View Full Version : Finally getting through it? *trigger*
Pages :
1
[
2]
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Wow, G sounds fabulous ;( It makes you wonder why she stopped teaching then.....
I'm sure you'll find a little extra time in there Pen.
G sounds like she should be studying somewhere else. Say, the moon.
Oh G just did the basic course then left. She just comes in to see the ceramics tutor which (swear)(swear)(swear)(swear)es me off as it takes him away from the real students.
Couldn't hack it past the basics? (giggle). You just continue being wonderful you, ignore her, and be the artist you are
Awww poor her not being able to progress! Go you!
Well her key reason for not progessing as that she has already got a degree so could not afford the fees for another one. Anyway I am glad that she is not around everyday.
Great excitement here at the moment. The kiln has arrived and is being wired in as I type (hedgehog). I am glad to say that it is bigger than I visioned but still have not got a feel for the inside size and what I can fit. So glad I decided to go for the biggest kiln that he had. He's a nice guy but shy, does not look at you while talking, but he did say that ceramics courses where were the money was rather than trying to sell completed work. Too much competition from commercial companies and places like the Range, Dunelm and cheap imports.
Yay!! That's fantastic news (party)
Brilliant news hun about the kiln
Well its done. The guy has programmed it for me with three programmes that he and his wife uses which will cover most firings and showed me how to run it. Its so exciting... Now I will have to have a go at making something here to give it a test run. As you are dealing with very high temperatures and different clays some unknowns slip in so I will have to experiment and adjust a little to get the kiln to work right with what I do.
On another note I am desperate to get as many people in the UK or worldwide to complete a survey for me about holiday activities. Would it be OK for me to add the link on here or on the DWD Facebook page?
The kiln looks fab, hunni :)
On another note I am desperate to get as many people in the UK or worldwide to complete a survey for me about holiday activities. Would it be OK for me to add the link on here or on the DWD Facebook page? I would be really happy for you to post on the Sunday Shout Out thread on the FB page (or if you like I'll post it for you on the intro to the Sunday Shout Out thread?)
Could you post it for me, that way it will get better coverage. :)
I will indeed. If you send me a pm with exactly what you want posting then I can just copy and paste it and schedule it ;) Thank you!
Struggling today. Ment to be doing college.work but just cant get into it. The sun is shining and I want to play in the garden...
Go and take a break for an hour or so hun then see if you can get back to the college work, dont put to much pressure on yourself about it or it will end up seeming like to much of a chore
I'm with Angie - take a break and then go back to it with fresh eyes ;)
Play in the garden for an hour. You might find it gives you some inspiration.
I have to confess I abandoned work for the afternoon. I took Dad out and bought a ridiculous amount of stuff at homebase to make my own water feature and to make drink bottle hedgehogs. Then came home, retired to the Studio, turned the heater on got snug and cosy and covered in glue making a hedgehog...
I will post a picture tomorrow when I put his feet on and plant his "spines"
Failed to finish the hedgehog...got too involved with the garden and an expensive trip to the garden centre. Really proud of myself tonight for the first time in my life I drilled a hole in a wall, fitted a rawl plug, put in a screw and hung a clock. May not seem a big achievement but I have always relied on the men in my life to wield the drill!!
Tbh I'm scared of drills - I'm way too clumsy. So that sounds like a really big achievement to me!
I'm mightily impressed too!
Feeling like I may be able to progress to picture hanging next, and.... wait for it.... I might even try putting up a shelf for my daughter this week! (rock)
I have to confess that I have been helped in this by Hubby buying a battery powered drill which is lighter and less noisy than a normal drill and I dont feel so intimidated by it!
He may have supplied the tool, but you did the work!
I will so glad when this course is over! Managed to get all 8 pieces of the base together, but still need to finish the sculpting on them. Have 1 fish left to carve (I recon that I carved about 100) so may yet get this artwork done. Feeling a bit behind on the written work. Not helped by L telling me that she spent all the Easter holidays working on her literature review and has written about 7000 words. If I have written 1000 at the moment I would be surprised. L brought back my sculpture from the exhibition, broken and with a piece missing. Bit annoyed as she did not even apolgise.
I would have been really hurt by that!
(panda)
Its not the end of the world it split apart where the two halves had been glued together and the piece missing is a piece of plaster I shaped to fill in a gap, but I am a bit peeved that she just put the two pieces on my desk and said that a piece was missing and nothing more.
Also a bit down as the window company were supposed to coming today to install the patio doors and window to the Studio and finish the building work, but they rang this morning to say the doors had not arrived and postponed till next week. :s
Doesn't really matter how it had been broken, but just to leave it with a note is rude...
I know it's an arse about the window company, but best that it's postponed not cancelled...
Hi Pen it took me 5 years as well to finally reach pure light.
I did all of the hard bits on my own as couldn't find anyone who truly understood.
In the end I decided I'd rather be happy and who I was than unhappy and who the world wanted me to be.
Big congrats hug on following your dream and making it happen as the Americans would say "You go girl" (panda)
Had a tutorial today ARRRRGGGGGGG. I wish these tutors of ours would talk to each other! This was our year tutor and he wanted to know what we were all doing for the end of year exhibition. When I had input before easter from the course leader he said I needed to do some pieces that illustrated all the experimentation I had been doing through the year. The tutor today "I am not sure that its a good idea to do multiple experiment pieces, after all this is an art exhibition." Basically I will stick to my plan though, I dont think it will do any harm to put to use and show what I have learnt!
My ceramics tutor told me that he had kittens last week when he came in to find I was not beavering away (I was in all but one day of the holidays so we must have passed like ships in the night!) and was worried that I had become ill again with the stress. He said he was quite relieved to see the progress that I had actually made in the last 24 hours.
I have uploaded some pictures to my Carantoc facebook site but if you dont use FB there are some here if you want to see them
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/penny_price1/embed/slideshow/End%20of%20Course%20Project"></iframe>
I think your sculpture is amazing! You are so talented!
(blush) The general opinion is that it is the best thing I have ever done. I was going to glaze it but my ceramics tutor today said he was worried that if I did I would lose the finer details so I may just colour it with metal oxides which are a bit like thin water paint to put on so wont affect the carving. Then just add a little clear glaze in key parts to give the impression of water hanging on in places.
