Unmitigated disasters 2

Not really but it follows on from previous thread.

I went to the Verdon Rec centre and spoke to the co-ordinator, who was annoyed that the woman employed by the centre to open, supervise and close the centre had let me down so royally. She let me off the rent (phew) and we agreed to give it four sessions to see if we can get it going and keep the oiky kids out unless they are going to pay and join in properly.

Thanks to everyone for the messages of support and the hugs both real and electronic. I'm starting to regain my sense of humour, which is partly down to having blogged about the catalogue of disasters yesterday, re-reading it and realising how funny it actually was.

By the way this is the face that kept peering through the doors at us last night. Really. It was just like this.

Anyway, I'm going in the bath now and off to bed, college tomorrow and I have fines to pay for my books, and I then have to go out tomorrow night and watch my gorgeous lovely son boxing and hopefully winning. I prefer it when he wins, he's in a better mood afterwards.

Unmitigated disasters

Tonight was the first (and possibly last) life drawing class organised by me at the Verdon Recreation Centre.

To say it was a total disaster is to play down how dreadful the whole experience was.

Only 4 people turned up. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to those who did.

The heating wasn't on.

The woman who opened the centre didn't turn up until about 5 mins before the class was due to start.

There was a large group of unexpected, unsupervised pubescent boys who had never and I mean NEVER seen a naked woman.

The kitchen was locked, the adjoining doors were open.

So the evening went something like this:

I arrived, early, had to wait for ages to be let into the building, which was warm but not toasty.

A whole bunch of teenagers arrived and started running around the place.

I roped them into helping me set up.

The woman with the keys allowed these teenagers to stay in the building even though there were no supervised activities for them to do.

One person turned up.

Another person turned up.

Two more people turned up.

It was now 6.35, and I was starting 5 minutes late.

I got naked and stood in the first of 4 five minute poses.

1 minute into the pose a small teenager put his head round the door, his eyes popped out of his head and he closed the door.

Immediately he open the door again and stood staring at my naked.

I turned into a fish wife and shouted at them to go away, put my dressing gown on and chased them out of the room. They were allowed to stay in the building by the woman who opened up.

I resumed my pose, they broke into the kitchen and opened the serving hatch to the room we were in and half a dozen pubescent males faces leered through the hatch. I shouted again, like a fish wife, and the hatch was closed, the kitchen locked and the teenagers removed from the building.

2nd pose, the teenagers got back into the building and proceeded to come through the main door and the adjoining door to the gym, which was supposed to be locked. All were laughing and staring, pointing and generally reacting as all teenage boys who have never seen naked people will behave. I shouted again, and the members of the life class shooed them away.

Finally they were ushered out of the building and the doors locked. The kitchen was also locked and the heating seemed to go off.

The first half of the session finished without further incident. Break for a cup of tea.

The kitchen was locked, no cup of tea. The room is starting to feel cooler.

I apologise profusely for the interruptions and the disturbances, as well as the lack of tea.

We start the 2nd half of the session, 30 minute pose. Goes without a hitch but by now I am feeling the cold.

5 minutes into the 2nd 30 minute pose I am shivering, my feet are like blocks of ice and I'm feeling very uncomfortable.

I am forced to give up, apologising again for the inconvenience, and, much to my surprise and shame, everybody pays their £5.

After cleaning up and putting the chairs away I have a word with the woman who has opened the centre and explain that the occurrences are unacceptable, that I won't be paying the rent tonight, but will be seeing the centre manager the next day to discuss what happened as I am very unhappy.

So what do you think? Disaster or total calamity, and should I bother trying to run the class at the Verdon Rec Centre again?

What am I like 3

I seem to blog more when I am in the middle of a struggle with my work. Why is that? Anyway, I have really been struggling with my living room, and sketching it. I can't seen to get the horizontals right, but I will bear with it because eventually I know I will get it and it will be brilliant.

Today I have been sketching the cats after having moderate success with the dogs last night.

Here's what I've managed so far.

Of course the problem with two cats who really really REALLY hate each other is getting them to stay still and not move qabout or start fighting when I want to draw them. I'm happy with these sketches as they were all 1 or 2 minute sketches and generally they look like cats!

I'm going to have another go with the dogs later and then try the fireplace a few more times. I may have to resort to using the tried and tested photographic method. That usually works well for me as I can get the proportions right a lot earlier in the process.

