A single beam of light on a simple stone floor proved to be the inspiration for this book. To me this revelation was yet another reflection of the principal that the purest beauty is always the simplest. During my forty years as a technologist I certainly knew this to be true in science and it is no surprise to me that it also holds for nature and art.
Like most travelers Stella and I have spent a lot of time visiting houses of worship wherever we found ourselves. The grand facades and gilded interior space of a European cathedral are temping targets for the touring voyeur. What many of us miss though are the real treasures of these places. Lately I’ve become more interested in the micro rather than the macro. When visiting I’ve learned to certainly appreciate the grandeur but not be distracted from the simple beauty light may play. Light defines our experience of these spaces. A ray of sunlight from a stained glass window either on a 10th century stone floor in France, or simply on a beige rug in a Santa Ana chapel can bring the same sense of spiritual beauty to me.