Identity Sofa

This mime's identity is mysterious in that he is presenting a story or situation and I am left to take it in my own way. His attire is bold so that he stands out and draws in attention. This sofa depicts the mime's identity in that the liens are bold and straightforward as is his constant painted-on facial expression. The stripes were added to tie in the boldness that the mime used in his attire. The white pillow creates a point of interest and draws attention as does the white used by the mime. The font was chosen for the straight lines and simplicity.

Rug Design

This rug pattern was designed with inspiration from a bookcase display seen at the Victoria & Albert Museum. It was designed with the intention of being used for an area rug as opposed to a carpet pattern to be repeated.

Waterbottle Design

This water bottle was designed with two parts of inspiration. The first came from the fact that my water bottle takes up so much room in my bag and I wanted to design one that held as

much water but was thin enough to slide into a purse without causing the bulk. The decorative effect came from the cut-out pattern at the top of castle walls.

Sustability Exhibit Pamphlet

Sustainability Design

Sustainability Exhibit Space

Favorite Photos

London

I chose this photo to repsresent my favorite photo from London because of what it represents. The amazing three weeks that were spent in England can be summed up by this photo. The columns, pediment and ancient architecture represent the historical things that we've experienced from castles and palaces. Whereas the modern art piece symbolizes the modern and contemporary part of London that we were exposed to through exhibits, advertisements, etc.
The city is so modern while still keeping the historic aspects just as alive.
(British Museum)

Paris

This photo was chosen as my favorite from Paris because the evening that we visited this palace was the most enchanting experience I had in Europe. We had the amazing opportunity to take a candle lit tour of the palace and the gardens. There was a sitting area where we sketched for a while. The sun was setting and there was classical music playing. It was my own fairytale.
(Vaux le Vicomte)

Favorite Sketch

Georgian Style House

Wednesday August 9

Today we went to the Pompidou. It is a building designed by Richard Rogers. The structure is very distinctive: it has been described by critics as “an oil refinery in the center of the city”. In the beginning it was very controversial but today the building is appreciated for its unique appearance. The colored external piping is the special feature of the building. Air conditioning ducts are blue, water pipes are green, electricity lines are yellow and the escalators are red. It was an awesome museum with a lot of fun gadgets to look at. There was a restaurant at the top of the building that over looked the whole city. The view was incredible!














Katie and I are standing in front of the Pompidou.
It was crazy to see this building in person becuase
i've learned about it and have seen pictures of it.
I have been looking forward to experiencing this the
whole time. The structure of this building is so unique
and contemporary. It was fun to see something like
this in the middle of such an old city.




















This is a picture Philippe Starck's ghost chair.
It is kind of hard to see because obviously its
transparent. once again i loved seeing stuff that
i have learned about only out of a text book.















This photo is of these tiny chair models at the Pompidou.
I would so have a tiny chair collection if i had the money.




















Here we are on the external escalator.
It was so cool to look out of the glass
and just see the ground.















This is a view of Paris with the Eiffel Tower in
the background. This is such a beautiful city
and it was so neat to experience this view.

Tuesday August 8

Today we went to an exhibit of exhibit design. There were many awesome examples of renderings, models, and exhibit design. It was really inspiring to see such creativity and design. Then we went to St. Chapelle, which is French for The Holy Chapel. The gothic architecture was fabulous and the stained glass was so beautiful. The top level was floor to ceiling, wall to wall stained glass. The main level had so much gorgeous fan vaulting and Fleur de Lis wall covering. We came in early to work on some of the projects we received this morning because tomorrow we're off to Italy! We just had to go visit the crepe guy one more time. I can't believe that this is our last night in Paris and of study abroad! It has gone so quick. Au Revoir!














This is an illuminatrd exhibit. It definitely drew
my attention. I spent some time studying the
design of the exhibit trying to come up with
inspiration for the exhibit design that I have to
do for my sustainability object.



















The renderings were incredible. I liked
how this one used gold to bring out the
railings and areas of desired attention.
It was something different to personalize
the rendering.














