Park & Ride pictures

Postcard to Jenny

No Bus About It

On our second week of the year, we were given a rather odd assignment. We were asked to document our experience on a public bus in Greensboro. Naturally, people assembled into small groups to go together. I went with my friends Britney and Krista.

^This image was on the bus stop sign^
While walking up to the bus stop, we were a little unsure of which side of the road to be on—it would be a little embarrassing if the bus came and we were on the wrong side. Then I noticed on the side we were on the big yellow lines that mark where the bus stops, thus indicating we were on the correct side. I pointed out that those lines were very useful in wayfinding. We were beginning to wonder just how long we were going to have to wait when finally a big black bus pulled around the corner and parked inside the painted yellow rectangle on the pavement. The three of us exchanged smiles as if to say “Here goes nothing!” and we boarded the bus.
^Here's the interior of the bus we hitched a ride on^
After ascending the steps, I realized I was supposed to swipe my student id somewhere, but I had no idea where the swiper was. I flashed the driver a sheepish smile and looked at him expectantly. He got the hint that I was clueless. Rolling his eyes, he pointed to the area I was looking for and grunted, “You just gotta swipe it right there.” I did as he said and turned to look for three empty seats, settling for three that were lining the side of the bus.
^Here is the pattern that was on the seat covers--Not the prettiest.^
Once Britney, Krista and I were settled, we had the chance to take in our surroundings. The first thing I noticed was the smell; it was not pleasant. Although, taking into account just how many people have been on that bus just that day, it has to be expected. I could hear a faint murmur of a recording; it was a woman telling the passengers which stop is coming up. Looking around, I noticed the layout of the bus, which was pretty standard for most public transportation. There were two doors, one in the front, and one near the back. Some seats faced the front, and then some, like ours, lined the sides of the bus, facing each other. I noticed pretty quickly how ugly the seats were—a blue floral pattern, lined in a pea green metal. Really, who chose that?! Stretching from the front to the back of the bus was a long, thin, yellow cord. If your stop is coming up, you better pull that sucker, or the driver will drive right past it!
^The busdriver that had a lead foot^
It only took a few seconds to notice all of these things, and before I could get used to it, the engine roared to life and we were off. I have been on public transportation before, but I never remember it being so jerky and uncomfortable. I felt like I was tensing every muscle in my body just to keep from falling onto the floor! At least I was getting a workout, right? I realized that I was steadier if I kept both feet flat on the floor instead of crossing my legs.
^I took this then photoshopped it to emulate the bumpy ride we experienced^
Before I started snapping pictures, I studied the people that were riding the bus. Most were very quiet because they probably didn’t know each other—they were just trying to get from point A to point B. They each had a different destination in mind. I find this idea very interesting. The bus is a point of crossroads for people, all going to different places, yet at this one point in their life, they are all together and in the same place. That’s true for many environments, though—I think the same of hotels, airplanes, really anything having to do with traveling.

After riding around for a couple minutes and snapping pictures, I began to get used to the bus and started to watch the different houses fly by. It was interesting to view the neighborhoods through the windows of the bus—different somehow. Some houses were charming and unique, most needed a little work, and a few just needed to be put out of their misery and demolished.

So after about twenty minutes, and a huge loop around Greensboro, we exited the bus and I thought Britney was going to kiss the ground. I wouldn’t have blamed her, though. You know that rocking feeling that you get when you step off of a boat for the first time in a couple of hours? Well, while writing this, I still feel like I’m on that bus. Between you and me, I think that driver might need to go back to bus school.:)

Second Year

^leah and jenny being goofy while putting together our project

So here we are again, back in the Gatewood building. It is the ending of the first week of my second in the Interior architecture program, and I have to say, it is starting out much like I thought it would. Everyone knew that as soon as we stepped foot inside the building, we would get lots of new projects and things to do--we were so right, too. The difference this year is that we knew what to expect and how to budget our time, so I find myself getting less stressed out than last year over the amount of assignments the teachers have given us.





This year is going to have a lot of team work in it. We are separated into groups and asked to accomplish assignments together. This first week we were asked to do a project on wayfinding. A couple of people in our group got together one of the night and actually had a really good time putting together our project. Then after presenting our individual goup projects, the whole class got together and combined those project together into one larger project. That experience was an interesting one. Ever heard the phrase "Too many cooks, not enough chefs?" That's kind of how that day turned out. So many people had ideas, so many people couldn't speak loud enough to voice them, and lots of people just didn't help. That's definitely something we need to work on.

Over all, I am loving second year and can't wait to get more projects!

Wayfinding

Elsewhere, elsewhere

The sketches above are from a very surreal place called Elsewhere. Elsewhere is a place where artists from all over come and live for a couple of months. They create artwork that is inspired by the items within. When I first walked into Elsewhere, I was very overwhelmed. There was stuff EVERYWHERE. While looking around, a lot of childhood memories were brought to the surface of my mind. There were toys of all kinds, as well as miscellaneous items, stacked to the ceiling.

We went to this strange place a couple of different times, and each time something changed in the room. Elsewhere almost took on its own personality. This is the reason that some of my drawings have the same statue rabbit in them. I took the rabbit and moved it to different locations, which symbolize the ever-changing appearance of Elsewhere. All in all, this is a spectacular place and I cannot wait to go back!

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