Halloween Photos

Pictures of the Day] Halloween YES
Mood] FREAKING OUT
Weather] Cold and rainy. High 50
Currently] At the front desk
Quote of the Day] "A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to."

First of all, THIS UPCOMING WEEK IS GONNA BE CRAZY!!!! I have SO many deadlines and projects to work on. We're putting together a video for IPRO and I need to get interviews from outside sources like the representatives from CNT and the City of Blue Island as well as the financial advisors and city planner we had critique our midterm. I have a Psych Exam on Tuesday, a take-home quiz, the 1/8" group site model to complete with my studio, my next landmark review for studio on Wednesday (which means CADing plans, sections, and elevations), the Saturday visit for Admissions, and photo-taking for Halloween/cosplay.

SO YES. You can see by the awesome photos that boy and I went around downtown to Millennium Park and around campus to take some pretty stellar shots! :D Do we look like the Doctor and his possible next companion!??!?! You can decide. XD

BWAH,
~Jaye

Context Review

Pictures of the Day] Pics of the models (the more complex one being the 1st attempt at context and the 2nd being the more recent.)
Mood] Unmotivated
Weather] Cold and rainy. High 50
Currently] In the basement
Quote of the Day] "I have nothing to say, and I am saying it, and that is poetry."

The model turned out looking decent enough. Looking back on it, I'm sure that it could have been neater but I think I made the right choices. I decided to use acrylic instead of sheet acetate. Both are plastic, but one is thin as a piece of paper and the other, though not correct in scale, is easier to use and represents the same idea. It was a lot easier to glue as well. I scored the front to represent the mullions instead of putting wood pieces on, which would have taken forever!!!

Overall, the review went well. I had a great reviewer (a famous architect named Juhani Pallasmaa). He asked me a number of difficult to answer questions which will help me push my project to the limits! I'm excited about that. I haven't sat down with my professor yet but when I do I know it will be productive. In studio we are moving on to our final reviews so that means picking up the pace and pumping out the final models and drawings. Right now our whole studio is going to focus on making a 1/8" = 1-'0" model which is HUGE. It means that the buildings on the site will be the height of a person (roughly 6 ft). We'll be planning out how to execute that today. Otherwise, it's just individual work. My professor will be meeting with us for longer periods of time to help us progress toward the end. Hopefully I will get an A this semester.

Relatively optimistic,
~Jaye

P.S. Watched a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Very funny.

23rd Birthday

Picture of the Day] Pic of my birthday cakes!
Mood] Worn-out
Weather] Sunny and warm! High 78.
Currently] In the cube
Quote of the Day] "I am on FIRE!"

So I know I promised I'd show you pics of my model, but I swear I will in the next entry! I can even do a comparison then of the model I did for the context review and the one I will make for the midterm!

My birthday weekend was fantabulous! :D It pretty much started on Thursday even though it was the day before. I received a card from one of my best friends (now doing grad school @ U of I in Chambana) as well as my birthday gift from one of my sisters. ^-^ On Friday, the actual day, I had work and studio, so I didn't get down to celebrating until that evening, but it was nice. I went out to Thai with my boy and he made me Cheddar Bay Biscuits and a birthday cake (pictured above) with stellar candles!!! Awesome combination yeah??? I thought so!

Saturday could not come soon enough! I went to the Field Museum with my mom, brother, boy, and best friend. We signed up for a membership, so now we get in for free for a year, got a cute tote bag, and will get tickets for all the new exhibits coming up. We saw the Underground Adventure, Chocolate, and Whales exhibit. They were all interesting, though I am scared of whales so that was a little iffy. Still, it was neat to see the stuff they had and even be able to touch some of the bones (whale vertebra was seriously the size of my torso). We also checked out the Hall of Jade and Hall of Gems and one of my favourites, which was the exhibit of glass plants from around the world. Afterwards we had a nice dinner at Triple Crown in China-town and more cake! DELICIOUS!

Oh I need to catch up on studio. X.x More all nighters in the future >.o
~Jaye

P.S. Progress on the Halloween costume has been made. Don't worry. There will be pics here eventually.

Context Review

Picture of the Day] Another diagram organizing the types of plants/crops to which ramps!
Mood] Stressed
Weather] Sunny!
Currently] In the basement
Quote of the Day] "I've got this. You've got that. These seem useless!"

I have been trying to chug out as many diagrams as I possibly can for the review but I really need to work on the model now. I am going to try and lasercut for the first time today so we'll see how that goes! I haven't bought the material yet, so I hope that the shop still has some that I can get, otherwise I have the basswood that I bought from Blick I can still use.

