More Time For More Collage, Please!

Many of the collage pieces are coming along very nicely, and in this photo, Stephanie's curiosity is rewarded when Jennifer reveals her simple secret to successful gluing.

Alejandra, Ana and Karely are getting so involved in the work, they aren't even interested in smiling for the camera!

Based on repeating shapes, this collage offers many areas of interest.

Weaving techniques are incorporated into this altered page from a book.

There just doesn't seem to be enough time in class! Up Next: An Owl and A Guy Named Shakespeare

Paris In The Fall

After class, students met at King's Cross/St.Pancras station to board the Eurostar train to Paris. We were all anxious to visit this grand city with a huge history.

In London, as in many densely populated cities, there are queues to contend with and lots of waiting around. If you are of the impatient sort, it is really better to read a book or a magazine and edify yourself as Nick does here. Notice that he's flipping through pages of The Economist and not The Daily Mail.

This is not to say that there isn't some merit in cuddling up and reading together, as Joan and Erwin demonstrate here. I guess that Cosmopolitan must be the French word for The Economist.

It is true too, that our students have often gone without enough sleep, given our full schedule of activities and classes. Sometimes, you just have to catch up, no matter where you are. Nick, however, does not need to sleep. Megan and Ana do.

Our hotel chambres in Paris were wonderfully outfitted and decorated.

The servez-vous (that's French for "go get it yourself") breakfast buffet had a good selection and this helped stave off any possible bouts of scurvy, too. Missing from the photo are apple sauce, orange juice, and yogurt. The croissants were one of the reasons why we made this trip, of course. And oh, for the art history, too, right?

Some students were so excited to visit the Louvre museum that they ran ahead through the arch that leads to the pyramidal entrance designed by US architect, I.M. Pei.

Jennifer and Stephanie imagine what it might be like to get crowned by Napoleon. What dress should they wear? What would they say in their acceptance speech? What would Empress Josephine have done?

Ashley and Ana find comfort together in front of Théodore Géricault's, The Raft of the Medusa, which depicted a very tragic naval incident in 1807. Many of the paintings in the Grande Format Salle are huge.

A brief regathering of some of the troops, before heading out to explore another part of Paris. Brian, in front, was struck by the beauty of the paintings as well as by the red-orange auto-focus-assist light from another camera.

Street scenes like this can still be found in Paris.

Bikes have become very popular again, and we saw many old bikes from previous decades resurrected and put back into useful service, alongside the new public bike rental program instituted earlier this year, all in the name of helping to relieve traffic congestion.

Brocantes (second-hand items from the attic for sale) are still held during weekends throughout many locations around the country. This one, near the historic rue Mouffetard, was letting go of a framed portrait, a lot of glassware, and a birdcage. The origin of this street goes back to when it was part of the road from Rome to Paris.

Ms. Reber and Mr. Timmerman have the Tuileries park (designed in 1664 by Le Notre, who also did the garden in Versailles) all to themselves, or so they would like to believe. We'll just let them go on thinking that way.

Our visit to the Musée d'Orsay permitted our group exclusive access so that we were able to avoid the crowds. Just kidding. This is a photo of a scale model of this renovated train station that is now a museum. The fifth floor had an exciting collection of Impressionist paintings and sculpture. This must be the reason why we came to Paris!

Ms. Reber (left, in black) and Mary (right, in purple) both try to photograph the maddening crowd inside the Musée d'Orsay as part of a photography assignment to capture people in a public space in the manner of photographer William Klein. It's not as easy as it looks.


Although the Eiffel Tower has been photographed a million times, this is the first time a UFO has been captured circling the tilted structure, at least to my knowledge. No Adobe Photoshop was used in the creation of this photograph. Photography students, can you do any better? To paraphrase recent President-Elect Obama, "Yes, You Can." So send me your "take" of this favorite site.

Two Foothill-De Anza students got to Paris long before our group did. On the right is Pierrick, who heads Marketing and Communications for a French company and on the left is Alexis, a photographer and website designer. Both attended Foothill and De Anza Colleges respectively, and are now married and living and working in Paris. Isn't it romantic? They met us under the Eiffel Tower (and isn't that romantic, too?) and later guided us up the steps to the Trocadero area so that I could make that tilted photo of the tower with the circling UFO from afar. Then they took our hungry group of students to a restaurant that specialized in crepes from the Brittany area for a late snack in Montparnasse. After trying the salty caramel crepes and special cidre (cider), Erwin is a new convert and swears he will return to that restaurant again, no matter how long it takes. "Thanks," and "Bon Courage" to Pierrick and Alexis! (See Alexis' website: http://www.bohemebox.com)

OK, we confess. We all came to Paris for the café and pastries. Au revoir, Paris! A bientôt!

