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Wednesday, July 14

"A Certain Slant of Light"- Art Exhibit


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It is truly wonderful when good friends create something artistically unique that is especially wonderful  when it is a  collaborative  process. Our good friends, Lisa Schulte and Cyndee Howard did just that, right here in Santa Barbara.
Cyndee Howard
light is liquid, life is liquid, 2010
digital photograph printed on aluminum
48" x 32"

A Certain Slant of Light: New Works by Cyndee Howard and Lisa Schulte is a two-person exhibit exploring the notion of light as a formal as well as thematic medium.    The show is curated by Miki Garcia, Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum,  the exhibition features new works in photography by Howard and neon sculpture by Schulte.
The title is borrowed from a poem by Emily Dickinson that reveals an intimate, yet complex investigation into the nature of light as a spiritual, psychological, and physical theme.  Both artists use this theme of light to portray this internal processing of emotions themselves, including angst, love, anger, lust, sweetness and spirituality.  They all have titles like growth..and processing...and i cannot escape which allude to the works as vehicles for self-realization and discovery.  An interesting medium choice for private explorations of self, as neon and light are usually chosen for public attention grabbing spaces.
For this exhibition, Howard was inspired by the neon works in Schulte's Los Angeles Studio and thus became the idea for the two-person showing; as stated by Garcia "a demonstration of the collaborative spirit between two artists, working together to find similar expressions using their own media."

Lisa Schulte has worked with neon lights for thirty years as an industrial designer and artist.  She uses neon to as a "way to tell a story, show the shapes and communicate feelings."  The works in this exhibition evolved out of a person struggle to move from a dark period back into the light and to find her voice as an artist.  Beginning with an emotion visualized in the form of light she determines whether it is possible to recreate the vision using the medium of neon: gas, glass, and fluorescent powders.
Lisa Schulte
Processing, 2010
16 straight runs of coated blue neon mounted on white aluminum
40" x 72"
Lisa Schulte
Scan, 2010
green neon on green high gloss metal
39" x 60"
Lisa Schulte
Eyes wide Open, 2010 
orange neon on orange high gloss metal
21" x  24"

Cyndee Howard is an accomplished photographer who uses her camera as a way to articulate her thoughts and desires.  She describes her worldview as two-fold. "the one within, whirling, dashing, jumping from thought to thought or emotion to emotion and then one very still, very quiet and observing everything outside and around me while trying to remain invisible.  One is very logical and mathematical, one very lyrical and mystical.  Sometimes they meet."  She describes the process as an investigation of pushing the limits of shooting light for the sake of light, experimenting with aperture, focal settings, film speeds, camera shake, and other variations.
Cyndee Howard
I see red, 2010
digital photograph printed on aluminum
48" x  32"

Cyndee Howard
growth, 2010
digital photograph printed on aluminum
30" x 30" 

These works are on display July1-August 14 
125 West Ortega Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805.966.5225
email: cyndee.howard@gmail.com


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Friday, July 9

ECO Tour Baja Mexico Whale Encounter


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If you have ever dreamed of kissing a 40 ton grey whale, consider an all inclusive trip to central Baja.  The lagoon of San Ignacio in Baja Mexico is a special place where adventure seeking nature and animal lovers can have an up close encounter with 40 ton Grey Whale mothers and thier babies.

Boats cannot approach but the whales come right up to the boat to interact and to be petted.
"We were changed for the rest of our lives"  Guest Rick Armon, High School Student

The resort is run by Pichico Mayoral, who has been fishing Baja's San Ignacio Lagoon since 1960 and his roots to the area date back to the 1800's.  In 1972, he was the first person to have a friendly encounter with a grey whale.  Soon after, he started a tour operation so that others could share the awe and fascination.  Pichico Mayoral has been interviewed on NBC Nightly News,  and the Eco tour destination has been deemed one of the Top 10- Not to be Missed locations by Outside Magazine in 2007.
The Hosts: The Mayoral Family-Pichico, Carmen and Jesus
The Wind Proof Cabins sleep two and are equip with AC Power.
The main tent house is the place where everyone is always welcome, meals and stories of the days adventures are shared "until the coyotes and wind signal it's time for bed." as the website states.

