Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Packin
Packin for Tassie. Took a housemate out with me to the shops, i got a pair of shoes & he got a kitchen sink. Both of us feel a sense of achievement & that the day weren't entirely wasted.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Now that i'm not
Now that i'm not doing much sculpture, you get to read about the petty BS of my boring little life. I quite lke my boring little life though i think i have it very easy & i know i'm very lucky, tho lke they say a MAN would consider it good judgement & skill etc. However i'm not just a woman but also i know luck when i see it thanks.
But anyway i thought i'd mention something i don't think much've. People who say "i work in IT" with that downward inflection on the IT as if to say, move along, yer too stupid for details, and this s how you spell I.T.: I.. T....
And then when i say what kind of IT they say Virtualization, which means thats enough bugger off now. Just cos i too work in virtualization to a certain extent i have even strung out said person to the point of mentioning VMWare itself but it never gets to the point where i get any actual information. Cos i'm hideously polite I don't push it any further for fear the person actually knows jack shit about their job & is trying to fob me off by using a 6 syllable word lke Virtualization. Anyway i have narowed it down to either they reckon i'm stupid & they don't want to bore me & waste their time, or else they're scared they gonna expose theyself as stupid cos they dunno nothing about what they're supposedly doing. Which can happen in IT & can cause people to worry about losing their job everytime someone sneeze upstairs.
Anyway if i didn't have to communicate w this person often perhaps i would not worry bout it but there u are i am stuck with it & these little things knaw at ya. Beng the only thing we have in common it wd be good to have a proper chat but it seem one of us is too stupid, or both of us, i dunno.
But anyway i thought i'd mention something i don't think much've. People who say "i work in IT" with that downward inflection on the IT as if to say, move along, yer too stupid for details, and this s how you spell I.T.: I.. T....
And then when i say what kind of IT they say Virtualization, which means thats enough bugger off now. Just cos i too work in virtualization to a certain extent i have even strung out said person to the point of mentioning VMWare itself but it never gets to the point where i get any actual information. Cos i'm hideously polite I don't push it any further for fear the person actually knows jack shit about their job & is trying to fob me off by using a 6 syllable word lke Virtualization. Anyway i have narowed it down to either they reckon i'm stupid & they don't want to bore me & waste their time, or else they're scared they gonna expose theyself as stupid cos they dunno nothing about what they're supposedly doing. Which can happen in IT & can cause people to worry about losing their job everytime someone sneeze upstairs.
Anyway if i didn't have to communicate w this person often perhaps i would not worry bout it but there u are i am stuck with it & these little things knaw at ya. Beng the only thing we have in common it wd be good to have a proper chat but it seem one of us is too stupid, or both of us, i dunno.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Down tha shops
Went down the shops to buy some staples for the trip to Tas. Got a 6 pack of sox that are plain black with "pow" "smash" "crash" etc on each one. they will mix & match nicely. You can always have a "crash" with a "bang" after all. Dunno wtf my sox have gone.. i have only 2 pairs left now so i been going without most of the time. Have become a bit feral since i'm not going to work. Luckily i do have enough undies etc, but sox, i have fallen down in that area. Heh heh. I wore my work clothes out for beer yesty cos in my new place i actually don't have anything else. Luckily my friends don't mind. Or they just used to it.
They were playing kill-yourself music in Big W. some teenage emo drip must have chose it. Wrist slashing music, I was getting so terribly depressed i couldn't wait to leave. I had some PJ's in my hand, for the trip, in lovely gaily coloured stripes & i was so affected by the music i found them commenting on my joke of a life & my lost hopes & dreams. I knew i wouldn't be able to look at them again without the connotations so I threw em back. One song after another.. each as bad as the last... "i'm not goooooood, i'm hopeleeeeessss, i want to diiiiiiiie.." minor chords & nothing good in it at all. How do they allow it? Everybody walks out of there suicidal. You know if just HALF your customers act on that suicidal impulse, you're out a lot of customers, Big W.
They were playing kill-yourself music in Big W. some teenage emo drip must have chose it. Wrist slashing music, I was getting so terribly depressed i couldn't wait to leave. I had some PJ's in my hand, for the trip, in lovely gaily coloured stripes & i was so affected by the music i found them commenting on my joke of a life & my lost hopes & dreams. I knew i wouldn't be able to look at them again without the connotations so I threw em back. One song after another.. each as bad as the last... "i'm not goooooood, i'm hopeleeeeessss, i want to diiiiiiiie.." minor chords & nothing good in it at all. How do they allow it? Everybody walks out of there suicidal. You know if just HALF your customers act on that suicidal impulse, you're out a lot of customers, Big W.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Sydrail sucks
I got an sms from james did i wanna go into town for Bavarian Beer. Well why not eh. Sure it would write off the entire day but it would be nice. And hey, its only a few stations on the train from my place, and the station is but metres from my door.
Track work. I always thought, poor bastards, as i drove past the station & seen people lined up outside waiting for teh rail bus cos of the bloody trackwork.
Hey - today it was me.
I got on & said, i don't have a ticket. He said some mumble. I said can i buy a ticket when i get there. Mumble. OK then let's see if i get booked.. He drove lke a kamikaze, going places buses ain't sposed to go, to be able to stop at each station on the way. When we get to Central someone told him he was a bad driver. I thought that a bit mean & he told them to fuck off.
He drove ok. We took corners on 2 wheels sometimes but that could have just been the bus.
Anyhow free ride.. nobody give a crap when we get there.
Beer was nice. Expensive, was it ever. But nice. After 1 beer i made poor james walk all the way to town hall so i could buy a mini tripod for the tassie adventure next week, and i was looking for an Ultrapod 2 but ended up with the "FUN" tripod: Ultrapod Mini... it is to real tripod what anodised blue shuffle is to real ipod.
After more beer n some food walked down the quay to see the big cruise liner there, Millenium it said on the front. It not as big as the queen mary. i saw the QM come in at dawn a few yr ago. now that was a biggun.
On the bloody long bus rde on the way home i put on my new eyeglasses to see how that was. I wore them all the walk home then & when i watched tv at home. I could see clearer. But when walking across roads or down stairs things were not the right distance away & not the right angle either. Stairs were weird they were not flat they had an angle like you could slide down em. Crossin busy rds was a bit stupid really it was not the moment to try out yr new glasses. Survived but didn't feel like a good way to do it. is this what i got now, unreality comin in thru the peepers, bugga.
Track work. I always thought, poor bastards, as i drove past the station & seen people lined up outside waiting for teh rail bus cos of the bloody trackwork.
Hey - today it was me.
I got on & said, i don't have a ticket. He said some mumble. I said can i buy a ticket when i get there. Mumble. OK then let's see if i get booked.. He drove lke a kamikaze, going places buses ain't sposed to go, to be able to stop at each station on the way. When we get to Central someone told him he was a bad driver. I thought that a bit mean & he told them to fuck off.
He drove ok. We took corners on 2 wheels sometimes but that could have just been the bus.
Anyhow free ride.. nobody give a crap when we get there.
Beer was nice. Expensive, was it ever. But nice. After 1 beer i made poor james walk all the way to town hall so i could buy a mini tripod for the tassie adventure next week, and i was looking for an Ultrapod 2 but ended up with the "FUN" tripod: Ultrapod Mini... it is to real tripod what anodised blue shuffle is to real ipod.
After more beer n some food walked down the quay to see the big cruise liner there, Millenium it said on the front. It not as big as the queen mary. i saw the QM come in at dawn a few yr ago. now that was a biggun.
On the bloody long bus rde on the way home i put on my new eyeglasses to see how that was. I wore them all the walk home then & when i watched tv at home. I could see clearer. But when walking across roads or down stairs things were not the right distance away & not the right angle either. Stairs were weird they were not flat they had an angle like you could slide down em. Crossin busy rds was a bit stupid really it was not the moment to try out yr new glasses. Survived but didn't feel like a good way to do it. is this what i got now, unreality comin in thru the peepers, bugga.
Bathroom Stuff
This morn i realise that a low bed is not so easy to get out of & maybe should do something about it. I might be ebaying for a taller one eventually, some nice but cheap ikea thing maybe. Its either that or put the bed on a layer of milk crates, but even i have some shame. Ash's old bed frame is a bit too low for those rough mornings when everything hurts. Its cos i been stupid the night before, but i'm probably never going to stop doing that.
