A good chunk of the crew was up on site today and we slapped out all the remaining fussy-stuff / trim, cleaned, and then moved all the tools and scrap material back to school. While you still can't say the project is 'done' (still some work for Vinnie's guys doing the railing and flooring /some painting / ceiling and PV to come later), I think today is a pretty good time to say that the
Design Workshop 2008 is over.
God it feels weird to say that.
I finished off the sedum wings today too. Look how good that looks! It really helps to 'ground' the greenhouse. It will take some time for me to really digest all that the workshop has meant to me, but I know that it has been absolutely amazing from beginning to end and I will be forever grateful for the chance to be part of it. I've never worked harder or been more committed to any project , and I think I can safely say that I sacrificed to this project every single ounce of energy, concentration, time (and money) that I have. But far from leaving me drained in the end, I instead feel like I have gained so much more out of this project than I could possibly have put in.
Of course, the project itself is only half the story of the Workshop - just as important was the opportunity to work with so many amazing people on something we were all absolutely in love with, and to share such an amazing, overwhelming, experience with them. I have learned so much from everyone here this past year, and to be honest - our days were more fun than is probably legal in some of those red states. We have built something incredibly beautiful together, and this experience is something that will always connect us - no matter what directions our paths take after this.
I suppose that's really why I feel like today was the end for me though: Star, my partner in all things workshop-y over the past year, left for her new job in Germany today, and so even though I'll keep working on the project, the 'Workshop' - that amazing, shared experience of building something beautiful with a bunch of incredible people - seems to have come to an end.
I can't even describe how much fun we had working together and we really did make something amazing. So, my friend, thank you for everything, and for gods sake have fun in Germany!!!
But oddly, far from being sad that its over - I actually feel nothing but pride and satisfaction in what we've accomplished. New York City threw everything it had at us this past year in the hopes of destroying our project, and if I do say so myself - we kicked New York's ass. I can't say it was easy, and there were some times (ok - maybe a lot of times) that I thought the whole thing was going to come crashing down - but in the end we succeeded. And even if there are parts that didn't go exactly according to plan or things that didn't turn out just as we had hoped - we did something incredible here and we made someplace beautiful for a bunch of kids who need more beautiful places in their lives.
And so - Star, Johnny, Jason, Carrie, Meg, Solveig, Jon, Steph, Tory, Meghan, Margot, Kristen and Paul - to you all I propose a toast:
One of the most difficult things to accept is how, randomly, amazing people float in, and inevitably out, of our lives - so here's to making the most of the brief times we share, and to building beautiful things while having a shit load of fun doing it.
cheers my friends.