User:Osgibbs

Olivia Gibbs

Olivia Gibbs

On The Eye

Overview

Coming into the London HUA experience I had only taken one modern art class at WPI so I decided to take three art credits in London. One is focused on London Architecture through twenty different buildings ranging between the 11th century and current day. My second project, is my favorite, and explores the street art here in London and it's history. And my last project is on typography here in London with a focus on calligraphy. In the end I have learned how to create my own street art and write in my own modern calligraphy style. My biggest takeaways are being able to analyze and appreciate the buildings around me, the art that may be found on them and the lettering of the signage which labels the building.

Milestone 1

London Architecture
Objective: To create a descriptive timeline of the change in architecture throughout the city over time through photographs including exploring and comparing different churches, buildings, a bridge, and even unsung architectures accomplishments such as parking garages (or car parks). This is a collaboration with Natalie Bloniarz and Emily Wilson.

Over the course of two weeks, we have travelled around London taking pictures and researching some of London's most stand out buildings. We have found the best source for finding architecture information which is the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Library, and some interesting facts about all of the buildings. Many buildings have been built multiple times due to the great fire of London, and more recent buildings were built in controversy. The buildings that we researched all have a rich history and interesting architectural design elements that add to the city. It was interesting to examine a wide sample of buildings from the 11th century until today with all different purposes, and interesting to see which ones were are allowed to get into. I would say I am still no expert in London architecture but I have learned a lot about some of their famous buildings and different architecture styles. I can now easily identify where I am by quickly looking up to see the closest building we have researched on and can gather my bearings from there. It was a great first project to get out and about to explore the city while still being productive!

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Milestone 2

London Street Art
Objective: To what extent does London's street art differ throughout the city via location, subject, and techniques?

Through our background research and our tours we have been able to define street art and the difference between street art and graffiti. We also talk about the history of street art and how it came to London, including the artists who brought it here. We end with a gallery of photographs we have taken of street art that we found in London. I walk away with a new knowledge of street art, its history, and the big role it plays in London. I know notice myself looking all around me from the ground to walls and light poles, never knowing where the next street art may be. And my research has led me to be able to identify Invaders in other countries including Amsterdam. Anytime I see a cool piece of artwork I point it out to the rest of the group too to inform them and help spread street art awareness!
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Milestone 3

Typography
Objective: To research, learn and explore different types of typography in London with a focus on calligraphy and creating a one of a kind piece at the end!

Over the few weeks of living in London I have read all different signs to help me get from point A to point B, but didn't think twice about them until now. My third project was all about typography in London which can included every sign. The background goes into detail about all the different purposes and significance of typography including the background on London typography. Johnston and Gill Sans typeface is discussed since they are the main fonts of London. Johnston was created by Edward Johnston, a master calligrapher, and is what makes up all the underground signs. We were inspired by Edward Johnston to learn calligraphy and only beginning the practice of modern calligraphy. I have learned it takes a lot of time and practice to learn the pressure, spacing, lead ins and size all play a major role in the message and power of a word. I hope to continue practicing and take what I have learned to use in creating my own signs. Now I can't help but analyze and appreciate every sign I read.
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Activity Journal

My activity journal represents my ongoing log of reflections gained through each and every project activity including relations to my milestones and fun facts! The very first activity was the team scavenger hunts to let us explore the city and learn the lingo! Check out my team's page : Scavenger Hunt 2017 Team 1.

Westminster Abbey

   Monday May 8th
   Group Tour Westminster Abbey

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
As you walk into the church, your automatically look up- this was done on purpose. The church is built in a gothic style so all the lines and architecture point up. The architecture aligns with the function of the building, because by looking up automatically you think of the almighty aka God. Also, another gothic style was the use of the arch, stones can be placed with a keystone so the weight is held up by the pillars on the sides.


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. The choral boys attend the elite choral school starting at seven years old until thirteen years old. They work everyday in the church singing and perform the Evensong 3pm on the weekend and 5pm everyday of the week. It consists of a few bible verses and then forty- five minutes of singing outside of the church. Anyone is more than welcome to join and listen for free. The choral boys are the most elite singers in the UK, so after age thirteen they have no problem finding another program to join. I enjoyed hearing the boys, even though at an elite school, are still boys; read about The Coronation Chair and the boys mischief 100+ years ago here Westminster Abbey.
2. When you leave the Westminster Abbey, make sure to turn around to see over ten statues carved out of different figures each with different stories and faith. One story was of a man who was in Auschwitz concentration camp and was going to be killed but pleaded not to be because he has a family and children. The one in charge didn't care but another man stepped up and sacrificed himself instead since he had no wife and no children. Fortunately, the man survived the camp and was reunited with her wife and children. So one of the statues was of the man who scarified himself. Again, all of them have different faiths showing that all are welcomed into the church.
3. The phrase Bloody Mary we all know today comes from Mary, a step sister, while in power tried really hard to convert priests to Catholicism by giving them the ultimatum; either convert or burn at the stake. And 300 decided to die with their faith and were burn at the stake, creating blood aka Bloody Mary.
4. Limited photos because of the no photography rule inside. "Work": Emily (x2), Trinity, Ben, Andrew, Justine and I all worked on creating the Westminster Abbey page.

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  High Arches

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  The Entire Group + Tour Guide
  

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  Martyrs on Great West Door of Westminster Abbey

Tower of London

   Monday May 8th 
   Group Tour Tower of London
   

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
As we walked into the courtyard on all four sides you could see stone towers all filled with different exhibits. Each one varied in shape, including rounding buildings, square towers, walk ways on top, gates in between and arches. Again, with the purpose of the function in mind, the whole estate was surrounded by a wall to keep it private.


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. Throughout the entire estate there were animals, aka Royal Beasts, made out of chain wire from monkeys on top of the wall after you exist the Crown Jewels to the Elephant's head sticking out by the gate. They were unexpected and cool elements of art that have been added after the fact.
2. We also so the beginning of a performance which was a reenactment of the time period demonstrating one who might be exiled by disagreeing. It was fun because the audience was involved, unexpected and the actors/works were very much into character making it fun to watch. They must enjoy their jobs!
3. We waited in the short line for the Crown Jewels and saw all the crowns, swords and scepters bedecked in jewels that cost a fortune. My favorite was Queen Victoria's small crown since it was different and little.
4. Also I learned about different techniques for torture where the rack technique of simply pulling apart someone's joints really gave me the chills with the thought of it. 5. Home to the ravens, a guard was petting one with it's comb which was an odd but cool thing to walk by. He was doing it so nonchalantly but it is so not normal for me.

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  Tower of London Cottages
  

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  Raven and Guard
  

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  Sunset on Tower Bridge with Tower of London
  

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  Crown Jewels with Emily and Trinity
  

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  Tower of London from Across Thames River
  

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  Elephant Sculpture!
  

Work: Emily (x2), Trinity, Ben, Andrew, Justine and I all worked on creating Tower of London page.

