Surety

I sound so sure of myself in blogposts. Perhaps it is because I tend to speak and think in absolutes and generalizations, and that flows through strongly into my writing. In other words, don't trust what I write... I tend to be wrong. Especially about goals and dreams.

In other words, things did not go as expected. They never do, I'm beginning to realize that now. For one thing, architecture school tends to get more intense as one progresses through it. Which means more time spent drawing and modeling in studio, and less time writing.

Despite that, my writing has continued, in tiny spurts and minuscule bounds, less of the slow and steady march I promised myself last January, and more of a spastic energy bunny who is slowly running out of energy.

Last month I had the great honor and privilege to be a part of a feature film production of The Scarlet Letter, turning my architectural skills to set design in what was possibly the most fun I've ever had. And considering The Scarlet Letter is a rather dark and depressing story by its very nature, that's saying something.

But the important thing as far as my writing is concerned was the three day trip up and back. Long hours in the car meant time for writing and reading, things I hadn't had time for in a long while. Christmas, to be exact.

Jumping back into three jobs while prepping for grad school has made writing difficult, but I continue to do so while I have time. And even if I'm not actually setting pen to paper, (or keyboard to document), I am constantly working through bits of story in my head, fixing problems, having lightbulb moments, and generally making sure I keep my imagination active.

All that being said, blogging is one more thing on top of all that, and I doubt I shall be able to continue with any sense of regularity, but sometimes it is good to simply sit down and verbalize the thoughts that have been running through my head, even if they are only read by me six months down the road.

29 hours

29 hours in studio so far*...

3 days in the same cubicle...

2.5 models completed and 2.5 to go...

And I think I'm starting to crack...



*Non-consecutive, I did catch a few hours sleep :P

Equations

Hours spent at my studio desk + a beautiful sunset + a little bit of crazy =

Model pictures + a whole lot of crazy!

Nano Update to come soon!

Splashes of Color- The Beginning

Seeing as I am knee-deep in college (and hence, architecture) blogging and writing has been few and far between. But this tiny corner of the web is not just for advertising my feeble attempts at greatness.

It's a window. A window into my world, both for my readers from across the sea and my family back home.

So today I'm starting a series of posts. Consisting of a few lines of text and a picture, they will be brief glimpses into the world I live in.

Here at the wall; being a wall with various and sundry bits of work and inspiration. I've got a feeling it will get considerably more crowded as the semester continues :)

What I've Been Working On

Hey everyone, I'm not dead yet!  And I'm back. Well, temporarily. See, for the entirety of the last two weeks I've been working on this baby: 

Remember that Dune Crossover project I was brainstorming for in Architectural Design a while back? Well, this is it! All done, finally! And if anyone remembers that far back, I was struggling to come up with a concept that I could represent in a non-literal fashion. (I.e. no giant fishes to represent... fish) So, I finally found a concept I liked, and that was Time. And this is my representation of time.

Now, it's a bit abstract, so it isn't as good a solution as I'd like. In other words, looking at that doesn't necessarily remind you of time unless I told you that was what it was. The first five rings (smaller ones), would actually rotate completely around if this was built for real, and be marked in minutes, hours, days, months and years. So the first part is actually a clock. But as you pass under the clock, and head down to the beach, the rings get farther apart and time stops. Because who wants to be reminded of what time it is while they're on the beach? So that's my explanation, though I'm not sure if it passes muster. Hopefully I get an A. :)

But, hey! It looks good, functions well, and came out nice! In case anyone's interested, I used balsa and basswood for most of the structure, and poplar for the rings (sturdier for cutting with a bandsaw).

So, now that that's done, I get to come back, right? Wrong! And that's a good thing. Why? Because Holy Week starts today, and as a way of preparing my heart and mind for Resurrection Sunday, I am going to cut down on all unnecessary computer time, which, of course, includes blogging. So, I'll be gone till after Easter, when hopefully blogging life will return to normal. Well, as normal as blogging life gets, that is :)

Until then, my friends, fare well!

 Oh, and I'll be answering all those messages on my phone when I come back for real!

"If at first you don't succeed..."

"Fry, fry, a hen."

Ahem.

Anyways... my latest project in my architectural design class involves designing a dune crossover for a nearby seaside community. Basically, it's a glorified boardwalk. With something on it. Something monumental. Something eye-catching. Something defining. Something worth remembering.

Work has proceeded as follows:

1. Sketch out site map
2. Diagram foot traffic, wind and sun patterns, and sundry other information
3. Come up with words or themes that are important to the town
4. Sketch out concepts
5. Repeat last step
6. Repeat last step

Oi. To date, I have come up with roughly thirty separate and distinct ideas. All of which must fit in a 26 x 26 foot square and be no more than 50 feet high.

I'm ready to fry some hens.

Think about it! I must create something out of the ordinary, something that will grab people's attention, but still fit in with the surrounding landscape and have a underlying concept that has something to do with the surrounding area. Sure, a twisting pillar of fire would be cool... but that won't go over so well with the local populace. And some ideas might fit, but not be appropraite. I.e hurricanes. Yes, they come from the sea. Yes, they have a easily used form. No, I doubt people want to be reminded of them.

Where's those chickens?

No, a dragon will not work no matter how much you tie his fire to the sun or his wings to the wind, his horns to the sea oats or his scales to the dunes. No, a giant hourglass is too literal. Who would want to walk under a giant wine glass filled with half a ton of sand?

I'm gonna find those... *static*


Let's apply this, shall we? Oftentimes in life we find ourselves trying to accomplish something and failing time and again. We keep falling over in our attempts to stand up. We throw ourselves again and again at the iron gate of our problem, but it does not budge. And so what do we do? We give up. We throw up our hands and holler quits.

And as the gates of our problem totter and splinter, we turn away in despair, little realizing just how close we were. Because here's the thing. Someone's already gone through those gates and broken Himself to break the lock. All we have to do is ask Him to show us the combination.

So next you or I find ourselves smashing our heads against a iron gate, just remember, the locks have already been broken. And when we stop making a racket long enough to hear His voice, He will whisper to us the combination.


Anyone care for some Quartorlen Fried Chicken?