Winter, Working & Big Orbit Member Show

Winter doesn't seem to have them down at all.

Winter

We survived the holidays! We are just a few days away from the mid-point of winter. For the first time  I had the thought, "Gee, spring would be nice." I do tend to a little seasonal blues, I do live in Buffalo but I've been painting some, spending time with friends, keeping generally busy. All in all not doing too bad.

 look ma, it's architecture!

Work

Speaking of busy. I've been working for the last  7 months (and clearly not updating my blog). It feels so good to be back out in the "real world"; even if I absolutely hate getting up in the mornings. I've often written about achieving balance in life and I'm definitely working on that right now. I do miss the rhythms of being a stay-at-home mom, but at the same time a lot of that was not working well for me either.  I missed adults, working, leaving the house every day. I also really resented the assumption that since my childcare role meant I was at home most of the day, that I was supposed to take on all of the housework as well. I am not a domestic goddess, now that I'm working again I get to spend a little more time doing something I really good at.

Needless to say the entire family has been adjusting to our new dynamic.  I have given up on the idea that I will ever work the 50+ hours per week that I did BC (before children). My son and daughter seem to be thriving in school. K started full day kindergarten and A still at the Waldorf pre-school. And my dear husband, has started reading my old blog post for dinner recipes.

Big Orbit Member Show

Now the really reason I wanted to post today is because I've once again submitted some artwork to the Big Orbit Member show and wanted to give you the particulars:

Art
(for sale even)
at BIG ORBIT

Big Orbit Member Show

22nd Annual
Members' Exhibition
February 2 - March 9, 2013

opening reception:

Saturday, February 2 from 8 - 11 p.m.

Usually there's a wide range of visual and sculptural art from Buffalo creatives, I've never been disappointed.  I will be out of town for the opening but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't go!

10 Reasons I Live in a City (& Love it!)

A typical Buffalo Neighborhood

I love living in the city. Moreover, I love living in Buffalo. Urban life makes me happy. I'm even working on a series of paintings about side walks and streets. Check out my other blog for updates on that. Heck I even have a Pinterest board called,"The Streets Were..."!

Let it be said, I love city life! I while I have only been subjected to the suburban lifestyle in small short burst, but the idea of it make me ______.  (Well this is supposed to be a family blog, right.)  I feel that a little less downright angry about genuinely rural life. I could imagine myself at least vacationing on a farm or in small town inn, with out getting too stabby.

I have family and even friends that for some reason prefer the suburbs, or country, I know the city is where I belong.  It is part of who I am, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  I am passionate about this, so my list might be a little long, actually I should probably write a whole book on this. Anyway, I am going to post my bullet points a few at a time.  So stay tuned.


This list is in no particular order.

Ignore the baby bump,
that's Pittsburgh back there!

1: I grew up in a city: 

There is something, again to be said, for sticking with what you know. Pittsburgh in the 80's was suffering from industrial decline, crime, and pollution. It was still a wonderful place to grow up.  I have fond memories of public school, PAT busses, friends and cousins that lived within walking distance. 
Pittsburgh, even in its muddy, dirty, under-doggiest, always had its good points and a lot have to do with being a vibrant central city.  As a little kid and a teenager, I benefited tangibly from being part of a community with research hospitals, theater and classical music productions, the Carnegie museums and libraries. There are intangible things too, like winning sports teams, extended family and community. All of these were accessible, largely, without a car.

Buffalo, is not Pittsburgh, but it still has a familiar network of places, people, and destinations that I can be meandered and discovered. I have lived her for nearly 16 years and I still and learning things about this place. I was born in a city and I feel like I understand urban pulse and it is comfortable to me.

2) I am rarely the strangest person around.

I'm sure it's everywhere,
but there's more weird stuff in a city

I don’t ever remember fitting in. For whatever reason, I tend to stick out. I have learned to accept that.  The nice thing about living within an urban community I am usually never the biggest weirdo around.  There is always someone with more tattoos, piercings at least.

The selling point of many suburban developments has long been homogony.  You live around people who all live in nearly the same style house, which everyone bought for the same price. For a long time minorities were not welcome. Cities thrive on the very crashing different communities together.

I married someone who was raised Polish Catholic, I am, by self-report, an African-American Buddhist. A city is, for me, the place where the bird and the fish can live together.  Even their children do not even stick out that much.

Nature in the city

3) Concrete grey is the new green

In my earlier post about making Every Day Earth Day I talked about house, I try to make green a lifestyle choice. While I do not think suburban life makes that impossible, there is a considerable carbon footprint associated with new-build, car only accessible development. If we take clues from our urban past and make the most of new technologies city life will be the green alternative for a sustainable future.

That’s all for now, more post about why to live in and love your central city coming soon! Tell me what you love about where you live, be it city, country or suburb.

