Virtual to Reality – Four Seasons Seattle

 

I’d found these pictures of the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle a year ago and they’ve been cluttering up my desktop ever since.  I figure I can post them here and then clear up a little digital space on my computer.  What I liked was comparing the conceptual rendering of the hotel lobby to an actual photograph of the lobby.  The cool thing is, even though you can spot subtle differences, at a quick glance they look almost the same.  Kind of cool to compare the physical version to what it looked like when it was just an idea. 

 

 

BFA Update (with goldfish)

 

Still working on my BFA project, I’ve got a place for large-scale printing lined up and now I just need to firm up the details for construction and also figure out exactly how I am going to present this publicly.  I had been working on some smaller study models still, but yesterday I made a partial full scale mockup to see how it went and am glad I did.  Things always happen that you didn’t anticipate!  And, of course, even thought it is made of paper, the whole thing will be heavier than I thought so I do need to address some structural issues.  Here’s a photo from my phone showing a classmate standing in front of the hanging section.  It was really good to get a sense of the size of this thing too!

 

 

I also took a walk in the afternoon with Bryn and ended up at Volunteer Park.  I don’t know why, but I really love the goldfish ponds.  (Which reminds me, I should probably go to the Japanese Garden at the Arboretum sometime soon since you can buy fish food there and feed them!)  Took a phone picture of a couple fish sunning themselves.  Or maybe they were up to something else.  I’ll never know for sure…

 

SWS Auction Piece

 

A while ago I had signed up to decorate a piece for an “Art & Experience Gala” being held in May to benefit the Seattle Waldorf School.  I didn’t know anything about the school, but saw a call for artists to submit their information and looked it up online, and it seemed like it could be fun to do.  It turned out I was selected (although I don’t think it was particularly hard to qualify) and they gave me a cast piece with a tree motif (their old logo I think) that I could do whatever I wanted to and then return by the end of April.  The cast tree had been sitting around for about a week or two after I’d picked it up and I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do to it.  Finally, I started working on it yesterday and today. 

 

It is still in progress, but pretty close to being finished unless I suddenly decide to do something else to it that I hadn’t planned on.  I haven’t done anything with paint in a while, so that’s been kind of fun too.  The circles in the “sky” are cutout from some handmade paper I found and then glued on.  Once I’m ready, the whole thing will be coated with an acrylic lacquer as well.  It may not be a masterpiece, but it has been enjoyable to work on at least!  There has also been the challenge of working with a tree design that I personally found to be a little confusing.  Only two branches on a tree?  What?!?!?  But I’ve accepted the challenge and run with it.  Photos of the piece from what it looked like when I picked it up to where it is right now are posted below…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crows & Eagle

 

 

Yesterday I spent some time at Lakeview Cemetery.  I like visiting this place for a variety of reasons: it is peaceful, there are many old and new gravestones to look at, the views from the highest hill are pretty, and every time I go I manage to discover something new.  I had brought my camera with me and one of the highlights while I was there yesterday was observing the activity of a flock of crows from my favorite spot sitting on a stone bench.  At one point, I noticed there was also an eagle circling high up in the sky above.  Although it is just a speck, I did manage to capture it on film (see below). 

 

Fireworks or Expert Witnesses?

 

Well after news that Seattle wasn’t going to have an annual Fourth of July fireworks show this year, The Seattle Times is reporting that a grass-roots effort has managed to raise $500,000 (half of it supplied by Microsoft and Starbucks) to keep the tradition alive.  Personally, I think this is pretty awesome.  It shows what people and businesses can do if they rally together behind a common cause. 

 

Of course, there are a lot of causes out there…  One thing that came to mind after thinking of all the things that $500K could do was the plight of the Duwamish Tribe.  They have been seeking federal recognition for decades, and were recognized at the end of the Clinton administration.  Of course, the incoming Bush administration overturned that decision.  They have since been suing the federal government asking them to reverse the 2001 Bureau of Indian Affairs decision that the tribe is extinct and have been trying to raise $100,000 to hire an expert witness in reviewing 31,000 pages of documents from the BIA.  Supposedly, this will be their last chance at federal recognition.  As the Tribal Chairwoman, Cecile Hansen, has previously said, “If everybody in Seattle gave us one dollar, we could raise the money for our legal defense.” 

 

I don’t know that all of this means anything significant.  Obviously, as Americans, many people greatly value entertainment events and businesses relish opportunities for positive press coverage.  It is interesting though, that this city is named after Chief Si’ahl who was half-Duwamish and half-Suquamish.  And the Duwamish have achieved a great deal with their recently built Longhouse, but they are still having to fight for federal recognition as a Tribal entity, including against other local Native groups such as the Tulalip and Muckleshoot Tribes. 

 

Duwamish Longhouse interior, from Wikimedia Commons

Eleventh Week Review

 

 

Today was my final class presentation at Cornish!  We’ve got six weeks until the BFA Show opens, and five weeks until we need to be ready to install.  The clock is ticking…  Above is a rough schematic diagram of what I’m planning on creating, but after the feedback today—and discussion with my classmates—I’m already making modifications.  I feel pretty good about what I’m making, it seems to be more of an issue of figuring out what I need to present along with my object in order to tell it’s story.  Also, I was playing around on Moo’s website and ended up playing with combining words.  I don’t know that they’ll make it into my project in any form, but it could be cool for something in the future!