C.S. Robadue's Blog, page 8

The Wright Stuff

NOVEMBER 2019 – Been sitting at my desk working like crazy this month, so many projects for the office, everything is humming right along with productivity amping up. Want to pause here and take a moment to say thank you to everyone for all the support for my artwork that I have received, it is always humbling, and incredibly appreciated. There is something so incredibly satisfying about bringing to fruition an image or concept that is in your mind and to give it a life of it’s own.

After a lot of consideration, I have come to terms with the modifications necessary to allow my selection of Juvenile Fiction books and have them be e-books. I have always been reticent to go that route as the formatting of the illustrations never looked very good to my eye. With the proportions and spacing of the drawings within the text seeming incorrect (versus the print version where I was able to customize it as I wished). And I didn’t want to make a version of the book that didn’t include the illustrations to be sold (versus having it available for free).

All of that said, I worked on the e-book versions of the work a lot more and re-did the formatting after doing more research on how to include illustrations in e-books. Thus I am happy to say that the full library of C.S. Robadue books are now available as drm (digital rights management) free versions for sale online. I set the prices as low as it would allow me to on the platform and have added bookmarks and accessibility features to the books.

Always in search of beautiful architecture, I have been exploring historic buildings and locations of distinct merit and excellence. This month I read a book called ‘The Wright Style’ by Carla Lind, about American Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, perhaps the most favorite architect in American history. Wright and his design team completed over 500 building commissions in his life, which is an extraordinaire breadth of work. ‘The Wright Style’ offers up profiles of a selection of his standout works, that are to be found across the country. Highlighting his organic architecture style and building structures that are in sympathy with nature and connected to the landscape in which they have been constructed.

Going through this book has heightened my interest in visiting more buildings designed by the late architect, so look for posts regarding that in the coming years. Those that know me, will certainly recognize my longtime interest in architecture and design. I have for years designed houses on paper and digitally that I would someday love to build. That passion remains and ideas further distilled with the more brilliant work and monumental pieces of design I see and digest.

Here’s to a wonderful Thanksgiving ahead, my warmest wishes to you all!

~ CS

Imaginative Landscapes

OCTOBER 2019 – Seasons change as we embrace Autumn and all the festivities that come with it! Been a scattered and busy month with a lot of work and travel on the table for getting things done and being productive. Took a trip to New York City this month, which never fails to be a lively experience with a lot of sensory information to onboard. Made a point to visit some of the new and exciting architecture that has been popping up around Manhattan. Most noteworthy, the work of Bjarke Ingels and his team of architects and designers at BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), as they continue to push the zeitgeist of building design further and further with their designs. Building in an eco-euro-modernism type style, with emphasis on occupant livability, monumental designs with their use of shapes and counter organization, and of course European sensibilities to include gardens and Scandinavian charm.

Had wanted to see Via 57 West, which was the first building that BIG designed in New York City and was finished in 2016. The pyramidal skyscraper is such a departure for the skyline of New York with it’s striking tetrahedron shape, reaching a height of 467 feet at it’s pinnacle. Within the core of the building there is a courtyard and green space, it was fun to see the building up close and observe it from a distance as it really feels like a landmark on the horizon. It is part of a whole new movement to revitalize the Western half of Manhattan with exciting work, including the Hudson Yards area, and the highline which is such a fun way to walk through the city.

Other exciting structures include ‘The Shed’ arts center in Hudson Yards, which is next to the Vessel, which I’ve talked about before. The Shed is an adjustable and scaling building that is built on large wheels that allows it expand out into the plaza. When I visited, it was being setup for a concert and extended out into the plaza, creating a vast interior space for live events to take place. It was designed by lead architect Diller, Scofidio, and Renfro who are NYC based architects. All part of the imaginative cityscape that is coming together in the city, which is really cool to visit.

Been reading a lot lately and I just finished ‘Lightning’ by Dean Koontz, having never read one of his books before. Was an exciting suspense thriller that definitely defied expectations as to the direction of the plot. Gotta love a plot twist, haha. Have picked up some other books since as I’m switching in some non-fiction into the mix for the rest of the month. That’s the latest, hope everyone is doing brilliantly and thanks for stopping by! Lots of design work underway.

