Easter Egg Designs

Some people have mastered the art of designing Easters. I am not one of those people. I still appreciate the easy to design Paas packages. However, I do like to let the creative juices flow on some of my eggs. I know that this isn't interior design, but all things creative and design related will help a design expand their thinking and creativity. Since today was a stormy day, it was a perfect day to stay in and dye some eggs. We ended up with 20 egg designs and 8 dinosaur eggs. These were the designs Dustin, my boyfriend, and I came up with.

For kits, we bought the Paas glitter egg kit and the dinosaur kit. The next ones are the eight dinosaurs we created, and you can see the yucky weather outside (we had tornadoes all over northwest Arkansas and Oklahoma last night).

Some tips I can give for your own Easter egg designs:

1. Search for ideas on Google (I didn't, but there were some good things on there that might inspire you

2. White crayons can be used to keep the dye off a certain area of the egg, therefore allowing hand drawn designs and words.

3. For a splatter effect, dip an old toothbrush in the dye and then run your thumb from the front to the back about 4 inches from the egg.

4. For a swirly design, place a drop of dye on the egg and then blow the drop around in different directions. Repeat with other colors.

5. You don't have to dip the egg all the way into the dye cups. You can dip it half way in one color and then flip it, and dip it half way in another color. Or even one third and one third and leave a white center.

6. If you have a paintbrush, you can dip the brush in the dye and brush on custom designs.

7. An Easter basket would be a great way to display the eggs.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Hospitality Design

It seems hospitality design is the theme of my week. In my pro practice class we were to research and present about a design field that interested us. I chose hospitality design. Then in my human factors class we had reading to do about hospitality design, and we have had two class discussion about it this week. Might as well continue with the theme in my blog.

A lot of people assume that hospitality design is hotel design. Well the hospitality design industry includes the interiors of hotels, resorts, spas, restaurants, and casinos. If I go into commercial interior design, this is the field I want to be in.

So, I did some investigation on hospitality blogs and websites that are out there and came up with this list for you to read and enjoy.

Hospitality Design Magazine Website:
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com/

Hospitality Design Magazine Blog:
http://www.hdtalks.com/

Hospitality World Network Website:
http://www.hospitalityworldnetwork.com/

Dale's Hospitality Design Inspirations Blog:
http://www.hdinspirations.com/

Restaurant Hospitality Interior Design Articles:
http://restaurant-hospitality.com/interior_design/

Interior Design Magazine's Hospitality Articles:
http://www.interiordesign.net/channel/Hospitality.php

Interior Design Magazine's 2010 Hospitality Giants:
http://www.interiordesign.net/article/532849-2010_Hospitality_Giants.php

Fairytale Park

It was a gorgeous day in the town of Fayetteville, AR. With not a lot of homework due too fast, I took a mental break day. My boyfriend and I packed a picnic of chicken sandwiches, cooked in my company's Bayou Bourbon Glaze (If you are curious visit: tastefullysimple.com/web/jadamire). We had never visited Wilson Park before, but we had seen it once driving near campus. The park was alive with visitors. On a walk through the large trail that circles the entire park, we came across one of the children's play areas. It was the most whimsical castle that looked like it was not really for kids. I found myself jealous of these children, because the play area was not large enough for adults.

Please, fayetteville, expand on this castle and make it larger than life. It would be the coolest place to go if it were expansive and allowed adults to become kids again. But I give the sculptor and revision sculptor props on a job well done. I LOVE THIS LITTLE CASTLE. I want one and I am going to take some fun pictures on it someday soon when there are no kids on it.I came home and did some research on the park play area that was unlike any play area I had ever seen.

So, here is what I found on accessfayetteville.org about our little castle.
Location: 675 Park Ave

Wilson Park "Castle" History

An active spring emerges from behind the iron door with the Dogwood flower on it. Prior to 1979 , there was an unsightly concrete spring house located over the spring. The presence of this spring house is why this site was chosen for the "Castle". During the early 1900's, this spring fed into what was known as Trent Pond, the local swimming hole which was located exactly where the ball field is now. In the early 1930's the current swimming pool was constructed, eliminating the need for the old swimming hole.

During the 1960's and '70's Wilson Park became increasingly popular, the spring house area was considered unsafe and unattractive. As a result, all agreed that this area had the potential for a creative, interactive park feature to be designed and constructed. In the late 1970's a contest was held to present ideas to citizens, Park's staff and Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB).

Artist and Sculptor Frank Williams won the contest with a scale model of what would eventually be known as "The Castle". Originally, Frank named it "Seven Points". The castle features seven cement "points" and a rock in the foot bridge with the number "7" in it. Soon after completion in 1981 it was nicknamed "The Castle".

The Castle has become increasingly popular over the years, receiving thousands of visitors annually. Over time, structural integrity of the castle began to weaken, requiring renovations to the original project, which were completed in 1999 and 2004. Rock walls on the planting spaces were improved, aggregate walkways were added, entry areas enlarged, the bridge rails were re-built, and the dam below the bridge was reinforced. Created by Artist Eugene Sargent other improvements include the addition of Ferro-cement benches that resemble flowers and leaves, a flower fountain was fashioned for the pond, and in 2009 the "worm" retaining wall was added.

*Find more pictures searching "Wilson Park, Fayetteville AR 72761", and click photos

Holy Design

The church I currently attend is in Lincoln, AR. Since it was only established 4 years ago, the current meeting ground is a store front in the downtown square. They have been wanting to build an actual church building for quite awhile now. One of the brothers even had a dream that he was standing in new church building. When my pastor found out I was an interior design student, they wanted me to help with the design process. This brought up the question...how do you design a place that is supposed to be holy and help people experience the spiritual realm when I am use to working in the physical?

When my thoughts started flying, I decided that the church's values and beliefs were most important. This church is not trying to be showy and do not want a status symbol church building. So the functionality of the building is more important than the aesthetics. They are very non-traditional and want people to feel free to worship however they are lead. This means that pews and other church norms do not have to apply to the new building. The music is a big part of the service. We are encouraged to join with the praise team if you feel like adding to the mix with your own musical or vocal talents. This means the stage needs to be large enough for everyone and easy to manipulate the equipment. They are also very focused on ministry and outreach. This would make the fellowship hall another important place that would be multifunctional.

I have a rough floor plan that someone sketched out, but I want to use my strengths in space planning to create my own floor plan. I also know that my drawing and documents will have to go through someone else since I am only a student in design right now. I will be working on this project more later on since it is only in the pre-design phase. I was just wanting to start up the thinking process and pick some brains for inspiration.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on how to design a church building in the physical realm that will help you to place yourself in the spiritual realm?