You've heard of (or addictively watch) Iron Chef. Tonight at class we played "Iron Artist" as a loosening exercise for our Big Very Important (Scary) Final Brief.
"Take two disparate 3D objects that have had a life or been functional and have now ceased to function or have been discarded - one natural (in our case a bucket of bones) and one manufactured (a child's bicycle)"Then combine the two to make a piece of art in no more than 2 minutes. Our tutor demonstrates:
We discuss the symbolism of the finished piece and then have a go ourselves.
One classmate produces the Bicycle Bird (which I suggested could become the mascot for a children's bike safety campaign): And I come up with err... this:Which I could say (if I wished to practice my Art Wank) symbolises the potential death of Miss Daisy. Note the skull portraying death. The daisy eyes. The colours white yellow and black, being common daisy colours. And the speaker symbolises the hissing noise coming from under her bonnet when the accident happened.
Next Monday we have to bring our own objects to fulfill the above descriptions. I seriously considered ringing the smash repairers and asking them to keep the bits they remove from Miss Daisy when they repair her for me to use in my final project. Except I don't have a car to transport them to class...
There was a rather expensive taxi ride to work this morning (as the buses weren't running yet).
A little sketching while I waited for the person with the pass to arrive to let me in to the library: Lots of lovely Library users very happy that I could help them find what they were looking for.
I'd vaguely considered going to see Coraline in 3D after work this evening but the offer of a lift was more appealing. Besides, I get to see Coraline in 2D for free at ANU Film Group in November (if I can wait that long) and I have lovely new things to watch and read this evening...
I was sitting in the file room today when a Rather More Important Person Than I came in and said to my colleage "I've been told I need to be a better alligator"
To which I replied "Is that why you're wearing a green jumper today?"
He looked at me. I looked at him. We both blinked a couple of times.
I thought I was safe. I thought I (amazingly) had a weekend ahead of me (I remember those: I had one back in July)
But the lure of Officer In Charge on a Sunday is too great, especially when it's going to cost me $600 to bring Miss Daisy back from the dead (not counting the possible cost of new daisies required to resticker her mangled bonnet and such)
The Migraine Monster paid me a visit yesterday, probably to remind me I'm trying to do too much. As usual. I took to my bed and ignored it. As usual. But not before admiring the photographs Krista Peel sent me of her latest roombox:
(If you're so inclined, prints are available here.)
By 3pm I'd staggered out of bed, tidied myself up and tried to look human for last night's Design Fundamentals class which involved a trip to The National Gallery to listen to Contemporary Australian Architects 2009 speaker Philip Thalis on Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects.
And the "eeny meenie miney moe" part of the day? Involved a flying visit through the National Portrait Gallery gift shop to start thinking about what to spend a gift voucher I received for my birthday on. I love gift vouchers and the long drawn out process of deciding exactly what to buy with them!
I also have to decide on which designer to use for my oral presentation for the Designers in Context part of the course which we received the details of last night. Terence Conran? Charles and Ray Eames? Raymond Loewy?
Still trying to get into the habit of drawing something each day to get more practice...(Outside chairs and table drawn from the window seat of the place I had lunch today. And my ever present Keepcup. I'm rather pleased with the second sketch...)
Spotty shirt: $3.50 (Vinnies Queanbeyan: the collar sits a bit strangely so it'll be unpicked and finishing it as a chinese collar)Daisy shoes WITH COLOUR! (Also Vinnies Queanbeyan: $4.00)
Where the wild things are book (Salvos Mitchell: $1.00)Arty box with oil paints and watercolour paints and acrylic paints and brushes and matte varnish (Vinnies Dickson: $20)I'm happy!
From this through this:this, this and this before heading off to a professional seamstress to turn into this:and this: I'm rather chuffed we did so well...
At class again which seems to be the only time I actually create anything at the moment* (although I never think of photographs as particularly creative...)
