Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Solomon's Castle

Meet Howard Solomon, internationally known sculptor Howard Solomon
Solomon's Castle, the home and studio of  Solomon ,is built on picturesque Horse Creek, in Ona, Florida.  the Castle is a 50 minute drive from my home (that is obeying the speed limit) so it might be closer to some of you.
The castle is big and shiny, has towers, stained glass windows and a boat in a moat
built entirely by the hands of the artist, Howard Solomon.
The gleaming exterior is made of the printing plates discarded by the local weekly newspaper
.
 
the castle and the boat and everything on the property was built entirely by hand and all materials are recycled. Solomon is a plumber, electrician, wood carver and much more that I can't remember. He does it all and no one but family members has helped with the castle and boat.




Within the castle are the family's living quarters, a stained glass studio, a main entrance hall, and the extensive galleries, exhibiting Solomon's "found object" sculptures.



There are more than 80 interpretations of stained glass windows throughout Solomon's Castle.


I wonder if anyone reading this blog can guess what it coming up for the next few Post!
windows and boats and moats OH MY! Sculptures and Food and Surprises OH MY!

11 comments:

Unknown said...

More pictures please. I remember the castle from the past and it is very interesting and beautiful.

Anonymous said...

What an amazing place! I love that it is all recycled. Look forward to seeing more pics :o)

Josie said...

Oh MY!! That is just gorgeous and mind blowing. I love it. I'd love to have him over for dinner to discuss. He seems like a very interesting man. More pictures PLEASE!!! Thanks for turning us on to it.

Much Love,
Woof!
Josie and Mr. Blues, Jr.

Ginny Hartzler said...

O.K. you're really teasing us!! But you'd never be able to fit all the pictures in one post. Before I even got to the pictures, I noticed the weird castle shineiness on the header, especially on the right. And I thought WHAT THE...? It looks like it's covered in foil! How could he get so many printing plates to build that? Do papers use one a day? I can't wait for the rest of your promised posts, it all sounds so cool! This is so much the kind of thing I like. But horror of horrors, that last picture. That little tiny balcony sticking out of the castle!! Do people ever use that?? I bet you asked if you could eat lunch there. Haha!!

Kilauea Poetry said...

This is fabulous..I like the entry..reminds me of a fairy tale! Some people are so tallented! I rented a house once on the Kona side of the Island from a German man who built the entire structure out of scraps from the dump!! ha..it was brick. Anyway, this is dreamy but I can't help but think of all the places I can't see? You never know? Great photos Sandra..and can't wait to see the stained glass (lol)

Madeline said...

The castle is very interesting. I was thinking it would be bricks and mortar. That is cool about everything he used being recycled stuff. Of course the next blog with be more castle pics!! We are waiting.....

SquirrelQueen said...

Oh wow, this is not at all what I had expected when you mentioned a castle. I enlarged each photo to get a closer look at the structure. Found objects sculptures? Cool!

I am really looking forward to more photos and stories.

Catherine said...

How interesting and absolutely amazing he & his family did it all themselves - and with recycled materials! Looking forward to more pictures.

photowannabe said...

This sounds utterly fascinating. What an amazing structure and all by hand. My goodness.

Dawning Inspiration said...

Wow - truly amazing - can't wait to see more!

Unknown said...

A castle in Florida?! :-) And a shining one! There's a lot of work there.