backup and recover

Finaly all the holidays are over! I never immagined that I will get so bored with so  much of free time on my hands - but it was a very inconvenient free time, because of all the events, diners and lunches you have to be in and if I wanted to go somewhere I was always tied to a schedule to be back on time. And now it is over and we can start fresh! Yeah! There is so much to do and this new year seems to be promising in professional area! Let's hope also the weather conditions will improve, till now it has been very confused - warm, cold, but without a permanent pattern. It's time to decide and move things in the right direction! So I am recovering my system information with new ideas and I hope that a little of my optimism can attach to each and everyone of you!

the new and the old

It is a strange day today - the 31st december and I still don't feel the New Years arrival, actually it kind of doesn't matter cause in my head it is already here. I am already in 2010 but today I am lost in old memories too. I searched for my past years photos and I discovered that I have had a lot of happy moments, and I am sure that I want them coming more and more! Especially I overlooked the photos of my trip to Barcelona - that was a time full of emotions : good, bad, controversial, but that is not the point. The point is that I want to go back to Barcelona!!! Hahahaha....  Back to the city of contrasts, the city between old and new. It was the liveliest city I'd ever seen and even if it is a city of millions, it emanated calm and serenity.
In five minutes I photoshopped what it was like to me. It is an urban scene with Nouvels "cucumber" and some graffitti, enclosed in a distorted glass of Gaudì house. Why orange? I don't know, maybe because it contains the vibrations of passion, of the heat and the hopes that the newcoming year will be overloaded with experiences, work and all kinds of activities.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

last weekend

This was my first real approach to a tuscany forest. I live here like 5 years now, and I just realised that I haven't actually been in a real forest. Well I don't count the climbing trips cause we never stepped away from a path. This time we went for mushrooms. The day was gloomy and there was very little light under the trees and I had immagined a wood like in the alpine areas - with high trees and an easy passage under them, but this time there was chaos under the branches : bushes and spiky plants, fallen tree trunks and tall grass, there was everything you can immagine. And we followed the animal made paths, because otherwise you didn't move at all. And the earth was all dug up by the wildboars, you could feel their presence. And most of all - I liked it there. And we found a lot of mushrooms I don't recognize, because there are no such kind in Latvia or at least we don't usually pick them up.

The surprise at San Gimignano

Actually it is not a surprise but the theme for my this year's project lab. And I am quite happy with it cause it is a challenge to make a project in a town with such a strong medieval image. Our lot is right outside the city walls and will become an additional element on a skyline scenery visible from the main access road. It will be hard, because for those of you who have already seen San Gimignano, you will remember o course the towers and the city walls, the permanent presence of brick and stone architecture and the immediate proximity of the countryside fields. The main problem I think will be the perfect integration of the new building complex into the existing background not disturbing it but in the same time having its own contemporary dignity and justification.

The main functions of the new project area are still undecided, but we have two hints: it could be the new municipality building - the new directional centre, or a multifunctional core of auditorium, exhibition spaces and apartment buildings. It will be clear tomorrow...

goodbye autumn

I really do feel that these are the last golden autumn days, the trees are almost bare and the last leaves just wait to resist on the branches for another week. Right now the weather is really dull and cloudy and I have no desire to go out and have a walk in this world of grey.

But two days ago we had a wonderful sunny evening and I captured some photos of this season. The one you can see above is a variation on the theme of a departing season. I felt that I had to make the background colors more dim and to add some crack masks on the leaves as an announcment of decay. I should still work on how to make these digital manipulations more realistic, but it was the first time I changed drasticaly the foreground of an immagine.

changes

welcome the new layout, clean and white with some touches of  smeared ink!!!!!!  I understood that for me it is difficult to write about what is new and what is happening, so I will illustrate my progress and talk with a help of visual language - more universal, and I am sure that you'll enjoy it more than 3 pages of incorect english babbling!

the end of a phase

      


Finally I have some time to communicate! Last two weeks went really crazy because of the exam rush! well, I can just blame myself for choosing such a time-killing faculty, but when the job is done there is nothing like the sensation that the great effort you've put in it was actually worth it. At least for personal sodisfaction...
That is so incredible that behind these 2 immages there is a work of a whole year! (and 20GB of my hard disc space!) In short, I had this project going on for an empty area in the downtown of city of Florence (Italy) and this is the result! I had my public presentation yesterday (you know that the Botswana Agate I held in my pocket did it's job well! if you know what I mean ;))
Now I fell empty and weak, and I have to regenerate my energy and optimism to be ready for the next step. And the best solution to this of course is a HOLIDAY!!!!!!! Yes, I am leaving tomorrow, I don't know where yet, but the options depend on the weather forecast, and of course it is going to be a climbing holiday! Yeah! Cann't wait! I have to pack my backpack and to find my tent and the world is waiting for me!!!!!
Wish you all nice weekend!!!