memories

I've been re-discovering hidden treasures today. I found this box filled with little things I had scattered around the house before I left. Random polaroids - altered by being scratched, burned and screwed up, so not of anything at all, but it's amazing the memories they evoke even without any visual reference. The rest is a mixture of jewellery, a little dolls head, burnt metal and rabbit jaw bones. All bringing back lots of memories - some good, some not so much...but all things I will keep.....
...probably forever.
Sorting through old sketchbooks and journals I found some colour photograms from a couple of years ago. I loved making these. I guess a colour dark room and processor shall be added to the list of things I'd love to have one day!
I really need to go through my old journals more often, pick up some of the ideas that never happened, and carry on the ideas that got left behind.


My friend is coming to visit tomorrow for a few days, so I shall be off visiting castles and beaches, I'm just not sure which ones yet, I must do some research to find out what's open at this time of year. Maybe it's just best to look forward and not dwell on the past....

Don't you just love being hit with a huge wave of inspiration?

Today started off being completley awful - well, I woke up in such a good mood - it didn't last long, probably all of half an hour. Everything I've attempted has just turned into a mess and I ended up sitting at my work desk staring out of the window getting more and more annoyed with myself for not being able to do anything. I came away from the mess and suddenly everything just clicked into place. Pages and pages of sketches and ideas! New accessories, new art work - I just have to keep the momentum going and actually get started now! haha. Is it silly when the first thing I do is blog about having an idea, rather than trying it out!? Possibly - but then it maybe best not to rush into things, or I'll end up with another big mess on my hands!

Anyway, now I've returned to my usual happy self (haha) I shall talk of other wonders that have made me happy this past couple of days.

I watched the most odd film last night. Valerie and her week of Wonders.
I recommend it to anybody, a kind of Alice in Wonderland, magical, very strange and creepy film. And so beautiful! I've had the soundtrack on the computer for ages 'borrowed' from a friend and now he's finally got hold of the film and lent me that. We discovered it through Espers/Fern Knight who've collaborated, with others, to create a new soundtrack for it - although I've not heard it yet.
Ok - maybe I shall continue this post once I've done a bit of work!! I might run out of steam, or my mind may go blank and I'll loose my sketchbook in the mess that is my studio.....what would I do then!? I shall continue to fuel my good mood by listening to music very loudly, drinking too much coffee and making a fabulous mess (opposed to an awful mess, which is what I was doing this morning!)

quack!

We got the new ducks today. Poor things were so filthy and quite featherless in places - note the difference between the old (swimming) and the new. They seem to have settled in quite well though and have been in and out of the pond, eating and saying hello to the other ducks. They're now all tucked up in bed, in their little hut. Quite odd really as the two we already had have refused to go in the hut for ages, but tonight were desperate to get in to be with the new ones (or protect their territory!).

The rest of today has been eaten up, and I'm not quite sure what I've done, or where the time has gone. Now off to wrap up warm, watch a film and eat chocolate - nice things in the post again today! Tomorrow will hopefully be much more productive and much less cold and windy (although I will settle with just the first, which is possibly best after seeing the weather forecast for tomorrow!)

join the dots

Well I smell lovely today! Just thought I should tell the world. I got a package this morning from Lollibomb and it really was just what I needed after a few days of feeling like shite.

I spent a good deal of yesterday browsing blogs and websites linked from this lovely lady's blog who left a comment or two on here. It's strange how things are all connected, or become connected.
Somewhere along the line through the links I found the work of Anne Mawby, who makes such beautiful, understated work. A lot of it is made using holes pierced into paper....


I've spent the last few days piercing holes into canvas - and small ones at that, and my hand is killing me, which makes her work even more amazing - her hand must've ached so much after 6 hours piercing a day for 6 weeks!!
So thankyou Susan, for commenting and enabling me to find this artist!

Apart from the hole piercing, a little paint smearing and a lot of blog reading I've not done a great deal else. I listed a couple of bits on etsy, one of which has already gone :)
I've just read this post back to myself and it makes very little sense! I really should ellaborate and be more coherent, but today I won't be - blame the last remaining bits of illness!

i want to live inside a cuckoo clock

I've found a reason for my headache and tiredness over the past couple of days. The Dreaded Lurg. I've woken up this morning and my entire body is aching and my throat feels as though there is something wedged down there, my head is still aching and I'm still tired. Not good at all.

