We're All Ears :: October Reveal

I took a meteorology class in college because I thought it would be an easy and entertaining way to satisfy my science credit. WRONG! Meteorology = Math, and I am not great at that.

What I did love learning about were weather patterns and cloud formations. I find clouds fascinating. So this month I have been stopping and noticing clouds on my daily commute and find that I frequently take pictures of striking clouds.  

I also love weather maps. You know the ones that show what look like ripples in a pond radiating out? I can recall having to take a photocopy of the US map gathering some weather data and plotting all the wind patterns and isobars on there and then coloring it for temperature variations.  My professor couldn't understand why my wind patterns were always screwed up. But my colors were always perfect! I just love the color coding. Like the maps you find on the back of the USA Today newspaper when you stay at a hotel.

This map in motion from December 25, 2013 is from the Star Tribune website out of Minneapolis posted by meteorologist Paul Douglas. Isn't it fascinating to watch it morph and change? Looks like Christmas was chilly that year!

The colors that are assigned are based on temperature changes of 10 degrees. Red is the hottest, while blue and white are the coldest. These types of maps are called Isotherms.

i·so·therm

ˈīsəˌTHərm/

noun

1. a line on a map connecting points having the same temperature at a given time or on average over a given period.

   • PHYSICS

     a curve on a diagram joining points representing states or conditions of equal temperature.
   • 
     

Since there were so many options with weather (precipitation, wind, clouds) I just couldn't settle on one thing for my own challenge. But then I came upon these maps and the lightbulb went on....  I could make my own isotherm patterns in clay! Eureka! (At this point I should tell you that it was about 9:38pm...)

I set out doing some mokume gane and blended colors from fuschia and magenta, indigo and cerulean, leaf and wasabi, sunflower and pumpkin ending in blood red. I threw in a few layers of translucent mixed with opal and then some variegated gold leaf just for good measure. Then I impressed away with all sorts of tools to make marks. It always looks like a mess at this point. 

You don't know the magic of mokume gane until you make that first slice. They are always destined for the scrap heap, but not this time. I will make so many things from this amazing stack (and just in time for the onslaught of holiday shows right around the corner!)

From there it was just finding the right bezel in my stash. I sliced away, selecting contiguous pairs, covered them with resin. I found the perfect little heart charms for the bottom because I love weather! I think I will see what other bezels I have that might work with these slices... like long thin pendants in my favorite bezel might be awesome!

I call these earrings Isothermic for the variations in color temperature and the fact that they look like impending storms are brewing! Here's wishing you beautiful skies wherever you are!

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We're All Ears :: April Inspiration

"Hemispheric - Valencia, Spain - Jan 2007" by Diliff - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons

How about a little armchair traveling?

The City of Arts and Sciences is an impressive complex located in Valencia, Spain. Created as a way to honor the melding of science, technology, nature and art, the buildings were conceived and designed by renowned Spanish architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela.

These architectural marvels are situated on just under a 2 kilometer stretch of land that was formerly the bed of the River Turia (after the great flood of 1957, half of the river was diverted and the rest converted to gardens, parks and walking paths). This glittering gem is like a beacon, a marvel to behold. It almost looks like something from a science fiction movie! Each of the six structures has "an endless capacity for entertaining and stimulating the minds of its visitors." I know that I am putting this on my bucket list! (Note to self: Must.Get.Passport!)

I really couldn't decide on which structure inspired me the most, so I included them all! (You know I like choices!) You can choose what you want to select for your inspiration this month!

"El Hemisférico, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia, España, 2014-06-29, DD 71" by Diego Delso.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

L'Hemisferic
This was the first of the buildings to be inaugurated in 1998. It is meant to resemble a giant eye - "The Eye of Knowledge" - and features an IMAX theater, a planetarium and a laserium. The brise soleil roof retracts (see a similar Calatrava in the incredible Milwauke Art Museum) and opens to reveal the spherical eyeball that houses the IMAX theater. A fun fact is that the acoustics of this structure are incredible with amazing echoes. If two people are standing inside at opposite ends, they can speak to each other clearly with the sound traveling along the rib of the unique structure. 

"Museo Príncipe Felipe, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia, España, 2014-06-29, DD 56" by Diego Delso. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

El Museo de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe
This building houses the interactive science exhibits that are there more to entertain than to educate. The shape resembles the skeleton of a whale.The exhibits are all graphically displayed and have included climate change, biometrics, the human body and spy science.

"L'Umbracle, Valencia, Spain - Jan 2007" by Diliff - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

L'Umbracle
This gateway to the complex is an outdoor feature that houses the Walkway of Sculptures with work by contemporary Spanish artists amid a garden of indigenous plant life that was chosen for the way it changes with the seasons.

"L'Oceanografic, Valencia, Spain 2 - Jan 07-cropped" by Diliff - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

L'Oceanogràfic
This open-air park is the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe and the third largest in the world. Home to over 500 different species including dolphins, belugas, sawfish, jellyfish, starfish, sea urchins, walruses, sea lions, seals, penguins, turtles, sharks,and rays, L'Oceanogràfic also features wetland bird species.

"El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, Valencia - Jan 2007" by Diliff - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia
This impressive structure houses the opera and performing arts center. The building has a feather-shaped outer roof that allows for the cantilever effect of the overhang.

"Ágora, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia, España, 2014-06-29, DD 58 Edit" by Diego Delso.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Agora
This suspension bridge called Assut de l'Or Bridge ("The Dam of the Gold") connects visitors to the City of Arts and Sciences. The structure seen through the wires of the bridge is the Ágora, an outdoor amphitheater that can seat up to 6,000 for concerts and events such as the Valencia Open 500, an international tennis competition.
 

An alternative view of the Ágora structure

Which structure piques your interest the most?

(And more importantly, who wants to go there with me!? ;-)

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Make earrings inspired by this inspiration.

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Friday, April 17th.

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