Then i go up for a shower. There's 2 housemates & they both have GFs & there is a move of product into the bathroom that lately seems to grow every day as the GFs move further in. It all make me feel even more unsofisticated than usual, as my idea of extravagant luxury is moisturised soap that squirts out of a bottle & smells like nuts, on special at Bi Lo. Large seethru bags of tubes & bottles are turning up full of stuff branded with names i never even heard of. The one shelf near the shower which used to be sparse is cluttered now with stuff & my lonely blue bottle of shampoo is almost invisible up the back. Luckily they don't seem to spend loads of time in the bathroom though so i guess its just a feelng like there's 5 (or 20, if u see the bathroom) people living in this house, but as for concrete effect, not much.
Then i go up for a shower. There's 2 housemates & they both have GFs & there is a move of product into the bathroom that lately seems to grow every day as the GFs move further in. It all make me feel even more unsofisticated than usual, as my idea of extravagant luxury is moisturised soap that squirts out of a bottle & smells like nuts, on special at Bi Lo. Large seethru bags of tubes & bottles are turning up full of stuff branded with names i never even heard of. The one shelf near the shower which used to be sparse is cluttered now with stuff & my lonely blue bottle of shampoo is almost invisible up the back. Luckily they don't seem to spend loads of time in the bathroom though so i guess its just a feelng like there's 5 (or 20, if u see the bathroom) people living in this house, but as for concrete effect, not much.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Big night
Argh my back's a killin me i been trying to make shelves. Cos the foundry dudes have made such a disaster out of my work space (everything sticky wth uncured silicone rubber) i need to use the floor over the other studio, and my back ain't up to this kind of sudden working on the floor abuse for a period of 5 hrs without warning, so now i'm gonna pay..
The shelves are morphing into a strange modular design (or lack of) which could turn out quite Ok. In a way its heaps better cos it means it can be carried by just me alone in sections, so ya boo sucks to asking for help. Have had every possible variation of problem tonight, from the tape measure tricking me (2 mm extra at the start!) to having the wrong kind of screws (too long & too big a thread which split the wood edges) to uneven floor (so everything's f'ed) to shiteridden drill that could not screw in 1 screw properly, to bent drillbit, to buggered phillips head screw bit, to wrong jigsaw blade angle (incredibly difficult to cut at all) to cutting thru a milkcrate (that was OK: just stupid), to self-unwinding bloody wood clamps & even a tool vibrating into the jigsaw such that the entire kit & kaboodle went off angle & buggered the entire cut... twice.
But hey - a bad workperson blames her tools right.
Those freaking tools totally suck!!!
Got the ebay camera for $6.50, hopefully it won't have the same issue that dad's has.
The shelves are morphing into a strange modular design (or lack of) which could turn out quite Ok. In a way its heaps better cos it means it can be carried by just me alone in sections, so ya boo sucks to asking for help. Have had every possible variation of problem tonight, from the tape measure tricking me (2 mm extra at the start!) to having the wrong kind of screws (too long & too big a thread which split the wood edges) to uneven floor (so everything's f'ed) to shiteridden drill that could not screw in 1 screw properly, to bent drillbit, to buggered phillips head screw bit, to wrong jigsaw blade angle (incredibly difficult to cut at all) to cutting thru a milkcrate (that was OK: just stupid), to self-unwinding bloody wood clamps & even a tool vibrating into the jigsaw such that the entire kit & kaboodle went off angle & buggered the entire cut... twice.
But hey - a bad workperson blames her tools right.
Those freaking tools totally suck!!!
Got the ebay camera for $6.50, hopefully it won't have the same issue that dad's has.
Mucked around
Mucked around today, 8.30-11am spent in cafes. Bit long but i won't do it again for a while.
Went home & found my bit of wood. Its the right thickness exactly & width perfect but a bit short in the tallness direction. However in my twisted mind i think i have a cunning plan & i'm pretty happy with it.
Waited round all afternoon for a call from someone who said they would meet up, & made sure i would be available to get to the studio in the arvo, but the call never came. If i had a dollar for every time wasting that has been visited upon me i could buy a decent studio but if i had an hour back for each thats been wasted i would live to 120.
Well you get that if you deal with humans. Perhaps it comes from humans being able to contemplate the future, which they reckon animals can't do. Humans contemplate the future, put you in it, and leave you there cos in actual fact, a lot of humans, perhaps because they are not that damn advanced from said animals really, CAN'T contemplate the future very WELL.
On ebay there's a film camera just like dad's broken one, current bid .99c, so after i snipe that at 6.30 i'm off to the studio for an evening of bookshelf making & pizza.
Diet pizza as i'm now on a diet, day 3.
Went home & found my bit of wood. Its the right thickness exactly & width perfect but a bit short in the tallness direction. However in my twisted mind i think i have a cunning plan & i'm pretty happy with it.
Waited round all afternoon for a call from someone who said they would meet up, & made sure i would be available to get to the studio in the arvo, but the call never came. If i had a dollar for every time wasting that has been visited upon me i could buy a decent studio but if i had an hour back for each thats been wasted i would live to 120.
Well you get that if you deal with humans. Perhaps it comes from humans being able to contemplate the future, which they reckon animals can't do. Humans contemplate the future, put you in it, and leave you there cos in actual fact, a lot of humans, perhaps because they are not that damn advanced from said animals really, CAN'T contemplate the future very WELL.
On ebay there's a film camera just like dad's broken one, current bid .99c, so after i snipe that at 6.30 i'm off to the studio for an evening of bookshelf making & pizza.
Diet pizza as i'm now on a diet, day 3.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Dammit
Dammit i left out 2 bits of wood when i ordered my bits of wood. Bugger bugger bugger. It would have fit on the one big slab too, but except they have cut the other pieces of wood & now the offcut is in the wrong shape to fit the 2 bits i need (which are of course the longest bits & crucial).
Damn. Typical. I did expect some total fuckup.. its a very complicated bit of kit for yours truly to attempt. But here we are baulked at the gate before even getting started. Dang.
Also annoyingly i left the bit of paper with my measurements on it at the wood shop & so i don't actually have concrete proof that it was me that stuffed up, nor could triple check it last night when i felt like i needed to. But i'm pretty sure it was me & not them. Oh well. I ain't going to get another bit cut, i'll just cut it myself. Its the 2 sides, so even if the wood is a bit thicker it will look like i meant it.
Damn. Typical. I did expect some total fuckup.. its a very complicated bit of kit for yours truly to attempt. But here we are baulked at the gate before even getting started. Dang.
Also annoyingly i left the bit of paper with my measurements on it at the wood shop & so i don't actually have concrete proof that it was me that stuffed up, nor could triple check it last night when i felt like i needed to. But i'm pretty sure it was me & not them. Oh well. I ain't going to get another bit cut, i'll just cut it myself. Its the 2 sides, so even if the wood is a bit thicker it will look like i meant it.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Bookshelves
OK today i changed my bookshelf plans from a 4x4 or 4x5 cubes bookshelf to a 3x4 just cos it will be tons easier to make. It needs to fit in the space between the wall & the fireplace, traditionally a total pain in the ass to work with in old houses. The room's got a moulding round the bottom of the wall (whatever the technical name for that is) which is sticking out 2-3cm & is 30 cm high. How massive is that. Nice, orright, but with that fireplace its painful for fitting furniture & your bed never fits bloody anywhere. Anyway i decided that since they are shelves, & since shelves hold things up, & since things often weigh something, i want the weight to travel right down the sides to the floor. So i can't make it 120 wide till it gets low enough to be 116 wide, where the moulding is. Cos then the weight is all caggled up. Let me draw a diagram...
This shows ya where i reckon the weight goes in the 2 different designs. In the first one the weakness is going to be in the bottom shelf there & eventually it'll bow. And not to mention the 2nd version is much easier to make & looks nicer cos its simple.
So now its gonna be 115.8cm across the main part of it (to fit space of 116cm) & the top piece of wood is gonna be 120 to just fit in the space (space is 120 up there) & keep some dust outta falling down the sides. Then the insides will be made of 37cm cubes (except they only go back 25cm so they ain't exactly cubes). The wood is 12mm thick so fingers crossed i calculated ok.
I'm all excited about it cos i spent hrs working out the design & changed it a number of times as technical & aesthetik problems come up. It shows u how challenged i really am i reckon. Cos look what it ended up, could u make anything more boring? But i'm still excited. Worked it so it all fits on one piece of 2400mm x 1200mm MDF & so its pretty cheap. The board is 32 bucks & the cutting is 25. So u can't make it any easier really. I'll just glue & screw it together & paint it white & it will disappear against the white wall, there will just be objects floating in squares on the wall. Well thats the idea. I'm just hoping i calculated it right & it'll actually work out. Pick up my bits tomorrow.
