Last week, a PR person from DIT asked to use a photo I took at graduation for publicity. Through our communication, I learned she’d used another of my images–one from RoboSlam–in a press release back in May.
Author / shannonchance
Sister Sister
My sister, Heather, is visiting. She’s come to take acting classes.
Last night, we took in a play… Major Barbara, written by Shaw, performed at the Abbey Theater in Dublin. I discovered that I’ve really got to concentrate to keep up with Shaw, but it’s worth the effort. His work is packed with meaning….
Heather has been spending quite a bit of time down at the Cobblestone. She goes in much later in the evening than I do. Evidentially late hours are the best for finding Tom, the owner, who is a night owl.
On Friday evening, I’d gone into the Cobblestone to hear some singing and I left at 9. Heather stopped in later and met even more of Tom’s family. She’d gone to thank Tom because he had taken her to see construction of a new theater that he serves as a member of the board.
I really enjoyed Friday evening there. Some of the songs transported me back to my first trip to Ireland in 2003. The country was quite a bit different at that time: songs were full of political strife and pubs were full of families, chatter, and smokey haze. The ban on smoking in pubs, apparent tightening of age limits in pubs, and the economic boom / Celtic Tiger all took their toll on Ireland’s pub culture. The country’s newfound peace also shifted the tone, and for the peace I’m grateful.
The Cobblestone, however, has managed to retain its charm. And it continues to do that despite being listed in every tourist guide. A lot of that, I believe, has to do with Tom’s warm and generous spirit. He makes every person feel special and welcome.
Heather left town today, but sent me over to hear Tom and his friends from the Cobblestone play at the Northside Music Festival in Wolftone ‘Park’.
Shannon and Heather see Shaw
Heather and Shannon share pizza
Nortside Music Festival
Nortside Music Festival
Nortside Music Festival
Tom Mulligan at Nortside Music Festival
Cobblestone Pub
Fridays are rockin at Cobblestone Pub
Pat Goode and friends at Cobblestone Pub
Seals of Dalkey Harbor
The picturesque little town of Dalkey is a short DART or bus ride from Dublin city center. It’ s one of my favorite little towns in Ireland… the architecture is beautiful and the harbor is full of life. Watching the seals play is always a treat.
Dalkey makes a nice day trip from Dublin… especially when paired with a visit to Dun Laoghaire. (On Sunday afternoons People’s Park there is teeming with vendors and activity, and the waterfront is a pleasant place to walk.)
Dalkey’s main street…
…with a typially Irish sort of street pattern.
Dalky has a cool nooks and crannies everywhere… here’s a place with one-person offices to let.
And Dalkey also has two little harbors. The seals like to play in Dalkey Harbor.
New “RoboSlam for Facilitators” Workshop
Ted, Damon, and I have been gearing up for future RoboSlam workshops. We have been looking for sponsors to help us continue and scale up our work. For now, we’ll have to keep things fairly small and simple. We’re not letting the lack of funds hold us back too much! We’ve got to keep our momentum going!
During my Fulbright fellowship, I had several official projects. Along the way, I adopted a number of other projects–like RoboSlam–where I could learn and also contribute.
Ted and Damon are so talented and passionate about what they do that it’s impossible not to want to contribute to the success of their project.
While I was away studying in Rome, Ted and Damon hosted a workshop for people we hope will want to become facilitators of RoboSlam. It’s part of our strategy for getting more people involved in the project.
Ted, Damon and I met to map out plans for a RoboSlam workshop for facilitators.
We upgrade the design and the instructions each time we offer a workshop.
Of course, we drank lots of tea and coffee (see all the cups!?!). Ireland has, I have been told, the highest per capita consumption of tea on the planet.
At the end of the meeting, we went to see the Dean (Dr. Mike Murphy).
At the following workshop, Damon took a picture of the group. It was small but enthusiastic!
Here’s a diagram of the newest robot design.
Kids in Merrion Square
There’s always something new and imaginative going on in Dublin.
Just before I left for Rome, I had a meeting at the Irish University Association building on Merrion Square. Walking through the park after my meeting, I got to see workers setting up for weekend events for kids.
The the menagerie wire animals and the tree covered in a giant sheet fascinated me.
Dublin Castle
Here’s what Dublin Castle looks like….
Fulbright events were held in the Throne Room, Picture Gallery, an St. Patrick’s Hall.
Black Tie at the Castle
The 2013 Fulbright scholars banquet was a rare treat. We dressed in gowns and tuxes and dined at Dublin Castle. I didn’t get the greatest photos, but my snapshots provide a glimpse into the festivities….
