shelters in the landscape

when the weather gets warm we all love to spend more time outdoors but we still like shelter
there is nothing like primitive or minimal structure that forms great space to house an outdoor environment that is inviting and serene
the essential components are shade, and a beautiful landscape or setting, without any utilities

this is one of my favorites the Lee tree house in Singapore by Joseph Lim architect

a summer pavillion in Maine

a sophisticated multi purpose play structure for kids but fit for everyone

Dougherty sculptures are magical

source may/june2009 southern accents

Holy Rope 25' x 10 ' reeds and bamboo, 1992 winding around an ancient tree in Japan

less extravagant spaces but equally special

Maria Agnelli's private terrace shaded by a split-bamboo pergola Madison Cox Design

or rig up your own creation

Costalegre Mexico

pick a great spot and set one up yourself for a summer party or temporary use

technorati code ZP8S5JYQ9U9U

Summer interns

School is out, graduation has come and gone, kids home from college, and in my case one home after a work internship, and one just graduating high school; schedules are all changed, and unpredictable: HELP!!!
Thank god for my summer intern, Sam. Luckily for me, he is returning for a second summer in a row, so no need to have down time with regard to transitioning into full work mode. I have been speaking to friends who are afraid to hire a summer intern, for fear that just when they need extra help, they have to devote more time for explanation, to do lists, training, etc...It is worth every minute of discomfort. You are helping someone gain experience, accumulate volunteer work hours, and possibly find out if this is a worthwhile career move.
You may find that you will learn as much from them, as they learn from you.
If you are looking for help with digital communication, or web work, and not necessarily shelter or architectural type of work, try looking at your local junior college or university. There is also Craig's list. you will receive many replies, but you must take the time to check references. If you are in the LA area, I have placed adds at FIDM for students adept at CDA drawings and many other programs. Sam attends Woodbury University in Burbank, and they also have a career center. Also try Art center College of Design, for digital student masters.
So this week I was designing a bar for a client and I asked Sam to draw up versions of my ideas in 3D. He taught me about a new quick sketch program from Google called SketchUp by Trimble. It can be downloaded for free, so it's available to anyone. It is much easier to learn then CAD, and you can ask google questions if you need help, as well as tutorials, etc...You can add colors and materials, spin around the views, and print in many formats. here , you can watch a video how to on you tube.

Here you are looking at the same bar sketch in different views, so you can look at and reflect on your design in 3D, by simply using the spin around button after you have done your layout.
Try it, it takes a little practice, but pretty easy to use.

art and paint

art gallery exhibition openings in conjunction with Hammer's LAXART and paint

made in la 2012 at the hammer-survey of la based artists
opened june 1st for members and june 2nd to the public
and also at a few other venues including laxart on la cienega

at la cienega gallery i did not get it at all some painted tennis shoes etc...

 

 

a gallery at hammer museum

the five noteworthy artists of the 38 featured for me were
 

 scoli acosta-liz glynn-channa horwitz-joel otterson-analia saban-they don't allow photos but i snuck a few in- i espescially liked this art/digital combined wall installation

 while on la cienega there were a few other galleries with new exhibits through early july that are definitely worth seeing

louis de jesus

gallery 1 michael kindred knight

small but grouped closer together would be great

blum & poe

this was my favorite exhibit of all works by zhu jinshi

very large and very textural the paint is extremely heavily applied

good use of color

 

 

great neutrals and mixed sizes

great use of paint
speaking of paint
i have been working all week with a client's urgent paint needs
have for the first time used portola paints
have a lime wash finish-milky and amazing for outdoor walls and will make any custom color
great glazes that only require the use of two paints and not an artist to apply
but the most impressive is the roman clay
it looks like venetian plaster yet any painter can apply
i did samples on the wall myself with a large plastic putty knife and it looks amazing
it requires two thin coats and light sanding in between

amazing paint product