New city, new school, new trails...let the exploring begin!

A few weeks now into my first semester here at UWM School of Architecture. Since I have not written on this blog in awhile, I almost have to sift through all that has happened lately in order to not be up all night, all though to do so would seem then norm these days anyways.
Work at the architecture firm has been amazing! I feel totally at home there with the team and feel like I was able to hit the ground running. What else..oh, finally all moved in on the East Side of Milwaukee, pretty close to Lake Michigan! Close to coffee shops, Whole Foods, the Milwaukee river single track trail (awesome)...Life has been grand. I am truly blessed.
I have begun the new design studio here, it is their first one that they offer to Architecture students and I have mixed emotions about having to take it.  A lot of what is being covered is review for me, except for some new vocabulary and some new concepts to dwell on. After I was finished at ITT and started up in Madison at their Architecture program, I felt like I was having to start over, learning many of the same concepts that I had already spent a fortune on learning once already, not to mention putting in the time, again. Here at UWM it feels like that a little too so far. Of course this is a little disappointing, in that I was hoping to be learning all this wonderful design theory and to be diagramming the great buildings of old. I am sure more of that is coming, but I think what really causing me to feel that way is that I REALLY  liked going to work at the firm every morning. It was exciting, it was fast paced, and I was learning A TON of real world application every day. Since I am obviously missing it so much ( being on reduced hours now due to school full time) I must be on the right track, and truly love what I am doing which is the practice of Architecture. So whats the problem, right?
Even though a lot of what I am doing presently in school may be review, I am still learning. I am still practicing Architecture even if it is building little cardboard abstract shapes and changing them and rechanging them and drawing them and then doing it all over again. There are lessons in the every day little things, and I am learning more and more to be patient. It is the only way you get to see them. The big things are easy to see, everyone gets those. The smaller ones, not so much. You have to earn those, by putting in the time and being there when the  magic happens.
Since it is all relative-the model making, the history lessons, the sketching and the sleepless nights of drafting I simply have accepted that this is paying my dues- again. At a new place, with new teachers, and new peers and new lessons to be learned, and earned.
Here's to the winds of change, blowing stronger than ever...cheers!

Another Beloose Workshop!

Las Vegas is hot. Too hot. Honestly, I have no idea why anyone would want to live there, unless you are just a major fan of gambling and air conditioning. This was apparent after I stepped off of the plane on the 18th of July to meet Mike Lin to help him get ready for his 2 and 7 day Beloose Graphic workshop. This workshop consists of either 2 days or 9 days of intensive hands on learning of a plethera of multi media rendering techniques involving markers, colored pencils, pastels, watercolor and graphite. There is also a hybrid digital class the last day, taught by his son Brian. The whole experience is profound, and after I had attended a 9 day workshop last January I wanted to come back as a teaching aide and that was the reason I was suffocating in the desert heat out in Vegas. Its nice out there indoors, since it has to be or I am sure everyone would leave. What struck me is that there is virtually no outdoor atmosphere, it is a life of shuttling from one AC controlled environment to the next. I am sure during cooler months there may be some kind of outdoor activity, but during the last week of July it is pretty non existent.
This workshop was similiar to the last one I took in Manhatten, Kansas in that the people you meet alone are worth the trip. Imagine 70 designers from all over the world converging into one hotel to study hand graphics/rendering techniques under one of the most skilled artists I have ever met in person! The conversation is stimulating and extremely enjoyable. The tips and tricks are amazing time savers, and after 12 hours plus each day you are completely saturated in the experience. The beauty of Mike Lin's workshop is that he does not sit up there talking about theory for hours, he draws. And you draw with him, following steps and techniques along with him. This is such an incredible way to learn. He shows you the shortcuts, the tricks, without beating around the bush and just showing off what he can do. I love the transparency of his style, and his willingness to share is evidence of his passion for the art. I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend his seminar, and would gladly return to help out as an aide again if I am given the opportunity.
This time around there were people from Canada, Hawaii, Switzerland, and all over the USA. I met some wonderful people, engaged in some incredible dialogue, and walked away with my mind brimming with new ideas and future endeavors. I saw La Rev in Vegas, remarkable show. I would highly recommend it! It was like nothing I had ever seen before...the strip was loud and chaotic, so really not my thing but the architecture was impressive. Was blows my mind is that all of that is just sitting out in the desert. The mountains surrounding the area look lifeless, and I rarely saw any wildlife. The air was dry and HOT, and the palm trees that are planted around Vegas and Henderson look out of place surrounded by rock and sandy dirt.
BUT, the workshop was great. I am glad to be back home, by Lake Michigan and the greenery of lush vegetation and singing birds. Till next time I get called out there!

