Amy's Blogalicious

A mini portrait session, inspired by my new hat

2009-04-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

I was getting ready for a date with Johnny and was suddenly inspired to ask him to take some pictures of me in my new hat. I'm hoping this hat will be getting some good beach time this summer (with me under it)!

I stock iStock

2009-04-19T19:20:00.001-07:00

Here is a small copy of an image I just uploaded to iStock. Johnny helped me with this one because those are my hands! Here is a link to see the other images I have up.

Charlotte's Water Ripple Beach House

2009-04-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

I just completed a drafting class where my final project was to design a house based on a concept. The inspiration I chose was the pattern that water leaves in the sand in a tidal pool.
I designed the house for my mom to be built in the Outer Banks of North Carolina - a favorite location for both of us. The picture below (not taken by me) is one I used as a reference for the house shape:

Here is the floor plan. The house is 2 levels, with the second level overlooking the first level - loft style. The main living area is an open floor plan with a wall of windows on the East side looking out to the ocean. There is a double sided fireplace that serves the dining and living areas, and it has waterfalls pouring down the 2 sides that don't have openings for the fire. There are 2 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. The bathrooms both have entrances from the outside so that guests returning from the beach can enter directly from the deck. There is a small office off of the kitchen. It has no windows so that the light can be controlled for editing photographs (my Mom is a photographer). My mom loves to have people over, so I included a large dining table and extra seating at the kitchen island. The second level is the master suite. It has 2 sundecks, a walk-in closet, and a large custom bath.

This is the lighting plan for the house. I included lots of recessed lighting for overall fill. In the kitchen there are wall-mounted sconces and pendant lights over the island. Two chandeliers hang over the dining table, and cable lighting hangs over the living room. Upstairs there is a chandelier in the water closet and over the bath.

On the left are elevation drawings depicting the North and East sides of the home. On the right are section drawings - as if we sliced open the home to look at it.

Here is a detail image of the N-S section. I designed a custom chandelier that is shaped like coral, and clear glass pendant lights and sconces that are shaped like nautilus shells. The fireplace is stacked stone.

This next view is an axonometric projection. It is a sort of 3 dimensional rendering (all based on measurements to scale) and probably gives the best "feel" for the house. The second floor has been lifted up some to show more of the first floor - the dashed lines show where it connects.

Detail of the 2nd floor:

Detail of the fireplace and living room:

This project was a ton of work - but in the end it was very satisfying. It was exciting to see my ideas come together into a plan.

Green and Lovely

2009-02-15T23:27:00.000-08:00

I found this lovely little thing on a walk last March. It just begged to be photographed, so I obliged. I really enjoy all the little treasures I discover when taking a walk - the lavender that is so plentiful in Los Angeles, all the different architectural styles of the homes... I even get a kick out of the random things people leave on the street that they don't want any more - I've never seen so many ugly couches in my life! I am in my fourth (and hopefully final) week on crutches - an ongoing pain in my heel was finally diagnosed as a torn muscle. Staying off my foot is giving it a chance to heal, and I'm so looking forward to all the walks, hikes, and cute shoes in my future! Enjoy the pics.

A Journey Into Color

2009-02-04T00:53:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a design class and our midterm assignment was to design an outdoor gallery for an artist of our choice. I've always wanted to have a show of my work, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. I drafted a floor plan and then created a foam core model in 1/4" scale. Here is a little piece I wrote about the gallery:

A Journey Into Color

This outdoor exhibition features photographs and paintings by artist Amy Renzulli. Moving from black and white, to cool colors, to warm, vibrant colors, passing through the gallery is a journey into color. As the colors brighten, the walkways slowly widen, drawing visitors in and leaving them with a sense of uplift and expansiveness as they leave.

This is a perspective drawing I did of the sitting room. I chose white leather couches from Design Within Reach, and clear Lucite tables. The floor is stained and polished cement. I had my drawing photocopied onto water color paper and I used gouache to do the painting on the walls.

She doesn't know it yet, but for my next project I will be designing a beach house for my mom. I'm picturing undulating waves of lines...

Hey Baby!

