Craft Review: Week 9: Sunday 19th February- Saturday 25th February

I hate going back too school after having a week off.
I feel so tired, and not rested at all. So, I end up starting crafts, but not really finishing them, grabbing time wherever I can... Which isn't much.

Sunday

I didn't do much... I had coursework prep and last minute bits of homework to finish, and then I fell asleep really early..... I managed one row of my Ravenclaw Scarf.

Monday

I added a few rows to my sherbet lemon square, before I got distracted. I was then too tired to do anything afterwards. I hate when that happens.

Tuesday

I spent an hour after school working on my coursework final piece. After 5 hours of controlled assessments in both French and History, I think it was warranted o do nothing else but curl up and cry when I got home.

Wednesday

I did a Historical Art study on Venetian masks for my Art work this week, being very conscious that my lessons were the next day, and I hadn't done much work to my art book over the holidays. I did a few other pieces, tidying up a few loose ends, and all sorts as well. My book is beginning to bulk out, which is very good indeed.

Thursday

I had my Art lessons today, so I count them. I did an awful lot of painting, both for my exam prep and for my course work's final piece. I have no pictures a) because the coursework piece is not finished yet and b) everything else is exam work, and I'm extremely protective over it.

Friday

At the end of the week, I really was ready for the weekend. Having, in that day only, been smacked in the face with a rounders post, a tennis ball and a friends elbow, I went home glad to resting ( I have no bruises, thank goodness). I got home, and I got out my watercolours. I painted four, quite small, very quick roses and added detail with a blue fine liner. I was then faced with the problem as of what to do with them, but at 10 o'clock at night, I couldn't be bothered.

Saturday

I made the four little free-hand rose paintings into a set of four note cards. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but I like the way they turned out, so this may be a new branch for me to experiment in. I'm also going to start looking at whether there is anywhere or anyone who I could sell my paintings to. I think it would give me more of an incentive in this rough time, to do art and take a break, if I got payed for it. Otherwise, every week would turn out like this one, working hard everyday, and and continuing that late into the night.

Craft Review: Week 8: Sunday 12th February - Saturday 18th February

This week was half term, so I've done far too much sleeping. And watching films. And rubbish things on TV... But it also means I get more crafty time (and more homework -_-). So this is what I did.
Sunday

Today, I picked up my Ravenclaw Scarf again, and by Jove it's getting long. I'm still following the pattern from Charmed Knits, but it prescribes fourteen colour block pairs, and I have just completed the eighth, and it's already nearly as tall as me! But I will continue on, I want one so badly, I'm not going to give up because I think it's monstrously long.

Monday

I went into town and bought 10 balls of wool for £7.00. Now that's a bargain. The cheapest ones I can find anywhere else are usually£2.50 at least. I will definitely be returning there again. I also finished this cushion I've been working on for a few months. It's the embroidery, I swear, it puts me off. I also knitted another tiny little owl, just for fun this time.

Tuesday
Today, I made R2D2! I had a lot of fun, and it's very rewarding to make a pattern yourself. It's sparked a whole load of ideas for me, and I can't wait to try and knit something else!

Wednesday

Today, in the breaks between the hairdressers and the opticians, and going regular shopping (such a bore, considering we didn't spend nearly enough time in Waterstones), I managed to knit up half a square for my Harry Potter Quilt. This one will be based on Sherbet Lemons, Dumbledore's favourite Muggle sweet, as is often expressed during the first few books.

A tradition of ours: Sock photography.

Thursday

I went Craft Shopping!!! We went to Hobbycraft, and my mother had to restrain me from buying everything. So, instead, I narrowed it down to what I needed: 5 Plain Plastic full face masks (for my art project); and what I really wanted, which equated to: 4 mini canvases, and a book on knitting cakes. Yumyumyum.
I also then went to Becky's for a sleepover, so there wasn't much time anywhere.

Friday

I was wiped out from Becky's (there are only so many films one can watch in one sitting, and I think three is pushing it at two in the morning...), so I spent the afternoon sleeping, doodling and writing. I actually finished the first chapter of a story I'm writing. It'll need tweaking, but if anyone wants to read it, leave a comment and perhaps one day I'll post an extract of it.

Saturday

Saturday, I really started to knuckle down and do my artwork. I did a three hour sustained drawing of two pairs of sunglasses, trying desperately to get the perspective right. It worked, eventually, I also started to tidy up any loose sheets of paper in my book, organising it, tucking things away, etc. I also started doing some studies of some photos that I took for it a few weeks ago... But because it's exam work and I don't want plagiarism, I'm keeping them to myself.
Sorry!
A few more months, and You can see them...

Toodle pip!