This shows ya where i reckon the weight goes in the 2 different designs. In the first one the weakness is going to be in the bottom shelf there & eventually it'll bow. And not to mention the 2nd version is much easier to make & looks nicer cos its simple.
So now its gonna be 115.8cm across the main part of it (to fit space of 116cm) & the top piece of wood is gonna be 120 to just fit in the space (space is 120 up there) & keep some dust outta falling down the sides. Then the insides will be made of 37cm cubes (except they only go back 25cm so they ain't exactly cubes). The wood is 12mm thick so fingers crossed i calculated ok.
I'm all excited about it cos i spent hrs working out the design & changed it a number of times as technical & aesthetik problems come up. It shows u how challenged i really am i reckon. Cos look what it ended up, could u make anything more boring? But i'm still excited. Worked it so it all fits on one piece of 2400mm x 1200mm MDF & so its pretty cheap. The board is 32 bucks & the cutting is 25. So u can't make it any easier really. I'll just glue & screw it together & paint it white & it will disappear against the white wall, there will just be objects floating in squares on the wall. Well thats the idea. I'm just hoping i calculated it right & it'll actually work out. Pick up my bits tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Moulding
I got up early & tarted up his hair & bits of this n that. The foundry dudes came about lunchtime & set to it, covering him in sticky white rubber, starting at the feet. I learned a bunch straight away from seeing how the plasticene wall round the base was constructed. They worked efficient which is definitely what u like to see when you're paying for it.
Then went to the Dr appointment, for 3pm... waited till 5.30 to get in. I was not happy. Last time i waited an hr, this time 2.5 hrs. It was just for a test result but now i need to go get another test. Dang hell .. what'll it be next time, 5 hrs? I better get myself a decent novel. And some valium. And some vodka & some rave music.
Evening off. Feel weird. Bored & dunno what to do. Watching shite film on TV, Warlock. Not one of Richard E Grant's best, tho he doesn't have much to play with.
Found a DVD of Galaxy Quest down the local media outlet for 10 bux. I love that film so much that i invested.
They're gonna pay me the first payment for the big feller, they reckon it'll be in my bank by friday. About time to send the 2nd invoice already. Anyhow first thing, i'm gonna get me some new sneakers! i been sticking 2 bandaids & a bit of gaff tape on my heel to wear these ones. Lot of blood otherwise. Top shoes but i guess they've had it. Not that i'm penniless, but haven't had time for wastin on such fripperies. It'll be a celebration.
Next project.. lose 20 kgs .. err try to anyway.
Then went to the Dr appointment, for 3pm... waited till 5.30 to get in. I was not happy. Last time i waited an hr, this time 2.5 hrs. It was just for a test result but now i need to go get another test. Dang hell .. what'll it be next time, 5 hrs? I better get myself a decent novel. And some valium. And some vodka & some rave music.
Evening off. Feel weird. Bored & dunno what to do. Watching shite film on TV, Warlock. Not one of Richard E Grant's best, tho he doesn't have much to play with.
Found a DVD of Galaxy Quest down the local media outlet for 10 bux. I love that film so much that i invested.
They're gonna pay me the first payment for the big feller, they reckon it'll be in my bank by friday. About time to send the 2nd invoice already. Anyhow first thing, i'm gonna get me some new sneakers! i been sticking 2 bandaids & a bit of gaff tape on my heel to wear these ones. Lot of blood otherwise. Top shoes but i guess they've had it. Not that i'm penniless, but haven't had time for wastin on such fripperies. It'll be a celebration.
Next project.. lose 20 kgs .. err try to anyway.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Passed!
I worked all day on his face, drove meself a bit nuts. No time to go buy bikkies for the customers' visit, they get Twisties & Jelly Beans, its lucky i got them. And then when they came to see it in the evening, they liked it! It passed :) So tomorrow the foundry guys start moulding him in my studio about midday. Sweet! I have to do a little finishing touch to his hair tomorrow morn but only cos i wanna, they were happy with it.
Phew how cool is that. What a weight orf.
Its starting to get cracks, i sure wouldn't have wanted to take another week on it.
Phew how cool is that. What a weight orf.
Its starting to get cracks, i sure wouldn't have wanted to take another week on it.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Slice of face
I got Deepy to help me when i sliced off his face. This time it didn't go down like a cowpat, she caught it & it lays majestically looking up from the worktable. I finally realised, u know, like, when it offends thee strike it out: it was time. Not perhaps the best decision the night before they come to see it but i prefer to consider it Brave rather than Stupid, thanks..
Anyway he's got a face again & its time for me to go to bed. Its better i think. I will see in the morning. Zzz
Anyway he's got a face again & its time for me to go to bed. Its better i think. I will see in the morning. Zzz
3 stooges
Counting down what i hope are the last days of this big dude in my life. I been texturizing him up & thats coming along well. I bought a piece of outrageously expensive bandsaw blade from the sculpture shop, they cut it into pieces & sell each peice for 20 bucks. You can use it to scrape your sculpture with its teeth. I bought a long bit & then cut it up into 2 bits & then at least i hadn't paid so much for this here tool ;) Also i got the right size for my hand & its comfy to use. Anyway with that & the old butter knife & the wooden tools & my fingers, I got a decent repertoire of marks i can make.
One thing really bothers me & that is that cos of his massive scale his arms & legs look disconnected. They aren't, they are on the right places, but cos there is such a distance between each bit & the rest they appear to be. Cos i'm too close i guess. But it all comes down to where is he going to be placed, if he's on an 8 foot high plinth then its no probs, but since i still hain't met the architect its too late to work with perspective isn't it. Rush jobs suck.
I took an hr out to go see a house for sale. Its was lovely. Fibro & wood place with a wee faux african safari bar area from the 50's i reckon. An old lady been living in it forever, so the oldness is genuine & the place was immaculately kept. A young couple outside in the yard were saying how you could build a new house in the back yard, while living in the old house, and then knock it down. It make me a bit riled that people can be so stupid. Such a beaut house, why don't they go buy a dump instead? Stupid assholes & they obviously have the money to do something so dumb...
There were at least 50 people there for the viewing. This first home buyers rash is pretty severe innit.
On the way back i stopped in at Chukkas to pick up a burger. In the carpark were a bunch of large girls on large bikes. Off for a pootle around. And of course one tiny minded retard in an enormous SUV who was blocking the entire carpark while waiting to take a park from one of these gals... he had obviously not seen the bike in the park & in order to not appear stupid was pretending it was what he had intended all along: to just sit there & wait 10 minutes while she put on her helmet, etc.
I'd parked @3 steps away where there was a ton of parking BTW.
Anyway these gals are statistix waiting to happen, its so wrong, one nearly fell off just taking the corner onto the hiway & the rest followed her in scary way into traffic... I got stuck at the light for 10 mins but incredibly caught up with them 2 lights later they must be doing 2mph. Surely with a raft of >1000cc motorcycles you can go a bit quicker than that. Its embarrassing & kinda depressing that people of my sex & that probably like motorbikes can be so like the 3 stooges. Except the 3 stooges probably could ride. And there were more than 3.
One thing really bothers me & that is that cos of his massive scale his arms & legs look disconnected. They aren't, they are on the right places, but cos there is such a distance between each bit & the rest they appear to be. Cos i'm too close i guess. But it all comes down to where is he going to be placed, if he's on an 8 foot high plinth then its no probs, but since i still hain't met the architect its too late to work with perspective isn't it. Rush jobs suck.
I took an hr out to go see a house for sale. Its was lovely. Fibro & wood place with a wee faux african safari bar area from the 50's i reckon. An old lady been living in it forever, so the oldness is genuine & the place was immaculately kept. A young couple outside in the yard were saying how you could build a new house in the back yard, while living in the old house, and then knock it down. It make me a bit riled that people can be so stupid. Such a beaut house, why don't they go buy a dump instead? Stupid assholes & they obviously have the money to do something so dumb...
There were at least 50 people there for the viewing. This first home buyers rash is pretty severe innit.
On the way back i stopped in at Chukkas to pick up a burger. In the carpark were a bunch of large girls on large bikes. Off for a pootle around. And of course one tiny minded retard in an enormous SUV who was blocking the entire carpark while waiting to take a park from one of these gals... he had obviously not seen the bike in the park & in order to not appear stupid was pretending it was what he had intended all along: to just sit there & wait 10 minutes while she put on her helmet, etc.
I'd parked @3 steps away where there was a ton of parking BTW.
