Final portfolio DRAFT VERSION

Writing has been the primary means of presenting your research this semester, and the portfolio is an opportunity (for both you and I) to see your production assembled, providing us a shared space to look for patterns in your work, and assess your writing at this time. It is a chance for you to consider your writing as an integral part of your discipline, of your practice, of your output, and of your work. Integrated Studies is a writing-based course, developed to support you as an artist who writes.

During the semester you have been investigating sites ranging from physical locations (parks, offices, libraries, schools, a bus tunnel, and City Hall) to more conceptual spaces (Calvino’s text “Invisble Cities” and your own proposed charrette spaces). For the final writing exploration of this semester, you’ll be investigating your own body of writings as sites of inquiry.

By the time the portfolio is submitted, you will have had exposure to a broad range of writing opportunities (journal sketches, revised drafts, self-reflective essays, proposal/charrette briefs, presentations, revisions, synthesis of resources, and blog entries, among others). Is your writing moving in directions that are helpful to you as an artist? In what ways can you improve upon this process?


For your portfolio (and this list in consistent within all the Integrated Studies courses), please include the following elements:

1. A compilation/portfolio of all your writings from the semester-- this should include EVERYTHING* you have written (a chronological list of your submitted works is included at the bottom of this page, but this packet may also include any notes, research, or mix tapes you have found relevant in your process). All works (wherever possible) should be three-hole punched and submitted in a three-ring binder, labeled with your name and the course title.

2. From these works, you will select and foreground three (3) pieces of your writing from this semester which will be the basis of a self-reflective writing introducing the portfolio (see #3 below). These three papers should be clearly separated from the other works in your binder. They may be any three pieces you’ve written (they could be three distinct works, multiple revisions of a single work, or a combination of these things).

3. An introduction/self-reflective piece introducing your portfolio. For length, consider a writing at least two pages, although you may want to explore this writing; I'll read as much as you write (it takes me awhile, but yes, really), and it's a great opportunity to really unpack your work this semester and take some time with your output. What worked? What sucked? Ideally, this paper will include your responses to both the coursework and your own writings. What role does writing fulfill in your studio practice? How are you taking steps to develop your work? What direction would you like the writing aspect of the course take in the future? Are you seeing your writing process grow? What are your hopes for writing in the coming semester, or coming years at Cornish?

In conversation Monday, we looked deeply at a synthesis paper from one of Kim's earlier classes, considering ways of responding to works from other students. This exercise was designed to complement the experience of receiving feedback from Kim's group (prior to Thanksgiving), and pave the way for your own critical assessment of your writing process, while laying groundwork in peer responses for future papers.

In this self-reflective, introductory (to the portfolio) writing please also describe your process of selecting three pieces from the semester. Why are they vital to you now? What links the works together? Is your process of research the same from one piece to the next? Are there common elements in the writings? How are these writings exemplary of your progress this semester?

All works for this writing portfolio are due Monday, December 10, 2007.

Everything* should include--if you choose-- a fair selection of your notes or preliminary writings. You don't need to extract or copy all of the pages from your journal, but if there are specific writings or notes or diagrams you've taken that have helped you go to someplace new in your writing, then yes, by all means, include them here.

List of writings (the basis of the portfolio):

Synthesis

So I've amended the calendar (link to the right) with the information below, but it seems helpful to clarify some of what I'm asking you to do in class today as well as over the break:

Today (Monday, 11/19) Kim's class will be joining us with the intention of having them mentor you through a process of writing analysis. Using a paper from one of Kim's prior classes (and I'll be providing you with a copy of this) as a model, they have been working to develop methods for offering feedback and creating a reflexive writing practice. My hope is that they will be sharing this process with you, allowing you to synthesize their practice with your own.

To support this work, I'm asking you to do a couple of things for Monday, 11/26:

First, read through the paper from Kim's class (entitled "Synthesis Paper, or How the Theory of Derive, Conversations with Imaginary Friends and Shouting in the Park Got Me a New Old Pair of Shoes") and make notes on it (literally, mark it up-- use it, amend it, question it, edit it). We'll begin next class by going through this together and seeing what trends emerge. How does the writer lead you to a topic? How are different sources integrated into the text?

Second, extending from the assistance you receive today (11/19), develop a NEW draft of your experience with Volunteer Park. This new draft should *do* two things: First, it should attempt to bring in/discuss/analyze some of the feedback you got from Kim's class, and second, it should attempt to synthesize some (or most) of the readings we've done on parks (from the Course Reader and in-class).

As I wrote on the calendar post:

The suggestions from Kim's class will be utilized in the next version, due Monday 11/26. For this version (keeping in mind that we will continue to work with this paper), please also consider the writings from the Course Reader II, and look for ways to synthesize your views with the views of Pierce Lewis, J.B. Jackson, Nicholson Baker, Alain de Botton and Francis Ponge (On Water was a hand-out in class). For example, how does your view of the urban park differ from Jackson's? How do you describe water distinct from Ponge, and what are those distinctions?