Casual family style meals are made with local seafood from the lagoon and produce from local ranches.  Fresh Scallops, Halibut and Sea Bass are served as the Season allows.

18th Century Jesuit Mission in the town of San Ignacio
Close Up Smile and Wink
There are two companies with various options for getting there.  Baja Ecotours offers an all inclusive package from San Diego, CA (by private plane/ transport to the lagoon from local airport). Pachico Ecotours has packages for interacting with the whales, meals and lodging.

Fluke!


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Wednesday, July 7

Global Award for Sustainable Architecture


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While in Paris, John and Gregg had the opportunity to visit Cite de l' Architecture et du Patrimoine, an architecture museum in the Palais de Chailott across the river from the Eiffel tower in Paris, France.  The 8000 meter space consists of a trio of galleries :
     -Galerie des Moulages - displaying casts of French architecture from the 12th to 18th centuries.
    - Galerie des Peintures Murales et des Vitraux (wall paintings and stained-glass windows)- reproducing outstanding works from historic monuments.
    -  Galerie Moderne et Contemporaine - French and international architecture from 1850 to the present, featuring Award Winners of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture.

The Global Award for Sustainable Architecture honors five living architects a year who are moving towards Sustainability.  Nominations are accepted from all nations.  Their works offer clear insights into the search for a rational contemporary architecture which is:
    - fully in step with the ethical, civil and social concerns of today
    - innovative in the areas of ecology, energy, materials and technology
    - progressive in its search for new standards for both housing and public facilities

A few chosen works among many amazing designs:

M & G Ricerche

Also by Phillippe Samyn 
Milly Film
This building presents curved and vegetated facades that are very private on three sides In contrast, the west facade is entirely glass-walled as if it were one huge partitioned window.



In the forward of Sustainable Design, a book John brought home from his tour of the exhibition,  Thomas Herzog, an award winner in 2009, sums up "sustainability" as a wide range of issues: "choosing and sourcing materials, the amount of energy needed to transport and finish them, building construction processes, their performance rating, the amount of energy to keep them running, maintenance processes, durability, internal flexibility in terms of use, adaptability to new technologies in the supply, disposal and telecommunications sectors, suitability for dismantling and possible re-erection, the conversion and recycling possibilities; but of course in particular, suitability for the use of solar energy for the purposes of heating, cooling, for using daylight, and generating electricity."

2009 Winner
Palmyra House  
Set in a Coconut Plantation an hour out of Bombay, the house is made from Palmyra wood, an abundant resource,  and recycled teak.  The walls disolve into screens.



2010 Winner
Brammy K
This house resembles our Net Zero Platinum LEED project on Hill Rd, Montecito, CA.




2010
1. Giancarlo Mazzanti - Colombia
2. Junya Ishigami - Japan
3. Snøhetta - Norway
4. Steve Baer - USA
5. Troppo Architects - Australia
         
         
2009
1. Patrick Bouchain and Loïc Julienne - France
2. Thomas Herzog - Germany
3. Bijoy Jain, Studio Mumbai - India
4. Diébédo Francis Kéré - Germany/Burkina Faso
5. Sami Rintala - Norway          
           
2008
1. Fabrizio Caròla – Italy
2. Alejandro Aravena, Elemental – Chile
3. Andrew Freear, Rural Studio – USA
4. Philippe Samyn – Belgium
5. Carin Smuts – South Africa          

2007
1. Stefan Behnisch – Germany
2. Balkrishna Doshi – India
3. Françoise-Hélène Jourda – France
4. Hermann Kaufmann - Austria
5. Wang Shu – China
 
The Global Award for Sustainable Architecture 2010 was held this year in Paris on May 11th.   Here is a list of all the winners for the past few years.




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Monday, June 28

Lunch On A Peniche (Barge) in Melun on the River Seine


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Sunday, June 27

Sustainable Travel thru Paris -Velibing with Gregg and John


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A Beautiful Photojournal of John and Gregg with local friends, Amber and Leo, as they do their own Velib tour through the streets of Paris...














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