When am I not though? These extra long posts are becoming a bit of a regular occurrence now aren't they? I really should get my act together and blog daily, but that is too super hard for me at the moment, and even though it is half term (praise the lord), I have only just got round to it now, but I will endeavour to get you all up to speed. Actually blogging is a very dirty word in our house at the moment, as Ivan (Mr Bicknell) has spent all day setting one up for his tutor group and now none of his carefully and painstakingly selected pics are showing up - I am blaming the Mac - I know it's sacrilege to say, what with me being a "designer" and all, but give me a PC any day - they are so much easier to use! I feel really bad for him, because he has worked so hard and has now reached the point of desperation as we have a jam packed weekend ahead of us and now only two days left to write all the Uni refs that we should have done but haven't, but I'll tell you what, we were both so damn cream crackered last Friday that we both needed lie-ins and some time to do the things that we enjoy - college is hard core at the moment, not much joy and a demanding schedule of open evenings 1 2 1's, piles of marking, subject reviews and a miserable staff cohort to boot. Panic has also set in about imminent redundancies and everyone is just so low, I am surprised that the students are still so jolly, being taught by such a bunch of miseries!!! But they really are what keep us going, no one ever goes into teaching for the dosh or the recognition, they go into it for the sheer satisfaction of spending their days with lively, inspiring and more often that not, entertaining young people, or well, at least they should.......
So let's start with open evening.....
I both love and loath open evenings, I am by my very nature, a complete show off, but I expect you have already gathered this. Open evening provides me with the opportunity to loudly blow a trumpet about how bloody amazing our department is, how bloody clever our boys and girls are and how bloody lucky I| am to work with such brilliant colleagues day in, day out, however it is also bloody knackering! And believe it or not, I do actually get sick and tired of my own voice, yeah, I know, really hard to believe!!!!! For me it is the students that make the night the most fun, they are so valuable on this sort of occasion and really do us proud, I Love my tutor group this year, they are FAB, and whilst I was a bit rubbish and didn't snap Holly, Lauren, Jazzy, Hannah T or Chloe, I did manage to capture these two reprobates - aren't they lovely?! So thanks Hannah R and Pip. you were a pleasure to work with!!
We also put out all the lovely work and made the studios look as amzing as they really are in real life - no smoke and mirrors for us you know, we don't need them, we are bloody brilliant!
And talking of clever Pip - this is what he has been working on for his Dragon's Den project - this is how mean I am....... Make your students come up with an idea for a new business based all around the theme of a wasp, produce a range of freebie give aways intended for a launch party and then present your ideas to a panel of adults that you have never met before, putting yourself forward for hard core questioning..... Well, it's all good experience isn't it?! Pip, has come up with an idea for a new model agency called colony - here is a bit of his work - stupid him for leaving it on my memory stick, that's what I say......
Pretty pro huh? And blimey, wot a bunch of stunnas!
So, what else,well... talking of wasps - I took some better (sort of) shots of my little creation......
I also heard from a couple of students - well, I am of course blackmailing them for uni updates as you know, but they are coming up with the goods - guys your discs will be with you by the end of next week, I can't help the fact that Gemma's disc was corrupt and wouldn't copy - I will sort it.
Issie - the one and only....
Hi Gayle, Hope everything is good with your new class (obviously they've got nothing on us, but still) and everything is good with you too. As much as I don't want to see the show video, I really want to see the show video, thus here is my massively long uni account :-)... So here I am in Nottingham, with the city outside my window instead of a bunch of trees, just starting the third week of my fashion design course here. The past two weeks seem to have passed in a blur of new faces, lecture theatres, fancy dress, alcohol, space hoppers, books, dancing, weird accents, forgetting people's names, queueing and general confusion. Also lots of homesickness. I am living with two girls and two boys- there was a third girl but she left after four days. I get well with most of them, but obviously things can get annoying; the hardest part is the noise level which is continuously loud until about 4am every single night. I have actual bags under my eyes- not a good look. I also really miss washing machines and salad and branded food. I've made a few friends from my course/ my halls and joined societies (knitting, drama, amnesty international and a Spanish course) but it doesn't feel like it's kicked off properly yet; I'm still finding my feet. There is a boy in my halls downstairs who is brilliant; we watched Sex and the City together and he got tearful over Miranda and Steve's fight- it made my day. Onto the course. My timetable at the moment is divided into 'DVC', which is Design and Visual Culture (basically the written/theory bit), Pattern Cutting, Manufacture (learning how to use everything to a professional standard), Tutorials (project work) and Drawing and 2D skills classes. In DVC we are in groups and we have to give a presentation analysing a particular trend, ours being 'Country Chic'. We also have lectures about