~ CS

Green Learning & Design

SEPTEMBER 2019 – Lots of web-design work has been on my to do list of late, so I’ve been spending a lot of time in front of a computer screen. Which while meh in a lot of ways, also means productivity, so it has been an active month of trade-offs. With the frequent escape to the outdoors for long walks while the weather remains inviting. Been really getting into design more and more, which has always been one of my favorite things, I’m just directing it in a more precise way these days.

Have never discussed that in-depth on the site here my love of all things architecture, it really is such a passion of mine. From drawing floor plans of fantastical houses when I was a kid, to orchestrating vacations around seeing glorious ancient stone structures, I seem to be drawn to it with this invisible, binding, attraction. To stoke these creative, building design fires, I am taking two online courses in Architecture for my own enjoyment. One on sustainable building practices and the other on the Architectural Imagination, have really been getting into it, and intend to take more in the future. Though I have to say, having a well written book in hand to go over and absorb, goes a long way for me too.

This time of year always draws me into a whimsical state, where I’m excited about fantasy and sci-fi works. And find this (see photo) delightful Hobbit tree on one of my walks was fantastic. My compliments to the architect as well as all the happy tree nook dwellers! In the spirit of Fantasy/Sci-fi I picked up the classic book, Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’, as surprisingly I had never read this benchmark in the science fiction genre. Considered as the epitome of the science fiction realm, and infinitely referenced throughout pop culture, it was great to drive into.

I had been aware of the work for many years, played the 90s Dune PC game, and knew the general plot of the story, just from sheer cultural osmosis. But to pick it up (a beautifully rendered hardcover, with this incredible design by Alex Trochut) and experience it for myself in it’s entirety for the first time, was most enjoyable. The 600+ pages of quality door-stopper fiction went by in a blink of an eye. As I’m reading chapters while eating my oatmeal for breakfast, while I’m falling to sleep at night, and while waiting for every other bit of life to play catch up with me, haha.

For Sci-fi fans, a must read! And if you enjoy it, I heard there are upwards of 20 sequels and other stories in the Dune Universe. As Frank Herbert continued on the series after the success of his 1965 Dune debut with multiple sequels. And then his son Brian Herbert and co-author Kevin J. Anderson have carried the torch and expanded the stories and landscape of the richly woven world of giant sand worms, deception, and spice!

This month has also brought a return to sketching being a regular part of my life, which has been a complete joy. Have only done a couple (of houses), but I so loved getting out my art supplies and sitting at my drafting table and puttering with 2D pencil drawings. Will certainly be doing more of that in the coming months as I want to make it a regular thing. Other fun side-projects include greening up the house here with a lot more plants and things that grow. Have lots of ivy, palms, pothos, and even some peppers making the place that much cheerier. Highly recommend bringing some more life into your home, having that touch of nature is most calming. For those of us who can’t live inside of a giant tree like our Hobbit friends here, haha.

Take care and thanks for stopping by!

~ CS

 

Island to Ocean

AUGUST 2019 – Creativity is swelling these days, August evenings have been very good to me thus far this month. Honing in on the direction for my new book project as I was tempted to completely change it from what I had written thus far. As I wasn’t sure I wanted to write something more in-depth for an older audience yet, but have returned to my original course and think it will be a good reach for me to attempt.

Made a check of some of the contemporary authors that I read to see if they have new books coming out that I can look forward to this fall, and I’m always floored at the rate at which say Brandon Sanderson is able to write material. He is such a methodical writer with status bars on his website of where he is at with his projects, I really admire that discipline and the way he hones his craft. [I don’t have that, as people would be tapping the screen constantly, wondering why the progress meter isn’t moving on my writing projects, haha] For those of you that subscribe to the 10,000 hours to mastery, Sanderson must have flown past that years ago with his work ethic. Tip of the hat sir!

Gorgeous bit of the Rhode Island coastline, so beautiful (pictured above). Picking up a bit of inspiration for future writing projects? Perhaps! At the least the fresh air always helps me feel more alive and as such have more to write about and reinforces that pull to be creative. Whether that be in the kitchen, at the computer, or sitting with paper and pencil in hand. Speaking of which, I’m really excited about having a new drafting table! Dug out some of my art supplies from storage to go with it for the office space re-design that I want to do this coming Fall.

