See ya!

So tomorrow we (me and Mr Bicknell (and 31 students)) are off to Nepal, yep that's right, NEPAL!!!! I am a bit terrified as usual, you know, trekking up a bloody great mountain, balancing on an elephant, spending 24/7 with a whole load of nutty students - yes Caroline, you know who you are! But really, 12 days with incredible scenery, no marking, no UCAS refs and hopefully some sunshine - yeah, I'm good to go, well almost.....

As soon as I squeeze this lot into my kit bag......

Namaste X

Pip Pip!

I am waiting for a  proper update from my boy Pip - AS PROMISED - gah, I knew he'd forget all about me once he left for the big city! But in the meantime here is looking all grown up in the studio at Westminster! Errr, Viki, Evie, Dory Abby and Rash - I want to hear from you too!

Open evening - busy, busy, busy!

So, it was that time of year again! We did our best to put on a good show and it was a busy couple of days! As usual our lovely students turned up to help entice some newbies - well the free suppers helped too of course! I was absolutely full of cold so I imagine that all those prospective students went away with a whole pile of germs as well as lots of valuable information and an inspired mind!

Although it looks like only our students are in attendance, there were LOTS of people looking around - I obviously can't put strangers on my blog!

Impressive sketchbooks - even if we do say so ourselves!

Look how good the BTEC 1st work looks!

Well Laura was having loads of fun, maybe Ivan (Mr Bicknell) told her his racing snail joke.....

Charmian and her illustration girls

It's a thumbs-up from Emma-Jane!

My lovely, gorgeous Lizzie Pinniger came back to show-off her lovely work and remind students that uni isn't the only option after college - something important to remember....

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LizziePinniger

Ahhhh, look at my handsome husband!

Siobhan must have heard the snail joke too, although I think it looks like she is only humouring him!

first year painting project

www.altoncollege.ac.uk

The racing snail joke....

I thought I'd experiment and try removing my racing snail's shell and see if it made him go faster, but if anything he became more sluggish.........

Just to clarify - it wasn't my joke!

Crash, bang, bollocks.

Wednesday was not a good day for Ivan (Mr Bicknell). It was not a good day for our neighbour either. Sometimes living in the middle of nowhere has its drawbacks, particularly when you are  neglected by your local council and they fail to keep your verges trimmed back so that you can see where you are going.... Hence the crash, the bang and the expletive. Ivan's (Mr Bicknell's) car didn't make it. So the baby friendly version might have to come sooner than planned! Never mind, no one was injured and at the end of the day it's just a lump of metal.

Roger's car

Ivan's (Mr Bicknell's) car

Not one, but TWO police cars

And one very unhappy Chap!



And why not?

I remember seeing lots of stuff about this last year, so I have bitten the bullet and jumped right in! Why don't you?

http://faithhopeandcharityshopping.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/christmas-faith-hope-and-charity-swap.html



I am trying not to be intrigued, but......

One of our colleagues is a bit of an enigma - he'll love that I have just written that - he is a curious creature who plays his cards close to his chest. I always think that he is living in the wrong era, although contradictorily he is certainly no dinosaur, up to speed with all things technical and keeps his ear so close to the ground that he is always aware of all things new and worldly, quite often putting the rest of us to shame. He also, I believe, enjoys driving us a bit mad by purposefully keeping us all in the dark. Lists of animals began to appear on his desk a week or so ago, typically and predictably these have captured our attentions and demanded that we too add to these cryptic scribes in a bid to elicit a response. I am doing my best (badly) to remain nonchalant about what the reasoning behind them might be, whereas the not knowing is driving some almost insane! I have my theory, but I'm not sharing either. So, why is he doing this? Is it purely to observe just how malleable and easy to wind up we all are?!  

Life goes on

So term ploughs on and my life is consumed by the usual stuff. Here is a bit of what has been going down in my life...