The British Library

   Monday May 8th 
   Group Tour The British Library

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
First and foremost I loved the gates as you go in that read British Library from top to bottom made out of the thick metal for gates. It was creative and clever instead of a boring regular gate. Also as you walk in the layout is different with angled rooftops which hands itself for a set of stairs as you walk in. The building is more modern than most we have seen, where it is a more clean cut design with little detail or sculptures.


Fun Facts/Stories/Tips to Remember:
1.Bags need to be searched before going in but food and drinks are allowed to be brought in!!
2. While there are many different floors, it can be difficult to find a seat so that is why my group ended up taking a seat outside after walking a lap around each floor.

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  British Library
  

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  British Library Gates
  

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  Books and more books!
  

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  No seats inside, so outside work time!
  

Work: Emily (x2), Trinity, Ben, Andrew, Justine and I all worked on creating/editing The British Library page.

British Museum

   Tuesday May 9th 
   Group 2 British Museum

First official day working with Group 2, we walked to the British Museum, we were able to get right in with no wait and no purchase tickets necessary.

Connections to Milestones:
Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone: As you walk in there are the South staircase to your left to go up to a gallery but if you walk straight through the entry way you are in Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, which is the big white rounded structure in front of you. This is a great architecture landmark, being the largest covered square in Europe. When you are in this center location all the white and glass cover lets in the light and the entire area is very bright. Also, every wing has a different building design, with different ceilings, pillars and door frames. With each variation, it allows the viewer to realize they have entered a different gallery which often means a different region of the world is on display too.

Indirect: On the bottom floor is a gallery for Greek and Roman architecture where parts of different temples are on display. They still are intact because of the sturdy stone that it is made out of. The remains are huge, and standing next to them just makes me realize how big the entire temple would have been. This is a relation to my architecture milestone showing me different types of architecture from the past.



Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. Come back in a few weeks to see the The Great Wave off Kanagawa who's gallery will be opening soon and check out the pop to modern american art gallery too!!
2. Drinks/food/coffee are allowed in! But no painting supplies.
3. I liked how the museum was set up by different country so it was like you were traveling around the world as you moved through different galleries. <bt> 4. My little trumpet guys I found to be so cute! There were two bronze figurines of trumpeters wearing pointed caps from the 8th-6th century BC, Carian or Phrygian West or central Turkey.
Work: Emily Wilson, Natalie, Cole, Peter and I all worked on creating British Museum page.

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  British Museum

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  British Museum Ceiling

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  King's Library

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  Statues!- Which head shall she choose?

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  "Coins"

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  Egypt Exhibit

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  Inside a Gallery

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  Famous Great Court

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  Greek Pillars

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  "The Rosetta Stone"

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  "Trumpeters from Turkey"

Evensong

   Tuesday May 9th 5pm
   Concert

I attended the concert with a few other students and sat along the side so one of the large pillars blocked my view of the choir directly, so I watched through the TV screen. However I could see the priest reading the bible verses and prayers. It still blows my mind they are just young boys performing the songs, it both english and latin. I thought it was a soothing sound, but difficult to make out the words so I was thankful to have them printed in the booklet along with the bible verses.

Connections to Milestones:
The music and performance does not directly fit into our milestone, but it gave me another chance to sit and admire all the gothic style architecture within the Westminster Abbey. However, afterwards a few of us took a stroll across the bridge and walked along the water to the Bridge of London to capture more pictures for our milestone. We also discovered some street art for my second milestone and a bonus bubble ice cream and sunset!!


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. Get there early so you can been seated literally next to the choir!! 2. And it only lasts about 30 minutes.

Work: I just added a few sentences to Westminster Abbey.

St. Paul's Cathedral

   Wednesday May 10th
   Group 2 Activity St. Paul's Cathedral

Connections to Milestones:
Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone: First by the steps the pillars and stone work supporting the front entrance is huge and grand. The building was built in the baroque style. Then the minute I walked in and my back was to the Front (just the bowl for baptism water), I was in awe- looking down The Naval at the High Alter is breathtaking. The arches, all leading up to the Dome are tall and regal decorated with gold and mosaics paintings above them. Then directly below the Dome I stood looking up to see the no color painting which covers the Dome. I learned that similar to the building itself being inspired by Italian buildings, the mosaic artwork was done too by an Italian artist. The bottom floor is The Crypt, where it is more modern and I can clearly see the inspiration of Italy. All the ceilings and walls are white, reminding me of the terraces in Italy. It was more simple both in decoration and architecture than above.

Direct Connection to Street Art Milestone: One of CBloxx's work of art was on display. She is a top female street artist. It is a twist of the iconic women, Mary. "CBloxx has taken as her starting point Mary's situation as a refugee and has juxtaposed past and present to create a poignant piece that has real resonance at a time when the media is saturated with scenes of pregnant mothers, babies and young children fleeing violent oppression and abject poverty."



Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. The Whispering Gallery (the gallery above the Cathedral Floor) was a little hike up the narrow spiraling staircase but sooo worth it. It allowed me to literally walk around the entire Dome. I even saw the tops of the domes leading up to higher alter, including where a 500 pound bomb fell in World War II destroying the alter. Also it is true; if someone whisper on one side of the gallery you can hear it through the wall on the other side! This was my favorite part of the Cathedral. Breathtaking views.
2. It was interesting to see the street art on display by CBloxx- one of the world's top ten female street artists. and the fact that it was in the Cathedral, very unexpected.
3. Come back in three weeks to climb the steps again to the higher galleries when they reopen!!
Work: I added to the St. Paul's Cathedral page, focusing on the Crypt.

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  St Paul's Cathedral

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  My Group: 2

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  St Paul's through art

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  Cafe across the street for work!

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  Group 2
  Hard at Work

The National Gallery

   Thursday May 11th 
   Group 2 Activity The National Gallery

Connections to Milestones:
Indirect Connection to Architecture Milestone: While The National Gallery is not one of our Top 20 buildings, it was still stunning to admire not only the artwork being hung, but also realizing the amazing building it was in. Each gallery was different and helps shape the mood for the artwork being displayed. For example the 13th and 14th century gallery was all white walls and basic ceilings, but then the next gallery was high ceilings with dark wallpaper with designs on it which was bold matching the big bold gold framed artwork which took up more space on the wall. Also, seeing artwork from the 13th and 14th century which included arches and pillars, relates to the buildings were are looking at know that still too have arches and large pillars.

Indirect Connection to Street Art Milestone: This was my second time outside of the National Gallery and there was again more and different street art done in chalk which was very interesting to see. I think they were both done by the same artist, but again contribute to my milestone. And the one I saw the other day had started to deteriorate with everyone stepping on it.

Fun Facts/Stories/Tips to Remember:
1.I saw multiple artwork that I have used in my classes, wrote papers about, and been lectured on from a young age so I was able to admire and really appreciate the artwork including Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin, Tuner, Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Seurat and Monet!
2. 'The Dream of Human Life' by Michelangelo grabbed my attention as I walked by because of all the human faces/masks that were on the bottom of the page tossed into a box. My gut reaction was appauling and then I saw all the different worries of actions of humans going around the painting and is why the man man is blocking the world as if trying to protect it.
3. Also, 'The Allegory of Prudence' by Titian (1565-1570) also grabbed my attention because it was different- with the mix of animal (wolf, lion, dog) and human heads. So after reading the description I learned the combo of those animals represent prudence and the entire painting is showing the past, present and future through the man in youth, maturity, and old age.
4. 'The Old Women' by Quinten Massys (1513) also caught my attention for being different- and the description said the artist was making fun of an older women trying/thinking they are young and it is true that picture is spot on which made me think it was funny a little since you can still see that today with some people.