2009-01-22T00:02:00.001-08:00

Here are a few more Logan pics, from the day after he was born.

He was fast asleep for my whole visit.

Devin and Heather have some tee-shirts that say "Papa Bairn", "Momma Bairn", and, of course "Baby Bairn".

Here's that sweet baby, still sleeping:

Happy BIRTHday Logan!

2009-01-16T23:27:00.000-08:00

Devin's a dad!

At 7:39 pm Logan came into the world. He's a big boy at 8 1/2 pounds and 20 inches long, he has beautiful blue eyes (like both of his parents), and he was so bright and alert.

Here is Heather telling Logan that it was all worth it to be holding him in her arms.

Devin's parents flew in from Orlando. Here Dawn gets her first chance to hold her first grandchild.

Here is Logan's first cell phone conversation - talking to his Uncle Mason.

Devin's dad, Jim, was so proud and happy to become a grandfather (and so young!)

Dawn and Jim love Disney World and they are already planning Logan's first trip there. Did this kid score the jackpot with grandparents or what?!

Heather is peeking under Logan's cap to look at his hair.

Mommy and baby time.

Welcome to the world, sweet, precious boy. We're so happy you're here!

Happy Birthday, Michael!

2009-01-12T00:23:00.000-08:00

So much can happen in a year! It was such a joy to be with Annette and document Michael's birth, a year ago January 9th. I hope Michael's birthday was a happy one, with many more happy ones to follow!

Huntington Gardens - Succulents

2009-01-08T23:46:00.000-08:00

The Huntington Gardens in Pasadena are really, really fabulous. Here are some pictures from the desert garden - enjoy!

Winter Solstice!

2009-01-05T22:47:00.000-08:00

Winter Solstice marks the time of the year when the light returns as the sun shifts and starts to move northward again. My mom, a mermaid and sun-lover, always celebrates Winter Solstice, and I was inspired to do the same. A few weeks before Winter Solstice, I mentioned to Johnny "wouldn't it be cool to get a group of friends together to watch the Winter Solstice sunset from the Griffith Observatory and then have a party at our place afterward?" and Johnny said "yeah, it would - why don't we?" and so we did. We brought hot wassail, cheese, crackers, and cookies, and enjoyed a most spectacular sunset with our friends.

This little guy is Kian. He is Josh and Catherine's son. He has brilliant blue eyes and lots of energy!

This is looking east over Glendale. You can see some of the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

The Hollywood Sign, of course. It's the token photograph to take at the Observatory because there is such a good view of it.

Josh's family:

The sun quickly making it's way down (or I suppose I should say the earth quickly turning...)

The last little sliver of sun. There was a pretty sizable group gathered on the west side of the Observatory to watch the sunset, and when it cleared the horizon, everyone cheered. It was a good feeling to be celebrating something together with a larger group of people - there was a sense of community.

Me and Johnny (picture taken by Doran):

Josh and Catherine:

Kian - ha ha! This kid is so smiley! So fun and easy to take pictures of!

This is the group that met at the Observatory (left to right) Johnny, Doran, Josh, Catherine, Tony, Krystal, and Kian:

This is what inspired me to go to the Observatory for the Winter Solstice Sunset. They have lines charted that mark the exact places where the sun will go down at different points in the year.
Here's the marker:

And the line:

The show was just getting started when the sun went down. Looking northeast:

looking southwest (you can just make out the Christmas tree lights on top of the Capitol Records building in the bottom left corner of the picture):

looking south (the bright string of lights is Western Avenue):

Downtown Los Angeles (southeast):

Krystal looked so cute in my coat, I had to take a picture:

Wow - check out these colors! So brilliant! (this is looking west over Hollywood - you can see Capitol Records again):

Wow, what a show! After the sunset, we returned to our place for wine, fruit, cheese, beer, eggnog, cookies, and lots of other good stuff. Some more friends came by and we lit candles, played Christmas music, talked, laughed, and had an all-around wonderful time. I definitely want to make celebrating Winter Solstice an annual Renzulli tradition!

