Artist, I am not, but I enjoyed the experience.

These are the two- the only two that I am willing to share in public. Poor Jo, I don't know what she had done to deserve this, but she showed no signs of resentment!


I wore out two rubbers on this one.

Vincent's brush strokes are as nothing - well perhaps they are everything and that is the matter with this!!! LOL

What a week-end!

I spent this week-end at Arthog, a centre in North Wales that our county uses for school residential courses. Normally you have to take children, but luckily this was a Continuous Professional Development course - drawing.
I don't think I have ever been thrown in at the deep end quite so much - ever, ever! We were drawing first with charcoal, a medium I have never been taught to use, in fact I have never been taught to draw apart form a few lessons on how to work out the lines that you need to draw a street scene! Well, our subject was a very lithe naked woman, she sat, stood, stretched out, was squashed in a box, dressed in a tube of butter muslin, then for the last sessions reclined on a sofa. That was my first experience - a real live naked model. Then we had to use an easel - one of those real ones, that in itself is an art, because they can be vicious and collapse on you at every opportunity!
Our guest artist was wonderful, he showed us how to use charcoal. Not in the way I have used it with my classes - that as I now see is limiting. Then we rubbed everything out until there was the barest of outlines left on the page, fixed it with the artist's equivalent of hair spray and started again. We had to build up five layers to make a picture. Forewarned is forearmed you might think? Oh no, who forgot to leave enough space for her head? I forgot her boobs in one picture, hastily adding them towards the end of the time, only to see that they looked as if they had been transplanted in the wrong place altogether! Another sketch gave her an enromous boil like extension to her bum. Thankfully she did not take this personally!

After a lovely stroll down by the Mawddach estuary we went back to work in oils. Aaargh, by this time I really felt out of my depth. The others were mostly secondary art teachers and could draw; of the few primary staff, my skills were the least evident! But I had fun. The oils were quite an experience, we had to dab bits of colour. No filling in the marrows as he said, so dab it! Well I dabbed so well they called me Mrs Matisse, do you imagine that is good or bad?
I have an oil painting of mine which is going to be finished and hung on my walls, I might even hang the headless nude in charcoal too. It was fantastic and I wanna learn to draw!!!

When the cat's away ....

Tee hee, I'm in charge of the school tomorrow. Let me see, shall I dig through the water main, cut the power supply, infest the loos with some kind of vermin?? Wow, it could be a fun day!
I shall think about all the possiblities with great pleasure. Perhaps I should ask my class how to do the deed!!

Brain wave!!

I've had a wonderful thought, I want to change my tiny bathroom, correction badly thought out tiny bathroom, into a room that works. One that does not feel that I am hemmed in by the bath, loo and basin etc.
I am going to have a loo party.
I shall invite people to come and they MUST go to the loo. Their visit must be long enough for them to draw on an outline plan their ideas about how to improve the room. In this way, I shall get lots of ideas about how to redo the loo. There - how's that for an idea about improving the room and a good excuse for a party?
Howat?!!

Shopping list

I need some large hairy spiders, rats, newts eyes and bats' fur to go in my cauldron. Does anyone know which kind of shop specialises in these?!!
Actually the kids are bringing in the spiders and I daren't ask them aboutthe rats, cos they might just bring in real one... However, the spider's web stood the course of time over the week-end, so next I am going to hand some gruesome words in it. I must take my witch's besom in tomorrow and that can fly from the ceiling. I quite enjoy this part of teaching, but other parts are really like a red rag to a bull.

Head in the sand - again!

Does anyone else out there ever get into that silly state where you can't open your post? I have been like this for a fortnight now and had to force myself to be sensible yesterday before I went out. It is so silly and pathetic, but I am suffering it at the mo. Is this a medical condition? Can I claim time off work? Shall we invent a name for it that sounds convincing?!

That WOW factor and Cosford.

I am taking my class to Cosford Air Museum soon to take part in a robot-fest. Ours are going to be witches and cauldrons if we can manage that! So, this morning being the only day free to go and do my pre trip assessment I drove off into the fog without much hope of there being an exciting factor at the museum.
Well, how wrong could I have been? They have built a new welcoming building which is based upon a delta wing airplane design and it is fantastic! Never mind the museum, the cafe sells good coffee and the meals looked appetising too.
However, I had a lot of fun in one of the other hangers where they have set up a new interactive area. There should be no excuse for them failing to understand how an airplane wing works, lots of fun activities with ping pong balls popping everywhere, parcels to deliver from airplanes etc etc.
Now if I can lose the whole class for the hour that I am booking, then I could play with all the toys myself!!!! I felt a bit awkward trying to aim the foodparcel at the delivery target when there was queue of young children waiting for theri turn. Its good fun!!

More balls....