Work: I added to the Van Gough section on The National Gallery page.

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  The National Gallery

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  Inside a Gallery

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  Inside a Gallery

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  The Bathers by Cezanne

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  Leondardo da Vinci Original

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  Farms near Auvers by van Gogh

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  Long Grass with Butterflies by van Gogh

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  Street art in front of The National Gallery

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  Street art in front of The National Gallery

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  Sunday Afternoon by Seurat

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  Sunflowers by van Gogh

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  The Allegory of Prudence by Titia

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  The Old Women by Quinten Massys

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  Waterlily by Monet

Natural History Museum

   Friday May 11th 
   Group 2 Natural History Museum

Connections to Milestones:
Direct Connect to Architecture Milestone: The bottom of the museum were a cafe was had gorgeous arch ways and stain glass window art which was great to admire. More directly though, there was a corner of an exhibit taking about all different types of materials, some of which are the materials in our Top 20 buildings, including concrete, red brick, and glass. I was able to see and read up on real examples of each material. Also, after I walked over to the V&A Museum and checked out their sixth floor architecture exhibit where I learned about the basic categories of how architecture is defined, used an interactive screen to learn about a few different styles of architecture such as Revival gothic Style (like the St Pancras Hotel and Station). I have been using their online sources and hope to visit one of their library locations soon.


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. It was very kid friendly, with hands on interactive exhibits where I too enjoyed being a kid and learnt a lot, including the earthquake simulator which was interesting how they tried to literally recreate the feeling within a Japanese shopping market during the 90s. Also many of the exhibits kept reminding me of my sixth grade science teacher when we learned about the different layers of the earth, human evolution, rocks, earthquakes etc.
2. I also was blown away by how big some of the fish fossils were, they were just fish, not whales, not sharks, fish. And seeing literally all different types of animals stuffed was a little freaky but cool at the same time including platypuses, ostrich (huge!), many many different type of birds, polar bear, penguin...etc.
3. I also went inside the cocoon, the big egg shape dome that is seven floors high and holds the Charles Darwin Exhibit. It talked about collecting different species, and how right now there are 1.5 million but will only continue to grow.
4. Right as you walk in there is a huge dinosaur model and stairs leading to this huge planet like figure that you took the elevator through and on either side of you were constellations. Really cool entrance.
5. I hope to go back and buy a ticket for the sensational butterfly exhibit with real butterflies!!
Work: I contributed to the earthquake and safety of them on the Natural History Museum page.

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  Layers of the Earth- Middle School 6th grade flashback

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  Lots and lots of birds

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Tate Britain

   Monday May 15th
   Group 2 Tate Britain

Quick swap of tube lines and a five minute walk to get to Tate, wasn't bad at all! After exploring the exhibits I filled for a library reader card and worked the rest of the afternoon in their library.

Connections to Milestones: Indirect Connection to Architecture Milestone
I was able to admire yet again another beautiful building with the front dome above the staircase and see how each gallery space had different ceilings, columns, design to go along with the artwork it contained.


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. There is a whole gallery on Turner, and I learned that he requested to have one of his paintings, the Rise of Carthaginian Empire, to be alongside Monet's in the National Gallery. Which means I want to go back to check it out!
2. The 3-D installations of artwork were very different and interesting, including the Cerith Wyn Evans' Forms in Space...by Light (in Time).
3. The gallery room dedicated to British artwork in the sixties was very thought provoking and emotional, especially Go West Young Man by Keith Piper. It was a series of 14 eye opening photographs about slave trade. There was also The Carrot Piece again showing the white men tempting to get black women, luckily in this depiction the man was failing since the women already had everything she needs. In the same gallery was Fashion-Plate by Richard Hamiliton which was really cool to me since it was a college of fashion magazines and actually used cosmetics to enhance the final piece. Perhaps inspiring a change in my capstone?!
"Work": I wrote an article for JMW Turner.

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  "Concord Plane"

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  "Fashion-Plate"

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  "Forms in Space...by Light (in Time)"

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  "Tate Britain Front Stairs"

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  " Gallery"

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  "Go West Young Man"

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  "One of the pictures from Go West Young Man Exhibit"

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  "The Chlomobdeley Ladies"

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  "The Moment"

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  Books at the Library

Klyne

   Monday May 15th 8pm
   Concert

I attended the concert with a Justine, Emily and Andrew. We took one of London's famous double decker buses (Bus 55) to get to The Pickle Factory (no, not the Gherkin!). It is a small club in Zone 2 off a side street full of brick buildings. I had no clue what to expect but turned out liking it. We got there for eight and saw the opening act, the band Oleka which only had like twenty people tops in the audience. And then 9pm rolled around and Klyne, a dance electronic band performed. It was something I have never listened to but I liked the beat and shortly found myself swaying with the crowd to the beat. It was interesting watching the crowd that it did bring in, lots of hipsters, young maybe mid-twenty couples and guys. It looked like many people just came from work still with their bags. This created just a casual place to just chill and listen to the music. Also, the place is just one small room with a quaint outdoor area for smokers or to step outside for a fresh of breath air. Highly recommend and looking forward to going again, perhaps on the weekend to when it might be more busy. Also interested to see what else might be performing.

Connections to Milestones:
The music and performance does not directly fit into my milestone, but I did observe some street art from the bus on our way back, so perhaps I'll be back!


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
The link to the Pickle Factory! And the band add them to spotfiy!

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  "The Pickle Factory Venue"

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  "Klyne"

Victoria and Albert Museum

   Tuesday May 16th
   Group 2 Victoria and Albert Museum

Since we had already went to V&A to conduct some research, I focused my trip today on exploring the other galleries and now too still have interest in coming back to explore more of the 150 rooms ( wowza!) and buy a ticket to see the Pink Floyd Exhibit.

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
We had visited the V&A Museum last week to check out their architecture gallery and had taken notes on different styles and tips for a few of our buildings including The Gherkin which had on display the volumetric models which were used by Fosters and Partners to take into account bulk, visual impact and aerodynamic qualities of the building. They also had an interactive computer activity which had information on modern, high-tech, gothic, and classical styles buildings. And a little indirect, they had models and more information on many other famous buildings across the globe which gave me insight on a variety of architecture.


