Conference bound…

No, I’m not the one flying… I would like to see or sit in a cockpit on day though.

Paris… #PorteOuverte

Paris,
Our thoughts and prayers are with you..
#PorteOuverte

Photo Journal – Saturday 02 June 2012

Some Coldplay on a cold day!!!

After an awesome arrival into London yesterday, I will be having another great day. My cousin surprised me with tickets to Coldplay at the Emirates Stadium!! She was so excited about her surprise for me that she could not hold back and told me before I arrived.. LOL!!! I wake up feeling so happy that I was there and I slept so good! I had breakfast, dilly-dallied a bit, then we started getting ready for our day. The concert would be starting at 4pm.. or opening at 4pm.. something like that..

Dressed, coiffed and ready to go.. photos first though… even though I am extremely hungry now..

The sun is out right now… I am happy about this.. the London gloom is not my cup of tea…

We will be going to have a late lunch, then begin our transit to the stadium..

Walking…

We passed through this park/ garden which was breath-taking! So lush, so well taken care of, so beautiful!!

Isn’t this a painter’s dream? I wouldn’t believe this if I didn’t see it for myself! Picturesque and absolutely beautiful… This is a landscape architect and gardener’s dream..

Look at this! My goodness!! Scale, color, texture, shadow, shade, reflection, hard, soft, horizontal, vertical… so many relationships that work…. I need to spend an entire day here on my next visit to London… this is a MUST DO.

Sunlight is such a gift!

I like the little cars in London… this building looks lovely too..

We are having lunch at an Italian restaurant nearby… My cousin saved her first time visit to this restaurant for my visit..

We start with bruschetta  and calamari… and I had a carbonara for my main course.. I realize now that I apparently forgot to take photos of it… Hunger called I guess! I assure you it was good! After our very satisfying meal we took the bus to the train station and headed to Highbury & Islington station… It was a lovely train ride… Soft, clean seats, comfortable ride…

The station was filled more than usual I think with concert-goers.. We meet our friends, and take a bus that would take us there…

At the Stadium…

Numerous people were asking if anyone had spare tickets to sell..

Oh yes!! Coldplay tickets in hand, we’re ready to head in!!!

 Coldplay T shirts anyone?!

Get ya beer and burgers if you like!

After we enter we get these wristbands which are supposed to light up during the show..

It’s still early.. people are still traipsing into the stands.. it’s cold!

Great stage design! This interests me a lot you know.. stage/ set design…aka production design… if you have any advice for me regarding this field, please don’t hesitate to share… The backdrop is like the speakers of a boom-box but are actually screens.. The graffiti artwork, color, and spirit of fun adds to it too…

Oh yes! The Trinidad posse representing!!! Decked, and ready to have fun, and get warm!!

Back inside getting something to eat before the show begins… so that I won’t have to leave during an expected awesome performance…

This bun was really good!! I forget what it was called.. but it intrigued me because it was white unlike the brown buns… but it was good, the dough was chewy like I like it!

My cousin LOVES Pimm’s so I had one.. I can only speak for the one I had here at the concert.. it was good, but it could have been much better.. Maybe it was because the Pimm’s here didn’t have all the assortment of fruits I usually see in the others.. it was good, but I tasted potential to be better in it..Next time Pimm, next time!

Look Ting!!!!!!!! I forgot to mention Rita Ora and Robin opened the show..

Below is my video recording of their entrance onto the stage promptly at 8:45pm..

WOOOHOOO!!!!!

Chris Martin!!!

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone loves a light show! what is it with humans and light shows? We love it!!

Do your thing guys!

Large heart and teardrop shaped balloons aglow…

Those wristbands I showed you earlier…. yup! It’s their time to shine..

