The Bell's toll

Since we first visited Arcosanti, Saori and I have both been itching to get a bell. The problem is they're really expensive. The bells are pretty much the only kind of commerce supporting Arcosanti apart from the workshops, and I wanted to contribute in my own way. Plus, the bells are really cool.

Today, since Saori decided to take the day off from work, and we were in Scottsdale anyway, I decided to go check out Cosanti to look for a bell. Since the last time leaving Arcosanti without a bell, it's been in the back of my mind as something to get before we leave Phoenix. Additionally, with the promise of some money for hanging mom's new chandelier. (Darn, now I have to do it), I decided I could spend a little money to get a nice bell.

Cosanti was where Paolo Soleri got started, really. It was the prototype for Arcosanti. There are sharp contrasts between the two places. Apparently, Paolo lives in Cosanti, and we actually saw the old Italian, wearing "geezer shades" and a white undershirt talking to visitors. Cosanti has a very crafted feel to it. There is much more attention paid to experimentation with concrete textures and forms, and the whole place feels a lot lighter and more intimate than the epic and far more industrial Arcosanti. On the flip side of this, Cosanti is also the breadwinner and nerve center of the entire Arcosanti/Cosanti axis. Cosanti is a lot more heavily commercial, with bells and prices hanging everywhere, and a very elaborate showroom with many "special assemblies" and "cause bells" (increase the price by an order of magnitude). Quality of the bell wise, where there is something special about being at Arcosanti, I didn't see any bells that immediately struck me as "got to have it" that were less than a grand. Cosanti, geared more for commercial craft production than Arcosanti, seemed to have a lot better bells overall.

We both wanted a bell, and we both cared about it as a piece of artwork as well as a reminder of our time in AZ and Arcosanti (otherwise, why spend so much for a bell?) so followed an epic and amicable round of looking at all of the bells in the complex at least three times, trying to establish 1) which bells we liked the most individually, and  2) where we could find common ground. After an hour or so of wandering, ringing the bells, and looking at various bells, we finally got it down to about five bells in the runnings and finally whittled it down to two bells, the one Saori really liked and the one I really liked. In the end, we ran out of time since the store was closing, and Saori graciously acquiesced to my bell since while she liked my bell, I didn't like hers.

I'm sure the staff has never seen such lengthy negotiation over a bell under $100 before. At any rate, I'm really excited about the bell. Here it is, from a fuzzy shot from my laptop ---->

Photos from Arcosanti

The Sky People

Several years ago, mom took us all white water rafting for mother's day. We stayed the night exploring Globe and Miami to the east of Phoenix, and it was a lot of fun. It set a standard of a more "adventuresome" mother's day. I thought it would be fun to take mom to see Arcosanti, since Saori and I both thought it was a really pretty, interesting place. If you spend the night as a tourist, there's two options- a series of minimalist but comfortable rooms at the base of the mesa, or the sky suite, which is the sweetest suite in the arcology. I booked it a week in advance for a Thursday night. $100, but you get two bedrooms and a kitchen and a phenomenal 270 view of the surrounding high desert. Arcosanti feels like you're at an artist colony on mars. It's a bit communal, a bit removed from civilization, definately a do-it-yourself kind of settlement. In short, not exactly the BestWestern. But the people who enjoy chain motels are probably not the Arcosanti type anyway. (not to deter potential visitors- there's plenty of hot water in the showers, you can drink the water, the towels and washcloths are laid out for guests on the beds, and the people there are all very laid back and accommodating).

Mom and Tay met us at my apartment and we drove up to Chino Bandito for lunch. After stuffing ourselves, we picked up some more road snacks and beer and drove out. Arcosanti is about an hour and a half from the center of Phoenix, not too far beyond that point where you pass the last saguaro on the long hill up to the plateau, and all of a sudden you emerge into desert grasslands. We took the Cordes Junction exit and followed a dirt track to the complex. While mom and Tay checked out the bronze bells for sale, we checked in and got directions to the special parking for the Sky Suite. To get to it, you leave the nice visitor parking and drive around to the construction entrance, where you find your way to the marked spot right outside the main vault.

We dropped our stuff off at the suite and wandered around, hiking over to the camp, and generally trying to figure out which roofs and spaces were open to the public. This is tricky as Arcosanti is very open and the definition between common space and private space is nearly defined by convention alone. With all the various terraces, accessible roofs, gardens, and seating everywhere, mom kept remarking that she kept seeing great places to enjoy a glass of wine, so we wandered back to the room to open a bottle.

We sat outside on the roof terrace outside the sky suite and enjoyed our wine, until we moved up on top of a higher roof where I unfortunately broke a wineglass. This rooftop was only accessible by running up a concave slope like a half-pipe, and when I arrested my motion by grabbing the lip at the top where everyone was seated, including my empty wine glass, my eyeglasses flew out of my pocket and hit the glass, breaking it.

Dinner was a buffet in the bottom level of sunny tower perched on the mesa edge, and afterwards, we watched the sunset from the roof of the massive vaults. Later, we sat inside on the giant wooden window ledge in the sitting room of the Sky Suite, playing cards. Much later, we sat watching the incredible array of stars visible from the clear desert. Even at this distance, Phoenix lit the southern horizon like a distant yellow dawn.

arcosanti photos!

arcosanti