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. In The Paul and Jill Ruddock Gallery (part of Medieval & Renaissance Europe 1350-1600) St Margaret and The Dragon statue caught my attention because of the dragon which was an odd animal, one I have yet to see in a statue during all my visits to museums. After reading the description, I learned the dragons protects her during pregnancy since she once escaped from a belly of a dragon!?
2. During the Korea Gallery I was first grabbed by the light colored ceramic balls called From Circle by Ro Hae-Sin because of the playful vibes the colors were radiating. It was also nothing like what surrounded it which was full of grays and brown. This was created in 2006 and breaks normal Korean traditions through different colors and layers. I was also intrigued by yet again a more recent piece of work Aggregation-SE032RED. It grabbed my attention for the sculpture in between cases of ceramics, because of it's large but detailed piece. And after reading the description it was cool to find out the pieces are made from an everyday Korean paper called hanji but have a bigger meaning showing the struggles Koreans face but the resilience they have too.
3. Walking down the hallway through all the Buddha's, Victory to the Spiritcalled my attention because of the bright bold colors unlike what is around it..again very recent (2015) and actually the artist was inspired by V&A's Tibetan exhibit. 4. I saw the fashion exhibit too which showed clothes, both male and female, from varying time periods which was interesting and different. They also had an exhibit on furniture which is like everyday items and not typical when you first think of a museum. As I walked by the fashion gift shop I over heard the employees saying today was much slower than yesterday, which was when they made 30,000 pounds!!!
5. I really love the Oak Staircase from Morlaix which was a spiral staircase out of wood. I found it interesting because usually at castle and such which have these spiral staircases they are made of stone.
6.The jewelry gallery is amazing but I sadly couldn't take pictures. It reminded me of the gem exhibit at the Natural History Museum. The Townsshed Gems were like a huge color ...spectacular.
7. After, Emily, Natalie and I walked over to Albert Hall and Kensington Palace to take pictures and we walked through the gardens which was a great place to grab a seat and people watch, relax, nap, eat lunch. I hope I can come back to enjoy it!

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  "V&A Museum Front Desk"

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  "From Circle"

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  "Aggregation-SE032RED"

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  "Aggregation-SE032RED
  close up"

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  "Aggregation-SE032RED
  close up"

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  "Victory to the Spirit"

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  "Oak Staircase"

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  Pottery Collection

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  "Fashion 1870-1910 vs Me Today"

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  "Kensington Palace"

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  "Kensington Palace Gardens"

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  "Kensington Palace"

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  "Albert Hall"

"Work": I added to the Victoria and Albert Museum and created the article The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Galleries Of Buddhist Art.

Tate Modern

   Wednesday May 17th
   Group 2 Tate Modern

We took the bus this morning to save money (cheaper than the tube!) and time (direct route!) in the London rain this morning!
Connections to Milestones: Indirect Connection to Architecture Milestone
While the main exhibits were not on our buildings for our project, I was able to connect with Tate Modern because of the research I have done. As soon as I walked in I thought of the Barbican Center with its brutalism style building full of concrete. The main room as you enter is huge with no floors above it so it is wide open, but you need to go down a flight of stairs first to buy tickets and get into the galleries which was odd. The first gallery I went to on the ground floor is called TANKS and it is art exhibits within their own sections between the concrete pillars and walls, which felt just like I was in a Divergent movie. Also all the concrete made the gallery dark and set the mood to be more serious and ominous. I also found it interesting in the TANKS there were a set of steps above each door frame leading no where, which again added to the creepy mood. But overall, it was brutalism with the major concrete material!


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1.The fourth floor, the top floor for free exhibits had Artist Rooms and one was for Louise Bourgeois which I found interesting since all of her artwork and sculptures were nothing I was expecting/random a little including the spider over head, the 10 am is Where You Will Find Me, the head atop the juicer and the beater on top of the chest.
2. In the Living Cities Exhibit I was admiring Mark Bradford "Los Mascos" artwork which was created in 2004 and made entirely out of paper from where he was and the way he displays them hints at the resemblance of San Francisco Bay Area streets, which he has always found an interest in the inner city. I think it is clever how he is telling a story but also found it funny that Sofia came over and pointed out the school group of elementary school age kids matched the artwork in front of them with their black jackets and neon yellow vests.
3.Walking throughout I was able to spot and appreciate some works of art that I have learned about in class including the replica of Duchamp's "Fountain" and Miro's "Painting" 1927 and Kadinsky's "Cossacks"1910-1911. It was cool to be able to recognize them even from afar and able to really appreciate them, as I had explained to Emily about the "Fountain", it may seem strange to you but it was a radical change and made a difference.
4.In the last room in a exhibit was Jane Alexander's "African Adventure" (1999-2002) which was so bizarre for me to walk into and the last thing I expected and as I walked all the way around the perimeter it just kept getting weirder as I saw more details. There are little human figures with animal faces, a life size human body naked but with shoes on and a mouse like face, and in the back is another naked life size human with a cloth over his head and pulling other animals. And to top it off there is orange soil and three gorgeous chandeliers lightening the whole display. Just weird.
5.The three coke bottles appear normal at first but actually are like messages in a bottle but for land instead of the sea, which I have never heard of or thought of and was intrigued. Cildo Meireles is from Brazil and was the one to alter the bottles adding slogans like 'Yankees go home' and instructions on bottles before circulating them back into the system as an act of subversive 'mobile graffiti' which went against the Brazilian military dictatorship. His way of sending a political message. Very unique and clever. His three piece bottle set is called "Insertions into Ideological Circuits: Coca-Cola Project 1970".
6.Cildo Meireles's "Babel" 1970 is a tower (literally to the top of the ceiling) of radios all playing different stations at once constantly which demonstrates an overload of information and issues creates miscommunication. Oh so very true, which made this piece resonate with me. No two experiences are ever the same since something different is always being played.
7.After the visit, Emily and I walked on Queen's Way (again but this time in the rain) over to the Borough's Market to grab some lunch. I enjoyed Soul Food's bbq chicken box! We then took the tube over to Royal Institute of British Architect Library (aka RIBA) to settle down for the rest of the day finding solid sources to supplement our background research.
"Work": I contributed to the Tate Modern and started the Louise Bourgeois page.

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  Tate Modern

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  Jane Alexander's African Adventure

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  Jane Alexander's African Adventure

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  Tate Modern Bottom Floor, aka TANKS- Brutalism

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  Insertions into Ideological Circuits: Coca-Cola Project 1970 by Meireles

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  Cossacks by Kadinsky

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  Los Mascos by Bradford

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  Liquid Crystal Environment by Metzger

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  Louise Bourgeois' Work

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  10 am is Where You Will Find Meby Louise Bourgeois

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  Louise Bourgeois' Work

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  Louise Bourgeois Gallery

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  Louise Bourgeois' Work

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  Louise Bourgeois' Work

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  Monument by Hiller

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  Painting by Joan Miro

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  Forty Part Motet by Cardiff

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  Babel by Meireles

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  Fountain by Duchamp

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  Borough Market

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  Borough Market Food!!!

