First post: A look at the St Gall Writing Retreat

Welcome to Marcus’ Blog 3.0.

The first was theflawedmind.com (2009-2012), the second was theinkshot.com (2012-2021) and now here we are at marcusbaumgart.com. It is what it says on the tin: Marcus Baumgart’s blog. After two thematically defined blogs it was time to both simplify and zoom in, and simultaneously zoom out and go wide. I’m planning on going both macro and micro in this blog, and a little bit meso too - we will be ranging widely and shifting scales rapidly. It seems that the only way to encompass the overall sweep of mismatched topics, methods, ideas and territories to be covered in this blog was to grant them the most obvious overarching banner: me. It’s all coming from me, and that’s about it for thematic unity. At least on the surface. Hence the new blog’s name and URL.

I apologise for the seemingly narcissistic focus: this is not intentional, it just seemed to be the most direct way to encapsulate the breadth of my often-disconnected interests and musings. A proper name is also ambiguous: its associations, and hence its meaning, can change over time. My name is highly specific to me, but it is also an empty box, a lack of signifiers: ultimately it will reflect the colours of whatever I choose to put within it.

As you may have learnt above, Marcus is a writer who designs buildings. This post relates to designing buildings, not writing. It is a proposed building, namely a small cabin in a Victorian forest, to be designed for Marcus himself to use and share with other writers and friends.

Earlier today I sketched some ideas for St Gall Writing Retreat (visit privatewriting.space for the project’s home) and sharing these is where I will begin my new blog’s journey. The principal purpose of this blog is to document my explorations and methods of uncertainty, and nothing is more uncertain than a proposed capital works project. Which is the technical term for the proposal to create a new building.

So many circumstances need to line up to make buildings happen, but in the beginning is the site and the sketch. Then comes site investigations, finance, planning, endless steps in a chain that really doesn't even end with construction. Notably, the first step is in hand: to obtain a site for the future cabin. I have acquired a humble acre in the Wombat State Forest in Blackwood, primed and ready to go. I have done all the preliminary investigations of the site, and had a survey completed, so I am good to move into the design process.

Below are little more than archi-doodles.

I have been working on this project for four years: building projects go slowly. I am still at the sketching stage, but have explored a circular round of options and I think I am ready to zero in soon. But there is no rush. Enjoy.