I feel like going back to bed and curling up in the warmth, but instead I'm struggling on. I've given myself an easy day today researching, computing, with a little bit of painting. I decided against tackling anything that I could easily mess up and get annoyed with....i.e. -sewing!

The post brought nice things today. My new clock case (see above- with the lovely roses my mother bought me, reduced after valentines day - the best time for flowers!) which will be transformed into something fantastic, although I'm not quite sure what yet. I also received news on my MFA application!!! They've acknowledged receipt and it's now being considered!! I really am too impatient - I wanted an immediate decision!! The post also brought not so nice rejection letters for the much coveted position at the farming museum. I'm beginning to think I'm totally unemployable.
I've also had news of my findings delivery - they called this morning to say they were sending it special delivery today, so I should have things by tomorrow. It's quite amazing how quickly people respond to a paypal claim! Apparantly it has already been posted and must have gone missing somewhere along the way. But really, they could have responded to my emails to tell me so. I really do despise being ignored!

So, I must get back to researching, buying books - do I really need any more!? and trying to figure out Dreamweaver....although Dreamweaver may wait until my head isn't so fuzzy.

secrets

More new things finished and listed today. This is the cuff I love, but I gave in and listed it anyway.

Apart from finishing off some cuffs the rest of the day has been spent doing things which have given me a headache - sorting out files on the computer, making spreadsheets.....

I've spent the best part of the afternoon trying to sort out my website (emilychandler.co.uk) it's driving me mad! So I'm now downloading a trial of Adobe Flash CS3 to see if I can use that to make it work a bit better. It's all a bit slow at the moment - and I'm not sure that half of the things I've done are even noticeable! Saying that, it was exactly the same with my degree show - I spent so long hiding secrets around the installation, that nobody even saw!
I am now going to go and watch Grand Designs and do some sketching....and hope my head stops hurting once I get away from the computer!

It's been such a beautiful day today, fog and sunshine. Every time I looked up from my work the view had changed. It finally settled on low fog - although not quite as foggy as in the picture....that's from a few days ago. The ghost road to the village.

My creative energy seems to have re-appeared today after days of migraines, stress and not getting much done. Maybe it's something to do with getting good post this morning! I received a beautiful necklace from bamsmama off etsy. It's made from a lava stone! As usual my camera has died a death - but click on the link and it will show all!

I've finished off a few brooches, taken photos (when my camera was behaving), started some new brooches, listed things on etsy, and started some wrist cuffs, made some cinamon biscuits, cleaned and done the ground work for 2 canvases.
I'm totally in love with one of the cuffs; red silk with lace and ribbon and embroidered text. I might have to make myself something similar!

I managed to get one necklace finished and listed today. The rest are still waiting for the delivery of findings I placed ages ago now. I emailed yesterday to see where they'd got to, but as yet haven't received a reply. I'm really disappointed because this company are usually excellent and have things delivered within a couple of days. Maybe I'm just being to impatient!

I hope tomorrow is as productive as today, and hopefully the findings will arrive so I can get on with the pile of pendants waiting for a home....

catch up

No update for 4 days....dear me! The past few days seem to have flown by, although now looking back, Thursday seems so long ago. I can't even remember Thursday...It's always the way I guess.

Friday I had an interview for a 'real' job. I knew that at some point I would be required to grow up for a while and behave like an adult, but I would really prefer not to! Anyway, I think it went OK, but we shall see. It's a permanent position, which isn't really ideal (i didn't tell them about my MFA application). If I don't get this job, I'm going to try an agency to see about some temporary work, at least then I don't have to lie, because after all I do need the money if I'm going to be going back to uni.
The rest of Friday was much more pleasant, shopping in Aberdeen. I found a wonderful charity shop, but unfortunately couldn't actually buy, or even get to the wonderful things inside as there was a gaggle of ancient ladies re-arranging the shop blocking me whichever way I tried to go! I know where it is at least, and can return at a later date when they've finally figured out where to put things! The rest of the day was spent buying ribbons, trims, fabric and canvas...a small selection (in a really bad photo)


I really do mean the rest of the day - the woman serving me was so slow!! I felt like grabbing the stuff she was cutting and doing it myself, although I know from my experience working in a fabric shop that would have been the most annoying thing I could have done! So I left her to it. I got out eventually, went and met my mother where we spent an age deciding which curtains she should buy. It turned out to be such a long day....

