Savanna Studio: Judgement Day

Now that we're back from our trip, there's a lot of preparation to be done for the upcoming Final Review Day. Luckily, before that we all get a chance to show off everything we've done to our family and friends. We've decided to announce it to the world through a series of colorful invites.

Day NINETEEN | The Freaks Come Out at Night

After awaking from a nearly sleepless night due to the raucous activity of the native island wildlife (bloodhounds, foxes, barracudas, heat-seeking missiles) some of the students ventured out early to explore and watch the sunrise. One student in particular had a wonderful night's sleep after confiscating a sleeping bag from another unsuspecting student...who tried to sleep in multiple pairs of shorts and a hotel towel. But who can complain, all the students were happy to be camping on an island in the Gulf of Mexico for school, and during a cold Iowa November nonetheless.

After a highly nutritious breakfast of poptarts and sauteed stingrays, the students quickly set to sculpting immaculate castles made of sand. After several continuous hours of nonstop sculpting the teachers had the students, many of whom had bloody fingers by now, abandon their construction sites to move 10 feet down the beach and resume construction to very strict specifications. Some of the students used trash in their designs, while others relied on the natural elements of the beach. The task was to build their dream Landscape Architecture firms, complete with rivers, roads, bridges, studios, lakes, airports, jungle gyms, nuclear weapons testing facilities, petting zoos, volcanoes, ski resorts, amusement parks, sweatshops, furniture stores, and Lebanese food courts. Some of those may not have actually been in the design requirements, but we'll leave it up to you to ponder. After the students finished their masterpieces, they retired for a brief lunch of crunchy sand-wiches and seawater and began mapping the topography of their creations. Some of the students fell asleep in the sun, and while some of them went for the flaming hot cheetoh appearance, others turned a heavenly bronze that would rival most Greek gods.

Unfortunately the sand mites had other plans. Burnt, bitten, and rested, the students were split up into two groups, one to gather firewood and the other to pick up trash along the shoreline. After wiping out several acres of island forest, and gathering many tons of washed up tar and oil, the students had enough fuel to roast maybe two or three marshmallows and one hot dog to divide amongst themselves. They all pitched in and helped Michael Martin dig the most awesome sand bench ever created around the furious fire. As the little kiddies roasted marshmallows and listened to Gary's ghosts stories, wild boars began ravaging the campsite and flying jellyfish invaded the beach. Everyone ran into their tents because the children knew that "if you wanna live a nice quiet life do yourself a favor, don't come out at night, 'cause the freaks come out at night, the freaks come out at night."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRzSc8Mkr8c

Kasper and Jordan

Day EIGHTEEN | As the Sun Goes Down

The Skipper

"WE'RE ROLLING OUT!" Gary says from the parking lot of our hotel. We jump in the vans and hit the ground running. Cruising down the highway for miles and miles, we soon stop to grab some groceries for our island getaway. After eating lunch outside the vans in the nice warm weather, we pack up once again and take off towards Biloxi, MS. 

Arriving in Biloxi, we park the vans right next to the harbor and unload our tents and sleeping bags. While half the studio loads their things in the boat called the Skipper, the other half sits and waits for their turn. Sitting there bored out of our minds, some of us decided to go and do something. Some walked down the sidewalk towards the beach, some played with tree themed cards, and some went to a nearby store to occupy their time.

Flipping like a dolphin

Finally when the Skipper returned after two hours, we grabbed our luggage and loaded it onto the boat. Taking off from the harbor we started our adventure in the Gulf of Mexico. Gliding through the water many of us went to the front of the boat to get a better view of the water. Making our way through the deep waters we see pelicans and seagulls fly over our heads. Following behind our boat we see dolphins off in the distance jumping out of the water. Soon they catch up to us and from the wake of our boat the dolphins begin to leap out of the water.

The dolphins soon disappear and the sun soon begins to fall. Watching the beautiful sunset, the water begins to turn a red. Off in the distance now we see Horn Island and the tents sprouting up from the sandy beach. We then arrive about three hundred feet from the island and anchor. The crew then explains to us how we will be getting to the island in small groups of about six. Group after group we arrive on the island. Looking for our tent mates we set up our tents as the sun seems to fall faster.

Watching the sun go down

After pitching out tents we all went to look for sticks so that we could cook our hot dogs over the soon to be made fire. Whittling our sticks, our stomachs are ready for the group meal. We are sitting in a circle around the warm fire holding our hot dogs on sticks, and eagerly waiting for our hot dogs to cook over the fire. Even though many people’s hot dogs kept falling into the fire, we kept on going and didn’t give up. We were too hungry to give up. Right after hot dogs, we moved on to cooking marshmallows, either really burnt or golden brown. The S’mores were delicious.

When everyone was done cooking their hot dogs and S’mores, many tried to make seats for themselves by digging in the sand to make comfortable chairs. Everyone sat in a circle around the fire and chatted with people nearby as the sun completely vanished. Talking away into the night, people began to go on their way one after another to get some rest for the next day. The group around the fire got smaller and smaller, as some went to sit nearby the water and watch the stars above.

