sorry for STAIRin'.... but things are looking UP

Blog Assignment 003

Since we are looking the Greensboro Historical Museum’s current inability to convey their identity or relate themselves with Greensboro, I had that on my mind during our DC trip. A museum that pulls you in with a spark of personality has a good understanding of their identity and has managed to reflect that character out. The American History Museum was the most successful museum I visited during the trip. The lobby space is very open and bright and is constructed with more modern materials than your average Smithsonian museum. The American flag that greets the arriving visitors gives the visitor an idea of what to expect. This is a museum that captures the history of America, but on a cultural and social level. The museum managed to instill in me a sense of pride in America’s past and unreasonably high hopes for our future. I thought this lobby space effectively reflected its intentions and projected a good portrayal of its identity.On the outside, all these museums belong to the Smithsonian style as a whole. On entering the building the museum has their opportunity to entice and inform the visitor about what they have to offer. Some museums, like the American History Museum, do it well. 

During my presentation I compared the success I found in the American History Museum to the less effective lobby spaces of the Sackler Gallery and the American Portrait Gallery. In my visual I showed each museum's exterior, entrance, exhibit example (to give an idea of their true identity). I'm terrified of public speaking, and tend to block out public speaking experiences. I feel like I didn't do as badly as I feared I would do, but hope I can improve for future presentations. I don't think the speaking center presentation helped me much for this presentation. I knew the standard speech organization that they instructed us to follow, so I didn't get much new out of it. 

[image sources]

   •http://www.visitingdc.com/museum/american-history-museum-washington-dc.htm

•http://attractions.uptake.com/museums.html

• http://www.foreclosurelistings.com/list/DC/DISTRICT%20OF%20COLUMBIA/WASHINGTON/resources/

•http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/30/and-then-there-were-six/

I'm one of those crazy environmentalist-like people who everyone hates. I can't help it. When someone tries to throw away their empty soda can (100 PERCENT RECYCLABLE) I sort of freak out and take it out of the trash and put it in the recycling... yeah, gross. I'm a vegetarian for environmental and animal rights reasons, I helped get both of my workplaces to start recycling, I don't drink out of plastic water bottles... okay, I'm done listing my attempts to be friends with our planet. I just want to post some images that remind me why I put in the effort, and show everyone else too :)

I love flowers. Love them. I'd love to keep them around.

I love that I'm able to pick my own food. It feels so natural to find food and use it.

We drove all the way down the Pacific Highway one summer and I fell in love with every part of  California.

I get very excited over alternative energy sources. This here is a wind turbine. Hooray!

This is Alaska, right before we saw the glacier. It breaks my heart that, because of us, we are losing the beauty the world gives us.

I love red pandas! So precious. How could we possibly be okay with endangering such a lovable animal?

Now that I have my own chickens I can't stand to think of these poor creatures getting treated so horribly. Our chickens love to wander and explore, love nectarines, and are so fun to cuddle with. I don't think I could ever eat one again.

Okay, I'm done. I love the planet :)

DC Photoshopped

I chose to start with this image because it is something I've never noticed in D.C.

I decided to add some Van Gough to make it a little more artsy

 

And of course some flowers for good measure

I did some weird photoshoppy things for a while... and Ta-da! my picture:

Reception Area: Some inspriation :)

http://ih0.redbubble.net/work.2355356.4.flat,550x550,075,f.archicad-render-barn-conversion-holiday-home-reception-area.jpg

http://tftscdn.nexus404.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads2/2008/02/b747-reception-desk.jpg

http://ts2.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=1147848036181&id=3ad3a18e43615b8e625c192c6838775d&url=http%3a%2f%2fimage.made-in-china.com%2f2f0j00QeGtCzZlYVbM%2fCeiling-Lamp-54756-915-.jpg

http://www.chenel.com/images/diaporamas/b1c587a988db71e20f448029768c7c98.jpg

http://foldingchairsandtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Modern-Colored-Tub-Chairs.jpg

http://bedzine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/040108bookcase.jpg

