Beads in the Market.

I mapped the bead stand in the market. I have always been attached to beads and buying beads. I sort of collect them and make things on occasion. The beads in the market were all plastic, which disappointed me since I expected them to be glass or at least have some weight to them. They were still interesting to look at and recreate on paper. The shapes and colors varied and on some you could see the plastic seam.

Found Drawings.

I photographed all over the city and found drawings everywhere. I figured that i could connect them in some way, but when I looked at them the only thing that connected them was the fact that I found them and photographed them. After this I decided to photograph found drawings within Reid Hall, which is sort of home base here in Paris. It is amazing how much one can find here in one building.

Mapping Red.

Red is a color that is used a to catch people’s attention and is associated with all sorts of past and present movements. When actively looking for red one will most likely find it all over the place. As I walked I began to see all the red cars, doors, shirts, and signs. It all came forward as I looked. I wondered if I had not been looking for the red if it would be so apparent. I began to make tally marks in my sketchbook of how many red doors, cars, and shirts I saw. 7 red doors, 6 red cars, 17 red shirts, although I know there were more.

Quick Sketches.

        

I know that quick sketches are meant to be fast, but I think that at times I move too fast for my own good. I put too much down on the paper, too much weight. I enjoyed my sketches a little bit more as I began to slow down and measure a little bit. Fast sketches can still be done slow.

Dans Le Noir.

I thought it would be comfortable in the dark, and I was for the most part. The worst part was walking in to the table and feeling the pull on my arm thinking I would be separated from the group I tried so hard to keep my hand on Chelsea’s shoulder as we were pulled into the darkness. I ate with my hands, as it was too difficult to find the food using a fork. I tasted smoked salmon. I had no idea what the rest of what I ate was, but it tasted good until I tried the dessert. I do not like grapefruit. I found out the “steak” we had was actually bison, and I realized that had I known that before I would have never eaten it. So perhaps it took this experience to broaden my senses and help me look, and taste things differently and without fear.

Garden Reflection.

When I was younger my uncle Peter used to have small plant nursery in our back yard. It was just out the window of my brother’s room. The grapefruit tree, which is now gone was surrounded by different palm trees and plants of all sorts. My brother and I used to help Peter on the weekends or whenever he was around and we would pull weeds from the potted plants. There used to be a bridge in my back yard. I vaguely remember this; I think the hurricanes took it away at some point.

Blindfolded Drawings.

Stephanie and I walked through the Garden together. I felt comfortable leading Stephanie and telling her what I saw. It was interesting to have to describe a visually thing out loud and of course I struggled for words. Stephanie had trouble filling the page at first, but it got better as time went on. Stephanie did a pretty good job describing the landscapes; my problem was that I used my memory of what things are supposed to look like rather than listening to her descriptions. I had no trouble filling the page and let my hand go wherever it wanted. I enjoyed this exercise and the gardens in Paris are beautiful.

Montparnasse:Noticing.

Four of us walked to the cemetery. 

Signs:

Directional arrows are blue and white( at home they are yellow and black)

Gravestones have a lot of crosses, some are Jewish and are denoted by the 10 commandment tablets.

One tomb had rocks on it; this is a tradition in Judaism.

Cemetery road signs are green with white type.

Walking back to PRC.

Use of the universal handicap sign.

Mostly smaller public signs.

Street signs are mostly blue tiles on the side of buildings, which is hard to see sometimes.

Integration with buildings.

Blue and Green Neon Pharmacy signs.

Neon Lights on during the day.

Big white directional arrows, which don't really point in any real direction.

Tow-away symbol.