Catchy catch up!

So life continues as usual to keep me from posting, so boringly, another loooong one for you! It has been full on and pretty varied at this end. Following our return from Ethiopia last month I feel a bit in limbo - this is my favourite time of year at college - the FMP season - which, although I get far too attached to and emotional about, reminds me just how special our students are and just how lucky I am to teach them (well, most of them......), and I will be very sad to not be involved this time round - I won't miss the crazy late night marking of course, but I will miss the excitement of putting up the shows! I am ready to go and be a Mum though now, and excited about all that I am hoping it will offer me and our son - however the wait to hear from Ethiopia is killing me! The last minute .com of it all is very difficult for me to get my head around, especially as I am such a control freak! But while I am waiting I shall fill you in on what's be going on around here...

The first years have started a new project - this is the illustration project based on the writing of Roald Dahl. We have had some fun planning shoots so that the students could get their very own imagery from which to draw rather than drawing Johnny Depp over and over again..... Below are some images of an an exercise we did in class focusing on organising "characters", lighting and camera angle.....

George's Marvellous Medicine with Connor, James and Otto

A quick sketch by Otto between takes...

Sarah trying to get some order for a snapshot of The fantastic Mr Fox...

And finally getting it!

Siobhan organising a Wonker Fest

Holding it for a minute....

...and then losing it!

Ivan's (Mr Bicknell's) group taking things a bit further with the addition of some make-up...

Reluctant to be photographed boys? Looking daft? Nooooo, not at all!

Then came the real photos - George - a fantastic Mr Fox!

Millie, dying to be sleeping beauty for Siobhan!

Vicky in the hood.

Rosie's Mathilda 

These are my absolute faves though - courtesy of Milly Grange-Bennett...

Clever girl huh?

Then came the drawing - I love an excuse to have a go too!

The only trouble is that I never get any time to finish them!

But I did get to finish these little bits of art work for THE ROOM!

Along with a new lamp

and some bunting, which took me blinking hours!

I am still printing like a mad woman too - these will one day be great long draught excluders!

I went to Tiger, twice - my new favourite shop and, I have discovered a great place to pick up goodies for parties, wrapping and household products!

Put the lovely stripy straws with some just as cheap Ikea paper cups and you have what looks like some very swishy and pricey party ware - well it would be if you shopped at certain places and now for about the next 18 years we are going to be on a budget!!!

We both had a birthday! Well into my 40's now sadly!

Georgia - she of the Rubix cube cushion made some alternative colour squares.

We had our annual trip to Brighton - it was a whistle stop tour this year so not many pics...

Nice flower shop

Great tapas...

....well Charmian was pleased!

Huge seagulls

Silly photo opportunities

sweeties

And a collapsing pier!

Back to college and the arduous task of putting all the students' findings into a repeat pattern design took place......

Whereas the Illustrators have been, well, illustrating it....

I am not sure what the fine artists have been doing - they didn't get a day out, but it looks something like this...

We ate well last week....

So did our Mums!

Em needed more prints for lucky 13 on the Lewes Road in Brighton - chair coverings this time..

And we continue to wait and see this little fella again.... X