We have a base in the drawing room and also a section of wall on which to stick up some of our work.  very embarrassing.  This is the result of a mono printng session and a life drawing morning. 

doodles

Re Fine Arts Degree

Well I've done my first week and rather strange it was too.  I seem to be getting on with the other 3 Oldies, and the young ones are like frisky puppies - friendly, but sort of in their own reality.

We did mono printing on Tuesday which was OK, and Life Drawing on Wednesday which was abysmal for the first go [my view was all fore shortened] and then OK  for the second, when I persuaded him to turn sideways a bit.

Most young ones drew him with a HUGE head for some reason, and one drew a dead baby hanging from the ceiling in front of him.  This was greeted with some interest by tutor, so now I know what is expected………

Have at least two projects to complete in next few weeks. 

Painting - A Sense of Place…….take a contemporary artist and paint something in their style, from a photo as a source.  Have you looked at contemporary artists lately, doodles!!

Printing - to reveal a hidden history, physical or metaphysical, a memory/artifact from family or whatever, we are going to an archaeological site on Tuesday to develop this. Joy.  I spent years married to an archaeologist, memories not to be unearthed.

There is an annoying feeling that there are no boundaries, any kind of image making will do, as long as it is "honest" apparently.

But then the tutor demonstrated the most academic skill in the life drawing I have ever seen, much measuring and single point perspective, without anyone, including me, understanding one iota of how she was achieving it.

It's as if they went to the proper Art school decades ago and learnt the skills, but aren't going to pass them on, in case we are inhibited .

cohort

This is some of my cohort, lined up in front of the Art dept. before we went for our trip.  Fortunately I was late and missed it.

visiting Nessie

I didn't think I would even get on the trip as we got wedged in the morning traffic down at Ipswich docks, I had to get out and run.  First mistake.

As luck would have it, I panted up just as my cohort was about to climb into the coach, so I dived into the front seat.  A routine move for those who know me as a travelling companion, I get travel sick.

The 2 tutors looked somewhat surprised to be ousted, but let me be.

Then it is a short ride to the Ness on the ferry boat.

Like much of Suffolk, it seems, lots of the paths were closed and diverted, so we walked MILES to get round to the evil pagodas, which were fenced off anyway!  The shingle is out of bounds as they try to grow stabilising cabbages on it, or something.

The Ness has a dark and troubled war time history, so is now dotted with crumbling concrete buildings which were used for radar, atomic and other secret experiments. It felt like I was walking thru the end of the world, wild, desolate but sunny!!

Being arty our tutors insisted we should go onto forbidden areas, and then be harassed off by the wardens, which added an element of tension as we crouched and tried to time the wardens sweeps round the area.

We were each given [well in our party, the other half of the cohort disappeared and wasn't found till we got back to the coach] ancient cameras, mine was a little plastic Brownie from the 60s I should think.  We each had to take a wibbly wobbly picture, and then sketch 5 times on different textures of paper, the same scene.

Challenging, I must take a little old ladies folding chair next time

A student again

My day [first of Induction Week into the Fine Arts Course] was very tiring for a poor old lady like me.  Much poorer now I have to pay the exorbitant fees, but if not now, when.

There are 20 in my "cohort," young things, barely fully formed, there are three older persons like me, but they are going full time. VERY expensive, unless this is their first degree.

I am just doing part time, as I want time to see my husband, puppy and friends.  Puppy has the squits so am not so keen on her at the mo [rice is the answer, we hope].

After this week of being talked at [repetitiously] and shown round the college [as if I am going to remember what is where] I start the arty farty bit, Monday and Tuesday all day [gulp] and Drawing on a Wednesday morning.

Painting, Sculpture, Printing and Photography.

On Thursday this week we are off on a coach daytrip [joy] to Orford Ness to take photos and sketch, ["water" colours?]

It is all very strange, and I have to concentrate and bear down so as not to run away.  It helps to write it all down, so I hope you find some of it of interest.

home

Now I have a son who is 40!  celebrated with candles in cup cakes, very successful, very American

 Callie is home, and grown [and wet she helped me water the house plants].

 We had a very happy time in Nevada.  However it was very hot between 80s and 90s every day, so I spent a lot of time sitting in the swing chair in the garden, in the shade, watching the Glorious Grandson cavort in the paddling pool.

away daze

Callie is at her Kennels, cats are asleep with servants arranged, bags are packed and we are off to the U.S. of A.  Back in two weeks

oh dear old ladies eh !?

BORJA.- A combination of three documents provided by the Centre de Estudios Borjanos on August 22, 2012 shows the original version of the painting Ecce Homo (L) by 19th-century painter Elias Garcia Martinez, the deteriorated version (C) and the restored version by an elderly woman in Spain. An elderly woman?s catastrophic attempt to ?restore? a century-old oil painting of Christ in a Spanish church has provoked popular uproar, and amusement. Titled ?Ecce Homo? (Behold the Man), the original was no masterpiece, painted in two hours in 1910 by a certain Elias Garcia Martinez directly on a column in the church at Borja, northeastern Spain. The well-intentioned but ham-fisted amateur artist, in her 80s, took it upon herself to fill in the patches and paint over the original work, which depicted Christ crowned with thorns, his sorrowful gaze lifted to heaven. AFP PHOTO/ CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS BORJANOS.

Westward Ho

Last week some stitchers and I went on a sketching trip and picnic to Flatford Mill [Constable country]In the end we went to the cafe for a sandwich and tiddled about in the sunshine.

Now down to business  -  we have booked the the kennels, and people to feed the cats; the  trains; the hotel; the plane; the hotel; the car; the plane back and the taxi home. 
Feel like I have done it all already but somehow I have to get up on my back legs and change continents to see the kids and g'kid.
Still nearly 2 weeks to go. 
Have to down [up?] load some audio books onto ipod in hopes that they will see me thru the nights when necessary. 
Have to organise some hand stitching to take with me, plus more stories for day time.  What makes me think g'son is going to give me time?
Daughter tells me that he was devoted to g'dad from other side of family, oh dear, bet they rolled around together and played SpiderMan. I will never measure up.
Callie is growing and prancing, almost potty trained except over night, kennels will no doubt return her to her primitive state of anywhere any time.
But it will be an adventure!

cat on holiday

Daughter sent me this picture taken when she was at Lake Taho this w/e.  Thought you might like it Gillian. 

lonely

 Have been doing some mono printing, very pleasing to be able to transfer my sketch to the fabric but now of course I am not sure what to do next.  Same as always I end up with a single female figure in a space.

august

Supposed to be sunny today but at the mo it is that milky silver sky and showers. Garden likes it tho.

Majyk Scraps

Went to the newly reburbished [Lottery money] Tide Mill at Woodbridge.

 Majyk Scraps had the honour of the first exhibition there, and showed a lot of small, intricate pieces responding to the local environment.

The Group is quite small www.majykscraps.co.uk.    All of these shown are by Allison Smith.  Her quilting skills have been expertly used to embellish the work in a simple effective way.

 It was Callie's first "day trip" as we ate a pub lunch in Sutton while she slept in her crate in the back of the car. We had first worn her out with a walk by the River Deben, lovely bright day, with a lively breeze.  We feel like proper dog owners now, or at least we will when she gets her toilet arrangements sorted out.  She runs round the house till she comes up against a hissing cat, and chases all over the garden off the lead, until she "finally" hears me calling.

ironic weather

Still very hot, typical, we got the doggy cage so we can go somewhere, walk her and then leave her safely in the car while we have lunch...............and it is far too hot to leave dogs in cars.. boo.
The mallow is out all along the sea wall, making a pretty pink path.  Bah Humbug
The families are crabbing down at Felixstowe

and Leiston Abbey has some very attractive walls, [see other blog for more] we would love to show her - spend longer out without wondering if she is eating the furniture/plants at home.

A small problem as opposed to getting bombed from helicopters in Syria but one that I hold tight in my shoulders and neck.  I am getting so impatient these days.  My perspective is narrowing to the next two seconds and why they aren't right!  I don't like myself.

 

callie grows taller

Callie update

She's had all her jabs; put on a kilo and when she wants something [food, toy] she will Sit! for a few secsonds.

 Mostly she pees and poos out doors but when she is greeting us she gets excited  and piddles in front of the door, so we have to make stepping stones of the newspapers, which she then endeavours to chew to confetti.  She loves to cavort thru the house with me chasing behind and finish off the cat food.  Gertie is not amused, but Daisy sits back and studies her with nervous attention. Today Gertie brought in a dead? mouse to show who's boss.

If the weather holds we hope to take her Walkies.  So far she has only been as far as the garden and church yard, can't take her too far as she gets tired and is too heavy to carry far.   As the exhibition at Snape closes tomorrow and I have no commitments in August except to my nearest and dearest I declare summer to have started.

- Self Portraits by Textile Art Group Suffolk artists on display at their Annual Exhibition "Echoes" The Pond Gallery, Snape Maltings. - Entertainment - iwitness24 Suffolk

- Self Portraits by Textile Art Group Suffolk artists on display at their Annual Exhibition "Echoes" The Pond Gallery, Snape Maltings. - Entertainment - iwitness24 Suffolk

If you click on this site [above] and see the pics and then vote for it, [check vote box] it pushes it up the list of viweings so we get more publicity.

Echoes at Snape Maltings

These trees evolved from some work we did with gesso and fabrics dragged thru it. The resulting ridges reminded me of trees, which i stitched until they revealed themselves. The result is good in that it takes me away from trying too hard with accuracy and not so good as the background wasn't stretched and is a bit uneven, not enhanced by the blue sky inexpertly added at the end.  On the whole tho it looks OK

Dancers

I have been exploring this theme in my Textile Art for some time, often using similar templates of  joyous women. 

My women are generously curved, proud of their centred gravity. They are sensuous, celebrating their sexuality and each other;  they refuse to be judged as sex objects. 

Waving not Drowning

This piece echoes Stevie Smith's poem. A dance of togetherness and the trust that when a woman is in distress [drowning in her sorrows], there will be friends to support and save her.

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Dance for your Life

Shows women, stitched into Mud Cloth, strips, hand woven and dyed in Mali, sub Saharan West Africa. 

Mali is one of the poorest countries in Africa and is in such a dangerous state of unrest that our government advises against all travel to the country at the moment.  Women and children always suffer in times of war, which is why my women are dancing for their lives, in their imagination.

But the echoes of hope are fading

sufficiency

Went to see a local exhibition of City and guild machine embroidery students. This piece was probably Best in Show. Big and bold and well executed.  There were some nice fabric sketch and sample books too.  Came away without buying anything, so I must conclude I have everything I need!

barging by

 We've lived here a long time without going to see the annual Barge Race. 
Apparently boats need the tide and so it always seemed to start at the crack.  Yesterday it was at 10.30 so we could potter down and gaze fascinated at about 20 barges whittering about in the wind.  Tacking I believe you call it, I only have dim memories of Swallows and Amazons to go by.  Ransome lived in the village when he was writing the first one [and not being a spy or whatever].  Have no idea if anyone won.

 We stood for about an hour in the sun and the wind, except when I slumped to the grass demanding a shooting stick, seriously, I can't do this standing thing for long these days.  Father's discs were dicky, so I reckon mine are too.  Had to have a nap when we got in, shaming.

 Calpurnia remained in quarantine in the conservatory, unashamedly sleeping off her breakfast. We feed her 4 times a day, very simples tho, just dried food and warm water.  She is getting longer! Today her whole face appears above the barricade.  Her teeth are like needles and like any baby everything is explored by mouth, including fingers.