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  Borough Market was full of plants

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  At RIBA Library

Museum of London

   Thursday May 18th
   Group 2 Museum of London

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
I saw a model of the first St Paul's Cathedral, which was actually quite different than the one which stands today and what we toured last week. The original building was much taller and made of rick bricks before it was destroyed in a fire. Natalie walked by me when I was looking at it and said yes many people were upset that the new model didn't reach the same height as the original one. I also learned a little more about the Globe theater, I was able to see a model of the Rose theater which was the direct competitor of the Globe in the early 1600s. I also learned the timber which was used to build the Globe in 1599 came from the Theater which was across the river of Thames and was taken down after the lease was up. The Theater was the first playhouse designed and constructor for outdoor performances.


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. The Museum of London is attached to the Barbican center so we knew where we were!
2. The first exhibit, London Before London (450,000 BC –AD50), displays what was here before the city existed. I took a photo of some adult male and female skulls surrounded by tools too. Also I photographed a replica of a horned helmet that was found in the Thames River in 1860 along with a shield.
3. I found it interesting and intriguing seeing the Roman and the River comic strip as a way to portray the message. It was completely different than the previous gallery which was cool.
4. I saw the London Stone, which was funny to learn it has it owns twitter; follow it here! Turns out this stone marks the center of London and is can usually be found at 111 Cannon Street (have to visit!) but is being stored here while construction is going on. Below it reads, “So long as the stone of Brutus is safe. So long will London flourish…”
5. In the expanding city exhibit (1870s-1850s) one glass case was full of empire wear. Another room titled Pleasure Gardens had black models wearing ornate dresses at the time, but with the dark lighting and setting it appeared a little creepy in my opinion. I walked through Victorian Way which was cool to see all different types of shops as if they were during that time including toy shops and the grocer (aka grocery store).
6. In the People City’s exhibit I saw the Unic Taxi, which was the first London petroleum taxi appearing in 1903.
7. I spent the most time at the remembrance wall, where I read a book of all the 52 innocent people killed in the July 5th, 2007 four bombing attack in London’s transport system during morning rush hour. The book had individual pages about each person and their lives to remember them. I didn’t know about this bombing since I was only eight at the time, so I was surprised but appreciative this permanent memorial is available. The writings were done by loved ones within a week or so of their deaths so it was all raw, real and very much emotional. Very powerful.
8. It was nice weather so coming back I walked through the Pastman's Park which is a little park in the middle of the city. There were many workers so I continued my walk and took pictures of the Farrington station which is the tube station closest to our flats (and use almost daily) and took a picture of the neighboring buildings on the street.
"Work": I have edited and contributed a section to the War, Plague & Fire page.

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  Farrington Station

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  Museum of London

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  Empire Display Case

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  Pleasure Gardens Clothing

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  London Remembrance

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  Comic Display

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  Model of the Rose theater

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  Battersea Shield from 300-100BC and Horned Helmet from 150-50BC

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  Male and Female Skulls from before the City

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  London Stone

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  Model of the original St Paul's Cathedrial

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  Unix Taxi

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  Victorian Groccer

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  At the Top of Our Street

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  Pastman's Park

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  Pastman's Park

Edit Day!

   Friday May 19th
   Group 2

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
Since we didn't have a museum visit scheduled for today and it was suppose to rain I buckled down to get some work done on the milestone including uploading photos, cross references information and revising and editing all sections of our page. To get out of the flat, Emily and I walked to Cafe Nero to use there wifi to still get work done before meeting as a group to walk through it all. We just have a few photos left to take which will be done when we go on the tours of the buildings!


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. The one day I probably didn't walk 5 miles but I still feel accomplished!
2. And Emily and I walked to Palace Theater (aka where Harry Potter plays) to pick her up after her show and grabbed gelatos from Gelupo that were okay tasting but expensive. We went for the convenience as we waited!

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Alternative London

   Saturday May 20th

I just have to group everything together for this one since it was all related to my projects and all very fun facts/stories to remember!!

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Street Art and Typography Milestone 2 & 3 AND Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
Emily and I met at Eat Cafe in Shoreditch for our Alternative London walking tour. It was led by fellow artist Emily (known for her work with geometric patterns in installations) and about fifteen other interested peers ranging in all ages including a little & adorable doggie!! Luckily, the rain held off and we were about to walk in the warmth for the 1.5 hour tour visiting all fifteen types of artwork including murals, graffiti, commissioned, illegal, and installations. I absolutely loved it and my favorites were Jimmy C's pointillism inspired Bob Marley with his technique with the spray can using it backwards to get the exact same size drips every single time. So hard and so cool. Also he welcomed for taggers, which was an interesting thing to learn about! I thought the gum artwork by the gum guy was super clever and I never would have known about it if it wasn't for this tour. I would really like to catch him in action painting one day, since he does and can do it in daylight since he is at no risk of prosecution since the gum has already been littered. Lily's work on the mural was amazing and interesting to find out is all paper! I didn't notice until Emily, the tour guide, mentioned and I went up to feel it. It reminded me of my grandmother with all the intricate bugs and flowers and birds. The animal and scuba diver mural under the bridge was wicked cool too, when the message of awareness of what humans take from animals such as oxygen. I really can't say enough about all these pieces, each one with a different story. So I am going to stop now so I don't give them all away- you just need to check out my milestone page when it is complete!

The tour was the first thing we did to work on our Street Art project and I am so excited. It was so interesting and eye opening to not only admire the artwork but learn about each artist and the motives and messages behind each of there work. It is crazy to think so much time can be spent on their piece which can be tagged over within seconds of completion. Or better yet, taken down, broke into pieces and sold for thousands of dollars when you, the artist, receive nothing in return since you don't own your work the ones with the building do. Crazy but cool at the same time, realizing these artists really truly do it for the work not themselves. And we saw many examples of typography too- they can take forms in street art too, just check out Ben's work!

Oh, and to top it off we ended with a workshop to try out graffiti, tagging and stenciling which many of the street art we saw a technique they use! We used our inspiration from the artwork we saw to create our own pieces! And ps- it is way harder than it looks and crazy to think they do it within 20 minutes (so they don't get caught!)

Work: All the facts, stats, and figures will be added to my milestone page within the week!

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Street Art Tour

   Sunday May 21th
   

My flatmates and I started the day off taking the tube over to Old Spitalfields Market for the flea market, it wasn't what I was expecting but we still enjoyed ourselves. The bakery goods looked so delicious- especially the donuts! We ran into the Sicily festival too which was outside and again packed full of amazing foods. I spotted the WPI goat in a statue on top of the post! We then got some work done back at the flat before heading out to meet up with Strawberry Tours for our second Street Art Tour, this one taking place in East London. Alex, our tour guide, was really informative and passionate about the art he was presenting so it was a lot of fun despite being a large group of 29. We saw Bansky pink car, more examples of Jimmy C's pointillism inspired work including Joe's Kid and Mary. He is my favorite street artist as of now, just love how from afar it appears one color but then as you get close you realize it is made of all little dots. It brings me back to my high school art class when I made a portrait of myself out of dots. He also brought us to a parking lot where artists come to practice their artwork all the time so it is constantly being redone. We saw some more examples of Stik's work, ROA (the rat and stork), Sticker Nation, Zabou (mural on the pub), and Shok (I love his MasterPEACE). I want to go back to the area to take more pictures and explore to discover more street art- there is so so many on/around Brick Lane!!!

