david k warfel
Of all five (or six?) of the promises of light, light that helps us Do Better is the one most of us think we know. It doesn’t take a lighting designer to understand that, if we want to read a magazine, we need a light on it. Does it really matter if it comes from a... Continue Reading →
Recently our team delivered a continuing education webinar on layers of light for residential and hospitality spaces, a session I have led many times. Each time I revisit the material and update the presentation based on what I have learned since the previous outing. While preparing for this latest offering, I made a new mental connection... Continue Reading →
Periodically my obsession with Red Velvet cake (or Waldorf Astoria Cake, as it is sometimes known) leaves the safety of my personal life and comes across the border into my work. A few years ago, struggling to explain the value of layers of light in ways that would make it easy remember, I realized that... Continue Reading →
Light plays a central role in many of the foundational stories of humanity. I am most familiar with the narrative in the Judeo-Christian stories of creation in which the first recorded words of Yahweh are “let there be light.” But light as an element of the divine is not restricted to modern Christianity and metaphors... Continue Reading →
Over the last decade or so, our family has taken a number of camping trips to some of the darkest places in the United States. What was the first lesson we taught our children about nighttime in the campground? Never shine your flashlight in someone else’s face. What is the first thing that greets our... Continue Reading →
In the beginning… I occasionally begin conference presentations or lectures with a brief look at the historic importance of light to our ancestors. I might mention ancient Egyptian worship of the sun-god Ra, tell stories of Helios riding his chariot into the sky to start the day as a Greek Titan, or quoting “God is... Continue Reading →
Light can help us. And we need help. Every so often I need to take a break from reading the news lest my outlook turn irreversibly grim. (Weird, I just used “lest” in a sentence.) Even forgetting climate disasters, wars, and political messes is not enough to turn the tide of news positive. We- humans-... Continue Reading →
the language of light 