A funny cat video

2009-01-04T17:49:00.001-08:00

I came across this video today, and I thought it was really funny. What would the internet be without funny cat videos?

Ninja Cat

Still Celebrating

2009-01-02T23:38:00.000-08:00

I guess the holidays are "officially" over, but unofficially, we're still celebrating at our Hollywood Hills abode. After all, if you're drinking wassail and eating gingerbread, it just FEELS festive!

Earlier this month we had snow off on the mountaintops, but that's about as close as LA gets to a white Christmas. The powdered sugar on my gingerbread made me think of snowy alpine ridges (I had fun being the one in charge of the snowfall!):

Johnny recently learned to make wassail (a hot spiced cider with orange juice, lemon juice, and honey - from medieval times), and this particular batch has been percolating in the fridge for a few days so it was very spice infused, and yummy!

I hope everyone's holidays were full of love, relaxation, and good times, and I wish you all a great 2009!

Bell Peppers!

2008-07-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

I recently did an assignment for one of my design classes where I sketched and shaded bell peppers. It was interesting to study the different sections of the peppers, and I really enjoyed the assignment.

The Peppers:

Preliminary Sketches:

Detail of preliminary sketch:

My setup - spotlight on the peppers!:

The finished peppers. I experimented with 4 different types of shading:

Crosshatch:

Scribbles:

Blending with a blending stump and using eraser technique:

Pointillism (lots of tiny dots):

Huntington Japanese Garden

2008-07-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

My Mom is doing a Japanese-inspired landscape redesign at her home in Virginia, and since I recently visited the Japanese garden at the Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena, I thought I would post some of my pictures from there. A few disclaimers: these pictures were taken in high noon (high contrast) light, they were just quick snapshots, and there are a lot of them. With that said, you may proceed. And, if you ever do get a chance, the Huntington is definitely worth a visit - so much to see!

You enter into the garden through a bamboo forest. It's cool and quiet. The bamboo sways in the breeze and little leaves twirl through the air as they fall to the ground.

I enjoy the way Japanese gardens have rocks included in their design, and the architectural forms of the plants:

I liked the way bonsai trees were placed on pedestals:

I also really liked the Jade viewing stones that were on pedestals. They were very smooth and nice to touch:

Eye Candy

2008-07-04T00:02:00.001-07:00

I'll be seeing a lot more of this lately. I'm taking a color theory class and it involves lots of paint mixing. This is my palette after a day of work:

The following pictures are of things in a gift shop that I visited:

This one made me think of my sister, Amber, who is a violinist:

I think every city should have a street named Hope.

Things I like about LA - Pinkberry

2008-07-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

Some may say I've joined the pod people, but they can think what they want - I like Pinkberry.

I like the funky, asian-themed interiors:

I enjoy looking at the random items they have for sale (ie. a family of bottle openers):

And, of course, the yummy, low calorie frozen yogurt and fresh fruit toppings:

Project: Nature Meets the Built Environment

2008-06-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here is my work from another project for my design class. It is a study in comparison of shapes and forms from man-made and natural elements. Each image is a group of photographs that I took and assembled together under 6 categories - Line, Shape, Texture, Pattern, Spiral, and Radial.

Shape:

Radial:

Texture:

Pattern:

Spiral:

Line:

Elements of Design

2008-05-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

I am taking a design class for the past few months, and the assignments have been really interesting, so I thought I would share some of my projects (and my Mom keeps mentioning that she would like to see what I have been doing :) ).

Dot and Line Project (Ink on Bristol Board):

For this project we were supposed to be obsessive with the details. No minimalist compositions here!

Clockwise from top left:

1. Dots, heavy, filled in with lines around them from edge to edge.
2. Straight lines of different lengths
3. Bent lines, arcs, curves, angular lines
4. Straight lines in the center, curvy lines on the sides

1. Circles, dots of varying sizes, some empty, some filled in, overlapping
2. Cross contour to suggest volume, 3D
3. 3, 5, and 6 sided shapes using lines of different thickness and mass to show light, medium, and dark values.
4. Straight lines, lines from edge to edge, thin, thick, etc.

