Wednesday 21 December 2011

Things are looking up . . . an update on the last 2 months. Merry Xmas and Happy New Yr.

I'VE GOT A JOB. I'VE GOT MY 1ST INDEPENDENT PROJECT. HURRAY.

I was hired a month ago by a Chinese Canadian architect (CCA). He is 1 year older than me and has a start-up firm that specializes in residential and retail design. Basically, it's just him and me and the office is a 20-30 minute jaunt up the highway 404 in Toronto by highway 7. I modeled 2 things since I was hired: an eco-village mixed use development (using Sketch-Up 8) and a cellphone kiosk for a shopping mall (using AutoCAD 2009).

It gets better. My friend from church and former co-worker hired me to do architectural drawings of the 2nd floor addition to his cottage, an investment property. It is situated north of Barrie. The project will be underway in January 2012. It's an exciting time for me. My hero. He is also, incidentally donating one of his kidneys to a female church friend of ours who is experiencing health concerns. Please pray for her. And for him.

Well, looking forward to my birthday which is this Saturday. Also looking forward to Christmas which is the day after. I've invited some Bible-study group friends over for dinner o the 25th. There will be 5 of us including my girlfriend. I've got presents for everyone. Will cook a turkey the day before and reheat the day of the party. Not sure if it is wise. I just have to remember to remove the stuffing from inside the turkey to a glass dish container so that it doesn't spoil.

Well, postponing applying to grad school until Fall of 2013. It gives me time to work on the cottage project and save up some money for tuition. I figure Ontario Student Assistance Program will cover the bulk of it.

Next on the agenda: how to negotiate for fair fees for architectural work rendered.

Thursday 13 October 2011

What to do now???

Anyway, I called the architect. She said that they are not hiring right now but that they would keep my resume, "on file."

Anyway.

I guess I will have to drum up new leads with the help of my 2 job agencies.

On a different note, I went with my girlfriend to see MAD Office/Yasong Ma's Absolute Towers Project (aka. Marilyn Monroe Buildings), under construction in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. These towers are superb although my girlfriend was only moderately impressed. She liked them but I thought showing them to her would have really wowed her. LOL. Anyway, looking forward to using the studio space at Undisclosed Arts Organization 2 today.

Friday 7 October 2011

Waiting . . .

Now begins a period of waiting . . .

I submitted my resume to the architect last night and I didn't receive a reply this morning. Will have to wait and see.

Also, have to wait until next Thursday to use the studio space. The good thing is that if the artwork is of good enough quality, it gets to be exhibited.
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As an interesting note, I watched a Youtube video presentation of Hispanic architectural futurist, Hernan Diaz Alonso. In it, he was addressing the Taubman School of Architecture at University of Michigan. He had some pretty slick animations. Exploring the grotesque in architecture. Google "Xefirotarch" (Alonso's firm's name) to find out more about his work.

Wednesday 5 October 2011

The Undisclosed Arts Organization 2 Studio Space Result

Well, I visited the Undisclosed Arts Organization 2 Studio Space and it was small. Really just a desk that one books for 1 day a week. I guess you get what you pay for. The Studio and Exhibition room is nice though although a bit crowded. So much for dreaming of building large scale architectural models. I will have to satisfy myself with 2D renderings. Art supplies are free and each member gets a discount card for Midoco, Curry's and another art supply store.

I also got a call as I was driving about a possible job lead with an architectural firm. They recently hired someone but they still want me to send over my resume. Will have to wait and see about what results of the efforts of me and my job agency yield.


My antiquated Razor flip-phone died and I bit the bullet and got a Samsung Galaxy S II Android phone. Wonder if I can blog from it. The hideaway touch screen keyboard is kind of small. I was watching my Youtube guardhouse animation on the smartphone and it looked pixellated. Hmmmm.

Monday 3 October 2011

Meeting with an Undisclosed Arts Organization

I had a meeting with the Director of an Undisclosed Arts Organization today. This Arts Organization (call them AO 1) referred me to another AO (call them AO 2) which could provide me with studio space and free artist's materials all for a nominal membership fee of $15 (per year/one time- don't know). I could paint architectural renderings and build large scale architectural models in the space. Don't know if I will get it (the studio space) but I hope so. Please pray for me. If I do get the space, I will post photos of paintings and models that I execute in the studio. I guess I should post some of the work I've done before.

Saturday 1 October 2011

Just got back from New Jersey and New York City

I just got back from New Jersey and New York City. It was a bit rainy but it was a wonderful time. I attended the Graduate Architecture School and Career Expo at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. It was my first experience taking the light rail and to be honest you do not want to go past the NJIT stop. At the next stop, which was Norfolk Station, it was a rough looking neighbourhood.

It was OK then since I walked towards the NJIT campus. The most welcoming sight was the Subways sandwich shop at the corner. A 3rd year grad student gave me a tour of the architecture building and the graduate studios in the EIT building.

The next day, the Graduate Architecture School and Career Expo was in full-swing. We had the Director and Dean from the School of Architecture at NJIT talk about how to select a school. We also had a member from NCARB talk about licensure. I spoke with representatives from several top schools, like University of  Michigan, Harvard and Sci-Arc. Also University of Houston and Boston Architectural College.

Grabbed a book about architecture schools published by the ACSA.

Ground Zero was looking like the construction was progressing nicely. The museum by Snohetta was almost complete and the Freedom Tower by SOM was half complete. Also saw an exhibit on architecture at the Museum of Modern Art. There's a model of a Bridge City that's worth looking at.