Day EIGHT South | AKA Halloween

            We woke up this morning with a very busy morning planned.  We drove to Ft. Worth, TX to check out the famous landscape architecture in the area but we ran in to some bad luck.  The first place we stopped at was the Kimbell Art Museum which is a historic building and landscape in design but unfortunately it was closed and under major construction so we couldn't see as much as we would have liked.  Then we went to Burnett Park, and it had went under major changes and is no longer the same historical park that the teachers wanted to show us. But after that we ran in to some good luck at the Water Gardens.  It has three major water features that are running in it.  The last one was the overwhelming favorite among the students because it was a huge waterfall going down in to the middle and you could walk down like you were walking into it.  For lunch and the rest of the afternoon, we went to the Stockyard.  Here we studied the different materials the place was using and how they are weathering.  We also went to some old meat packing building ruins.  The buildings had a very creepy feeling that was fitting for Halloween.

During the evening part of the day, we had our Halloween party in the hotel. Everyone dressed up in different customs. We had everything from cowboys to Spartans, quail man and a Japanese Kimono dress. Everyone was creative with their customs in their own way. For our dinner we had pizza, soda, candy and cupcakes. Everyone enjoyed the party and took a lot of photos. After dinner, Gary divided everyone into groups of three and gave each team a pumpkin for a carving competition. But before we started, Gary told us a “scary” Halloween story. The rules of the competition were simple. We were not allowed to carve holes in the pumpkin or pull the seeds out. My favorite was the Gary’s face carving, but it was not the winning design. Garret, Sydney and Yujong’s pumpkin was the winner and they won a copy of the Young Frankenstein movie. Overall the party was a lot of fun and a good relaxing night for everyone from school work. 

Halloween or a Toga Party?!?

Michael and Aziz 

Day SEVEN | Free Day

We started our free day off by sleeping in and relaxing; awesome until we realized we missed the continental breakfast! We then piled a few people into a van to head to the Stockyards in Fort Worth. We split up for lunch; some wanted mexican and some wanted american. We wandered around from shop to shop finding all kinds of tourist gift shops. Yujiong rode a plastic horse children's ride (that one might find in a shopping mall), which was the highlight of our day. The place in general was extremely western. Horse carriages lined the weathered brick roads for visitors to ride in (for a price of course). Others decided to stay in Dallas and relax at the hotel, do homework, or go shopping. The last few nights in the hotel have been great after being in rain soaked tents! Sadly enough we will be back to camping before long. We all hope to have less rain at this next campground. Airing out our tents and camping gear in the hotel was rather difficult!

Mariah and Hannah

Day SIX South | Cattle Drives and Kiley

Fountain Place, Designed by Dan Kiley

            Our day began with a beautiful breakfast at our hotel. We met down at the lobby at eight o'clock sharp and were eager to start the day.  We headed out to our first stop which was Fountain Plaza.  Once we got there we were in awe due to the wonderful design made by Dan Kiley.  While we were there we completed multiple quick colored pencil sketches to help us get warmed up for the day.  Following that we collaborated on our drawings and the space we were in and then headed out for our next destination on our charge.

            We arrived at the Dallas Museum of Arts at ten o’clock; unfortunately they open at eleven… So we were told we could take an hour break and go to Starbucks just down the road.  We were all very happy.  We enjoyed our drinks and headed back to the museum of art.  Once the doors opened so did our sketchbooks.  We walked around the place doing sketches of sculptures and jotting down some notes.  After learning a little bit about the place we went to the Nasher Sculpture Center.  This place was very interesting and had a lot of out of the ordinary sculptures.  After doing a one hour sketch of a piece of work that grabbed our attention we were gifted with an hour and a half lunch break. 

One of 40 bronze steers

            Last but not least we visited the Cattle Drive at Pioneer Plaza, and this is where we got the big project of the day.  Another good old two-page spread of three different aspects of the park brought together in a composition.  This was one of our favorite places on this trip that we have visited so far.  Not only that, but it was one of our favorite assignments that we’ve had to do in our sketchbooks so far.  This place was not only interesting but interactive.  People interacted in many ways with the park, whether it be with the sculptures, water features, or walking through the cemetery.  Overall today was a great day and we are looking forward to the next two weeks of our trip, see you soon Ames.  Shout out to our mothers Doris and Lori, we miss and love you!

Sincerely, Kyle T and Blake

Day FIVE South | Dallas or BUST but not before a stop in Salana

Early morning fog lifting off the lake on our last day in Chickasaw

We wrapped up our camping time in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area and loaded up the vans once again!  After a quick stop 30 seconds into the drive to check out the glorious BLACK JACK OAK, we got back in and headed towards Solana, Texas.  As the two and a half hour drive came to a stop in the hidden Solana parking lots, we got out and received our charge for the day…  the verdict was a two page colored pencil spread to emphasize the unique building landscape in the area.

A fountain in Solana

As we all scattered in different directions, the large “PIZZA” sign got in the way so we decided to grab a bite to eat!  From there we all dispersed to find an inspiring spot to unleash color onto our sketch pads!  We reconvened and had a quick lay down before heading to the West Campus.  We got to our new area and had a quick history lesson given by the one and only, Michael Martin.

Lay down after our 2-page spread drawing

Then we all got our last charge of the day from the wise, Gary Hightshoe, which was to do a watercolor capturing the scenery around.  Proceeding the quick lay down, we had a short bathroom break and hit the road just in time for the Friday rush hour of traffic!  Finally we arrived at the hotel in Dallas, TX, where we unloaded and set free in the city!  

                                               

West campus water color time!