Make New Friends

and if you were a Girl Scout:

~And Keep the Old~

    I've been participating in the The Secret to Success is Support 31 Days to a Better Blog Challenge. The day 3 task was all about finding a blog buddy.  Some one who's blog is in the same niche, and you could trade comments and links etc. Suddenly, I'm in fifth grade being picked last for dodge ball again. I can't even tell you what my niche is. I can't even settle on which blog I really am. (My other blog on craft and art blog over at KLyPT). I was about to just give up.

     The nice thing about the internet is that it is a group that is much bigger than my fifth grade class.  In the forums and on twitter I've found people who are much more like me than I'd like to admit. But different enough that I have plenty to learn from them. So I'd like to introduce you to one of my new friends, and formally ask her to be my blog buddy. (Please forgive me for not passing an origami note in health class).

     She too is and ex?-architect, mom, knitter and fellow creative. You think that's lucky she is even a charter member of a chapter of the same fraternity as I, APX. Suddenly, I'm looking forward to making new friends on the internet, and maybe she'll even inspire me to start a big knitting project like a sweater or something! Jeanne is a Great Lakes/ Rust Belt girl like me and  she writes about life, motherhood, and her travels even if many of them are P.K. (pre-kids). She's got to be Sagittarius too, if only moon sign or rising. Please hop over and check out her blog Life in Cleveland, and while your at it why don't not follow her on Twitter as well @Sourire11 where we may be trading tweets late at night, architecture school habits die hard.

~One is silver and the other's gold~

Well I mentioned old friends too, let me introduce you to a couple:

Old Friend, Poet & Hockey Chick

I met Robin IRL, the traditional way, in a coffee shop open mic. We've been best-ies ever since! Robin writes about hockey, and writes very well I may add. Even if, like me, you know nothing about hockey or don't really follow sports, her blog Ice Hockey Chick will entertain and inspire. She moonlights as a poet you know, I interviewed her a few months ago and she reminded us to put art in your life.

Yinzer, not that she'd admit it

I met Sakena in the 2nd grade, before the internet. And yes  we've kept in touch largely since then. Even if she did move out west for a while. The Rust Belt brings you back, its magnetic that way. She blogs about life in our hometown of, you guessed it, Pittsburgh. Hey she's a writer too, so if you find yourself wandering Yinzer-ville, click Frolic 412. You'll find out what to do, where to do it, and maybe how to get there.






As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I am participating in the The Secret to Success is Support 31 Days to a Better Blog Challenge, so expect some positive changes in both of my blogs. Let me know how I'm doing, I live for comments!

Wordless Wednesday: Rainy Day While Camping

 

Why Not to Hire an Architect to Build a Sandbox:Part 3

However, my poor children have no choice. The design bug bit both of their parents as young adults. My DH and I don’t always have the same taste or opinion on design (read: 3 years to paint one bathroom). However, what we agree on is a love the problem solving, imagining, making, and a hate of painting the bathroom. When we found out we were having my son, the first think I could think about was how to redecorate his room, and the kick-*ss tree house we were going to build. He was one before his room was done, but that is another post for another time.

This post is supposed to be about architects and sand boxes. This is going to tell you how we did it, but please do not take this as a How TO post if you need instructions for a simple, functional, and rational designs go here: ==>>Great Sandbox Plans <<== . As doctors make poor patients, architects make poor clients, so we both took these plans and proceeded to ignore them completely.  See the start of this project check out Part 1, and Part 2.

Here's the back story: Probably 3 years ago my husband drove by one of those traditional sandbox turtles, and garbage-picked it. It appealed to the both of us, re-used, retro, already to fill with sand and it covered the not grassy spot in the back yard perfectly. My son loved it for at least two summers!

.

(You can see the outline of the new one behind there)
Then DD turned one. The turtle was not big enough for the two of them. Something had to be done immediately!

So in and effort to fit a bit more sandbox in an already cramped back yard we came up with this design. I really wish I could find the old plans for this one, yes there were plans, just be glad I didn’t draft it in 3D. It didn’t take too many weekends, used a bit of log from a tree damaged in the “2006 October Storm”. We constructed it just like our raised garden and it would have been integrated as planting space when the kiddos lost interest. I say, “would have been” because about a month after its completion we decided to put our house on the market and move. Kind of like when the city decides to pave your street the year before they decide to dig up and replace the sewer, (and those are engineers…sheesh). Fortunately, family that bought our house also has a young son, and I’d like to think that he’s enjoying it right now.

So, with moving last fall, and winter, and the rainiest spring ever it was the first week of July before we started the new and fabulous designer sandbox.
The outline on the ground was my DH idea, and since we couldn’t have just make a simple rectilinear box, in fact, we couldn’t even make it an octagon, that would have been too easy, and as I said before we needed a challenge. So, it is mostly an octagon, except when it's not, (heptagon I think). We used 2x12’s for the walls and the seat, and 4x4 for the corner and bench supports.

******

Here are a few more images

******

BOO-BOO!

Of course, Sunday evening just before we would have called it quits for the first weekend, we have a minor job site injury. So there was a 6-hour detour to the ER, but DD is doing much better now, and as soon as the glue’s gone, we can get back into swim lessons and back yard sprinkles. Good thing we have the sandbox to entertain everyone.