This was a shading assignment. I traced the outlines of the shapes, but did all of the shading myself. This composition was then photocopied using different copier settings and served as the basis for the compositions that follow it. (Pencil on Bristol Board)

Constructivist Composition - Abstract geometric, the balance of unequal parts (photocopied paper on Bristol Board)

Cubist Composition - images that appear fractured and reconstructed displaying prismatic qualities simultaneity of view. (photocopied paper on Bristol Board)

Expressionist Composition - Spontaneous, gestural, expressive, accidental. More abstract, less recognizable imagery. (photocopied paper on Bristol Board)

Realistic, objective illustration. We got to pick the object that we were illustrating. I chose an orchid. (Pencil on Canson Mi Tientes Paper)

Conventionalized object: the same object (orchid), simplified into most basic shapes, 2 dimensional. (Black and white gouache on Canson Mi Tientes Paper)

Geometric and volumetric. Composed of straight lines and geometric shapes. Illustrates 3 Dimensions and light logic. (Black and white gouache on Canson Mi Tientes Paper)

Stylized object. Organic with a sense of the unexpected. Additive, free, open. Accent on the ornamental. Elegant. Lots of detail. (Black and white gouache on Canson Mi Tientes Paper)

Whew! What you have just seen represents many hours of my life over the past few months! Though these assignments have been a lot of work, I have really enjoyed them.

LA Favorites (in no particular order) #1:

2008-05-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by Los Angeles Magazine's "The 64 Greatest Things About LA" article, and I decided to start an ongoing project of my own, documenting MY favorite things about LA. I'm not going to trouble myself with ranking things, so the posts will be in no particular order - just what I've been able to grab as I go (one thing I DON'T like about LA is how it seems like no one wants you taking pictures of anything - except actors who are trying to get publicity...). So, here's my first post:

M Cafe de Chaya: "featuring contemporary macrobiotic cuisine, using whole, natural foods prepared daily, with an emphasis on great taste." They are in West Hollywood on the corner of Melrose and La Brea. I love their California Club sandwich with its tempeh "bacon". They serve really excellent and interesting dishes, and great desserts!

A beautiful visitor

2008-05-07T23:07:00.000-07:00

The other day I went outside to check on my plants, and to my delighted surprise, my Lavender was hosting a beautiful visitor:

I love organized things!

2008-04-19T00:05:00.001-07:00

I recently took charge of my kitchen utensil drawer and whipped it into shape. For years we have just thrown everything into the drawer and then had to search through it all to find what we were looking for. I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner, but one day a couple of months ago, I came across some kitchen drawer organizers at Target, and had an aha! moment.

I forgot to take a before picture of the drawer before, and I wish I had because it would emphasize so much more how wonderful it is now to have everything so easy to find. Just looking at this picture warms my heart!

I'm always on the lookout for good ways to simplify my life, and this has definitely done that!

A Really Full Day

2008-04-17T00:39:00.001-07:00

I was taking pictures from morning 'til night today. First, headshots for the lovely and adorable Amy Storkel. She's got a little Pippi Longstocking (who, by the way she LOVED as a kid) going on with the pigtails. So cute!

This one won't work as a headshot, but I just couldn't resist taking it. I think it's just so sweet and pretty!

Isn't the wooden fence in the background cool?! I love the warm golden tones in it.

I'm taking some interior design classes through the UCLA Extension Program (loving them!). One of my assignments was to go to visit a building made in an architectural style that we liked, and photograph it (please, please don't throw me in dat der briar patch!). So, today, I headed over to West Hollywood... (to me, this image just yells WEST HOLLYWOOD)

...to 835 North Kings Road

to see the truly fabulous Rudolph Schindler House. I've got to write a whole paper about this place, so forgive me if I don't elaborate a lot tonight (at 1:30am!) on my blog, but I really, really enjoyed visiting the Schindler House. You have to walk down the pathway in the photo above to get to the house, and when you get there, you feel like you are miles away from all of the traffic and movement of LA. It felt like taking a little vacation.