Now come on, think cooking!!
I have just taken delivery of an order of part of a beef creature - steer? I don't know, but the meat looked wonderful. I don't ususally buy mince, so I thought I would cook that first and 'get it out of the way'. You know that kind of feeling, well that can't be too good, so I'll deal with it first. I have bought mince in the past that has bounced off the roof of my mouth after many hours of gentle cooking. This stuff however- WOW! I made meatballs with pasta al la Nigella Lawson. She is wonderful when she says think of Sophia Loren in the kitchen rolling out these miniscule balls, well after that - you keep rolling for hours don't you? I won't own up to my imaginary thoughts.. Oh, the meat was so good and the sauce delicious, the Napolise (spelling again - sorry!) sauce is also scrumptious, I am going to freeze that in small amounts, then there are things like brisket which I haven't cooked for years. I am so looking forward to it. I used to really enjoy cooking but lost the plot somewhat. This batch of meat has rather kindled it again. (Thinks, apologies to my veggie daughter, but if her boyfriend fancies a roast dinner, then let me know and I will get cooking!)
Yummmmmm!

There's light at the end of the tunnel.

My journey to and from school is a short one, between 10 and 20 minutes, depending on the tractors and lorries travelling along the lanes. We have been through the darkest months and now on my way home, the delightful sight of light sky near the horizon cheers me up tremendously. Spring is sprung! Yes, we can suffer all sorts of snow and other weather coldnesses, but the evenings have started to get lighter. Three cheers!

Why?

My son sometimes reads this blog and asks me the basic question - why do I do it? I don't say anything very exciting, I am not out to attract a large reading audience - so? It's a good question! I started it after some considerable nagging from my very good friend DLG who lives in foreign climes. This is an excellent way for us both to catch up on what we are doing in life. reading between the lines we can usually judge our moods. then there is Messenger to tap out our messages to each other - with answers.
So, I suppose my answer to my son is, it keeps me in touch with my friends, makes some new ones (and it is at this point that he thinks I have gonearound the bend. Young people can be so middle aged!), and also I can find out about other people in that 'lurking' way that the ether enables. All told, I find that my life has been incredibly lucky.
Then the awful comment from DLG today on Messenger- we think we have at last grown up.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!

More blood and gore...

I managed to make most of my class feel rather sick as we read through Macbeth last week; as they are approaching the time when their genes start to rule their lives, I think I will introduce the poem with lots of blood in it - The Highway Man. We'll have a good read and then I think the similes and metaphors and onomat... (can't ever spell that word) words will all involve some blood and gore. Could be fun!! His eyes were as bloody as ..... answers please before Monday!!!

Shakespeare and that wow factor!

First day of teaching for this year! It was good to see the children back and to take part in the chit chat that this group of children are able to enjoy. We have started to look at Macbeth and wow isn't it fun? I don't remember ever enjoying any of his plays at school, all we did was to read out parts, never did we dwell on the gory parts. The contents of the witches' cauldron are really spectacular, I think tomorrow we will draw the newt's eye and loin of snake swirling around in the stock. Now that's another take on soup!!
Meanwhile we will try to manufacture our own recipe - rhyming cutlets anyone?

Coincidence?

How often do coincidences occur? Yesterday I went to Shrewsbury -shopping with a friend. One of the joys of going out with female friends is the ability to enter totally unsuitable shops and try on clothes. We tried a designer shop which was not as over the top as some of the other shops in town. There was a lovely black Vivienne Westwood coat in the sale. Too small for me, but it fitted Liz like a glove. The workmanship and design was fantastic, I can see why people buy her stuff. Just as Liz was taking it off, a button fell off. Nothing much in that, but whilst we were in another store, a button fell off Liz's own coat. Mmmm. Then yesterday before I went out, a drawer in my dressing table jammed with some mascara blocking it from inside, it was one of those 'slide a ruler in to unblock it' Jobbies. In the 'clear away Christmas gently move' I have just tried to put a cd away in a drawer in the sitting room and hey presto exactly the same jamming has occurred there! It is so rare that this happens with me, I am just wondering what else will happen in pairs. I'll let you know when it does!

I have sinned.

What is it about West Wing that compels me to watch all four episodes on one DVD? I was going to save it for one episode a week, Hah! No way, I've already watched two who disks so that's another plan up the Swanee. However, the tidying up is coming on a treat! One day I might be able to let someone in to my house without that cringe factor of 10!

Happy New Year!

It was a quiet celebration this year, only after I had sneaked off to bed did things liven up - and I mean that in the most innocent of ways!!! My son and daughter rang from their celebrations with fireworks round the lake, which sounds rather fun! Then DLG rang from Cyprus; I had already received one lively, musical and short call during the evening, so I was prepared for this! She and Phil had been out celebrating and we had this weird call between Cyprus, Shropshire and their brother in London. I think that this is the best use of modern science - the ability to keep in touch with friends at a distance, at any time. So Happy New Year everyone, I shall recharge my phone, try to get this connection working reliably and stay connected for 2005!