I'm going to get back to it now and hope I have something worthwhile to show later.

Blogging

Right, let me just say this. I like people, I find them interesting. I like children, they are the only original thinkers on this planet. Poetry and photography have their places in my life as does literature, belief and baking.

Why is it then, that whenever I have a wander through the next blog button on my blog looking for some-one interesting to add to my blog list all I ever seem to get are people obsessed with their (to be honest) really quite dull offspring, or banging on about their belief in the "one true God", haiku's they have written but for some bizarre (yeah really?) reason can't get published, turgid poetry and truly dull book reviews. Yawn!

So here I am on my really quite dull blog asking if anyone knows of any interesting blogs worth following. Please? Thanks. XX

What am I like? 2

Finally made a start on the drawing, I just have to get over this blank paper block that I have. It doesn't matter how good my drawings are, repeated work on the same image improves the drawings at each stage, I get it, but I still have that psychological blockage. I will get over it, I will.

So here is what I've started with.

I am also working on a sample of stitched marks to see what will work best for the finished piece. I'll upload an image of that when it's done.

I spent a couple of hours doing this sketch last night, and will be working on this view more, with charcoal later and probably some inks later to get a good practice of the scene before I start adding other aspects into it. The whole thing will be full of parts of me, including dogs and cats, so I need to start drawing them again.

I feel quite fearful with this project, because even though it isn't a live project, it is based on a competition brief and I haven't yet had the guts to look at entering a competition. I will be doing it next year thought, even though really I'm not an illustrator. I do like to have some narrative in my work, so maybe that could be a way for me to go.

Anyway, let me know what you think. I need feedback.

What am I like? 1

New project brief, based on a Victorian parlour game.

Basically you construct a self portrait with the things you like, obsess about and love. The things, living or inanimate you surround yourself with that become a part of your personality and identity. Easy then..........

Trouble is, it's an illustration project. I'm not really an illustrator, but there are some I really like and think are fantastic artists. How do I not copy their styles? Not sure.

First thoughts are that I maintain my relationship with stitch, as I like to work in textiles and stitch and it is supposed to be about me. Oh its all about me! Me, me, me, me!!!!!!!!............. And I'm back in the room.

Many and various are the things that make me, me. Cats, dogs, snakes, tattoos, mess, clutter, tv, music, food, fire, computers, art, people living and dead, anxiety, money, work, more food! tea. Cups and cups of tea, sci-fi, words, scars, pain, addictions, past and present. My son, my abortion, my mental health, my weight, my disappointments, my alleged family. Oh bloody bugger this is not going to be easy.

I think the best thing to do is just plunge in and go for it. I have ideas, but not sure I am a good enough artist to pull them off. But what the hell, I'll go for it! Yes I can! Ooh, I'm the little (big!) engine who could. Yes I can, yes I can, yes I can!

What I have so far is a sketchbook, made as usual by my own fair hand and some fabric that I have stiffened with cellulose glue to stitch into. I know the form of the work, I just need to work out the details. Off I go.

The clams, the clams, they made me mad you know.

A finished clam. Enjoy.

Got rid of the rubbish scan and uploaded a better one.

THE Book 6

I'm having trouble with my clam shells.

No, start again.

I'm having a struggle with the source material for my clam shells.

No, still wrong.

I'm totally skint and my flipping printer has run out of ink and I can't print off any decent pics of clams shall from which to work to find the right image for my altered book.

Bugger.

Bloody.

Bugger.

Arse.

Enough whinging.

I'm actually making some good progress with what I have, but I have this stupid idea that I could do better if I had more of them, and if they were full colour, and I could work at my desk instead of in front of the computer monitor. You see my problem, I'm making excuses for not actually getting the work done.

Less of the excuses. Wanna see what I've done so far on my sketches and drawings of clam shells? Not going to do hundreds of them, but I'm looking to do a couple of larger pieces to add to the general portfolio of work for THE Book.

The raven is not proving to be as difficult, and I got a lot of books from the library with some very good photos and illustrations. I even managed to do really rather interesting prints using foam board as a printing plate. Not very sturdy, so it's rather falling to bits now. One last print run from it I think before it goes to the great press in the sky, (well OK the bin).

So here we are, some finished and nearly finished drawings and prints. Be kind, I'm delicate.