4/27/16
Silver spring
I started the day off right and was woking up by a doorbell at 7:30 in the morning.(yep an doorbell). Dakota is at the door waiting to leave to head to the metro station. I hurry rush to put on my clothes and go downstairs to eat. 30mins later Dakota and I rode with my dad to gallery place metro station. From there we rode a 20min ride to silver spring.
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 76,716 according to 2013 estimates by the United States Census Bureau, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.
The urbanized, oldest, and southernmost part of Silver Spring is a major business hub that lies at the north apex of Washington, D.C. As of 2004, the Central Busiuess District (CBD) held 7,254,729 square feet (673,986) of office space, 5216 dwelling units and 17.6 acres (71,000) of parkland. The population density of this CBD area of Silver Spring was 15,600 per square mile all within 360 acres (1.5 km) and approximately 2.5 square miles (6 km) in the downtown area.The community has recently undergone a significant renaissance, with the addition of major retail, residential, and office developments.
Silver Spring takes its name from a mica-flecked spring discovered there in 1840 by Francis Preston Blair, who subsequently bought much of the surrounding land. Acorn Park, tucked away in an area of south Silver Spring away from the main downtown area, is believed to be the site of the original spring. At silver spring we met with the rest of the group at the metro station and we realize maize was not there. so we wait for him and we got very bored so we went to the dunkin Donuts to get well donuts. There we wanted five minutes and we saw maize walking down the street and there we left to see the art work and morals.
The Global Refugee
First up were taking about this moral. Funded by the Public Arts Trust Program of the Montgomery County Arts and Humanities Council, the mural was conceived by artist Tom Block and painted by Joel Bergner. The Global Refugee Mural tells the story of three refugees who live in Maryland. In partnership with the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) local Refugee Resettlement Center in Silver Spring, the mural is based on actual interviews with the refugees. The first section of the mural tells the story of Georges, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who was once the mayor of his city. When a violent rebel group attacked his region, he took his family and escaped to a refugee camp in Kenya, and eventually came to the US. The second section shows the story of Mai, a refugee from Burma. When the repressive government discovered that she had visited a Christian church group in the US, she and her family were persecuted and she was unable to return to her country. The third refugee, a woman from the south of Iraq who wishes to remain anonymous, explained how her brother, a young and educated man with democratic ideals, was murdered by a local fundamentalist militia group. She was targeted by the group as well, and escaped and came to the US.
Acorn Park
Up next we have Acorn park. Acorn Park is all that remains of Francis Preston Blair’s estate, “Silver Spring,” named after his discovery in 1840 of a nearby mica-speckled spring. This park might be small, but it is chock-full of good stuff to see. Nestled up to the first Silver Spring Discovery building, DCTC, is a quaint little park with an acorn gazebo and beautiful murals. Previously the Caldor Building, it was the Caldor Company that commissioned the five-panel mural by artist Mame Cohalon and restored the gazebo and park.
The Hand
Yep you know it the Hand is up next. Ray Kaskey worked with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials to create a sculpture that would reflect their mission. From early on, Kaskey conceived of a monumental work that would dominate the space in a dramatic way and envisioned the "Hand of NOAA"; the doves turned into the seagulls that are part of the agency's logo. The large bronze hand reaches its fingers toward the atmosphere releasing seagulls to the ocean, continuing the agency's mission of recording and protecting the environment.
Mayor
this sculpture is about a mayor but not literally. The unofficial "Mayor" of Silver Spring was a homeless man who collected hand-outs of money and food. Norman Lane walked the streets of Silver Spring for almost 25 years, doing odd jobs around the neighborhoods and handing out flowers to women on the street picked out of the Bell Flowers dumpster. Norman Lane was a mainstay in the community, and his enjoyment of life has been immortalized in a bronze bust created by artist and friend, Fred Folsom. The plaque beneath Norman Lane's likeness reads, "Remembering the Caring Kindhearted Forbearance of the People of Silver Spring." This is a tribute, not only to this local legend, but to the citizens of Silver Spring like Robert Phillips, owner of the Silver Spring Auto Body Shop, who kept a cot and a hot plate in the garage as a permanent home for Lane.
East/West Beacon
Next up were going to be talking about the east/west Beacon. East/West Beacon is an illuminated, 35ʼ high, freestanding sculpture, made from stainless steel and holographic glass, designed and created by Ray King to greet travelers on the East/West Highway in Silver Spring, MD. The vesica-shaped tensile sculpture is constructed of stainless steel and chromatic holographic glass, laminated with film that refracts brilliant color when struck by sunlight and exhibits a shimmering silvery iridescence, similar to luminous fish scales. The refractive nature of the glass as well as the stainless steel structure and cables, capture and reflect light and chromatics in an unpredictable and ever changing way.
“This is meant to be a 21st century Beacon to salute visitors, commuters and residents,” the artist explains. “As people return home it will serve as a warm and colorful welcoming flame,” Kingʼs inspiration for the piece. The sculpture was commissioned by Home Properties Inc. The luminous tower rises out of a spiral designed pocket park, and is a strong and powerful visual landmark, as well as an iconographic symbol for the neighborhood.
A Brushstroke of Discovery
Artist Narcissus Quagliata was given the commission to execute the 170 foot exterior mural for the Discovery Communications Headquarters Building. A vibrant silkscreen on enamel overlaying steel, the mural is a highly figurative, monumental work that invites the viewer to reflect the variety of its forms, the history of our very planet, and on the uniqueness of life itself.
These are some other morals that we visited.
These are some other morals that we visited.
You would think that the End so some of our friends went to see a movie or something and Kendra left. Unexpected my mom called me 30-45 minutes later just as we were heading back to the metro station that Kendra has gotten lost. So Maize, Dakota and I went all over silver springs looking for her. A couple of minutes later my mom said she was near Starbucks. luckily we past that same Starbucks during the MJ. So we made our way over there on the other side of town and found her And I was so happy because the metro station was right around the corner. There,me and my friends departed ways. Thanks for reading see you next week.
