Product Pick Of The Week: The Miles Rug By Big Game

The perfect compliment to yesterday's post about the artful appeal of freeways, would be this fun and fabulous wool hand tufted rug by the creative minds at Big Game.

Called "Miles', this rug of infinite freeway interchanges was inspired by children's games which is the reason it comes complete with three wooden cars!



Plus is More by Big Game

For their 2007 exhibition at the Milan Swiss cultural centre, the three designers from Big-game, Grégoire Jeanmonod (CH), Elric Petit (B) and Augustin Scott de Martinville (F), create the “plus is more” collection. Taking basic elements as starting points, such as a material, a principle or an archetype, Big-game transforms them in a simple way to design functional objects.

The stake of this transformation is to bring a “plus”, while keeping the integrity of the original element. The praise of less is therefore diverted. “Less is more” is still a fundamental principle, but with a slight and unexpected contribution. In a sense, Big-game plays with the cliché attached to Swiss design, and its profoundly functionalist image.

Freeways & Overpasses: An Artists' Muse. Part I.

Above: Wayne Thiebaud's "Freeways", 1978

Having grown up in California, the car culture capital of the world, and having done a lot of driving in my time (including two cross-country trips), I've grown accustomed to the sight of freeways and overpasses. I never found them 'ugly' as so many people claim. And I was happy to find that I am not alone in my opinion.

Despite the fact that many people find these a blight of urban sprawl, several artists consider them a subject worth painting.

I have come across many beautiful paintings of these concrete and asphalt 'monstrosities' over the years and wanted to share just a few of them with you.

I can't think of a better place to start than Wayne Thiebaud's Freeway paintings done in the late 1970s.


above: Wayne Thiebaud's "Freeway 289", painted in 1977

Clearly Derek Bruckner was inspired by Thiebaud:

Above: Derek Bruckner's "Freeway 2"

...and quite possibly was Bruce Bomberger and Chris Chappell:

Above: Bruce Bomberger's "Freeways"


Above: Chris Chappell's "Highway Overpass"

Lest you think only the organic intertwining of curving roads held appeal as a subject, take a look at the numerous painting of overpasses, from above and below.


"Underpass" by Daniel Dolberg



"Passing Through Again" and "Departure" by John Margaris



Jamee Linton's "Shift of Desire" followed by his "Displacement"



above: "Overpass" by Peter Harris and his "Urban Icon"

Derek Bruckner's "Overpass"


"210" by William Wray


Above: Reuben Colley's "Freeway"


Damon Denys' "Overpass I-80"


"Under The Overpass" by Ned Stern



"Under The Over" by SF painter Carolyn Meyer. Below that, her "Driving Into SF"



Michelle Muldrow's "Habitat SF" and her "South Van Ness"


"Transport" by Andrew Denman


"Overpass 25" by Christy Patrick


"The Overpass", watercolor by Richard Van Wagoner


Above: British painter Ben McLaughlin's "Overpass"


Gerald Schwartz' "Overpass"


"Under the 110 Freeway" by Jennifer McChristian


Overpass" by Ann West


above: Jylian Gustlin's Overpass


Jylian Gustlin's "90 M.P.H. 20"


Kirah Van Sickle's "Overpass" in acrylics



Above: Fielden Harper's "OffRamp" and below that; Fielden Harper's "Freeway" series

I considered including photography and drawings of overpassess and freeways, but there were simply too many.

Below each image is the website on which you can find the above paintings. Many are still available for purchase. Enjoy!

Check out Part II of this post here

A Sweet Fifty Years: 1957-2007

Above: My parents on their wedding day, 50 years ago

Once again, I am deviating from the usual subject matter on my blog to share something a little more personal.


Above: June 22, 1957

There will be no post today or tomorrow because, this weekend, we are celebrating my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary with relatives and friends. An increasingly rare milestone to reach these days.

Still wonderfully in love, mutually respectful of one another and the best of friends, my parents actually don't know how lucky they are. But I do.


Above left: My dad, 1955 and right; my mother,1957

Above; My parents today, June 2007

Congratulations Dad & Mom!