too many spirits...

I return! Well infact, I returned on Tuesday, but I guess that's neither here nor there. Edinburgh was, as usual amazing. Although this time more so because of the visit to the college. It really was totally overwhelming - the size, the stuff, facilities, the atmosphere. But they are all good things that have made me want to go there even more. Now it's just a small matter of getting together application, portfolio, proposal and funding...to the tune of £6500ish..!! I'm going to have to throw all of my energy into this, when I can actually find some that is! I am so very tired and just feel like crawling back into bed - too many spirits visited me this weekend, both the alcoholic kind and the ones in my head. By tomorrow I'm hoping I can push them all to one side and just really get on with finding funding and sorting out my application...and new work. Aside from the visits by spirits I had a really, really good weekend.

My sister and I visited museums and spent some time looking at all kinds of stuffed creatures and creepy crawly things. I saw Sweeney Todd (which I would reccommend to anybody - another amazing film by Mr. Burton) I went to a Philosophy Society discussion group about 'the right to vote', met lovely people, I got myself lost and wandered around bits of Edinburgh I've not seen before, ate more mozerella and basil panninis than I cared for, tried various liqours I've never tasted before - I warn against Lovage Liqour, it was not nice, although I was apparantly drinking it incorrectly, bought new shoes, and hair clips, drank lots of coffee...I could go on, but I will stop there...
Anyway, as much as it was nice to be back in my own bed, I already want to go back. And to do that I must sort myself out and get on with it! Today, I'm going to finish off my website. Not too much energy needed for that and it's a step in the right direction, and something that can go on my application somewhere.

P.S Etsy shop update tomorrow Monday evening!

so long....

Tomorrow I am off on a jaunt across the country so I'll be away until next Tuesday. I still have so much to sort out for the trip - packing being the main one! I have an interview for a 'real job' on the way there - a complete inconvenience really! It means I have to wear suitable interview clothing, which is comfortable enough to wear on a train for a few hours, which I also don't mind wearing out sociably, because as soon as I get to Edinburgh I'm off out!

Today has been most pleasant, and fairly productive (which is a good thing seen as I'm away for so long!) I got lots of new brooches and things almost finished this morning which I shall finish off and list on etsy on my return. I did a bit more work on the secret project - it worked well! But I've now misplaced it...or I should say my Dad has!
This afternoon I accompanied my Mother to the supermarket - always good fun! We spent ages going round in circles as she was convinced they were going to reduce things. The eternal bargain hunter! I'm exactly the same, I spend so long looking for a good deal that if I took into account my time, by time I find one it's cost about 10 times as much as if I'd bought the first thing I found!
We then went on a mini adventure. Mum decided we should go a different way home and find somewhere new! We ended up in St. Fergus, home to the gas terminal you can sometimes see from our kitchen window and a beautiful beach. We had a little stroll along the beach picking up shells and things. It was such a beautiful day! Unfortunatley I didn't have either my camera or phone - so no pictures!!

I also came up with a new design for some necklaces this afternoon - it has a couple of tiny flaws, so I'm keeping this one myself.

Just on a side thought The Cure must make a killing on having their music being used as background music on practically every programme on the BBC!!

Well, I should stop putting off this packing...

happy dancing and secrets

Well I've just been put in a very good mood - I made my first sale on etsy...followed by another about 5 minutes later! Yay - I'm doing a happy dance...although a slightly odd one as I'm shivering so much, it's freezing here today. I really didn't think I'd sell anything so quickly.

I've been working on new things today, although for now they shall remain top secret! I'm a little bit annoyed with it tho as I have to leave 24 hours until the next stage. Patience is really not my virtue...as you already knew if you read about my knitting yesterday! That obviously didn't get finished last night, although I did get some done - and a bit today whilst taking coffee breaks.

Tonight I shall be working on some more new things. I had an idea for a new embroidered book earlier on and want to get the ideas down on paper before the idea disappears.