Environmental Portraits Examined and a New Focus on Blurred Photos To Come

Today's photography class reviewed an assignment that required students to make environmental portraits of a person previously unknown to them. The subjects could be anyone, so long as the sitters agreed to be photographed and would be willing to share some of their written thoughts when the photographer returned with a printed photograph. We saw a variety of occupations in these photos, including a coffee barista, a street musician, and an artist. Our budding photographers learned many things from this assignment: The important role that the background plays in helping to shape the story, the need to avoid coinciding elements that blur the distinction between subject and background, and the best moment to make the exposure. Below, Mary shares her assignment for feedback.

Ana reads the written response portion of the assignment to several very interested classmates. A big part of this assignment was to encourage students to meet someone new and learn to overcome the fear of photographing people.

In just a few weeks, we will be seeing some new photographs that make creative use of blur and motion through skillful selection of the appropriate shutter speed control. Stay tuned.

Westminster Hall, Victorian Clothes and Styles

Our gray, rainy morning began with a thorough x-ray check of our backpacks and belongings at a security checkpoint. Having passed through a metal detector which looked more like a time-machine made from an old door-less frame than an anti-terrorist device at the Visitor's Entrance in Westminster Hall, we were now ready for the next step on our tour of the Houses of Parliament. After stepping through the portal and much to our surprise, we were transported backwards in time. The soaring stone walls and the feel of the hard stone floors beneath our feet were bathed with cool filtered light from the Gothic windows above. What our hands and feet experienced today was probably not any different than the way it was over nine hundred years ago. The interior hall in which we patiently waited for our guide to arrive was originally built in 1097 and was the site of many historical events, including the trials of King Charles I and actor Mel Gibson (as Sir William Wallace in the film, Braveheart), joked our Welsh tour guide later. Although rebuilt over a period of several centuries, the roof is made of wood, as were the interior paneled walls of the inner building. Unfortunately, photography within the House of Lords and House of Commons is prohibited (unless you know an MP-see below). Some students did try for the full tour experience by attempting to sit in the very same deep leather seats that Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other MPs would sit in, but were largely unsuccessful due to the diligent eyes of our tour guide. Ornate and beautiful carved wood can be seen and felt almost everywhere, including the post to which prisoners of the court were chained while awaiting their cases to be reviewed. We also saw Queen Victoria's chair and ottoman, as well as the secret door to her private toilet. For other official photos (but not of the Queen's toilet room), see this site: http://www.parliament.uk/about/visiting/virtualtours/lords-tour/index.htm

While in a holding pattern in the great hall and to help pass the time, Aaron shares a joke with Ross and Ivan, while Jacob and Alex wait patiently on the bench for their turn to pay money and hear the joke.

One highlight of our tour was a pre-arranged meeting with a Member of Parliament (MP), Mr. Graham Brady. Mr. Brady is a representative of the Conservative Party and he generously gave his time and shared his views with us on the recent US presidential election, the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, and the Scots, to name but a few. As a reward for his insightful remarks on former Prime Minister Tony Blair, we decided that we wanted a photograph with MP Brady. Note the booted legs of the Duke of Wellington portrait in the background. (Click on the photo below for a slightly larger view)

(Photo by Nick, but camera owned by Megan)
A visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum in the afternoon led us to the room where a model of the Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton is housed. This was a modular outdoor building created for the world-changing Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park, London, that employed the latest construction methods using cast iron and glass with pre-fab parts which were not unlike our modern-day Erector or Lego building sets, only on a much larger scale. In a nearby side room, Nick and Ashley discover what it is like to wear period clothing. Not shown are photos that depict Nick helping Ashley put on her corset. (This is, after all, the Victorian period, with its emphasis on moral standards and decency!)

Students of the art history class also found a part of the museum dedicated to the emergence of the NeoClassical period, as well as this room which is decorated in the dominant style from the year 1756. Errmm, is the style of this room Baroque, Rococo, or NeoClassical? This question would be a good one to ask on the next exam!

