Sounds and smells

How much do you remember about a place you've left. What things exist everyday in your world, today that you could miss if that world changed?

In Brooklyn I never smell fresh cut grass, but instead lots of lacquer smells from the auto body shops in the neighborhood. In Manhattan there is the constant sound of cars, buses, horns, stereos, protesters, ambulances, police sirens, construction, wind, and people. The smells in Manhattan shift depending on how fast you're walking: coffee, fish, rotting vegetables, baking bread, sewage, car exhaust, fried garlic, falafel, trash.......... In Knoxville, you always hear trains. The city doesn't have passenger trains, only freight, but the tracks seem to be ubiquitous. Trains honk their horns before every intersection of track and road. I've heard they have to do this, especially in crossing that don't have gates. I don't hear these trains anymore, because I live in Brooklyn, nor do I smell the burnt coffee smell of JFG on Sutherland Ave, where my studio used to be. JFG moved from downtown Knoxville to Sutherland Avenue around 2006, the same year I began renting space at Mighty Mud Studios. Standing out on the loading dock, you could hear trains, football practice on a nearby field, and smell burnt coffee wafting through the air. The studio, itself, had no windows, but the bay doors were mostly kept open, allowing fresh air to move through, all day long. I've been thinking about this, lately, because I want to start looking for a studio in Brooklyn, and know that it's hard to find one with even a window, let alone a view or fresh air, but I'm curious to see what reveals itself as possibilities.

I'll post what I find.

Poetry, History, Mud, and Gold

I just wanted to say a few things about this island we currently know as Manhattan. In the past year, the Manhatta project published a book about how the island has changed since Henry Hudson came here four hundred years ago. One of the things I read that mosts stands out in my mind is the fact that Times Square used to be a red maple swamp, and actually today, it is one of the only place on the island where access to the deeper layers of earth allows geothermal air conditioning to be possible.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/podcast-making-tkts-hip-to-be-square

http://themannahattaproject.org/

Last fall, I was on a team of architecture students conducting research on the geology of Manhattan, as it related to the site for our project at the time. This is when I learned about Manhattan schist, the bedrock strong enough to support the weight of so many skyscrapers on such a small stretch of land. (It is said that the cityscape contour follows the presence of manhattan schist, faithfully). This is the rock you see jutting out of the landscape across Central Park. In 1924, it was also decided that the schist would make a suitable floor to stack one third of the world's monetary gold reserves on. So the Federal Reserve Bank of New York did just that, creating a vault 50 feet below sea level. I love the image of a room full of gold set deep within the interior of a hard, black, knotty bed of stone.















And lastly, in the past week, at the site of the former World Trade Center towers, the remains of an eighteenth century ship was found. In the 18th and 19th century, fill dirt and random debris was dumped along the shore of lower Manhattan in an effort to extend the terrain. Battery Park City alone is built on the displaced soil that was excavated in order to build the WTC towers. Today on the WTC site, there are several new towers and a memorial being built, but excavation now went deeper than it did in the 70's and that is how the ship was found. Again, the image of time's relics set deep in the black mud of one of the busiest cities in the world, is a very poetic image. You can't help but wonder what other gems lie silently underfoot of 8 million people.

http://www.wtc.com/media/

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/18th-century-ship-found-at-trade-center-site/

2010 Men's World Cup

10 am and I' watching the Chile/Switzerland soccer match, the second of three games each team plays before countries are eliminated from the month-long competition. I love this game, for many reasons Here's a short list:

1. It's not your typical American sport
2. How many things can you NOT use your hands for?
3. The televised games only have commercials at halftime.
4. Each team is from another part of the World
5. Virtually every emotion is packed into a 90 minute window

Watching the teams play, I'm reminded of my own experience at grad school, and then also looking for jobs. There are moments of players really pushing themselves to run JUST A LITTLE FASTER, to try JUST A BIT HARDER. This is physically amazing. There is a strict protocol to play without cursing at the referee or fighting with the other players. The teams have to respect each other. There is extreme joy at a goal made, ESPECIALLY if is done in a clever, skin-of-your-teeth kind of way. There is extreme disappointment when a goal is ALMOST made, but perhaps not because a foot wasn't angled right or a teammate wasn't there to see something through. There is extreme pride when a goalkeeper does his job well, acting as an iron wall that cannot be crossed. It breaks my heart to see a team lose, yet I feel ecstatic for the teams that win. My least favorite teams are the ones that don't play aggressively. I don't mean dirty, I mean sharp and on point. In this game you HAVE to use your teammates. Sure, there are key players, but ultimately the ball has to work its way through the constantly changing set up of players. I think of it as high speed chess!

Can't wait until next year - the WOMEN'S World Cup!

Italy

Last week I was in Italy for a lighting workshop at the Targetti Lighting Academy. It was great, although I had jetlag for like three days and was simply tired from working very hard all week. But Florence is very beautiful. Adorable, in fact. I'm currently trying to write an article reviewing the whole experience, to submit to AL magazine, so be on the look out!

New nephew!

Supposed to be born today, little Tristan, the first child of my brother, Chris, and his beautiful wife, Thom!

I'm so excited! This is truly a blessing.

Life after graduation

Well, here it is. School is over and the job market is a blood bath. Competing against your good friends for the same job is NOT my idea of a good time. Still, while making follow-up calls today, expecting everyone to simply say "No, we're not hiring" I had one woman say "Well, we're not hiring, but we received your resume and will keep it on file. You just gotta keep pushing ahead, you've got a great degree and you just gotta keep your head up, now be sure to check this website and this one too......" I was laughing on the phone and thanked her for her advice.

Tomorrow I drive to Washington Depot, CT to interview with a firm that has been pursuing me. (Probably they have called everyone in my class). It's a tiny town but a woman owned business, that might provide a great opportunity to work as a designer straight out of school! We'll see. Connecticut living might provide the kind of home life that's conducive to having a puppy!