Teahouse in China

I have actually found a travelogue of what one could truly call a "journey of wonder." There is a widely-renowned tea house in China that only the fittest and most determined of people can reach. The journey begins with a tram ride up to the beginning of the mountain trail, though it actually isn't much of a trail. For a majority of the hike, you are clinging on for dear life onto a variety of bolts and chains fastened into rock walls as you shimmy across the walls on very narrow planks that are also bolted into the rock. Sound appealing?

It seems to get steeper and more precarious until you finally reach the top:the Tea House.


For some reason, I want to go and do this so badly! It looks so dangerous, but adventurous and fun! I'll bet the views are, quite literally, breathtaking. What a rush you would get on the side of some of those cliffs. I think these sorts of adventures are amazing, because they would never let anyone do anything like that in the US...there are way too many liabilities involved. You would have to sign a waiver or something at least. I really wonder how much business that tea house actually gets... and do the employees live there? What an interesting way of life that would be! This would be an incredible journey of wonder if I were ever able to do it. It's now on my list.

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Elephant Painter

I really want to know exactly what kind of teaching or training is behind this one. I really have trouble believing that it is real, but that is what is so amazing about it: I'm fairly certain that it is real. Watch this video:

Elephant Paints a Portrait

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I can't see how this could possibly be faked, but how could it be real? He follows the lines to darken them, perfectly, and he actually draws it better than I even could... I wonder if he knows what he is drawing or is just trained to draw lines and shapes in that manner... It really just blew me away when I saw it. Do we underestimate their creative abilities? Or is it because we are taught that humans are one of the only animals capable of creativity or self-expression that we find this sort of thing really difficult to believe? I wonder how someone from an animistic cosmological view would perceive of this video. They believe in the intelligence and animation of life, so would it make it more believable for them to watch an elephant painting a self-portrait? You really need to stop and think about how your upbringing may influence the way you perceive your surroundings or things that may give you wonder. It may surprise you what you'll learn about yourself.

Unexpected Love

I've always loved hearing stories about animals who have taken others of a different species under their wing and cared for them. Orphans who have no one to care for them because their mothers have abandoned them or have been killed suddenly find an unexpected friend to guide them through their need. I think that the photos of this really grab your emotions; it's just a really remarkable act to see an animal volunteer their time and energy to the raising of another species.


Baby piglets wearing costumes to match their "mother!" Link

Dachshund and baby goat. Link

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It's really difficult not to anthropomorphize in these cases where you really think that you see love and affection coming out of these animals. While it is highly likely that animal mothers take in these different species out of love and that motherly instinct, you can't assume that these animals are feeling the same emotions as humans in these actions. Regardless, I think it is really an amazing and touching thing to see other mothers volunteer to take in young animals of another species.

Wooden Corvettes

My roommate is a crafts major at VCU, and one of her material studies of choice is wood. She makes beautiful and very intricate little boxes and bowls that have been accumulating on the shelves throughout our apartment. She gets the lids to fit so tightly and perfectly that it is just a wonder how she does it. In her woodworking, she doesn't always create a smooth finish, but rather she often leaves a layer of the natural bark somewhere in her work. This is one of the most unique elements of her woodworking style, in my opinion. Being around her art and the tools she uses to work the wood has given me a much greater appreciation for the time, creativity and effort that goes into intricate woodworking. So when I stumbled upon this artist, I was really in awe with the depth, elaborate nature and sheer size of his work. Unfortunately, on the website where I found his artwork, I was unable to find anything about the artist, although he does appear in some of the photos. I would love to give credit to this very creative artist:



I think the fact that a lot of this art is utilitarian is another amazing asset to it. While a lot of it is useful, it is in very unconventional ways. Carving a car-boat out of wood that can actually function in the water? That is just ingenious. This artist really provokes wonder in the way he engineers his woodworking so creatively and uniquely.

My country's wonders...

It is a common thing to desire to see the exotic, and being far from home can add an element of that exotic nature to what you are experiencing when you travel. After backpacking through Europe for three months last summer, I've been feeling a lot of guilt about the fact that I have now seen much more than Europe than I have of my own country. I have very rarely traveled off of the east coast in the US. I know there is so much to see of this country, so I decided to do a little exploration into what I would like to see. I think I'll plan a road trip for some time in the near future... it sounds so much more simple than backpacks, buses, trains and different languages! Here are some of the wonders (some well-known, others not) of our country that I would love to experience some day:

"The Wave" is a landscape that lies at the border between Arizona and Utah. The formations are 190 million year old dunes that have hardened into rock. These are very little-known features, as very limited access is allowed. You have to apply for a permit to enter at least 3 months in advance, and it is a four mile hike to actually get there.