Take Bath WIth Romans and Jane Austen

Take Bath with its Roman past, limestone buildings, and scenes right out of Jane Austen novels on a beautiful late fall day and you will find a small city that you can stroll through and find respite from the stress of the big city. Our trip began with a comfortable coach that left London early in the morning and just about two hours later, we rolled merrily through the verdant hills that surround the city of Bath. Natural hot springs and a sense of spiritual wonderment attracted the early Celtic tribes to the area. Later, the practical Romans built a public bath system directly over the source of the naturally heated water. After centuries of neglect and ignorance of its existence, residents in the late 18th and early 19th centuries began to call attention to the supposed restorative powers of the waters, an astute move which according to our stalwart guide, soon turned Bath into the Las Vegas of its time for both the rich and those seeking the famous.

The cool morning start required the warming properties of a cup of hot chocolate to begin the day. Alina revels in the sun's rays while waiting to be served her very own cup before heading out the door minutes later for the city tour.

The dapper and knowledgeable guide known as Russell G described the city ordinance that mandates the use of the local limestone in all construction, new or old. The relative ease of working with limestone permits intricate carvings and shapes, he explained.

Carved angels climb the ladders on the towers of the local abbey, also made of limestone, naturally.

It is easy to get around this city and Ashley visibly enjoys walking the charming streets of Bath.

Ellen imagines the perfect composition before raising the camera to her eye and releasing the shutter.

Just outside the steps of the Jane Austen Center, a bonneted mannequin scans the street in search of a rich suitor.

Joan and Erwin find autumn the most suitable season for embracing the beauty of falling leaves.

Almost of all of the city's buildings share limestone from the same local quarry. A couple amble past a building that showcases the three orders of columns on all three stories: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

After a visit to the Fashion Museum, Alejandra and Ashley jauntily make their way across a leaf-strewn square.

The gentle curve of the Royal Crescent residences was conceived with a larger plan in mind, and the Georgian architecture shows off its inherent simplicity and regularity of proportions.

A moss covered Roman statue still stands watch over the ancient baths.

Wait, there's more! See additional Bath trip photos on Megan E's Flickr site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31293029@N07/sets/72157608756686023/

Shakespeare, Twain and Defoe in One Day. Unreal!

Russell Grant, a practicing actor (not a waiter) and Blue Badge guide, gave a rousing lecture on the history of British theatre. Here, in this morning session, he points out one of the few existing portraits of William Shakespeare. The image projected on the left side of the screen may possibly be Shakespeare in his youth. When seen side by side, there are indeed clear similarities. Known not only for his popular plays, but according to Russell, Shakespeare is also credited with coining thousands of new words in the English language, many of which are still in use today. That's unreal! (Shakespeare came up with that one, too!)

In the afternoon, Ms. Reber leads a class discussion on the week's writing assignment, with Brian and Nick listening attentively to Ashley's response.

Ashley gives her reaction to one of Mark Twain's short pieces. Authors Twain and Daniel Defoe both wrote stories and novels about the English people around the late 19th century and the early 1700s, respectively, and their writings were used as the basis for an assignment exploring the travel writing genre. Note, too, Ashley's new Pashmina shawl in pale yellow color, the perfect fashion accessory for our graying weather.

Paul reads an excerpt from his journal which compared his experiences in New England with those in (old) England, while Jose appears to be swan-necking (a colorful British term describing the act of reading over someone's shoulder. This unwanted act, which allows one to read the daily newspaper without charge, is often performed while commuting to and from work on the Underground and is generally frowned-upon behavior, and then only if one is actually caught free-loading, that is). Thanks to AIFS staffer Kieran for this valuable insight.

Megan compared her experience while riding on the Tube with earlier perceptions of what she considered ought to be proper social etiquette. Hint: Liberal use of the word "Sorry," will usually diffuse any sticky situation...but run like heck if it doesn't!

Alex tries to find just the right words and is simultaneously shaded from an excess of fluorescent room light, thanks to Ross's enormous hat.

Paper + Glue + Paint + Idea = Art

Our collage and composition class actually began back in California with a classroom visit from Judy G, an artist and Golden Paint Co. representative who showed us how to use and mix their richly-pigmented paints and artists' materials. We were given some lovely tubes of paint to take with us to London too!

Now we are on the University of London campus, in a room with a view from the fifth floor, and Stephanie experiments with some designs.

Each Monday morning, although we have a good time with glue and paint, we really have to work at making unique compositions.

Ana created this poetic postcard that reflects our current weather conditions.

In this composition, Mary makes a connection between British beef and...!