A Glimpse Into My Day: The Commute

I created these photo collages for my landscape graphics computer course using Photoshop. The assignment was to create collages in the spirit of David Hockney that illustrate two contrasting experiences/places in my commute to and from home and campus.

First is a collage based on my neighborhood in Oakland. I wanted to evoke the diverse colors and textures of the landscaping and architecture--and the steep hill that I climb on my way home.

Second is a collage of the street where I get on and off the bus. The street is dominated by auto-oriented businesses. It's devoid of pedestrians, deserted at night. This is a literal collage of an actual place, whereas the first collage represents an overall experience.

Less Sleep, More Coffee

Welcome to my new blog!

Now that I'm a full-time student again, I seem to have little to no time for phone calls and email. I thought a blog would help me keep more people up to date on my life and work at Cal. (For those who weren't aware, this fall I began the three-year Master of Landscape Architecture program at Cal-Berkeley.)

After three full weeks of classes I have a better idea of what I've gotten myself into. I've been initiated into the world of parallel rulers, scales, lead holders and pointers, rapidograph pens, vellum and mylar, and the all important desk brush. (Who needs a brush to clean off a desk? Now that I've depleted my first eraser, I understand.) It's a good thing every student in the program gets their own desk at the college, because I don't know how I could fit all my supplies in my little apartment.

I am taking four courses this fall: survey of the history of landscape architecture; drawing the landscape; computer applications; and the all-important studio. (Studio, which I'll take every year, is the course where you develop your creative process and carry out projects. I've included photos of our first studio project in this post--we were tasked with measuring and drafting plan (top of the post) and section (above) views of a park on campus.)

Uprooting myself was difficult and, understandably, I was concerned about making friends. There are 15 of us starting the program this fall--all women. No one is sure how that happened, but we don't mind. We've become a close group. I've made several good friends already who somehow I feel like I've known for years rather than weeks!

The largest adjustment by far has been getting used to a constant state of "doing." I spent 92 hours in class or working on projects in the studio in the last week! Needless to say, I'm existing on less sleep and more coffee than every before.

It's all worth it though! While I could use not only more sleep but some actual down time, I'm enjoying every minute of it the program so far. Every project I work on makes me more certain that this is where I am meant to be.

Check back for more updates and photos of my work!