May 2012, the month of the Computer



New stairway/landscape for a residence in Rancho Mirage

In May, I lost a motherboard on my CAD computer and a whole hard drive on my graphics computer.
Human Computer, in Palm Desert, saved my butt this month! I still got two sets of Construction Documents out! YAY!

And, while I couldn't be on the computer, I went on site often for this very special project. I want to ensure that I'm capturing the most views from the site.

A quick onsite study of a possible addition to the Master Bedroom patio

What Can My Dog Do?

(Really we only have 24 hours in a day?! I could use at least 6 more hours each day so I can get to all my fun work after my "real work"!) This project has been over a year in the making!)

Here's a sketch from a childrens book that I'm hoping to see in print and on my daughter's bookshelf... someday. I've sent off about a 1/2 dozen "dummy" books to publishers with all negative responses. The hard copy publishing industry is struggling against all the advances in digital media. And new authors/illustrators are last on their list of acquisitions.

I am, now, looking at a self-published version.

Accessorize

I never thought of myself as a "decorator" but when it comes to details on a perspectives, often it's the accessories that bring a space to life.

Similar to staging a home for sale, the small potted plants and table settings help my clients "see" the vision that will be their yard. 

The other day I created a perspective of a proposed barbecue area for a project I am currently developing. While I want to show off the contemporary lines of the counter at the barbecue, I stared at it afterwards thinking it was cold and uninviting.       

Enter the accessories: a potted orchid, succulent garden boat, and dishes with hanging towel.

To ensure the proper scale and perspective, these were drawn on trace paper directly on top of the original .

I scanned the additional trace paper and in Photoshop: multiply the layers, adjust the levels to blend them together, flatten ...and VOILA:  Short from putting their initials on the towel, the barbecue seems personal, inviting, and still shows off the clean lines of the counter.

Emergency drawings

Sometimes the pace of construction calls for emergency drawings.

Yesterday, I stopped by one my jobs to check out the forms for some outdoor stairs. Nowhere did I find my plans that I'd drawn up (perhaps the general had given his last copy of his plans to the irrigation team, or the electrician), BUT I found the contractor had drawn the layout for his laborers on a wall nearby. Ha! If it rains, the plan will be washed away... but sometimes the importance of the whole design can be emphasized the "graffiti" on the wall.  And in the immediate time frame, it works.

With the construction process, there are always changes, additions and revisions. Sometimes it calls for quick action. I end up drawing lots of quick details during construction.

Below you'll see a built bench and raised planter. During the construction, the homeowners wanted to add a seating area at their front door.  I sketched the design quickly onsite, took a photo of my sketch, and handed the hard copy to the contractor. Construction kept moving (as it should) and the bare-bones sketch allowed it to turn out perfect!

An entry bench and raised planter. Inset is my picture of my emergency onsite sketch.

A Modern gingerbread house... oh! the irony.

I have sweet spot in my heart for old blueprints and plans. Over the last decade I count myself lucky to have worked with the landscapes of and acquire copies of some great architectural homes.

Gorgeous plans... check out the hand drawn "swimming pool" label! What an awesome font!

My favorite plans in my possession are by Hal Levitt (a gorgeous home in Rancho Mirage) and William Cody's Cannon House in Indian Wells.  

The pieces before they were baked

This year I thought it might be fun to make a gingerbread house Bill Cody's plans. I traced the floor plan at 1/8" scale which gave me the dimensions of the walls. Then reviewing the elevations, I extruded those planes.  I used the trace pape, like a sewing pattern, and made the wall pieces.  Then assigned a code to each wall according to it's relative volume and cut the gingerbread accordingly.  The roof pieces were easy to follow on the "roof" plan.

Oh boy... it started out easy but the final execution was harder than I expected.  First, the pieces all rose and bubbled up during baking and their "flatness" was lost.

after baking

After cooling, I pieced it together, and realized the vertical scale was drastically exaggerated now due to the icing depth and the thickness from the gingerbread. Still, I was only slightly disappointed at this point, my real let down came next.  

While decorating, I felt deeper disgust with every piece I tacked on.  All the candy, gum drops, licorice, etc, was ruining the appeal and essence of the architecture. I had to stop!

the final product

Lesson learned: Now, I fully understand why Victorian houses refer to their decorations as "gingerbread".  Victorian style homes can wear the gobble-dy-gook (for lack of better description) with style.

A Modern home, however, is an arrangement of simple forms and volumes, usually linear in emphasis and void of excessive decoration.  Translation: A modern gingerbread house is an oxymoron.

... the Gingerbread houses of the holidays are by nature full of decoration and whimsy. 

I couldn't have the holiday without a proper looking gingerbread house...  here's our traditional one.