Tuesday, March 10, 2009

p week

[PERIPHERY]
definition -
the external boundary of any surface or area (dictionary.com)

In Design Studio, we learned and studied the term periphery by constructing a portal : panel for a door on the first floor of the Gatewood Studio Arts building. The panel served as an external boundary of the office space through the doors and the area around the portal. My groups design incorporated the Baths of Caracalla of ancient Italy and our lllllllllfound in translation projects. The periphery of our assigned panel creates a certain mood that may or may not be similar to other feelings created when traveling under other panels. Our periphery was to be seen as a beautiful over-reaching structure that also created a sense of history that when one journeyed under it, they would feel as though they were traveling back in time. Boundaries are meant to be effective in creating a sense of structure and serve a purpose. Our boundaries was to be welcoming as the area serves as an everyday space that one occupies.


In my mythology class, we read a myth of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus and Eurydice are in love. One day, Eurydice gets bitten by a snake and dies. Orpheus is extremely unsettled and travels to the underworld to try to get her back. He professes his love for her to the Gods and they grant him the privilege of having her a second time. The only thing is that she will always walk behind him and he must never turn around or else she will be gone. Well, he is unable to not look at her, turns around and she disappears forever. Orpheus makes his way to the underworld again, however, this time, he is refused by the periphery of the underworld. Surrounding the underworld is a large river that is monitored by a boatman named Charon. The boatman must approve to take the person across the river to the underworld. If denied, there is no way of getting across. I illustrated this image from the way I vision the periphery to the underworld to be.



[PORTFOLIO]
definition - a set of pieces of creative work collected to be shown to potential customers or employers ; a large, flat, thin case for carrying loose papers or drawings (dictionary.com)

A portfolio is an exhibit that highlights the best of work and the journey of someone's progress. Portfolios are used in many careers either art of business. Every semester, I use a portfolio to present my drafting projects and drawings to my studio teachers for them to grade. Recently, the midterm of the second semester came around and for Design Drafting, we were to compile all of our drafting work into our portfolio. I looked similar to the figure that I illustrated, with the girl spreading out all her work to organize it in a certain order, checking off all the pieces when I put them in. I feel portfolios are necessary and efficient for grading in IARC because it hold all the work and grades everything as one instead of grading individual projects. When I grade from Interior Architecture at UNCG and going to interior firms searching for a job, I will have to create a spectacular portfolio to present to the office. In an article titled "Design Students : an online portfolio is a necessity", the writer takes the portfolio one step further when mentioning its impact by expressing the importance of an online portfolio, similar to Blogspot. The writer states "These individuals are both extremely talented and qualified for a position, however I am worried that they may go overlooked amongst their competition because of their lack of portfolio" (positivespaceblog.com). IARC is going to provide both options for success in later years.



[PROCESS]
definition - a systematic series of actions directed to some end (dictionary.com)

Everything imaginable in the world has a process. Whether is to make coffee, to create a story or to even just get out of bed can sometimes be a process. A more related process to what we have been learning in studio classes is that every project is a process. There will never be an instance where you finish your project with the first idea. Ideas continuously build upon one another, criticism is taken and designs change. The most recent studio project that has involved a semester-long process has been the lllllllllllllfound in translation project. There were multiple steps that kept building upon the prior design. More specifically, there was a process just within the last step known as the portal : panel. This process is what I decided to illustrate with my collage of drawings. The first step that I took after receiving the assignment was to brainstorm keeping in mind the requirements: words, previous projects, portal location including measurements and the assigned historical piece. After researching a bit, I developed a sketchmodel that I felt incorporated all specifications and presented it to my group. From there, my group and I talked about all our ideas, and tried to form a solid plan. We then made a final model and gathered materials that we would need to construct the panel. The model then led to the actual construction and installation of our portal : panel. Throughout the process, especially while constructing the real panel, ideas were changed and redone many times as we had to conquer problems along the way or include ideas that came to mind. Processes are so natural that people most of the time do not realize what an actual process is or that they are completing one, like waking up in the morning for example.


[PERSPECTIVE]
definition - a technique of depicting volumes and spatial relationships on a flat surface (dictionary.com)

Perspective can be seen in different ways. To me, it can either be the way a person views something compared to someone else's opinion or architecturally, in a drawing, it can be a feature that gives perspective, or a certain depth. In the "History of Interior Design & Furniture", Blakemore writes about the Palazzo Barberini and its main facades seven bays in three stories. Architecturally, "the surrounds of the third floor windows are in feigned perspective" (Blakemore, 155). This means that the windows on the third floor are not the same size as the windows below them, but they still give the impression when one looks at it that they are the same size. Reason for this change in perspective is most likely for internal arrangement. I decided to illustrate the Palazzo Barberini to exemplify this idea of how one perceives the windows.


Another architectural example of perspective is from my Design Drafting class on Tuesday, March 17, when we learned how to draw perspectives using a plan view, horizon line and ground line. In this method, one can find things in space to create using lines and spots connected with angles and certain proportions. We studied the way to draw one point and two point perspectives using this method.

[PROFESSIONAL]
definition - a person who is expert at his or her work (dictionary.com)

When I hear the word professional, I immediately just think of someone who has really been successful in life, someone who is educated in a specific field, and generally someone who is around the age 30-60. This idea, however, is not fully exact and can be further developed when thought in depth. A professional can be a child in kindergarten who has mastered their colors or it can be the 40-year-old woman who introduced the young child to red, orange and yellow. A professional is simply anyone who really masters a specific topic. On March 6, 2009, students from first year IARC took a trip to High Point University in order to participate in the DATS program. There we listened to a professional, Alexander Julian, speak about his career and lifetime successes. Alex has been a true professional of colors, patterns, apparel and home furnishings for 25 years. He has been awarded a Coty award winner, nine times International Best Dressed List and is the first designer to become recognized with the prestigious award from the American Society of Furniture Designers. Learning about this professionals life and career was inspiring to say the least. In my illustration, I chose to draw Alex from memory.


To learn more about Alexander Julian, view his official website, click here.

[IN SUMMARY]....all the "p words" from this week link together and relate to the evolution of life : a story. Figuratively, one can describe the words like this : life is a process of growing up, learning and exploring. Matters will come a long and certain perspectives will be created by an individual. When one gets older and starts thinking about their career, they perceive their education as a more serious and life-long task. The person will study and learn, creating a portfolio of knowledge, soon becoming a professional on whatever he or she chooses to master. Even after that person reaches the level of excellence, their life continues as a process that creates its owns boundaries, or periphery. When looked at individually, the words seem random and out of place, however, when put together in a story, they begin to make sense.

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