Come Together

It's time to start a new tradition ...

Today we gathered both second year studios and joined together with the Iarc first years. We extended our hands and welcomed them with warm smiles and open conversations. Our department is so unique and special to this university, and while drama will always be present wherever people are - it's important to know when to set that aside and Come Together as Whole. We see the world in a creatively different way than every other person on this campus. We look at every inanimate object as inspiration rather than "just" things. We are the imagineers that help design the Built Environment. Embrace your peers and feed off the passion for what they find beautiful ...

young designers learning from each other.

After Coming Together and introducing themselves to each other, the first and second year studios were split into groups and asked to discuss three major issues of Design ::

where do ideas come from?

how do you unveil them?

& what sources must you consult?

professors and their teaching assistants discussing rather important things!

What we discovered is that ...

design comes from everywhere. design comes from your own personality. design comes from how you perceive life. design comes from precedent studies and examples.

"everything comes from history!"

Frank Cheney

We also heard from ...

guest speaker Brett Carter, the Dean of Students, UNC - Greensboro

Mr. Carter came to visit our studios to discuss the University of North Carolina, Greensboro's Academic Integrity Policy. He had a lot to say about the topic and engaged all of us in an energetic conversation. The experience was enjoyable and entertaining! Rather than explaining our whole Academic Integrity Policy, I'll sum it up for you ... Don't cheat and site your sources or you'll get kicked out of school, never get into another university, and you may get your degree taken away! Honestly ... it's not that hard.

... our standing ovation for Mr. Carter.

After the Weatherspoon ...

While at the Weatherspoon Art Museum each student was asked to document their experience from the moment they approached the building to the time they left. Afterwards our Visionary Explorers created vignettes of their time in the museum and wrote a short narrative describing what they saw.

below are some of our Explorers findings ...

by: Alex Pokas

For my final diagram, I decided to break the experience into five different sections. the first is the entrance to the sculpture garden, the second is inside the sculpture garden, the third is the overhang, the fourth is the vestibule, and the last is the lobby.  I wanted to focus on the way the light effects the experience as you make your way towards the lobby.  the entrance to the sculpture garden and the garden itself are both completely naturally lit, and therefor the light is uncontrollable.  this effects the way the sun shines or doesn't shine on the sculptures as you pass through the garden.  the next picture of the overhang is a lot darker and shaded and takes you out of the direct sunlight.  you then pass through the vestibule, which is also darker than the garden.  I think these two experiences are very important to the experience of walking to the lobby because you start out in such light and then you are immediately pulled into a darker setting.  then as you enter the lobby you are thrown into a soft white light that is much calmer and lighter than the other lighting that you have experienced.

by: Anna Hambly

For my narrative i wrote from the point of view of an art student who had sculpture class in the gatewood studio arts building and then art history in the WAM. my trip took me from the studio to the weatherspoon and i had a few sidetrips along the way. in my diagram i expressed the trip step by step and emphasized the more important steps in different ways. The bigger squares are the main objectives and the main places i needed to go on my trip to class. the smaller ones are side trips and distractions. the more i drew my diagram over and over the better it got.

A Walk through the Weatherspoon

Art is best understood when one interacts with it. In class today, we journeyed to the Weatherspoon Art Museum, to experience and understand the design of this unique space. From the sculpture garden to the exposed lobby to the galleries filled with beauty, the Weatherspoon offers moments to sit and marvel at the art it's consumed with.

Change Style Indicator

On the first day of class members of the studio completed a profile based on the CHANGE STYLE INDICATOR to assess their ability to cope with change in a design context. In doing so, we learned who in the class associates more with ORIGINATOR, PRAGMATIST, and CONSERVER roles in group settings when dealing with change. Generally, students as originators prefer the fluidity to make their way by challenging rules and systems... and openly embrace change. Students as conservers tend toward the security of the known and familiar... often resisting change. Students as pragmatists balance these two constructs of the world. In our studio, we ended with a balance of roughly thirds in each category, with slightly more than half leaning toward conserver tendencies. Both of the instructors for the course [Lucas and Gonzalez] scored high as originators, with only one student higher on the scale.

[roughly ... the SIX students to the left are ORIGINATORS, the TEN students in the middle are PRAGMATISTS, and the NINE students to the right are our CONSERVERS]

A Little Inspiration

Olaf Hajek 

[visionary explorer & inspirer]

Everything I learned I learned from art. Olaf Hajek is an amazingly inspirational painter. His use of color, texture, and above all light is extraordinary. No matter how bizarre some of his pieces may be he Designs his Dreams. You all are coming from your first year Iarc where you are taught to use your imagination and create off the wall projects ... think outside the box, turn it upside down, smash it and see if it looks better. Now that you are in your second year you're going to be asked to explore the more analytical side of Design, and while the process is necessary never forget to Design with your heart and always consult your Dreams.

A Lesson from Pretty in Pink

Hello and Welcome to another day of higher education Visionary Explorers ...

Its time to pull out your dusty book bags from underneath your bed, grab a sketchbook and some pens, and get yourself ready for another year. It's going to be a tough one, but what the hell life goes on ... maybe there won't be any sleep, maybe there won't be anymore desks in the computer lab, and just maybe Adams will run out of everything you need ... but by God there will always be dancing! So do it like the Duckie does and glide your way through whatever situation you find yourself in.

Good Luck!!