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Street Art Milestone
So, basically everything I said above and everything I will be including on my second milestone page! It was a very informative tour with not only stories and descriptions on the artwork and artist but also the history behind street art in London and East London especially.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. Our tour guide spent a year in Boston where he was a tour guide- ironic part he was a British man giving tours to Americans about American history...
2. Alex was very thought provoking tour guide, leaving us with questions to think about as we discover more and more artwork including what defines street art?Should it be political? Should it look good/not be printed? Can you make money? Should the work tie into the street environment? Should it tell a story? Etc.
3. Highly recommend!!!
"Work": Will be adding to my second milestone page!

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London Docklands

   Monday May 22nd
   Group 2 Museum of London Docklands

I have explored all ways of transportation today from tube,train,ferry, and walking! We headed to the London Dockland museum this morning, then took the ferry to Tate Britain library to gather solid sources for my second milestone and then meeting and dinner (+ ice cream treat)!
Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
In the most current section of the museum talking about the creation of the city and modern day they included The Eye and City Hall which are two of the buildings from our project! They had little blurbs and pictures of them on display.


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. It was interesting to read about slavery and the World Wars from their point of view when I grew up learning about what the United States did. Just seeing and thinking about the fear all the citizens must have been in with the bombs. Learning about the George Cross medal recognizing "acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger," was fascinating.It is the second highest award given out to British army and citizens. The one on display was donated by Richard V Moore's family for he earned it for his bomb disposal efforts during the Second World War. And seeing the casing from a bomb that never went off was crazy too.
2. I have always had a thing for Monopoly since I was young so it was cool to see at the very end of the tour a special East End London Monopoly board game with al the cards and pieces on display. And Natalie told me we could have asked for them to take it out of the back to play?! It was the last thing I had expected to see on the tour so it was pleasant surprise!
3. We had to travel out far to get to the museum so we saw a very different side, a lot more peaceful and modern with tall skyscrapers and minimal people. Interesting to see the difference but beautiful day to walk around! The ferry was a good thought but I wish it wasn't a covered one so we could get better pictures and it wasn't cheap!
4. Overall, I really like the set up of the museum so it guided you through and from the different time periods and how some rooms were like walking through the town.
"Work": I worked on the Museum of London Docklands page focusing on the Greenland Dock.

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Imperial War Museum

   Tuesday May 23rd
   Group 2 Imperial War Museum

Waking up to learn it was recorded 22 innocent citizens were killed in the Manchester bombing and over fifty injured was alarming and made the visit to the Imperial War Museum all the more real. After the museum visit we gathered more photos for the architecutre project including a walk down Oxford Street to get the Welbeck Car Park and stop into the famous Primark.
Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
The museum itself did not include any of our buildings or street art but I did ironically find the Bansky book I read in the Tate Library yesterday in the gift shop section about peace. And after the museum visit, Emily, Natalie and I walked to the Jewel Tower to learn more and take pictures which was a direct connection to our milestone.


Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. The museum is deep and loaded with a lot of information. The Holocaust exhibit on the fourth floor was were I spent most of my time reading everything and observing all the artifacts. No matter how many times I read about, learn about or see about it it still blows my mind. Seeing the three drawings by George (a little eight year old boy) and the returned lettered to his mother saying no longer exist, was shortly after he was sent to a concentration camp and gased. So. sad. I think to being the night after the Manchester bombing, every exhibit just felt all the more real. War is current. Sad but true.
2. The front entrance was cool though sparking interest from the get go with the huge airplanes and jeeps and vehicles coming out of the ceiling and sides.
3. The top floor exhibit was fascinating to see and read about different war heroes and their medals. There was a wide variety of who received and why and years. Even to this day people are earning the Victoria Cross, which dates back to the 1800s. I also enjoyed feeling like a kid and participating in their interactive stamp collection where you collect mock medals as you learn.
"Work": I worked on the Imperial War Museum page focusing on the Victorian and George Cross Medals.

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Hampton Court Palace

   Wednesday May 24th
   Group 2 Hampton Court Palace

Group two and group five made our way to Hampton Court Palace via two trains. It is a beautiful day out with nothing but blue sky and warm weather so it made the visit that much more enjoyable. We arrived a few minutes before opening so we were able to notice the grand size of the palace and the little statues leading to the arch way, including a unicorn. As we walked into King VIII's apartment everyone's draw dropped with the elaborate grand staircase and the artwork that lied the walls and ceiling.
Connections to Milestone: Relates to Architecture milestone
I was able to see most of the palace is made up of red brick similar to a lot of our buildings. Also, the audio tour described a little bit of the baroque style court built by William and Mary. This can be observed through the intricate ceiling patterns and details which always caught my attention.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1.Young King Henry's apartment was my least favorite since it was more videos on the walls and only a few art pieces and artifacts. It seemed like they were stuggling with how to fill the bare rooms for showcase.
2. King Henry VIII's kitchen was massive and pretty cool to see and learn about how they made meals for 800+ guests back in the day. The mini court outside the main door to the kitchen was build to be that size so a wagon and horse could turn around without disrupting the flow of food drop off from the town, which makes perfect logically sense. I also learned their diets were made up of 75% meat based and consume over 800 sheeps a year. So many. Pies lied the kitchen counters as it wasn't a food for them like today but rather a way of cooking. They needed bowls to cook the meat in so they simply placed it inside a flour dough and when it came out they would serve from the pie and then discard it without eating. I found that interesting. Different.
3.The gardens are gorgeous and huge, for only miles and miles to see green. The trees were all pruned and no branches were below the 5 ft mark so you literally could see for miles. I was surprised there weren't more flowers, but still gorgeous!
4.Little known fact, the palace is home to the World's LARGEST Grape Vine. Totally random and hidden in a side garden but really cool to see. The branches are 108 feet long and the circumference of the vine is 12 ft 5 in.
"Work": I worked on the Hampton Court Palace page focusing on the future.

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Horniman Museum

   Thursday May 25th
   Group 2 Horniman Museum

Back on the train and bus with another group to head to the oh so different Horniman Museum. It wasn't like any other museum we have been too- it had cases full of taxidermy creatures from walrus to penguin to butterflies to porcupines. They had it all which was very odd. They even had seashell collections and models of animals that have since gone extinct such as the dodo bird. Overall it was small and quant museum that had gorgeous lawn area and garden to admire the London skyline. I appreciated how unique and different it was.

Connections to Milestone: Indirect to Street Art Milestone
There was no real connection to any of my milestones, except the observation of a few taggings as we walked from the train to the bus station and then the bus to the museum.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1.I saw all different parts of animals, from skulls to shark teeth and toucan beak to full tigers. It was quite the array of displays. While they all looked real, the most creepy one was the display of dog dominations which included the stuffed heads of all different dogs. Too real.
2. I enjoyed the walk around the grounds, it was a gorgeous day and the view of London happily surprised us.
"Work": I worked on the Horniman Museum page focusing on the natural history exhibit.