In the courtyard…
…with new Fulbright and their families.
Climbing the grand entry stair…
…Joanne Davidson stopped to chat with guests.
We were greeted by the official O’Brian-Moran welcoming committee!
We lined up to find our seating assignments…
…in a fancy hall with a throne (which, somehow, I failed to capture).
The list of my table mates.
Drinks…
…and hors d’ouvrés…
…and people to meet.
Like Nancy, Noel and Alan.
I always enjoy seeing Nancy, who was Fulbright and is now a Curie scholar.
The hall was packed with people…
…and was plenty hot…
…as there’s no A/C in Ireland.
Colleen looked fab!
We settled down at our tables.
And I enjoyed the company of Patrick, Alan, Noel, and the rest of our table mates.
Trinity’s Dean of Undergraduate Studies was a hoot once we broke the ice.
The entertainment was grand…
…as was the food.
And the overall setting couldn’t have been grander.
Undercover in Rome
Many thanks to Daisy for inspiring me to draw so much on my trip to Rome… we have always been very productive at sketching when we travel together. In this post, I’ve included photos of one of our many dinner outings.
On my last night in Rome, Daisy and I headed over to Trastevere–stopping for a glimpse of the basilica (dedicated to Santa Maria, where mass was in session) before heading on to our favorite dinner spot. As is generally the case when Daisy and I are traveling with architecture students, we brought our sketchbooks along to discuss.
I’ve included photos of Daisy’s beautiful work, that caught the attention of our waitress. She studied every page!
Daisy’s area of expertise is architectural representation, as is evident in her drawings! Mine, on the other hand, is educational research… that’s what I presented to Daisy’s students in the lecture I delivered.
As a result of our exchange, I woke up inspired to draw on my last day in Rome.
It was hot, hot, hot, though. I had to sketch quickly to keep ahead of the heat! By the afternoon, the sky opened up and the rain poured down. Thankfully our fore bearers built plenty of sheltered spots in Rome that have lovely views! I made three sketches on my parting day–two are shown below.
Daisy and I stopped in at Sta. Maria in Trastevere…
and the doors were open to celebrate mass.
Two priests spread incense.
At dinner, Daisy showed me her watercolor work…
and her drawings fascinated our waitress.
What a gorgeous pen drawing of the monument to Victor Emmanuel.
We had such fun!
The next day, I visited the Pantheon…
…for a quick sketch.
And when I noticed rain was on the way, I headed to the courtyard designed by Bramante, adjacent to Santa Maria della Pace.
I made my last sketch in Rome, for this trip, under the shelter of Bramante’s cloister.
Reshaping a Roman Site
I’m wrapping up my week as “Scholar in Residence” for the University of Oregon’s study abroad program in Rome. It’s been a fun and informative learning experience.
I’m posting images from the studio review we had on Thursday, to give you an idea of what it’s like to be an architecture student or professor.
These students have completed second year of a five-year professional degree program (leading to the Bachelor’s of Architecture degree). They will start third year in the fall.
They’ve done some very nice design work so far in their three-credit architecture studio class in Rome. Their site is an embankment wall, built in the late 1800s to keep the Tiber River from flooding the city as it has done for centuries.
According to Wikipedia:
The Tiber was once known for its floods — the Campus Martius is a flood plain and would regularly flood to a depth of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). The river is now confined between high stone embankments which were begun in 1876. Within the city, the riverbanks are lined by boulevards known as lungoteveri, streets “along the Tiber.”
Drawings by a student in Daisy’s class.
Amanda’s model of the existing site
Amanda’s new design…
…using the concept of frames.
Amanda presenting
Daisy commenting…
…and offering suggestions.
An analytic model of the existing site
Nicki presenting
Nicki presenting
Nick included a new bridge for access using bikes and wheelchairs…
…and she drew a helpful perspective of the new design.
A detail of Nicki’s site section
Around the table
Miranda explaining the research, precedents, and conceptual underpinning of her design.
Miranda’s model of the existing site
Miranda’s new plan
The model of Miranda’s proposed design
Getting feedback…
…from Daisy…
…and Lauren, and Shannon.
Laurel presented her ideas, too.
Laurel’s goals and objectives…
…helped her generate a new design…
…converting the existing site…
…into an urban beach.
Penciling in Rome
Headed out for breakfast and a day of exploring in the breeze and sunshine of Rome. Yesterday’s rain cooled the city down, and it’s amazingly comfortable today. Hoping to get some more sketching in today.
Via dell’Arco del Monte
Ireland by Chance 
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