It will probably take 2400lbs of sand

.

We stained it “Gettysburg Blue” I’m not sure DH really likes the color (it’s almost the same as that epic bathroom re-do that I mentioned earlier), but I bought the paint without a formal change order so there you have it.

Its blue!

The cover and sunshade (Ikea, but discontinued I believe) were in fact off the rack, but I’m sure I’ll end up hacking them up in the end. But that’s for next week’s project.

our shady spot

So in short the reason you don’t hire and architect to design your sandbox is that is they will likely go way over on time, materials and of course budget, pay no mind to site safety and in the end you’ll have a seven sided blue sandbox. 

Sun Sail over "over designed sandbox"

Why Not to Hire an Architect to Build a Sandbox: Part 1

Laid out on our driveway

Wordless Wednesday: Why Not to Hire an Architect to Move Your Furniture

Cut out couches

The World is Opening Doors to Higher Education, what about Buffalo?

NPR and the Global University:

I have really enjoyed Joyce Kryszak ongoing articles about the University at Buffalo, and how international students and even offshore campuses have expanded our local university, I think for the best. However, last week you segment (or an ad for it) was closely followed by coverage of Buffalo Schools Superintendent James A. Williams’s convocation for this year’s public school session. He commented on the lack-luster high school graduation rates across the city and the down right deplorable odds for African-American boys in our city schools. Is it possible that a UB student is more likely to encounter someone from Singapore than a black person from University Heights neighborhood? While I am glad that UB has made the effort to distinguish itself as a diverse international institution; I am saddened that the impenetrable heart of intellectual darkness may be right across the street. I wonder what the University had done about attracting and retaining racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse students from the Western NY area and Buffalo specifically. Especially when these students may be the ones who will want to stay here, to attract employers, or become employers themselves. They could become human capital investment that Buffalo has longing for.

I did not grow up in Buffalo, but I am a UB Graduate, and UB’s graduate architecture program is one major reason that I decided to stay in Buffalo. The field of architecture is not known for its diversity, and has long been the purview of old white men. This is changing, and nearly half of my classmates were women. Because UB attracts so many international students, I had the benefit of a studio environment that included European, Canadian, and most notably Asian students. In many ways, this enriched our learning environment. However, as an African-American woman, I was nearly always the only representative of this group. In my first year, many students and sometime professors referred to me by the name of the only other African-American woman who was there, we shared no classes, and really do not look anything alike. When she graduated, at least people knew who I was; or should I say EVERYONE knew who I was, I wasn’t famous, I just stuck out. Why were there be more international architecture students than black, Hispanic, Native American, or even White students from Buffalo. This always seemed particularly hurtful to me just as I would leave south campus; I would drive through hurting neighborhoods that are in such dire need of design and of the designers who are intimate with and invested in them. I knew that many of the talented students I went to school with were going to leave not only Buffalo, but also the country when they graduated.

This is not just UB’s problem; they cannot enroll students that are not ready for higher education, nor is it just the problem of Buffalo Public schools. As we know, Buffalo is a poor city, and not yet healed from the scars and scrapes of its industrial history. The high school and college education of the not-so wealthy, and minority student is a looming community and national issue. It is be unfair to portray these students as any less hungry or knowledge than their Singaporean counterparts. Why do not UB’s globalization efforts start by reaching across Bailey Avenue? If culture, national origin, religion, even language are bridged, why not race, neighborhood, and socio-economic status? I cannot say I have an immediate solution to this complex problem, but I am interested in raising awareness, and doing what I can to contribute to its long-term solution. I think that UB has and will be a key to that solution. UB should continue to distinguish itself as a Global University, but it should also look towards the world away that is at its front door.

Pricing your own time

In every consultants life there is a time when s/he must put a dollar value to their own time. Yes every hourly employee had to decide weather or not to work for what the boss-man pays, hey some have even gone on strike over bad wages. However, when you have to pull a number out of thin air it actually takes some soul searching. For my entire working career I know I've been paid on the "no penis discount" meaning (at least in architecture) .75 Denise Scott Brown cents on every Robert Venturi $1.00. Even when I started working for a woman owned firm and got a 25% raise, I was still in the hole because i started out at a lower salary.

So now that I'm in a position to really call the shots and value my professional expertise for what it is, I'm having a little sticker shock. The thing is, so far every client has been totally on board with what I've asked. My informal market survey says that I'm definitely in the ball park. And hey who says they can't negotiate? I know its a case of wavering self-esteem. I do the things I do, it's not hard for me; it would be impossible for my clients to do. So I should charge appropriately for my time and expertise. Not to mention I have to cover the nanny/sitter's time too. (For some reason no one expects that to come out of my husbands pay, just mine but thats another blog for another day.)

Ok so as soon as I close this window I'm going to write a couple of proposals and ask for my more than fair price. Because I'm worth it. Heck after the projects done I may even color my hair.