C()ucH P0Tato3s

InSpiR3 M3 ..(ah)

People always ask me where I get my inspiration from... well here's a secret... I stay true to my own. < sounds a little corny right.... but hey. It works.

My Favorite artist is my idol! I guess in a way I am influenced by her. Her passion, dedication and sense of style is admirable. She expresses her self through her music and clothing...

I cant keep a tune but I'm a monster when it comes to design :) 

She inspires me to be my self. Love what I do

Live for Something.

             Mia (me-ah) .... also known as M.I.A               Dont be afraid to Be inspired.. 

100 P(o)sTs > 0n3 HunDR3d C0()ki3s...

I was cookie craving this week...

my dad makes the best sugar cookies from scratch 

and 

My friend Quincy's mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies 

in the world! 

 Because this major is so time consuming, I have no time to cook or any thing... at least from scratch I mean.  SOOOOooooo the next best thing to home made cookies is Philsbury Cookies! They werent made from scratch but at least they were made with love in mind

So in celebration of my one hundredth post I'm sharing my cookies with all of you! 

BL3ediNG ArT ...

If you have been keeping up with my blog you might have noticed that I'm obsessed with chairs. right? .... well lately I've been venturing out of my comfort zone of water colors (paint) ... and I have started rendering my chairs with marker! > Trusty Dusty ChartPak

If you've ever have used ChartPak markers they BLEED! hugeeee mess! So what I've learned to do is use a blank piece of printer paper underneath my chairs so that I wont make a mess. Little did I know that after rendering all my chairs on top of that one piece of paper would make one of the most brilliant, beautiful things I have ever seen!

I collect each one but I decided to blog this one because It's my favorite so far!

[you can't seen the turquoise in this scanned photo but That subtle moment of blue is what makes the piece!]  

HiT Th3 D3Ck ... [chairs for outdoors]

[Watercolored with the aid of pencil crayon: By ME!]

ALt3RnaTiV3s...

[Design is like a cartwheel. Starting at one point, then turning, 

stretching, shifting, reshaping and fixing back into place 

after your whole view on the world has been turned upside down]

An Alternative is a choice between mutually exclusive possibilities. It can be defined as espousing or reflecting values that are different from those which have already been established, or something which becomes existent outside of traditional forms or foundations.  


We move forward through time in the form of architecture and design. The stylized Gothic Period was a time of reformation... stuck between two worlds, bringing the divided society back to one center and uplifting it towards divinity. These skeletal like structures focus on an atmosphere of airy lightness created by their verticality and their intense slender proportions, stretching upward creating a closeness to God and reminding man of how small we actually are.
This design period adapted carcass like designs in the forms of pointed arches, pendentives, flying buttresses and ribbed vaults, almost as a reminder that death is the door way to God and religion is the light which will lead you there. 
The people of the Gothic Era learned how to manipulate material, creating and forming spaces through and with light. 
This time period was an alternative to the previous design foundations such as Greece and a new chapter in the story book of design, telling a story on both the inside and out. 


As for the Renaissance we begin to look at design in a whole new light, introducing enlightenment and education in the forms of ornamentation + design motifs. 
The Renaissance expressed an importance in harmony + unity through the form of repetition using geometric shapes and lavish ornamentation.  The separation of spaces in the form of public and private shows their evolution in design as an alternative that speaks in a whole new intellectual spectrum. They wanted to show that they knew the rules of design and that they were not afraid to bend and break them, initially forming their own in result. The Renaissance was caught between the two design worlds of Classical and Gothic yet they managed to reshape and design in a way that was a huge turning point in architecture and design. The need of comfort and functionality were morphed together and can be seen in the structural forms of Palazzo's + Villa's. Their structures and buildings spilled forth knowledge in a way where it was reflecting their tastes, wealth and education through their architecture and design.   


Alternatives are different ideas and concepts initiated by the act of rebellion or revolutions. In the world of design Baroque is another word for rebellion. It was a design period designed to capture your attention through emotion and the senses using architectural theatrics. Baroque encompassed the idea of testing boundaries and breaking the rules by exploring the use of patterns and motifs. The repetition and use of these delicate shapes formed interior spaces itself. 
The interior spaces were design to capture one's attention through the concepts of light and dark manipulating the chaos, creating a sense harmonic unity. Baroque architecture reflects a way of life and speaks a new design language which breaks the rules and expresses a theatricality which sets architecture on a whole new stage. 


In this unit I have observed that architecture is started on the foundations but is built upward by alternatives. Exploring boundaries + breaking rules are clearly shown on the interiors as well as exteriors of these stylized periods. And without rebellion and the option of other alternatives,architecture would not have evolved into what it is today.  