This past week and this week have all been midterms. Everyone is studying hard. I haven't studied at all for my Industrial Psychology exam on Thursday. I really need to do that. >.< It's the first four chapters being covered. I hope that I'll have enough time Wednesday night to do so. In addition to that I've got IPRO to catch up on. We've got our midterm presentation for that coming up on the 17th!

All nighter time for this model,
~Jaye

P.S. I'll post pics of the model once I get it finished. Ha ha.
P.P.S. Put up the Halloween-themed posters up today around campus for the etsy store!!!

Context Development

Picture of the Day] Some of my diagrams for the Context Review coming up
Mood] Stressed
Weather] Sunny! High 65
Currently] In the basement
Quote of the Day] "Indecision may or may not be my problem."

Sooo I have a lot of work ahead of me. Ha ha ha. The pics up there are some of the diagrams/collages I'll be showing at the context review tomorrow. The first is a comparison between a photo of the way corn screens the background and the similar kind of effect my design will have on its surroundings.

The second comparison is between a painting of ships and the buildings around the site. In the painting the people are represented as ships on the ocean making their journey across the ocean. It emphasizes the individualism while also illustrating the strength of a set or grouping. The placement is very balanced.

The third image compilation is to demonstrate the way that ships float on water and how plants and buildings often are severed on the prairie by the rolling crop fields so that they appear to be floating as well.

I'm glad that I wrote this blog post. It really helped to distill my ideas! Hopefully it'll help me be more prepared for the review. I have a bunch of sun studies I did as well as progress diagrams for the manipulation of my ramps, etc... but I didn't want to post them here and bog down the entry. Heh. I still have to make my model though tonight so I we'll see how that goes. @.@ More photographing!!!

Another all nighter time,
~Jaye

IIT 101 - Naperville

Picture of the Day] Food and fun at IIT 101!

Mood] Sassy

Weather] Rainy.

Currently] In the basement.

Quote of the Day] "All phone calls are obscene."

There are some things that are good. Then there are some things that are better. I like to consider chain restaurant an interesting phenomenon. Chain restaurants are typically the same. You have the same or similar food, you have the same decor palette, the staff all wear the same uniforms or colours, there are regulations on hair and make-up or jewelry, but for some reason, when you step into that chain restaurant in a different city, it just isn't the same. It could be the layout. It could be the individual people. Is that all? I don't know! But I definitely liked the Naperville Maggiano's better than the Schaumburg one. >.> With that being said...

What is an IIT 101 you might ask? IIT 101s are like dinner and a movie hosted by the IIT staff at various suburban locations! We set up shop in Deerfield, Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg, and Naperville and are hosted at restaurants like Maggiano's and Buca di Beppo.

We begin the evening with check-in, delicious food, drinks, and some chatting! Then admission counselors welcome everyone and begin a presentation that details the benefits and break-down of facts regarding our university! We discuss how awesome it is to live in the city (not to mention the perks like public transportation, a plethora of restaurants and shopping, and tons of museums), what fun organizations and activities there are constantly on campus, as well as living in the residence halls, eating in the cafeteria, attending classes, and the opportunities students gain through research and practical studies like IPRO (Interprofessional Research Opportunities, see related post: http://www.inventingthefuture.iit.edu/journal/2009/9/30/ipro-101-breaking-down-the-ipros-at-iit.html). Afterwards we have plenty of time for a question and answer session.

The IIT 101 Sessions are a great way to get acquainted with real IIT staff, faculty, students and alumni!

Full,
~Jaye

Halloween Promo Ads!

Picture of the Day] Ads that will go up around the school for Halloween! Watch for them in a week or two.

Mood] Blah

Weather] Sunny!

Currently] In the cube.

Quote of the Day] "Whatever you are by nature, keep to it; never desert your line of talent. Be what nature intended you for and you will succeed."

So I went to the office of student life today totally thinking I would give them some of these snazzy posters to put up around the dorms and the mtcc, but I realized that the posters are up for about two weeks and I didn't want to do that now because then they would already be taken down at the beginning of October! NO GO! I wanted to have these posters up and going for the whole of October leading up to Halloween! In that case, I might even have to do two rounds of them, which of course will cost more to print. :/ Maybe I'll just stick them up there at the beginning of October and hope that no one takes the m down until three weeks. Ha ha ha. Still, I need to make more Halloween stock ANYWAY so I guess it's better not to promote as much until I have that stuff up there.

The sister has just finished a few more Halloween aprons which I am totally psyched about! I think they're gonna be great for people who are chillin' at home waiting for trick or treaters. I also have a few Halloween pillows I wanna throw up there to see if anyone bites. I don't know if they will. I figure most people like to decorate for the holidays and like having special pillows or ornaments to be festive. Maybe? EH?

Hopeful,
~Jaye