I did not feel that my visit could be complete without a portrait of myself in the Schindler House (a la "myspace" style):

This is the golden sunlight shining through the vines on the other side of these Shoji screen type walls:

After the Schindler House, I headed over to UCLA for my class. I got there at this perfect time of day where the light just feels like magic. Last week I was wishing I had my camera with me because it was just so beautiful, and this week I was so happy when I realized I DID have my camera with me!

The Bougainvillea was trimmed into a hedge, and it just spread on forever:

For my class tonight, we were given the assignment to do an art piece using color and pattern that described who we were. I just loved all of the different ways that people chose to express themselves. Judith Corona was our guest speaker, and she had fun analyzing all of us:

And in case you are wondering what I would look like if I was color and pattern, this is it - my artistic self-interpretation:

And that was my really full day!

Things That Make Me Happy

2008-04-15T23:46:00.001-07:00

In the past few months, I've been doing a little photo essay project of things that make me happy. If something makes me happy, I go grab my camera and take a picture of it. Here are a few things that make me happy:

My living room wall. One of my neighbors gave me the big shelf when they were moving out of their apartment. Now I finally have the perfect place to put the beautiful oil lamps that my friend Laura gave me. They waited for 2 years in a box in my closet for this moment. My good buddy Amy Storkel (we have to differentiate Amys - it can be a little confusing), gave me the key holder after she moved and didn't need it any longer. The silver pins thing was a gift from my Dad to Johnny. Every couple of weeks we put a new impression up on it. It can be fun to have people guess what the shapes are. The photos were taken by my Mom (a great artist and my first photography mentor). One is cacti from the Getty, and the other is of a boat somewhere around the Outer Banks. This wall used to be so bare, and now it's interesting and beautiful, with thanks to many different friends.

Clean dishes make me happy. I love it when my sink is clean and empty.

Tea! I love tea so much. It brings joy to my day, especially when pared with organic sage honey from the Hollywood Farmer's Market, or Silk Vanilla Creamer.

Lavender soda and Chocolate Almond Breeze. Two more things that I love! These bring a little luxury and variety to my life. Both can be found at Whole Foods. I should take my camera there someday because that's something else that makes me happy!

The "Dan in Real Life" soundtrack. It's quirky, sweet, and melodic. When I listen to it I feel like I have friends with me, even if I am alone.

The gorgeous wood cutting board that Laura brought back from Costa Rica for me (Laura has such good taste and gives great gifts!). It's too pretty to cut on! All of the colors are the natural shades of different types of wood. I love the way it looks against the red wall in my dining room.

Pretty boxes that keep things looking good. The black and white boxes are those cardboard file boxes that you can find at office supply stores. I found some awesome wrapping paper at Ikea (thanks Ikea!), and I covered the boxes with it, and then with clear contact paper. The boxes are stronger, and I smile every time I look at them. This closet is (well, actually all my closets are) a work in progress. I'm still de-cluttering, organizing, and decorating. Hopefully I will have some pictures of my progress to put up sometime in the not-so-distant future. I'm aiming for sometime within the next year.

It also makes me happy to put up a blog of things that make me happy!

My camera and I went for a walk...

2008-02-21T19:34:00.001-08:00

and this is what we saw:

On this walk I decided to try what I've been doing in my journals lately - stream of consciousness. I took pictures of things that spoke to my emotions, and I shot quickly and tried not to worry about the technicalities. The sun was so golden, and fleeting - I wanted to capture that light inside a little box (my camera), and hold on to a little bit of it in my soul.

More Baby Pictures!

2008-01-16T10:16:00.001-08:00

He's so cute, I just have to put some more pictures of him up!

Here is Brian Michael with Annette's mom, Mary:

This is Brian's (the father) brother Steven. He lives in the Los Angeles area and was able to get to the hospital right as Brian Michael was being born.

Here is Annette's sister Kali holding her nephew:

This is Annette's brother Mark:

This Annette's Dad, Annette's Aunt (great-aunt to Brian Michael), and Steven doting over the new baby. Steven is taking a picture with his iPhone (so cool!) to send to Brian.

Here's the picture that Steven took:

And here is Annette and the baby with her mom and sister:

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