Not so skilled at spraying

Have been spraying the wheel intermittently over the last few days - it takes definite skill to be an even sprayer. Its coming together but needs a few more coats. The engraved writing looks good I think.

In The Loop

Went to see 'In The Loop' at the Cornerhouse last night. So funny. 

Stick to and see through what you believe in.

Please take one and respond

Went to the cinema last night at the Cornerhouse to give out the second half of the '2 sides' postcards. It went quite well I think - I gave a little introductory talk to the project before the film in the hope that people would be more likely to respond if I explained in person. Also made this sign to hold up as the audience were queuing to leave. 

2 Sides to every story (or so they say)

In order to extend my mapping/perception of experience project, I needed to think on a larger scale than the small events I had asked people to respond to. Therefore I made 100 postcards which open up to allow blank space for the participant to write their perception. I focused on two events this weekend which I was planning on attending anyway: a club night and a film on at the Cornerhouse. Both will contain a fairly large number of people to target - so 50 postcards are tailored to each event.

We shall see if people post back the responses. I hope I do get a fair amount back, as 100 second class stamps cost me £30 alone. It is exciting, but it does scare me when I am out of control and am so reliant on others for the success of the project.

please can I be a 1-day-a-week trend forecaster

I was asked to do a presentation on communications for a trend forecaster based in Brighton who was working with a brand based in Manchester. I really enjoyed the whole day - the workshop in the afternoon was really interesting - working with people from the brand to come up with ideas in line with their products and the trends identified in the morning presentations. Very good. 

Mock up wheel

So exciting! This is the wheel I designed for the visualisation of my dissertation. It is going to be a game called Spin & Speculate. The idea is to make art and design more approachable and thereby convey a more fun, playful side to the industries. 

A very helpful and lovely woodwork man called Mark is helping me in the making. The wheel above is the mock-up and from this I have modified the design. It should be all done by next week. Hope I'm as pleased with the finished thing as I am with the mock up.

It's Nice That

I check the 'Its Nice That' website with as much obsession as The Sartorialist. Pick really lovely work from all disciplines.

Laugh before lunch

Johnathan Barnbrook visited to impart knowledge today. He is very funny; really enjoyed his anecdotes. He gave me confidence and seemed to validate the way in which I work. Good advice: "Don't be afraid to do the work you want to, are interested in and are passionate about; you will thereby attract the kind of work you want to do." Stick to your beliefs. Be interesting, follow your dreams, most importantly be nice. I really agreed with so much of what he said.

Only You

Was reading the Guardian supplement last Saturday and came accross an article entitled 'Only You'. Some of it was lovely: elderly couples who prove that young love can, indeed last. Percy, 89 said "We give quite a bit of love. And I give her a cup of tea every morning at six o'clock". He and Violet, 86 have been married for 70 years.

On the flip side, when Sophie, 16 was asked When did you know you were in love? she answered "she texted me saying that she loved me" Did you text her back? Sophie "Yeah, saying I loved her too".

Surely our ways of communicating need to be re-evaluated if this is our means of expressing ourselves. Back to the old fashioned please.

New found love for The British Library

After presenting 47 forms of identification, explaininf my intentions, registering, logging on, creating an account, depositing all belongings into the cloakroom, re-depositing essentials into a clear plastic bag, requesting the book, waiting 70 minutes for it to be delivered, I began work. All for one article. I could have performed a terrorist act with more ease.

It is a lovely library: the reading rooms are huge with large individual desks with a reading lamp. Good place to work.

Whilst there, I also went to the Sir John Ritblat Gallery which was wonderful: saw Jane Austen's notebooks, Mozart's scores, the Magna Carta, along with the map above. It is a portolan chart created and improvised from direct experiences. Useful research for current project.

Mythologies: The Haunch of Venison

Housed in what used to be The Museum of Mankind (beautiful building on Burlington Gardens), Mythologies was a really interesting exhibition which delt with the subject of mankind. I loved Sophie Calle's contribution: she asked a series of people who had been blind from birth what their vision of beauty was. The responses were perfect, if a little sad at times. 

St Brides taster

Had a taster of St Brides Library (library for the graphic arts). Was exciting to go to such a specialist library and it was interesting to browse, but they only have a small selection of their books available for this purpose. In future, I will call in advance and have them pull out a selection from their vast catalogue in relation to my subject. Very helpful, lovely man on the desk. 

Hussein Chalayan

Went to the Hussein Chalayan exhibition at the Design Museum - really conceptually inspiring, yet hits the perceptual nail on the head too. The piece above - a film on five screens playing simultaneously each showed a different view of the journey. Really inspired my perception of experience project I am working on at present.

Birthday Bunting

It was my dear friend, Brigitta's birthday so we had a little tea party. The rediculous castle cake felt like it needed a little more than a candle, so my freind, Lucy and I spent a last Sunday evening creating cocktail stick flags in Trof. I then decided it was essential that I made bunting to brighten our garden. Not so essential, but enjoyable all the same. It now hangs in my bedroom. 

Absolut Quartet

Went to the Brit Insurance Design exhibition at the Design Museum. This freedom music making robot is amazing.