music

I love music. I love playing guitar. I love boys who play guitar. I love getting caught in those little college jam sessions like getting caught in a light morning shower. I love when you discover a new band and it feels as though you've uncovered a secret or solved a challenging jigsaw puzzle. I love enjoying small coffee shop concerts while sipping my fancy coffee beverage. I love going to big, outdoor concerts and embracing that moment, sharing it with everyone around you. I love the Format, the Beatles, and Kate Nash. I love Rilo Kiley, Tilly and the Wall, and the Tallest Man on Earth. I love Fleet Foxes, Jack Johnson, and so many bands that help me relate to the world and people around me. I love having my own radio show and having a special, musical time with a best friend every week. I love how music can set a mood or change the world. Most of all, I love creating music. I love singing in the shower, in the car, on the street or on the stage. I love that I can play guitar and sing for myself when I feel like myself is all I have. I love that my guitar was my Dad's first guitar. I need music. I live music. I love music.

    

Header Project

In our class we had to make a header for a class mate that accurately reflected their style, and they had to do the same for us...

This is the one Matt made for me. He made it more organic and shape and colorful to represent me. I like how it turned out :)

This was my rough draft for Matt's name tag

Matt has a more contemporary style than my own. Judging by his past projects, I noticed his love of simplicity and wood working. This is what I ended up with. I cut the wood in the wood shop to slide into the wood base and added a few grooves to let the light in when it sat on his desk. I stained the wood a darker cherry to suit his preference, and burned his name into the wood.

Blog Assignment 001- iob

I didn't actually get to enter the industries of the blind. My alarm clock is my cell phone, and my cell phone was in my friend's car [Shirley Bircher] and therefore, did not wake me up in time to go to class. In an effort to catch up with the class, I tried to take my own trip through the building. However, the building was closed, and not having a phone to contact my ride there to take me back, I was forced to spend some quality time with the parking lot. 

SO I sat outside the building on a picnic table across the parking lot and tried to imagine what could possibly lie inside. I admired the light coming through the tree I perched beneath, and tried to imagine a world without. I looked across to the industries of the blind building and got nothing from it. The building seemed impenetrable, solid, and unwelcoming. From where I sat, the building was as mysterious as it had ever been. I thought, perhaps, it was that I had not taken the time to pause and ponder this building before that I knew so little about it. However, in my experience sitting there and focusing my thoughts towards this closed exterior, I determined that the fault was not mine for knowing so little, but theirs for shutting me out. I could not for a moment imagine what the interior would hold. To me it looked like a prison, but meant to keep people out, not restrain them from escape. 
Later, I looked at the pictures taken by my classmates. I was completely surprised at what I saw. It was nothing like how I imagined it to be. Through my classmates extensive photo record of the building, I took my own disjointed tour through the space. I saw the funny, under-stairwell garden, the bland meeting room, and factory areas of the building. While they did not meet my expectations for the building, both the interior and exterior had a cold and closed feeling to them. Both seemed to lack a sense  of welcoming to the visitor or to the users of the space. I thought the effort to create a sanctuary of sorts (the stairwell garden) was very sweet, and made me feel kindly towards the workers there. I heard of how wonderful the trip there was and how much I had missed out by not attending. Judging by how many of my class mates hoped to secure a spot on the iob team, I think this project holds many opportunities. How often does one get to design a space for those who can only witness it through their other senses? Putting our primary sense as designers on the bench, and trying to get a feel for the space and how both the users and visitors of the space will find a pleasant experience in it. I hope our class is able to improve on what they have, and open the space up to the community. Hopefully the designs my classmates come up with will be one to stimulate multiple senses and connect people through that experience.

Inspired by an Era

"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity." -- Albert Einstein

Even though I'm so happy for the advancements we've made through out the years in terms of equality between men and women, I have a love for this time period. 

I adore the clothing worn in this time. I would give anything to be able to wear these beautiful dresses and accessories.A girl could be beautiful and have fun with it.

I also love how even a simple drink became a beautiful creation and, more than that, an exciting opportunity. 

I think this whole era is so romantic and beautiful. It would be my choice of a time to live in. I would love to take elements of this period and implement them in today's society.

Images taken from the Rhode Island Museum of Art and from kisssing: A Love Blog