Depaving project

This semester I've been taking a class that looked at ways to redesign overpaved areas on grounds to make them more active spaces with healthier plants and greater permeability for rainwater. Our first plans, for an herb garden in the lot behind a dining hall, were rejected, so we regrouped to complete this smaller-scale project.

This small plaza is the main bus stop and entry point to Hereford College at UVA. The plaza has six stunted maples and was entirely paved with a gray-purple brick. We removed the compacted gravel and clay from the maple beds, added new soil from a local compost operation, planted lavender and bright flowers, and broke some of the bricks to make an unusual stripe of "brick mulch." In future years, perhaps the project will continue to make this a more active space with tables and seating.

table

This semester, I am lucky to be taking a furniture-making class-- my project is a table by the modernist Dutch designer Gerritt Reitveld. The pieces are mostly cut, now there is a lot of sanding, staining, drilling, and assembling.

Here is one version of the "Military Table"-- I am making some slight adaptations, but it will be similar:



It has been a relaxing and satisfying process so far, as I have been guided and assisted by very knowledgeable and talented teachers. It was amazing to watch the wood transform from a rough cut board to the sanded, square cut pieces of my table (yes, I should have taken more photos!)

spring!

Spring has been beautiful here. At first it seemed to come and go too quickly, with some hot summery days. Now, it is a real spring with cool mornings and evenings, and breezy, warm afternoons.

Mom and I had a lovely walk through the Pavilion Gardens, and saw several woodland flowers in bloom: Virginia bluebells, trillium, and geranium. It was an amazing spring morning, everything looked fresh and beautiful. Thank you for the visit, Mom!

San Michele cemetery

The Venetian cemetery is a striking presence in the lagoon:

mmm...

silly photos with food:

One for Camille, one for Luca

walking (briskly) in Venice

We had a great trip to Venice. It is easy to be charmed by this city, where something catches your eye around every corner. My experiment was to take no single photos, but to make collages of many photos to try to better capture the sense of these places. My classmates joked that I will still be putting these collages together when I am retired-- could be true!

We walked all over the city to museums, churches, over bridges, through markets, and took the vaporetto to other islands in the lagoon. Cold and sunny weather changed to blustery cold, and then snow, and back to sun again.

Here are a few highlights from the trip:

One of the most stunning churches is Santa Maria dei Miracoli, with its amazing polychrome marble:


The campo (square) at Miracoli:


A few bridges away from our apartment:


Looking back at San Marco from the vaporetto on a crazy, snowy morning:


Sunset on the last afternoon, after a beautiful walk: