Katie's London Adventures @kfreeman22-blog - Tumblr Blog

Walk Through Walk Intro

I chose to start my artist’s book with a personal note about my journey this semester. I thought this added an additional personal touch to the book because this has been such a great journey. All journeys have their ups and downs, as did this one, but I learned so much about myself and got to travel to places I never would have imagined I’d go to. From there I drew a personal map of how I got around everywhere. Basically I always got lost when going to a new place. I would take a super long, indirect route, and then realize there was a much shorter route.

Exhibit Walk. Tate Modern- Conflict, Time, Photography

Soundtrack Walk

The first song that you put on to calm yourself down is your favorite song in the whole world; “Best Days” by Matt White. Subconsciously your body leads you to where you are going so you can get lost in the music. �Ȕ �' �

Food Walk

Auschwitz and Birkenau

Portion of People Watcher's Walk

Yesterday I was sitting in Hyde Park eating my chia pudding and observing the parents, kids, runners, and bikers around me. I saw one guy run past me who I saw and immediately created a story for. He was running in bright yellow shorts and a spandex top carrying his phone while listening to music and wearing a water backpack. It is when I see people with water jugs or water belts that I assume they are training for a race. I know that the London Marathon is in April (one day after I leave. Bummer!) so I am assuming he is training for that. How lucky he is that he has all of London’s beautiful parks to run through while training; miles upon miles of beautiful trails and scenery to observe while he is out for hours each weekend doing his long runs. The way this man was running and how in shape he was tells me this is not his first marathon. As I quickly watched him pass I became jealous of how in shape he was. I love running, but I have not gone very far distances these past couple months so I feel out of shape compared to what I know I can do. Seeing other people running in parks however makes me want to keep working to get back into marathon shape.

Katie Freeman

17.2.15

Walk Through Time

Walking to and from my nearest tube station can be either a very dull, boring walk, or a very interesting and thought-provoking walk depending on what time of day I take it. In the mornings on the way to work, it is usually pretty quiet right outside my house, but as I near the tube station it becomes busier. Taking the walk on the way home from work is also fairly busy but people are not in as much of a rush. This walk on a Sunday morning is completely different than the walk during the week. These sorts of differences really show how much more there is to a person than the quick glimpse you get of them as you walk by.

My morning commute has become very routine: I walk to Warwick Avenue, get on the Bakerloo line, transfer to the Circle line at Paddington and then get off on Gloucester road. Same old same old. However, I have noticed that in the mornings on my way to Warwick Avenue there is a lot of commotion going on. The bus stop right before the tube station is always overflowing with people waiting to get on the crowded busses to go to work. It is not uncommon to see someone running to the bus stop franticly waving the bus driver down shouting “wait, wait!” Usually the bus driver waits as the out of breath person makes it to the stop to get on the double decker. As I turn the corner to continue my journey, I usually bump into people who are speed walking in all directions. People do not typically stick to one side of the sidewalk to walk on so it is always difficult to know which direction people will be coming from. As I weave my way in between people, I make it to the stairs of Warwick Avenue to walk into the tube station.

Coming home from work tends to be a little bit different. As I get off the Bakerloo line I am usually in a rush to get home; after all I know I can change out of my work clothes into comfortable clothes and make dinner for myself. Who wouldn’t want to rush home to that? I slightly jog up the stairs into the strong blowing wind. It always looks so dreary and feels so windy walking up those stairs. I see the homeless person who has created a space on the ground out of newspapers to sit and beg for money. “Change, change” he whispers as I avoid eye contact and keep walking. I turn the corner and again see the hustle and bustle of the Londoners waiting for the busses to arrive. This time everyone looks tired and has a longing in their eyes to get home to their families. As I squeeze my way through the crowd I know I only have two blocks to go until I make it back to my flat.

Walking to the Warwick Avenue tube station is quite different on a Sunday morning than it is in the early morning and evenings of the busy weekdays. As I turn out of my flat, I instantly see people in both directions. A little boy in a chunky jacket is scootering on his green scooter as his parents push his little brother in the buggy behind him. There is nothing but joy in the little boy’s eyes. Oh the perks of being a child with not a care in the world. As I keep walking I see an old lady walking slowly in front of me. I move to the left so I can pass her. I keep walking toward the station and notice the bus stop. There are a few people waiting for the bus, but no one is in a hurry and everyone is standing there with somebody. The people are more awake than the people during the work days. As I turn the corner it is still a challenge to not run in to anyone. I swerve around a couple of people and finally make it to the stairs leading to the tube station. I leave the sunshine of this Sunday morning and walk down the stair to get on the Bakerloo line.

It is so interesting how the scenes can change in London. Sometimes people have a sad look in their eyes, or are frantically trying to get somewhere, and other times it is clear people are just enjoying the day and living their normal lives in the city of London.

#walkthroughtime