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The Wallace Collection

   Tuesday May 30th
   Group 2 The Wallace Collection

Back after the long bank holiday weekend and we headed out via tube to The Wallace Collection. We had to leave our bags in the cloakroom so we didn't hit anything which made sense. We spent the morning there before Emily and I made it back to Tate Britain to utilize their oh so very helpful library! And we attended our calligraphy workshop tonight at The Hatch (a cafe/bar with really cool vibes and a hair dresser!). I learned I have a lot of practice left to do, but it was still super fun!
Connections to Milestone: No Direct Relation to Milestone
There was no real connection to any of my milestone at the Wallace Collection, but I was successful with research at the Tate Britain library (again!) for my third milestone and was able to start learning calligraphy at the workshop tonight!

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. I noticed quite a few hercules sculptures throughout the rooms which was interesting to see how he was depicted from drunk to strong hero.
2. Each room was bold with the different colors from Gibbs Realty green, to blood red and lavender purple, no two rooms were the same but all the full floor length drapes matched the wallpaper perfectly.
3. I felt like it was a huge house tour, with more rooms than it first appears. The armory rooms surprised me in the back as I didnt expected them but it was fun to be a kid and dress up in armor like a knight! 4. I noticed there was many more staff/guards throughout the house- one in each room I would say and were more strict than any other exhibit we have been too.
"Work": I worked on the The Wallace Collection page focusing on the Back State Room.

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London Science Museum

   Wednesday May 31st
   Group 2 London Science Museum

Last group visit today was to the London Science Museum and throughout the journey there, lots of street performers so it was entertaining. And on our way back Emily and I stopped by a quaint art market in Piccadilly Circus.
Connections to Milestone: No Direct Relation to Milestone
There was no real connection to any of my milestone at the London Science Museum but was cool to play around with their interactive exhibits to learn more about myself like my eye color, hand size and surname.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1.My favorite part was for sure the Who am I? exhibit that had hands on activities some were taking a picture of your eye to examine the colors, another measured your fingers and could tell from the ratios more about yourself. I learned some cool statistics that I have never heard of before.
2. While the museum was a lot of fun covering a varying amount of topics with life size models, it to me was not very organized/easy to get around. Some elevators skipped floors or some stairs didn't connect to all the main exhibits. Very different than all the other museums we have been too since it was interesting to notice
3. WPI would love it here- all things airplane, flying, robots, math, medicine, and genes. The entire time I was thinking of all my friends and how they would be geeking out.
"Work": I worked on the London Science Museum page focusing on the hot air balloon display.

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Work Days

   Thursday June 1

It was the first day no planned activities for Group 2 so I traveled to the airport to pick up my sister, but brought my lap top so I could keep working on my assignments. I focused on starting to type up some of the background for milestone three and find some online sources. We also walked the Jubilee and Queens way were I was able to take more photos of street art for milestone two, including a non tagged version of Jimmy C's Shakespeare!!!! And we rode The Eye so I was able to get more photos for milestone one. I guess it turned out to be a very well rounded productive day touching on all three milestones.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. The line for The Eye may appear long but it is really only thirty minutes and you are constantly moving so totally worth it.
2. Also by the Tower Bridge there is now a Summerfest going on so there are tons of food stands and music. Must come back to check out and enjoy!
"Work": I will be adding the photos I tooked to the corresponding milestone pages.

   Friday June 2

Continued the research on my five architecture types for milestone one which will be created into 5 different articles pages. Also notice via bus 55 route towards Shoreditch, two more street art by Shade. So added it to my list to go back and actually walk along the route to grab the photos. Also spotted another Jimmy C painting along the wall of a bar so grabbed another picture for milestone two. Went on another Strawberry walking tour about Jack the Ripper. It was interesting but crazy to think the murder has gotten away and now a celebrate, yes I too play into it by attending the tour but still crazy. We say like four other tours going on at the same time. I enjoyed how our tour guide ended with telling us to think of those who fell victim and think of them during their lively years. Ended the night grabbing homemade ice cream from Udderlicious, cute little place with a swing inside!

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Wicked

   Monday June 5

My first theater show was at the Apollo Victoria Theater to see Wicked. The show started at 7:30pm but we arrived early enough to grab our slushies and popcorn before finding our seats in the top circle section. I was worried since the tickets were bought the first week we arrived we would have a hard time seeing but really any seat you had had a good view. It was a pretty venue, reminding me of a smaller Hannover. The performance was three hours including intermission was but amazing. It was a treat to have my sister join me and she sang along to the songs she knew. I have never seen or read Wicked so to me it was cool to see the background of the characters through the performance. I would highly recommend going to see it. And after we left one of the fellow audience members got to talking with us and this was his sixth time seeing the performance (not all had been in London) but said this ranked second on his list. And we learned that the actress playing the Wicked Witch of the West, it was her like 3,000 show which is unbelievable and goes to stand for why she was our favorite. She nailed it.

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Shakespeare Globe

   Tuesday June 6
  Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet  

Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet at The Globe! The show started at 7:30pm so we arrived by 6:30pm to wait in line before being on of the first to get into the standing area and grab a spot by the stage. It was cool to be able to literally put my chin on the stage, that is how close I was, but for the second act when the roses were put on the stage it became hard to see. The actors including Romeo and Juliet had sat on the stage in front of me and I could see their goose bumps from the rain and cold night. I have never read the play before, but of course I knew of the plot so I had nothing to compare the play to. But it was nothing like I was expecting, way more modern than I think some people would have liked. Overall I was amazed by the performance and being so close. It was wet and cold, but I am happy I stayed for the whole performance. The faces painted white made it a little creepy and the modern dance numbers kept interesting to say the least. I found it funny they including the YMCA and it almost became interactive with the audience participating and to include the infamous dab dance move.

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Quill London & Sky Garden

   Wednesday June 7 

Emily and I first walked to the Quill London store to look at some more supplies for our third milestone. We went to this store first since it was one our teacher recommended for supplies. The selection was small and the women wasn't very helpful so it left a bad impression. However, I was able to purchase another practice book which swivels so the pages can dry easily and I bought a brush marker to try brush lettering if there is time. We split a bottle of gold ink to mix up our calligraphy too. I am excited to keep practicing. We then went back to the small market in front of a church at Piccadilly market to grab a specific gift for family before sitting on the steps and people and pigeon watching while we ate our sandwiches. We tubed over to The Monument where there were flowers in front in honor of the victims for the London Bridge Attack. We then walked over to the Royal Exchange and Llyod's Building to grab a few more pictures for milestone one before going to the Sky Garden on the 35 floor of the Walkie Talkie building. The view was amazing but a smaller garden than I thought. We went to grab a skyline view photo for our milestone one page. It was a windy but gorgeous day to go so we lucked out with our free tickets! On our way back to the flat to get more work done, we stopped at King's Cross Market to try Bad Brownies' peanut butter brownie, so good and so rich. We will be coming back to the market to try some more of the handmade breads, ice cream macaroon sandwiches, and donuts!!!