As noted in an earlier update, I have been wanting to do more non-fiction reading. I really like how it gives my mind new concepts to chew on and for when I can’t be taking courses at the University, it allows me to continue to grow intellectually. Snagged a copy of ‘Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future’ by Stanford University products Peter Thiel & Blake Masters, which was a very illuminating read. Has given me a new perspective of how to extend a critical eye towards looking at the role of technology in the world and the rate at which we as a species are making progress. Evaluating the impact globalization has had on technological advancement and what pushes us forward by leaps and bounds. And are we making the right moves towards the future and if people want to help reshape the world, what should they do to create an instrument to do so (at least in the business world). Worth picking up if you are interested in entrepreneurship and what Thiel believes will help catapult humanity forward.

Carving out space in a brand new market is an exciting prospect. Here’s to you fair reader, hope all is well in your world. Thanks for stopping by!

~ CS

Mother Nature

JULY 2019 – Been a lull in the creative action here this month, lots of attention spent in other arenas of my life, work, family, etc. Do think at some levels, these breaks could potentially lead to a further backlog of creative energy. At the least it has me realizing that I need to make it a bigger priority in my every day routine, as it can be so easy for weeks to go by where no time is set aside for art and creating.

Did go to an Art Festival last week and that was cool to see. Hundreds of vendors highlighting the pieces that they’ve created, was all sorts of mediums on display, painting, photography, pottery, jewelry, knitting, and printmaking. I am definitely a bit of a sucker for large scale paintings, as they can have such a strong visual impact on a space, and some of the most engaging pieces I saw were large scale landscapes. There was some tiny landscape paintings, like this street light series at night in the rain, that I quite loved.

More walks in the park have opened me up to a lot of beautiful foliage, mother nature really is in a class all by herself for spectacular landscapes! As much as us artists might try to capture that and replicate it in our art

Eye Opening

JUNE 2019 – Sunshine, rain, the outdoors is the name of the game. Been enjoying spending time outside with the flurry of activity that Summer brings. Been traveling a bit in recent weeks and done local hikes to pump up those outdoor activity numbers, haha. I know I’ve said it before, but if you are stuck creatively or bogged down with writer’s block, or procrastinating, go for a walk outside. Whether it be the fresh air, change of scenery, or chance to step away from your problems, it really does help.

But spending time in a library is also a very good remedy for getting things done and breaking through procrastination and writer’s block! Pictured here is the Law Library at the University of Michigan that I visited this month, as I’m always keen to explore the most glorious libraries in the world. The elegance of the English Gothic style of the building is absolutely stunning (as you can clearly see), it has exceptional acoustics, and feels every bit as grand and illuminating as you could hope for from a space that feels straight out of a J. K. Rowling tale.

Sticking on the subject of education, this month I read ‘The House of God’ by Samuel Shem, about the exploits of a fictional medical intern (and quite frankly the insanity of being a medical resident) at one of the most prestigious hospitals in Boston, MA in the 1970s. Book came recommended to me and was quite eye-opening about what doctors go through and the life altering demands of their training and experiences that they endure in the name of career, education, and helping people. Is a very memorable read, that’s for certain, and I surely as anything hope that medical care and how residents are treated has been vastly improved since it’s publication.

Travel and work has kept me on my toes this month, so not a lot of artistry to report, but I have setup a new workspace, so I’m looking forward to further creative undertakings in the near future. Here’s hoping you are doing grand and thanks for stopping by to catch up!

~ CS

The Eater of the Fries

MAY 2019 – Lined up a trip to Europe for the month of May to visit relatives and see some new countries and sights! Always exciting to step outside of your comfort zone and experience new places, with sleep sometimes being the trade off for such adventures, haha. Visited Ireland, Belgium, and Spain on this go to the old world. I love going to the UK, seeing the well-worn cobblestone streets, architecture from across the generations, and visiting sights you have seen only in photographs is very inspiring. Landed really affordable flights into Dublin and out of Madrid, so that helped immensely in making this excursion possible.

Dublin was fantastic, saw a lot of street art, parks, visited Trinity College, Dublin Castle, and ate loads of good eats. The people were so kind and generous with their time and attention, it made quite an impression on me, would definitely like to go back. Enjoy walking around the city center and finding tiny hole in the wall cafes to pop into and spend the days taking long strolls, people watching, and hearing the accents and observing the locals (or frequently in these large city hubs, other tourists) going about their daily lives.

