“A finished sundial can be both a work of art and an instrument for telling time accurately,” states sundial enthusiast, Donald L. Snyder. Don will be the featured presenter at the Oct. 14 Artisans’ Section meeting in the 2nd Floor Members Gallery, 7pm. Don is a Senior Professor of Washington University with interests in biomedical, electrical and optical engineering. He is also an accomplished woodworker who has produced items ranging from musical instruments, such as a harpsichord and hammered dulcimers, to tables, boxes, picture and mirror frames, beds, etc. His work reflects a high degree of craftsmanship and an engineer’s eye for precision. His presentation will be an overview of sundials and a picture tour of sundials made using a variety of art forms.“Pictured ... is a sundial that is located in the Ottoman Garden, which is at the East end of Linnean House within the Missouri Botanical Garden. It is modeled after an historic sundial located in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. Roger Bailey, of Walking Shadow Designs, designed the dial’s time-markings, and St. Louis sculptor Abraham Mohler made the marble pedestal and engravings. The dial was installed in the Ottoman Garden in May 2008. This sundial is unusual because it shows times in a variety of time-measurement systems. Not only does it display hours in our usual system of 24 hours per day starting at midnight, but it also shows Italian hours (24 hours per day starting at sunset) and Babylonian hours (24 hours per day starting at sunrise). It also displays Islamic prayer times, which are defined by the position of the sun and the lengths of shadows, and the direction to Mecca.”
All are welcome to attend this free presentation. A short business meeting for section members will follow.
Notes by Donald L. Synder http://dls-website.com/
Photo courtesy of Abraham Mohler
Saint Louis Artists' Guild, Two Oak Knoll Park, Clayton, MO 63105
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