EDM #55 - Draw a Door Knob

Well, I tried and I tried and I tried - but I just can't draw a decent door knob to save my life. Good job my life doesn't depend on it!

Museum Crawl

Rick's had a couple of days holiday these last two days, so I've not had my usual days writing and drawing. However, we've had a couple of good days out. Yesterday we ventured to Oxford and found this and this. Two of the most interesting museums I have ever been in. We are going back some day when we have more time.

Today we had a long overdue shop in Banbury, then visited Banbury Museum. This was not on the same grand scale, but still interesting enough.

Inspired by EDM sketch crawlers, I did a few sketches. This also counts as 'do a drawing in public' - which I find a little inhibiting if I'm honest.

Sketching in the Kitchen

Some sketches from the kitchen from last night. Once I started, I couldn't stop. I added some colour to the cupboard today. I have to admit it is not exactly colour perfect, but I enjoy dabbling with watercolours. And I've worked out what went wrong with the scanner. I had set it on 50 dpi for something and it didn't change the setting back!

EDM Challenge #8 - A watch

This is definitely becoming addictive. I've drawn this on a paper bag stuck into my sketchbook, using carbon, sepia light and white sketch pencils. I think I lost some of the definition when I fixed it (too much hairspray!)

Lambs

Yesterday was a gorgeous day. It started frosty, but the sun came up over the hill and we had blue sky. I was out of the house, wellies on, by 10 am and had a beautiful walk. Lots of lamb-spotting. Here's some photos for you, Connie!

Mostly A215 news

I've had a reasonably productive couple of days. I worked my way through most of Chapter 4 yesterday, although I got stuck on the news item exercise (find a news item and then do some research to find 3 new facts.) I don't normally buy newspapers or read the news because most of it is so depressing that I'd end up in therapy if I did. Can anyone point me to a cute little news item that won't make me want to cut my throat?

I've started to do some freewriting for TMA01, and I've finally worked out how clusters are working for me. They don't seem to be useful to find associated words or ideas, but they do seem to trigger memories. And as I do more of them, I find that patterns seem to emerge. There seem to be memories that get repeated. Perhaps these are the things that I need to be writing about. One of them has emerged whilst freewriting on the topic of 'a hand'. It's a memory of my Great Aunt. I can see my final piece could be nothing at all to do with the triggering word.

More lambs today. I walked out to the back field, and there were loads of them, bleating loudly. They've all arrived at once it would appear. There were two tiny ones sleeping in the sun, with their mother standing protectively over them as I walked past. Others were much braver, and danced in front of me.

I needed to pay a personal carbon tax to offset the flight that we are taking to Spain to see Mum and Dad's place. There's a really useful website if you ever need to do this. They use the money to fund sustainable energy and reforestation projects that will offset carbon emissions.

EDM#13 - A phone

EDM#2 - A lamp

A Loved One's Slipper

I had a delivery from Amazon today of The Creative License and The New Diary (although I got a newer edition than this - I guess I got the last one in stock.) Much of this afternoon has been spent reading the former, and I've dutifully sketched a mug, chair, table and person.


I've joined the online Everyday Matters group set up by Danny Gregory. I popped in to say hello, and have been astonished at the supportive response. The group set weekly challenges, of which this week's is to draw 'A loved one'. I am somewhat struggling to do that, as my loved one is camping in the Caingorm right now. An earlier challenge was to draw 'a shoe'. So I've compromised, and drawn 'A loved one's slipper'. At least it gets me drawing!

Creative endevours

Not a bad day. I mailed a postcard that I had painted to a friend who has initiated a postcard exchange. She suggested it as a way to start her painting again. I've done some A215 writing, and posted a piece of freewriting for my tutorial group to laugh at (you can read it here). Beth might recognise the beginning! I've started something for the tutorial exercise. And I've done some more illustrated journalling. Here is yesterday's and today's. Neither are brilliant, but I'm enjoying drawing and painting them. The scanner did something wierd to the first one, but I quite like it. Serendipity, I think that's called.

Spring - but COLD

I had to de-ice the birdbath again this morning. Almost immediately afterwards (hopefully enough time for it to cool) the sparrows were gulping water greedily. Poor things were clearly parched.

I've just been out for a walk. I've seen:
a) sunshine
b) snowdrops
c) tiny weeny wobbly newborn lambs, their woolly coats still damp. Both mum and babies managed to stay on their feet long enough to feed the lambs, before they all collapsed exhaused onto the grass. I *love* lambs. It is the bestest bit about spring.
d) the birds were singing all their best spring songs
e) a lady was hanging her washing out on the line

It's SPRING! It is, it is!

Constance: I'll pop out later and take some photos for you.

Edit: Here you go! The farmer was just visiting them as I was taking these, and the lambs were bleating. I love the sound of lambs.

Published!

The book with my poem in arrived this morning. It is quite nicely presented, and there are even some decent poems in there. Although, there are also a few 'oh how I love the lambs so white, they spring about in glee, they bleat and spring with all their might, how happy they must be' type thing. I just made that up by the way ;)

Writing is still sludgy. I found myself writing about a teacher, a rat and a janitor. A children's book perhaps??

Another illustrated journal entry. I really didn't want to draw and didn't know what to draw, but I did it anyway. I'm glad I did, even if it's rubbish. I'm definitely going to get Danny's book.


I'm going to have to tidy up. We have guests this weekend, with two children. We plan to go to Warwick Castle tomorrow, then a walk and pub lunch on Sunday. Hopefully that will give me some interesting material to write about. So far, most of my observational writing has been about Warwick Parkway station, or the birdtable :)

Sludge

Still writing sludge at the moment, but I am writing. This is something.

Attempted papier mache this morning. I had a cone from the centre of 250g of cotton yarn, which I kept as I liked the shape. I covered this in cling film. I wanted to try using handmade paper, so I chose some sheets that I didn't care too much about. First, I tried pre-soaking them. Bad idea. They fell apart. I managed to get a layer onto the cone, then applied wallpaper paste. Too gloopy. Far too gloopy. Sludge, in fact. I tried putting dry pieces of paper over the top. Too dry. Glue oozing out like jelly. I moulded the soggy mess as best I could round the cone and I've left it to dry. I have no idea how it will turn out. I'm hoping it will shrink and tighten as it dries, and form a hard shell. We'll see.

I did another illustrated journal entry, using watercolour this time. I may scan it in later; I'm feeling lazy right now.

I looked through an old newspaper for some interesting news stories, and found one about the girl who stole from her employer to pay her boyfriend's gambling debts. The story in here that has energy for me is the way women will do such daft things for blokes. I had a misplaced relationship once. I might write about it one day, although I'm not sure I want to revist the experience.

It has been COLD today. I've not been out for my walk, and I feel sludgy as a result. Sludgy and sleepy. Time to curl up with my book of collage, assemblage and found object art that I found in the college library yesterday.

Edit: Here's the journal entry:-

Fragments of the City II

Just so you can see what I've been up to.