Yesterday I slept late, woke up with a migraine, did a small amount of brooch making, fell asleep for a few hours, woke up, ate, went to bed early and watched the entire 1st series of Black Books (although I actually fell asleep at the end of the third episode I think!).

This morning I woke up feeling much, much better. I'd just sat down to plan my day, when my dad appeared in the door way saying I should add finding snow to my list! So off we went, in search of snow! 2 hours later we were at the Lecht ski centre, where we were quite disappointed at the small amount of snow that was there! We went into the cafe, had a disgusting sandwich, and equally disgusting coffee. Then drove home, along the mountain tops, seeing all manner of nature - 2 golden eagles, and a few mountain hares, although the hares were all squished in the middle of the road! then via Balmoral Castle, where we completely disregarded the No Entry signs and went in search of red squirrels up the drive way - we didn't find any, but nearly ran one over once we had got out! We missed and he ran up a tree and posed for a photo. Unfortunately, my camera refused to turn on in a timely manner (as usual) and so I got him just as he was running away.


4 hours later we arrived home! A fun day out, although I'm still a bit disappointed we didn't go back the way we came so I could stop off at the most wonderful antiques shop I saw - complete with fibreglass fair ground giraffe in the window - and the wool shop at Alford. But if we had, I wouldn't have seen Mr. Squirly squirrel, or the eagles, or the numerous other things I saw...and the antiques shop and wool shop will be there another time. Maybe not the fair ground giraffe tho.

Tomorrow I must make new things. Do some art. Not get distracted by offers of trips out. Although that won't be hard, as I'm sure the only place anybody will visit tomorrow is the Post Office and the supermarket - not quite as exciting as mountains, snow and squirrels!

a list of things I haven't done today

I'm really going to have to stop writing lists, or at least publicly declaring them! So here is a list of what I have not done today, and accompanying excuses!
Today I have not put in an order with Tirantis (i can't decide how much plaster to buy),
I have not finished off the necklaces and brooches I was working on (still waiting for supplies to be delivered, so I started new ones instead)
I did not list things on Etsy (see above)
I did not walk down the unknown path (I found out that it no longer leads anywhere, well to a building site - instead I took a walk through the village and a couple of miles out the other side to pick up the car from the garage with my dad)

I did however complete the things on my list which weren't publicly declared....embroidering, more baking, visiting salvage yards....all of which may be discussed later (the walk today has tired me out)

I made a treasury on Etsy yesterday, lots of beautiful things, all from the UK....a small sneak preview below (although the bird doll in picture is actually not in the treasury, it's by the fabulous Sarah Ogren, who is also worth a look) So, go and see the treasury, and look at all the beautiful artists within http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=28475

Etsy Buy Handmade lostintheforest

out of control.....

Installation - view from above

My MFA application was finally sent off yesterday. The rest of my life now lays in the hands of somebody else.....scary! But I can now get on with things other than re-photographing my work and panicking about and constantly checking what I've written or whether my photographs are good enough. I can now just worry about all that unable to actually change anything! Installation - view from below

I'm not myself you see

Today has been spent helping out my parents, visiting DIY shops, looking at and choosing wallpaper as they're redecorating one of the bathrooms. I also picked up a few things for myself - some disposable gloves and some adhesives - exciting purchases! Pretty things (ribbons and buttons) turned up in the post this morning, which makes up for my boring purchases today!
This afternoon I have been baking - orange and poppy seed muffins and some honey & oatmeal cookies. Tasty!

But tomorrow, I have much more exciting and creative and productive things on my to-do list. And tomorrow they will get done.
The list includes, but does not stop at...
Putting an order in at Tiranti's - alginate, plaster & new respirator filters
Finishing off brooches & necklaces I've been working on
List new things on Etsy
Go for a walk down the path that goes to somewhere....I'm not sure where it leads....

The bone collector...and other stories

Today has, thankfully, been a much more pleasant experience than yesterday. I got up and took a walk down to the village to fetch the newspaper. I felt a bit like Jayne Eyre walking across the moors. Except I was walking down the road, next to a field, with no moors in sight. It was the feeling of freedom.....escape. Yesterday I felt trapped, unable to do anything I really wanted to do. Today is different. I like to walk, seeing the masses of geese dancing in the sky, silence apart from the wind and the birds singing, finding little nests in bushes....magical.