If you have any questions on the writing process we're adopting here (and it's a progression from the descriptions/experiences you've written thus far), please, please write them as comments on this post, and I'll respond to them as quickly as I can. The act of synthesizing new works into a text (drawing on different viewpoints, arguments, and topics)-- into your text-- is a crucial element in your work as a writer, and my hope is that we will be discussing the opportunities and difficulties frequently and deeply.

Go team.

Volunteer Park

Please post all of your suggestions, research, and links as comments to this post.

We will be leaving Kerry Hall for Volunteer Park at 1:30 pm on Friday.

Course reader and this week (Marc's class)

First off, Happy Veteran's Day to everyone checking in today. It was nice to sleep in and wake up to the Ellen Degeneres show this morning. The Chris Brown performance was awesome. Here's some Youtube of Ellen dancing to Chris, from an earlier appearance--

Okay, to work:
For this Wednesday, please come prepared with the Course Reader II (again, this one is available from Perfect Copy, located at the intersection of John and Broadway). They are doing an initial run of 13, so if you're #14+ that day, you may have to wait. If you would like to call ahead, their number is here

and for class, I'd like to discuss these first two articles--

Tosches, Nick. “Review of Gately’s Café”. The Nick Tosches Reader. New York: Da Capo Press, 2000, pp. 44-45. I can't believe they forgot this in the reader

and

De Botton, Alain. Excerpts from The Architecture of Happiness. New York: Pantheon Books, 2006.

also, skipping around a bit, please read this for Friday as well

Baker, Nicholson. Excerpt from The Mezzanine. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1990.

(the excerpt from de Botton is a bit of a departure from our current research into the "nature" of parks, but it provides a few frames that should be helpful as we move towards other spaces; the Tosches is waaay outside of our work, but his approach to writing on music/spaces seems really interesting to pursue)

Also, it may be helpful to look at the writings in relation to the field work we did last week at REI, Cascade People's Center, and the Federal Courthouse (links to REI and the CPC are located on the right), and discuss the writings/descriptions in the book we received from the GSA.

And, let's think about ways to conclude our readings/discussions of Calvino's Invisible Cities. What can we take from this work as we move forward?

Lastly (and yes, this post is gettin' real long), we'll discuss our field work for this coming Friday and next Monday. Go team.

New post

Okay, so I'm still a bit under the weather (my weekend included something like twenty hours in bed watching South Park episodes and sleeping), but I've gone back and updated the calendar with the events/timeline we discussed on Friday. To recap,

Each week for the rest of the semester will, for the most part, follow the same format:

Mondays will be discussion days in the classroom, looking at (in parallel ways) the readings and our field work from the previous week. What are the links you're noticing, and in what ways can those links be made visible in your writings? This week for example, we'll look at Calvino and Ponge (again), in the context of our time spent in Cal Anderson and Tashkent Parks.

Wednesdays will most likely be field work of some sort, providing the framework for that week's writings. This week, we'll meet at MCC, then out to some nearby greenspaces.

Fridays (and keep in mind this is all a pretty delicate balancing act) will most likely be spent both in the field AND the classroom. It's a long enough span for us to discuss some texts, be outside the classroom, and look at developing your works as writers! Although this week we meet at MCC, then go to the Federal Courthouse, meeting with the GSA representative at 2pm.

The calendar is your friend.

Conference schedule

Remember, these are approximate times, please try and make it a few minutes early, to keep things rolling.

Wed 10/24

4:15 Brittany
4:30 Lindsay
4:45 Ryan
5:00 Kelly
5:15 Akasha
5:30 Jason
5:45 Kati

Fri, 10/26

1:30 Shane
1:45 Jake
2:00 Cara
2:15 Corey
2:30 Amanda
2:45 Alex
3:00 Patrick
3:15 Katherine
3:30 Maia
3:45 Taylor
4:00 Graham

Comments on Kerry Hall/Music, Here

As requested here's a post that can take comments. I'll move all of the previous post/comments tomorrow (I hope) and have everything assembled here for easy reference. And thanks again for all of the feedback and conversation today.

h and s class music blog

well i havent been by a computer for the whole entire weekend so i figured i would blog about the music i hear around kerry hall about now. when i would walk around kerry hall, i could hear the drum sets, the african drums, the jazz, and all sorts of classical music as well. it was really cool to just walk and pick up any type of music or sounds you could. you could also have music in your head as you were walking. for some reason, i started to think about the brandenburg concertos when i was walking down the hallways! who knows, this school gives off all sorts of wicked vibes. thats all for now i guess. peace .alex.

Kerry Hall Songs

Basement computer lab: "Love Machine" because of all the computers/machines

Basement kitchen: "Nobody Loves Me" worm song because when I looked out the tiny window I felt very small

First floor copy room: "Sweet Dreams" by La Bouche because the copy machines make this snoring noise

Second floor hallway: "Let Go" by Frou Frou because it was so quiet and empty and reminded me of Garden State

Second floor bathroom: "Far Away" by Carol King because it's a tiny place and seems far away

Kerry Hall Songs

3rd Floor Hallway-
Classic piano music. Specifically, songs that are typically used when at the barre.

