As many of you are aware, having swirled around in the midst of the activity, my Creative Concepts photography class was involved in a special project recently—yes, a Charette, which lasted 24 hours. What is a charette, you might ask.

The term “charette” evolved from a pre-1900 exercise at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in France. Architectural students were given a design problem to solve within an allotted time. When that time was up, the students would rush their drawings from the studio to the Ecole in a cart called a charrette. Students often jumped in the cart to finish drawings …more

So, just this morning I was ordering the new version of the long awaited and heralded upgrade of Quark 7, which represents the biggest positive jump in this software since Vr. 4, seemingly years back. I am reminded to the very origin of the word Quark, which is probably different from what you might think, and a pretty interesting story, actually.

It has to do with all the things that explore and constitute biology, life, and fluids… particularly as they are sustainable and worthy… the origins of life finding themselves conjoined by the ideals of this word ‘quark’… But wait, that …more

Below, another email conversation you may “eavesdrop” on:

Dear Mike and Alvin,

I want to follow up to our chat yesterday afternoon… foremost, because I so believe in the both of you and how you can commit and share, and as well to challenge you. So, a couple thoughts in response to our previous chat: You guys have some ideas that are not on the table, but still in the box. My counsel— make-‘em be brave.

Consider, if you will— ‘safe work,’ is just that, ‘locked up in a safe,’… where no one can get to it. ‘Zig or zag.’ You have …more

During the break here at Portfolio Center, when I had just a little breathing room to relax and reflect on the busy spring quarter we just wrapped up, I gave a lot of thought to the progress the students are making. I was thinking about how challenging it was, working with the twenty (two groups) I had for Design History and how those students matched me, effort for effort, as we all rose to that challenge. I was impressed with their deliverables—the wine bottles, posters, chairs, and peace bridges, any one of which might have been a thesis project at …more