As the fire simmers down

The fire simmered down, the crowd was gone, and the only thing left was the sounds of the water hitting the shore. What a peaceful night on Horn Island. 

Shane and Qiyi

Day SEVENTEEN | A Country Road A Tree Evening

This was the last day in New Orleans.  We staid by our hotel in the French Quarter, then visited the Lower Ninth Ward in the afternoon.

After exploring the French quarter for the last couple days, we looked into the quaint cultural French quarter a little closer. For Julie’s class we continued the project from the day before which we were separated into teams to look at the facade of the apartments and businesses on certain streets. We went back to the same street and focused on the materials and details of the streetscape.  We chose 3 blocks in a row and mapped out where outlets for water, sewage, drainage, electrical, and other street covers were. 
 I passed a small house on the street where there was a man putting on new gutters. After talking to him for a while about where we were from and what we were doing with our sketch books. He gave me a old nail, that he said was close to 100 years old from the house. It was a great souvenir and ‘found object’ (which is another project for Studio). The mapping of the streetscape is a project that will be continued when back in Ames. Many of us went out to lunch, some ate leftovers from the night before to save money; then connecting all back at the hotel to leave for the Lower Ninth Ward for the afternoon.

We all packed up into the vans and made our way to the Lower 9th Ward, as many of you know the 9^th Ward the area most heavily affected by hurricane Katrina, just 5 short years ago. Upon arrival we were greeted by Robert Green Sr., a Hurricane Katrina survivor. Robert Green shared his story of the heart ache and the experience for him during Katrina. Hearing just his story alone made many of us realize how many other stories there were from those dreadful times. Although Green had to deal with the loss of a granddaughter and his mother, and a whole structured community, he gladly shared his story. He not only shared his story but the story the community. Even 5 years later there is a lot of work still to be done in the Lower 9^th Ward. Houses that survived Katrina and the levy break, still stand in the area but few are livable. 

 What Mr. Green really wanted us to understand was the hope that the community has for the future of the Lower 9^th Ward. People that moved away from the area after the tragedy are starting to return. Green explained to us that there are many foundations that have helped many people back on their feet. Such as the “Make It Right Foundation" that have substantially helped those who lived in the Lower 9^th Ward before Katrina, fund the building of a new home.

The well known actor Brad Pitt has been an advocate for the "Make It Right Foundation". The Construction crews are busy all over this area, building multiple new homes, and demolishing the remnants of others. It stood out to me the most was the sense of community that this place seemed to still maintain after a horrific event.

A Thanks to Mr. Robert Green Sr. for opening his home, and giving us a personal tour of the Lower 9^th Ward.

-Morgan and Kaci

Day SIXTEEN | I Didn't Know Nicholas Cage Was Dead

On the sixteenth day of the fabled “Savanna Studio”, the students awoke to that ever-annoying sound that is hotel wake-up calls. Trying to make the most of it, we showered and headed downstairs to engage in what would end up being an incredibly disappointing breakfast. Not to go off on a tangent, but that breakfast sucked. There was absolutely no hot food, and the garbage cans were WAY too small. Anyway, we headed out the door into the bustling city of New Orleans towards the oddly-named St. Louis Cemetery Number One. Upon arrival, we took notice that the cemetery did not open for another hour. We therefore decided that it was time for a makeshift lecture, one that ended up being quite interesting. We eventually entered the cemetery, which took us by surprise as a very unusual-looking place. We wandered around the labyrinth for a while doing sketches, and we saw the tomb of the still-living Nicholas Cage! Such a wonderful actor!

Later, we were split into groups, and assigned a new project. As groups, we were required to draw sections cuts and elevations of specific streets, while analyzing their social and cultural aspects. We spent a few hours drawing, and eventually we decided to break for lunch. Personally, I wanted to eat some of the local cuisine, so Jordan and I headed to a small deli where I ordered an alligator po-boy. My analysis: not bad. Eventually, the whole group met up in the middle of the French Quarter, in a small park called Jackson Square. We barely had time to look around there, as we swiftly (Michael Martin’s pace) departed towards the Piazza d’Italia. This plaza, which was built by a postmodern landscape architect in 1978, was the source of much intrigue by the Savanna students. After exploring its many fountains and inspecting the colorful columns that held it together, Michael decided it was time for another lecture. He talked about the plaza and its many criticisms, and so we all took notes like good students. By this point, it was about 3 PM, and the professors told us that we had the rest of the day to work on our street assignment.

Hearing this, we all departed in different directions. Some people even decided to pick up tickets to a Hornets vs. Clippers NBA game that night. The majority of the students spent the evening working on the Homochitto plots that had been assigned to us several days earlier. It wasn’t a hard assignment, but it was definitely time-consuming. Several others attended the game, and the consensus was that it was very boring. They paid for their poor decision by working on their plots late into the night. Eventually, everyone decided that it was time to go to sleep, in order to prepare for another day in the amazing/dirty/cultured/dangerous/European city of New Orleans.

