I decided…

it was time I stopped whingeing, got off my backside and did something.

So I took  one-and-a-lid of these [the box, not the cat] …

and three quarters of one of these…and made this.Not beautiful, but I have it on very good authority [the External Examiner] that ‘It doesn’t have to be beautiful’. [The clamps are, of course, temporary - thanks, A. for tipping me off about them all those years ago.]

Then I made two drawer mock ups, and two view finders the same size as the bottoms of the drawers. for selecting sections to put in them.

Sections of what, I hear you ask.

Search me. Not that I have no idea – I have too many ideas. But at least I’ve got the chest made. The drawers will follow – I was a bit gobsmacked when I worked out big a piece of cardboard I’ll need to make just one drawer – hoarding all those book mailers turned out to be a good thing.

Of course, we haven’t yet had tutorials on this piece, so next week tutorial hands may be thrown up in horror at the very idea and it will be time for Plan B [thinking up Plan C, in case you didn’t know].

I’ve even found time to Google some images for the final Drawing Studies tasks – just a couple more to do [Richard Long for landscape, LS Lowry for architecture], then write down something about them, add an evaluation and I can sleep peacefully in my bed again. [Not that I ever do.]

I have a feeling this burst of enthusiasm stems as much from the fact that I am beginning to get over the cold some kind person gave me for Christmas, as from sheer panic at all these deadlines.

Ta da!

Essay written and printeda

PowerPoint completed a

PowerPoint notes printeda

Handouts printed a

Visual tactile aids made a

Personal Journal completed and printeda

And in addition I've wrestled this semester’s drawings into my portfolio – well, most of them. Fighting A1 paper into an A1 portfolio on the only space big enough [the spare room bed] made my back ache.

Now I need a drink.

The tactile aids are an example of French Knitting, which MacMurray used on two of her early pieces, [here, and here] and a sample of balloons pulled through rug underlay, which I think is  how she constructed these dresses. Not strictly necessary but I made the balloon bit a while ago, so as I’m into recycling…

I did try doing the French Knitting with string, which seemed closer to the rope MacMurray used, but after I’d bent the knitting needle I was using to pull the string over the pegs, I reverted to wool.

Since then I’ve made the mistake of looking at the marking criteria for Drawing Studies – and my heart sank. I’ve got the drawings, I’ve collated lots of images of relevant art from various places – but now I need to write something about some of them, as well as the ever-present evaluation. I’m not worried about the writing, just the time – I’d hoped to get DS out of the way today and make a real start on the real 3D piece.

I was thinking of a chest of drawers full of ‘everyday treasures’ – maybe it will just be a drawer – possibly with dividers?

Hurrah!

Essay and PowerPoint presentation finished – apart from a final review and edit.

Unfortunately [there is always a downside] the essay is a tad too long. About 1000 words too long – which in an essay which was supposed to be no more than 2,500 words is, perhaps, more than a tad. My trusty editor has read it and suggested some cuts – otherwise it would have been even longer – but neither of us can see where else I could cut it without losing the thread of the argument.

I’m torn between handing it in and hoping they don’t notice <g> – or ‘fessing up and telling them to just read the first two thirds! Trouble is, the last bit is the bit which refers to my own practice, which is part of the brief. Sounds suspiciously like I haven’t really answered the question, doesn’t it?

The problem is that it turned into a fairly academic discussion of Susie MacMurray's work, which I than pulled together by linking her approach to my own.

Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it…

I suspect the PowerPoint will be too long as well, but as I have no experience of PowerPointing – indeed, spent a lot of time in my last years at work resisting the notion – I don’t really know. Anyone know if 2 minutes per slide is a reasonable time allocation? That I could cut if necessary.

Glad it’s all done, though – now on to finishing off the Drawing Studies portfolio and then I can get down to the 3D piece. Oh, and New Year…

Santa was very good to me today!

I hope you have all had an equally good time.

Happy Christmas!

Imagine the sound of a slowly deflating balloon…

That’s what I feel like. Not in a bad way – just gradually relaxing…

In addition to all the shopping, wrapping posting and cooking – on Wednesday Babybel took her retinue to meet a VIE

More important than Santa – although he was there too.

More important than the Fat Controller – although he’s a clue.

[We went a bit shy at this point.]

 

 

 

This is the VIE we went to see – and he gave us all a ride, as did his friend Duck – all very well organized by the Didcot Railway Centre.

A good time was had by all.

 

Then one girl and her dog came to spend the night with us while her mum and dad celebrated their anniversary.

 

 

 

 

Today Gran and Grangrad have been recovering. And Quality Control is getting over her sulk.

Actually I spent most of the afternoon working on my essay – the first draft is finished, so I’m going to sleep on it and have another look at it tomorrow – yes, I mean tomorrow, as we have the big family do at Babybel’s on Boxing  Day, and Wensleydale has volunteered to cook.

Mmm – cooking Christmas lunch or writing an essay?

Wonder if he’ll swap?

Playtime!

 

 

With rubber bands,

 

 

 

 

the bottom of mushroom boxes,

 

 

brown paper [can you read it?]

 

 

 

 

 bus tickets and the back of an envelope,

 

 

 

more brown paper,

 

and my favourite – 1/4 inch slices of a loo roll tube, stitched to paper.

You may have noticed these all lack one ingredient which perhaps should be part of work for a degree in stitched textiles. There is some stitch – but unless paper is a textile, there are no textiles.

Whoops.

Inspiration from here, here and here. 

Speaking of inspiration, after all my whingeing about Amazon’s non- express delivery – 3 days after ordering this from them [ordinary delivery], and after them telling me it probably wouldn’t arrive before Christmas because of the weather – the postie trudged up the drive with it this morning.

Guess what I'll be reading tonight.

Celebrations and samples.

Wensleydale’s birthday bash was very enjoyable – good food, though I sez it meself as shouldn’t, good company and good conversation.

And good drawing.

This is the only photo I took all day, so I have none of the birthday boy, or of the good time had in the garden by the more energetic guests, with one very old toboggan and a lot of snow.

I even forgot to photograph W’s two birthday cakes – one from me, one from Babybel [with a little bit of help from her mum]. Hers was yummy cherry and almond, this was mine, almost as yummy!

Today it snowed again, despite the forecast, so I ducked out of going to the gym again and tidied my work room [putting away the fabrics left over from the 3D samples]. Once I could see the floor I played around with some ideas for the real 3D piece.  

The words ‘everyday treasures’ keep going through my head, so I’m exploring ways of expressing that, using very ordinary materials to make little ‘treasures’ - which will go into a ‘treasure chest’, obviously.

I also keep thinking about amulets – too much reading Sheila Paine - so here we have a God’s Eye made with the backs of envelopes and string. [As you can see, I didn’t quite get round to vacuuming the floor…]

That led to a stitched version, top left here. The other pieces are experiments with painted brown paper, although I have changed my mind about using that. Of course, I could well change it back…

This is a work in progress – buttonholed rubber bands  -the tape measure is to give an idea of scale. 

No idea whether these ideas, specific or general, will work out, but it is enjoyable fiddling about – and after icing the Christmas cake tomorrow, I shall return to playing.