This is a picture of the tiny buildings that
had such amazing intricate detail. In the background
you can see the illuminated information panels
from the lower level. This exhibit was pretty much
made for our group! it was so great to see such great design!














I fell in love with this workspace. I love the bright
color that warms up the space and the amount of
work room on this desk would be so nice. the cubbies
would be nice as well to keep all my knick knacks in
because i hate to keep things on top of my desks.














This is the most amazing fan vaulting i've seen yet!
The lights and the wall covering make this room feel
exactly how its supposed to; holy.














Here is the staied glass room that about took my
breath away. The scale of this room and the scale of
the glass was almost overwhelming. It was absolutely
beautiful.














We went to some shops on our way to the metro
and this particular store had this awesome red
chandelier. I dont even remember what kind of
things the store was selling but i will always
remember the red chandelier. its definitely on
my list of what i want in my dream home.

Monday August 7

Today we wanted to wake up early so that we could be at the Louvre before it opens so that we could get in and see the Mona Lisa before the crowd got there. We woke up some of the other girls that wanted to come with us and they informed us that it was an hour later than we thought, so we got there later than we wanted but were able to go straight to the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo which are the main pieces that we wanted to see. There aren’t pictures allowed at the Mona Lisa but everyone was sneaking them and of course we had to get a picture at the original Mona Lisa! Come on. So we were quickly taking pictures of each other in front of it and kept getting in trouble and we ended up being kicked out of that wing. But at least we got a picture! Then we looked through some of the other exhibits at the Louvre and then went to Notre Dame. It is such a beautiful cathedral. We got to go inside and that was even more beautiful. There was such amazing fan vaulting but because of the akward lighting I couldn’t get very good pictures. Then we spent the afternoon shopping for souvenirs and got a lot of great stuff.














Here i am in front of the original Mona Lisa.
It took a lot of trouble to get this shot, there was
a lady that kept grabbing at the camera. It's a priceless
moment though and i had to get a picture.



















Here i am in the Venus de Milo. It is an
ancient Greek statute believed to depict Aphrodite,
the Greek goddess of love and beauty.















Here we are at the Louvre. There was a line we
had to wait in to get this photo.














This is the famous metro signs in Paris designed
by Hector Guimard. It has been so amazing to see
everything in person that i've learned about in my
history classes.



















I walked into this hallway and could
identify that this type of art is called Coptic.
I was pretty proud of myself.

Sunday August 6

Today Katie and I decided to see the city by way of a boat tour. It was such a nice day and the river was a great way to see a different view of all of the main sites. Tonight we went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I had been warned of the many hours you usually wait in line but we were up and down in 2 and a half hours. On top there was such a pretty view of the city. You have to switch elevators at the second floor and there was a long line so we decided to take the stairs. It was a little tiring walking down the whole way but it was awesome to be inside the Eiffel Tower and see the structure so closely. It has such intricate construction.



















I saw this piece of art in a park along
the river and thought it was pretty cool.
I like the contemporary pieces they have
around this ancient city.




















This is the rose window of Notre Dame.
It is notable for being one of the few stained
glass windows in Europe that still has the
original glasswork




















It was fun to see the Eiffel Tower from a different
perspective. Now i've seen it at night, from the ground,
from the river, from on top... i love the Eiffel Tower.














We decided to take the stairs down from the top
of the tower since the elevator line was so long
and it was so neat to be actually in the middle of
this amazing structure.














This was the view of the park in front of the Eiffel Tower
from on top. Aren't the city lights beautiful?















