spaces where all sorts of thoughtfully curated exhibitions await visitors. I've stopped in many times since the 1960s and count it among southern California's
Blue Thumb Distributing (Saginaw, MI) makes Formal Falls waterfall systems for use in a variety…
Speck Pumps (Jacksonville, FL) has introduced Badu Block Multi, a pump for commercial pools, fountains…
Water Tech (East Brunswick, NJ) makes the Volt FX-2, a vacuum system for use in…
Today's swimming pools, spas and waterfeatures have moved several steps beyond their traditional, classic forms in shape, complexity, visual interest and beauty - and so have the techniques and technologies involved in giving them a warm, inviting glow when evening comes. Happily, we're far past the bad old days when the common solution to most watershape lighting tasks was placement of a blinding, 500-watt incandescent bulb in a huge, visually intrusive niche: Through years of innovation, experimentation and refinement with light-emitting diodes (LEDs), lighting is now adding splendor and wonder to the pool/spa experience in compact, unobtrusive packages - a design asset that couldn't
While in Venice, Italy, last summer, I came across a most unusual fountain in the Biennale Gardens near the city's historic Arsenale: It's a tall, slightly overgrown tribute to Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian general, politician and nationalist who is counted among the founding fathers of the modern Italy.
I almost put the word fountain in quotation marks in the first sentence above, because the structure's water flows in an unusual way: While I'm reasonably certain the imposing tower of volcanic stone, granite boulders and bronze statuary once had internal plumbing and flowed with the greater elegance befitting such a tribute, it now flows through bands of black tubing interrupted in places by dribbling spouts.
The odd effect is that the monument seems to be watered by an ordinary drip-irrigation system that keeps its plants green and aerates the turtle-filled basin at its base.
I know that resources for restoration of even relatively intact artworks are scarce in Italy in general and especially in Venice, where life is a constant struggle to keep everything operational in the face of a combination of rising seawater and subsiding ground. But it's sad and a bit dispiriting that funds apparently aren't available for more than a stop-gap fix for a monument of this prominence and grandeur.
But no matter: The fix works, and I still enjoyed seeing the monument, which was completed between 1885 and 1887 by Augusto Benvenuti, a local artist and sculptor.
My guess is that it stands nearly 30 feet tall, with Garibaldi, flamboyantly attired, standing at its peak. Beneath him is a lion - the most accessible and impressive figure in the composition - as befits its being in Venice, where these beasts are iconic fixtures almost everywhere. Behind and below Garibaldi is a soldier attired in a uniform of the sort worn by Garibaldi's troops.
I haven't been able to determine if there are any plans to repair the fountain and restore it to a more elegant form, but I'll hold onto that hope. In the meantime, the monument is worth a visit - if only to marvel at the beautiful turtles!