Stonehenge, Bath & Lacock

   Thursday June 8
   Stonehenge

Today we all hopped on the English Tour bus (which was actually a rather large and comfy coach bus since there were so many of us) for a day long bus tour. The first stop, after the bathroom stop, was Stonehenge. Luckily, it was only misty so we didn’t freeze like Romeo and Juliet the other night. Thanks to our informative and dramatic tour guide, Andrew, I learned the stones are 5,100 years old. Yes, 5,100 years old. A little hard to imagine but it is crazy to think and if the age doesn’t awe you enough, the stones weighing from 1-50 tons each were moved over 160 miles and the little stones were lifted over 5 meters in order to lay horizontally on top of the two larger vertical ones. We weren’t allowed to go up to them, which was a little bummer, but understandable and worked out for photos so you don’t have many people in your backgrounds. We took two laps around the stones before heading back to see the small exhibit and gift shop. We loaded the bus again to drive to Bath. Bath is full of tourists but also cobblestone walkways and old limestone buildings. After grabbing lunch from The Cornish Bakery (the traditional pasty are delicious and very filling), we walked around and saw the The Circus and Royal Crescent before joining Andrew on his walking tour. We saw the Roman Baths, found out the building outside/around it is a lot newer than the actual bath inside. And the King’s Bath (the one we saw) can no longer be swam in because of lead piping. However, a new bath was created down the street and opened in 2006 to be used. The warm, actually hot water comes from 8,000 feet below the Earth’s crust and when it comes up it is 50 degrees Celsius. Our last stop was another drive away and it was the small quaint village Lacock, more famously known for Godric’s Hollow. Everything was closed but we were able to see the inside of a barn and the church. Even though I am not a huge Harry Potter fan, it was cool to see the house he was born in and the streets and graveyard many shots were filmed. We also saw from the distance the Abbey which is where the potion room was filmed. It was a long but good day and I am glad I was able to see the stones!

Cereal Killer Café and Brick Lane

    Friday June 9 

My flat mates and I took the bus to Shoreditch on route to Cereal Killer Café. I am not a huge cereal person, but I really enjoyed it and might go back before I leave. They have over 200 different cereals from across the world. I had the Stinky Monkey Cereal Cocktail and it was delicious. Who would have thought to add whip cream and biscuit to your cereal?! So good. The café was continually busy the entire time we were there, and thankfully they have a downstairs for more seating. I was able to upload all my writings for the individual architecture styles for their own articles. Then we walked around brick lane to spot more street art including the Radioactive Girl by Shade!

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Windsor Castle

    Monday June 12 
   Windsor Castle

My flatmates and I traveled out to Windsor to see the Windsor Castle and thankfully we had tickets purchased in advance so we didn't have to wait in the long line that went all the way down the street. After going through security we first visited St. George's Chapel which relates to my first milestone seeing another great example of gothic style architecture. It has the lines that direct your eyes to look up and point you to the heavens. Then we saw the changing of the guards, which was a lot longer than I thought. I learned that all the guards are recently coming back from active duty, as recently as days ago! We then saw the doll house and the state apartments before heading to the gift shop and then back to the city. The doll house was really different, it was huge and very detailed. The house is even fully furnished with electricity and plumbing! Sadly no pictures could be taken in either building. I loved the ceilings in the state apartments as they were all very intricate and the door handles too are gorgeous. The door knobs in the hall were my favorite since they were gold roses. Overall I enjoyed the castle, it was large, but we only got to see a sliver since it is indeed the longest running castle to be active! On our way back to the flat, we stopped at the Dominique Ansel Bakery to grab their famous cookie shots! They were literally cookie cups with milk in them and they were delicious! I need to learn how to make them at home.

Work at The Wren

    Tuesday June 13 

Emily and I set first thing in the morning walking towards St. Paul's Cathedral to find The Wren cafe to get some work and calligraphy done. It is an interesting cafe hidden within a church so it is old vs new architecture. I was able to collect many quotes for my calligraphy notebook. Also as we walked by St Paul's Cathedral it was interesting to see a whole booth out front for bag searches even though we went just a few weeks ago there was no checking, times have changed. We wondered over to a bench by the Thames River to eat lunch and take more notes for our calligraphy notebooks. During the afternoon I went over to Queen Elizabeth's Olympic Park which hosted the 2012 Olympics and went down the world's longest tunnel slide and UK largest sculpture- the ArcelorMittal Orbit. I highly recommend people to go for the slide and to check out the park, it is gorgeous and really easy to get to. The staff is also super friendly.

Work at Bernie Spain Garden

    Wednesday June 14 

After hearing from another peer about free wifi in a park by St Paul's Cathedral we walked back to try to find it. We did find it on the other side of the water, but the wifi wasn't too strong so we ended up sitting outside EAT to get some work done, focusing on the second and first milestone. We then walked over to Waterloo Station to find The Tunnel, formally known as Bansky Tunnel, which is a legal graffiti wall. Banksy revealed a piece of his artwork in 2008 which made the tunnel famous. Sadly no more of Bansky's artwork is still visible today. The tunnel was still really cool to walk through and even see an artist at work adding their own tag. There was artwork covering all parts of the tunnel so you had to look up, down and both sides. Definitely a place to visit multiple times since the artwork will constantly change. Then for fun after the presentation meetings I rode the circle line for more notes/quotes for my calligraphy notebook and for fun pictures as a souvenir.

Work at Half Cup

    Thursday June 15 

After getting up early to snag a photo with the famous 9 3/4 platform at Kings Cross Station we then settled down at the nearby Half Cup cafe to get some work done. Not only was I able to work on my milestone pages and upload more photos with the strong wifi connections I also took notes again on the surroundings to add to my calligraphy journal. It was a big cafe with great music and atmosphere. We went to Ye Old Mitre for lunch, which is one of London's oldest pubs being established in 1546. I took more notes for my journal here before heading back to the flat to write it all out in calligraphy. A group of us went to Primrose Hill to watch the sunset- great location, great weather, great company. We might even try to go back one more time before we all leave. Another productive day!

God's Own Junkyard

    Friday June 16 

This morning my flatmates and I ventured out to northern London to visit a old ware house that is FULL of old neon signs. It is called God's Old Junkyard and is now also a cafe too. It was really different and interesting to see and perfect to take photos for our third milestone on typography. On our way back to the flat we stopped at Box Park, another very cool place which is literally just shipping containers together to hold little shops and food places! And then we stopped by Camden Market, another place I highly recommend. All throughout the day I was taking notes of observations and quotes to use in my calligraphy journal. It was a productive and adventurous day.

Work at the Flat

    Monday June 19 

Trinity, Emily M. and I walked over to Persephone Books first thing this morning to purchase a few as gifts and I went to explore and take more notes for my calligraphy journal. It is a cute, quaint little store full of out of print books, most of which are written by females. They have a total of 122 different books as of write now and they are all numbered. I am glad they have an online website that allows me to purchase some for gifts this year! Then I made it back to the flat to fill out my entire calligraphy practice notebook and work on uploading more pictures to milestone three. After our check in meeting we went over to Angel Comedy Club for their Monday night Shoot From The Hip Improv Night.