It was going really well...

Did i hear mention that no excuse was good enough, that we had to get our work in on time no matter what?
it's going well, honest!

"On desperate seas long wont to roam,

The hyacinth hair, thy classic face,

 Thy Naiad airs have brought me home

 To the glory that was Greece And the grandeur that was Rome"   

  (Edgar Allen Poe, "To Helen")

I was really hoping to get Tom's assignment finished today but looks like another days work yet and with Marian's all done i can concentrate on Jamie's.

I spoke to my American daughter, Sarah yesterday, she hates it when i call her that :) check out her blog, she gets about 100 hits a day and has only been blogging for three months. mattawamum.com

 Maybe if i include delicious recipes? 

Felix age 2 with his 1 day old baby brother, Jonah, just two of my precious little grandsons, i am working, honest! I'm working on the 'Glory that was Greece and the Grandeur that was Rome' for T. Turner, who else? :)
I have to go back to Bexhill and have another really good look around, i  re read and read the brief again wondering what to do next.  i was really grateful to get Jamie's e mails. I have tonnes to do and i am so excited! 

Walled Garden 1896 to the present day.

The idea of these two maps above is centered around the existing swimming pool. There are natural springs in the garden, why not take advantage of that and create a 'natural' or bio pool with oxygenating plants to keep the water clear and be at one with nature, no harsh chemicals or constant maintenance required.
 Where the pool is at the moment was a ;Great Greenbottom, mirror pond.Not many gardens can boast that. Restoring it would be a major attraction for the garden.
I'm not too sure about the bottom map, it contradicts everything I've suggested but then it's scope for more modern ideas within the garden at Knole.

Marion's work and Knole, the wilderness garden

I traced the map at the top of Kipp & Kniff garden 1698, i think restoring or re introducing the parterres would be a very interesting project for the garden, as there is such an expanse of greenery it might actually pull it all together. In the early days Knole was growing lavender near to the doorway of the house which suggests they used their plants for pleasure. Being aesthetically pleasing as well as functional.  Restoring the vegetable garden so the fresh produce would be used for the residents of Knole.

Wood wharf at night

For some reason i had problems with the paint bucket tool so i used the brush tool instead. It was fun and interesting trying different things and being somewhat successful.
I was/am so disappointed with my competition entry. I know i have so much to learn still but i'm up for the challenge.

Model Assignment using photoshop

I've given my design a one word title, 'Exposure' as it's light and airy,  playful even. All the images have been placed outside as opposed to indoors to express freedom and non conformity.  I think it's quite dynamic. I expect if i was more confident with Photoshop it could be a lot more dynamic still. I look forward to learning and doing a lot more in Photoshop.

Model Assignment

 We made four models out of paper using various words, such as, complexity, touching, texture, contrast, symmetry, ugliness and elegance. The model i have posted is my chosen design and it represents punctured, dynamic and planar. I had to take an axonometric photograph of the model (45 degrees to the ground plane) then trace around it using a black felt tip pen, then scan it using 400dpi in black and white and here it is, the first stage, done!

Fun!

 A new year, a fresh start. my work including my blog will get better i promise. I have so many mixed emotions about the coming year. excitement, dread, i am nervous but positive and so much more. I look forward to getting to know all my class mates and to seeing a vast improvement in my work...... Unfortunately i am a thinker in some situations and a doer in others, that's convenient isn't it? But seriously i am excited to find out about myself as a person and as a Designer.

Avery Hill Fluidity assignment

Here we go!

 Well? Here it is, my blog!

A few of us volunteered and helped Whitney who was being sponsored by Hadlow to build a show garden at Detling for the county show in July. It was hard work but her design was amazing, it was all about re cycling and make do.

Whitney won Gold! You can visit her web site at www.whitneyhedges.co.uk




I went to Shebbear, Devon for a week and stayed with my brother Peter who is a 'tree fella' he climbs like a monkey :) It was more a working holiday. He felled a Fagus sylvatica as it was too near the house. The family had four young boys who watched in awe with me at a very safe distance.
 He had to fell another Fagus sylvatica that was dead and dangerous in a private woodland. It was rotten, clever me got to hold the rope to make sure the tree fell in the right direction. As it hit the ground all this putrid, rotten, stinking muck flew out the end and covered me, it was just like watching slap stick, then Pete said, "I knew that was going to happen!" hmph!




Now i'm home again, still trying to get Jamies assignments finished, plus i ordered a few more books from the reading list! I have read a couple of books! Looking good!
 I'm  starting work for a local tree nursery this week. (I volunteered there last summer) to begin labelling and tying. It was amazing as i met the owners, Hazel and Ray about six years ago in California and one of  their best friends taught my daughter Mel to drive about seven years ago, i didn't know until i volunteered and we got chatting, it certainly is a very small world!