An Attempt at a Knot Garden
Well just an idea for a semi circular spot in a drive for a Georgian House, with a twist of some water and marginals continuing the line.
A start lot more to do
All in a Knot
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Style: Darwin or God?
Style
I have been working on paid work this week so that i have the luxury of eating food other that gruel (though as i seem to burn just about everything is there any point in buying nice food)?
I have been experimenting with various styles over the past year and am slowly coming to the conclusion that communication (no, i refuse to use the ‘paramount’ word, my most hated word due to journalists and ‘safty nazis’ using it at any and every opportunity, that includes you John Humphfies of R4 Today programme fame) is the first point to think about on drawings, obvious maybe, but in the past (and still now sometimes) i have fallen into the trap of trying to do a work of art (although not quite Tate Modern more bill posters under railway arches) and the ‘impression’ overtakes the the design.
Result, confused clients.
So i have tried to do a clear and concise drawing, trying also to avoid the computer look too much, ie repeats.
A small garden, the desire for veg and perennial planting with a space to sit and admire. Hidden the functional area with a ‘dog leg’ in the path.
Veg near the house (as it is at present).
Drawn on the board, Scanned bolted together in photoshop, Rendered and annotated photoshop.
Plain style to the point, once printed i will add people and slab and brick patterns, probably ruin it!
On to the next……..
D or the big G?
Well i think Darwin wins this round, style is mostly about evolution. Trial and error if you like. We all have eyes to see it just depends how we interpret and crit our own attempts, a never ending process, todays bacon is tomorrows landfill. Which i am being constantly reminded, onwards, forwards, no looking back, bright future, shades, as MJ said ‘Lets Dance, lets shout….. I think i need to eat blood sugar is getting low.
Subtractive Modelling, darling. Update
Model
Well model done, photographed, photoshopped and annotated.
How was it done?
Subtractive
Ingredients
1 Sheet of 100mm selutex
Saw
Dremmel
ipod
Tea
Van
Drawing
Marker
Tea
Hoover
Plan on 600 x500 square of 100mm selutex (evil stuff)
Roughly drawn out ready for attack
then,
Additive
Card
Wire Wool
Tea
Silver foil
Impact Glue
Just after carving four loads of dust from the hoover and half in my lungs
Added the important features. Very neutral colours
Photoshop
Played around a bit to get a lighter feel, as a lot of my work recently has seemed a bit heavy and dull.
Decided to not have a frame on the pictures as the angles and backgrounds would not work, so went for the dreamscape view ( Q, the twilight zone music, it looked like any other display of photoshop fantasy, but he was now entering……. the ‘Twilight Zone’).
Spent a while on the annotation to ‘Sell’ the project.
One particular picture came out well, Daylight rather than electric always seems to work better. Photoshop sky.
So there we have it, another section done (but never completed).
Sunday is annotation day plus some sketches in black and white, then do the 1;50 area for monday, so normal frantic Sunday.
Update on cross sections i think will take a little more time as i have yet to come up with an alternative to the style that i have been using up till now.
Now where is that ink and Karens number……
If Heineken was a student..it would be 8 sheets pinned up last week!
Nope, a valiant attempt, but no banana.
Spent a lot of time on the Planting and materials plans. Due to reading and thinking, alas my brain works in analogue ,so its rather slow!
This what i managed.
I will write up later.
Can’t see the wood for the Tree’s
Focussed on the point.
A bizarre saying, never really understood it for years, but at the moment its crystal clear and i am sure for most of us it has a chime of truth.
Looking at your own work for hours/days/months, doubt creeps in until you have no idea whether its good, inspirational and ground breaking or tired, predictable and safe.
Then the trap of adding more ‘stuff’ and losing the less is more simplicity ,which we all know is so hard to achieve. It comes back to the would i like to spend a day in the Park? As an 8 year old or 70?
This so has to become a ‘place’ again. It must become a point of reference to what a park could and should be the local and wider community. Otherwise leave it as it is and spend the money else were, were it would be beneficial.
Enough rambling,
Drawings
Sunday Morning, this is were i am at
1:200 plan. Updated and tightened the annotation. Added trees to correspond to planting plan. Lightened the South bank. Cross section markers. Reduced the size of the scale bar. I am sure i have missed stuff
Boy, did i spend some time on this little puppy. There can never be enough information for a contractor. So site visits would still have to happen though the idea of leaving a drawing that the informed contractor could refer to and not be phoning up every five minutes is the challenge.
Flattened the textures for the different materials to reduce any confusion. Though i am sure a specification book could go with each drawing, as i seem to have a lot of questions for the designer, oh shit thats me!
I can easily see how a year of designing as a team with hundreds of drawings and specification documents could easily happen , and then have a major F/Up
because somebody has missed the ‘bleedin obvious’!
Sunday have loads to still do, given up on getting the model done, but you never know!!!
Dark Satanic Mills
Ozzy the Victorian Man
While i was designing some Victorian/Gothic style fencing, had some music on for a change (tend to work in silence as the old grey matter tends to ‘get in the groove’ alas the wrong groove).
Itunes Genius playlist, What could better than a bit of Black Sabbath playing a delightful tune from their ever popular long player ‘Master of Reality’ called ‘Into the Void’ a real throat slitter, perfect for a Gothic Fence design.
A quick sketch of the front entrance
Gothic Arch theme. The slits and holes for a bit of decoration
A bit more ‘Adams Family’ with diamond shapes.
All out of Oak,it will cost a fortune but last 40+years without any treatment, the beauty of hard wood.
All made at Hever Saw Mills , hopefully.
phew..Pen and Ink!
Pen and Ink
Well had a go, small brush and ink pen, plus natural sponge for tree effect.
Need to practice more. I see the possibilities of this format. Though old habits die hard.
Big week this week for completion of 1;200 section, plus normal work…
Oops lolly pop trees. Though love a Gas works
Salix and Cypress Oak
Small tree natural sponge.
A tree for all seasons
Plants
Well first attempt at the tree planting schedule. I have not put sizes as i need some guidance from others on the pot/girth dimensions.
Really tried to visualise the effect the tree’s would have in the surroundings, ie some restricted space other area’s much more open. Also the effect on noise from dampening to echo down the ravine. Thought about enclosure for the visitors as well as seasonal colour and scent . Put some specimens in to cause special visitations when in bloom (in particular the Handkerchief and Foxglove trees)
Materials
Really just a quick template ,a lot more research as i have yet to get excited about anything. I know what i want but can’t seem to find the materials to match the vision….Compromise?
Don’t Fence me in
Normal Work
Busy week at work, lesson learnt to try and keep on top of everything. Easier said than done.
Had to put idea’s for a victorian fence out of Oak. Looked around and everything was to ornate. As the house was built in the Italian Victorian style its decor is more subtle than the normal Victorian work of the period (1860).
So some simple slightly gothic idea’s for the sawmill to give an estimate on. 10 mins then rushed out for an appointment, which for once i wasn’t late for.
Sketch of the window with its carved detail in sandstone
Rounded to match?
A bit more Gothic, a bit more ‘Adams Family’.
Somewhere in the middle.
On Going Job
A quick picture as a sketch for awkward space in a shared drive.A lot of thinking on this little one to hide everything, keep access for the electric station, very low maintenance, something to look at ie curiosity etc. The friend seemed to like the idea, but then in a pub and a couple of pints anything looks good!
It's about people, stupid... 