midsummer ramblings

This summer, thus far, I have
~ traveled to Italy (a future post about this wonderful experience, perhaps.)
~ surprisingly accomplished a satisfying amount of art
~ finished watching Star Trek: TNG (important!)
~ continued to casually practice yoga
~ tried seafood for the first time in 10+ years, and discovered that it isn't so bad
~ discovered a liking for coffee, although tea will always have my heart
~ learned to crochet

I'm aware that the above list would generally be considered as all good accomplishments, but trust me when I say that you don't want to hear about my excessive euro spending or cheese stick consumption. As July comes around, I plan to try to be as productive as I can, as it's usually this time of year where I being to slack off and stay in bed until noon. But regardless, the end of this month brings a break to these lazy days since I'll be visiting Peru for about a week; an adventure I'm greatly anticipating.

driving in circles

the little painted desert

winslow, az.

collages:

a love-hate relationship.

bright angel

I've lived in Arizona for over half my life now, and been to the Grand Canyon multiple times, but none of these visits compared to being able to hike to the bottom of it. It was a great start to my spring break; eating Thai food, 60 degree weather, and then being able to experience this beautiful hole in the ground from a completely different perspective. The only part I regret is not being able to spend more time taking in the panoramas that always make me feel so small. We began at the Bright Angel trailhead, near the Grand Canyon Village located at the south rim, and then hiked 4.7 miles down, only stopping briefly to take pictures and munch on trail mix. This led us to the Indian Gardens; a campground tucked away under the shade of leafy foliage. Through the middle ran a tiny stream, where I was quick to remove my hiking shoes and socks to dip my feet into the cool, clear water before getting ready to trek back up. I would've loved to continue further into the center of the canyon, but without any plans to camp overnight, the trip would be exhausting for just one day. As I hiked farther and farther uphill, the Indian Gardens below resembled a small green oasis amongst the endless tans, reds, and bluish shadows of the canyon walls. I'll admit, the climb up was difficult, considering the fact that I'm not in the best shape. But, once at the rim again, it was clear that the whole experience was more than worth the sore muscles I would have to endure over the next couple of days. Now in possession of an annual pass to this national park, I have absolutely no doubt that I'll be returning here again later this year, even if it is just to admire the view.

february thoughts

So far in 2015, I've learned how to knit, started watching Star Trek: Voyager, and deleted my Facebook account. I'd say that's a pretty decent start to the year. February has come and is basically gone, and while I've enjoyed the warmer weather, I'm thankful for the snow we've gotten up here in Flagstaff over the past couple of days. As usual, I've been lazy, but this time it's mainly been due to lots of class work. I'm learning a lot, and my new, earlier schedule has definitely made me a far more productive person -- a big change when I think back to my high school days spent procrastinating. I do wish that more of these assignments were related to art production, but I'm glad I've found the time to work on my knitting projects during the evenings. Because of my nail-biting habit, I've found that both knitting and weaving have helped me stop picking at my hands while watching TV. Unfortunately, this kind of distraction isn't possible to do while reading (which I've been doing a lot of this semester, thanks to my classes), where I believe my habit is at it's worst. I suppose I'll have to put in a bit more effort in my own mental strength if I truly want to kick this habit once and for all. The fact that I've already rid my life of the pointlessness of Facebook has me confident that I'll be able to do the same for biting my nails. Though I sometimes find it strange that I'll no longer be able to spend time scrolling through the thoughts and lives of people I haven't talked to in years, I feel that just simply removing this small distraction from my daily routine was a healthy move. I'll admit, my decision to do this was strongly motivated by my frustration stemming from observing all the stupidity and ignorance that exists on the site. Though I do believe some aspects of social media and the internet enhance my life, I hope I'll eventually be able to disentangle myself from other aspects of it in the future.

arcosanti

"The care of the citizen is the sap of the city. But one can care only for that which one loves. A lovable city is key to a living city. A lovely city is not an accident, as a lovely person is not an accident."                                       —Paolo Soleri

Several years ago, when I attended a photography camp at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, is when I first discovered the simple elegance of building a living space that was peacefully integrated with the natural environment on which it was constructed. My admiration and appreciation for innovative and aesthetically beautiful architecture was restored after taking a short road trip to visit Arcosanti: 20th century architect Paolo Soleri's vision of a harmonious and sustainable community. His philosophy of 'Arcology', the combination of architecture and ecology, led him to plan and begin construction for a city that would embody this very idea. Before visiting Arcosanti, I only knew of the name Soleri from his creation of bronze and ceramic wind bells, one of which has hung in my backyard for multiple years now. Our bronze bell rings most furiously each July evening as the desert monsoon winds blow in, coloring the sky with pink dust. After seeing how these bells are made at Arcosanti, the chimes that can be heard even from my tightly-closed bedroom window mean just a bit more to me. Though the entirety of Arcosanti was never fully completed, what lies in the central Arizonan desert today is a perfect example of what the future of our cities must begin to implement if we are to keep the nature that surrounds us available for every subsequent generation to experience for themselves.

"In nature, as an organism evolves it increases in complexity and it also becomes a more compact or miniaturized system. Similarly a city should function as a living system. Arcology, architecture and ecology as one integral process, is capable of demonstrating positive response to the many problems of urban civilization, population, pollution, energy and natural resource depletion, food scarcity and quality of life. Arcology recognizes the necessity of the radical reorganization of the sprawling urban landscape into dense, integrated, three-dimensional cities in order to support the complex activities that sustain human culture. The city is the necessary instrument for the evolution of humankind."                                       —Paolo Soleri