Meet R2D2

This is what comes of being a knitter and loving certain films. We get GEEKY.

Name: R2D2

Astromech Droid, R-series

Films: Star Wars 1-6

I love R2D2. There's something so cute and mental about him. I would almost certainly say he was my favourite Star Wars character (only almost, as I admire Padme's courage  (and costumes) in the first film). I made the pattern up myself, but it still has a few flaws, which I will have to attempt to Iron out later...

Toodle pip!

Craft Review: Weeks 6 & 7: Sunday 29th January - Saturday 11th February

I apologise to begin with, as I was away last weekend, and then digging through two feet of snow to get to the door..... It was.... Interesting, to say the least. So, to remedy my absence (and because I can't remember what happened in the past fortnight, when). I will give you a rundown of what I've made.

Yes, unfortunately, that is me...

1) I finished my Fluffy Scarf!

One 50 gram ball, knitted in Garter, on 7mm needles, with only twenty stitches.

It was nice and simple.

However, while finishing, It did occur to me that the wool not only looks like muted Ravenclaw tones (Blue, plus both book bronze and film silver), but it also looks a bit like the mottled feathers of Buckbeak. So, I now rename the Fluffy Simple scarf, The Buckbeak Scarf.

^Buckbeak====>Scarf ^

2) I made 2 owls and 4 flowers. Random? No.

This was part of my 'Just because', because I only had one flower (which I made in January) and one owl, and I didn't want to wait until after half term... My favourites are the owls... They're so cute!


3) I've done an awful lot of art. Finishing off my coursework, and starting my exam work. It's tiring, but fun, and I love working on it, so I don't mind. I did however, have problems with my circle project on Thursday, because something didn't look quite right. I will have to try and fix it after the half term....

4) I've been taking photos! But they're not very good, and mainly for my art exam work anyway... I did do a drawing on a chalkboard while away, and I wonder whether it's still there... It took ages...

5) I  experimented in painting my nails in different patterns using sellotape.  It sort of worked, but it could have been better, hence why I'm not showing you. you can be assured though, that they are in Ravenclaw colours.

6) Using my owl pattern, I began knitting an R2D2 (Yes, I'm a star wars nerd too...)! I love R2D2, I think he's so cute, and making up a pattern is a lot of fun!

7) I did a marathon 'upload onto DofE' session yesterday, and found a few things which I finished, but never showed you. Perhaps I'll get round to it another day...

I think that's it, but I may have forgotten a few things...

Toodle Pip, for now!

Just because....

Just because I'm a nice person, and I like making things, I decided to give all of my friends a little treat before the half term... In the form of knitted owls (my own, adapted pattern) or a selection of fabric flowers (made from instructions from the book I got for Christmas).

Happy Half Term!

Induction

And that is basically it for what I want to show you from my Induction GCSE Art Sketchbook. There is an AWFUL lot more, but it is precisely that. Awful.  And I don't want the world to see it because it's that terrible as compared to what I do nowadays. But here is a summary of pictures of what I showed you from my sketchbook.

Printing

In our Art Induction, we experimented with 3 types of printing:
Monoprinting
Polystyrene Printing
Cardboard Printing.

This is what I came out with.


















I had to start off by drawing a still life in tonal colours. I, being vaguely musical, decided to draw my cello. It's called Marvin. I then had to do several print experiments inspired by this still life.

The first one that I did was the Polystyrene Printing. Here, we had a sheet of polystyrene and etched into it, etching away sections with different layers. It is the school version of Lino cut printing, as it is cheaper, and more school-friendly, as it can be etched using a Biro or a sharp pencil, instead of requiring a lino cutter.

This is the double page spread that I produces, including the printer, my plans, and several examples of the prints I produced. It is always best to produce more prints than is necessary, just in case one goes wrong

I quite like this method. It's a bit messy, but then all printing is. It's more precise than any of the other methods.

I then did a page on Cardboard Printing. This is where you have a sheet of box card board, and, using a Stanley knife, you peel off the top layer to reveal the corrugated area beneath.

This type of printing leaves a printer that is nearly disintegrating by the time you are finished with it, but I do like the textured look achieved with it.

For these prints, I switched my inspiration from the cello directly, to the sheet music, and more specifically, the bass clef in which a cello plays.

This theme of inspiration continued through into my Monoprinting page.

I think out of all of the printing method, this is my least favourite due to its inaccuracies.

Monoprinting, is where you ink up a board, lay a piece of paper n top, and draw on the paper. this can lead to a variety of unpredictable results, and that lack of control is what bugs me. A lot.

So those are the printing experiments that we did... not too exciting for most, but to Marvin and his depressing music, it was the highlight of his year.