After their first set.. they thanked the crowd and left…We were all chanting for more… after approximately 5 minutes, I could be wrong, but applause was heard and spotlights were shining following people.. and there was the band.. This time however, they set up on a stage closer to the back of the stand..closer to us! How cool is that! Chris was in a pink tshirt this time.. after soaking through his blue one I am sure.. Because, it was pouring throughout the show… rain, rain, and more rain! But you could barely tell…

Here he is closer to us… He encouraged us to applaud.. the louder we cheered, the longer they would stay on stage for us.. Chris martin is such a great entertainer!! he really has the respect of the crowd..

Through these lights we were able to see how heavy the downpour was….

Fantastic finish!!!!

After the concert we stuck around a bit hoping the rains would ease… then had left in it anyway, with concert goers chanting Oh Ohhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Oooohhhh Oh…. Oh Ohhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Oooohhhh Oh in the streets! It was a wonderful community of happy people… I even saw one policeman smile… We walked for a bit to get to another train station, as the one closest to us was closed.. How is London going to handle the Olympics, I really don’t know. This was a concert of approx. 60,000 people and the metro was not in the game at all. I hope it is figured out for the summer games…

Metro…

We went to this restaurant that closes really late after.. The food was good. Everything was well seasoned, well cooked, and delicious!

After there we went to a late night Italian bakery/ diner I would say…

I had a nice cup of hot chocolate and a cannoli… both scored high on my Delicious scale… It was now roughly 2 or 2:30am… and still rain was pouring. My cousin really wanted me to see Piccadilly Circus, so we braved the rains and I was glad we did…

Piccadilly Circus..

Piccadilly Circus

As we wait for our bus to head home I took this photo.. the lights and the architecture was attractive…

When we get home it’s time for me to pack, rest, and get ready for another day tomorrow… See you again soon..

Coldplay ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Sagrada Familia – Barcelona, Spain

This is my sketch from 2005 of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain by Antonio Gaudi. I have since then learned a lot about the Sagrada Familia… particularly after a visit and presentation by Mark Burry, the Executive Architect and Researcher working on the completion of the project. He has been involved since 1979, and is still working on it today.

The expiatory church of La Sagrada Família is a work on a grand scale which was begun on 19 March 1882 from a project by the diocesan architect Francisco de Paula del Villar (1828-1901). At the end of 1883 Gaudí was commissioned to carry on the works, a task which he did not abandon until his death in 1926. Since then different architects have continued the work after his original idea.

The building is in the centre of Barcelona, and over the years it has become one of the most universal signs of identity of the city and the country. It is visited by millions of people every year and many more study its architectural and religious content.

Reference: http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/?lang=0

Abstract Architecture of the day:

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Make Something BIG – Bookshelf with engraved sketches

Engraved sketches... Assembly mode

Above is my assignment for my “How to Make (Almost) Anything” class. Our assignments are weekly, and this week our assignment was to “Make Something Big.” I designed and built something big that I needed and would have space for; a bookshelf to place on my chest of drawers. I engraved the following sketches:

1. Arc de Triomphe, France
2. Queens Royal College, Trinidad
3. Mamallapuram, India
4. NAPA, Trinidad
5. In The End: Dance And Rejoice (Trinidad Carnival 2011)
6. Abstract Architecture

Engraving of Arc de Triomphe Sketch lit from behind

Complete!

Engraving of NAPA, Trinidad

I encourage you to go here to read more.

Feel free to use the following:
1. PDF of Bookshelf>>

2. CADD File of Bookshelf >>

3. Videos of Laser engraving >>

4. More photos of Bookshelf >>

5. Link to my sketches >>

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Queen’s Royal College Clock Tower, Trinidad (Negative)

Queen's Royal College - Clock Tower - Trinidad

5” x 8.25” ink pens, in Moleskine sketchbook

This is a negative sketch of the Clock Tower of Queen’s Royal College (Q.R.C.) in Trinidad & Tobago. Click here for more…

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Arc de Triomphe – Paris, France (Negative)

Arc de Triomphe in Paris, Spain

Above is a negative of my sketch of Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. Click here for Arc de Triomphe Post and go to my Flickr Stream for more…

Abstract Architecture of the day:

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Bruges, Belgium (Negative)

Brussels

Above is a negative of a sketch I did in Bruges, Belgium during my Eurotrip in 2005.

