Author: kmarieclark

Travel

The Ceiling of St. Peter’s Basilica

Post author By kmarieclark
Post date April 25, 2015
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Climbing the Dome

In the Vatican you can climb the dome of St. Peters. My grandparents had done this together forty years ago and we wanted to take the same picture as they had done that long ago. Electing to climb the first 300 steps let us skip a huge line. So we climbed and joined others at the roof below the dome where the elevator let off.

This area was directly behind the statues that guard St. Peter’s square. These pieces were twice the size of life. On the inside of the dome angel’s faces were 10’ tall and set in mosaics. In the Basilica earlier I hadn’t realized people we so far above us. The angel’s glances were startled, scared and we slipped in a thin door that led us upward on our continued journey. We walked in slated steps up the walls, hugging the interior dome as the hallway got skinnier. Finally it opens to the crowds of people vying for the same sight of Rome.

The dome was even more beautiful, holding watch after our exit. Outside of the church we walked slowly around the square, following the colonnade, watching the sun set. Phil filmed us. Andy bought a rosary and a prayer card for a co-worker and we walked back into Roma down the long perpendicular street. Festivities for the canonization were gearing up as three million Polish people alone were traveling to this holy Catholic center as we were making our exit.

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Travel

In and Above the Vatican

Out into the lovely courtyard carpeted with grass, tourists lunched, some tanning on benches to rest. Gifts of the different popes explained -the pineapple sculpture above lion-carved fountains was one pope’s gift to the Vatican –the fresh water of ancient aqueducts still quenching human thirst. Alcoves and archways, the pristine nature of it all was absorbed as Valeria described the paintings of the Sistine Chapel. For eleven years Michelangelo painted in this room. His first paintings, mind you, for he was a sculptor. Five years it took him to paint the ceiling. He painted angles, hid humor within the work that was sometimes too high for us to see to perceive. He painted God and Adam, judgments and rulers. In one place he painted himself -his signature for work, as artists in that day did not sign the canvas.

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Travel

At the Vatican in Rome ~ April 2014

Post author By kmarieclark
Post date April 23, 2015
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People parked everywhere creating their own spaces for their small cars. We had a tour of the Vatican booked for 2:00 so we made our way via the subway toward that part of town.

We met Valeria who led us through the maze of getting our tickets, up and down long stairs, we ran past the view of an open green area where Pope John Paul II’s gift rested. A huge bronze sculpture rolled onto the lawn. Domes in the sky above like mountains watching over a city. We only caught glimpses as we followed mama, as she instructed to call her.

We went into open courtyards with marble statues, purple bathing tubs, as old coffins with side holes to let out the remains. The seven of us were attentive children as she explained the art, the artists who worked only for honor for the church, their timeless gifts still staring us in the face. These open-air museums were surrounded by portrait sculptures. Pea gravel centers made all of the tourists sounds militant. From here rooms and rooms of mazes and domes, one bronze sculpture that wasn’t melted during the war-time for casts still stood there.

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Travel

The streets of Rome

My family of five walked the sunny streets, looked over the shaded outdoor cafes covered by large awnings, and descended down steps near the Vatican entry piazza to try and find a bite for lunch before our scheduled tour. All of the tables were covered in linens. Most servers wore a tie. Throughout our time in Italy it was difficult to understand how so many restaurants could stay in business. But then again, when most of the world wanted to come to your country for vacation it wasn’t hard to imagine.

We ate outside at Bar Canada, half at a high-top and half at a shaded lower table with a waiter speaking half Italian and half English to us.

Architectural details in the surrounding buildings were evident in so many ways. The time spent in thinking, crafting and making the balcony brackets, which were pillars formed into men’s torsos carrying the weight of the floor projecting above on their heads were one of the many wonders. Who could carve this work? All the marble scrolls are so delicate. Above most windows there were family crests on the lintels. If our generation now could focus so much as these craftsmen did, appreciate what is valued in the talent and ability at hand, what could we do?

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Travel

Sole e Luna in Roma

My Mom and husband, who couldn’t sleep after 23 hours of travel, started walking the streets near our B&B. They found their way to a nearby park and turned a corner to be surprised by the dominating face of the Colosseum. They took us back later, when the rest of us had woken up, to have dinner in the district with rainbow flags. Within view of the 2000 year-old monument Mom toasted her father –who had come back to Italy forty years earlier to trace his own roots back to Giulianova.

Roma, Day 2: At Sole e Luna we were served breakfast each morning in bed. I don’t know if there is anything better than being served Italian coffee on a platter first thing in the morning in Rome. The hotel courtyard below was full of potted plants, big ones, with new red blooms in the corners, and on window-sills. Rome was gearing up for the canonization of Pope John Paul II, or Ioannes Paulus II as they called him here, and Pope John XXIII, which would happen the weekend after we left the city.

Tags Italy to Find Family

Travel

Italia ~ Day by Day

Last year my family went to Italy in search of our relatives… and we found them. It’s now a year later and I’ve wanted to memorialize our trip day by day to remember how special the experience was for us. So, for the next few weeks each day I will present an image or two and a short synopsis of what we experienced.

The first day was a day of travel.

Half-asleep, we meandered outside to find the bus between the airport and historic city center. Men along the curb side pick-up were smoking, and speaking with all of the extra inflections one would expect, stereotypically. When our bus arrived the Italians crowded the drive and we shoved along and into the mess because we wanted to get on –which we did. Into the ancient walled city, the crumbling brick facades, old plaster colors fading into the street.

Welcome to Italy, where lunch portions are digestible, the restrooms are inaccessible to anyone impaired, always downstairs behind some small doors, and you listen in on a language spoken like a romantic Latin song.

Our hotel, Sole e Luna, was through a small door, easily missed as the marker was a note beside a doorbell. Up four and a half flights of steps or from within the elevator cut into the stair, we found our rooms and opened the shutters.

Welcome to Roma.

Tags Italy to Find Family

Environmental

Ecological Literacy – David Orr

Post author By kmarieclark
Post date April 18, 2015
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Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World

Growth is a renewed sense of being reverberates in my mind. David Orr states ‘hidden beneath the rhetoric [of sustainability] are assumptions about growth, technology, democracy, public participation and human values.’ Orr answers the call of awareness with two attractive solutions I will discuss; mimicking nature and decentralized systems. I’d like to evaluate these ideas in respect to an architectural firm.

Entropy: lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.

What firm model develops a business plan to do the right thing for the environment? Must I develop my own projects to progress toward sustainably? Or, take action in educating the public? If I took Orr’s language of the ‘energy efficiency, closed loops, redundancy, and decentralized character of ecosystems allow them to swim upstream against the force of entropy’ to mean stability and current ‘industrial systems, on the contrary, assume linearity, perpetual growth and progress which increase entropy and decrease stability’ as a critique of my own firm how would I change the model? What’s closed loop in a firm, perhaps the hierarchy of principal to project manager to staff back to principal? Redundancy in the type of projects acquired and decentralization of work in team membership? The structure of a team is that they do not cross into the opposing circle. You’re trying to win, or rather, trying to have a project on budget, sustainable, and constructible for clients with the same group of people. What would nature do to be self-organizing? How would nature develop priorities? The Biomimicry Institute has a site, asknature.org, where these questions may also be addressed.

Would this model of an architectural firm eventually spiral-off to become self-sufficient? (Decentralized systems by Leopold Kahn and Schumacher) Perhaps. Beyond the structure of a firm is the work which is produced. Our practices can rely more on using recycled and local materials, labor, respecting existing places, and renovating when possible. This is an example of ‘unlimited growth in a finite system.’

Architects should be leading others outside of our institution to practice more sustainably and beginning with our clientele is the most obvious opportunity. We architects must educate others that the power of a city is in maintaining what exists. Market research must show a need for the refurbished center, a smarter center patterned like nature. Architects have the opportunity, if not the responsiblity to be a part of this evolution.

~ Photo from In the Garden with Mariani Landscape ~

Architecture

Work / Life Balance

~ Juice Plus . Com Image

In the equation of a work / life balance, works seems to weigh heavy on the week. I am discovering ways to evaluate parts of work that can contribute to a positive work / life balance. It seems to be the topic of the week as all of a sudden a few different sources have come my way without my direct request of them.

Consider the seven ways to apportion your day as compared to Dr. Dan’s suggested plan -comparing a workday to a weekend day. Below is my ideal work vs. weekend day. Consider this for yourself. How would you divide each type of day to accommodate the seven times a day?

Sleep is easy as long as you allow the time for it. Doing the same thing at the same time every day is good for developing natural circadian rhythms for your mind and body. In evaluating my chart I notice that I fill my work days with timelier demands. I also allow more time for focusing during the week, with zone-out time and chores taking the place of it for the afternoon on weekends. I lack time with those that I love early on workday mornings. On the weekends I don’t feel the ‘In’ need to reconnect to myself after focus time which probably means I expect the workday to have distractions. Which is true. I feel the need to allow myself to respect those trying to get a hold of me. Try to get a hold of me on a weekend and I wish you luck. 🙂

In my current occupation of self-evaluation by night, I’ve also enjoyed this recent article by Arch Daily about 21 ways an architect can work more efficiently. I personally love number 7!

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Uncategorized

Practicing what you Believe

Post author By kmarieclark
Post date April 11, 2015
2 Comments on Practicing what you Believe

A practice that I have started in my work life, that I’ve always enjoyed in my personal life, is list making.

During Deepak’s meditation this past spring he suggested establishing measurable goals. A friend I work with suggested taking an active role in deciding how to spend the workday by taking a moment to write a list of priorities each morning. By writing this list I recognize what I need to focus on, and evaluate what I feel I can reasonably do in a day.

By not letting the long, ideal list of things to do at work be the only measure in what is being accomplished, I feel I am in control of what I can finish. This recently introduced practice has allowed me to feel very productive. I have the ability to give time to specific tasks with appropriate expectations. When I come to work I list three things that I want to focus on. Typically these items take me into the afternoon with the expected distractions of a workday. However, at the end of the day even if I have not crossed everything off, I feel rewarded for finishing some of what I set out to do.

Deepak’s meditation discusses the importance of realizing what you want to give attention to. Incorporating this practice in my work space has allowed me to feel settled when it is time to enjoy other areas of my life. Beyond my husband, health, and keeping up with house chores, I really want to spend time writing. When I get too busy this priority and enjoyment is set aside. If I allow myself to focus my energy on what I believe to be most important first, I feel rejuvenated for the rest of the day, having felt I have taken care of my creative efforts first. By allowing the proper time (and practicing time efficiency) for everything in the day I need to, I feel like a whole person, a well-rounded person, taking full advantage of this beautiful life.

About Me

A Healthy Lifestyle

Deepak and Oprah offered a 21-day meditation experience this spring. One day Deepak introduced 7 ways to apportion the day, as studied by Dr. Dan Siegel at UCLA. The healthy mind platter involves spending time in the following ways: Sleep time, Physical time, Focus time: time alone to concentrate and be, Time In: reflection or prayer, Time Out or rest, Playtime: fun in a carefree mood, and Connecting time: private time with those you love.

Times in my life where I’ve listened to my body and natural rhythms have been during travel or in unconstrained work without distractions. I think the key is being focused on whatever it is you are doing. Seven things to divide a day seem like a lot to handle working a 40-hour week in an office environment, but I’m going to explore the challenge.