mouldy day

Some big wig came round yesterday, asked me how I was finding college, I said brightly "challenging" as i know bigwigs like to hear that kimd of thing. As she passed gracefully on her way extolling the virtues of the cold dreary ill resourced sculpture room to her visitor I was glad she didn't have a follow up question, as I might have added...........challenging to my patience as I have been waiting most of the day for our over worked technician to have the time to introduce me to the rubber melting machine.  Not a thing I wanted to approach without company.

After spending all day Friday, 7 solid hours of chipping plaster from the mould round the clay head, I was hoping to have a go at the easier melted rubber system.  It entails chopping up wodges of rubbery stuff, chucking into a heated metal thingy and waiting for the ooze to run out the bottom, don't get it on your fingers.  Very hot green and sticky.
Outside one of the 3rd years had constructed a small furnace from a large vegetable oil can, lined with concrete and powered by a hair dryer and tube which raised the temperature to the 600+degrees necessay to melt aluminium  [mostly what looked like televison aerials] to then pour into moulds to make ingots. 
All the male staff gathered at various times to give him advice and encouragement and extra bits of stuff to melt.  [Later he had a BBQ with much references to Queenies gastro enteritus.]
It did feel very art schooly.
Finally our techie got round to my moulding and performed the trick in a matter of minutes.  I was exhausted just from holding my tongue and not storming out while I was waiting.  Nothing is timetable/organised in this place but somehow in the end, if you persevere, things will get made.
The painting is a self portraitish started at w/e, too cold for a nude.  It got considerably worse as I fiddled so have to have another go today, would like to set fire to it but have an Assessment on Monday and must put something in.