Dreaming (of some encouraging comments)

Well here we are late on Sunday night and I am actually going to get some sleep. I have decided to stop at one section - instead of the requested two - in favour of that lovely warm and soft horizontal plane that used to represent carefree dreams but that is now invariably invaded by irritating things like contour lines, two metre drops and the like.

Here's the sequentials ready for the wall in the morning. Here are my headache pills and here's a hanky, just in case it's needed either for me or someone else. Oh dear, I've just seen some 'stuff' that I forgot to add to my section... must take some pens for the morning.

The Five Furlong Frolic

I can't believe we are racing towards Monday 18 March so frantically. How can it possibly be the third month of the year already?  Despite the never-ending uphill climb and the enormously heavy workload, I will really miss this degree when it's all over in June. The sense of purpose is all-consuming and there is really very little time for any sort of 'life' outside the course. So note to self: must get a life later.

We have the dreaded 'crit' on Monday. We should have prepared an A1 size 1-200 plan drawing, one third of which should be fully rendered - annotated etc. At least eight sequential sketches. And at least two sections.

I have spent two solid days on Photoshop, doing the initial render on the plan. Today I will go to my tutorial at Avery Hill and print it, ready to hand-render over the weekend to finish it off.

I haven't done any more to my sections - or to my sequential sections - and every one of them that I have drawn previously now needs to be changed because 'things' have changed in my park. The pool, for example, which I think was my favourite sketch. I took literally HOURS finding people sitting in the right position to place on my pool steps, then putting them in using Photoshop and trying to make them look 'blended' with the surroundings. The whole thing took me an entire day. Jamie says about 20 minutes per sketch - ha ha. But I suppose without the Photoshop additions it might be almost realistic. But then it's all about uniformity and making all the work look similar rather than different styles on different bits of drawing. Anyway, my pool sketch, which I will post below - just because I can - now needs changing. I have decided not to have steps around the pool because there will just be too many seating steps in Park Plait - what with the 'stramp' too. I did, however, find a really nice example of a low buxus tightly clipped hedge around a pool (Vandamme garden, Bruges - Jacque Wirtz) and I have decided to use this idea - a line of green will break up the space and echo the horizontal plane of the stramp steps.

It's interesting that this time around the process feels more familiar and more achievable. I am aiming to make my plan less 'diagrammatic' than the 1-500. Now I know the word to describe what I originally called 'whooshy' in a previous post. I think the hand-rendering will help as I put in some texture over paths etc. I think I'm going in the right direction - and most importantly I quite like all the elements in my design. I just hope I can bring them together in a presentable sort of manner.

The crit will, as always, be brutal. But at least we know what to expect.

Resolving not to 'resolve' any more

Well things are moving on. Here's my model with its clothes on (must put some people in at some point):

Now - taking Julia's advice I have swapped my Amelanchiers along the avenue with Magnolia x loebneri  'Merrill' because they will be a bit more 'stately'. I have also changed the planting on the stramp - and used multi-clear-stemmed Amelanchiers growing out from very low Buxus hedges - like a carpet. Jamie suggested "something a bit weird" on the stramp but I really wanted to see those clear dark stems - particularly as you climb the steps. They will look quite dramatic contrasting with the light hard material. Emphasising the horizontal-ness of the steps I am also including blocks of Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster', a really good, upright grass which will give great vertical contrast. Another change: I have now used Escalonia in pink and in white in undulating blocks along the perennial meadows - and also cloud pruned on the sides of the stramp. It will love the south-facing location  - and insects, in turn, will love it. And so will I.

This week has been spent producing a draft hardworks plan (lots of granite on the main path, changing colour and pattern at every main junction) and a structural planting plan. It all takes so long - I never finish what I hope to achieve in a week. I just need to stretch the days and weeks with a few dozen more hours. Does anyone know how to do this? Meanwhile, I haven't managed to complete any more sequential drawings although I have several awaiting Photoshop additions. And I haven't started on my base plan.

I did, however, manage to draw a cartoon for a friend who wanted something to illustrate something she had written on 'dentistry through the ages'. It was a little light relief in between the 1:200 demands. The patient looks a bit 'saw'. Ha ha, this degree is making me just slightly bonkers.