Anyway these gals are statistix waiting to happen, its so wrong, one nearly fell off just taking the corner onto the hiway & the rest followed her in scary way into traffic... I got stuck at the light for 10 mins but incredibly caught up with them 2 lights later they must be doing 2mph. Surely with a raft of >1000cc motorcycles you can go a bit quicker than that. Its embarrassing & kinda depressing that people of my sex & that probably like motorbikes can be so like the 3 stooges. Except the 3 stooges probably could ride. And there were more than 3.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Suit
A suit came to see the big feller this morning. He was very nice & he picked out a thigh as a problem & i sorted it right out with his advice. He got it right too, it looks much better now. I cannot believe how many people have input into this sculpture. Anyway he was happy with the whole thing then, couldn't pick any faults, & i even got to keep the footy shirt they sent me, as long as i wear it to the unveiling.
So i have to lose a bit of arse by then but thats fine it was one of my next projects anyway, losing some arse, and whatever else i can misplace.
Anyway i emailed off some pics to the rest of the committee & they like him but his face is not close enough they reckon. Fair enuff i'm sure. I been doing his head so long i have got lost in it & strangers walking thru the studio have commented by saying exactly who he is, so they can recognize him, so i was hoping he did look ok. 3d may be working better than 2d in this situation. Still in the end it needs to work both ways & there is obviously need of more work there.
Feeling a bit tired. i think i do tend to be the kind of person who buggers about for a few days procrastinating, then works for a few days really hard, then buggers about, etc. Though having worked 7 days a week for the past few weeks, til i drop each day, has probably made me a feel a bit jaded. Also the printmakers are there quite long hrs now each day & its like working in someone's face or pocket they are just too close. Anyway the glorious weekend will be here soon & i get the place mostly to myself on those 2 days so bring it on.
Finally posted the contract and an INVOICE today so yippee i might get some income. I been burning thru the savings lately pretty fast. Gosh a new pair of workpants and a $20 electric kettle purchased today i am splurging.
Looks like i will have to stay in this studio for the next highly secret project i have. The other studio has fallen thru their landlord is being a twat. So how can i make this wide open bit of studio into a secret cave? Hm. And can i handle more months of the dreadful noise from the twonks next door?
My inner scheduler is still offline, it crashed badly yesterday when the suits didn't turn up it never quite got online again proper at all. I forgot to tee up dinner at sushi with the marine biologist & the programmer like was loosely pencilled. Bugga.
Will probably never get in sync again, i will have to wing it from now on. Once you miss a collection of events, you got to jump on the time line like it was a train passin thru & you just can't go back & pick them events up again or you will not get on the train, and be stuck in limbo.
Though i suspect i got too busy a schedule actually. How come i'm apparently not doing anything but this sculpture, yet i have every day at least 2 things to go to & 2 people visiting me... plus the rest.
Went home played Wii.... killed loads of zombies. This would be pretty ace on a big screen eh. Maybe i could project it on the wall somehow....
So i have to lose a bit of arse by then but thats fine it was one of my next projects anyway, losing some arse, and whatever else i can misplace.
Anyway i emailed off some pics to the rest of the committee & they like him but his face is not close enough they reckon. Fair enuff i'm sure. I been doing his head so long i have got lost in it & strangers walking thru the studio have commented by saying exactly who he is, so they can recognize him, so i was hoping he did look ok. 3d may be working better than 2d in this situation. Still in the end it needs to work both ways & there is obviously need of more work there.
Feeling a bit tired. i think i do tend to be the kind of person who buggers about for a few days procrastinating, then works for a few days really hard, then buggers about, etc. Though having worked 7 days a week for the past few weeks, til i drop each day, has probably made me a feel a bit jaded. Also the printmakers are there quite long hrs now each day & its like working in someone's face or pocket they are just too close. Anyway the glorious weekend will be here soon & i get the place mostly to myself on those 2 days so bring it on.
Finally posted the contract and an INVOICE today so yippee i might get some income. I been burning thru the savings lately pretty fast. Gosh a new pair of workpants and a $20 electric kettle purchased today i am splurging.
Looks like i will have to stay in this studio for the next highly secret project i have. The other studio has fallen thru their landlord is being a twat. So how can i make this wide open bit of studio into a secret cave? Hm. And can i handle more months of the dreadful noise from the twonks next door?
My inner scheduler is still offline, it crashed badly yesterday when the suits didn't turn up it never quite got online again proper at all. I forgot to tee up dinner at sushi with the marine biologist & the programmer like was loosely pencilled. Bugga.
Will probably never get in sync again, i will have to wing it from now on. Once you miss a collection of events, you got to jump on the time line like it was a train passin thru & you just can't go back & pick them events up again or you will not get on the train, and be stuck in limbo.
Though i suspect i got too busy a schedule actually. How come i'm apparently not doing anything but this sculpture, yet i have every day at least 2 things to go to & 2 people visiting me... plus the rest.
Went home played Wii.... killed loads of zombies. This would be pretty ace on a big screen eh. Maybe i could project it on the wall somehow....
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Off my face day
Last nite i stayed up late working on him, doing 7 different sets of eyes, this morn i get up at 6am & straight out there & make new eyes again. Not happy. The answer is simple, u cannot have open eyes when a person is grinning broadly with their mouth open, its just a fact.
The people who were coming to view did not make it, their transport broke down. The foundry guy made it though & he actually stayed for about 2 hrs & helped me sort out some of the worst bits on the big feller. How about that. He's seen plenty of statues & he really knows what he's talking about. We worked out why the left arm looked too short, and fixed it; why the legs looked unfinished, and made them look finished; and worked out why the eyes would not work & what kind of eyes he needs. What a fantastic day's work :0)
After that i was restless so i went home to check email & depending on what arrived i would go from there. Sadly i fell asleep & awoke to find i had totally forgot my day's plans cos here was the phone ringing to wake me & it was Jen who was waiting at the studio for me. And before that i was to have met her at a show someplace & bugger me if it wasn't totally blown out of my head. I remember i did have to ask someone earlier what day it was so its possible i'm a little overtired & it all just blew outta my mind even though it was one of the 2 fantastically important things for the day. I reckon cos the viewers didn't turn up it put me right off my stride. But also too tired.
Anyway Jen helped me with the big feller too & by the end of today i felt quite happy though he is showing signs of cracking & thats a definite worry.
The people who were coming to view did not make it, their transport broke down. The foundry guy made it though & he actually stayed for about 2 hrs & helped me sort out some of the worst bits on the big feller. How about that. He's seen plenty of statues & he really knows what he's talking about. We worked out why the left arm looked too short, and fixed it; why the legs looked unfinished, and made them look finished; and worked out why the eyes would not work & what kind of eyes he needs. What a fantastic day's work :0)
After that i was restless so i went home to check email & depending on what arrived i would go from there. Sadly i fell asleep & awoke to find i had totally forgot my day's plans cos here was the phone ringing to wake me & it was Jen who was waiting at the studio for me. And before that i was to have met her at a show someplace & bugger me if it wasn't totally blown out of my head. I remember i did have to ask someone earlier what day it was so its possible i'm a little overtired & it all just blew outta my mind even though it was one of the 2 fantastically important things for the day. I reckon cos the viewers didn't turn up it put me right off my stride. But also too tired.
Anyway Jen helped me with the big feller too & by the end of today i felt quite happy though he is showing signs of cracking & thats a definite worry.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The day before the Viewing
Half the day was wasted in Dr waiting room for a check over that i'd booked in ages ago, bit silly i should have been working but sometimes u need to put yr health first for a minute. Anyway then i didn't get done quite enough... and i buggered up his eyes. 7 times i tried to fix em (approx) & in the end i got a passable set & had to go home to bed. Set alarm for 6am i will get in there by 7 & people will start arriving at 8...
Is all made harder by the fact i have no clear picture of what his eyes should be like, i think he's even got the buggers shut or mostly shut. But people don't commission a sculpture of a bloke with his eyes shut eh. and then how much open? and where is he looking, since he wasn't actually looking in the first place?
Is all made harder by the fact i have no clear picture of what his eyes should be like, i think he's even got the buggers shut or mostly shut. But people don't commission a sculpture of a bloke with his eyes shut eh. and then how much open? and where is he looking, since he wasn't actually looking in the first place?
Monday, March 16, 2009
Blown up
Lightning blew the cable modem away so no post yesty. Over the past 2 days the big feller has come good-ish. I'm feeling much better this evening than i have been since i started the project. Maybe it WILL be OK! One more day to work then Wed they come to see it. I'm really hoping it will be so great when they see it that they won't want anything done to it. Ha. Well i'm "visualising" it eh. That works sometimes. Anyway the clay is drying out hardcore (pun) and doing any changes will mean smashing a bit off rather than gentle toolwork. This clay is funny it doesn't crack but it likes to dry out. Has a very hard rubber consistency i guess i would say. Its very good for this purpose. You can work it with hard tools once its harder & get different textures happening. Though thats not always good cos you can ruin it with too much tool. But then, you know, the wet clay will just adhere on to the dry! so if you bugger it you can renovate it. Nice.