On the walk back up the road I was thinking about my work, I've made any artwork for what seems like an age....I was thinking... Wondering what happens to the bones and insect shells that the Buzzard who frequents the garden eats. I wanted to find more little creatures to use in my work. It turns out they're like owls and eat them, then regurgitate them, so it'd be unlikely I'd find them. Then I remembered last year I found lots of rabbit bones near the beach....so off I went in search of more. Stray from the path....you never know what you will find.


Such a beautiful place, down a long dirt track, moss, rabbit holes, birds and rabbits everywhere, huge sand dunes, miles of deserted sandy beach.

........

The craft shop I visited today, was as expected quite awful. It was filled with a mixture of gaudy and twee card making and scrap booking things, not the beads and jewellery findings I was promised. I'm not quite sure why, but whenever I discover a new craft shop I always build it up to be something quite fantastic in my head - I'm always going to be disappointed really. I bought a few metres of over priced velvet ribbon, just so the trip was not a complete waste of my time.
The saving grace of the afternoon was a visit to my mothers friends soon to be shop, located in an old church in a little village between here and the town which is home to the awful craft shop. At the moment it's filled with junk, and stock from their old gift shop, which they are selling off to make room for the new shop things. I bought a couple of little treasures, a cardboard heart shaped box with an image of some children on it and a Victorian chemists bottle to add to the collection. Forgive the lack of visual evidence and prettiness - my camera has decided to drain itself of life, even though I only just charged it. They cost a grand total of twenty pence - and I snuck them into the pile of things my mother was buying, so they cost me nothing at all!
Linda at the shop has also expressed interest in selling some of my jewellery, but at the moment I'm not quite sure when the new shop will be up and running.

Since being home I've been browsing the internet buying the supplies I went in search for today and looking at blogs - and I've found some amazing ones today. Firstly Sarah Blank, which I found via etsy I believe, although I'm now not too sure. She creates such beautiful things, and goes for walks in such a beautiful wood! I wish there was a wood I could go walking in near here, I guess for now I shall have to make do with the trees at the back of the house - there are snowdrops popping up all over the place, so beautiful (again you will have to use your imagination on this one!) Then I found Little Brown Sparrow, again I'm not quite sure how, she creates such beautiful artwork, and takes such beautiful photographs and posts such beautiful things! Dear me, bit of an overkill with the word beautiful I feel....just go and look at them both, you will see what I mean.

Tonight I am sitting with my journal, listening to the new Queen Adreenda album (which is not really that new, but I only got it last week) and letting my mind wander. I'm exhausted, so I hope my pen will just take over....

Friday!!!?

I can't believe it's Friday already! I seem to have lost a couple of days. I did spend most of yesterday in bed, I really wasn't feeling too good (which probably had something to do with staying up till gone 3am the night before) so rested, read and watched awful TV. I did get up, make cookies, then I took them back to bed with a nice cup of coffee and read some more.
But really, where has the rest of the week gone!?

Oooh Puzzlecat I'm gonna grab your head!! Here is a picture of one of my fetchings - I should actually say here's a really bad picture of one of my fetchings. I'd have messed around with it a bit, or taken a better one, but I'm really all photo-ed out today. I spent the morning taking pictures of my artwork for my MFA application. I'm actually quite amazed at how clear they came out - the light here remains awful (or atleast did until I decided to go to the supermarket this afternoon - then in was beautifully sunny....until I got home and it was dark....typical!!)

just a small selection of pictures taken today. I really hope they're all good enough. They have to be really. They're all being sent off tomorrow. With a newly printed out application form, as right now Puzzle is sleeping on it!

Anyway, needless to say after spending yesterday doing nothing productive and finalising my application today, I'm still yet to finish off my resin things, my slip dress, some jewellery, brooches.....bad, bad Emily! But, instead of finishing those off tonight I'm starting off some new brooch ideas - similar to the tree one in my shop.

