"My Own Sky" - Assignment & the "Zen View'

(1) My own sky is on the path to my studio.

I live in a deep valley in a large block of native bush so our neighbours are trees and birds, but just over the rise is the motoway and the city. There is much less light pollution in our valley so the stars and the moon appear much brighter than even when you are at the top of our long driveway.

The path from our house to the studio is my transition between the chaos of my life as a mother and wife and the chaos of my life as a student.

I usually go out to the studio before my family gets up, very early in the morning and then again after the chaos of dinner, before I put my children to bed.

Both times, it's dark or at least dim.
Both times I'm carrying a cup of tea made exactly how I like it - this slows me down so I can savour the fresh air outside, smelling of dew or damp earth, plants, ozone, and see the stars.

This is my sky, until the moment when the path is suddenly illuminated by the outdoor light of the studio.

This is the example I'll run with

(2) My friend Jenny lived a very ordinary very small flat on the third floor. There was a large window in the living area that looked out to the sea and the sky. The bedroom right next to the living space was very narrow so the bed could only run parallel to the common wall. This wall had a strange small low window between the bedroom and the living area. When you lay in bed you could look out this window and then through the living room window to the sky. The angle was just right, you couldn't see this view if standing, only when lying in bed.

Zen View

See "A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander et al., page 642-643 for Pattern 134 "Zen View". This is the basic principle behind example (2), "...the view of the distant sea is so restrained that it stays alive forever...[he also goes on to say] ...put the windows which look onto the view [or sky] at places of transition - along paths, in hallways, in entry ways, on stairs, between rooms."