Preparations for classes

Busy week.  I have  exhibitions to fit in while preparing for classes.  I am going to be taking full allowance of pain relief if necessary as I am determined to get thru it.  This means I will be feeling very happy and even more talkative even though I will also suffer from dry mouth. which makes me drink more, which necessitates i am go to toilets at every available opportunity while i am out and about - a glamorous life.

Tomorrow morning I will pop into into wood frame place in hackney to check it out before going to Somerset house for graphics exhibtion, Pick Me Up which is only on this week and in same building the Courtauld for 'Becoming Picasso' exhibition.   Then off to school to photocopy work for screen printing and then etching class - I still have to draw on spare plate tonight for that.  

Wednesday Screen printing I will also have to prepare for tonight and tomorrow night.  This is where i am with the graphics ready.  I am preparing enough graphics for 2 A3 screens.  You don't have to fit this much in, some people just put a star or a flower in the middle, but as usual, i want to get as much in, to get the most out of all the processes I will have to do.  I will use the schools screens but will ask teacher for list of suppliers to get screens, and other small equipment.   Here is where i am and need to finish tonight so i can photocopy at school tomorrow onto 2 A3 sheets.

Screen 1 left side will be 3 rows of graphics i can use separately or on top of greek writing below etc.  One of these may be a photo formatted in half tone in photoshop but not sure i will have time tonight to do this.    Right side is a Tshirt design, main black ink design and above it second colour - red fingernails which will be done when black is dry.  It is done with 'registration' marks to ensure correct positioning.  I did the nails by tracing through on top of the hands then tracing this above to get on one page.  I think it would be much easier to do this in photoshop.

Screen 2.  I drew the skeleton head 4 years ago ( l loved it as my first good drawing done in ink without any thought, and gave me confidence to go back to art) and i had prepared it as pattern in previous screen print class but never printed it.  I can be printed as 9, or strip of 3 or just one head over perhaps the greek writing on the right.  Skeletans are very in, not really my thing, but i only print on old sleeping gear.

PS. 4 HOURS LATER AND EXHAUSTED AND ACHING SO HAVE USED OLD DRAWINGS TO FILL IN GAPS ABOVE.

Thursday morning I will go back to wood place if i need more time to decide on wood to buy, go to Royal Academy Print Show only on this week, then National Portrait Gallery for Man Ray portraits before my membership runs out which i am not renewing.

Then off to picture framing class.  I am taking a drawing I did of cafe owners child and they told me on facebook they would like a copy.  This is the simplest frame to make.  I also need to frame 2 canvasses i bought, the gold is one of a past teacher and the bright coloured one is by an 8yr old child i bought for £25 which was the only one left by him, all the others had been sold.  I think it has Hockney influence from his last exhibition though not sure the artist knew.  I am taking these to get framing teachers input as they are both tricky colours.

Drawing I will use for first,  simplest picture framing.

Gold leaf letter Canvas for framing suggestions from teacher

Childs painting for suggestions from teacher.  At the moment I  have it on table as I had been trying to adapt a clazed box frame I had.  The teacher mentioned spacers which is exactly what i need.  I will see if the wood place has them.  They will stop the painting touching the glass and another set will keep the backing at the back of the frame, as it had been made to sit just behind the glass for a drawing.

My table and other work room updates

Kim's talk of her work on her table, All About Me blog, inspired to go check my table's capacity for inclining top.  Unfortunately the 2 levers are on the side that raises which is against another table and so not accessible easily, pity they are not on not the lower which of course is the side you sit at and there are only 2 positions, vertical and horizontal, nothing in between.  The levers that have to pull out to release the top for moving are also very difficult as my arthritis wrists don't turn enough to hold both without extreme pain.  So, for now i have left if inclined with the back held up by other table and the front stopped from lowering further by a magazine on my filing cabinet.   The raising of the table has given me extra room round tables as they fit one under the the other.  I can move them as necessary.  I will try it for a while.  The incline is ok so things don't slide down much.  If i like it i may add a lip to lower side, perhaps one that can be removed if i am using the table for machine sewing.

This has been done over the last year.  I will blog when i have finished, don't hold your breath.

This table was £25 charity shop buy, brown top and chrome crossbar legs on castors.  As part of my project to blind myself by painting my flat and everything in it white, i used some old wall paint to paint table.  The paint had some yellowing.  I ended up doing 5 layers.  I finished with a coat of PVA for protection.  I will eventually do a coating of white again from new batch of paint and another PVA coat.

PS. SEVERAL HOUR LATER - I HAVE BEEN USING TABLE ON THE SLANT AND LOVE IT.

These photos were taken on phone, then i used phone/android/ipad app called Skitch to annotate which also links into Evernote the notetaking app I use often on phone and ipad for lists, reminders, addresses etc.  Its quicker than opening photoshop for annotation of pictures.

The cabinet below was Ikea £25.   Thought it would be difficult to assembly but was designed beautifully for assembly and I enjoyed it.

You can see in the background that I still have a lot of shelving to paint white.  I put it off as it takes so long, so many surfaces, one pva to make paint stick to laminate, 3 coats paint and  I think i will finish with PVA which I haven't done previously so thats another coat - i may combine pva with last white coat to save time if that works.

And with all this table space , i end up preparing for classes this week lounge, as i did it while in bed or watching TV.

Ikea clear boxes with lids and carry handle boxes
Although I thought it would save money and look nicer by covering old cardboard boxes i had in my own design paper, there is no getting away from the fact that finding things is easier in clear boxes and that a sturdy carry box means i can bring a box of one media onto the table at once be it watercolour, inks, etc.  The only area of shelving i have left is the little bottles of arcrylic as i have them organised in colour groups that are easy see, decide on and get off the shelf.

4 boxes with carry handles - pencils and pens, watercolour, inks,  drawing accessories rubbers, sharpeners etc.

Print section - inks, stamps, etching plates, printing inks, also clothing and china inks.