Infact, I shall keep this post short and sweet as I'm going to go and wrap myself up in bed with sketchbook, cat and a nice mug of something hot to keep warm.

finally

yes, yes I finally listed things in my etsy store




^^^ Loook ^^^

I've done nothing particularly creative today however - I've been updating flickr, myspace and etsy all day, occaisionally getting side tracked by beautiful art work, which I'm rather annoyed I didn't bookmark - I'll have to trawl through my history files later!

I am going to attempt to finish knitting the 'fetching' I started (the week before Christmas) for my mum and will make a start on the second of my own (which I started even longer ago). I really am such a bad knitter. Not bad, as in rubbish, but bad as in bad, if you get what I mean! I just love the idea of things, but once I get going I find something else I love more, so I end up with loads of unfinished knitted things all over the place. I think that's why I prefer sewing - it's closer to instant gratification than knitting is. Maybe I just need to practice more and my knitting will speed up! My sister is a fast knitter, my mother even faster - but then they only do garter or stockinette stitch and that just isn't pretty enough for my liking!

I saw a great programme on TV last night, it was a Tim Burton special on The Southbank show. It was really good to see him talking about his films. And made me want to watch them all again! Then I remembered that I don't actually own any as I didn't need to - I had them all to hand in Birmingham, but now I've moved I don't. A situation which will have to be rectified I think.
Also, to tie in with the air of the macabre created by Mr Burton little Puzzle cat came in, sat on my sketchbook and left bloody little claw prints all over a nice white page! He really is turning into a little monster now he's allowed outside!

but look at him now - a little wolf in sheeps clothing!

....

I have an appointment next week to see the MFA course director at Edinburgh college of art next week. Just to have a look around and see what they have to offer. I hope it doesn't disappoint.
I've been researching artists and my artwork today and it's left me longing to be back in a creative space. A real working creative art space, a place to share ideas and get excited about ideas and put those ideas into practice. I've got so many things I want to do. Things that aren't really possible in a domestic situation....well they may be possible, but I'm sure my parents really wouldn't appreciate it! I'm not really sure people at my last college appreciated it. My studio space was filled with dead rodents, jars full of dust and other bits of 'clutter'. Saying that, the only thing on that list that is missing from my current work space is the jars of dust....and I'm sure if I looked under the bed, behind the curtains or wherever I'd be sure to find some of that - along with dead insects no doubt. I like to leave them there.....

Anyway, enough of that, it almost started to sound like I was complaining there! I wasn't, I promise!! I still have small ideas too, so I am quite content, more than content sitting in my attic rooms making pretty things. But hey, soon I could be sitting in a lovely room in Edinburgh doing that :) I'll just make sure I find nice and understanding flat mates who don't mind my procession of dead things!

Talking of small pretty things my Etsy shop will (hopefully) have things in it by Monday evening! I have been finishing things off today, and I plan to get some more things done tomorrow. Then photos on Monday morning - sunshine forecast for the next week!!
I was going to wait until I came back from Edinburgh, but that would be putting things off again. Just bite the bullet and get on with it my little shop has been sitting empty for far too long now.

Hmm...another all text post....oh well I will post prettiness soon!

bad day....deer me!

I'm not having such a great day today. It started off well, so it wasn't a 'wrong side of the bed day'. I say well, but there was nothing great that happened, and nothing of particular note. Just an average day.
I think things started going wrong when I started working. My sewing machine insisted on eating everything, no matter how many times I re-wound the bobbin and no matter how I changed the tension...so I gave up and did some jewellery things instead. That was going well, but getting to a point where I could do no more, I came back to the computer to print out some images ready for transferring. It won't print!! Just error after error!! I know it's my own fault, as yesterday I was wistfully looking at new fancy printers. I've obviously made my current printer jealous, so he is now refusing to do anything. Pah!
I broke for lunch, and afterwards went back to the jewellery, only to find out I've run out of a vital supply!! Back to the computer to find it. Well they apparantly only exist on one ebay listing in America, who are charging $6.50 p&p plus $3.55 per additional item. Now this is just extortion! Now, I could understand if these things weighed more than 5 grams each. But they don't. I think I can make do without - or atleast find a suitable replacement. Hell, I could probably use something of better quality for less than that! (disclaimer: not that i'm using poor quality supplies you understand :) ) So I will.