It is craft fair season - so I am making whenever I can, well, that is whenever I do not have piles of marking, personal statements to help with, references to write, trips to organise (nightmare), fitness levels to keep up (we leave for Nepal two weeks today) and HIDEOUS colds to battle with (I am V.ill today!)! I have started doing a new market, it is at an amazing venue - Tweseldown racecourse near Church Crookham (GU52 8DY) and the competition is fierce! I was placed in an out building  but had a great spot none the less and was placed next to an amazing coffee stall - a mother and daughter team who roast their own beans - let's just say I sampled quite a bit! The next one I am doing is on the 24th November - please come and see me! There are loads of great stalls which are almost as good as mine and some delicious food stalls too - I can vouch for a few! Probably why I am not 8 stone..... 

My effort - but as you can see below, the rest of the lovely neutral "paletted" stalls allowed me to really stand out! Hooray for colour!!

We got the first years painting - I know that they are on a full-time art course, but the idea of painting at an easel is often a bit much! But they did good and they are very nice bunch! A bit camera shy though....

My effort - slow progress was made! This I am afraid will never get finished - but I do love to paint!

The foundations got stuck into some intensive drawing and have begun to get used to group crits - this is the first year that I have never previously taught the A level textile students who have stayed on - which is refreshing and they all seem very good and very nice - Deborah and Liz have taught them well!

Mark and Charmian getting things going

Caitlin looking worried?

Getting the work stuck up

Ian looking nervous

Trust Adam to notice the camera....

big bold drawing, now that's what we like to see!

Last minute stuff

My new group (BTEC 2) have been going all waspy again - I will get some of their work up in a later post - but as Imogen always uses my camera I have stolen one of her pics of her 3D collage thang!

Last weekend I went to my friend Amina's charity event. Tragically she lost her baby boy Zach at 38 weeks in May and has remarkably, stayed standing and strong through it all, turning her dreadful experience into some positive energy and helping to raise awareness and desperately needed funds for SANDS.  Her husband and brother in law were part of the musical line up and the evening raised over £1000. A lady with an incredible inner strength, you are a star gorgeous girl.X

Juliet our fitness instructor friend was also invaluable during the evening by purchasing and consuming as many slices of cake as she possibly could, the lengths people will go to for charity.....!

And, back to the making - clutch bags are a go!

Sad beginnings

Whilst I have blogged since being back at college, there has been one post that I have put off and found difficult to complete. I should have done it ages ago, but it has been too sad and too depressing, but as this blog is a record of what it is like to be a teacher as well as a record of what I get up to or am inspired by, it seemed wrong not to pay tribute to someone who I have often been in awe of. Martin Read was a colleague and a friend who taught at college for over 20 years, 15 of which I have known him, and worked alongside him, even collaborating one mad summer on an interesting trip to outer space in search of a dragon! His presence in the building that we as an art department shared with his music department was impressive, he filled a space like you wouldn't believe. On Sunday 9th September 2012 he very suddenly died. The void that he has left is immense and the loss that we feel as a body of staff is even bigger. At only 53 he had so much more to give, but blimey, at only 53 he had touched and brought music to so very many. Martin was a teacher that many of us can only dream of being, warm, supportive, kind, passionate, inspiring, energetic and most importantly, highly principled. I miss seeing him and bitching with him at the photocopier! I hate the fact that his friends and family have lost him and that there will be so many students who will never experience the magic that he possessed. A facebook page was set up the evening that we learned the news of his death and within hours the tributes had poured in, in their hundreds. As one individual said, "the world cannot afford to lose its Martin Reads", so true. His funeral was a staggering, for want of a better word, event. So many people of so many ages coming together to pay tribute to a man who had been a valuable addition to their lives, it was a humbling experience. They say that those who shine brightly shine for a shorter time, but in Martin's case, the enormous legacy that he has left behind will ensure that he continues to shine, even if he is no longer amongst us. Goodbye Martin X