Week 2 - Episode 9 - Decorative brickwork

You are slowly but surely becoming a brick expert.

Not only do you now know how they’re made and laid - you ‘ve also spotted lots of different bonds and patterns.

Today' we’ll focus on decorative or ornamental brickwork. Because why build a plain wall if you can play with shapes and colours?

Throughout the ages builders have created the most intricate and beautiful designs using coloured, glazed or sculptured bricks.

Sometimes quite basic, as the example you can see above.

Sometimes very elaborate, like this detail on the Ishtar gate, constructed in about 575 BCE, from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin:

Photograph by Jamie430 reproduced under a CC license

Even sticking to the same colour can yield quite intricate results - check out these 11th century towers in Iran, built as tombs for two Seljukian princes:

Or these twisted - in a good way - Tudor Chimneys at Hampton Court

Hampton Stacks by Billbee on Wikipedia

Today, look for decorative or ornamental brickwork in your part of the world.

How many different designs can you spot?

How are they made? Are the bricks simply varied in position or colour, or are different shapes and sizes involved?

And which design do you like best?

You can share your decorative brickwork on Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #kramerseye.

And if you’re on social media then do follow @kramerseye on Instagram or Twitter.

Listen to today’s podcast

Week 2 - Episode 8 - Stretcher, Header, Soldier, Bond

Today we’re looking at beds, stretchers, shiners, soldiers, rat-traps and English bonds.

This sounds like the plot of a romance novel - but it’s all brick terminology.

As an experienced LEGO builder even I have learnt a lot whilst diving into the myriad ways bricks are used to construct walls, arches, chimneys, etc. And even if you’re not an aspiring brick expert you will definitely enjoy learning to recognise the different beautiful patterns they can produce.

Image author: BillBeee

One of the things I love about humans is their desire to decorate: most ornaments on buildings don’t have any function other than to delight.

They’re the builder’s gift to you.

To appreciate them, keep an eye out not just for bricks, but for the beautifully different designs they create.

Are the walls of your house constructed in English Bond? Flemish? Monk?

Do you live on a herringbone road?

Is your mad aunt’s estate surrounded by a Flemish garden wall? Or a rat trap bond (a hollow construction leaving plenty of room for…you guessed it…rats!)?

Today, look for the patterns bricks make - you can use the above guide to identify them.

And if you can’t get close to any real bricks today then feast your eyes on the brickalicious Instagram account of @brickofchicago:

https://www.instagram.com/brickofchicago/

You can share your brick patterns on Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #kramerseye.

And if you’d like even more brick inspiration then follow @kramerseye on Instagram.

Listen to today’s podcast

Week 2 - Episode 7 - Coloured Bricks

Bricks are cool.

Think about it: someone, at some stage, realised that it would be much easier to build something from smaller similar-sized units rather than create larger structures perfectly made to measure.

Genius.

And then, in addition, they figured out that if you fired clay bricks they become very strong.

But only if they’re the right consistency. And if they’re fired at the right temperature.

They need to be heated to a temperature ideally between 900 and 1150 degrees Celsius, for at least 8-15 hours. Not an easy feat  to accomplish, especially not if you’re a Roman on the road. 

Kiln operators needed the skill not only to stack the bricks in the right way, but also to regulate the temperature (too hot and they crack, too cold and they won’t be solid enough).

It probably took a couple of centuries of experimenting with different mixtures of sand, clay and lime - as will as ways to build kilns and to regulate the temperature.

Kiln masters in my mind were a kind of alchemists - they knew the secret of turning something weak and vulnerable, clay, into this incredibly solid building material using fire and special mixtures of ingredients.

In addition, they knew how to create different colours - and that is what today’s visual prompt is all about. For example, the higher the iron content of the original mixture, the redder the brick.

The Romans not only used bricks for major buildings in their vast Empire (The Colosseum, Aquaducts, etc.), but they also spread brick building throughout the regions they conquered.

With their mobile kilns whey were able to create bricks on-the-go, another brilliant logistic solution. They even stamped these locally produced bricks with the sign of their legion. Archeologists and historians will be forever grateful.

Blue glazed paving pricks, Het Scheepvaartkwartier, Rotterdam - photo by the author

If you ever dig up a brick in your garden make sure to check for any signs of Roman civilisation.

No need to go digging around for today’s visual prompt however.

Simply see how many different brick colour you can spot and capture.

You can share your brick pictures on Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #kramerseye.

And if you’d like even more brick inspiration then follow @kramerseye on Instagram.

Listen to today’s podcast

Week 2 - Episode 6 - Building Blocks

Bricks are ancient. Not as old as circles, but fired bricks were in use in China over 5000 years ago.

As a lover of LEGO I am somewhat prejudiced, but you’ll have to admit that the concept of bricks is brilliant.

We all need to live somewhere safe and sheltered. And bricks made it much easier to build housing that could withstand the elements - including fire.

But the humble brick doesn’t only provide housing - it is also a joy to observe.

This week we’ll cast our eye on bricks. We’ll dive into how they’re made and laid.

Today, simply look for any old brick.

Pavement bricks, building bricks, broken bricks: what kind of bricks do you encounter during your day?

You can share your brick pictures on Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #kramerseye.

Want more brick inspiration? Follow @kramerseye on Instagram.

Listen to today’s podcast