Well I did warn you that it may be awhile before I got around to an update and I didn't want to lie to you and I wanted to make sure that there was no confusion as to 'awhile' (it means a long time in my vocab) so I've been waiting to post until I could meet both of these conditions.
. . . Ok so maybe that isn't the whole reason . . . but that's not important anyways - I'm posting now! Things are still busy around here so for those who are interested here's a quick summary (since my last update):
- I finished up Exercise 1 which was the one on Danforth Chapel (sorry that I haven't got pictures of it for you yet - I still hope to get them up here eventually). We drafted a plan view, 2 sections, 4 diagrams and made a space volume model for the final.
- I began and completed Exercise 2 - it was a two week project where we constructed 3 non-parallel planes and used within an imaginary 8 inch cube to imply spaces. If that sounds really weird and abstract it's because it was, but I liked this exercise much more than the first one.
- I started Exercise 3 - as of now I'm about half-way through it (it's a 3 week project). Using the same 3 non-parallel planes from Exercise 2 we are defining (note the difference between defining and implying space - yeah it seems pretty slim but they ground the difference into us so that we'll recognize it for the rest of our lives) space with the 3 planes and structure added to them. Basically we're taking an 8 inch cube and dividing it into spaces (volumes) using our 3 planes and the design strategy we used to construct the aforementioned (25 cent word for ya there) planes.
*If this doesn't make sense (which wouldn't be surprising because it barely makes sense to many of students here) I hope to get some pictures of these projects up eventually to help clarify and illustrate the objectives.
- In about a week and a half I'll be starting the fourth and final project for this semster, in which we get to design a garden. I'm looking forward to this project because we get to leave the abstract and work on a real design and we will have interaction with other people (I'm not sure who yet) that will act as the client. We'll be taking a field-trip to Kansas City to further enhance this exercise - I'm looking forward to this as well.
- I'm also taking a History of the Designed Environment class, it's the standard lecture class and a requirement for all majors in the college but I'm enjoying it. Before that class I attend a Intro to City Planning class that I don't enjoy quite as much, but it is getting better so there you have it.
Now you know my basic activities in the College of Architecture, Planning, and Design (CAPD) - it's a ton of work (more than I've ever done in my life) but I'm really enjoying it. My only concern is that I'm not going to know what to do with free time when Christmas Break rolls around - but I'm sure my family will have plenty of suggestions to help me out on that front.
As to the rest of my activities here in Manhattan . . . well there isn't much to tell because there isn't a whole lot of time available outside of studio; however, I'm proud to say that I've done an excellent job of filling what little time I do have off (mainly with church activities and I try to set aside a little time for sleeping, but I've heard that it's overrated). I still love my church home at Grace Baptist Church - I've found a good bible study class at 9:20 on Sunday mornings that is on Spiritual Disciplines and is team taught by two excellent teachers. One of the teachers happens to be the father of our Awanas director, whom I work under (in a roundabout way) on Wednesday nights - they are both amazing Christian men and I am blessed to be able to learn from them. As I mentioned I also help in Awanas on Wednesday nights in the Sparks age group, which is boys and girls from kindergarten through 2nd grade; there are about 80 children in this age group and we subdivide them into four groups - so I get to work with around 20 kids (it varies week to week). We have 4-5 teachers for each team (of 20 kids) and the kids are very well behaved and seem to enjoy the program. For those who haven't experienced Awanas I think the best description is that it is like a combination of RA's (or GA's) and VBS - every week they learn verses and get vests, patches, and badges, and they sing and play games. I am also involved with a small group at the church that meets every other week and has fellowship and bible study - there are about 10 people in our group and I really enjoy the opportunity to meet with fellow believers and relax and worship - it has been a great experience for me and is helping me to develop friendships with fellow Christians.
Switching gears again - I'm wrapping up for tonight but I always feel like I need to have some images for my posts so here are a couple I found from last year. They were taken on the HCC campus during the spring semester and I thought they turned out all right, so here you go, enjoy.
As a reminder - you can see a bigger picture by clicking on them.
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