I may have a problem getting my head through the college doors. My ceramic tutor has said that this piece is so good he would not be surprised if i was offered a job or comission
That is awesome! So pleased for you!
L is really getting on my nerves today, it always has to be about her. One of our collegues came in to see us and told us that his cat had died. Straightaway she had to tell him about her cat.
When one of the tutors came to ask how our written work was going she monopolisef the conversation about how she wad almost finished and how she had done it all, i did not get a word in before he retreated.
Is there any way that you can work away from L?
I do get Mondays and Fridays free from her, but apart from working at home there is no where I could go as there is no room at college. It is a huge problem with space in fact, most students have a small table of about 3ft x 2ft or space to put up an easel and a very small table to put paint/pallet on. Me and L have a bench each that is about 5ft x 3ft with storage underneath and an extra bench that we can use if we need to expand (completely monopolised by me at the moment!!) so we are the envy of most of our course mates.. I may do a bit more work at home from next week as I start making the bowls that will accompany my final piece and so wont need to be in college. I will be able to work in my own studio instead :P However that will of course mean I see even less of our tutors.
Yes, but in you own studio!! That's epically awesome!
I know, however I am also aware that in a month I will no longer be a BA student and all on my own. Plenty of time to beaver away on my own without company. My ceramics tutor was chatting today and he warned me of the perils of Radio 4. Apparently it is quite easy to become a hermit working away on a production line of pieces with only Radio 4 for company. After a while you start looking forward to the highlights of your day.... Woman's Hour and the afternoon play....
Can hardly wait till Monday though when all the building work will be finished and I will get natural light downstairs.
It's Bargain Hunt for me ...... But you'll have all your students to keep you company :)
I know what he means about the Radio 4 thing - but if you're going to be running courses too then I'm sure that it wont be like that for you!
Yes and he was working out in the country somewhere, living in a mobile home and working in a barn. I have plans that involve quite a bit of interaction, plus I see people when I am out with Ember and I plan to spend a little bit of time every week working in the Costa that is about 15 minutes walk away!
My delightful dog decided that as both the kids were up at 5 this morning that I too needed to join them. She stuck a cold nose in my ear, then pushed her nose under my head and tried to push me off the pillow and when that did not work she pawed the duvet off me.... I gave in, went and made a cup tea and went back to bed 30 minutes later. Then just as I was drifting off again I was woken to her retching next me... I shooed her into the landing where she promptly threw up something small and green and fairly hard. No idea what it was. But of course onto my nice freshly shampooed carpet.... Its a good job I love her!
Typical dog hun, We have to have a dog crate for our Storm because she chews and being a pup its like having a baby anuthing and everything goes in the mouth, she nearly electrocuted herself chewing a wire the other week so we have no choice and its really helpful when we need to go out we know both she and the house is safe.
When i had her the rescue centre made me sign to say i would not crate her so its not an option. I would not do that to her anyway now
I can understand that as you have had her some time anyways.
The one part of the house the dogs aren't allowed in is upstairs - we have a stair gate. But that's mainly because 2 greyhounds would take up our whole bed lol
Storm being Storm is crated over night though we take her out half way through the night as she wakes us upto go out, we dont go to bed till late anyways so she isnt in there hours, but her crate is in our bedroom at night so she isnt on her own. Generally there is always someone home all day so she rarely goes in the crate unless we have to leave the room for more than thirty seconds, and as we smoke outside she is out alot so toilet training has been easy. Its the chewing and nipping stage we are at right now so keeping her safe from eating something she shouldn't and possibly making her ill and also the house safe we do crate her, she feels safe in there, has her bed and toys and gets fed treats in there.
I had a collie pup years ago and we HAD to crate her or we would not have had a house left. She was the worst chewer I have ever had. Even the radiator pipes! She was quite happy in her crate, as you say it becomes their den. We had to let her go when she was about 5 months though as we just could not give her enough exercise to keep her mind and body occupied as she was from working stock. She went to a shepherd to help look after 200 sheep on a country estate so she had a better life than we could have given her!
Because we could not crate Ember she discovered how to get on the bed after one night and I confess I gave up the fight very quickly. As hubby is away all the time having her cuddled up against me is a great comfort.
S deleted
17-04-15, 04:02 PM
I've never heard of a rescue not allowing you to crate a dog before. Outside kennels yes but never a crate indoors. In fact the last rescue dog I had was crate trained before I got her so it was never a problem. I didn't crate Max at first but as he got bigger he got naughtier. He's a chewer but actually getting a lot better now and he's still only 6 months old, but he is a thief and his favourite items are my purse and phone, shoes, toilet rools and wipes and dishcloths
Collies can be a nightmare, we had a border collie crossed with a red setter, both working breeds a 4 hour walk was nothing new, ie the dog running constantly for 4 hours if allowed to and that didnt wear her out, we tended to hide food in different places for her, make her earn her treats by having to get them out of something such as a lidded empty butter tub etc.
Yes I would never have a pure bred collie again. Ember is half collie half terrier we think and she needs a lot of exercise but she is great as if she does not get it she is also quite happy.
The sanctuary is Holly Hedge here is their information about why they don't like you to crate your dog
http://www.hollyhedge.org.uk/reubens-pet-care-centre/reasons-not-to-crate/default.aspx
magie06
17-04-15, 07:34 PM
That is one of the reasons I don't have a dog. I don't think I'd have the patience to train them. Its a lot of work to stop them from chewing and weeing and all that. If I could get an older dog I'd be happy.
I promesed you a picture of my bottle hedgehog so here it is.
http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/penny_price1/DSCN0627_zpsl4jjfrwy.jpg
Not very good but I am working on improving it. ^)
I think it is really good hun.
Maggie there are so many dogs that are in rescue centres am sure you could find one to suit you if you ever wanted to
All my dogs up to Ember have been adult rescues. They have all been housetrained when we got them and usually know some basic commands as well.
As for the hedgehog I think once the chives fill out a bit he will look a bit more hedgehoggy!
That is one of the reasons I don't have a dog. I don't think I'd have the patience to train them. Its a lot of work to stop them from chewing and weeing and all that. If I could get an older dog I'd be happy.
I have retired greyhounds and they are a joy. Gentle, lazy, need little training and 2 x20 minute walks a day is more than enough! They're not the most intelligent dogs but they repay you adopting them with oodles of love and devotion
I would love to have one but we were turned down by the greyhound trust as we have cats. They said that the urge to chase could be a problem.
It can be, what we do is have a babygate to the room where the cats food and litter trays are, so they can get some peace from the pup as and when needed, I have three cats and they are all house cats so a bit of their own space is needed.
I would love to have one but we were turned down by the greyhound trust as we have cats. They said that the urge to chase could be a problem.
I have a cat. Yes, a lot of greyhounds can't live with cats, but that doesn't apply to all. Many can be, carefully at first, homed successfully with cats. We even used to have a rabbit and they used to be in the garden together.
I think Hubby and Ember would both pack their bags and leave if I added another dog to the household! However maybe one day in the future.
OMG Nearly wet myself laughing whilst out with Ember!!
To understand my mirth you have to know a couple of things.
1. Ember HATES water. To the point that it has been known that I have had to carry her over a big puddle as she steadfastly refused to budge rather than walk through it and if it is raining she will not go out, even with a waterproof coat on.
2. I live on the edge of the Somerset levels which are prone to flooding, and, as the council has allowed building on them here, the area is criss crossed with drainage ditches called rynes (pronouced reens). Most of these ditches have very steep sides down to the water and are very deep and at the moment they are developing a wonderful bloom of duckweed across the surface.
3. Goldfish love duckweed and so my daughter asked me if in my walks I could get some for her prize fishes dinner.
So I have been looking out for somewhere I could get to the water without falling in and this morning found a spot where the sides were not so steep and went down to see if I could get close enough to the water to get some weed.
Whilst I was considering this Ember goes right down to the waters edge. Now it had not occurred to me that she would not realise that the lovely flat expanse of green in front of her covered water. What happened next happened really quickly before I had time to even think yet alone intervene before you think I was cruel!.
She tried to run across the water. As her feet hit the water she freaked and jumped, thinking I suspect that the area in front of her was solid ground. It was not, it was several feet of water covered in duckweed. She went right under, then discovered she could swim. She swam back to the bank and got out, soaking wet and disgusted. I creased up which just made her even more disgusted!! Unfortunately she was not covered in weed so I could not get any for my daughter...
Thankfully being sunny here she was pretty dry when she got home and the water was not as stagnant as it sometimes is in these ditches so she does not stink. I think the ultimate horror for her would be if I had to bath her now!!
Oh heck that did make me laugh, poor Ember but it might teach her that water isnt all bad. My old do from when I was a teen hated being bathed or showered, but she loved being out in the rain and swimming in the local lake and getting full of mud, even though that would result in a bath
Its scary here this morning. The window men are here ripping the old garage door of to replace with patio doors.
I hope i am doing the right thing! But even more scary is that when this is done there is very little to stop me starting my courses..
Scary, but exciting scary I hope!
Had a bit of a problem. Surveyor had miss measured the gap and the door would not fit... One hire of a disc cutter later and the hole is bigger... and EVERYTHING including the almost new double mattress in the garage is covered in concrete dust. I can hose my plants down but the mattress is a bit of a problem...
Its finished. No more building work. Just need to break my back painting it!!
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/penny_price1/embed/slideshow/Work%20on%20the%20new%20studio"></iframe>
Sorry that link did not work try this
http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/penny_price1/slideshow/Work%20on%20the%20new%20studio
That looks really good and is that Ember as she looks lovely x
Yes thats Ember.Shes a sweetheart but then i am biased!
S deleted
20-04-15, 06:19 PM
Thats the kinda garage I'd conversion I'd love
She is lovely hun is she a rottweiller x german shepherd ? or rottweiller x collie sort of looks that way but could be wrong
We were told by the home that they thought she was collie x Rottie but she is not very big, only stands about 22 inches at the shoulder and very petite so we think that she is a collie x Manchester Terrier. A man terrier looks very much like her only smaller. I suspect that she is a first generation cross whatever she is as her siblings were all very similar.
Lots of people think she is a puppy german shepherd and are quite surprised when we say she is two years old.
Yeah Manchester Terriers have the black and tan markings, but then our rottie x staffy was only staffy size with black and tan colouring, 22 inches could be rottie x collie just that she is collie sized, but rottie colours or manchester terrier, but its besides anything you love her regardless and she is a lovely looking dog
My son said "why dont you get her DNA tested?" but I dont really care what she is, I love her. When she lies on the back on the sofa and rests her head on my shoulder with her face pressed against my cheek then it's bliss.
The studio looks great and I love how Ember manages to get in on the action.
She does look like a little german shepherd!
Thats what counts hun your love for each other
I just have to laugh at Ember and our cat Hazel. When Ember came into our lives Hazel and especially the other cat we had then, Smokie, taught Ember in no uncertain terms that they were the boss and no to mess with them. Last night when I went up to bed Ember did not follow me straight away. I was tucked up just drifting off when I heard a whimpering from downstairs followed by little barks of distress. Eventually after about a minute I went downstairs to find Hazel lying oblivious in the hall whilst Ember stood trapped the wrong side of the cat. There was room for her to walk round but she was too scared to get any closer, only when I was there to protect her would she walk round, even then Hazel did not twitch. (rofl)
On the other paw though I think Ember gets concerned about Hazel. Hazel has a sort of cat equivalent of asthma. She has had it all her life and the vet cannot find anything wrong, but occasionally Hazel has coughing/wheezing fits. When these happen Ember breaks off from what ever she is doing (even eating her breakfast) and rushes to the cat. She then stands and watches her with a look of great concern and when she has stopped she gently sniffs her and Hazel will sniff back. Its the only time she gets that close to the cat. When she was younger Ember would get so worried that she would rush to a human and then back to the cat as if to say "DO SOMETHING!!"
Oh bless her hun she sounds a lovely dog aswell as being fun
Taking her for a walk is absolute torture at the moment! All the buds bursting, little leaves popping out, blossom everywhere, the sun shining and I have NO TIME to do any sketching!
We can finally take Storm for a walk on Thursday after her last injection last week we cant wait and it will do her so much good,
Trying to do my literature review this afternoon. L has done 7000 words. After 3 hours I have managed 712 :( I am currently ploughing through a fascinating 47 page report called The value of Arts and Culture to People and Society – an evidence review.
