The January gallop

25 January

And then it was 2013. Not only that but it was time for our 'crit'. Somehow we seemed to have enough to put on the wall and the comments were constructive but a little disheartening. Because basically it meant starting again... almost.

Having spent 14 hours a day working on designs for seven days or so on the trot, then having the crit and spending 14 hours a day for another six days, it seems we are all worn out already. January seems a long month. Not to mention doing any real work. How do we fit that in, I wonder? I have 'written off' January for the moment. At least, being self employed, one can do this occasionally. If one doesn't need to eat much or pay any bills.

Then there's the document - just rustle up the odd 60 pages or so in a week will you? Oh, and make sure it is all deep and meaningful, technical, artistic, original, and worth reading.

I'm not going to say anything about travelling to Avery Hill in the snow for our 'hanging', only to find that the day had been cancelled. Nothing to declare, except that perhaps the Christmas tree fairy's wand isn't all I need.

I wish my design was more.... sort of arty. More natural and whooshy looking rather than precise and somehow a bit too separate.  I quite like the sections - my Photoshop skills are still basic but it's been a steep learning curve and they are improving (thank you Ben at Mediatek - I'll have to stick your phone number in here when I find it next - hope you are enjoying my money). I just can't believe how long it all takes. I thought using Photoshop would speed up the process but it definitely slows it down.  There's no going back now - have to blame the fairy.

This is what she has done for me so far -  after the hanging I will know if she's just having a laugh at my expense:

The ghost of Christmas past...

Well it was Christmas. This is a bit of a catch-up.

Actually Christmas was rather nice. I felt a distinct lack of urgency and I actually had a few days off.
This was probably a mistake as the pace of live s-l-o--w---e----d down so much that it took me rather too long to speed up a bit.

We needed to work on the dreaded M word.
MASTERPLANNING

Calverley Grounds at a scale of 1-500. A Masterplan, two pages of Sections, one page of Sequential Sketches and one nice manageable page of Precedent Images. I have given all these an initial capital letter because they seem to be Important.

Rustling up a masterplan was a bit like rummaging through bargains at a jumble sale. There were fewer elbows but I found it quite difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff and to recognise what was worth a closer look and what should go straight into the bin. It was all a bit random and I didn't really feel very well equipped to design a park. So I parked the design over Christmas and then started somewhere near the beginning.

My park will be designed around three paths. I have chosen the REFLECTIVE word. Why? Ummm ... because it seemed to have more scope and seemed more representative of what I was feeling at the time. I decided that people need space and time in order to reflect what is important to them - so this will be a park for the soul. Nourish the soul.

The three paths represent strands of human nature - namely Joyful; Soulful and Practical. But practical seems a silly name for a path so perhaps something like Down-to-Earth. But people are not just one of these things - they are a combination, which makes them stronger as a whole. The paths need to be woven together. Like a plait.

So Park Plait it is then.

We made a group model before we broke up for Christmas. It helped get my head around the levels.

I asked the Christmas tree angel to wave her magic wand and make a design happen for me. She winked I think. Or perhaps the spruce needle poked her in the eye.

We'll see if it works.