Doors/Portals – Page 2

The Passion Façade Doors

(The last of my posts about the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona.)

The doors on this side of the basilica are very different in style. Rather like the Da Vinci code two of the double doors are full of mysterious ciphers that I feel one should be able to decode.

All the doors were designed by Josep M. Subirachs. They took twenty years to complete

For the description of Christ’s passion, Subirachs created single sculptures, sculptural groups and relief letters, and four bronze doors dedicated to Gethsemane’s garden (1995), the Coronation (1997), the Gospel according to St. Matthew and the Gospel according to St. John (2000).

The sculptor wanted all the façade work to be captured in the centre door (2000). For this reason, he decided to reproduce the text of the Gospel illustrated by means of the sculptures, with over 8,000 smelted bronze letters erected ‘like two enormous open books’. The letters have a bronze patina and the repeated letter is one of the most emblematic techniques he used in order to turn message into a work of art.

The Nativity Façade doors

(The third of my posts about the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona.)

On the Nativity façade the portico is composed of three entrances devoted to the three Christian virtues: the Faith (to the right), the Hope (to the left) and the Charity (in the centre); each designed by Japanese sculptor, Etsuro Sotoo; decorated with plants, insects and small animals in the style of Gaudí.

Faith on the right is covered in roses with birds and butterflies and is devoted to the Virgin Mary.

Charity in the centre is a double door which depicts Christian Love/Charity with the Holy Family and nativity scene as the focus of the sculptures above. It was the first to be installed and includes ivy leaves and what looks to me to be Virginia creeper, squash flowers and lily flowers as well as numerous insects. The tree of life grows up through the middle of these doors.

The left represents Hope and is dedicated to St Joseph. It is what I call the Iris door as it is full of beautiful iris flowers, lily flowers, bamboo, butterflies, terrapins and other aquatic creatures and insects.

I found it difficult to tear myself away from the outside to actually go inside.

Grey/Gray Door

Only just in time for Ailsa’s Grey theme this week, I spotted this grey door on my way home after gathering photos for the monthly seasonal challenge. Alternatively I could have simply taken a picture of the sky as it is a particularly solid pale grey lump today. Sigh…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Grayling Cottage – Ludlow

As you can see it is very difficult to get a straight line in Ludlow. Oh, and this is my 475th post on this blog. Just thought I’d share that… 🙂

Edit: As my grey door appears to be a blue door (and I accept that it is a blue-grey, even though I know the door is more charcoal grey) I have been back to take another image with a different camera, and here it is. To be honest it is STILL not as dark a grey as it is in reality.

Let the sun shine in…

The Weekly Photo Challenge is about Doors. Those of you who are regulars to my blog will know that I am quite partial to a door or two. My last post explained about the importance of having the correct colour for your front door so that everything was good in Feng Shui terms. One colour escaped me though. A yellow door. Lo and behold on a house hunting trip to Penzance I spied one across the road. And naturally had to take a photograph.

More doors than you can shake a stick at…

Dawn’s monthly architecture challenge features doors this month. I like doors. And in Ludlow there are a LOT of photogenic doors…

Front doors are very important in feng shui, it is through the front door – also called the mouth of Chi – that the house receives its nourishment of feng shui energy. Your choice should be based on the direction the door is facing.

East facing or South-east? Then you should look at Wood, or wood element colours such as green or brown. But as wood comes from earth and water you can look at colours from these elements as well. Green, brown, blue, black, pale yellow and earthy tones work well. But avoid purple.

West facing? Then the element is Metal. So white or grey are the most suitable though you could also use earthy shades and pale yellow. This also applies to a north-west facing door. Avoid water or fire colours.

South facing? Then the Feng shui element is Fire. So you can go for red, purple, deep orange, strong yellow or deep pink. Green and brown are also OK, but avoid blue and black.

South-west and north-east facing is Earth and therefore pale yellow, sandy or earthy colours are preferable, but as fire is an element of earth you can also choose the fire colours. Earthy/sandy colours, yellow, burgundy red, purple, deep orange, and rich pink. Avoid green, brown, white, grey, blue and black.

The feng shui element of the North direction is Water, so the best colours to choose are blue or black. Metal elements can also be used so white and grey are OK. Avoid green, brown, yellow, red, purple, orange, and deep pink.

My front door is south facing and wooden, so I guess that’s OK. Though I actually prefer a blue door so I need to look for a house with a North or East facing door.

Is your front door painted the correct feng shui colour? Do you care?