Monday 31 December 2018

30 December 2018

Hello folks! I haven't touched this blog, or my other one, for months. My only feeble excuse is that I've been pretty busy - if anything busier than usual.

I made the decision earlier in the year to do some study - New Zealand Certificate of Creativity Level 4 through The Learning Connexion (TLC) as a distance delivery student. I tossed up whether to do it this year or next and in the end decided to go ahead this year. It's Locket's last year of her degree so works out well.

This decision though meant that I needed to devote time to study. It averages out at 3.5 hours a day five days a week, or 17.5 hours a week, or 70 hours over 4 weeks. There is some flexibility around when you do your hours which has been great for me. At times I've found it a challenge to get the hours done, however I now have all the theoretical goals done and have only 70 hours left to complete by February 22 2019. So I'll get them done over the summer.

As well as the actual work there is photographing what you have done, filling in a visual diary and uploading everything (the images) to a storage place on the TLC site for a mentor to review. So sometimes the 3.5 hours stretches to five or six hours. You can count all the time you spend photographing etc, but I wouldn't always remember exactly when I started as I'd neglect to write the time down!

This has been my focus this year and therefore there has been less sewing and the gardening I was doing came to an abrupt halt. Although I could continue with the study I've decided not to. I don't feel I need to and I will keep on learning, just in my usual autodidact way. What I have done has served it's purpose but it's time to move on to other things.

One thing that has proved distracting this year is the development up the back of us, and in one way beside us. The driveway next door leads up to a section that has stood empty the whole time we've been here . . . till this year. Last year developers bought it and there are 17 townhouses being built on it . Earthworks started in April and currently the buildings are going up. There is the potential for at least 23 vehicles to go up and down the drive - not that the council thinks it will be a nuisance!

There is a lot to do around here to de-junk the house and tidy up the grounds in the event we decide to move, which of course takes time, the de-junking etc! It's easier to do it steadily over the next few years rather than having to do it all in a rush in a short space of time.

Enough about me! Boar has continued to work although he is increasingly looking forward to when he retires in less than three years. Another reason to get the house and grounds in order.

Locket has finished her degree and Brains has completed the second year of his degree. Frosty is on her own with Mr Magoo and living nearby. Braveheart still lives where he did and has the boys to look after. Smurfette continues with the work she does and is still living nearby. Absent-minded Professor and Moneypenny are also nearby with their three young girls.

All the grandchildren are growing up and the oldest ones are learning to read now as well. I love watching their blossoming minds and personalities.

I'm going to share some photos of some of the things I've been doing this year. Disclaimer:- I'm at the very beginning with drawing and painting so my efforts are explorations - not masterpieces! I will continue to practice but there is much room for improvement!

 




I did this drawing at a class at Karori Arts and Crafts Centre in a beginners drawing class taken by Helen Casey. The photocopy on the left is what we were given and my effort is on the right.
 



Trying to draw a pot - which is not as easy as it looks!




This one is looking at the shadows and shading. Crumpled paper is very tricky to do. Plus it took me a long time and the shadows were in completely different places by the time I finished!




This is Encaustic Wax Art which I did with my friend Arty Vicky. This was fun and easy to do so I'll include the link here in case you would like to see how it is done. Some of my efforts didn't work out too well but that's all part of the process.




Painting in warm and cool colours. Getting the angles right is challenging for me but hopefully with practise there will be a bit of improvement!




While I find the drawing and painting a real challenge I really enjoyed the screen-printing I did. It's something I've been wanting to do again since I was around 12 or 13 years old and did it at school. This was different in that it was photo emulsion screen-printing. This is one of the pieces I put into the TLC student exhibition.




 Another of the pieces I put into the exhibition, my first screen-print on fabric, white calico. I did this at the first session of seven classes I did at the TLC campus. I used black tape as a resist and just cut it and applied it to the screen in a fairly random way.




This is the third one I put into the exhibition. I used some manuka tree twiglets I found lying on the ground in the driveway of TLC. I wondered if they would make a reasonable exposure and was very happy with how delicate they looked. This print is also done on calico, this time unbleached.


This one is done with transparent ink in layers so that you can see the different colours and how the colour changes when you layer it over another. 

Just a small sample of what I've been up to. 

I have ventured up to the backyard a few times but not accomplished anything. I went up the other day and saw that the lilies, arum maculatum, have produced the spikes of fruits that I was waiting to see. These contain the seeds that of course I've been neglecting to deal with and have helped the plant invade the garden! Until I researched the plant this year I didn't realise they could grow from seed. I took a photo tonight. 


There are still a few leaves but most of the plants have these spikes of fruit. The most effective way to get rid of the plant is to pull the leaves out when they appear and eventually the bulb starves. Something to keep on top of from now on. I put a whole lot of the leaves in black plastic bags and stuck them in the greenhouse back in February. I left them in there and when I went in recently they had turned to sludge! Quite a smelly sludge but I guess it's one way to dispose of the leaves and stalks. I think chopping them up would allow them to break down more quickly.


Somewhere under there is a raised garden bed that I plan to plant with flowers! Well, there are nasturtiums growing and convolvulus, plus long grass - lots of it. There has been stuff piled on here for a while, there are branches under there but eventually I'll get to the bottom of it! It's pretty much what the whole backyard gets like at this time of year when it's neglected. The grass grows very long. So another task I want to learn is to use the weed-eater so I can keep on top of the grass. It's the only way with our section.




The last photo I took tonight is of the Heartsease I planted earlier in the year which has given and continues to give me a lot of pleasure. It gives me hope that I will be able to get the backyard organised . . . eventually! 

And on that thought I'll wish you all a very happy new year and all the best for 2019. I don't think I'll get another post in before then! Fare thee well in the new year.  💕


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