Spirit of the Jay

Thought I would show my work from my most recent project. It was calle Animal and the project was set by the Collins Gallery in Glasgow. I really enjoyed making my piece which is titled 'Spirit of the Jay' and very please with the outcome. I found out a bit more about what I also like to do which is Fiber Arts and I am looking forward to taking this across with ceramic into my final year. Its a rather scary thought that in a years time I will be back out into the big world but exciting too as my path will be totally different!!

Juileanne Long - Textile Artist

A couple of bits on this ladies website - like the Full Fathom Five and recycled pieces.

http://www.textileartist.co.uk/index.html

Ceramic Artist

Today I am looking at web layouts so any interesting artists I will pop them on here for people to have a look at. The first one is Emily Myers - a ceramic artist. Some lovely surface textures and shapes.

http://www.emilymyers.com/

Its been too long...

I didn't realise how long ago it was since I wrote my last blog. Oops!! Its quite hard to keep on top of everything and sometimes when I have a bit of time my mind goes blank. Basically my memory is shot!! So I am looking into different ways to help. There are these memory joggers you can buy to keep in your pocket but I think you could make them yourself, to suit you. You can check them through out the day so you dont forgot things. Just remember to check your pocket..!! you can be at creative as you like with them...with drawings, text, texture, etc

If you have difficulty reading text on your phone there is an app for specific phones called zoom plus, zooms in on the text and changes the background colour, the link is...

https://market.android.com/details?id=air.com.twothreetwo.ZoomPlus&feature=search_result

Its not suitable for my phone which is an htc wildfire but it may be suitable for yours.

Well just a few tips...I have a lot of organising to do today which I dont always find easy keeping on top of. So any tips would be great!!

Christmas Break

The last semester has been mental and i cant believe that its Christmas Eve already. The year has flown in, the second half more so. The break is well needed by many and I cant wait to stop and relax....if that is at all possible. It was a great feeling to get everything handed in, Essay finished, presentation done and technical files completed and handed in. This semester has been a test on the old dyslexia and i have seen it has been on others who are dyslexic too. I am going to look into some learning strategies, different ways to retain information, when i find some i will of course share them. That will be my christmas present to you all...ha! I hope you all have a wonderful christmas. Much Love xx

The Dreaded Essay

Who hates writing essays?? Well I know that I do. The one that I have had to write for Crafts in Context has taken forever, it was the most difficult thing I had to write. Normally I can get into them but it was not happening with this one. Anyhow its done but I thought I would leave some essay tips not just for people with dyslexia but for anyone who struggles with the.
Prepare - I left mine to the last minute, I dont recommend anyone doing this. I thought I would be able to do it in a few days but it took a lot longer than that. So give yourself plenty of time.
Essay Plan - find a question that you will be interested in. Then write headings about what you would like to cover that relate to that question.
Reference - do this as you go along, it will make your life a whole lot easier
Bite Size Chunks - give yourself 2 hours at a time then go and do something else for half an hour, bit of house work or even a walk.
There are so many more you can do and for those who are Dyslexic giving yourself plenty of time is so important. You will be able to enjoy what you are reading rather than panicing that it needs to be in. It can be enjoyable as the essay is to do with a course you have chosen to do. So unlike how I dealt with it  ...relax and enjoy!!

If there are any more tips that people would like to add please do!!

Bird Art

My ceramic project is looking at the decline of wildlife in Britain and I have focused on the Lapwing as these are extremely vulnerable . They are one of the most beautiful birds around and it would be sad if we were to never see them again. Today a few of my classmates took me to a dead blackbird that was pretty much in tact...though at first it may of been a bit of a laugh I started to think how I could use it within my work. I brought it home to photograph and as I laid it out on a piece of white paper I felt sad and actually quite sick. His eye was a bit of a mess and there was a little blood around his nose and beak, it started to make me question if i really want to use him in my work. I love black birds, they are beautiful birds with a character I cant quite explain but they make me laugh. This poor bird lead on this piece of paper probably didnt die naturally so I wonder...do I bury it?? or do I cast it in clay to use in my final display to symbolise death??