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Artful, One-of-a-Kind Gifts
Handmade Decor Pieces
and So Much More
June 29, 2021 Volume 13
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Look Up and See Red (in a good way)
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If you’ve been to Cosanti before, you’ve probably seen the unexpected red skylight punctuating the ceiling above, as you walk through the ceramics studio toward the foundry.
Built in 1958, the ceramic studio started as a large, earth cast, sculpted concrete shell. Like several other structures at Cosanti, this one was built by mounding earth and pouring concrete on top of it.
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In the center is a large, circular skylight with V-shaped indentations that crisscross from one side to the other. The notches that had been cut into the earth during construction appeared as ribs on the underside of the structure. Variations in color and texture were put into the skylight by placing red plexiglass in between the earth-cast concrete patterns, creating a lovely stained-glass effect.
After the concrete had cured, the dirt was excavated from underneath and the concrete shell and skylight remained. Next time you visit Cosanti, make your way over to the ceramics studio and be sure to look up and admire this spectacular architectural feature!
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Photo credits (top to bottom): @ohtheplacesafar (1 & 2), Courtesy of the Paolo Soleri Archives at Arcosanti (3)
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Please Note: Cosanti is closed to the public on Sunday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day! Celebrate safely.
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Cosanti Cares:
June is Cancer
Survivors Month
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If you’re around a cancer treatment facility long enough, you might hear the ringing of a bell and the sounds of excitement that follow. The moment is a powerful one, signifying the end of a cancer patient's treatment journey and a new beginning, cancer-free. For other cancer patients, the ringing bell is inspirational as they hope that one day, they might be able to ring that same bell, too.
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History Behind the Bell-Ringing Ceremony
Where exactly did the bell ringing ceremony originate from? While almost every facility around the country has some type of bell, the first "I Beat Cancer Bell" rang in 1996 at MD Anderson in Texas. However, the history behind the bell-ringing tradition starts with the Navy, which developed bell codes for anything from communicating with other ships to announcing key moments in a day in the life of a sailor to sounding alarms and announcing victories. It was this last common use that inspired one cancer patient to ring a bell as a way to announce his victory over cancer.
Irve Le Moyne was a rear admiral for the U.S. Navy undergoing chemotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer at the MD Anderson cancer facility in the 1990s. Letting his doctors know that he was fighting a war against cancer, Le Moyne said he would ring a bell when he had made it to victory...just like they did in the Navy. True to his word, Le Moyne brought a brass bell to his final treatment appointment and when he learned the good news, he loudly rang it three times - the Navy bell code for a victory.
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In Arizona, Cosanti Originals has made bronze windbells for cancer wards throughout the Banner Healthcare system and photographs of Cosanti Windbells are featured in the cancer journals patients use to chart their journey as they begin treatment. "We're honored that our windbells have such a meaningful place in so many patients' fights against cancer. Sometimes, someone will come into our gallery and tell us about what ringing that bell meant to them and it's always very personal, always very moving," says Robyn Heidenreich, Sales Specialist at Cosanti Originals in Paradise Valley.
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Later this summer, Cosanti Originals will finish a custom "I Beat Cancer" bell for Banner Health: a bell on wheels. Designed in response to the heightened social distancing imposed by Covid-19, Banner had asked for a different sort of "I Beat Cancer Bell:" one that could go to the patient instead of the patient coming to the bell. We thought that idea had a nice ring to it, too, so we designed a custom bell that will move throughout cancer wards on wheels much like an IV stand. We hope it will ring often!
Photo credits (top to bottom): Courtesy Banner Healthcare (1), Courtesy Getty Images (2), David Blakeman (3), Courtesy Cosanti Originals (4)
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Feeling Social?
Feeling Lucky?
Bet you didn't know that Wednesday, June 30th is World Social Media Day...don't feel bad, we didn't either. But now that we do, we're celebrating by giving away a Patinaed Bronze #102 Windbell to one lucky follower!
It's only happening at @cosanti_originals on Instagram - and only until midnight on June 30th. Find our giveaway post and follow the steps to be entered into the windbell drawing! Good luck!
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Artisanti Editor & Creative Director: Kelly Bird
Contributing Writer: Chloe Sykes
Graphic Designer: Jesca Wales
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Header and footer photo credit: Jessica Jameson Photo
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