Today I went for a hike at Otay Lakes. It was a beautiful day. Cool breeze. White, fluffy clouds against a blue sky. Sparkling water gently moving with the wind. Birds chirping. I brought along my sound recorder, left it in a tree and went along my way. Below is a brief snippet of what I captured. via GIPHY for Brick Tamland
This week in Palm Springs is Modernism Week which is a week celebrating Southern California Modernism in architecture and design. Personally, I wanted to focus on Mid Century Modern architecture because I love the shapes and design of houses and buildings from this era. The large windows that aspire to combine indoor and outdoor living spaces, the Brise Soleil (“sun baffle outside the windows or extending over the entire surface of a building’s facade”; created to keep out direct or lots of sunlight- these can create incredible shadows and geometric shapes), and the simplicity of the design inspire me. Because…
Have you ever seen a movie or TV show, where the person puts his or her hand through an imaginary wall or invisible shield only to enter into another dimension? That’s what the Salton Sea feels like to me. Last week, I took two of my nephews to see this odd little piece of geography. We headed east through Julian, then after a beautiful stretch of Anza Borrego and Ocotillo Wells, we ran smack dab into the 86. From there we went to Mecca and then headed south on the 111 to the official recreation area. If we weren’t on…
I love my ceramics studio, the San Diego Ceramic Connection. For me, it’s so wonderful to step into this space, be myself and get my hands dirty. And it turns out I have one more reason to love it… the 20th Annual San Diego Ceramic Connection Community Chili Potluck/SoNo Fest and Chili Cook-Off. For those interested, here is the link with all of the information but essentially, SoNo Fest humbly began years ago with Kouta Shimazaki, the owner of the studio and master Japanese potter, who wanted to help out at his son’s school. Kouta began as a volunteer at McKinley…
A friend sent me this poem about Istanbul by Yahya Kemal Beyatlı. Although I love being home, back in the States, the words below could have been written by me: (photo by me)
Before coming back to the States, I read several articles about ‘repatriation’ or ‘reverse culture shock’. The gist being that it can be harder to come back home then move to an entirely new country. As happens, I believed that this wouldn’t apply to me so much because I wanted to go home; I wanted to be back in America so for me there would be little to no culture shock. And as happens, I was kinda wrong. To say that I am happy to be back in San Diego is an understatement. This morning I went to breakfast with…
Final project: Concept Board and Sample Board for my ‘Interior Design: The Essentials’ course through the KLC School of Design: As an overall introduction to interior design, this course fit the bill. With Monday dedicated to the Concept Board, the Design Process, Lighting, the next four days were equally jam packed with information: Tuesday: Developing a Scheme, Textiles and Trimmings, and Color and Texture Each section was followed by a workshop or task. With Textiles and Trimmings, we worked in small groups to identify the (many) different types of fabrics – I didn’t do so hot on this one but…
When I was in Dubai, I took a free, online course called, ‘The Power of Colour’. The course is through futurelearn.com but the school that created the course is the KLC School of Design in London. With the colour course, I found myself dead tired some days but still completing each weekly challenge(s). To this day, I refer to the course and I take my colour wheel with me in my carry-on luggage. #geekalert. After the course finished, I received a few emails about upcoming workshops and certificate programs. Great courses but I was in the UAE. So when my…
When I stepped out of the airport and a cool breeze embraced me, I can’t tell you how good it felt on my skin. Then a few days later, it rained and I thought to myself, ‘I never have to go back to the hot soup of Dubai weather again.’ Nope. Cool breeze in quiet London park below.
Well, I didn’t win the top prize but I did get an Honorable Mention in the 2017 San Diego County Fair Photography competition! Within the ‘Cell Phone – Color or B&W division’, there were 4 winners and 8 Honorable Mentions. So twelve total chosen and one of mine squeaked in! This also means that my photo will be displayed in the Exhibit Hall. A dream come true for me. Tonight, my cup runneth over.
traveling with claire 