And of course... the Grand Canyon. I still haven't seen it. This would definitely be a stop on my tour.


2200 year old trees that can reach 380 meters in height?!? I'm so there.


All things Yellowstone: There are so many amazing features at Yellowstone National Park that I would love to see. To me, the most fascinating are those in which water is able to trickle down to the depths of the Earth where it become superheated and infused with carbon dioxide and limestone. The above pictures represent two of the consequences of this process. The hot springs are colorful due to the various forms of microorganisms living in the water. The picture above that is travertine formed by the infusion and then release of carbon dioxide and limestone once water reaches the surface once again. These travertine layers will continue to form as time goes by.

Yosemite Falls: the tallest waterfall in the US. It has shaped the landscape of the Sierra Nevada.

I think that the natural wonders of the United States are the ones that I would more likely travel to see. We have such a beautifully diverse landscape in this country, and many of its features are unique to this land. There are many cultural/architectural things I would like to see as well, but I know that land features amaze me much more than the things that can usually be replicated. We have only one Earth. I'm ready to plan my road trip of the US!

Urban Camoflauge

I recently stumbled upon this really interesting artist that focuses on camouflaging people in urban settings. These are much more intricate than the classic green and brown fatigues... It is much more difficult to disguise yourself and be "at one" with an urban scene. I think it would be really interesting to see art like this being done, mostly to see what other people's reactions to it are.


Urban Camouflage

I took a class called Earth Art last semester, and the professor did an interesting project for his Master's thesis in which he hung vintage white dresses in the woods in various different places. I think that the project itself was interesting, but one aspect of it that he left out that I think would have given it much more depth is how people reacted to it. It would really spook me to see the hanging white dresses at first, but after the initial shock it would be really intriguing, and I would want to investigate. I think that the interaction between people and art is a very dynamic part of any work of art, and personally, I think that for many projects it should be better documented.


Brad Birchett

Bog Bodies

Due to the unusual conditions of peat bogs in Northern Europe, Great Britain, and Ireland, bodies preserve remarkably well when they are laid to rest inside the bog. It preserves their skin and internal organs while the bone disintegrates. Consequently, we have unprecedented archaeological remains from the Iron Age. Strangely enough, most of the bog bodies that have been found show evidence of being killed or injured violently in a number of different ways. One of the bog bodies has had his nipples cut off, some are decapitated, some stabbed, some hanged. This may have been ritual for sacrifice or execution for a crime.

The most well-known and well-preserved of these is the Tollund Man who is thought to be over 2000 years old. His remains show that he was hanged to death; he is so well preserved that archaeologists have been able to determine that his last meal was a sort of vegetable seed porridge. His tissues were so well preserved that archaeologists were able to obtain a fingerprint from him, which has come to be one of the oldest fingerprints on record.



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Another interesting specimen from these bogs is the Yde girl from Stijfveen peat bog near the little village of Yde in the Netherlands. She was only 16 when she died from strangulation as a possible sacrifice victim. She was originally very well preserved, however, she deteriorated rapidly after excavation due to poor preservation technology at the time. Her body, hair and face were still intact enough for an archaeologist to complete a reconstruction of her face. There are many more specimens that remain, thanks to the wonderous preservation capabilities of the peat bogs in Northern Europe! Info from here.


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Architecture Goes Green!

My dad is a project manager for a construction company based in DC. He has recently been involved in the construction of a few buildings with green roofs. I think this is such a great way to utilize urban spaces to combat, even if in very miniscule ways, the issue of global warming and all the trees that are being lost daily. I looked into the different ways that environmental engineers are coming up with to convert urban spaces into "green" spaces, and I found some really cool and creative projects!


The two photos above are of a shop in Seoul, South Korea, and their idea was to incorporate nature into their retail space while also being environmentally friendly.

The link where I found the photos above




This is a building that has been proposed that would make it possible to farm in urban spaces. There are other examples of similar structures that have been proposed to serve the same function here.


This is an example of a green roof that is on top of the City Hall in Chicago. It all started here! This trend is very innovative and people's fascination with this type of architecture is raising awareness with an issue that is becoming of utmost importance on our Earth. These are beautiful oases in otherwise very un-green cities.

ABANDONED!

My whole life, I have been fascinated by abandoned buildings. I so badly want to know what is inside them, the events that transpired there, and why they were abandoned to be overtaken by the whims of nature. I have always thought about buying an abandoned building or house and renovating it to turn it into a restaurant. I think it would create a really unique ambience. I like going up to abandoned buildings and looking in the windows. Seeing the objects that were left behind and wondering what purpose they served and whether they were left on purpose is always a provoking investigation. I think this fascination has a lot to do with my knowledge and interest in archaeology...

