We visited NcNear brick factory for class today and it was super cool. I absolutely love weird industrial machines. It was so interesting to see how bricks and paving materials are made and processed and packaged and sold. They have been producing bricks since 1868. I like to think the bricks from my foundation where made at this factory.
A hike down the street
Cute little Plectranthus ciliatus. This Plectranthus is a South African plant often used as a ground cover around here. It likes shade but wants a bit of sun to keep the awesome red/purple underside. It is more shrubby right here, is in part sun, part shade and seems to be thriving with little water and on a steep grade.This is our little road cut hike near our house. Actually, I can see the entrance to the path from my room RIGHT NOW. Mr. Who and I go there to inspect the state of things fairly often. Snacks can be the best part of a hike when you are 5. Especially if you have carried them in your very own backpack.
Visit to Tah.Mah.Lah.
Tah.Mah.Lah. is a really neat example of eXtreme green building for rich people. I’m glad rich people are trying out new techniques for green building and while trickle down economics is a giant piece of bullshit I can at least hope that trickle down green building can be a thing.
The entire site was amazingly gorgeous and the homeowners were so generous to let us visit and even tour the inside of the home! This was a tour with my classmates. I tried hard to not get other people or other people’s butts in my photos. :)
I am still overwhelmed by this visit. The property is huge and every nook felt highly deigned and fantastically executed. The first thing I was drawn to where the amazing willow structures made by Patrick Dougherty. They are billed as a play structure but honeslty they were BIG and DARK and not at kid scale really. So, while there was evidence of kids playing there, I didn’t feel like it was exactly FOR KIDS. It felt more like land art for rich people. Which is great and I’m all for that. It was beautiful.
I was also so intrigued by the swimming pool. I thought it was a natural pool and i had never hear dof that being a thing but damn! what a cool thingthat would be to have/build! Anyway, this pool is not that but they did build adjacent ponds to it looks like one. I am in love with the wooden walkway seperating the pool from the pond area. I felt like I could be walking through The Great Swamp I remember from RI. Not exactly but I did feel there was great scope for the imagination in that spot.
The warm gold of the paving materials was very inviting. It managed to soften the huge stone blocks around the driveway area. I also just loved the way the paving materials transitioned. In some fo the abve pics you can see how the paving softly transitions to the meadow or other areas.
Desk Helper
I’ve got a pretty cute little desk helper cat. Thanks Foxtrot!
Cutleaf Geranium - weed - sketch
Sketching - From On High
A few sketches of the Bay and Oakland from vantage point in the hills.
Sketching - Wood
Sketching Downhill
Sketching downhill can be challenging! In this case I exaggerated the steepness of the stairs. How adorable is that sturdy little girl holding trowels?!
Sketching - Landscaping Materials - Brick
A Starling Murmuration in Downtown SF
This is amazingly beautiful! A murmuration is a flock of starlings flying around in sync. They create beautiful patterns and it is lovely to watch. I love that this beautiful natural phenomenon was captured happening in bustling downtown San Francisco.Here's an article in Wired about scientific explanations for these murmurations.
Chalk dots
Someone left the big chalk sticks outside in the rain. When they are wet they make brighter more saturated marks and that is fun.
Squirrel Tea Party in the Garden
Perspective sketch
Using pencil I redrew this sketch.
Rediscovering the fun of linocut