B()Tt0Ms UP

R3aDinG C()mp IV

1.                     

   Architecture is like a pizza… it was started in one place and was copied, modified and fitted to their own tastes, “just as [one culture] assumed its own unique identity of liturgy, and self-governance, so too did [those which followed in its] architectural form [making] it something uniquely [their own]” Roth 294.

 In the reading we studied several artifacts:

Desk p.427- high ornament, pictorial, flower motif, compartmentalized into geometric shapes- squares, rectangles, hidden elements, displayed wealth- work of art and also functional, showed taste

Windsor chair p.451- delicate, intricate, symmetrical, order, appearance of boundaries

Tall clock p. 473- high ornament, delicate intricacy, swags – classical language, modular, similar to a column- base, shaft, and capital, gilding, swags, cherubs, boundaries, order, symmetry

State bed p.502-  intricate, mass, delicate ornament, high ornament, repetition, square and circle- collenette, aedicule- escape

Sheraton chair p.522- delicate, symmetrical, urn, swags – classical language

These artifacts all speak a design language where the design of the object it self reflects and represents their life style and social class.

They express design elements such as space, shape and line. These are expressed in the form of geometric shapes, repetition of patterns using symmetry, which creates boundaries that show forms of hierarchy. As a whole they all have a sense of strong ornamentation... some in delicate forms. The artifacts all show a common design language which speaks and shows emphasis on the owners wealth and taste.
In a way, they create "warmth in the [spaces] in which they dwell in"(Harwood 267) 

Even though each of these artifacts are from different geographical locations, stylistic periods and have been designed for different classes of people, they all have similar design principles which tell us the sole purpose for designing these pieces in the first place… functionality within a space.

 This leads to the topic of space. Space is a design element described as a place available for a particular purpose. All the spaces mentioned in the colonial design matrix are residential spaces: 

Holkham p. 418- rosettes within octagons, dynamic texture, mimicked wall pattern to upholstery, significant contrast between wallpaper and the ceiling and the upholstery, high ornament, broken pediment similar to temple, repetition. contrast, pattern, organized, placed with purpose, contrast in scale of patterns.

Gunston Hall p.447- stairs used as an architectural element to be celebrated vs. only being functional, now a statement, became their own space, symmetry, balance of space,  repetition- each stair has a banister that corresponds to it that are evenly spaced- balance through repetition.

Marie Antoinette's Bedroom in Le Fountainbleau p.463- theatrical, high ornament, ordered by pattern but excessively busy, so excessive that the order almost feel chaotic.

Saltram House Saloon p.494- parlor, patterned, compartmentalized, swags, classical motif,  symmetry, central arc window with two flat edged windows

Gardner Pingree p.519- subdued ornament, removed from high ornamentation, classical language, focal point- fireplace, symmetry, central motif planked two swags, centralized ornament on walls (urns), design elements mimicked throughout (fireplaces, and encasement to entrance of room), molding that emphasizes the lines of the room, transition from the wall to the ceiling, celebrates the openings, sense of order.

    These spaces express specific tastes and different stylistic periods however each share similarities in aspects of design principles and elements, altered and fitted to the cultural context which they fit in.

Each space depicted balance, repetition, proportion, functionality, contrast, hierarchy of importance and some form of unity. They each have a harmonic unity which encompasses both the architectural design, ornamentation and the things which dwell + reside in it.
Rooms such as Marie Antoinette's bedroom exhibit this unity in forms of repetition of delicate shapes + motifs. Her room focuses on an abundance of patterns which is kind of harmonic in a way: patterns creating the space.
As I looked through the spaces in this matrix I noticed an importance in a hierarchy of public + private spaces in the buildings such as the Pantheon of St. Genevieve in Paris and Monticello in Virginia. All have geometric forms and play with different forms of light... such as the palette or natural light. Even though these spaces share several similarities in the sense of elements and principles of design, we must realize that their differences in appearance are dependent and solely based on their geographical locations. Every culture has exhibited their belief in the traditions of the classical architectural language but they all bring the idea of the pizza to their geographical design language... refreshing and renewing ideas from which we started. 