Sod it. I'm going to take Ember for a walk...
That sounds "fun"... I remember writing essays on Education Policy - dull as dishwater!
Having waded through it I realised that everything I actually needed was in the two page executive summary at the beginning (think).... Managed to get over a 1000 words so making some progress. Still got about another 9 articles to go but I think I am getting too tired now.
We are expected to write about 10,000 words in our written elements. So far I have managed about 6500 in total. I suspect that I wont hit the 10,000 mark but I have to admit that I am getting to the point that I just want it finished and as long as I get a pass I will be happy.
That annoys me when they say it must be xxxxx number of words. If you've written all there is on the subject, that should be enough - otherwise it's just waffle
Well to be fair they have not set a word limit just a sort of expectation that we will produce around that number. We wont get marked down for having more or less if it covers the topics in an analytical manner.
If you think you are done, then assume its finished.
But make sure you take time away from it, in my experience its when I am doing things like showering or driving that I have my best work ideas, not when I am sat at my desk.
Absolutely agree to take a break and then go back to it hun..
Nerve racking day. Three parts of the base have been put in the kiln. All got there intact so fingers crossed for a good firing!
Hope they come out in perfect condition for you!
Hope it works out good for you hun x
there are a lot of people with their fingers crossed. We had to clear a path to the kiln for each piece and the ceramics tutor loaded them personally, he did not trust the technician. I was impressed that he got the three in without breaking any bits off. He is going to test a special glaze that he has made at home for his own use for me to use on the base. He showed me a test tile and I am quite excited that it may give exactly the effect I want.
Its funny but having been largely ignored by the tutors all year (apart from the ceramics tutor) I suddenly seem to be having a stream of them coming in with excuses to talk to me. Ian came in just to see how it was going. M came to tell me he would have a look through my business plan this week and P came to ask what it was he was supposed to be asking Ian. I also seem to be getting a number of students coming to have a look. I have not been this popular for years! One of the students, who also does ceramics, commented that she was getting more nervous about my work getting finished than her own!
Sounds like a really positive time hun x
Sounds like they've realised how good you are :)
That's so lovely! Shows how good you are and how popular you are! Well done!
I was a little put out by our technician though. She said to me this morning "you are really lucky that the sculpture has held together without any faults or cracks developing" I must admit I thought "Hey luck does not come into it really. This is a result of 5 years of learning about how to use the materials, how clay dries and so planning the structural elements to hold it together and carefully joining, carving and building" Luck implies that I did not have to do much!
Oh from my very small experience it's an awful lot more than luck!
What a day.... Just discovered that I have only done 20% of one written module, 30% of another and I thought I was on top of the creative module and discovered that I probably have only done about 50% of that....
I thought that I had almost finished everything apart from the creative module so it was a bit of a blow to find out today that there is a load more work they want us to do!! Thankfully we have been given an extra 2 weeks to do it all...:s
Oh my goodness Pen! I think you need to write yourself a plan of action, what you're going to do each day to get it all done, otherwise (if you're anything like me) you'll get yourself all stressed out trying to do everything at once!
You can do it Pen :)
Had a few emails from my college support bod. and we will come up with a plan next Tuesday when she comes.
So glad you're getting the support, hun
That's great that you have that support.
Just had a meeting with my college mentor who has broken the news to me that I am at the end of my support and despite her fighting hard for the last 10 days the Student Finance refuse to budge and allocate more hours. I have one more hour and then thats it...
Absolutely gutted. The written work that I still have to do accounts for 55% of the marks plus of course I still have to finish the artwork which accounts for another 33.3% So I am now into the toughest part of the course with only one hour of support left....
She has asked her company if they think that there is anything I can do to try and get more help, but of course even if I can appeal it will take time which I don't have.
She said that they have said that I have had enough time and that I now should have learnt enough to be able to cope without her. She is not happy as she says that the support she gives me is not tutorial its emotional. She has said that if she can find a way without jepordising her employment she will come and support me unpaid till the end of the year but I am not hopeful.
That's really kind of her. What about things like you applying for other funding to cover her coming?
S deleted
28-04-15, 04:27 PM
She sounds like a fab person offering her time in that way but if she says her support isn't tutorial does that not tell you something? Clearly you CAN do it on your own. A bit like learning to ride a bike, the fear of being let loose to do it on your own but by the time you realise you are on your own you've already travelled have way down the street alone.
Just a thought
Oh we both know i can do the work. What she does is help stop me getting so anxious that i cant do anything. She helps reasure me, keeps my perspective and stops me from working so much i make myself ill.
I dont think other funding options will help much as there is so little time left.
That's so kind of her to offer to come over unpaid.
But Pen you have come so far. You don't have the huge crashing lows that you used to, you don't drive off intending never to come back....
I think you have a good chance of being able to do this by yourself. Look at what you have achieved with getting your garage converted and your studio ready! That's stressful stuff and you did it without hardly a tear or anxious moment.
Have faith in yourself... and feel free to come here and rant when you need to let off steam or need another perspective on things (bear)
You have us. If the anxiety is rising, talk to us til you get through it. And you are so much stronger than you realise
Thank you everyone. I am a bit happier tonight as i have decided that i may have done more than i realised and i have ordered some of my marketing materials that i need both for the course as well as my business. So for one of the modules i am quite far along. I also made some more pieces for the end show which will be the first things i will fire in the kiln this weekend!
Ok so it seems that I am not...
Had a tutorial today that left us all rethinking what we are doing. My head is spinning and I just cant get myself into gear to tackle any written work. The tutorial took all morning which was a bit annoying and so I was working on my sculpture till 5:45. Came home too tired to do the lit review which I was supposed to be working on tonight. I am desperate to finish the painting of the sculpture so it can go in the kiln tomorrow night but still have quite a bit to go. Unfortunately we have another tutorial tomorrow afternoon so I will only have the morning to finish it. So off to bed now and try and get into college early tomorrow.
Perhaps write a list of what you need to do and prioritise the tasks based on what needs doing, i.e. get the painting done so it can go in the kiln, and then concentrate on written work while your piece is being fired.
It sounds so straightforward but its easy to forget the basics when you have too much to do.
Not long now and this will all be over!!!
