Monday, April 19, 2010

Hoppin to the Berra

I went off to Canberra to present a proposal for a sculpture. I think i did 100 times better than last time, but really when they ask u a question like how is this gonna complement the architecture, which doesn’t yet exist except in some photocopied pictures, well what can u say really. Besides, they want a particular object made, to look like wot it does. So if it doesn’t really suit any architecture except the bottom of a swamp, well.. what can u say then eh. I just said it will have a strong clean silhouette.

Besides that nervous-making stuff, i went & saw some glassblowing at the Glassworks. I can’t get over glass, its so amazing. I reckon if i had time i’d be into it. I bet it takes ages to learn how to do it beautiful, but anyway i’d still like to have a go. The cool thing is you CAN have a go at the Glassworks. Well if u are in the area. Normally i’m not.

I learned a few things while i was away. When u drive a lot, u cogitate & stew on things a bit & eventually the fluff blows away & little hard rocklike truths fall out. Some of the little truths i discovered were:

1) There is nothing like trying to drive at night in an unknown place to show u just how bad u need that eye operation. 

2) ..... bugger... I can’t remember the rest. I think there were 3 main points. Hm. Maybe they will come to me next time i'm thataway, & i might even WRITE EM DOWN.

I stayed overnite at the usual overpriced place. I keep saying i won’t do it again & then i just go there anyway cos i know it & its got a real good bookshop across the rd. Next time its Formula1 or summink...for sure... anyway i went for a walk in town in the evening, now my foot is good & i feel like walking (thank g-d). Its a funny town its kinda unformed & alien. There was a street of just snow gear shops. I finally settled on pizza for tea & while i was waiting there a large group of young men walked past only in underpants with socks stuffed down the front & names written on the back. They strategically pantsed each other just as they drew level with the pizzeria as it was the only lit & peopled premises in the whole street.

There should be a lot more of this, and less of the drinking, for young people.

The next morning the hotel fire alarm went off & we all got evacuated at 6.50am. The hotel was full too so there was about 100 ppl all standing out with bad hair on the grass. I did the wrong thing & packed my bags & carried them out, cos from my previous fire alarm experience we could be standing outside for hours. I didn’t wanna spend the day standing out here thanks, on my one free half day in Canberra.

But it was over soon & they offered us a free brekky in the nice dining room. Very classy.


Then i spent the weekend in the studio & worked on the life sized armature welding. I made a little stick version this time, out of those very handy kebab skewers (A new studio staple - is there nothing they can't do???). I put the maquette on the desk & got the angles right in the kebab stix held together with little blobs of wax, next to it. Then i made the life sized using my own measurements for arms & legs & that, and the angles off the kebab armature & there u bloody well go. I found this a really good way to do it & i think i got the armature pretty much sorted right out. I did waste a lot of time watching Bones on a laptop tho & also got visitors both days. But i like visitors & i like Bones so well its all a matter of self discipline, which of i ain't got none. Still, did get some progress, certainly. If it weren't a rush job again i'd be very pleased with how far i got. Its just the way it is when they pay u to do stuff i guess.

Back at day job work today. Not happy about it. Something's got to change.
I wrote this in the Test WebCT page (somewhat inspired by seeing Winston Churchill on the latest Dr Who yesterdy):

Never before has so much been done, for no apparent reason, for a pack of whingeing tards, for no visible gain nor thanks. 
Yet as we stand here shaking gently on the dawn of a new week, we give thanks that they do continue to pay us. For without that we are but leafs in the wind, just tatters on the flag. 
And lo, we can also be grateful for our ICT morning teas, i've personally never seen one, but hear they are wonderful indeed.
A new week brings with it the bracing challenge of a new age. A new age of streamlining, of improvements and of new procedures that excite the gristle encrusted soul particles of every broken down clapped out employee.
Thusly, we ride the continuum of change that envelops our glorious silver rimmed ICT - into the new week!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Proposed Presentation

OK well i feel, for the first time in forever that i can remember, that i'm actually prepared for this presentation on thurs. I got to travel to the capital & give a blurb in the hope of getting a job making a sculpture. Of course as usual its all confidential so sadly i won't go into details but u know who u are etc. Anyway this time yes i have a Powerpoint, yes i have ONE model, and a fully realised very simple straightforward yet slightly witty Idea. So i'm happy about that.

The life sized man tho well its progress has been stopped completely while i got ready for this other thing & perhaps that is a bad thing. Anyway i'm still stumped at how on earth i'm gonna make it in this new studio, like out of what material. I'm almost even falling into the idea of plasticene. i really hate the lack of fightback it has & i see many horrible sculptures from it. But it doesn't need to have the last word does it. After all its up to me to beat it into submission.

Anway i won't be taking a lovely little holiday in the capital i will be coming more or less back the next day & get back to work on life sized dude.

Am really thinking my days in my real waged job are coming to a close. i realised today that  used to enjoy the job a bit, it had its moments & was generally good. But i struggle to remember when i had fun at work last or hell even did anything slightly interesting. I feel like i have forgotten how to learn new things as when i need to, it is usually under great stress & u never learn anything properly under great stress do ya. Not when u have other stresses waiting on ya too. So get a clue fast, make a guess, hack it together & u may never even know what happened but you're already hacking something else so no time to think.

Not good, not sustainable either. The Xmas rush sucked severely but we thought we'd get a rest later. Not gonna though eh. It never ends, there is always some asshole causing trouble.

.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

New one starting

Started making the armature for the next one. I'm using an old base on wheels i used once or twice before, so i needed to grind off the worst of the rust & grease the wheel bearings & check the welds aren't rusted thru. I'd had to cut it up to fit it in the car to take it to the studio, so i then had to weld it back together. So when i felt hey an achievement to get those bits welded on straight, i suddenly realised it wasn't, cos i'd bloody cut it off myself. Dang nab it.
Then painted it in french blue cos i got a tin of that & its a way cool colour to cover rust & bare steel.
Tomorrow i'm going to actually make the armature of the actual figure. So all that preamble was just getting started really. Hm.

Sadly the amount of toxic smoke & dust i managed to manufacture in that airtight room from a simple bit of grinding & welding makes me think doing plaster work in here is a bad bad idea. Kinda sad about that.

I'm negotiating for a larger studio, which would be great. Doing one thing at a time is ok in here but if i want to do wax & clay modelling as well, then there ain't enough room really. I don't think the dust thing is gonna be any easier tho in a bigger room, there's still not much air.