Batman and Robin (Otherwise known as Sam and Tony)

Day FIFTEEN | "The Big Easy"

For those of us who are too proud to wear the same clothes twice, the day began bright and early at the laundromat. Sadly enough, I found that it still holds to be the one inevitable law of civilization that one lone sock must be lost in every load of laundry (frown face). Just before noon we headed into the French Quarter to explore, smelling spring-time fresh of course.

A little prior knowledge and research the night before led us through the bustling French Quarter to Café du Monde, a famous café located in the French Market area. The café is best known for its café au lait and French-style beignets (doughnuts), and we understood why. The coffee was perfectly blended with chicory, a New Orleans tradition, and the deep-fried beignets doused in powdered sugar were enough to satisfy any sweet tooth. After the sweet start to the day, it was time to venture deeper into what the French Market had to offer.

   

For a group of yahoos from the upper Midwest, the French Market held wonders beyond compare. Cajun and Creole food stands stretched from the entrance as far as the eye could see (assuming the eye belonged to a person with at least moderate near-sightedness). Inside the heart of the market lay even more precious jewels to behold. A massive jumble of stalls sold very similar wares, with just a few vendor-specific items to be found if one were willing to look. These items were all hidden in a mass of others, generally consisting of what one would expect to see in New Orleans if they had never actually visited the city. Hundreds of alligator heads and Mardi Gras masks were piled high on stall tables. Almost every vendor offered some sort of voodoo souvenir. Despite all of these things being common and cliché, I had absolutely no objection to them. They may have been made and sold solely for the purpose of tourism, but New Orleans thrives on it. As a result, many of the residents of the area, unlike those in other big cities, have acquired a friendly demeanor towards outsiders. In my mind, there’s nothing wrong with generic in the right dosage.

In sharp contrast to the somewhat generic dosage of New Orleans that we received at the French Market, our nighttime experience was anything but generic. Due to the fact that New Orleans is known as the “birthplace of jazz,” it is not uncommon to see restaurants and bars along Bourbon Street, and throughout the French Quarter for that matter, to be host to live music which is usually of the jazz variety. This so-called “stereotypical music scene” is all that many tourists experience or care to experience, but for those who wish to capture the essence of the true historical roots of jazz in New Orleans, Preservation Hall in the heart of the French Quarter offers just the opportunity as we discovered. At eight o’clock sharp each evening the smooth sound of collective improvisation drifts from historic Preservation Hall through St. Peter Street. Due to the fame of the establishment, we anticipated a lengthy wait for admittance and planned accordingly, arriving an hour prior to the opening of the gates. I think I speak for everyone in attendance when I say that the hour wait and mere twelve dollar cover were time and money well spent. After all, experiencing the roots of jazz in such a historic establishment as Preservation Hall in the company of some of the best jazz players in the world was simply priceless. Needless to say the experience was a fitting conclusion to a day of cultural exploration.

Matt and Michael

Day FOURTEEN | N'awlins Bound

After another rough morning in the frigid temperatures, we finally got to pack up our frosty tents and head to New Orleans. It was hard to tell what Savanna Students were more excited about, visiting New Orleans or finally sleeping in a room with heat and a warm bed. Our agenda for the day was to drive towards New Orleans and stop at Evergreen Plantation to tour the grounds of the largest, most in tact plantations in the south. Afterwards we were to continue heading south to our hotel in the French Quarter.

Upon arriving at Evergreen Plantation we ate lunch with whatever we could find in the vans; fruit cups, bread, and water seemed to be the popular find. After a short bathroom break and getting all the bees out of the vans we drove up the driveway to the Plantation. The 200-year-old Live Oak trees made quite an impressive statement as you entered and made you feel as if you were in a movie. We talked with Renee about the history of the Creole-style house and of the land. We also learned about the various owners of the property and the slaves that lived and worked there. Renee also shared with us the Creole culture and some history about the native New Orleans people. To be Creole, one must be born in the New Orleans area.

After a quick laydown of our sketchbooks and some more conversation with Renee, we loaded up and rolled out. The view from out of our windows was definitely different from what we were used to; it was all water. We were driving on a causeway. Once into New Orleans, our task was to find our hotel. As simple as that sounds, it was not. As it turns out the road and trolley system is a little tricky and very particular in terms of when you can and cannot turn. Four of the five vans made it through the illegal left hand turn across the trolley tracks, the fifth van, however, was not as lucky. One of the several dozen police officers on that corner thought that we shouldn’t be turning and he let us know. So after driving several blocks we were finally allowed to cross the tracks (legally) and had to make our way back through the traffic to get to our hotel where we were greeted by Gary waving at us from the middle of the road. Once we were parked and all of the vans were unloaded, the night was ours to explore and find some awesome New Orleans cuisine.

Xinan and Alex