Spring break?

Ok...I understand that this week is spring break. I understand that people go on trips, take it easy, and generally unwind. What I do not understand is first of all, where is Spring? And second of all, where is my break? Haha...I am on campus working on a presentation piece grounded in Revit that is to be presented next Tuesday and of course I am the only one here. Thank God for Pandora and decent coffee down the hall. On a brighter note, I saw my first robin yesterday here in Wisconsin so apparently spring is just flying under the radar for now. It IS supposed to hit 50 by Saturday so that is looking promising!
Note to self: Never install a new hard drive during midterms. Not sure what I was even thinking...scrambling to re install all of the software I need to finish the 5 projects I am juggling...while of course training for another 50k slated for the end of April. Love it :)
I received a couple of new books lately that are both wonderful collections to my library- the first is Transformational Thought by Jason McLennan, founder of the Living Building Challenge. DEEP reading, wonderful stuff to cover before going on a long run on the trails, I am absolutely loving it. The second is another SketchUp tutorial type book based on doing renderings, and using Ruby Scripting. This one is by Daniel Tal who has another nice one concerning site design using SketchUp. Haven't had much of a chance to check that one out yet...mostly because I am sitting here at school blogging working on my Revit presentation...:)
I am pretty excited to go check out apts this weekend in MKE...the winds of change are blowing something fierce :)
Time to stop procrastinating and get back to it...

(yes, the famous traveling green cup)

Midterms...already???

Midterms already???

Hard to believe, but there is only about 8 weeks or so left in the semester. My last semester here at Madison College, which brings about its own set of emotions. In June I will be moving to Milwaukee and joining the Architecture program out there. That will most likely be my home for the next 5-6 years, until I finish my masters. They have a fantastic dual masters program for M.Arch and Urban Planning, and that is my goal.

My OTHER goal is to learn to sail. The UW has an awesome sailing club out there, and since I will be living so close to Lake Michigan I thought it would be foolish not to take advantage of it! I am very excited to get started on this new adventure!
My ultra running has taken a pretty substantial break, however I am training for an upcoming 50k that is scheduled for the end of April called the Chippewa Moraine Ultramarathon hosted up by Eau Claire. Beautiful area, and the race director is a friend of mine. This race was the first ultra I had ever run, and so I have made it a point to get up there every year and run it again :) so far the streak remains unbroken!
Some recent additions on my journey of Architecture have included joining the Milwaukee chapter of AIAS, joining ASAI (American Society of Architectural Illustrators at the nudge of Mike Lin) and joining the SAI (Society for American Illustrators). I am also planning on going to Las Vegas in July to be a TA for Mike Lin's upcoming 7 day seminar. This will be interesting because I will be on the other side of the table this time, getting to experience the seminar from a completely different angle! If anyone has not heard of Mike Lin, do yourself a favor and check out his website called beloose.com. It is free to join and there are a ton of helpful tips and tutorials on there. He teaches hand rendering techniques using a variety of different media, and his illustrations are amazing. Check out the gallery and you will see what I mean!
Here is one that I did after I got back from his last seminar in January which was hosted down in Kansas...

This was done using Lepen on trace over the 2pt perspective chart, then transferred to 100s marker paper and rendered using Chartpak markers and pastel for the sky. This was to be used in a presentation for possible renovations for the Midway Barn Complex out at Taliesin.

Being able to sketch and render is vital to being able to transfer ideas quickly from ones head to paper. Even with the speed of current software programs, there are the perimeters that are always present no matter which software you use. For schematic design and for the creative process to really get flowing, you need to sketch. The most valuable lesson I learned at Mike Lins seminar was learning to sketch in 3d, or perspective rather. This included sketching in 1pt and 2pt perspective. This process is so liberating, that after learning it I did not want to turn on Revit for almost 2 weeks lol...to be able to sketch on the fly, to scale, and truly express design concepts AS they come to you, is why Architects draw. Why designers draw, and probably why every child at some point or another draws or scribbles or whatever you want to call it (and this includes on the walls, of course). I feel lucky to have returned to this state in my life :) and am now apparently attempting to make a career out of it. Time will only tell...