I thought this was a cool view of the tower, its from
the second level looking upward. We were on the tower
when the light show went off

Saturday August 5

Today we woke up super early so that we could spend the day at Versailles. Versailles is a royal chateau in the city, Versailles. The palace was enormous and the gardens seemed to go on forever. We usually visit the gardens after we tour the buildings so today we decided to do the gardens first. We got there right in time to see the fountains go off. The fountains are only turned on on Saturdays and every few hours so it was so lucky to see them in action. There were many of them, some with gold statues, some surrounded by flowers and there was even a fountain with a scene of a herd of horses coming out of the water. It was incredible. We had lunch at a little café in the gardens, which was nice. Then we walked down to a large pond where some of the group took a little boat ride. The rest of us sketched on the side with our feet dangling and the sun beating on us. It was so relaxing and peaceful. When we went through a tour of the palace of Versailles I was pleasantly surprised at how new everything seemed. The hallways were mostly made of stone so it made it feel clean and simple. The rooms were still flamboyant as they were in other palaces of that time but I enjoyed how this palace stood out from the rest. This evening Katie and I went to dinner with some family friends who are vacationing in Paris for the summer. We went to Le Relais Du Parc, which is a very nice restaurant in Paris. There was another couple that joined us; they were from London. We started out with crackers and this garlic spread that was really good. Then they brought out different kinds of bread. Then we ordered starters and I got a vegetable bowl in some sauce with fresh fruit shavings. It was pretty good, I didn’t recognize many of the vegetables but that’s probably for the better. Then we ordered our main course, I got a beef dish with fries and the fries came perfectly stacked. For dessert I ordered a raspberry sorbet with raspberry sauce and fresh raspberries surrounded in white chocolate and toped with a glazed sugar flake. It was so heavenly! So three hours and like 5 courses later we came home. What a beautiful day.















This is the courtyard to Versailles. The scale of
this palace was gargantuan















This is one of the many fountains at Versailles.
We were lucky enough to get there when the
fountains were going off.















As you can see its greens, water and flowers
everywhere. It was so beautiful.




















I love the arch hallways of the palace.
As you can see it is pretty contemporary.
I really liked that aspect of this palace.















This was a cool fountain with a horse scene coming
out of it. Not your typical fountain designs and i love it.















Here we are at dinner with my family friends
(on either side of me). This was the evening that
i experienced the most amazing dessert!

Friday August 4 - Fontain Bleu

Today we had didnt have to meet with the group until noon. So before then Katie and I went and found an H&M only like 2 blocks away from our hotel. We went to the Royal Chateau of Fontainebleau. It is the largest of the French royal chateaux. It was very beautiful. We got to take a tour through the state apartments and then we sketched in the gardens.















I loved the way the glope reflects the shape of
the arched ceilings.




















Katie and I are here enjoying one of the
large gallaries. The scale of each room is
unlike what is typical today. I love the
tall ceilings.




















As if this isn't the most amazing stained
glass ever!! The amount of detail was
crazy. You can just feel the ruffles of that
fabric draped over the edge.














This is The Royal Chateau of Fontainebleau. Isn't it beautiful?

Friday August 4 - Vaux Le Vicomte

Then we went to Vaux Le Vicomte, which is the palace that inspired Versailles, which we will see tomorrow. The king was jealous of Vaux Le Vicomte’s beauty so he threw the builder in jail and built something bigger and better to prove his status. Something that was different about Vaux Le Vicomte is that we could take pictures of the interiors. It was a beautiful palace and the grounds were amazing. We had the wonderful opportunity to take a candle lit tour of the palace and the grounds. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The ambiance with the candles made the experience so magical. It was so romantic with the sun setting, candles burning and pure beauty all around. I missed my fiancé like never before. This evening was simply enchanting.
















This is the backside of Vaux Le Vicomte. I love
all of the stairs leading up to it.




















I thought these hedge designs were way cool.
Some hedges can get out of hand and come off
as tacky but i thought that these were a nice
unique touch to the gardens.















I was so excited that this palace had a mote.
There was even a small drawbridge. It really
added to the magical feeling of the night.




















Here Katie and i are on our way through
the gardens during our candle lit tour. It
was definitely one of the best evenings of my life.















I thought that it was interesting the way they
used bricks as paneling and decoration on the
stables. It was something new that i hadnt seen
before and set it apart from the other palaces
we've visited.