Had a surprise last night. Just as I was getting a drink ready for bed Ember went out. After a few seconds she started barking. It was not her normal bark (she has quite a vocabulary) so I wen to investigate and found her almost nose to prickle with a hedgehog.
Now the odd thing is that my garden is bounded by a stout wooden fence down one side (definatly no gaps in it), a 8ft high brick wall down the other and across the back and my house and a 6ft high, down to the ground solid wooden gate making up the forth side. So the appearance of a hedgehog has answered a question. I have suspected (but not been able to prove) that the wall at the back which runs up behind the studio is not attached to the wall at the side right in the far corner. I cant check this as the studio is only 9inches from the wall but it explains where the cat goes.
I am also very pleased to see a hedgehog. Firstly he can help me with the slugs but secondly as they are becoming rarer it is great to know that we have a local population.
The black dog is back and im not talking about Ember.
Really struggling today. Got the dead feeling in the pit of my stomach. Dont want to carry on.
Hunni, you've been so positive up til now, I'm sure it's just a blip. Have you walked Ember? Maybe the fresh air will help. Try not to worry about college, you're doing brilliantly and it's going to pay off
Stuck in a lecture about existance
Then I'm not surprised you're struggling today. Big hugs hunni
Huge hugs hunni, once home can you have a bit of relax time and then maybe take Ember for a walk.
Got home knackered. If i shut my eyes i see fish at the moment. I missed this weeks firing so i have to get it done tomorrow ready to go in first thing Tuesday.
A little upset with my local free mag. They have taken a comment i put on streetlife and published it with my name and part of my address. Anyone who even knows me vaugly will know that its me
I'd complain to them about that! I would be really upset if they had published those kind of details of mine..
Well there is nothing I can do about it the deed is done now! But I do feel a bit exposed about it.
I still think you should complain!
I would still complain hunni
I cant face doing that. I have far too many other things to do at the moment so I will have to let it go. Damage has been done now.
On another note something to possibly make you smile. The head of our course is passionate about my fish, he has mentioned it to a number of students about how good it is.... This evening I was working late on it. I knew that L had gone home, that the technician had finished and there was no chance of the ceramics tutor coming in so I felt quite safe when my intestines decided that they needed to vent. I let off a huge fart. It smelt like a gas leak it was so bad. Five minutes later, when the smell was still detectable (although thankfully not eye watering) in walks the course head to see how the sculpture is progressing. He did not say anything about the smell but I was mortified....
Well the painting of the sculpture is done. I had thought that I would get finished by lunch time but when the caretaker came round to give me 15 minutes warning that he was locking up at 4:45 I was still going. Unfortunately he made me rush and I knocked a piece off. The sculpture is so dry now that reaffixing pieces is a painstaking process, so I botched something together in a hurry but I may have to redo it on Tuesday. The kiln I had stuff in at college did not fire properly this week. We don't know why exactly but it does mean that I may not be able to get my piece in on Tuesday as planned as the kiln is currently full of half fired pieces.
I brought home a mold I made so I can start on the second part of the piece for the exhibition, a range of bowls to illustrate the experiments I have done through the year, so I have to make bowls all weekend. I will probably fire them here for at least the first stage, especially as we are having issues at college.
He you, you've got your own studio and kiln to do your work in. How good is that?!
Really struggling to sleep last night so I took a double dose of Lozapam at midnight.... That worked... Woke up at 11:30. But still totally phased out today, so much to do and so little time. I just want to go back to bed but I have plants to plant, tables to cover and clay to make. (snooze)
Hope you have a good day lovely..
Not too bad a day but I just cant sleep again tonight.
Hubby finally sorted out my sons bedroom and chopped a foot off his desk so that he can get a bed in and then went and bought him a mattress so after 3 months he can finally sleep in a bed again!
I did a bit of gardening but it was showery here so I spent most of the afternoon tiding up the studio. I got three tables covered so I have a bit of a working area now and made the first of the series of bowls.
Hubby has stayed the night which cramped my style a bit tonight. I like to watch criminal minds on a Sunday night but he hates stuff like that so I made out that I had a lot to do in the studio and stayed out there to watch it.
It was nice of him to stay over! I know it's something that you'd like...
I had not realised that he is always watching to see if I am slipping back into depression. I am having trouble sleeping at the moment. I was up at midnight and did not go back to bed till 3 this morning. At about 2 he came down to see if I was ok as he is worried that I might be going backwards.
That's so lovely of him! Do you know why you are having trouble sleeping?
No not really.I am tired when I go to bed but then I just toss and turn and cant get off to sleep. Last night I spent 3 hours doing college work in the night. The only thing that helps is if I take a lorazapam, but I avoid taking these too much as they are addictive, a pack of 14 usually lasts me about 6-8 weeks.
It must be catching as I'm the same. I've started writing a diary again (haven't done it in years) in the hope that it'll help to get all the thoughts out of my head...
I keep meaning to put a sketch book by the bed so i can note down ideas but i keep forgetting.
Anyway fish is in the kiln... lost a couple of tails on the trip but hopefully the rest will be fine.
magie06
05-05-15, 02:34 PM
Praying that everything will come out fine.
sedgejane
05-05-15, 04:30 PM
Hi there I'm new here and wanted to thank you as your story gives me hope, I'm coming out of a severe relapse and i needed positivity
Hope that it comes out undamaged...
Arggg.. getting frustrated with the amount of time i have to hang around at college doing nothing. Had a short tutorial will the ceramics tutor demonstrated the test tiles we will use and now waiting for him to say when he will be in on Friday. (He has to find out what time he is taking his son to piano lessons). i could be at home doing something!1
magie06
06-05-15, 01:07 PM
Hanging around can be so wasteful. Like you said, you could be at home doing something. Can you leave your phone number and then head home?
I ended up spending the afternoon helping one of the other mature students to input her data from her survey, format it and create graphs for her in Excel. Took me nearly 3 hours but she was so struggling that I could not abandon her. I am getting a reputation for being the IT guru. Whilst we were working one of the tutors came over and teased us about sitting doing "nothing" then told my friend that if she needed IT help that she could not do better than me. I came in this morning to find a Topic, a Kit Kat and a Flake on my desk as payment for helping someone else get Word out of protected mode so they could edit their essay. I will be getting quite a chocolate stash at this rate....
