Category Archives: The Arch

Flag Gate

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Flag Gate, 1876, Unknown Artist

Flag Gate, 1876, Unknown Artist

I’m going to take tomorrow, Friday, off from work and get a jump on the 4th of July holiday weekend. By doing so, I’ll likely get at least one sunny day during this weekend. They are forecasting up to 8” of rain here this holiday. Now, we need the rain, but couldn’t it wait until after the holiday? Also occurring this weekend will be the big Saint Louis 4th of July festival. Again, it is being held in Forest Park, because of continuing construction on the Arch grounds. I think that this will be the third and final year for this venue. I’ve been out-of-town during the two previous iterations and was looking forward to checking the event out, but not if it is raining. Fortunately, while there will be long periods of rain, they are not forecasted to be all day events. Think of a series of waves crashing upon us. Hopefully, the intervening dry times can be taken advantage of and I can get out and enjoy the cool weather that will be also accompanying all of this wet.

The pictured American flag gate is probably the signature artwork in the American Folk Art Museum exhibit, currently on display at the Saint Louis Art Museum. It was created in 1876, in way upstate New York. Made in the year of our country’s first centennial, it has thirty-seven stars on one side and thirty-eight on the other. Colorado entered the union in 1876. I like how each of the stripes have been separately carved, with rippling waves so that the flag seems to be blowing in the breeze. 140 years ago, some unknown, but creative mind transformed what could have been just a common farm gate into an artistic and patriotic statement. The piece shows the maker’s pride in country. Have a great 4th of July! The photo has been colorized to restore it to its original splendor.

Eads Bridge at Sunset

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Eads Bridge at Sunset

Eads Bridge at Sunset

We went out to brunch this morning at a new place, at least for us, Piccione Pastry. It is located at the corner of Delmar and Skinker. I had their Piccione Benedict, which featured soft poached eggs, crispy pancetta, potato hash, hollandaise and an arugula side salad. Anne had their Frittata, which contains egg, Asiago & peppers in a flaky pastry crust, with a garlic spinach filling. The food was god and quite reasonably priced. Afterwards we went for a bike ride in the park, hoping to work off all the calories that we have consumed this weekend. The park was pretty crowded, it was such a beautiful day, but we still managed to see some wildlife. We saw both a little blue and green heron, a snowy egret and a kingfisher. Anne took the photo on Thursday, while we were down by the river. The light during the magic hour is always the best.

Here is St. Louis

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If you’re from Saint Louis, this video will be the best 4 minutes of your day! Experience the non-stop summer action from The Lou, as depicted by Grain Inc. This video shows a lot of the action you can find in a St. Louis summer: The City Museum, farmers markets, tons of the unique restaurants and last but not least the Cardinals! Who are now National League Central Division leaders! Dan posted this vid to Facebook this morning and Dave reposted it within five minutes, so I knew it had to be good. Enjoy!

Stick An Arch On It

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Stone Sea – Closeup
Stone Sea – Looking down on it
Stone Sea – Looking through it


It’s a sea made of what was once the sea – Andy Goldsworthy

Stone Sea is a site-specific artwork commission that was created by world-renowned British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. The work unveiled to the public at the June grand opening of the Saint Louis Art Museum’s new wing. Stone Sea was inspired by Saint Louis geology and the city’s underlying base of limestone, which was formed over 300 million years ago when the Midwest was once covered by Ocean Sea. Using limestone from a local quarry, Goldsworthy fabricated twenty-six arches, each about ten feet high. The arches are densely nestled in the courtyard adjoining the Main and new East buildings. The arches, made of roughly cut stone, produce a sense of fluidity reminiscent of the sea. According to the museum, Stone Sea looks to the past, present, and future to celebrate the expansion of the Museum. It brings together many of the artist’s key themes and goals: commitment to the arch form, exploration of enclosed spaces, merging of outside and inside, investigation of local material, and finally, connecting of people and place.

Stone Sea is the largest, most significant art piece incorporated into the grand opening of the East Wing. It’s correlation with Saint Louis goes beyond the choice of its limestone. The choice of the arch shape is a hat tip to that most emblematic of Saint Louis symbols, the Gateway Arch. The Arch permeates Saint Louis society to such an extent that a group of Maplewood hipster moms came out with a line of t-shirts with the phrase, “Stick an Arch on It”. This phrase is itself a riff off the Portlandia TV show’s sketch, “Stick a Bird on It”.