Elevator-
The Greys Anatomy soundtrack. Anybody who watches the show will understand.

Digital Lab (Basement)-
"Turning Japanese" by The Vapors
I was overwhelmed by the abundance of computer technology.

Lounge-
"Brick House" by The Commodores
Simply because the first thing I noticed when I walked in was the brick wall. :P

Rm 114-
I don't know specifically what song I was thinking of, but in general this room made me think of Buddy Holly. The reason for this is that the teacher who had just finished up class really wanted to help me find inspiration in this room and proceded to show me the various instruments in there, one of which happened to be a harpischord, which I know Buddy Holly used in some of his songs. I think probably if I had to pick just one song I would pick "Rave On" because thats the song I immediately think of when I think of Buddy Holly...but I don't even know if that actually uses the harpischord or not.

-Kelly Middleton

Kerry Hall Songs

Our Classroom: I heard "London Beckoned Songs about Money Written by Machines" by Panic! at the Disco because there are lyrics in there that remind me of all the discussions we have in there. The lyrics that remind me go:

Boy you better put that pen to paper and charm your way out.
If you talk you better walk you better back your shit up

Hallway outside Classroom: I heard "Goodbye Love" from the Rent soundtrack for some reason. It just looked like a lonely hallway, one that you would say goodbye to someone there. And whenever I walk down the hallway in that direction, I'm usually saying goodbye to someone from class.

Basement: I heard the song "Crazy" by Gnarles Barkley because the white halls and clean feeling made me feel like I was in the ICU. I hate that feeling and so I rarely go down there.

Basement hallway: I heard "In My Own Little Corner" from Cinderella because it has this very lonely feeling to it. It's so long and I just felt like I was the only person in the hallway.

First Floor: As soon as I stepped out of the elevator onto the first floor, I could hear "A Elbereth Gilthoniel" from Lord of the Rings. This song makes me feel so peaceful and that's how the first floor always makes me feel, like I'm at home.

First Floor Hallway: When I walked down the first floor hallway, I could hear the song "Lacrymosa" from Mozart's Requiem. I think I could hear this since I have choir on the first floor very close to that hallway. Whenever I go to choir, Mozart's Requiem always goes through me head.

(Sorry this wasn't turned in earlier, I wasn't sure where to post it too!)
Brittany Williams

Kerry Hall Songs - Taylor

Elevator - 1st Floor
I couldn't help but think of the song Workhorse by Mastodon as a single student loaded the elevator full of musical equipment including an entire drum set, a stand, and an amplifier. The student was obviously the "Workhorse" for the day.

2nd Floor
Near the drum room I heard some faint sounds of drums being put away. The noises from the drums made me think about Day of Baphomets by The Mars Volta since it has an epic drum/bongo solo in it.

Front Door
I was looking out at the empty street from the front door of Kerry hall and i couldn't help but feel lonely since the street was completely empty and there was no movement other than trees swaying in the wind. This reminded me of one of the loneliest sounding songs I know Leap Your Bar by John Frusciante.

from Shane Small

3rd floor
In our class room the song was Julia by the Beatles. I think the class had a real warm ambiance to it and this is why this song was in my head. When I walked in to the hallway outside of our class another Beatles song came to mind, this time it was she said. I feel that there was a lot of innocents and love in the hall way with parents and children feeling the hall.
2nd floor
This floor had a completely different vibe to it for me as I walked down the stair well I felt an emptiness and silence that brought about the song lateralus by tool and when I entered the lounge area the song heart shaped box blared in my ear and when I stared down one of the empty hall ways the song hurt came into my head by nin.
1st floor
By this time the darker side of my imagination took over and I as entered the first floor lobby the song ghost by Tupac was in my head. I then stared down the hallway with the exit and the song the nine-year tide came to my mind from twelve tribes.

The Lay of the Land TENTATIVE calendar

At long last, here's an overview of what we'll be up to during the next few weeks. In part, I've been slow to deliver this framework, as so much new information came out of the charrette that will likely influence the trajectory of our projects over the next year. Also, please be aware that as cluster opportunities (for collaborative work) arise, I'll be editing this posting, revising locations and dates as needed; this is just a guideline.

Reading assignment for Mon, 10/15: Anne Lamont, “Bird by Bird” , also purchase Invisible Cities (see prior post for info): we will be utilizing this as our primary text for the next few weeks, followed by a course reader for the last few weeks of the course.

Writing assignment (post on blog) due Fri, 10/12: “Maps”/Kerry Hall sound/music map-- listing spaces, the music they conjure, and brief descriptions of how the spaces & sounds go together. Please consider this as a draft, a document we will build and change throughout the next couple of weeks.

