Wintry walk-about

...or Why I love working on a college campus

I tend to cure my mid-afternoon slump by walking outside and inhaling crisp, cold air. It works.

The walk from my building to campus

Hello Walk

On this particular day, I brought along my camera with the intention of capturing some shots of the Whitworth campus on the eve of spring semester. I saw a handful of students returning for the first time since December, having spent Jan Term somewhere off-campus. Mostly, though, it was quiet, cold and soggy.

From the library courtyard, a sculpture by Harold Balazs

Robinson Science Hall

Lied Center for the Visual Arts

This weekend we saw an animated film called Le Tableau which imagines worlds inside paintings and sketches - where finished figures, the "Allduns," discriminate against the "Halfies" (partially painted) and "Sketchies." Several of the characters figure out how to get out of the painting and explore other paintings and even the outside human world. I thought about it again as I explored the nearly empty art building, peeked into the classrooms and walked past unfinished and abandoned art projects.

It's sometimes hard to see a campus with fresh eyes after having worked here for the better part of a decade, following my four years here as a student. I look forward to the day when I return to this campus after a long hiatus to see how it's grown and changed. But for now, a camera helps me look for new angles and perspectives and reminds me of how much I love this place where I work.