Artist Diary 3

For the time being I will continue with the diary format. This blog post is early & rushed - sometimes life gets in the way.

​Monday 15th October - last blog

Tuesday 16th October
                  No electricity for over 5 hours today - work being done on the lines. Made some small adjustments to the charcoal, double portrait then sprayed it with fixative & put it aside. I wanted to scan it before going any further & without electricity I couldn't. When I am close to finished an artwork, I like to view an image of it on my computer. On the computer screen I see it differently & any areas needing adjustment stand out to me.

I decided to work on some jewellery while the electricity was down. Previously, I made some Christmas pendants, earrings & rings with glitter & glass cabochons & a couple of Halloween pendants. Today, I decided to make some more Halloween pendants, also using glitter & glass cabochons. While the glue, holding the glitter to the base tray, was drying I found some rolled paper beads that I made a couple of years ago & decided to make bracelets. After making the bracelets I used some of the leftover beads to make matching earrings.

Eventually the electricity came back on & the drawing was scanned but I was too tired by then to do more work to the drawing - just enough energy to complete some finishing touches on the paper bead jewellery. 

Wednesday 17th October
                   Craft morning - always enjoy catching up with the other craft women  - & the couple of men who turn up for morning tea & make a donation to our funds. They are a light-hearted group & we have lots of laughs.

I tidied the house in the afternoon - especially, cleaning up the glitter that was all over the teaching studio from making jewellery. The glass cabochons were glued onto the glittered bases. & then it was time for the art lesson.

Thursday 18th October
                   I strung all the glass cabochons pendants onto silky cord which I tied with sliding knots - adjustable length cord.

Art & craft had to be put aside for awhile so that I could complete the Boyne Valley Historic Cottage books ready for audit.

After finishing the books, I tinkered with the double portrait & left it to be reviewed the next day -  final adjustments to be made then.

Friday 19th October
                   I finished the double portrait - the clients are happy with it. 

Some of the glass, cabochon jewellery dried with air bubbles which was disappointing as there was no evidence of bubbles when they were left to dry. I think the unevenness of the glitter base may have contributed to the bubbling as well as using a different glue. Photographs were taken of the jewellery.

I sourced some free Halloween colouring images on the internet & printed them out so that I can hand them out to children attending my market stall. My printer ink was running low so I placed an order for more.

Saturday 18th October
                    Washing.
Art lesson was cancelled - everyone was busy with other stuff.
I sewed some little jewellery bags - 6 shimmery, golden yellow & 6 shimmery, deep red.
Then, I set up ready for the next commissioned drawing - pen & watercolour drawing of Bixby Bridge on the Big Sur coastline of California.

We were attending a 70th birthday party that evening - at Builyan about a 15 - 20 minute drive away. I left early,  4.30 pm, so that I could take photos & do some sketching in the Many Peaks/Builyan area. In the end, only photos were taken as I met other people who were also taking photos. We chatted & it turned out they were going to the 70th party as well. Too much chat & no sketching.

I also called into the pub to discuss their request for some artwork of the local area. They are interested in buying some for the pub walls & will also display some of my work for sale. I now have a tentative commission for a drawing/painting of the Many Peaks Hotel.

I made it to the party at 6 pm & caught up with hubby who had attended another birthday party at Bororen - an 80th - during the afternoon. My washing hadn't been done for 2 weeks due to rain so I gave the first party a miss so that I could get washing done & dried. Hubby had dropped our caravan off to Builyan before going over to Bororen. We were both able to have a  few drinks with friends without worrying about driving home & had a very enjoyable time. We enjoyed a BBQ breakfast before heading to Kirsten's Cottage for coffee & then back home.

Sunday 21st October
                I designed & printed some marketing posters for my market stall followed by designing & printing some new greeting cards (sample shown below) for the stall - then the ink ran out. The new drawing commission was started.

Monday 22nd October
                  I spent most of the day following up the insurance for the Historic Cottage & finally a  suitable quote was accepted.
​The new drawing commission was continued.

Tuesday 23rd October
                 Very hot day - air conditioning on.
I spent some time sorting out my market stall stuff & packing the new additions.
My clothes & some art gear were packed in our caravan ready for a trip away.
Then I worked on the drawing in air conditioned comfort.

Wednesday 24th October
                  Craft - then tidy house - air con back on - very hot day.
New ink arrived so I printed out some free Christmas colouring images (from the internet) for children visiting my stall.
​Art lesson - using pastels.

Thursday 25th October
                 Packed some craft stuff into the van - a project that needs to be worked on once per week at a minimum to have it finished in the allocated time frame.
Went into to the town studio to spend the day with a friend.
Completed the pen work on the drawing.
​Stayed overnight in the studio.

Friday 26th October
              Optometrist - good to know my eyes haven't changed from a few years ago. Dentist - really good to know that no dental work was needed.

I visited the council gallery to discuss a short series of children's workshops that I have been contracted to undertake. While there, I checked out the wonderful art works exhibited in the Rio Tinto, Martin Hanson Memorial Art Awards.

Dropped signed paperwork into the insurance agents with whom I had been liaising and paid cheque for Historic Cottage insurance. Sorted out some banking.

Looked for a couple of display items for my market stall without success but found a compact, lightweight, inexpensive table to take in the caravan for use as a work table.
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​Then back to the studio to get ready to go out to a goodbye celebration for one of hubby's employees who was heading back to China to get married. A good night was had before heading back to the studio with hubby for another overnight stay.

Saturday 27th October
                 Breakfast and off home - stopping to pick up some groceries at Calliope. Once home, groceries stored away & then a cuppa enjoyed before packing my ute ready for the market stall on Sunday. My poor ute was almost bursting at the seams.

The art lesson was again called off as everyone was otherwise engaged. Too much other stuff on at this time of year.

I took the opportunity to commence this blog post before heading out to the Lions Community BBQ until late.

Sunday 28th October
               Up very early - wanted an early start for setting up my market stall - headed off about 6.15 am for a 20 minute drive in fog to Builyan - sometimes very thick fog. The markets don't start until 9 am but I had a new awning to fit to my marquee & while the instructions seemed easy I didn't want run into unexpected complications that could lead to set-up delays. I was also trialling a new stall set-up & wanted extra time to ensure I was happy with it. In the end, I was still doing the finishing touches up to about 9.20 am.

The day went well with plenty of stalls but not as many browsers/shoppers as the previous month. The awning was easy to install & my new stall configuration worked well & allowed my customers to be in the shade on a very hot day. It took me 2 hours to carefully pack everything back into my ute ready to head home.

Last month a storm forced a very quick pack up with stuff shoved, a bit too quickly, into the ute. People at the cafe rushed to help the stall operators pack up which was really wonderful but the packing was rather haphazard. The marquee had to be put up to dry the next day. Thankfully, this time there were no storms hanging around & I could pack slowly & carefully by myself.

Back home - needed a short rest & some drink & tucker before unloading the ute. Then the packing of the caravan needed to be completed ready to leave Monday morning.
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Finally, I could get back to writing this blog post - if I don't finish it today then the laptop has to be packed as well.

Monday 29th October - tomorrow
               The plan is to go into Gladstone with the van - park it near hubby's business & then head to the marina to catch up with one of hubby's cousins who is visiting as a passenger on a cruise ship. After seeing hubby's cousin we are heading off to the Murgon for the Music Muster & also for hubby to do some work on some vehicles for his nephew.

​Until next time
​Anne

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