One of the other mature students said that I should apply to the college to provide help to students that are not so IT savvy get essays etc done after I pointed out that it was possible to setup Word to automatically create tables of contents. I dont think that they would give me a job though the college does not really recognise that they need this role filled as they have IT experts that are supposed to be available to help out.
That sounds brilliant that you are able to help others like that! It's so lovely of them to supply you with chocolate!
Maybe that other mature student is right!
You used to run an IT company didn't you?
A chocolate stash? I'm puzzled, why would there be any left to stash???
Yes I did. I also used to be an IT trainer in a past life but I used to teach the backend networking systems not the applications. I has made me very patient with people when I am teaching though, I often had to struggle to learn it myself so I understand when others dont "get it" and have the flexibility to be able to think of other ways to explain things when people dont understand it.
A chocolate stash? I'm puzzled, why would there be any left to stash???
Yes I know a strange concept... I tend to be a bit like a squirrel though and store it away for rainy days. It has been known for me to actually have chocolate so long that it goes funny. Mind you some lasts longer than others. Lindt Coconut balls were lush and did not last for more than a fortnight. (Lindt balls generally dont last long though around me)
Beat you to Pen's everyone (rofl)
(bandit) I promise you will never find it!!! I have hiding places everywhere...
I can sniff out chocolate at a hundred paces ...... Be afraid, be very afraid (invis)
Well I got a box of Quality street for yesterdays work... So if anyone wants to share, come on round!
Fish is out of the kiln. Not entirely in one piece... However I think I can make a feature out of the damaged bit, a bit of glaze can cover a multitude of sins! I do have to give it a wash though and scrub a lot of the coating off as I over did the painting of the oxides and you cant see the fish features.
Had to give a presentation on my marketing plan today. The head tutor was very excited about my plans and says that he has a friend who makes over £80K a year doing training and organising courses with other artists. Personally I am not aiming that high, if I can make £15K then I can cover my bills, I am not particularly into flashing money around and my needs are simple.
Very excited when I got home. My advertising materials had arrived. I have a sign for the gate and for the window of the studio, new business cards with my address and flyers and postcards to hand out. I am a bit afraid to put the sign up though. It will be confirmation that its REALLY happening!
I also had my CRB/DBS certificate through so I am legal to teach kids and vulnerable adults.
However also had another stinky letter from hubby's brothers solicitor which took the edge of my excitement. Then my Dad rang to say that my brother is going to ring (quite why he had to tell me this I have no idea!) and that bro (presumably plus SIL) is coming down to visit tomorrow afternoon, I have not seen him (or her) for nearly two years. SSHHHHIIIITTTTT the house is a mess (its VERY low priority at the moment) plus due to the firing schedule I have to be in college late tomorrow (Meeting the tutor at 5pm) to get a piece prepared and in the kiln. I will also have to be in college most of the rest of the day scrubbing and glazing my fish. I would love to see him and show off the new house and studio but just not tomorrow! However he normally works in London (he lives in Bristol) and spends his time up there. At weekends he and SIL spend their time on their motor yacht which is moored on the Thames so it is rare that we can get together. The only reason that he is coming now is that he is off work for a few weeks after heart trouble and so can fit us (and Dad) into his schedule so I will have to try and accommodate him or I might not see him for another two years!
Wow! What an exciting, busy day :) hope the solicitors isn't too much grief
Made an arrangement with bro, I am going to meet him, SIL and my great nephew and niece at lunchtime tomorrow at Dad's. It will be the first time I have met my great nephew (he is about 18 months) and the last time I saw my great niece she was a babe in arms, she is now almost 3! As Dad's place is just a couple of mins from college I can pop round at lunchtime and go back to college afterwards. It also means that bro and co wont be coming to my house which will be good as I am not sure how Ember will react to two small children in the house.
Sounds like a plan, and will be lovely to see them I bet :)
That sounds so exciting! What a fab day!
It was great to see them. I spent two hours with them at lunch time. My Great Nephew (aged 16 months) decided I was the best thing since sliced bread. He had never met me before but 5 minutes after we met he wanted to sit on my lap and play with the old biscuit tin my Dad had given him. We played baby aeroplanes, I chased him round the floor on my hands and knees much to his delight and played at putting spoons in the tin, putting the lid on and then taking them all out again!. Nice simple fun! My brother was astonished apparently he is usually quite withdrawn and wont play much anyway yet alone with someone he has just met! I then astounded my SIL as I changed his nappy. She said that normally it was like trying to put a nappy on a snake as he would wiggle, squirm and cry. But for me he was as good as gold. He even let me wipe his nose which was another issue normally. My great niece was also wonderful. She is 3 in September and has a head of blond curls. When she left she gave me a big hug and a kiss (well a lick anyway :P) Went back to college absolutely exhausted though. So glad that I don't have to look after them regularly!
magie06
08-05-15, 07:48 PM
What a brillant lunchtime.
Just got up from the sofa and discovered that I may be a bit old for crawling round the floor chasing a baby. muscles are complaining!
Awwww hot soak in a bath may help hun, but sounds like you had a lot of fun
Sounds like so much fun!
Btw I'm not surprised that you were a hit with them, you're fantabulous!
Scored my best ever mood score on Moodscope tonight! I woke this morning with a headache and I have just not been able to shake it all day so I could not get on with any written work today so after doing a bit of clay work I spent the rest of the day organising the studio.
Assembling furniture on your own can be tricky I found! I had a desk partly assembled and was holding a large part of it together when I realised I needed a screw driver. Of course I was 6ft away from toolbox, and no amount of contortion would get me anywhere near it. Glad no one could see me I must have looked hilarious.. Very proud of myself though. I re-assembled a desk and a set of shelves. I built another set of shelves on the wall. I covered the desk and rearranged the furniture all by myself as hubby of course was out from 8 this morning till gone 10 tonight. When he came home though he did help me find a location for my sons double bed which I have out there and now the place looks more like a studio and less like a furniture dumping ground.
Fantastic news re Moodscape! Awesome, lovely
That all sounds really positive! Well done!
Had an odd experience this morning which left me feeling good about myself.