There is an old church by my grandfather's house in the country that has been abandoned for quite some time and I've been watching it become more decrepit through the years, succumbing to the changes of the season. I look in the windows every time I go there to see what sorts of animals have made it their resting place. I've never gone in, but it is a dream of mine. The doors are padlocked closed, and I don't want to destroy it any further by trying to break in. I hope it stands for a long while to come.

I decided to investigate into this fascination of mine on the internet, and I stumbled upon this website that documents all of these different abandoned wonders. Here are a few of my favorites that I took from this site:



This is an abandoned site in San Zhi, Taiwan. It was apparently being built as a unique vacation spot, however there were a number of accidents and deaths that occurred during its construction, and no one ever wanted to vacation there because it is said to be haunted now.


Craco, Italy is a town that sits precariously on the edge of a cliff. It's residents experienced a number of plagues (illness, drought, etc.) over the years that caused them to slowly filter out of the town. The last people left in the 1960s after an earthquake.

"Kowloon Walled City was a loophole, a glitch never meant to exist. It grew organically devoid of building codes and largely absent of legal oversight, a kind of organic tent city times one thousand. As it grew without rules some areas were cut off entirely from natural light and air, crime ebbed and flowed and everything grew densely packed until the government finally intervened - evacuating the city and demolishing what remained."


An entire city in Ukraine that was abandoned because of the tragedies and spill over of Chernobyl. Residents weren't able to take any of their possessions with them.

And I thought an old tiny church was impressive! I wish that more of these spaces could be reused...

http://www.weburbanist.com

PhilInTheCircle

A while back, a friend of mine showed me a video on youtube of the work that this guy does. He calls himself "PhilInTheCircle." Here is the first video I saw of his work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxabHg--WBE

I decided that this post would be a good time to mention his work, as it relates to the last post I did on the intricacies and time-consuming nature of Pooktre tree molding. What Philinthecircle does is extremely time-consuming and innovative, and the most striking this about his work, giving it the title "goodbye art" is the fact that he destroys most of his artwork moments after completing it. This also relates to a post that someone (I can't remember who!) did about the sidewalk chalk murals. The rain just washes it away. It may take him hours upon hours or even days or weeks to complete, but then it is destroyed in an instant. Here are some examples of his work:

This video shows a sequence of a year worth of "Goodbye Art. It shows clips of both its creation and its destruction.


I think the intricacy and the willingness to destroy is what is amazing and wonderful about this artist. I haven't heard of many artists who are willing to destroy their creation and their time in such a way. However, he is extremely popular for what he does so I guess he gets something out of it! I just can't conceive of having the patience to do things with this level of intricacy. I get impatient doing a paint by number. I couldn't imagine spending such long periods of time doing such detailed work. I think it would hurt my eyes and my brain. He doesn't destroy all of his artwork. Another aspect of his work are the different, funky, and non-conventional medium he uses in his pieces. Here are some of his other works that showcase his non-conventional mediums:



This painting of Lance Armstrong was done by dripping paint on the wheels of a tricycle and riding all over the canvas.


Graphite on Starbucks cups.

Made with peanut butter and jelly on bread.

Made of dandelions. He did each of the frames separately and then put them all together with 24 frames in all.

All of these examples and more can be found at http://www.philinthecircle.com

Pooktre

Pooktre <--- Click for more!

I stumbled across this website a few weeks ago... apparently this couple has figured out how to manipulate the growth of trees in order to create living sculptures; they call the art "Pooktre." They either keep them alive in their own garden or they "harvest" and finish them to sell. They make furniture (see pictures below), jewelry, and other items by "molding" the trees as they grow. Does this sound familiar? The Art of Bonsai uses similar methods but instead does a lot of pruning in order to give the tree its miniature size as well as molding the tree as it grows. My mom and I took up the Bonsai hobby for a while a couple years ago, but as it is a very tedious and time-consuming project, we were only able to come out with one completed bonsai... I will get her to take a picture of it and I will post it later... Pooktre is really fascinating because it is similar to Bonsai, but on a larger scale. With my experience in creating bonsai and my previous knowledge and interest in the subject, I have a deep appreciation for the kind of work that would need to be put into projects of this magnitude. This sort of goes along with the discussion we had in class last week about how interests and passions can coincide with the discovery of something new or a new idea and will make it that much more wonderful. The painstaking efforts that must go in to something like this are fascinating in and of themselves. This would take an enormous amount of patience, which is something that many artists need to have. Attention to detail is pertinent and difficult. This is something I admire greatly in artisans of different crafts, including those at Pooktre. Here are some more examples of their work:
http://www.pooktre.com