Assessment for this project is Monday. I'm working on a performance piece depicting monotony, part of which is a slide show of images of things I interact with on a daily basis that are circular.
It's exhibition changeover time at Craft ACT. I thought you'd like to see some of the stuff that goes on when the gallery's closed to the public (even though you've seen it before)...
I didn't go to class last night. Instead I was home, in my PJs and in bed reading a library book and eating leftover Thai by 6pm. Bliss!
I should have been working on the photos for my design project which is due for assessment next Monday. I'm still trying to feel guilty that I wasn't (and failing miserably).
There was some creativity in my day, though. While stuck on hold on our IT help line at work I did a sketch of my filofax:which made me very happy as I've been wanting to draw more regularly after being inspired by a couple of books lent to me by Classmate Chris...
Thanks for the comments and emails. It would have been a minor bingle except the car I rear ended has a bike rack on it which kind of impaled Miss Daisy's front end. It wasn't a pretty sight and she hissed at me when I tried to approach her afterwards.
There is still hope that the smash repair place can perform a resurrection but I'm not holding my breath...
I have great friends who are happy to unexpectedly give me a lift to work before 9am on a Sunday morning (because the buses don't run that early) but a little concerned that the Library I'm in charge of today might burn down. Or something. ;-)
When you have an unexpectedly free Friday afternoon you should:
a) Finally buy a new mobile phone battery b) Pop into the Library to try on uniform shirts for size so you can order one c) Have a late and leisurely lunch with a friend d) Browse the local independently owned book shop (but leave without buying anything) e) Visit the National Gallery to drool and dream over the Reinventions: sculpture + assemblage exhibition f) All of the above
Graphic pad played with.Lack of spare discs discovered (so I couldn't transfer the images back to the laptop).Photos of Mac screen taken (hence dodgy quality).
So I didn't even get an interview for the role I applied for recently and was (fairly) confident I had a chance at. The letter arrived this morning, so at least they were quickish about letting people know.
To make up for it I have more contract work than I know what to do with (for the next couple of weeks, anyway) and managed to snaffle one of Aldi's $59 graphic pads this morning.
Now if I could just find the time to plug it in and play with it...
Four jobs (well, three jobs and one internship but really, does it make any difference if you do or don't get paid for the work you do in terms of time involved?), one course (with the practice run for our final project due in a couple of weeks), one micro business (with added end of financial year-ness), two blogs and one exhibition proposal.
And later in the evening I spotted a basket of wool and needles in the fabulously excellent Mary and Max at ANU Film Group:
But I get ahead of myself. Between the working bit of the day and the movie bit of the day was the opening of Ampersand Duck's wonderful studio space just up the road at ANCA. I didn't take any photos during the actual opening but here are a series of a lesson on how to dampen paper:
Then combine the two to make a piece of art in no more than 2 minutes. Our tutor demonstrates:
We discuss the symbolism of the finished piece and then have a go ourselves.
And I come up with err... this:
Which I could say (if I wished to practice my Art Wank) symbolises the potential death of Miss Daisy. Note the skull portraying death. The daisy eyes. The colours white yellow and black, being common daisy colours. And the speaker symbolises the hissing noise coming from under her bonnet when the accident happened.
Lots of lovely Library users very happy that I could help them find what they were looking for.
Today's outfit consisted of:
(Outside chairs and table drawn from the window seat of the place I had lunch today. And my ever present 
Daisy shoes 
Arty box with oil paints and watercolour paints and acrylic paints and brushes and matte varnish (Vinnies Dickson: $20)
I'm happy!
What else is there to do when you realise you both have a rare day off apart from plan the mother of all op shop trawls?
followed by a farewell lunch:
(Oh the monotony of office life...)
and this: 
I'm rather chuffed we did so well...
which made me very happy as I've been wanting to draw more regularly after being inspired by a 
Lack of spare discs discovered (so I couldn't transfer the images back to the laptop).
Photos of Mac screen taken (hence dodgy quality).
(L to R: 