Its now a matter of staring at him & changing the bits that don't fit quite right into being good bits. Time consuming thing on such a big fellow. And its in 3d so its creep the thing round a bit now & then too cos hey it was ok from that angle & now its totally shite 10 degrees round. His head is improved, his face is OK now, lucky number 7 i think it is, but i will need to adjust his head to fit behind it. Its difficult up so high. I'll be up on a milkcrate on the table to look down on him cos i'll need to see the top of his head. Never tried that yet. Hope i don't fall off there i'm not so good at heights. It would really suck to break an ankle anyway. Or any of the other bones I have here.
Most visitors tell me he should have a bigger package. I reckon its OK as it is, and they are just joking anyway. But while i'm on my soapbox (or milkcrate), i hate this modern trend of giving statues massive protrusions as if the whole sculpture was all about their crotch. FFS - no matter what they did to get famous, there's no subject who wants to be immortalised like that.
Anyway feeling less stressed ths evening. You don't realise how stressed you are til it loosens a bit. I have started daydreaming about the next thing i do, what will it be. i will have a few days during which i should be starting the next project but i reckon i could slip in some other stuff too. My latest daydream is to make some bookshelves. A grand plan is it not. Well they aren't ordinary bookshelves, oh no. They're the ones with little cubes, so like 4 x 6 of 1ft cubes making up a bookshelf. You could alternate books-a sculpture-books-a sculpture etc. Or glass bobble - books - japanese toy - sculpture. Or in my case crap - more crap - books - junk - crap - books - unidentifiable. And paint it some colour. Or white, cos the walls here in my rented room are white. And then it would disappear & there would just be cubes of STUFF hanging suspended there. Awesome.
Its now a matter of staring at him & changing the bits that don't fit quite right into being good bits. Time consuming thing on such a big fellow. And its in 3d so its creep the thing round a bit now & then too cos hey it was ok from that angle & now its totally shite 10 degrees round. His head is improved, his face is OK now, lucky number 7 i think it is, but i will need to adjust his head to fit behind it. Its difficult up so high. I'll be up on a milkcrate on the table to look down on him cos i'll need to see the top of his head. Never tried that yet. Hope i don't fall off there i'm not so good at heights. It would really suck to break an ankle anyway. Or any of the other bones I have here.
Most visitors tell me he should have a bigger package. I reckon its OK as it is, and they are just joking anyway. But while i'm on my soapbox (or milkcrate), i hate this modern trend of giving statues massive protrusions as if the whole sculpture was all about their crotch. FFS - no matter what they did to get famous, there's no subject who wants to be immortalised like that.
Anyway feeling less stressed ths evening. You don't realise how stressed you are til it loosens a bit. I have started daydreaming about the next thing i do, what will it be. i will have a few days during which i should be starting the next project but i reckon i could slip in some other stuff too. My latest daydream is to make some bookshelves. A grand plan is it not. Well they aren't ordinary bookshelves, oh no. They're the ones with little cubes, so like 4 x 6 of 1ft cubes making up a bookshelf. You could alternate books-a sculpture-books-a sculpture etc. Or glass bobble - books - japanese toy - sculpture. Or in my case crap - more crap - books - junk - crap - books - unidentifiable. And paint it some colour. Or white, cos the walls here in my rented room are white. And then it would disappear & there would just be cubes of STUFF hanging suspended there. Awesome.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Rounded
The big man is too rounded.. losing definition. Weird, because i reckon i know where the dents should go now, but yet they seem to be disappearing worse than when i didn't know em...
Anyway he is coming good, and is the same every time... You just have to work about 5 times longer than you expect & then it wll work. The first 80% of it is just despair. Then if you can keep slogging along, you start to get hopeful a long time after sensible people would have chucked in the towel. Its not exactly a relaxing way to work though!
Have found a great new tool, the butterknife i usually use to mix moulding rubber. It has a lovely ripple in it. i wanted to get a hacksaw blade like i usually use to get texture & form, but this knife is great.
Worked til 9.30pm by one fluoro light. Had laptop there & managed to watch 3 movies during the day & evening, mostly while i worked though. Gran Torino (not bad), 2012 Doomsday (disappointed ths was not a Zombie movie as i expected but rather a shite godbotherer film that ultimately made no damn sense anyway - avoid this film like the 10 plagues), and Last holiday (great tho incredibly lightweight). Had the work projector for the films, working on the wall there. And the ancient Cambridge pc speakers i found in a dumpster at work pumping out the volume trying to compete with the pouring rain on the roof. Can't beleive those speakers they are so good. A bit of distorton in very bassy things at almost 100% volume. But you understand every word in a movie, with those speakers, very clear.
Anyway he is coming good, and is the same every time... You just have to work about 5 times longer than you expect & then it wll work. The first 80% of it is just despair. Then if you can keep slogging along, you start to get hopeful a long time after sensible people would have chucked in the towel. Its not exactly a relaxing way to work though!
Have found a great new tool, the butterknife i usually use to mix moulding rubber. It has a lovely ripple in it. i wanted to get a hacksaw blade like i usually use to get texture & form, but this knife is great.
Worked til 9.30pm by one fluoro light. Had laptop there & managed to watch 3 movies during the day & evening, mostly while i worked though. Gran Torino (not bad), 2012 Doomsday (disappointed ths was not a Zombie movie as i expected but rather a shite godbotherer film that ultimately made no damn sense anyway - avoid this film like the 10 plagues), and Last holiday (great tho incredibly lightweight). Had the work projector for the films, working on the wall there. And the ancient Cambridge pc speakers i found in a dumpster at work pumping out the volume trying to compete with the pouring rain on the roof. Can't beleive those speakers they are so good. A bit of distorton in very bassy things at almost 100% volume. But you understand every word in a movie, with those speakers, very clear.
Friday, March 13, 2009
A new technique
Hey i have a new technique, i make a cup of tea & roll my chair over to the other side of the studio near the printmakers desks, & sit down & stare at the big man to pick out whats wrong with it. Comparing it to pictures & why does it look funny here & there. Its quite a useful technique eh.
I better find something soon anyhow, time's short. Need all the tricks i can get. It got to look awesome by wednesday. Though i still intend every day to actually finish it. Yeah yeah i know. But hey you know i have to keep it damp & soft til they seen it, in case they want me to make some changes.
They finally seem to have sorted out the contract... so i may even get the first payment soon. Yay.
I better find something soon anyhow, time's short. Need all the tricks i can get. It got to look awesome by wednesday. Though i still intend every day to actually finish it. Yeah yeah i know. But hey you know i have to keep it damp & soft til they seen it, in case they want me to make some changes.
They finally seem to have sorted out the contract... so i may even get the first payment soon. Yay.
Home sick
Home sick this morn. So much for i will finish blah blah crap.
The newly unemployed housemate is here tarting up the place before the real proper exterminators come in & fumigate the flea infestation. They're doing the people next door too cos it looks like a local plague. I know i got bites the size of my head across my back they seem to be getting a lot more aggressive. Anyway stuff it. But i reckon i will make myself scarce for a few days cos those chemicals can't be too good for a person.
I also found out today that there will be the pitter patter of tiny feet thru this house & since i was last on, i get to be first off. Thats OK but i've come to like it here. So will be a bit sad. I got a few months yet though. Yesterday i found a house nearby that has life sized concrete lion and tiger in the front yard. How cool is that. And i can walk to the best sushi in town. Ah well. Life stinx - and we better enjoy it while we can , eh.
The newly unemployed housemate is here tarting up the place before the real proper exterminators come in & fumigate the flea infestation. They're doing the people next door too cos it looks like a local plague. I know i got bites the size of my head across my back they seem to be getting a lot more aggressive. Anyway stuff it. But i reckon i will make myself scarce for a few days cos those chemicals can't be too good for a person.
I also found out today that there will be the pitter patter of tiny feet thru this house & since i was last on, i get to be first off. Thats OK but i've come to like it here. So will be a bit sad. I got a few months yet though. Yesterday i found a house nearby that has life sized concrete lion and tiger in the front yard. How cool is that. And i can walk to the best sushi in town. Ah well. Life stinx - and we better enjoy it while we can , eh.
