Secrets and heat presses...

Lots of things are going on at the moment, in both the professional and personal life of this particular textiles teacher - life moves pretty fast and sometimes I find it hard to keep up, even though most of the time it is me who makes it move along at a rapid pace. The FMP is in full swing - some are producing work in such volume that I worry if they are actually sleeping, others for one reason or another are producing virtually nothing, despite my best efforts, and they are the ones who prevent me from sleeping. It is difficult, I am, to all intents and purposes, a control freak, but if these guys are to achieve in life then I must take a step back and encourage the autonomy that life dictates if you are to succeed, but sometimes I just see frightened faces and it is hard to not step in and take over - but I will be doing them no favours if I do, this year there are a handful I worry about all the time, but I can only hope that the fight part of their psyche steps in, we will see......

The only hard part about what I do is the envy of not being able to be creative all day long, and as you know   I do my utmost to keep my own stuff going too - Sammi our fab technician introduced me to something exciting connected to our new toy, the heat press recently - it is a process where you can actually bond clear PVC to printed material in order to achieve an oil-skin look and therefore make things like water-proof wash bags, now I never need to be asked twice so I was on it like the proverbial rash, with the help of my lovely assistant Pip (look out for him - he will be a name you read about one day - like his predecessors the boys do good from Alton!), I had a play......... 

The printed pieces ready for the process

Pip helping out - you can just about see the PVC on the right of the printed piece

The sparkly new heat press - as you can see, it gets pretty hot....

place the printed piece down on the bed on top of a piece of silicon 

then place the PVC on top

Put the other piece of silicon on top

Shut the lid and count down from 30 (seconds)......

And that's all there is to it - see the results - cheesily presented - later in this post...

Pip wasn't just hanging about for me though - he was waiting to heat press his own hair, straight from the hairdresser - yuk. Pip's FMP is all about identity and one of his dresses is going to be made from human hair... hmmmm, can't wait.....

Meanwhile Rachel was really enjoying pattern cutting - NOT!

Elsewhere things are developing....

Holly

Lauren

Lizzie

If you are reading this, the rest of you rat bags, I would like to see more on your blog please - there is not enough activity.

Ahhhhh, and then it was the bank holiday - blimey, what a difference an extra day can make - despite the fact that it is almost stupid O'clock, and I have attended a scarily hard combat class tonight (thanks Juliet), I do actually feel quite rested and ready for the drama that the next three weeks is sure to provide what with the end of teaching and a trip to panel to contend with - so err, no pressure for me then! It was  nice therefore to have a weekend of relative solitude - Ivan (Mr Bicknell) was in the lakes with our friend Richard hanging off some boring rock (- no, it's O.K., I am totally over the fact that he would prefer to spend his quality time on a rock rather than with me), so I was left up to my own devices...... HOORAY! Just as well I was flying human solo as there was no room in the bed for Ivan (Mr Bicknell) as my other two boys felt duty bound to keep me company - I do love a lazy morning! Don't you love Scratches paws - hence the fact that his Hemmingway breed is also know as mittens!

Saturday saw me doing a spot of shopping and keeping an important appointment - but that I'm afraid is a secret. Actually last weekend saw me shopping and self indulging too with my Mum and MIL Judith - this began with massage at Spirit day spa, lunch at our local Italian deli BOTTEGA DEI SAPORI and then after tea at Judith's Mum and I headed into Winchester for a browse, I even picked up a dress for panel - even though Ivan (Mr Bicknell) thought it was curtains to start with! Actually, that isn't really very funny......

Elemis Exotic Frangipani Body Nourish Wrap
Drench the skin in moisture 

This nourishing body wrap drenches the skin with moisture for immediate softness and suppleness. Exotic, aromatic Tahitian Coconut and Frangipani flowers are soaked together to produce the Monoi used in this therapy, which Polynesian women traditionally used to protect their skin and provides the ultimate radiance, vitality and all over body glow.

The dress...

But this weekend it was really about finding some bits for my friend Bex who lives in Switzerland - I got a few things last week in my favourite shop the Hambledon, but I needed more! In the process though I did find a few nice foodie bits for the pantry and had to have a hot chocolate at Caracoli in Alresford!

The Hambledon

 #

Caracoli

Mad presents for Bex - err if you are reading this - SURPRISE!!!!

And then I got down to the making - when I am alone I am allowed to stay up to 3 in the morning and everything!!!

Wash bags - I told you the styling was cheesy!! Can you see that they are shiny?!

I also printed lots of tea towels, and borrowed Matt and Becca's washing line to photograph them! Can you believe it, it actually stopped raining for 5 whole minutes!!!

And of course I watched loads and loads of rubbish T.V. and films and stuff!

I watched the whole of the second series of Life On Mars in one day - Brilliant - in fact I could watch John Simm all day, and as he is the same age as me I feel perfectly justified in having a crush!

What I do feel uncomfortable about is liking Joseph Gordon-Levitt - but he was sweet in this film that I happened to watch too - yeah, yeah, I know, I'm far too old to watch this sort of rubbish!

And of course I continue to be addicted to The voice! I loved both of the performances below, but as soon as I attempted to play the Bo Bruce rendition of Kate Bushes Running up that hill to the mountaineer, it was knocked back for not being the original - this got me thinking about what we do for a living - if the originals are so good, then why are we encouraging our students to go out and have a bash themselves? Yeah, an original Duchamp or McQueen might be something to be revered,  but who's to say an end product just as important might be developed later on? It's a thing in the college art department to diss the stuff that goes on the telly in terms of talent shows, but for some that is the only way in, and what's wrong with this format if, for the right reasons, it encourages others to put their money where their mouths are and have a go - it has to be better than just sitting on your arse and being  unjustifiably smug and pompous doesn't it?

I have also spent a considerable amount of time this week on an undercover operation - I feel secure that the  person who will receive this surprise is not the kind to read my blog, but I shan't go into detail yet, here is a sneak preview though.....

See you soon. XX