Fri, 10/12: Cluster meeting in MCC 303, viewing Streetwise

Week 7
Reading assignment: Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

M 10/15
Schedule Mid-term conferences, to take place during Week 8
Discussion on Lamont (above), In-class reading/writing on “In Praise of the Humble Comma”, Course evaluation for mid-term discussion during the next week, schedule reading timeline for Calvino, also reading Lars Eighner "On Dumpster Diving"

W 10/17
Class to meet at Cornish Library MCC
Library orientation,

F 10/19
Class to meet at MCC
Fieldwork: Bus tunnel & two parks (Westlake and greenspace adjacent to Taschiro Kaplan)—interview, photograph, physical descriptions of spaces, personal experiences (develop into 2+ page exploration-- more to follow).
Alumni visit to be arranged?

Week 8
Reading assignment: Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities (continued)

Kerry Hall/Capitol Hill focus. Building off of the sound exploration of Kerry Hall (and responding to Invisible Cities), we will be making multiple excursions (physically as well as written) into the building, examining scents, lighting, cinema, etc.

M 10/22
Discussion on Mid-term check-in forms (Charette, readings, course format)

Writing project: As we will not be meeting as a class on either Wednesday or Friday, you will be working independently on a writing piece that will be due next Monday, October 29th. Using the draft that you wrote for the blog (on the sounds triggered by specific areas of Kerry Hall) as a point of departure, you will be developing that work into a fuller piece. Your writing should include the research/music/spaces you've already addressed, but should expand on those in some way. For example, you may be inclined to add locations and music, mapping a route you take through the building and the sounds you hear along the way. Or perhaps you may choose to move outside the building (I wouldn't blame you at all, the weather has been really nice lately), using the first places you visited/wrote about/picked music for as starting points-- where do they lead you in the city? How far can your route go and how does the music/sounds of the city follow along? In writing this piece (and I'm not going to suggest an appropriate length that it has to be, but rather ask that you consider it as a work that you will develop over the course of a week), consider both how the physical route you take is mapped as well as how the sounds/music are related to that route and to one another. Could your writing be similar to liner notes for a cd? Or more precisely, perhaps a soundtrack for the city?

W 10/24
Mid-term conferences SEE SCHEDULE, Writing projects, as above.

F 10/26
Mid-term conferences SEE SCHEDULE, Writing projects, as above.

Week 9

M 10/29
Discussion on Invisible Cities,
Writing project due (see above)

W 10/31
View film with Kim's class: 'The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces" is available from the Cornish library on DVD. For those REALLY interested, there is an accompanying text.

Fri 11/2
Field work: Cal Anderson Park, Tashkent Park-- write response/description/reaction, due Monday 11/5
Reading (in-class) Francis Ponge, "On Water"

Mon 11/5
Writings due.
Continue discussion on Invisible Cities (sections 1-4). Discuss parks from last class. In-class writing on "Invisible Cities": From memory, describe one of the cities Marco Polo discusses with Khan, and compare to a city you know.

Wed 11/7
Parks (continued): Meet at MCC, tour Cascade P-Patch and REI greenspaces

Fri 11/9
Class meeting at Federal Courthouse 2pm. Please remember -- no cameras, food, or drink. Also, you must present a picture I.D. (valid driver's license, state-issued identification, or passport)

Week 11:
PURCHASE COURSE READER FROM PERFECT COPY, BRING TO CLASS WED, 11/14. For Wednesday's class, please read excerpts (the first two articles) from Alain de Botton. Specifics are provided in a more recent post

Mon 11/12 NO CLASS, VETERAN'S DAY

Wed 11/14
Writings due, discuss Federal Courthouse, REI, CPC
Reading assignment (for Friday):
Pierce Lewis, "The Monument and the Bungalow", J.B. Jackson, from A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time, web-based research: Center for Land Use Interpretation, Seattle Parks & Recreation, REI, History Link, others.

Fri 11/16
Field work: Volunteer Park. For this trip, I'd like to try a different format: instead of me leading/framing the experience, I'd like YOU to design what we should be taking from this experience, and examining aspects of the park that interest you, and maybe all of us.

What I'm proposing is this:
We meet at Kerry Hall, and depart (as a group) from there. You (and from here on out, I'll be referring to a collective "you") decide how we get to the park-- bus? walking? carpool?
Bring enough money for bus fare, museum entrance, other costs?

Once we arrive there, my suggestion is we sculpt a scavenger hunt, of sorts, with everyone contributing some places we should see while we're there. In part, this is to frame some of the ways I'd like us to move through the city next semester, but it also reflects the breadth of experiences available at Volunteer Park. Haven't been to Volunteer Park before? An introduction is here.

Week 12:
Mon 11/19
Shared class with Kim Mackay's group-- my class shares drafts of their writings on Volunteer Park with Kim's class, who act as mentors to my group-- providing analysis and feedback on the writing. The suggestions from Kim's class will be utilized in the next version, due Monday 11/26. For this version (keeping in mind that we will continue to work with this paper), please also consider the writings from the Course Reader II, and look for ways to synthesize your views with the views of Pierce Lewis, J.B. Jackson, Nicholson Baker, and Alain de Botton. For example, how does your view of the urban park differ from Jackson's?