Abstract Architecture of the day:

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

The Louvre Museum – Paris, France (Negative)

The Louvre - Paris

Above is a negative of my sketch of The Louvre in Paris.

Heir to the century of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, the Louvre was quickly accepted as the “museum among museums;” and since then it has remained a model and a recognized authority. Founded in 1793 as a museum for all, it celebrates humanity’s long journey with the remarkable scope of a collection that spans thousands of years, reaches from America to the borders of India and China, and is highlighted by such iconic, universally admired works as the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Victory of Samothrace.

On a scale unrivaled anywhere in the world, these accumulated riches make the Louvre a focal point for permanent dialogue between past and present, and a place of learning, delight, and discovery for millions of visitors of all backgrounds. Once a home to kings, the Louvre has enduring, intimate links with French history, drawing on the spirit of the Revolution and its notion of perpetual evolution, innovation, influence, and alertness to the new; it has always been, as Emile Zola put it, “at ease with its time.” This endlessly renewed heritage has been maintained by the long succession of those who have sought art out down the ages, defended it, and passed its message on: that community of men and women who have made the Louvre a unique focal point for a host of skills. Vibrantly open to its city and the world, the Louvre continues to fire the imaginations of those who visit and those who work creatively there; its goal is to remain, as Cézanne put it, “the book in which we learn to read” and through which “we can come to understand and love everything.”

Reference: http://www.louvre.fr

Abstract Architecture of the day:

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (Negative)

Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain

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I figured that this week would be a “negative” week for The Thinking Insomniac. Not negative in terms of attitude, but negative in terms of my drawings. I will be posting negatives of my drawings this week for your enjoyment. Click here for more negative drawings uploaded on Flickr >>>.

Above is a negative of my sketch of the interior of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The building, designed by Frank Gehry, is recognized for its twisted, curving lines and a series of  interconnecting volumes, some of which are limestone-coated orthogonal shapes while others of a more organic volumetry are clad in a metallic titanium skin. These volumes are linked by glass curtain walls for remarkable transparency throughout. En route to the museum is Santiago Calatrava’s Bridge, which inspired my Campo Volantin table.

My journal entry for that day (Friday 27 May 2005) on my Euro-Trip states the following:
Arrived in Bilbao at 8am. Slept well on train last night. Saw Norman Foster’s subway entry.  Modernist Art Nouveau at football club façade. Bilbao was a very rich city as all trading was done on this canal (RIPA) also where water is associated w/ rights. Riparian rights. Lower down the canal is Calatrava’s bridge. Reflections of Calatrava’s brigdes in the water are a calculus of time.  It is a pedestrian bridge, therefore it carries lighter loads.  Guggenheim museum was absolutely wonderful!! Worth every second. Now 12:30pm. I bought a view finder and pen as souvenirs of Guggenheim Bilbao.  Rusty metal finish to building on water. Boarded bus to Irun at 5pm. Won’t be in a hotel until Monday. Therefore no showering till then. Left Hendaya (little village across the French border) at 11:10pm. Arrived in Paris at 6:05am.

This was a great day… I learned, saw, and laughed a lot.  The Guggenheim Museum is poetry in motion… with interstitial spaces, textures, materials, light, shadows, and experiences that are exciting and unexpected. It is dramatic. This building and many others that I have sketched and mentioned on my blog, continues to inspire me to design and create spaces, and experiences that move me and move others beyond the ordinary. To me it’s more than the product, but also the process. When something deep, poetic, and thoughtful happens, you feel it. Architecture is tangible, you can touch it… but it can, and should also touch you.
More on Guggenheim Museum here >>>

Abstract Architecture for the day:

3.5″ x 5″ Strathmore Sketchbook, ink pens and Sharpies

This work byVernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.