week 1- whitney- play

How can we reveal different forms with light? I see: a mellowing gradient, movement in contrary direction, silhouettes, a sense of moving through the lingering sunlight that will soon be "gone". 

How do different materials receive and reflect light differently? I see: a layering fall sun, much like a blanket.

How does light shape and frame our perceptions of events/memories? In designing, how does placing objects/ forms in different areas of the stage/environment change the meaning? I see: Contrasting shape and framing, warmth, juxtaposition of lines, sense of being behind something. 

How does light contribute to our feeling of depth and temperature of a place and time? I see: depth of field, moodiness that is inherent in fog. Because I can't see the background "clearly" I am more curious about it. 

Can light be focused in ways to reveal different aspects between foreground and background? I see: color, movement of light, repeating patterns of light and shape. There is something specific about how the sunlight interacts with the color of the flowers that feels pure and true to me. 

Light music through the window

Light offers endless possibilities. It reflects our surroundings through shapes and shadows and it highlights whatever it reaches, leaving behind those that hide from its touch. 

In this image natural light is the paintbrush and the hardwood floor is its canvas. The exact pattern of the door and outline of the chair is replicated on the floor. The piano, despite its placement in the corner of the image, is the protagonist. It's as if a spotlight was shining upon it while everything next to the window disappears from the frame. The setting beyond the crystal doors is warm and inviting, covered with light and full of possibilities. 

-Anna

 

Week 1 - Joey N-M - The Red eyes in my room

This ray of light enters my bedroom in the evenings, and I usually look forward to the moment it comes in. On this day, however, the light reminded me of dread, its heat-tined color—memories of the tight confines of my time in the Valley.

My time in quarantine in the Valley was both a time of simplicity and terror.  

These red shudders became a lens that sent me into the heated past. 

I believe it's crucial to blaze on and look forward and even in the moments of quiet, moments when everything feels calm and cool, we acknowledge the past and all that comes from enduring its discomfort. Because in the end, there is always growth, small or large, or minimal or maximal.

In this way, the salmon-colored shutters shining into my room now become rose-tinted glasses.

Week 1 - JB - Of Smokescreens and Sunsets

Week 1 - Of Smokescreens and Sunsets

Sunsets trigger a Pavlovian response for me. I am overcome with bittersweet nostalgia for warm San Diego evenings, moisture hanging in the air and paragliders silhouetted against the horizon. I used to watch the sunset every day, and I developed a keen sense of how "good" the sunset was going to be depending on the density and quality of the clouds earlier that day. No clouds and full clouds both made for rather boring sunsets, but those few skies with streaky wisps of cirrus lent themselves to miracles. Explosions of rose and scarlet and lavender and indigo, dancing through the skies like sinuous watercolor. 

I used to think I could judge the clouds so well - until I discovered smoke. Like a literal smokescreen, the California wildfires have completely changed my perception of sunlight. This photograph was taken at around 5pm last week, well before dusk, yet the low air quality leads to shockingly beautiful, sunset-like light quality. The rays of golden hour (or golden three hours) permeated my window, and I enjoyed it the same way I enjoy sunsets. It was meditative, yet terrifying, yet beautiful.

-Jeevika

Week One - Frankie Henderson - Grand Tetons Sky

    The week before school started I jetted out to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Teton National Park to get some much needed nature before all the craziness of my first quarter in grad school. This picture captures one of our early morning sunrise adventures. There were many early mornings on this trip spent looking at the way the light hit the grandeur rocks off in the distance and all the animals grazing in the misty dew. This moment grabbed my attention because of how soft the sky seemed, making everything around it so calm. It even felt like the animals were more still and serene because of the way the light and air moved around them. 

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Week 1 - Bradford - Shrek is love, Shrek is life.

 A gathering, a congregation,

a shared experience.

A film older than the generation present.

Dusk becomes night,

humidity condensates into dew.

Light pierces into the darkness,

gives color,

illuminates what was and what is,

but not always what will be.

Shrek is love, Shrek is life.

Week 1/ Sunlight-Window-Tree-Floor/ Lisa Allin

 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, this open space is where UCI zoom-school took place. The portable desk and medicine ball are tucked away, and the floor graciously accepts the sun’s caress. A simple windowpane and tree create an organic and edgy gobo, with speckles jetting beyond. The first calm hint of fall settles my being as I anticipate returning to campus and starting this program. 

Warm hues soothe my nerves while curious shapes beckon creative response; what will unfold?!?

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Week 0 - Jacqueline Malenke - The Beauty of Irvine (Example Blog Post)

To say that Irvine is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever lived in is an understatement. Sure, when you see Irvine at first glance you think manicured little houses in manicured little neighborhoods that aren't too lively. One of the biggest complaints I have heard about attending UC Irvine is that "there is nothing to do and it is SO boring!" However, I must disagree with both of these sentiments. While Irvine is filled with manicured little houses in manicured neighborhoods, the beauty surrounding the area is unmatched. The campus of UC Irvine alone is quite impeccable and peaceful. 

The video above is an example of the peacefulness that UCI has to offer. The breeze is gently flowing through the trees as the bright sunshine gleams through the leaves leaving gentle dancing shadows on the ground. It is so quiet, and you can feel the warmth emitting from this video. It feels comforting and calm; it feels like you can slow down and rest amongst the insanity of final papers and assignments, that you can breathe in the fresh, clean air and take a moment for yourself. 

Just outside of my apartment on campus every evening the sky sets ablaze. In the beginning hours of the setting sun, it is a soft and gentle mixture of colors with bright pinks and oranges mixed with the cold blue sky of the day slowly fading. You can see in the photo above the rush of darkness slowly encroaching into the daylight. It feels as if the peach colored clouds are a soft and fluffy blanket tucking the sun in for a good night's rest. 

Finally, on a walk around the University Hills behind campus, I was lucky enough to snap this photo of the entire city skyline ablaze with a red hot sunset and an intense blue sky above. It feels as if it is the beginning of the end of the day and now it is time for rest in the comfort of your home. If you are more of a night owl, however, it can be the beginning of an evening of adventure! The city lights begin popping on at random, it starts to become darker around you, and the only light is that of the fiery sunset slowly getting lower and lower until there is just a deep blue sky and dappled city lights surrounding you. 

At the end of it all, Irvine has so much more to offer than just tiny houses that are all the same. It has a comforting and warm breeze flowing through the trees, it has a blanket of peach colored clouds covering the sky, and it has a blazing sunset to send you off into the night.