Texture

7

Native baskets are an honest expression of the method of fabrication, creating

varied weaving patterns by

introducing different color and

texture of willow, bark strips or other

natural fibers. However, native pottery is different. The method of building the

pots consists of taking coils of clay

and pinching a stringlike coil into the

desired shape and size, then smoothing out the surface texture with slurried clay to obliterate the coil pattern entirely.

The pottery patterns are then painted

over the smooth surface with different color glazes that have nothing to do with the method of the pot’s construction.

In Experiencing Architecture, Rasmussen likens native basket weaving and pottery to architecture.

Native American rugs

express the weaving construction

in the same way baskets do. The Two

Gray Hills Navajo rug to the left is a rich

geometric study in gray, black and white wool.

One of the ways that Rome

conquered half the world was

by the means of creating roads that

connected it to the rest of their empire.

One of them was called the Appian Way,

and it is the oldest known road in Italy. All over

Rome, you will notice the rich texture of cobblestone

roads and the variety of the worn rounded stones that are

arranged in patterns, contrasting against the flat slabs of stone

that divert water down the streets to storm drains and catch basins.

From 17 Itinerari a Roma by Francois Nizet

One of my favorite

churches in Rome, Borromini’s

Chiesa San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

(1634-67), is a terrific example of textural effects

inside its vaulted dome. Note the rich texture of the

dome in the top right picture. Though the arches form the

necessary structure that holds up the dome, they have been sculpted and formed into highly decorative elements.