Wed 11/21 NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING

Fri 11/23 NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING

Week 13:
Mon, 11/26
DUE Draft #2/Synthesis paper on Volunteer Park/Course Reader II (parks). This writing should include your responses to writings by Alain de Botton, J.B. Jackson, and Peirce Lewis, all located in the course reader. Additionally, it may also discuss the film we viewed, and the Ponge poems we discussed.

Discussion and analysis of Synthesis paper (from Kim's class) IN-CLASS. Discuss peer feedback from last week.

Reading assignment in the Course Reader II: Nicholson Baker (excerpts from The Mezzanine) and Louise Mozingo, "Campus, Estate, Park: Lawn Culture Comes to the Corporation".

Wed, 11/28
Discuss final portfolio design (see recent post, handout in class), in-class writing samples.

Fri, 11/30
Class meeting at MCC: Office field work, 4th & Cherry.

And this is real ambitious, but Offices: 4th & Cherry, City Hall, MCC, others Libraries: SPL, Capitol Hill Branch, Braille Library, others Community-based initiatives (see Department of Neighborhoods), schedule final conferences

Week 14:
Mon, 12/3
DUE Writing on offices: Describe an office you've been to, synthesizing your memories with our experiences in the Columbia Tower and the writings on office spaces/culture from the Course Reader.
Reading assignment for Wednesday, "Generica" (course reader) , "Post-It City" (handout)

Wed 12/5
Portfolio workshop-- bring everything you've written to date, to be organized/assembled
Reading assignment for Friday,
Fri 12/7 To Be confirmed
class meets at MCC
Seattle Central Library, overview, introduction

Week 15:
Mon, 12/10
FINAL CONFERENCES, GROUP 1 (WE'LL CHOOSE IN CLASS)
PORTFOLIOS DUE, with self-reflective writing introduction
Course evaluation, discussion, overview of Proposed Land Use Action, proposals for Spring 08 projects, Post-portfolio writing project, begin conferences

Wed, 12/12
FINAL CONFERENCES, GROUP 1 (WE'LL CHOOSE IN CLASS)
PORTFOLIOS DUE, with self-reflective writing introduction
Course evaluation, discussion, overview of Proposed Land Use Action, proposals for Spring 08 projects, Post-portfolio writing project, begin conferences

Fri, 12/14 cluster meeting, view "The Cruise"

Support CPC

Keep Cascade People's Center open in 2008!

YOU ARE INVITED

to a community walk and rally to the Seattle City Council Public Hearings on
the Mayor's 2008 Proposed Budget.

Wednesday October 10th, 2007

330pm: Gathering outside Cascade People's Center
400pm: Begin walking downtown together with signs, flags, banners and CPC tshirts!
445pm: Arrive at City Hall
515pm: Head to the meeting, sign up to speak, make some noise!

It's essential that we continue to communicate with the City Council the
importance of Cascade People's Center and the work we do in this community.
It is possible that as a group we'll only have 5 minutes to speak, so if you're interested,
please call CPC and we'll put you on the list. Please check out the attached "fact sheet".
If you are unable to attend, but would still like to support our efforts, please see the
attached flyer with information about calling and emailing the City
Council prior to the meeting.  We are asking for first, the City Council
to increase the Human Services Department's Budget to provide funding
for Cascade People's Center.

Feel free to join us at any point in the process. Many folks are meeting
us at 430/5pm downtown after work.

The address of the meeting:

City Hall, City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor
600 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98124

Please let me know if you have any questions!
Myla Becker
Program Manager
Cascade People's Center
309 Pontius Ave N
Seattle WA 98109
206.587.0320

Dandole poder a las familias y comunidades para que crezcan fuertes y
estables.
Empowering people to grow strong, sustainable families and communities.

Dia De Los Muertos
Sunday October 28th 2-6pm
Join us for a traditional Day of the Dead Celebration
Altars, Tapete, Music, Pande Muerto and Chocolate!

Please call 206.587.0320 for more information.

OMA/LMN A-OK

Here is the link to the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA, with Rem Koolhaas) concept book that they assembled for the Seattle Public Library proposal. Hard copies are also available through the library. LMN is the architecture firm (based in Seattle) who worked to facilitate the project locally.

Parks of the future, parks of the past

Thanks to Kim for locating "Why parks are important", by Chris Hume.

Olympic Sculpture Park!

Monday & Invisible Cities

Just a reminder to my class, but we will not be convening as an entire class on Monday, 10/1 or Wednesday, 10/3. I will be meeting with charrette groups to discuss progress and prepare materials for the presentations and casebooks. Remember, everything you will need to accomplish is laid out on the time line (see previous post). During these class days, I will be available in the library (schedule permitting) or in Nellie's cafe (more likely).

Also, as we discussed, our next text will be Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. We'll begin working with this immediately after the charrette concludes. Used & new copies are available at numerous local and online retailers, please click on the link above for information.

And thanks again to everyone for all of your work on the projects, we're looking forward to the presentations on Friday.

