HEAT!

Working from my dining room table is not ideal really, but the studio has been so cold that I couldn't face working there, but.... I have a burner! made from a calor gas cannister, turned upside down, it even has a plate so I can heat a kettle on it for cups of tea. I'll be lighting it in the garden at the weekend so the paint can enamel onto it and burn any fumes off, then it can be fitted, luckily a trip to my dads yard in Anglesey last week, found me a cast iron downpipe to fit as a stackpipe. I'm looking forward to the warmth and being able to eat at a table again!

THE PURPLE SHED STUDIO | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

THE PURPLE SHED STUDIO | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

I've started a new blog on a-n online, it will cover my progress on this artistic journey.

The Power Of Language

The power of language, not something we usually think about, but it surrounds our world and society. The words we speak do not necessarily get heard and interpreted in the way we mean. Miscommunication can occur purely because we may speak the same language but our interpretation of the words we speak can be incredibly varied. Used intelligently we can discover and uncover amazing things about the people we speak with. Needless to say, I went on a fascinating course yesterday on this subject, which crammed in the some useful tools using NLP techniques and Meta Models.

It was a fascinating and enlightening day of self discovery, peoples behaviour and the meanings behind how we speak. And to quote the deliverer of the course - 'The meaning of your communication is the response you get'

Recipe for Frustration

This recipe is ideal for early December 2010:-

INGREDIENTS

A foot of snow.
A studio that thinks it's a victorian ice cellar.
A burner on order. (put aside for later when the snow clears and it can be picked up)
8 miles of distance between materials and studio.
Several sheets of ice on a hilly roadside.
Pinch of school closures.

Mix all ingredients together to ensure full frustration is acheived, you can also add in the worry about picking children up from other locations as a bit of garnish. To complete the frustration cake, having a clear view of how things would be better if only the burner had been fitted before the snow and the materials brought back to the studio, so when you got stranded there, at least you could have worked.

Other recently finished work

My mood definately affects my artwork, this angel was made during a darker period and was rejected by the lady who commissioned it, so a fortnight later and in a better headspace I made the lighter, prettier version. But I still know which one I prefer...

And this morning

A very snowy path out to the shed, as my burner is on order and not yet installed, I will be mostly working in the house today, in front of the fire, on my computer!


And the countryside outside my own house is rather beautiful at the moment. A good excuse for taking photographs into the sun.

Memory Box Book

I've recently has a go at making a book out of a little cupboard, it was to celebrate a 50th Wedding Anniversary and I really enjoyed making it. I had limited photos to work with so the book was a bit short of pages really, I could have added pages with writing, but didn't feel that it worked on this occasion. I do want to have another go at something else though, to refine it. But for this occassion, it was recieved gratefully as a unique gift.