Anyway enough about today, as I have resigned. Just for the rest of the day anyway.

I have been buying lots of supplies recently. Mainly to replace things that were left behind when I moved, paper for instance. But I bought some fabulous things yesterday, much more exciting things than paper, which will remain secrets until I figure out if I can actually do what I want to with them.

And talking of fabulous things, I found out about some auctions happening (fairly) locally, which I really hope I can get to. Atleast the one which is just down the road. I also discovered a market - it sounds fantastic, but I'm sure it probably isn't as fantastic in real life as it is in my head. It's also pushing 70 miles away, which probably doesn't sound that far away to people living outside of the UK, but for a girl with no car, no public transport headed in that direction and unhelpful parents who refuse to drive their beloved daughter 70 miles so she can buy 'bits of tat' to fill their home with, it is quite a distance!

Well I was going to prettify this post with pictures of new things for the shop - but as nothing reeeally got done today you can see this instead.....yes a picture of me!

Finally received and sorted the pictures from my sisters birthday party! Deer me!

studio update and cardboard coffins

The creation of the perfect temporary 'studio' is taking much longer than first anticipated. It's due to all manner of things, waking up late (oops!), accompanying my mother to the supermarket & charity shops, having to paint walls I'd not planned on painting, painting shelves, it getting dark too quickly and not being able to see. The latter will be rectified tomorrow when I disappear into the cold and dusty loft to find a better light fitting than the single bulb which is currently hanging from the ceiling. The shelves and walls are now all painted and are currently drying, so shall no longer be a problem. The first two things were entirely my own doing and shall not happen again until the room is complete. Honest.

I blame Puzzle (cat) for my waking up late. 2 nights ago he decided to bring me a present at 1am. A present he didn't quite know what to do with as it's the first gift he's ever brought me. So he threw it around the room a lot, a few feet in the air, followed by himself. Both came crashing down onto my knitting machine, which was 'resting' in the middle of the floor.
I was using the light from my mobile phone to see all of this as I really didn't want to get out of bed. But when I discovered what it was, obviously got up. I thanked the cat, put the bird in an empty box and put that in the bathroom to deal with in the morning. For the next hour or so the cat was in and out trying to find his little trophy until I eventually locked him out of the room, where he scratted all night trying to get back in. Now, if he was a clever cat (it is well known that he isn't) he'd have just opened the bathroom door and found his little friend in his cardboard coffin.

So tomorrow. I'm hoping. The room will be finished. We shall see...

new studio = pain in the foot

studio in progress 4

Originally uploaded by lost-in-the-forest

This is the result of a long day of cleaning, moving things, dropping things, throwing things, injuring myself and random swearing. Yes - a half empty room! Or as I like to call it, my new studio.
I'm not totally enamoured with the location - it's my youngest sisters bedroom (well it's not anymore, she moved out) so there was a lot of stuff to move that has been dumped there over the years. There still is a lot to move, as currently I only moved it to the otherside of the room - but that will be done tomorrow as I really hurt my foot and can't stand on it at the moment!
I hope once my things are in there and I'm properly set up it will feel more like mine, and not like I'm camping out. I know this is actually exactly what I'm doing. This is in no way a permanent space - but I'd still like to feel at home. And then I can get some proper work done!
Tomorrow the rest will get done and my things moved in. I'm also hoping to convince my mum to come to the Charity Barn with me so I can buy a couple of comfy chairs (one for the computer, the other for the desk in the studio) so I don't end up crippled from working. And who knows what other bits of dusty tat I shall end up with!