Charette Log (Marc's class, but pretty much the same text as Gabrielle and Kim)

Here's a guide/timeline for the components that you'll need to include in your Project Log, please let us know if anything requires more description/explanation. Also, you may want to print this list out, or better yet, use it on the blog (here's where I wish this was a wiki), possibly adding comments?


Cornish Community Charrette Project Log

Project Title:

Group Members:

W 9/26
General goals:
1) understand presentation goals and possibilities,
2) understand case-book components,
3) decide on specific shape of project,
4) decide on specific research tasks needed thru 10/3,
5) decide on tasks to complete before 9/28,
6) meet in class today to schedule appointments for this Friday, 9/28 in Cornish Library MCC

Specific goals and group whereabouts:


F 9/28
General goals:
1) conduct interviews if needed,
2) gather research materials from the library or visit Seattle Public Library if needed,
3) site project location if needed,
4) begin physical design of project if needed,
5) decide on tasks to complete before 10/1,
5) meet with Marc for 15 minutes today in group

Specific goals and group whereabouts:


M 10/1
General goals:
1) write project description and rationale, using and revising language from earlier descriptions,
2) begin designing presentation materials,
3) decide on specific tasks to complete before 10/3

Specific goals and whereabouts:


W 10/3
General goals:
1) finish designing presentation materials,
2) define presentation roles and practice presentation,
3) decide on specific tasks to complete for 10/5

Specific goals and whereabouts:

F 10/5
Charrette presentations. Meet at MCC Room 603 Location to be confirmed.

Presentation checklist (10/5):
O Poster or other large-scale visual aid that contains 1) project title, 2) maps, diagrams, photos or other images that show project scope and why it is needed; 3) a brief description of project and why it is needed.

O Brochure, hand-out or other small-scale visual aid with these same components.

O Group symbolic map, if it is not included on one or the other of the visual aids.

O 1-2 page typed, group-authored project description (what it is) and rationale (why it is needed), along with a bibliography of sources consulted or references to related projects. Bibliographic citations should follow an MLA-format, with information and examples available on the Cornish Library website here

Case-book checklist (10/8):
O A copy of your group’s hot sheet.
O A copy of your group’s project description and rationale.
O A copy of your group symbolic map and the individual maps you created on 9/21.
O Copies of images, diagrams etc. from your group’s poster or brochure.
O Your MCC and Kerry accounts, and your initial write-up of the project from 9/17-24.
O A 2-3 page, typed, double-spaced reflection on the charrette process and your group’s project.

And, although it may be redundant after everything you produce, I'd like to also look at 10/8 as an in-class debriefing, framing the discussion as a look at what was successful with the charette as well as what difficulties you encountered during the process.

Support Cascade People's Center

Hi everyone,

As you may know, we've been working with the Cascade People's Center for a few years now on collaborative projects with Integreated Studies. They 've been an amazing resource the faculty and students, and their place in the community is vital. We have a link to their website (on the right hand side of your screen), but this update from their director, Myla Becker is pressing:


From: Myla Becker [mailto:mbecker@lcsnw.org]
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 5:56 PM
Subject: FW: A Call to Action: Support your Center in the heart of our City!

Hey there Cascade People's Center Supporters,In the last few days, we recently found out that the City of Seattle has decided not to fund us starting in 2008 and that the Center will most likely be forcedd to close after December (unless we can lobby and fundraise like crazy!!).

CPC is a beloved space in the Cascade community providing free programs and space for thousands of people throughout Seattle . This tragic news is particularly sad when the Cascade neighborhood is quickly being gentrified and shaped without the voice of long time residents. Also, not to mention that the City is funding $50.5 million to the South Lake Union Streetcar (notoriously know as the SLUT...South Lake Union Trolley) that runs one mile along a route that many buses already run. Funding the Cascade People's Center is a drop in the bucket for the City of Seattle and to other SLU stakeholders. The Cascade People's Center is a truly a place for the people. Ten years ago, community members rallied to save the building from being torn down and to create a community center focused on family support and environmental sustainability, and also to create a p-patch and the Garden of Happiness . Today, we are stronger than ever with over 6,000 Center users and a over 70% of the work done by volunteers. We have an eco-renovation of our building in the works as well as a proposed community compost project, proposed farmer's market, and amazing youth and family programs already flourishing. With the Cascade neighborhood drastically changing among the South Lake Union development, the Center is a place of consistency and familiarity for thousands of low income and transitioning families who are being pushed out of their neighborhood.

Not only are we a family and community support center, but we also stand for social and environmental justice in a neighborhood where the underdogs are constantly being silenced. We need your help in being heard! In the next week we will be strategizing how to keep CPC alive through a community meeting (date TBA), petitioning, a protest at the City of Seattle Office (date TBA) and phoning City Reps and strategizing funding ideas. Please keep your eyes and ears open for upcoming dates and events that we will be organizing! Also, if you have any ideas or time to contribute in how we can keep your Center open, please let me know! As always, thanks so much for your support and involvement! Please spread the word like wildfire! Viva la CPC!!