Squirter - the big scientific advance
A housemate has loaned me the best invention since they started paying people for sculpture. Its a water squirter device. Its a 5 litre container with a hand pump on it & a long tube with a wand on the end with a trigger, and you squirt water out the end in a variable sprinkle action. I can water the big man sculpture, even the top of his head, without even standing on tip toes! What a fantastic advance.
I won't get the massive forearms that i was heading for using the little hand squirter bottle that i just broke, but i also won't get that RSI i was working towards either. Marvellous. What a wonderful invention :)
I won't get the massive forearms that i was heading for using the little hand squirter bottle that i just broke, but i also won't get that RSI i was working towards either. Marvellous. What a wonderful invention :)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Crunching time
Today i decided that no matter how long i have, the sculpture will take that long to make. Therefore if i decide i am gonna finish it TODAY then i will finish it today. So i decided to finish it today - why drag it out eh. Soon after that i realised i was booked for sushi with a marine biologist mate so i will have to finish it TOMORROW.
But i did get the right arm working much better & i think its just about ok now. i just got to commit :)
Have also got to the point where i reckon i've absorbed as much anatomy as i can probably use. I've had a bunch of people thru the studio modelling for me. From now on i have to make the sculpture look like itself & not worry so much about anatomy. What i know already will just come out in it anyhows, since i been studying it so hard. Now i just got to make it harmonious with itself. Piece of p*ss... not.
Another thing i did today was to try on a stormtrooper helmet, like from star wars. For some reason when i saw Mark walking uphill to his building at work (i went in for brekkie with my Team) I just KNEW there was a stormtrooper helmet in the box he was carrying. How did i know that? And why was he carrying one? To work? Well there's more things on heaven & earth - you just got to trust yr intuition eh.
Anyway I got to make one of those helmets one day. Always thought they were quite a difficult shape when i was a kid. Maybe i could give it a go now though.
But i did get the right arm working much better & i think its just about ok now. i just got to commit :)
Have also got to the point where i reckon i've absorbed as much anatomy as i can probably use. I've had a bunch of people thru the studio modelling for me. From now on i have to make the sculpture look like itself & not worry so much about anatomy. What i know already will just come out in it anyhows, since i been studying it so hard. Now i just got to make it harmonious with itself. Piece of p*ss... not.
Another thing i did today was to try on a stormtrooper helmet, like from star wars. For some reason when i saw Mark walking uphill to his building at work (i went in for brekkie with my Team) I just KNEW there was a stormtrooper helmet in the box he was carrying. How did i know that? And why was he carrying one? To work? Well there's more things on heaven & earth - you just got to trust yr intuition eh.
Anyway I got to make one of those helmets one day. Always thought they were quite a difficult shape when i was a kid. Maybe i could give it a go now though.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Blackie
Now have a lovely black skid mark thru the studio. Housemate visited & was a thigh model for the big man. He has one excellent thigh with fab definition & the other one is a bit crap cos he broke his leg. On his way out he attempted a wheelie out the studio gate on his motard but due to too much slippery clay on the ground he just left a 20 foot long blackie instead. When the building owner returns after her hols she will prob be a little bemused by the intensely clayed floor and a strange black line.
A present from the cats
The cats left me a half chewed cockroach, they had pushed it under my door during the night. guess thats their way of saying "thanks"for the food etc. What could be nicer, or more heartfelt. Unless it dragged itself under my door to escape from the cats' torture & then carked it in horrific agony 2 ft from my bed. Poor lttle crapper.
The big man - the slog continues. Ben come over to fix an electrical device for me & gave his crit. So now some big changes have been made. Its time to leave the mathematics (at times) and concentrate on what looks real, as opposed to what is mathematically real. So if his feet look too small even though they are the correct size well then they got to be embiggened. Cos in the end who is going to be measuring it, they are just gonna be looking at it & saying, his feet look too small. I mean like with anything you got to finally look to your audience & that will guide you.
I sliced off his face - kind of a nasty thing to do really... but you got to be brutal when things need changing eh. His face was quite ok but not quite in the right place. Unfortunately i forgot it weighs some kg's and before i could say 'gosh i wish i had thought of putting my hand under it' the face had hit the ground & flattened itself like a pancake. Or a cowcake which was more like what it now resembled. Bugger. But if you can do it once u can do it again. Sigh.
Trivia night with some motorcycle racers. Stories of grotesque injuries & gross amount of bulldust, bragging & wild invention, physics, mechanics, and best of all, laying sh*t on everybody's riding skills & temperaments. Very funny guys. The pub serves the hugest food portions i have ever seen in my life. The steaks are at least 4 times the size of what you would expect or indeed could ever eat. I was scared, could not order anything, in case i got it. In the end i order a caesar salad without chicken that arrived with loads of crumbed & fried chicken in it. I left half of it all there, though done my best.
The big man - the slog continues. Ben come over to fix an electrical device for me & gave his crit. So now some big changes have been made. Its time to leave the mathematics (at times) and concentrate on what looks real, as opposed to what is mathematically real. So if his feet look too small even though they are the correct size well then they got to be embiggened. Cos in the end who is going to be measuring it, they are just gonna be looking at it & saying, his feet look too small. I mean like with anything you got to finally look to your audience & that will guide you.
I sliced off his face - kind of a nasty thing to do really... but you got to be brutal when things need changing eh. His face was quite ok but not quite in the right place. Unfortunately i forgot it weighs some kg's and before i could say 'gosh i wish i had thought of putting my hand under it' the face had hit the ground & flattened itself like a pancake. Or a cowcake which was more like what it now resembled. Bugger. But if you can do it once u can do it again. Sigh.
Trivia night with some motorcycle racers. Stories of grotesque injuries & gross amount of bulldust, bragging & wild invention, physics, mechanics, and best of all, laying sh*t on everybody's riding skills & temperaments. Very funny guys. The pub serves the hugest food portions i have ever seen in my life. The steaks are at least 4 times the size of what you would expect or indeed could ever eat. I was scared, could not order anything, in case i got it. In the end i order a caesar salad without chicken that arrived with loads of crumbed & fried chicken in it. I left half of it all there, though done my best.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Beergoggles
I have some new glasses, eye type. These ones i'm sposed to wear all the time not just for reading. They are a bit disappointing cos i was hoping they would stop my left eye from being so fuzzy, and that i'd see loads more things than before. But they don't do either. Think i need a 2nd opinion on why i can't see so good with that eye. Its very annoying. Anyway i got a fright with these cos i put them on to look at the big feller & it suddenly looked crooked like it might fall over. But it was just the stupid glasses eh. I did the CheepSpecs version i picked the frames that gave me the biggest bits of glass & not care what they look like. I hate those skinny square glasses they are pushing nowadays, they'd be like looking thru a tiny slot. I ended up with a frilly edge round the ear pieces that was a bit peculiar but WTF cares really. I just wanna see. Anyway things are a bit clearer but of course I don't suddenly understand the things i didn't before, i don't see more things than were there before or had any particular epiphany really. So i feel a bit peeved now & glad i didn't spend 400 bucks like is the average price for trendy glasses. So no new visions that enhance my life, I guess shit eyes are just what you get when you get old. By my age i should have reproduced anyway & the kid would be grown up & thats all you're supposed to last for anyways. After that you just get more & more likely to get eaten by a tiger or something. Every little misability tips you closer to that moment when you don't see the grass move in time.
Anyways i'm getting off topic a bt. I'm still here & if i can manage to continue to cross sydenham rd without being killed that is the most dangerous thing i do.
The big feller is creeping closer to being a it more human, still. What a big job it is to make such a big dude. Now stuck on making folds in the clothing. I think i need to just sit down & do folds for a day. I have the footy jumper they sent me so I should be able to just set it up a bit like in the subject photo & do a clay sketch.
Got some new stuff from the moulding shop, its for rotational moulding. What is that u ask. Well its when u pour some liquid plastic in your mould & then spin it so the liquid makes a thin shell inside there. Apparently this stuff is really strong when its set. Anyway i'll check that stuff out.
Ralph came to visit, checking out the new studio. I'm starting to get into this studio visiting business. I never did get it before. People would invite me in the olden days, hey come to my studio. Or people would say, i'd like to come see your studio. And i never could figure out WTF would anybody want to come to a place full of half finished unco work & a pile of rubbish that was usually in a small peice of a sh*thole of a place. But now i get it. Maybe cos my studio is actually nice. There's a fridge and a kettle and even in the other room a sofa & lounge chair and coffee table just like a lounge room. And my space is organised into little areas with coherent uses. Maybe i've growed up :)
Anyways i'm getting off topic a bt. I'm still here & if i can manage to continue to cross sydenham rd without being killed that is the most dangerous thing i do.