shopping trip from hell

This weekend myself and a friend ventured into the metropolis they call Aberdeen. I haven't been shopping in real life shops for a while (as I possibly mentioned in my last blog). I don't think I shall be bothering again for a while. I'm not quite sure whether I wish to purchase things so obscure that nobody stocks them, or whether the shops are just useless! There are certain things, Japanese craft magazines/books which I knew there was probably no hope in finding. But things such as a Queen Adreena album, basic art materials, shoes, Brothers Quay DVD etc...I thought wouldn't be too hard to source. I was obviously wrong. And in the process of trying to find these 'obscure items', I get attacked by giant rucksacks - which contained supplies large enough to last a month long expedition to the Artic, get pushed out of the way, walked into, have people standing around chatting and getting in my way, far too involved in their conversation to hear me asking them politely to move. That was just in HMV. Waterstones was just as bad, except there seemed to be an added extra - an army of children had been let loose, who threw every book they could reach on the floor. Where were the parents!!? Probably consumed by the ridiculous amount of books in the cooking section, which appears to have also consumed 2/3's of the art section. It is now pitifuly tiny. No hope of finding anything in there. There was one small success, in terms of shopping anyway. I found some tights! Raspberry pink ones, black ribbed ones - I'm sure I put more in my basket, but this is all I ended up with and it will do me for now. There was also a nice top I bought...all from Primark (the devils shop). I gave up on everything else in the end. Internet shopping is my friend.
We came home and stopped off at Balmedie beach on the way home. Not that we stayed out of the car for long as it was freezing. Beautiful beach tho!
The friend has now returned down south, back to Birmingham. I am once again left with my own company (plus various parents, cats and birds) and have lots of work to get done. Starting with creating 'my studio' in my (not so) new abode.

Happy New Year!

It's a cold start to the new year, and it is said, by the clever weather type people, that it will be getting colder with snow tomorrow and Thursday. I do hope it does. The last few times it has been promised it just hasn't materialised. Last time I saw snow I was living in Birmingham and was on the bus from hell, stuck in the snow with no heat and freezing cold wet feet for 2 and a half hours. Not nice. And it was last February!! This time I will be in a warm house, with a beautiful view. Or in big green wellington boots, a warm coat and woolen scarf running around the garden like a child who's eaten too many E numbers! Either one is fine with me.

I've had a nice cosy day today, infront of the computer for most of it. Researching and shopping. To be honest, I've done a lot more browsing than shopping. And a lot more shopping than researching!...a nice lazy day.

I was looking for new sketchbooks, spiral bound ones which I used to use hundreds of in a matter of months whilst at college. Then I thought about it and realised I only used hundreds of them as they were cheap and didn't have many pages in. So I've treated myself to a few different sized Moleskines, from Amazon. Although I wasn't planning to buy books, one or two, or possibly more ended up in my shopping cart....

How to Make Books which I was actually hoping to receive for Christmas, but didn't, so we shall say it's a late Christmas gift for myself.

Ways of Seeing - John Berger which I've bought once before, but I have no idea where it is and haven't seen it in a long time, even when moving house so I presume it has gone to booky heaven, which is probably located down the back of a radiator in a house I once lived in.

Yes Man - Danny Wallace, because I fancied something funny to read along with the more serious, yet still fairly amusing My Mother, Myself which I'm currently half way through.

I was also looking at purchasing new tights. This is one problem with moving from Birmingham, where everything was so easily accessible, a consumerists dream, to where I am now, miles away from any form of shop, let alone one that sells beautiful tights, shoes, clothes....So now internet shopping is my friend. Atleast it would be if I could find what I wanted - preferably in the UK so the shipping doesn't cost a fortune! And if it is in the UK, somewhere that doesn't think that NE Scotland is the Highlands and charges me an extra £8 for additional courier services!! (I shouldn't really complain. I get to stomp around the countryside in the snow, instead of being stuck on a bus in the snow and that is much better than easily accessible hoisery!)

My posts should be getting a lot more attractive very soon. My digital camera, which was left in Birmingham is currently somewhere between there and here in the post. I can't wait for it to arrive. I'll be able to take photographs of the work I've done, things to put on Etsy, skirts I've made, snow!! Hoorah!

I shall now retire, back to my search for perfect tights. Wish me luck.

And Happy New Year to whoever happens to read this!
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