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 2.“Architecture as an independent, rational, structural frame is transformed into a unity or fusion of the visual arts"(Harwood 404). When looking at the American Georgian colonies across the Atlantic Ocean to the English Neo-Palladian/Late Georgian periods as well as Louis XVI /French Provincial periods I see a strong design ancestry that reflects their homelands of England, France, Spain, Germany, and Holland. As the colonists made their way to new settlements in the Americas, they strived for change and for a new culture that would be different but yet a reflection of the homelands they left behind. They often looked back on the prototypes and previous architectural foundations of England, Spain, France, and Germany/Holland in order to form a new sophistication or style of architecture that they could claim as their own. It is known that rich finishes, elaborated ornamentation, use of wood + brick as materials were a trademark of these periods in history.
Interiors in the new Americas were the melting pot of ornamentation and form. The used light scale, rational planning and mathematical proportions to help form their structures and emphasize straight lines + geometrical forms.
These styles varied between monumental down to the precise elegant + refined ornamentation.  Interiors were built to a human scale and had a rococo charm with a sophistication that was familiarized with developments from england. 

Gateleg Table(p.264): spindle legs, retractable table, repetition of ornamental motifs and geometric shapes. Material is wood. 

Fraileurs(p.283) : decorative detail, repeated motif, Geometric shapes mixed with fluidity, balance and proportional elements. 

Armoirs(p.302) : compartmentalized space, symmetrical on an x + y axis, contained boundaries, functionality, geometric space + repetition. 

Shrank(p.313) :  separation of boundaries, hierarchy, geometric shapes, wood as a material, symmetrical and a balanced separation of public + private spaces

In conclusion not only do these periods share similarities in the elements + principles of design but they also share the commonality in the idea that they are stylized periods that were formed from many foundations before theirs reflecting on their structures both inside and out.   

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3. 

The construction of this plan consisted of the sub division of one circle. I chose the circular form because Paladio is known for the central dome used in his famous Villa Rotunda. I divided the circle into half and then in to half again so that it was slit into four quarters. The circular floor plan creates a rotating floor plan. [which starts at the entrance + ends at the entrance] 

I then decided to use the aid of axial progression to lead you from the exterior staircase into the Saloon which has an oculous. 

As for the exterior columns... they say the best things come in threes.   

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4. Baroque was a period designed to capture your attention through emotion and the senses using architectural theatrics. I personally believe that in the forms of Art, Architecture + Design. Baroque not only manipulated the minds of the people but it effected their entire lifestyle as well... they treated life as if it was theatre. 
Baroque art + architecture were designed with such passion that it draws you in. It was a blend between mystery + divinity purposely attracting the people back through the doors of the church... creating a personal experience between you and God. [or in the sense of French Baroque, it draws you closer to the King]
Italian Baroque focused more on curvilinear lines, fusion of medias + the contrast between light and dark; also known as chiaroscuro. Almost like a theatrical trick which plays with the religious ideas of good + evil... Heaven + Hell. 
I feel that Sant Andrea Al Quirnale + The Coraro Chapel are two beautiful structures that encompass Italian Baroque most passionately. They were both built with such passion, such ecstasy that it makes you want to cry...

Coranro Chapel 
[Ecstasy of St. Theresa]

structurally, on the outside, the chapel is pleasing. But once you make it inside it captures you in ways that keep you bound to it. 

Bernini Sculpts Theresa's moment of ecstasy in such a way that it looks as if he covered her in stone as it was happening. Such passion + fluidity is captured in this sculpture that it looks as if she is literally taking her last breath. There is a mix of realism + illusion here... he does it in a way where he has sculpted her in a way where he "subtracts" her earthly body... as if everything dematerializes, breaking the boundaries between what looks like it is liquid... and what is actually stone. 

This photograph solidifies the point of the idea of theatre because this literally looks like a stage.  Bernini does a beautiful job at mixing medias and creating this masterpiece. He meshes sculpture, different materials, architecture and painting into the form of a stage. To emphasize the theatrics he hides an oculous in the ceiling letting in access light to play and dance around the golden rods as if the rays from heaven are reaching out and pulling her closer towards divinity. 

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Sant Andrea Al Quirinale

This is the oculous which lets light on to the altar. Bernini constructed it in such a way where it looks like the golden figures are cascading from heaven.

The side walls of the church a curalinear... moving and wrapping around the front facade with opening arms inviting you inside. Now thats architectural theatrics!

The use of reflective material, light palette + light it self helped amplify the architectural theatrics which draw you in. It creates an affect which triggers an emotion, drawing the audience in. 

 Over all Baroque wasn't just a stylized architectural period it became apart of the lifestyle. It affected the poetry + literature, the theatre, music and all aspects of art... especially architecture

Cr/\wL. sT@n[). WaLK.... SiT [chairs for baby bottoms]

i'M Y3LL()W

D()nt Ev3R B3 AfraId t() b3 DiFF3reNT

This was the cutest thing I have ever seen! Such a simple picture can say so much. 

Ch/\iR3d ()uT

This image above is a tribute or credit given to me from this weeks chairs on the 222 chair website. You can go check into it further at: 

www.chaircards.wordpress.com