Wayfinding? Already?

We'll be spending an amazing amount of time with discussions, writings, and readings on navigational systems over the course of the year and given the field trip today, your recent charting of MCC, your upcoming analysis of Kerry Hall and all routes in between, I wanted to get the ball rolling sooner than later.

So, Here's a link to the article by Annabel Vaughn (writing on improvised signage at the Seattle Central Library) that I mentioned in class. Arcade Journal is also listed in the link list on the right hand of your screen, and the new issue (edited by Lead Pencil Studio) is a fantastic treatise on the overlapping roles of comics, drawing, and innovative architectural practices.

Think rich. Look poor.

Okay, I really enjoyed our discussion on the readings today, and realized that the prelude to it-- our conversation looking for boundaries in the arts--was, by it's very nature, somewhat off-putting and difficult.

The more I consider it (and a bumpy, crowded busride home gives me plenty of time to ruminate), we might want to revisit the topic-- not as a search for boundaries (at least not initially), but rather as identification of your fields (not disciplines, but hopefully something more mutable, as Patrick suggested today). In very concrete ways, it seems that identifying how you spend your time in your area of concentration may help us all understand how we spend our time in our area(s) of concentration. What is your diet like when you are involved in a project? What books do you have to read for your concentration? What types of media are essential? Do you need costumes or a uniform? Special shoes? How much time outside of the classroom do you work in your field? What does a peer group consist of for your projects? What tools are essential to your work? How do you practice? How is your process/product presented to a group, or is it?

Maybe by looking at this topic through everyday practices (and by this, I pretty much mean things you do everyday) we may be able to see (or find) the boundaries more naturally?

Warhol archives

The Warhol archives are discussed more fully here, and The Warhol Musuem's online project space has this-- Mapping Pittsburgh: Art, Space, and Alternative Culture

Missed opportunity, almost

Thinking about our cluster meeting yesterday, with a focus on interdisciplinary work, I just realized that we should have included some writings/research/overview of the work done by Bruce Mau Design and their Institute Without Boundaries.

Then I realized that the blog is awesome and I can just link to everything they've ever done.

John Cage reads Silence

Excerpts from John Cage's Silence (1969) appear in the City Cluster Reader, and the book is available in the Cornish Library (Call number is ML 60 C13 S5 1973, although Kim currently has it checked out).

UBUWEB (see link list, at right) has an amazing archive of his audio work, including interviews and this, where he reads from the book.

hurricane cafe, wiffiti

Here we can see what people at the Hurricane Cafe are texting to that big screen above the counter.

WEDNESDAY FIELD TRIP

Marc's Class needs to meet in front of Kerry Hall at the beginning of class. Also, bring $1.50 for the bus...unless you feel like walking up 303 stairs + 15 minutes back to Kerry Hall after class.

-Derek

So...Marc's Class...

Where are we meeting today?

Jade Pagoda and Visions of the future

So Marc's class was in kerry hall today, after it got out I went to go catch the 49 going to U-district. It was to be a while before I got there but I turned around and read this article http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/283105_jadepagoda30.html

taped to the inside of a window. to those of you more familiar with broadway than I am, it was the Jade pagoda. Upon reading the article I died a little bit inside, becuase I had one of those true "wish I coulda been around to experience this place when it was alive" kind of feelings, yet I was standing right outside of it, in its current state an empty shell.
it goes along with some discussions I've been having about the paving over of old seattle to create foundations for the new. but on another note. I had a dream last night of cornish. but it was futuristic cornish, possibly a good 50 years out. the interiors have a red and white color scheme and nellie's cafe is way trendy and futuristic. Think 60's interpretation of utopian society mixed with vitra.

Ann's I.D. essay

here is a little taste of my essay.

Gambling, Violence and the International District
By: Ann Hoyer



The International District of Seattle has a long history of violence, the most extraordinary example of violence happened in 1983, in the alley of Maynard Street in the well known after-hours gambling house called the Wah Mee Club. The Wah Mee Massacre, also known as the Chinatown Massacre took thirteen lives. However long before the Wah Mee Massacre, the International district was not exactly a peaceful melting pot Asian cultures. Violence and crimes such as the murder of Police Officer Charles Legate, in 1922, and even before that with the murder of Guichi Inoue, a Japanese wrestler in 1910, has caused unrest in Chinatown. Evidence shows that this distrust amongst citizens law enforcement in the International District is closely tied-in to the underground gambling industry and the greed that comes with it.