Colten and Branden

Day FOUR South | Rainy Day at Chickasaw NRA

            The day began with our class waking up to a dreary rainy day.  Although we were allowed an extra hour of sleep, many students were dismayed to find many of their belongings drenched.  Despite the soggy conditions, the professors did their best to keep us happy.  En lieu of our planned outdoors activities, we had no choice but to resort to our secondary plan – The Platt Historical Nature Center.   At the center we saw many interesting things such as a huge, venomous centipede and other various skins and pellets from native animals of the park.  After an insightful and informative lecture and video presentation by one of the rangers at the center, It was time for us to take a brief quiz over our most recent reading, pertaining to the cross timbers of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.  The rain was still pouring so the group headed to the beautiful new Chickasaw Community Center. 

Chickasaw Cultural Center

            There, after enjoying some lunch at the surprisingly inexpensive and delicious café, we were given our first assignment, taking notes and drawing interesting things in the museum. This was followed by an essay assignment.  After an hour of exploring, we were given our next task- to draw informative perspectives of the built landscape around the four-acre campus.  

Chikasha Inchokka’ (“Chickasaw house”)
This traditional Village is a one-of-a-kind recreation of a real Chickasaw village

Once completed, we laid down our work and discussed what we had taken out of our time at the Center for quite some time.  That marked the end of our studies for the day, which meant it was time to relax and cook dinner for the remainder of the evening.  The sky was still spitting so some of the weaker students (Will Prescott) went back into the town of Sulphur for pizza while others roughed it back at the campgrounds and eventually started a big enough fire to cook dinner.  The rest of the night was spent reading and telling ghost stories before returning to our soggy tents to sleep.

Will and Emily

Day THREE South | Are you brave enough to drink from the Bromide Spring?

 Sunset on the beach | Buckhorn Camp Area

Today we woke up from our first night along the river, in the Platt Historic District (sunset picture).  Many of us had a hard time getting moving after sleeping in tents on gravel. To start the day off, Gary handed out our new plants list, previous test, and gave a few announcements.  From here we all piled up in the vans and took off for Bromide Pavilion.    

12th Street Fountain 

                             

Once we arrived, we were informed we were going on a plant walk to learn the vegetation of the cross timbers. I, Kyle B, found the soap berry tree interesting because of the story Gary told about it from a past savanna trip in which he was fooled by some students who spit into a fountain and threw some soap berries into it to make it look like they were foaming up. Andrew also enjoyed the soap berry trees, but found the red mulberry tree appealing because the leaves look like mittens due to how the lobes form.   After the plant walk we were rewarded with an extended lunch break at the Bromide Shelter.  Many of the students started to explore, worked on a drawing, or napped.

 Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia species)

      After lunch we stayed in the vicinity of the Bromide Shelter and worked on a plan view and section cut composition.  While we were measuring the shelter area, Andrew noticed that corners of the shelter and platform it was set on flared out and reminded him of natural rock formations.  The different color of the stone used to create the shelter and platform intrigued me, Kyle, because it switched from a yellowish-brown to a brownish-gray. If I was told the colors, I would assume they wouldn’t have worked so well together, but after seeing it in person the contrast really worked.  Both Andrew and I are in agreement with each other that the Civilian Conservation Corps did a great job building the shelter.  There was a spring near the Bromide Shelter that was sulphuric, and they tapped into it and the locals would come to get the water.  Native Americans believed the water had medicinal qualities to it, so the locals would be given prescriptions to drink it.  

Kyle's plants drawings from the plant walk

Kyle B and Andrew

Day TWO South | Reflecting on the Oklahoma City Memorial

Last night we arrived at Oklahoma City at about 6 in the evening.  After we unpacked the vans we were free to walk around the city.  Our professors told us to walk to the Oklahoma City National Memorial and explore it at night.  A large group of us students went over after dinner. To say the least we were breathless. From the moment we walked in we were in aw over the power of lit up chairs where the Murrah building used to be.  Seeing all the empty chairs made me realize the magnitude of how many people died in the bombing. Though the chairs were empty I felt connect to the dead. Almost like they still lingered or even were sitting in their chair in spirit form. The chairs gave the memorial a feeling of sorrow but yet it didn’t feel like a sad place. This, I feel, is due to the survivor tree.  This area of the memorial remembers the people who survived and help rescue people from the blast. Giving the memorial a powerful sense of hope that counter acts the sadness reflected in the chairs.

            This morning we as a class revisited the memorial. Seeing it in the daylight I got a different feeling from the memorial. I saw it as an open inviting space that showed me the events that occurred during the blast. When standing beside the pool I can see the reflection of the walls in the pool, which gives the feeling of the building that used to be there. Seeing the reflection of the chairs and walls in the pool gave me the sense that I was watching the bombing go off as an outside viewer.  Though the bombing happened years ago I could still feel and hear the bombing from the sense of feeling I got from the reelections in the pool. The Oklahoma City National Memorial is by far one of the most well designed and powerful places that I have ever been to In my life. 

Yujiong and Rob

Day ONE South | On the Road Again..

Savanna 2011 is back on the road and better than ever! It was a frosty morning but Gary warmed us up with a good laugh...

Day TWENTY | 120 miles 'til game time!

We departed twenty days ago on the heals of a great victory over the Hawkeyes and we are returning today with hopes of another win. Texas fans best be ready for the arrival of the Savanna Studio crew and the momentum they are bringing with them!

Over the next three weeks, the students will be completing projects and preparing for the next three-week journey. Thank you for reading along and we hope you will join us on the next trek!

GO STATE!

Julie