Tomorrow...tomorrow I am venturing to the next town to visit a new craft shop - it's not new, just new to me - I'm hoping they have what I'm after as well as other things that are pretty and/or exciting that make me want to buy them. I was going to go into Aberdeen, but really all I *need* is a couple of necklace clasps, and going on an 80mile round trip and spending £10 on the bus, plus food/coffee really doesn't seem worth it for 60p worth of findings! If only I was more organised when it came to buying supplies online. I just put in and received an order, and simply forgot I needed these and it also seems silly to pay shipping costs which are about 10x more than what I'm buying! Anyway, hopefully it's as good as the woman who recommended it to me says it is. And hopefully they sell ribbon too, preferably velvet ribbon in colours other than black or red. I really need to get my act together and order some online, but I'm unsure about the colours...I should stop thinking about ribbon - I'm probably getting my hopes up too much about this shop!

Right, I'm off to fit 3 days into the next few hours!

shop update!

Etsy Buy Handmade lostintheforest

I've added some new necklaces and a couple of brooches to the shop today. I had to give in to the gloominess and just take the pictures, when we get some more sunshine I'll retake them I think.

I've been making new resiny things today, some new pendants, brooches and birds. I'm also experimenting with a new frame mould I got - I really hope it turns out well as I've got so many ideas for these little frames.
I really need to write a note to myself on the top of the resin tin - "do not make more than 300ml at a time!!!" I was rushing round trying to find moulds to use up the last 100ml from the first batch I made - I was not planning to make any pendants or brooches today! They shall all be finished off tomorrow, so we'll see how they turn out having not been planned in the slightest. I often work better not planning things properly....but we'll see!

I'm hoping to get some sewing done tomorrow. I've got a vintage slip that is crying out to be made into something beautiful! I've also got to find some time (that really is the wrong thing to be saying here!) to sort out my images for my MFA application. I got feedback from my old tutors about my proposal and they say it's great, so I need to add some images, tick some boxes on the form and send it off. Then the rest of my life is in the hands of somebody else! Pretty scary really!

For the rest of the evening I'm finishing those 'fetching' gloves I'm knitting - yes finally - it's been 2 months now for something that should really have only taken a few days! I only have the thumb to do so it should be done in no time! haha. This will be followed by settling down in bed in my PJs to watch Shameless and do some doodling in my sketch book....nice and relaxing which is exactly what I need this evening.

bad light

I've not got as much done as I'd really hoped to do today, well I did everything, with the exception of taking pictures of new things for etsy! By the time I got round to doing it, the light had gone, so shop updates have been put back another day! Here's a sneak preview anyway (with bad light!)


Oooh pretty round corners - after a discussion on etsy forums yesterday I found this wonderful tool roundpic.com for those of us who want rounded corners without Typepad accounts and who don't have time to be messing around on Photoshop! Enjoy!

So why the lack of update? Well, today has been mostly taken up with applications for post grad courses and trying to write a decent proposal! I wanted to get it all sorted and emailed off to be checked before everybody went home for the day. It took longer than expected, having to phone up my old college to ask silly questions, and have a chat with my old tutor, phone up my sister in a bit of a panic, write loads of drafts and then end up emailing off a draft I was less than happy with. Hopefully somebody will get back to me with some constructive critisism, soon, as I want this to be sent by the end of the week!

This evening I shall be painting tea cups, watching some Hitchcock and reading through 100's of pages of guidance notes for funding.

second post of the day but a post of firsts

Goodness me, 2 posts in one day!?

It's been a day of firsts for me today.....firstly......first time as featured seller on a blog, and the first featured seller at that (shall I try and fit another first in that sentence?!)

http://organidog.blogspot.com/

It's a little bit scary answering questions about yourself, especially when you're not at all prepared....but I managed :)
Organidog also sells fabulous organic dog treats and punky dog clothing and accessories, which if I had a dog I'd snap up immediatley. However, I just have my little Puzzlecat, who would not appreciate wearing a dress. Which is a shame really - I think he'd look quite dashing.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5254982&section_id=5261994

The second first was an etsy treasury, although only a treasury west, but still a treasury! I was also quite unprepared for that, and possibly spent far too long organising it instead of working (oops!) but i like how it turned out, so it was all worthwhile! Go and look at the prettiness.
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=291

Amongst all this I actually did get work done. I started 2 new paintings (my first of this year!) and got on with some brooches. All of these will be revealed at a later date as after fun and games in the snow this morning my cameras battery has died a cold and snowy death.

the weathermen finally got it right