Como Town in the cold

While in Italy last spring, I traveled to Como Town on the famous "Lago di Como." In the summer, this picturesque lake town is a favorite destination for celebrities and wealthy Europeans. Sounds great right? Well, I happened to go in February when it was absolutely freezing! At first I was miserable in the cold. I don't tend to fare well in extreme temperatures... but, somehow I managed to spend an afternoon sketching plans and perspective views of the place in my teeny tiny sketchbook with shivering fingers. The image above is a compilation of about 8 pages in my sketchbook that show four different piazzas throughout the town. From spending time studying the architecture and urbanism there, I gained a strong appreciation for the seamless integration of the vernacular Italian architecture and the newer rationalist style so prevalent in the area. The town is a really quaint place to visit, and I would especially recommend taking the fun, but somewhat scary/cramped, "funicolare" to the top of the mountain for an amazing view! (See photo below) I can't wait to go back when I can actually wear a bathing suit.

The girls and I at the top of the mountain in Lake Como after riding the funicular

girly HOPS

So far, all of my posts have been about my architecture work. I also gained a minor in art from UM in addition to my architecture degree. The project above was an assignment for a graphic design class. I had to design a full spread for a magazine using Adobe Illustrator. I chose to make a spread for an article I found online about the beer making process... I actually happen to like beer a lot and found the topic interesting anyway. I started researching hops - the flavor and stability agents in beer - in their natural form, and found their forms and colors to be very beautiful. The design for the spread was centered on both this form used as a pattern and the final product - the beer bottle itself. Since this article was also written by a woman I wanted to evoke a sense of flirtyness and fun through the design, especially since the title of the article was so playful... "A Hop and Sip to Fresh Ales." The summery theme of the article was supported by the color choices and the deck plank motif I used for the background. I am definitely not a pro graphic designer, but I learned a lot about illustration through this project and I think the design was relatively successful. I don't know about you, but all this talk makes me want a beer.

campiDOGlio

Another Rome post! This is a colored pencil and graphite "postcard" from a series of drawings I did in Rome this past Spring. The idea was to create composite drawings of iconic places in the city. This drawing represents many aspects and views of the area known as the Campidoglio, which sits on the capitoline hill (where the word "capitol" comes from btw). Today, we see the work of Michelangelo that was begun in 1538. Historically this area, although the smallest of the seven hills of Rome, was always the political center of the city, and it is still used for this purpose today. The cordonata, or set of stairs, seen in plan and perspective view above switched the focus of the space from the forum to the south to the more modern city to the north. The three palazzo buildings are situated to create an angled piazza. The angles of the facades seen from the street visually elongate the space and give power to the central figure of Marcus Aurelius.

Aside from all the beautiful architectural elements of the design, the space is just plain amazing to visit. We spent a lot of time in the on site museum, which at the time housed a very informative exhibit about Michelangelo. It is also really enjoyable to watch the sunset from this area, especially overlooking the ruins of the forum-- one of the best views in the city! Make sure to take a bottle of Italian vino - Brunello di Montalcino 'll do it - and you should be set.

Watercolor in the Gables

This is a black and white watercolor rendering of Coral Gables City Hall. At the time, I was new to the medium and was looking to represent the building in shades of grey and black before exploring color. Watercolor can be one of the most frustrating mediums to work with because you really can't take anything back that you apply to the page, but usually the struggle is worth the pain! It is hard to make objects dramatically pop out of the background and get a sense of depth, but with practice you develop techniques to do this (which you will see better when I post some of my more recent work).

As I implied in my previous post about Rome, painting a place or a monument really lets you study every angle of it in depth. The architectural composition is imprinted in your memory along with the associated sounds, smells, and sights. This building sits at the busy intersection of LeJeune and Coral Way and reminds me of the many days I have spent walking around the relaxing "miracle mile" area, especially after a delicious lunch at Houston's (yum!). The mediterranean-inspired city of Coral Gables lies just south of the flashy and modern city of Miami and is in itself a unique destination.

Town and Gown

In the fall of 2008, I was given an assignment to create a figure-ground drawing of the city of Oxford. The objective was to show the relationships and differences between the city and the University through the analysis of the negative and positive spaces. It is clear in the above representation where the city ends and the University starts. You can see the open and expansive quads of the University Colleges contrast with the dense blocks of the town.

In December of that year, I was lucky enough to actually travel to Oxford (as I was already in London)! Seeing the space in person gave me an even better outlook on the work I had completed and allowed me to add my personal impressions to a research paper I was already working on.

Here are some insights on what is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever traveled to:

• Oxford was the first higher-learning institution in the world to use the self-governing college system (still in use today!)
• Although the town and university buildings are separated programatically, the overall feeling of the town is sinuous and it is enjoyably walkable (even in the freeeeeeezing cold when I visited)
• Walking around the city you notice different layers of architecture from medieval to classicism to post-modern, giving a really eclectic feel to the experience. This is mainly a result of the residential colleges reforming and expanding over time. Some of the spaces even seem playful or over-dramatic, especially in Nicholas Hawksmoor's design for All Souls College.
• Radcliffe Square and its circular "camera," or library, are a must-see! The differing gothic and classical styles of the surrounding colleges are juxtaposed around a beautiful Baroque central structure. This central area of Oxford successfully achieves a unique form in which stylistic layers of construction mix together to create a historical menagerie of architectural beauty. (Blah- a mouth full, but you really get that impression standing in the space)
• Oxford, as the paradigmatic university town, clearly influenced the creation of other universities such as Cambridge and Yale.

Side note -- Even if you aren't interested in architecture, it is really fun to see the locations that inspired Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter (especially at the grandiose Christ Church College)

Here are a few photos I snapped on my visit! Hope they inspire you to visit too.

Radcliffe Square

Look familiar? (Christ Church College)

All Souls College from the High Street

Send me back to Roma

So here is my first content-post! Didn't want to wait too long to share some goodies, or else all of my readers would disappear. Here is a color pastel rendering of Piazza del Popolo in Rome, Italy from when I studied abroad there this past spring. This was actually my first time using the medium, but I absolutely love the freedom and rich color it gives the piece.

It was actually very cloudy/gloomy the day we sat to draw in the piazza. However, I felt the urge to jazz up the color and deepen the shadows to make a dreary day look more exciting. Maybe it was the street performer standing behind me blowing the largest bubbles I have ever seen who inspired this, but I think the playfulness "shines" through here.

It is so hard to write about this, only because I wish I was there right now. I can picture myself right where I drew this... about to walk down the Via del Corso and hit up a "saldi" (sale) or two, only stopping for gelato at San Crispini before heading back to Trastevere.

I guess this is what art is for - it allows you to recall all the special memories and feelings you have about a place. Ahhhh Roma... send me back!!

First Post

So... I have decided to write a blog about all of my past, present, and future art and design projects. As of now, I am not quite sure what the goal of this is (besides another reason for my mother to tell me I am the ultimate queen of procrastination). I am an unemployed, recent college grad who is ready to work! But, I'm not sure the workforce is ready for me (or at least to pay me considering the economic situation). So here I lie with a plethora of other talented individuals looking for a job. So for now, I hope this blog will:

1. Keep me entertained and give me a reason to not stay in bed until 11 am waiting for an e-mail response that will never come from one of the x amount of firms I have applied to

2. Keep my non-existent readers entertained (hopefully that number will grow)

3. Land me a sweet job doing what I love: art, architecture, and design!

Let the BLOG-FOLIO begin...