Between Ireland and Spain the most wonderful portion of the trip came together, visiting Belgium. Medieval cities in general are such a delight to amble about and Bruges (pictured in this photograph) was a flawless choice for this type of venture. The Flemish city of Bruges was a thriving merchant city in its heyday, with canals a la Amsterdam, and today is known for its chocolate shops and postcard worthy views every which way you turn.

The city square in Bruges is a Unesco world heritage site and made me want to build castles out of legos immediately, haha. The balance of time spent in Belgium was in the capital of Brussels, with its lavish royal parks, delicious waffles, perfectly cooked fries (and matching flavors of mayonnaise), and whimsical European charm.

Madrid, Spain capped off the trip and heated things up with some 10/10 warm weather and blue skies. Plaza after plaza, it was a vibrant city of color, grand scale, and exceptional majesty. The gardens and splendor of the old city made me understand the pull this Spanish capital has to world travelers and locals alike.

Picked up a familiar read during my travels ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, by J.D. Salinger. Have read it several times before but find I can revisit it, like seeing an old friend, and pick right back up where I left off. Holden Caufield’s musing are always a delight and have me chuckling as I am not so removed from his experiences myself. Plus the paperback copy I have is easy to tuck into a carry on piece of luggage, so it became an easy choice for the trip. As I have a strict, no library books on trips, rule, so I often have to leave behind whatever tome I’m working on, if I’m going to have the book leave the safe confines of my apartment, haha.

That’s the latest, here’s to some brilliant relaxed days out in the sunshine in your future, cheers!

~ CS

 

When Water Falls

APRIL 2019 – Long road trips are rare in my personal history, have never really ventured about the country in that manner, always been quick to hop on a plane. Chose to break from tradition and get behind the wheel of a 6 cylinder sedan and venture out from the familiar pathways of New England into new territory! Spent fifteen hours in the car, stopping only for fuel, and lunch at the charming town of Bellefonte in the foothills of Pennsylvania. With plenty of good tunes, gps sourced directions, and some excellent conversation the time flew by as did the states (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan).

Have always loved waterfalls for as long as I can remember, and the road trip created the perfect opportunity to visit a fierce selection of noteworthy water falls along said driving route. This photograph is from said journey and is of my favorite of the falls on this trek, Taughannock Falls, which at over 215 feet high, is three stories taller than Niagara Falls (which was also a stop on this water fall themed road trip, haha).

Taughannock Falls was very impressive, with a cool winding trail along the river leading to the base of the falls. Or there is also a viewing point from on top of the ridge line, down into the valley below. The location felt like it was right out of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel and was only a quick trip from Ithaca, NY and the finger lakes. So should you find yourself in the area, it is well worth the visit.

Been working on a side project website, that I started up last month, has been coming together nicely thus far. Intended it to be for when I want to work on things unrelated to art and design that interest me, chiefly technology. So that is in the works, keeping the lights on with my day job, and dreaming up new uses for my creativity as well, haha. Has been a good Spring!

Got the hankering to read a book from one of my all time favorite authors, Rafael Sabatini. Chose ‘Captain Blood Returns’, the second in his swashbuckling series about a doctor turned pirate. Story fills in some pieces from the first book and delights those looking for more Caribbean adventures with a likeable crew of witty misfits out to search for fortune, honor, and romance. Ah, such good books! Have kept up the journal writing for my new book, so that is coming along as well.

Enjoy some of the finest hiking weather the Northern Hemisphere has to offer, with nature waking up from it’s long winter slumber. Cheers all!

~ CS

Automate the Mundane

MARCH 2019 – Whether you are enjoying newly fallen snow, hiding away under blankets with a good book or favored show, here’s hoping the seasons are treating you well! I for one intend to take advantage of this pre-bug saturation point in the calendar to get outside as much as possible, going for long walks, hikes, playing tennis, and maybe if I’m lucky, going kayaking soon (fingers crossed). Been a solid month, can recap a big push to move some side-projects forward to the point of near completion, which feels great. Have done a minimal amount of new writing unfortunately, but have been dabbling with some short form web design work, that is scratching my creative itch temporarily. Been reigniting my interest in architecture and design as well, watching videos on contemporary architects, who are bending how we perceive space in construction.

