Concept Collages / Sweet Springs

If anyone ever reads my resume, portfolio, or even LinkedIn for that matter, they will see that I listed "collage" as a skill.  "And this is relevant... how?" is probably what you are thinking.  Allow me to explain.

One of my first "concept collages" came from an actual assignment in second year studio, where we had to put together photographs of the site in a way that conveyed the scene.  We had to do this for every project I believe.  It was a way to get our creative juices flowing.  It worked (for me).

Circa 2009.

The colors I ended up with in this collage/montage really stuck with me.  It perfectly showcases what a beautiful day in Blacksburg can look like, and captures the spirit of the School of Visual Arts.  This building is in the [kind of gross] part of downtown where there are some yummm restaurants (anybody want a gyro?).  It's called the armory and, as you could guess, use to be the actual armory building back when Virginia Tech was strictly a military academy.  It now houses the artistic minds of Virginia Tech's finest.

Sticking with this theme of montage and collage, I began most of my project with quick Photoshop renderings using material images and heavy use of the "distort" tool.  I swear ctrl+T is the best thing I ever learned to do in Photoshop.

This technique helps me easily envision a space in my head, along with sketching.  While I only sketch with gray-scale, this helps me envision the final feel of the space with materials, lighting, etc.  I tried it out extensively on projects...  Some more successful than others:

Camper store (SoHo, NYC) conceptual floor plan - first attempt.

Camper store collage perspective.

VCU Medical School Library atrium - glass walls.

And then... it became an actual art in itself.  For a hospitality project in which we were asked to design a sustainable resort, I took it upon myself to render from scratch, using only Photoshop and material images to create the perspective.  These were not even final views.  Just conceptual.  They each took multiple hours to complete, but in the end I was very focused and knew exactly where to go next with my project.

Restaurant Pool and Bar for Mauritius Resort & Spa

The above perspective turned into this:

Final Restaurant & Bar scene.

And now, these days... I still use this technique.  I still know that it is extremely time consuming.  So is this blog.  But they both do the same thing; they help me gather my thoughts.  I know you probably couldn't tell from all the rambling I do in this blog, but I have a lot of things running through my head at any given moment.  I need to get them out and onto paper, onto something tangible so that I can reflect and move forward.  Same goes for sketching.  But that is an entirely new blog post...

And finally, here it is, today's collage.

I'm content.  My concept of lightness and "heavenly" is coming across nicely.  I enjoy how the furniture is charismatic in its own way.  Of course, I ended up throwing in any lamp that resembles a "white chess piece" (as I have grown to call them) to add my graphic touch.  I am excited for this step.  It helps me move forward, and I think NEWH will appreciate the graphic thought that was put into this.

Time to focus on sustainability for awhile...