Hi it's Nathan in Gabrielle's class and this is an excerpt from my recent paper about the ID. Go ahead take a gander. Enjoy:)


Jackson Street Regrade

Seattle is a beautiful city with rolling hills and plenty to do. The city has made its way into the nation by becoming a major stop for many dreamers on their way to mine gold in the Klondike. Since then it has become a key city for coffee, music, Boeing, University of Washington, and the World Fair. A strange thought though is this may have been impossible without the regrades of Seattle.
The Denny Hill Regrade was the largest project in reconstructing Seattle’s landscape. It involved removing Denny Hill, “one of the proverbial seven hills of Seattle” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denny_Regrade). A major question posed by the city however was, where were they going to put all the dirt? Eugene McAllaster, the Denny Regrade Consulting Engineer, had the answer. They were to put the dirt into Elliot Bay, creating a larger city and relieving the city from having to grow north. And then they had another thought the tide flats could be also filled in giving them more useful land.
There was one problem though

Blake & Ellen's essays

So, in Gabrielle's class, we've been learing all about the International District. When we were given the task of writing an essay involving the International District, Ellen and I chose two different topics.

I, Blake, chose to write about the diversity of Seattle's I.D. If you didn't already know, the diversity of Asian population in Seattle's I.D. is huge compared to, say, San Fran's Chinatown. I had to research the immigration of different Asian groups, finding out numbers and dates of immigration. Once I got into research mode, I found that there was a ton of negative feelings from Seatte's existing population to the new immigrants. In different times during history, the populations of Asians fluctuated because of things like anti-Chinese laws, the Japanese being removed, and the Filipino's immigration being restricted. You can find out more if you want. I'll send you my paper and you can read it in all its glory. Footnotes and all. Haha.


Well, my paper has absolutely nothing to do with Blake's. and, let's face it, his is probably better. I chose to write about how the third generation of Japanese Americans, or sensai, have lost interest in the cultural landmarks of the International District. My paper goes into detail about how several locations, in particular the Panama Hotel and the Nippon Kan theatre, have been slowly on the decline ever since the Japanese Internment in WWII.

Fin.

Marc's Class

I need to know if any group in Marc's class will switch field trip days with us. Our's is on April 2nd, but I am out of town that day. We need to switch with someone who has a later one. Please let me know.

-Derek

the mystics

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/travel/12culture.html

also... http://woodsidebrasethgallery.com

a gallery close to school with a deep history.

Another blog: SEPTAPUS

Me and Cory's video game blog

CLUI does it again!

Center for Land Use Interpretation has their newsletter available online here
http://www.clui.org/clui_4_1/lotl/index.html

Their website (see the link list on the right-hand side of the screen) is also a great resource (and you can purchase a copy of "One Hundred Places in Washington").

Who wouldnt want to see work by a person named Alex??

I mean really, we need this field trip, field excursion? Does that sound too much like a vehicle? Anway look what I found its an amazing peice by Anish Kapoor that I will someday replicate. Promise. it's called Cloud Gate

Upcoming

Okay, so I'm addicted to the blog. I realize this is only my second time posting anything, but I look at it daily, transfixed by its beauty. Also, I keep updating the link list to include any place we go or talk about in class. Speaking of which, I'll also post a list of all the writing prompts/papers so you have them easily available.

As a trailer for one of the field trips we'll be taking (hopefully Friday), check out Alex Schweder (http://alexschweder.com/index.html) for his show at Suyama Space (http://www.suyamapetersondeguchi.com/art/). I realize they haven't updated their site yet, but it's there, really. In fact, here's a review from Adriana Grant (the first sentence talks about the smell of the show) http://www.seattleweekly.com/2007-02-14/arts/monday-2-19.php.

Alex is represented locally by Howard House (http://www.howardhouse.net/current/index.html).

More soon,

Marc

I'm IN!!

So, being the techno-idiot I am, I thought giving y'all the blog's address would be all it took. Not quite so:

To start you get an 'invitation' to blog from Marc Dombrosky. It's an e-mail that has a long string of letters and numbers and such that you have to click on, then go through a few steps to register, and then you get to BLOG--just like I'm doing now.

A note: Cornish e-mail filters bounced Marc's invitation to my junk mail. Maybe it'll do that to you, too. So there are glitches--I think in techno-lingo you call 'em 'bugs' in our system. But isn't that what all this is about: learning together? Hey, I feel like I learned something this afternoon.

More soon,

Kim

International District update

Yo Cascade neighborhood investigators. Our class has been scouting out the International District for the past two Fridays. We visited the Wing Luke Asian Museum www.wingluke.org, peeked into the lobby of the Bush Hotel (which is now an apartment building run by the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority, http://www.scidpda.org/), looked at 1940s items from the old Higo Variety store (now a cool artisan gallery called Kobo, http://koboseattle.com/flash.html, which you might know from their Capitol Hill gallery next to Joe Bar), um, what else? Oh yeah, we climbed up the hill through the Danny Woo Community Gardens, where we paused among some rotting vegetables and wall inscriptions in several different Asian languages, to Kobe Terrace Park, http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/kobeterrace.htm, which offers a great view of the neighborhood--and of I-5.

For details about what else we found--what we did later--how to time a pot of tea--and what students in Urban Adaptations are doing with these observations, you'll have to ask them...

xoxo
Gabrielle

I wonder how many people are going to use this. I say 3.

Oral presentations...

San Dimas High School football rules!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to our blog.