As I came out of my drive with Ember a man approached me. My first reaction was that he was drunk as his speech was slurred but as I talked to him I realised that he had a speech impediment and possibly some learning difficulties. He was in a bit of a tizz. He wanted to get a taxi home but did not know how to get one. I live opposite a big pub so I suggested that he went in there and asked them but he said he had tried but that they would not help him (well that has really put them down in my estimation). I asked where he lived and he was a bit vague. I asked if he could walk home but he said it was too far so I called up the taxi company for him and booked a taxi to collect him from my house. We had a bit of difficulty with the address but the taxi dispatcher seemed to be able to work out where he needed to go. When I did this for him he gave me a big hug. I had to leave him sitting on my wall waiting for the taxi as I needed to get Ember out but he was gone when I got back so hopefully the taxi firm sorted him out. I just cant believe that the pub would not help this guy out! When he hugged me there was no smell of drink so he clearly was not drunk.
That was lovely of you to help him, a lot of people would have assumed he was drunk and left him to it
That is a lovely thing for you to have done, and that is not good of the Pub when we had ours well my parents did, and if I was in charge or any of the staff, if someone wanted a taxi we would ring one for them, its not only common curtesy but good business sense to to be honest
That is such a kind thing for you to have done! Well done hunni...
What a day. Did 3 hours of written work and sent off to a friend to proof read. Walked the dog twice. Started painting the studio ceiling. Finished off three bowls for the final exhibition. Loaded and started the kiln.Weeded a bucket full of grass out of the patio brickwork. Worked on my water feature that I am building, glued stones into the waterfall, drilled a hole and fitted the plumbing for the filter and fixed a little leak. Cant run it till later tomorrow though to allow the glue and sealer to set properly but if it has then I just need to add the gravel to the filer and plant it all up and it will finally be finished.
Geez I feel exhausted just reading that!
You haven't stopped! Well done hunni!
Crikey hun you have done a lot today, I hope your chilling now
Oh yes (well sorta) Ember is here next to me upside down with her head on my tummy. I have a glass of my favourite squash and a packet of mint matchmakers and watching CSI.
I am trying to finish off the business plan tonight in between.
Great minds think alike, we have the pup sat next to us on the sofa and have CSI on the gogglebox
AARRGG Cant seem to head in gear. Wanted to spend the evening working on my business plan but have spent all evening staring at the screen going nowhere. I did manage to finish building my water feature this morning (although had a few leaks to sort out). Did finish glazing the fish and started colouring the base till I ran out of time. (Also cooked an awesome dinner- My daughter wants to know why my roast potatoes taste so much better than hers but we compared notes and could not come up with a reason, but then I think that no-one ever makes roast like your mom!)
Sounds like you're doing so much hunni!
Feel like I am making a bit of progress finally. The fish sculpture is nearly finished. The fish itself, the base plates and the first section of the base are in for their final firing. I hope to finish colouring the other three parts tomorrow so that they can go in the kiln at the weekend. 3 bowls have had their first firing and I hope to have them ready to go in with the base as well. I cracked on and finished another piece of written work this evening and so I am about 90% finished with the paperwork. I am hopeful that I will get it all finished by next Tuesday when my support worker is coming for the last time and I will get her to look over it all then get it handed in. I want to get the paperwork out of the way as it is stressing me out, but hopefully if I finish the fish tomorrow I can have a few days to get it all done.
Came home to find that my daughter had actually cleared up the kitchen before she went to work. I dont just mean wash up (although she had done that as well) but sort out a lot of the stuff from the move which had not yet been found a home. Also my son cooked dinner so I am pleased that they helping out.
That's such an amazing post! So many positives!
Well done Pen, I knew you could do it.
:)
One step forward, one step back. The pieces did not go in. My tutor decided he wanted to talk to me first about them. Him and another tutor had a conversation about my piece whilst I sat there and watched... In the end it was decided that I needed to redo the colouring on the base pieces so spent another day getting covered in oxides. My hand looks like I have been smoking heavily all day even though I had a glove on... I keep thinking "maybe today I will finish it" but then I am proved wrong. So another go at completing it tomorrow. Have a stinking headache tonight so am struggling to get into gear to do any work. Also woke up this morning to find my water feature has a little leak. Not much but enough to empty the lowest barrel in about 24 hours so tried to fix it tonight. Not sure I have succeeded but it is better than it was.
How do you feel about the changes?
Hope that the headache shifts soon hunni...
That sounds like a frustrating day! I hope your headache clears soon.
Is the headache from the oxides?
I think the changes will be OK. It will help to tie the piece together.
I have been getting these headaches a lot recently. Had a bad one last Saturday. I dont think its the oxides as I started getting them before I started messing with the stuff. But they can be poisonous and do need to be treated with more care than I give them really. I suspect that the problem is related to pollen. I am on antihistamines all the time but when the pollen really kicks off I still have problems. Anyway 2 paracetamol do seem to have helped. I think I may goto bed in a moment, I am just so tired.
I'm trying hard to keep my eyes open too, and have been al hayfevery too, but like you I'm on antihistamines all the time anyway, but this years pollen seems to be "well 'ard" ;)
Make sure you go for a shower and wash your hair as apparently you catch pollen and store it so it's still there even after it should have settled outside...
I think that the sculpture is finally finished... maybe. I have left it with my tutor and the technician to do the final firings and I will see it complete next Thursday. Which means I finally have some time to finish my paperwork!
WOW!!!! Well done!! Are you pleased with it? Do we get to see pics?
Brilliant :) can't wait to see it!
The only pics I have at the moment are pre firing and it will change colour when fired. I hope to be able to unveil it next Friday in its completed form. I will have to get some breeze blocks and pebbles to complete the construction, plus I am planning to put Lapis Luzuli stones in the eyes (They are blue with streaks of gold pyrite) mounted in silver. It is however getting quite exciting, I have throughout tried not to be too "precious" about it as large ceramic sculptures like this are notorious for warping, cracking and altering and I did not really believe it would survive. Now I am getting a bit more hopeful, although one of the base pieces has a 12 inch crack in it which will probably widen with this next firing. I am just hoping it does not completely break in half. At least I am on schedule for finishing on time. One of the other ceramic sculptors has two larger than life busts (fantastically realistic portraits) which have yet to dry for their first firing. My tutor is tearing his hair out as to if they will be ready as all the work is due to be marked in two weeks time.