design history, yesterday mine was about the significance of sunglasses- no joke. I have only had one pattern cutting lesson, and it is definitely the area of fashion I feel least confident in and the hardest element of my FMP, but the way it was explained here (using a potato; I blogged it) actually made complete sense (No offence meant Gayle!) and I'm growing less afraid as it goes on. Manufacture is purely practical skills, like using the over-locker and construction; we have to make an entire shirt before Christmas. I had my first drawing class today where we draped fabric across a mannequin and had to capture the drape; it was actually quite fun and relaxed, chatting with the tutor with music on, quite Alton-esque. Most of you have probably started thinking about university by now, and my advice is the earlier you start, the less freaked out you will be later. I chose Nottingham Trent because the course is incredible, the facilities were the best I saw and the general uni atmosphere is great. Gayle will tell you not to go to London but you will want to go anyway because London sounds good- definitely go and judge for yourself, but having been through the process I'm very glad not to be entering that kind of environment. (Don't gloat Gayle). I haven't had a tutorial yet, but I have received my first project brief. In a nutshell it is to create 2 structured garments out of only white fabric. It is a very, very different system than at Alton; the brief is incredibly vague; you are entirely free to do anything, which is hard to adjust to. If I was an optimist, I would be diplomatic and say it is liberating, but at the moment it's just unsettling. Also, as my tutorial isn't until later this week, I have no clue what anyone else is planning on doing- hopefully we'll get a brainstorm going and discuss things a bit more. What else? Oh! The library here is AMAAAAZING!!! It has every Vogue since 1930, massive artist portfolios, trend books that cost £2000 each and all these online journals. It is literally resources heaven. And arty materials are expensive, so don't blow all your freshers money on Archers. And Poundland is scary. That's pretty much it then for now, if Gayle can think of another way of blackmailing me I might write you another one :-) Love Issie XXX
And Ellie
Ellie wasn't loving life at Falmouth initially, but things do seem to be looking up, I won't post her first report, instead I'm sharing this one......
Things are a bit better, the project I'm doing is a lot of fun it was a completely open ended brief so we could do whatever we want as long as it involves weave. I based mine on insects and am just learning different structures to try and display the colours and textures that are on their wings in particular. I'm loving weaving its really satisfying and I get quite addicted. The tutors are really nice too and always around and happy to help, which is lovely especially as looms are very difficult to set up. I've managed 9 samples this week, here are my fave, I dyed all the yarns and did it all myself!! Still not enjoying living here tbh I think if I could do it again I would definitely go into halls, being all the way in town makes me feel a bit out of the loop. Everyone can just wander off to halls for lunch (as they are on campus) and go to the SU in the evenings without having to leave early to get the bus home. I'm saving £25 a week but I really don't think its worth it. Most people tend to go out with their flat mates too and there are only 3 of us and we knew each other before. But never mind, next year we will all be in the same situation anyway and I've just started gold D of E so I'll meet people that way as well as it means I have to join lots of clubs for that which'll be fun.
Here are two of her lovely weaves....
My parents came for supper, a bit to say hi, a bit so my Mum could borrow my clothes and a bit to celebrate the fact that we have (at last) been accepted into the assessment process for our hopeful adoption from Ethiopia - this is where the journey really starts - hoooooooraaaayyyy! They also bought these rather magnificent flowers with them!
Gorgeous!
Some great and strange things also happened last week......
1. I found a very nice ring, it was at the back of an in tray on my desk, I suspect it had been there for probably nearly 4 years! No one has ever claimed it so, I'm keeping it!
2. I won a reflexology treatment at my local gym - Errr, I don't actually remember entering a competition though...
3. I double booked myself on a school trip and a fashion show thingy, mid panic the fashion show got cancelled so I still get to go on the school trip which is to see 4 amazing arts practitioners speak live - more on that when it happens.
4. How mad is this - on one side of the high street in town they are selling sledges and on other they are selling BBQs!
Bizarre!
5. I went shopping with my fab friend Lynda - v.nice new shop in Petersfield - go and see, it is very reasonable, well compared to the shop that was there before! And when we got back to hers, her husband had washed and polished my car! \He helped me find it, so he feels saddened when he sees it look so grubby, apparently if I had left it open he would have hoovered it for me too - DAMN!!!
Nice new shop where I can spend money I don't have...
Lynda - she doesn't usually look so posh!!
6. I finished my cushions - I have also printed some new scarves, made some more hotties and a batch of new lavender bags, but you'll have to wait to see these! I am being so frantic because I am doing a bunch of craft fairs in the vague hope that I might make some dosh for Christmas! But I am even more excited about the fact that I am going to be doing one of them alongside madam Ivy Black Chat!
Night XX
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