The big feller is creeping closer to being a it more human, still. What a big job it is to make such a big dude. Now stuck on making folds in the clothing. I think i need to just sit down & do folds for a day. I have the footy jumper they sent me so I should be able to just set it up a bit like in the subject photo & do a clay sketch.
Got some new stuff from the moulding shop, its for rotational moulding. What is that u ask. Well its when u pour some liquid plastic in your mould & then spin it so the liquid makes a thin shell inside there. Apparently this stuff is really strong when its set. Anyway i'll check that stuff out.
Ralph came to visit, checking out the new studio. I'm starting to get into this studio visiting business. I never did get it before. People would invite me in the olden days, hey come to my studio. Or people would say, i'd like to come see your studio. And i never could figure out WTF would anybody want to come to a place full of half finished unco work & a pile of rubbish that was usually in a small peice of a sh*thole of a place. But now i get it. Maybe cos my studio is actually nice. There's a fridge and a kettle and even in the other room a sofa & lounge chair and coffee table just like a lounge room. And my space is organised into little areas with coherent uses. Maybe i've growed up :)
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Sunday nite
Today went OK, had some people visit, and Dr P modelled for me in the footy jumper & that gave me lots of Progress. I also cut large chunks of flesh & chickenwire out of the big feller & thats helping, cos in some places you need concavity... it ain't lke the Indian sculptures idea where u don't have any concave areas. Or maybe it is. You can have one convex area lower than another convex area, after all.
I went home & there's a housemate lazin on the lounge & i asked did he have any thigh muscles & yes he does, but only on one leg. But thats cool - one leg sure beats none don't it. He has agreed to come model tomorrow! Yay.
The blue cat kept its head under my right wrist while i wrote emails. It didn't seem to mind that it got a knock whenever i pressed the enter key. Later when the laptop was off charging it lazed upon my lap in such a lazed way that only a cat could manage. At least i don't seem to sneeze now from the cats. I still get a sore eye though if i rub my eye after being anywhere near a cat... but if its true i don't sneeze anymore, then thats way cool.
I went home & there's a housemate lazin on the lounge & i asked did he have any thigh muscles & yes he does, but only on one leg. But thats cool - one leg sure beats none don't it. He has agreed to come model tomorrow! Yay.
The blue cat kept its head under my right wrist while i wrote emails. It didn't seem to mind that it got a knock whenever i pressed the enter key. Later when the laptop was off charging it lazed upon my lap in such a lazed way that only a cat could manage. At least i don't seem to sneeze now from the cats. I still get a sore eye though if i rub my eye after being anywhere near a cat... but if its true i don't sneeze anymore, then thats way cool.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
OK then
So yesterday I cut off that recalcitrant left arm, and then went to lunch for a redunded colleague at work, & after that i never got back, i popped home & fell asleep for 5 hrs & when i woke decided i would have the evening off in anticipation of 2 full weekend days of impending incredible progress.
So this a.m. after a terrible nights tossing & turning (yeah 5 hrs of sleep in the afternoon was maybe a touch too long, not to mention a night entertained by the noisy neighbours' love life & all the damn traffic), i went in to do battle with the big feller. I wasn't feeling that positive really. But anyway i sat down & drew some anatomical stuff, copied it from a book, to get it in my head, and set to adjusting this arm. I welded it a bit different to before & crossed fingers it was enough different in the right way.
Yeah so it went well, it doesn't look deformed anymore & feeling positive again.
It seems that i basically need to cut the bugger right up & remove all the excess foam that i put on there when everybody kept telling me he was Big. I mean hell- the guy has the same skeleton as himself as a thin man, no? Thusly you are an idiot to make a "big" armature of a "big" man are you not...
In case yer wondering how did i solve the issue of how to hold up a 15kg arm while i welded it, well i did some dodgy instead. The arms are made of square tube, so i cut thru 3.5 or so walls of the square tube, and then bent the arm where i wanted it, and then welded that. So i never actually took the arm right off & there u go. I did that up near the shoulder & at the elbow to change the way the arm hung down on 2 planes.
Yesterday i run into someone who asked me if i'd like to do a talk at the art school about my stuff. Pretty nice to be asked eh. Though giving speeches never been anything i wanted to do, i spose its a foothold into a different career , again.
So this a.m. after a terrible nights tossing & turning (yeah 5 hrs of sleep in the afternoon was maybe a touch too long, not to mention a night entertained by the noisy neighbours' love life & all the damn traffic), i went in to do battle with the big feller. I wasn't feeling that positive really. But anyway i sat down & drew some anatomical stuff, copied it from a book, to get it in my head, and set to adjusting this arm. I welded it a bit different to before & crossed fingers it was enough different in the right way.
Yeah so it went well, it doesn't look deformed anymore & feeling positive again.
It seems that i basically need to cut the bugger right up & remove all the excess foam that i put on there when everybody kept telling me he was Big. I mean hell- the guy has the same skeleton as himself as a thin man, no? Thusly you are an idiot to make a "big" armature of a "big" man are you not...
In case yer wondering how did i solve the issue of how to hold up a 15kg arm while i welded it, well i did some dodgy instead. The arms are made of square tube, so i cut thru 3.5 or so walls of the square tube, and then bent the arm where i wanted it, and then welded that. So i never actually took the arm right off & there u go. I did that up near the shoulder & at the elbow to change the way the arm hung down on 2 planes.
Yesterday i run into someone who asked me if i'd like to do a talk at the art school about my stuff. Pretty nice to be asked eh. Though giving speeches never been anything i wanted to do, i spose its a foothold into a different career , again.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Decisions, decisions
Didn't get much done today tho i did work hard. Started the moulding off a couple of smaller ones that i need to do & had a hack at the big feller. I reckon some hard decisions need to be made & I can't put them off any longer. Like cutting off that arm thats sorta not working at all & maybe even the other one as well. Trouble is once they are off i will need someone to hold them up while i weld them back on the right way. My assistant who is very busy anyway has only skinny wee arms so she would not be too good holding up a 15kg arm while i welded it back on. But then maybe i can just cut them off and throw em away & make completely new ones.... thus they'd be light with no clay on em. Man i would love to just start over entirely, but can't help thinking i would face exactly the same issues then as well. So what can u do.. you got to just suck it up, like they say in the armed forces. Or somewhere.
Well after yesterdays optimism i was bound to have a comedown eh. Thats how it goes, up & down. Then i will make some resolution at about 3am tonite during a sleepless night where i wake in terror constantly; & then when i follow thru on that resolution tomorrow, like chopping off that arm & measuring the head, it will come good & i'll get optimistic again. Sigh wish i could just avoid the sleepless night part, its gonna be boring.
Well after yesterdays optimism i was bound to have a comedown eh. Thats how it goes, up & down. Then i will make some resolution at about 3am tonite during a sleepless night where i wake in terror constantly; & then when i follow thru on that resolution tomorrow, like chopping off that arm & measuring the head, it will come good & i'll get optimistic again. Sigh wish i could just avoid the sleepless night part, its gonna be boring.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Cousin Chris
One of the cats slipped outside this morning, and refused to come back in. The smarmy look on his face read stuff you, & i realise I am NOT a cat person as I expect pets to see sense when i tell them stuff. The damn thing was going to just get more fleas out there but did he listen? No. After advice from the cat owner via the phone I chucked the other one out as well & shot thru. I went toward Maroubra & hoped it would p*ss down on the bloody things.
My cuz Chris came to visit today. I just happened to be setting some yogurt in the yogurt maker & there comes a call, he has some time to kill so he dropped by. He parked his gigantic semi trailer across the neighbour's entire front strip, our driveway, & the next nature strip. That was right hilarious as that neighbour is so anal about parking her car in front of her house that i reckon i would have sh*t myself laughing if she had've turned up. Sadly she didn't, though she must have later wondered why her tree had massive amount of damage as if some giant truck had taken half of it out, but, like a ghost in the breeze, it was all over & she never knew.
We went for donuts as is the tradition when my cuz visits. So much for my diet that wil have to start tomorrow instead.
Then i went in to my work & struck a blow. Its actually improving & i could have given up in disgust yesterday but its improving yes. I decided to act to prevent the falling off the table which is induced by the hypnotic swaying of the big man. I would weld a strut under his leg. That required surgery & removal of as much material as poss from the leg armature & then setting fire to just about everything for metres around& burning myself with spatter. Have a neat hole in my leg but as its just under my knee where i have 7 fleabites already, you would never know except for the black edging on it that it were not just another fleabite. And weld burns are fair things - they hurt for a moment then stop, unlike those cheaty little chickenwire cuts that sting relentlessly til you swear.