Wow! It sounds so exciting!
Wow, wow, wow! I wouldn't even know where to start coming up with ideas for something like that
What do you do about the cracks, forgive me for sounding a bit dumb, do you glue them together afterwards?
Well it depends. If the piece breaks completely then the breaks are usually (not always) very clean and can be glued back together. A crack is more difficult. I suppose the best way to describe the problem is by imaging a crack in a rock (not a break, just a crack) and imagine trying to glue it together. There is no movement so you cant push the pieces together. You are left with a few options. The first one is to fill it with something. This is OK on something like my sculpture, I can fill the gap with polyfilla if necessary and paint over as the cack is on the base and so wont be so obvious, but not so good on a more delicate piece of work. The next option is to just live with it if its not too bad or the Japanese make a feature out of cracks by lining them with gold leaf. If none of these appeal then the piece becomes hardcore and you have fun smashing it up....
When is the sculpture due to come out of the kiln?
The base is being fired over the weekend and will be out Tuesday. Then the head and tail go in and should be out Thursday. So by Thursday night it should all be done and I will know what size stones I need for the eyes and can goto Wicks and get the pebbles for it to sit on and the breeze blocks to hold the middle up!
That sounds brilliant hun
Been a very sad day today. A few weeks ago I wrote as to how hubby came over unexpectedly so he could go and visit an elderly friend/customer who was anxious that he had not been to cut her grass for a while and was suffering badly from depression. He has been seeing her regularly over the last few weeks, trying to keep an eye on her, and he said last time he saw her (two weeks ago) that she was looking much better and did seem to be eating again (she had become just a skeleton, and there was not much of her to start with!!). This morning her daughter went to take her out for the day and found her dead in her bed. We dont know what has happened, if her death was natural or helped along at the moment but we are both devastated. He was kicking himself that he did not go over yesterday as he had planned to do originally and of course wondering if he could have done more.
I am so sorry. That must be aweful.
At times like this we all question ourselfs. Did we do enough? Should I have done this or that? But he went over and looked after her.
My condolences.
Oh Pen I'm so sorry. That must have been awful for your Daughter... I hope she's as ok as she can be. As Welf has said, at times like this it's so easy to blame yourself even though you didn't do anything wrong, but it sounds as if you all went out of your way to look after her.
It was not my daughter, it was her daughter who found her. My daughter did not really know her.
Sorry, my misunderstanding...
I'm so sorry for all of you, and her family. OH did as much as he could and probably wouldn't have been able to change things even if he had gone over yesterday.
Of course we dont know what really happened. She was in her mid 70's, she has not really been looking after herself, hardly eating and drinking. It may have been natural causes, we will have to wait and see what the outcome will be of any investigations.
Hopefully hubby will stop beating himself up, he was in tears yesterday, but as you say and I told him it probably would not have made any difference if he had been there yesterday, after all her daughter was so it was not as if she had been alone all day.
(panda) Hope you are doing OK hunni x
I'm fine, just a bit shocked. Trying to compete my written work today, but also trying to do my bowls so running round like a headless chicken. It was tipping down here first thing but I was determined that Ember was going to go out and had to drag her out of the house and she walked round the block with her ears flattened against her head and her tail tucked between her legs refusing to go to the toilet. I think she has only just now relieved herself from about 2:30 last night! Funny how she can hold on when she has to!!
Bless her! It's been pouring here all day!
Made good progress yesterday. I think apart from a bit of filing I have finished the paperwork. There is probably more I can do. I could add in an article I found about the chemistry of ceramics to the literature review, but as it is only worth about 6% I don't think I will bother. My college mentor is coming today (for the last time) I hope to get her to proof read them all. I may have to ply her with lots of coffee to keep her awake!
We have a marketing guy coming in today so I am going to take my marketing materials in and hopefully I will get a bit of time with him.
Ember was very good yesterday. I think I have finally cracked the football problem. She used to think that every football she saw was HERS... and would tear off to try and steal one whenever she heard or saw it, once with disastrous consequences when it was a kids beach ball and she put her teeth through it. When she heard a ball being kicked that was it... she would become fixated on having it and no amount of shouting and calling would get her to come back, I would have to go after her and try and catch her before she destroyed the ball. Now this was not such a huge problem when we lived in the village. There was two designated football fields where the kids would play and lots of countryside to walk in well away from footballs. Now we are in town though we have to walk in the park and on fine sunny afternoons there are lots of kids with balls. So I have been working on her training, getting her to understand that not chasing off will result in getting treats and praise and it seems to be paying off. Yesterday when we got round the park there was two little boys and their dad having a kick around and she did not run off. But what was really great was that we walked round the lake and as we were coming back up onto the main path we came round the corner and unexpectedly right into the boys and their ball. She completely ignored it and ran straight past. YAY(party)
Well I went down to college to find the marketing man had cancelled. So back home again. My college mentor came and looked through all my stuff. Apart from a few tweaks she felt it was finished. So just the practical to finish off and I am done.
Its so scary... Its really starting to hit home that it is almost over and I will have to try and make some money. :(
But also, it's almost over and you get to make some money doing what you love :)
One of the tutors emailed us all tonight asking if we wanted anything looked over before the deadline so I emailed him the lot.... (rofl)
Well he did ask.
Nicely done! (rofl)(rofl)(rofl)
Just done a quick add up and I recon I have written about 14,000 words. Hopefully that will be enough!
Not good this morning. Tired and flat. Still got stuff to do for college but struggling to get going. Just want to sleep....
Hopefully it is enough hun, Give yourself time to wake up and maybe get some air with Ember by taking her for a walk as that will help you wake up properly and also give you a bit of energy, then one thing at a time for College hun
I hope you're feeling a little brighter now hunni?
Walked the dog. Still not great. Got a thick head like I have a headache coming on. I have my friend coming at 10 for coffee. Until then I think a bit of gentle sanding and burnishing of pots maybe all I can manage. Maybe I will will feel energetic enough to roll out some clay for another pot later.
I am also feeling that I would like to do some drawing, maybe work on the mandala I started at the beginning of the year. I have an excuse that I cannot do anything with the written work until my tutor replies...
Hope you've had a good time with your friend. What did you do - clay or mandala?
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.4 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.