It has been a really busy week getting together a time line for Garden History and Conservation but interesting. Also interesting is my talk I am preparing for Philosophy and History of Garden Design, the effect Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson's unconventional marriage had on the design of Sissinghurst. We shall see...

Sketch book is now coming along with the addition of some perspective sketches, hopefully they will improve! I really like the work of Hilla Rebay, a German artist who lived in America and was involved in the Guigenhiem Museum in New York, her work that was displayed there in the summer, I think it is still there, is excellent. I particularly like her collages so I have been busy putting some in my sketch book and also the work of a pavement artist.

GOODWOOD

Some images of sculpture, well worth a visit.






This sculpture changes as you walk round it-












I thought this one was weird, but there is something about the shape and smoothness












The way the light played on this sculture was interesting

Sunday

Experiences from the Summer

I took this pic in the summer from the top of a mountain (3400metres above sea level) in the French Alps, the snow capped mountain in the distance is Mont Blanc. It was the most exhilarating feeling standing on the top of the mountain. Because of the altitude it can take your breath away.



It is quite an experience having your head in the clouds, at one point nothing could be seen - no point showing that pic!






These pics were taken in the ice caves at 3600m. There is just rubber matting to walk on over the ice and even I had to bend my head in places.











How people managed to work at this altitude is amazing. In places you can see light through the ice, made me wonder how thick it was! To get to these caves you travel inside the mountains in lifts and a train from 3400m, I have so many questions I would ask the person who developed all this. This dino supports the centre of the cave.

I took this pic from a helicopter in New York just as I had my shot lined up it turned and kind of dropped, as did my stomach!

Reflections:
Received poor grades and comments on Monday afternoon, took a while for them to sink in. Lots of negative comments about expression and format from Jamie - funny how different work looks on the drawing board at home to the wall at uni, I am going to try and remember that.

Decided to take Andrew's advice and re-visit sketchbook work and look again at my finished product to see how it ended up as it did. Although I realised on the Saturday night, very late, that the design had become a ground pattern, and it didn't feel right (I did try to make changes but they didn't work and it was too late to start again) I didn't quite get the connection to the sketchbook work and finished product that Andrew made during my presentation - but I do now.
Looking again at my model I realise that I don't like it at all, is it the material I used or is it the design? I think it is a combination of both, there is nothing textural or sensual about it - it is hard and flat. I really lost sight of the site in this model - usually I would have sketched over photographs to consider and cement ideas. The design I wanted to create from the feeling expressed through the images of my first model got lost in the process of making the second.

I think I shall re-visit my basic design stuff - raising models from patterns, images etc, as I really enjoyed it and found it very inspirational. Didn't do any exploratory work in my sketchbook on duality, a mistake I think, it could have worked so much better.
If I have learnt anything from this it is how valuable it is to put exploratory work in my sketchbook or on paper and to keep it where I can see it so I keep what is being developed alive! Onwards and upwards!