I enjoyed making marks all over him to delneate his leg muscles. It really does help to make t look loads better. They follow the contours much like old banknotes have contour lines. Is it cheating to have contour lines AND 3 dimensions? Nah!
My cuz Chris came to visit today. I just happened to be setting some yogurt in the yogurt maker & there comes a call, he has some time to kill so he dropped by. He parked his gigantic semi trailer across the neighbour's entire front strip, our driveway, & the next nature strip. That was right hilarious as that neighbour is so anal about parking her car in front of her house that i reckon i would have sh*t myself laughing if she had've turned up. Sadly she didn't, though she must have later wondered why her tree had massive amount of damage as if some giant truck had taken half of it out, but, like a ghost in the breeze, it was all over & she never knew.
We went for donuts as is the tradition when my cuz visits. So much for my diet that wil have to start tomorrow instead.
Then i went in to my work & struck a blow. Its actually improving & i could have given up in disgust yesterday but its improving yes. I decided to act to prevent the falling off the table which is induced by the hypnotic swaying of the big man. I would weld a strut under his leg. That required surgery & removal of as much material as poss from the leg armature & then setting fire to just about everything for metres around& burning myself with spatter. Have a neat hole in my leg but as its just under my knee where i have 7 fleabites already, you would never know except for the black edging on it that it were not just another fleabite. And weld burns are fair things - they hurt for a moment then stop, unlike those cheaty little chickenwire cuts that sting relentlessly til you swear.
I enjoyed making marks all over him to delneate his leg muscles. It really does help to make t look loads better. They follow the contours much like old banknotes have contour lines. Is it cheating to have contour lines AND 3 dimensions? Nah!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Quiet yet boring
Another quiet day.. went to studio & did some math again. Comparing the maquette to reality is a bit surprising.
Then made a panther thing. This is hopefully going into some auction that will raise money for the zoo. It needs a longer back. Will check some lion pictures for tomorrow.
Then Paul popped in he's just been to Thailand. We went in search of some cafe in Earlwood that was sposed to be awesome. but ended up with self serve tea bags at the studio. However we did find a place that sells industrial cakes & they sell factory seconds cheap. Its about 12 steps from the studio unfortunately. So i will remove that memory from my brain as soon as i can. $4 for a box of brownies is just what i don't need. After the last 3 or 4 days of hard work i have lost a notch on the belt & thats good.
Then once the printmaker had evaporated from the studio, about 2pm, i unwrapped the big feller & went to work. I added a face & a collar which really brung the top part into focus nicely. Had been having endless trouble with the shoulders but once the collars on there it cuts it nice into chunks. Normally you better off not adding the clothing detail til the end, but then i been breaking lots of rules that i had before, so hey why not, as long as it does actually help i'm in there.
I been having a bit of weird things happening i got cold sweats & losing my balance. The losing balance thing i worked it out today, its cos i'm up on the table & working on this big bloke, and he wobbles. So he's right in my face, swaying slightly, & thats making me feel wobbly. Luckily i can grab his arm & he catches me. Its a great excuse to weld on a supporting strut on the bent leg, for sure. The big thing wobbling is not a great thing anyhow. In my mind the welds are rusting rusting rusting. The cold sweats are just me sweating from working hard on a warm day & then a slight breeze chills me right out. I reckon i need some of those clever moisture wicking clothes people buy to travel in. Or a fan in the first place, but a fan would dry out the clay so i can't use one.
Then made a panther thing. This is hopefully going into some auction that will raise money for the zoo. It needs a longer back. Will check some lion pictures for tomorrow.
Then Paul popped in he's just been to Thailand. We went in search of some cafe in Earlwood that was sposed to be awesome. but ended up with self serve tea bags at the studio. However we did find a place that sells industrial cakes & they sell factory seconds cheap. Its about 12 steps from the studio unfortunately. So i will remove that memory from my brain as soon as i can. $4 for a box of brownies is just what i don't need. After the last 3 or 4 days of hard work i have lost a notch on the belt & thats good.
Then once the printmaker had evaporated from the studio, about 2pm, i unwrapped the big feller & went to work. I added a face & a collar which really brung the top part into focus nicely. Had been having endless trouble with the shoulders but once the collars on there it cuts it nice into chunks. Normally you better off not adding the clothing detail til the end, but then i been breaking lots of rules that i had before, so hey why not, as long as it does actually help i'm in there.
I been having a bit of weird things happening i got cold sweats & losing my balance. The losing balance thing i worked it out today, its cos i'm up on the table & working on this big bloke, and he wobbles. So he's right in my face, swaying slightly, & thats making me feel wobbly. Luckily i can grab his arm & he catches me. Its a great excuse to weld on a supporting strut on the bent leg, for sure. The big thing wobbling is not a great thing anyhow. In my mind the welds are rusting rusting rusting. The cold sweats are just me sweating from working hard on a warm day & then a slight breeze chills me right out. I reckon i need some of those clever moisture wicking clothes people buy to travel in. Or a fan in the first place, but a fan would dry out the clay so i can't use one.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Tax excursion
This morn was Tax appt #1, I rode my bike to Bondi Junct & the tax dude did my BAS for me. The bike has furred right up all the alloy is covered with white fur cos of being parked in the yard. Looks foul but it started straight away which was kinda unexpected & ran great. Even had petrol in it, which is rare.
Doing my 2nd ever BAS statement... Sadly he needed a book & a calculator & a lot of work to do it & the next one will be a pain too cos i'm going to not have a weekly wage for that one & the calculations will change again. So looks like i won't be doing that myself, if it takes an accountant an hour then i reckon it too hard for me.
Then i bought a slice of Cambozola cheese cos bondi is the only place i know sells it, for a treat... its a mix of camembert & gorgonzola. Noice. Then home, ate said cheese on crackers, slept til 3.30 then got my act together & got to studio by 5.30, then worked till 9 or so. Was very sore today all over feel like i done a few rounds of rugby league or summink. Have had 3 very hard days work so this being day 4 at least there was a bit of a change & a little rest.
Using a cement trowel to work the clay.. i have to use very large tools! its quite funny. Gradually he is becoming a bit more human looking.
One important trick is when you think something needs to be big, and you keep adding to it, and it never looks right, getting bigger & bigger but never working, then cut it all off & make it small & you will find out it never was supposed to be that big anyway - it just looked like it should be.
Doing my 2nd ever BAS statement... Sadly he needed a book & a calculator & a lot of work to do it & the next one will be a pain too cos i'm going to not have a weekly wage for that one & the calculations will change again. So looks like i won't be doing that myself, if it takes an accountant an hour then i reckon it too hard for me.
Then i bought a slice of Cambozola cheese cos bondi is the only place i know sells it, for a treat... its a mix of camembert & gorgonzola. Noice. Then home, ate said cheese on crackers, slept til 3.30 then got my act together & got to studio by 5.30, then worked till 9 or so. Was very sore today all over feel like i done a few rounds of rugby league or summink. Have had 3 very hard days work so this being day 4 at least there was a bit of a change & a little rest.
Using a cement trowel to work the clay.. i have to use very large tools! its quite funny. Gradually he is becoming a bit more human looking.
One important trick is when you think something needs to be big, and you keep adding to it, and it never looks right, getting bigger & bigger but never working, then cut it all off & make it small & you will find out it never was supposed to be that big anyway - it just looked like it should be.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Big Day
Another big hard day in the studio. Being Sunday it was the best day to go hard at it. So i did. Its funny its very addictive i did try to stop a number of times during the day for a break, washed hands carefully, set the kettle to boil, but always had to go poke some bit of it & before you know it i'm up to my elbows in wet clay again & realise i'm exhausted so i go wash hands again to get clean then i poke it again & get sucked into it yet again, etc... in the end i just knew my mate Mike was coming for pizza for tea & i had to create a massive 3m plastic bag to cover the big fellow with so i got into that for a while instead. But yeah kept going over to poke at it & the usual...
So that was 10am to 5 or 6 with 10 mins for lunch. Its ok i'm not as tired today as yesterday & no new cuts to speak of tho i got plenty of fleabites torturing me. Its ok though once you got more than 50 they balance out & you can ignore em all.
So that was 10am to 5 or 6 with 10 mins for lunch. Its ok i'm not as tired today as yesterday & no new cuts to speak of tho i got plenty of fleabites torturing me. Its ok though once you got more than 50 they balance out & you can ignore em all.
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