Chords--sometimes you get what you need, not...

Well, you must know the words to that song--probably better than I do--but I do know that it often happens to me. Take this morning for instance. I arrived at the CraftBoston show with half an hour to spare--not because I wanted to be early but because I had to take three separate subways to get there and I wasn't sure how long the ride would be.

Now I could have gone inside and looked at more of the art--there is so much more I want to study and think about. I could have re-arranged my quilts.  But it was a sunny morning and I hadn't been down to the waterfront in Boston for several years so I went for a walk. Planes taking off from Logan. The smell of salt water. A few trawlers, the Fish Pier was still there. Lots of new construction. Then the cutest little park.

PUBLIC WELCOME TO EASTPORT PARK it beckoned.

Well, I was public and if they wanted to welcome me that was fine. I love sculpture gardens. Abstract sculpture in stone and metal--count me in and this one is just fabulous. It is called Chords designed by David Phillips a Boston area based sculptor in 2000. Thinking about high school math I remember that chords are angles relating to circles and spheres. It is also a term of measurement in astronomy. And of course chords are harmonious musical notes. What a great concept.

And that is exactly what this park is exploring. Different relationships between spheres and lines. Space and being. Perfect and the natural.

Now I love round spheres of stone--is it because they transcend the nature of stone and show a perfection I want to touch? Is it their simplicity or the constant variation in the light and shadow? The delicacy of their balance or its very precariousness?

I am always awe struck. Then there is the power of a sphere  bisected by metal.  Two such different materials. Such force and contrast. Raw and strong.

In this park the concept continues in so many ways. Circles and patterns of circles on the ground. Different textures. But there--reiterating the designs.

Then there are the complex sculptures. Rocks left after the sphere has been removed. Again bisected by metal.

Spheres that come out of rocks. Spheres bisected by discs of metal--some torn. So many riffs on the sphere and angle. Little spheres. Spheres on discs. Spaces as spheres.  Hidden areas to examine--all relating to the sphere. The circle. The universe.

The stories being told. The questions asked.  So complex in such a small space. So many different aspects of the chord that it really does become a chord. Oh how I want to push my quilts to do just that. I am enchanted with this idea and want to see it again and again in different light and different angles. I even reflect on the squirrels nest high in the tree--and see that too is a sphere.

I take a lot of pictures. Can't show them all. I am not sure I even want to discover them all--at least not just yet. But I love thinking about it during the quieter moments of the show. Even sketch a couple of quilts.

What a way to start the day. And you--have you seen this park in Boston? Are there other parks like this that you know? Have you ever gotten inspired to push an idea further and further?