A recent trip to NYC created the opportunity to observe some of the structures I’ve been following the work on through internet sources. I quite enjoyed visiting what has been dubbed ‘Billionaire’s Row’ in Manhattan, on West 57th and 58th street. What they are building there is quite remarkable in the lengths that they have gone to, juggling rigid zoning rules, massive budgets, and structural challenges and wind conditions to create a series of towering structures. The amount of engineering and design that goes into these locations is mind-boggling. Just watch people trying to construct a gingerbread house (no easy task, haha), and it won’t even give you the slightest taste of how difficult construction work can be.

One of my friends recommended checking out the high line downtown and we took him up on his suggestion. It was a crowded venture, full of tourists (like us, haha), but we worked our way against the flow to Hudson Yard where the architectural/sculptural piece ‘The Vessel’ (pictured) was recently unveiled and opened to the public. Was quite the scene and is certainly quite eye-catching, in a futuristic, alien ship meets pine cone kind of way. Didn’t have the opportunity to climb it, though the presence of the piece certainly made quite an impression and drew in very large crowds. Was cool to see first-hand and reminded me of seeing the cloud gate in Chicago.

Was a non-fiction kind of month in the reading realm. I finished reading several books, the most of note, would be the often spoke of work ‘The 4 Hour Work Week’ by Timothy Ferriss. Which is roughly a guide on how to maximize your efficiency in the work place and in turn, in life. I enjoyed his take on the crunch of work/life balance and how to make goals larger than yourself in the forefront of life, and still have time to pursue other passions.

As this always strikes me as being one of the oddities of work/life in the 21st century. Where we have all these labor saving devices and mechanisms, and yet we are caught up in so much drudgery. It seems like the two are in conflict, no? Are we being more productive or less with our time? Timothy Ferriss asks these questions of himself and has built a guide for others to follow in the wake of his knowledge. Automate the mundane and reclaim your life in exchange!

That was the big takeaway for me at least, and something to incorporate into my future plans. It is good to evaluate your own processes and identify where you are being effective and where you are wasting time/energy.

That’s the latest, here’s to nature shifting focus and bringing back a wide range of bright Spring colors.

Cheerio!

~ CS

Getting Technical

FEBRUARY 2019 – Long hours seems to go hand-in-hand with this time of year, as the cold weather, lack of sunlight, and increased activity levels on campus gives numerous reasons to spend more time behind a computer screen and not outdoors. Taking it in stride and seeing a corresponding increase in productivity as well to go along with my strained eyes and dreams of warm white sand beaches, haha. Deploying a lot of new computer hardware at the office and pondering further tech upgrades for my home office setup. I tend to try and get the absolute most utility out of all my devices and equipment, with modest upgrades, streamlined hardware installs, and vocalized words of encouragement keeping my PCs in the game longer than the average tech life cycle.

For writers, it is an awesome time to be alive, given the immense ease to work on the go. Whether your tools of the trade be a laptop, pad of paper and pen, tablet, phone, voice recorder, or clay tablets, everything is at your finger tips. I still favor early drafts and journaling in paper, before turning the efforts over to the digital realm. Which is good, because as noted my day job keeps me in front of a computer screen for extended hours daily.

That is one of the biggest challenges of being creative digitally, although who am I kidding, painting the Sistine Chapel and laying on scaffolding painting for months on end, must have been wayyy more physically taxing. Or chiseling sculptures out of marble, there is always an exchange in the creative process.

Notebook of ideas for my third book continues to grow, still a ways off from switching mediums, but I’m happy with how it is going.

Finished reading another fairly lengthy book, ‘Caliban’s War’ by James S. A. Corey, which I had mentioned previously working on. The intrigue in the solar system has definitely grown, considerably, in this, the second book in the Expanse series. I’m still partial to the first book ‘Leviathan’s wake’ as I loved the pacing and character development in that book, but this was a fun follow-up. I’m going to let the sci-fi genre sit for a bit before picking up the sequel, as there are multiple additional entries in the Expanse series already written, so no waiting on the authors in this instance, haha.

Hope all is going brilliantly for everyone, remember, keep your motherboards dust free, your ram physical (not downloaded, haha), and your winter’s eves cozy!

Take care!

~ CS